Abishai100
Member
Shelbye Norwood was an aspiring African-American politician who was running for the office of American President. Her credentials were impressive. She had a law degree from Yale University and boasted a strong record in Congress. Shelbye had put all her energies into this handsome presidential campaign and was doing remarkably well in early polls. Shelbye was also engaged to a Caucasian senator named Steve Watson; their relationship was very solid and satisfying.
Shelbye had an idea once January 2016 rolled in. She would begin a special biracial marriage marketing campaign leading up to Valentine's Day. She had her press agents and consultants and marketing specialists hard at work, and the media released statements such as, "Strong African-American female candidate Shelbye Norwood has been touring the southern states in a special Valentine's Day biracial marriage marketing campaign with her fiancée, Caucasian senator Steve Watson (from Massachusetts)." This initiative gained much attention, and Shelbye was being touted for her bright marketing of race-related issues as they linked to social perspective and Valentine's Day.
On a Saturday morning in late January, Shelbye received a frightening letter. It read, "I'm an American citizen, a Caucasian, and I am in no way impressed with your biracial Valentine's Day marketing move. If you do not stop and retract your statements in the press, I will find you and kill you and Senator Watson. This country does not need more racially-slanted propaganda about the virtues of biracial marriage. You shouldn't be running for president, Ms. Norwood!" Shelbye was horrified.
Shelbye didn't know what to do. She told her advisors and her fiancée and they advised she release a press statement. She did. It read, "I'm shocked that my biracial marriage campaign for Valentine's Day has drawn a death-threat letter from a racially stubborn Caucasian citizen. I will continue my Valentine's Day campaign, but I've asked my fiancée, Senator Watson, to remain neutral during this mini-marketing campaign during my run for the office of American President." Shelbye received words of consolation and support, and her allies told her she could do just fine with the remainder of her Valentine's Day campaign without her fiancée's help. Shelbye felt more secure that her fiancée was in a safer position, and she believed she was too.
Valentine's Day rolled in, and Shelbye was in Tennessee for the special champagne event at the mayor's mansion in Gatlinburg. Everything went very well, and she received kudos for completing her biracial marriage marketing initiative. When she returned to her hotel room, she was surprised to find a single long-stem red rose on her bed and a letter next to it. Shelbye opened the letter with an obvious degree of worry, and it read, "Now that your fiancée is out of the picture, I can have you to myself. You won't leave this hotel alive."
Shelbye quickly called the police and they established all necessary security procedures at the hotel. The mysterious death-threat letter writer had not shown up, and Shelbye was feeling much better. She decided to go down to the hotel bar and have a glass of wine. There were security guards stationed just about everywhere. When she sat down at the bar, she was happy with the courteousness of the bartender who gladly served her a fair glass of Merlot. The bartender noticed she looked distressed and said to her, "I read about the death-threat letters in the newspapers. Are you alright?" to which she replied, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just a crazy, you know. I have adequate security, but thanks for asking. I'm just a bit flustered." Shelbye returned to her room and was about to go to sleep when she realized she was feeling incredibly dizzy. She called the doctor and apparently she had some sleep-inducing agent in her bloodstream. She was admitted to the hospital overnight for tests. Shelbye realized the bartender may have been the author of the death-threat letters.
When Shelbye returned to the hotel the next day to check out, she inquired with one of her security specialists about the bartender, but apparently that was the bartender's last night of work at the hotel. Shelbye told the hotel and her security advisors about her suspicions, and they began following leads about the bartender (a Caucasian man named Thomas Reading) who, incidentally, was a co-screenwriter for an independent Valentine's Day horror film.
As investigations continued, the bartender was narrowed as the prime suspect of the death-threat letter incidents. When police entered his home the next week, they found Thomas Reading had committed suicide (sleeping pills) and left a letter. It read, "I failed to kill Shelbye Norwood. She is poisoning the political landscape in America. All I can do now is leave this letter. I want to be remembered as the Valentine Bigot, and maybe, just maybe, someone will complete what I've started." When Shelbye read of the letter in the newspapers, she felt a bit paranoid about the level of anti-racial sentiment the letter would generate through the press. What she didn't know was that Thomas Reading was a suicidal man to begin with who was hired by her fiancée (Senator Watson) to taint her presidential campaign. Steve Watson had creepy plans of his own.
