Leaven Of Malice

Detectives Roy Merton and Leona Vesba of the major Case Squad find themselves investigating a murder at the posh Rochester-Bingham School where a body has been discovered in the lunchroom. The victim turns out to be Ethel Weinrich, a local society matron and former mayor. Ethel had stormed out during the School's Board of Trustees meeting the night before during a disagreement over the building plans for the exclusive school. Ethel was rich, powerful, and a nasty piece of work who was generally hated by the rest of the school's board and patrons. When Merton and Vesba interview the shell-shocked Headmaster and the arrogant Dean of Students, they discover that Ethel's death was either a godsend or a disaster depending on which side of the building proposal one supported. When a blackmail scheme surfaces and another murder claims a new victim, Merton and Vesba face the familiar wall of suspicion in exclusive middle Essex as well as their old nemesis, Mayor Willis McHugh. If that isn't enough pressure, Leona Vesba must cope with the fact that her partner, Roy Merton, is depressed-personal problems of the romantic kind- and seems off his game as they track a killer who may have a special reason to target his pursuers.