Shelbye had an idea once January 2016 rolled in. She would begin a special biracial marriage marketing campaign leading up to Valentine's Day. She had her press agents and consultants and marketing specialists hard at work, and the media released statements such as, "Strong African-American female candidate Shelbye Norwood has been touring the southern states in a special Valentine's Day biracial marriage marketing campaign with her fiancée, Caucasian senator Steve Watson (from Massachusetts)." This initiative gained much attention, and Shelbye was being touted for her bright marketing of race-related issues as they linked to social perspective and Valentine's Day.
On a Saturday morning in late January, Shelbye received a frightening letter. It read, "I'm an American citizen, a Caucasian, and I am in no way impressed with your biracial Valentine's Day marketing move. If you do not stop and retract your statements in the press, I will find you and kill you and Senator Watson. This country does not need more racially-slanted propaganda about the virtues of biracial marriage. You shouldn't be running for president, Ms. Norwood!" Shelbye was horrified.
Shelbye didn't know what to do. She told her advisors and her fiancée and they advised she release a press statement. She did. It read, "I'm shocked that my biracial marriage campaign for Valentine's Day has drawn a death-threat letter from a racially stubborn Caucasian citizen. I will continue my Valentine's Day campaign, but I've asked my fiancée, Senator Watson, to remain neutral during this mini-marketing campaign during my run for the office of American President." Shelbye received words of consolation and support, and her allies told her she could do just fine with the remainder of her Valentine's Day campaign without her fiancée's help. Shelbye felt more secure that her fiancée was in a safer position, and she believed she was too.
Valentine's Day rolled in, and Shelbye was in Tennessee for the special champagne event at the mayor's mansion in Gatlinburg. Everything went very well, and she received kudos for completing her biracial marriage marketing initiative. When she returned to her hotel room, she was surprised to find a single long-stem red rose on her bed and a letter next to it. Shelbye opened the letter with an obvious degree of worry, and it read, "Now that your fiancée is out of the picture, I can have you to myself. You won't leave this hotel alive."
Shelbye quickly called the police and they established all necessary security procedures at the hotel. The mysterious death-threat letter writer had not shown up, and Shelbye was feeling much better. She decided to go down to the hotel bar and have a glass of wine. There were security guards stationed just about everywhere. When she sat down at the bar, she was happy with the courteousness of the bartender who gladly served her a fair glass of Merlot. The bartender noticed she looked distressed and said to her, "I read about the death-threat letters in the newspapers. Are you alright?" to which she replied, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just a crazy, you know. I have adequate security, but thanks for asking. I'm just a bit flustered." Shelbye returned to her room and was about to go to sleep when she realized she was feeling incredibly dizzy. She called the doctor and apparently she had some sleep-inducing agent in her bloodstream. She was admitted to the hospital overnight for tests. Shelbye realized the bartender may have been the author of the death-threat letters.
When Shelbye returned to the hotel the next day to check out, she inquired with one of her security specialists about the bartender, but apparently that was the bartender's last night of work at the hotel. Shelbye told the hotel and her security advisors about her suspicions, and they began following leads about the bartender (a Caucasian man named Thomas Reading) who, incidentally, was a co-screenwriter for an independent Valentine's Day horror film.
As investigations continued, the bartender was narrowed as the prime suspect of the death-threat letter incidents. When police entered his home the next week, they found Thomas Reading had committed suicide (sleeping pills) and left a letter. It read, "I failed to kill Shelbye Norwood. She is poisoning the political landscape in America. All I can do now is leave this letter. I want to be remembered as the Valentine Bigot, and maybe, just maybe, someone will complete what I've started." When Shelbye read of the letter in the newspapers, she felt a bit paranoid about the level of anti-racial sentiment the letter would generate through the press. What she didn't know was that Thomas Reading was a suicidal man to begin with who was hired by her fiancée (Senator Watson) to taint her presidential campaign. Steve Watson had creepy plans of his own.
