Imposter

Chapter One ; Megan Kelly strolled the central aisle of Lexington Market like a star. Hers was the role of a lifetime, the waif from Fells Point finally gaining the spotlight. Her audience knew it, of course. Half the stalls bore posters with her husband's picture. The other half weren't worth noticing and certainly would never see any of her trade. She was accompanied by her son, Matt, which made the afternoon truly perfect. Matt had a profile made for Mount Rushmore and a personality made for concealment. Most men as handsome as her son were destined for leadership. Matt, however, hated any kind of attention. Even fawning women left him uncomfortable. Matt Kelly had honed a talent for hiding in plain daylight. Which seemed odd only to those who did not know the reasons. And Megan Kelly knew her son very well. ; ; So Megan did what only she could do for Matt, which was to draw him out, at least a little. She moved more slowly and shone more brilliantly, so that even Matt was illuminated by her presence. At every stall she shook the patron's hand and then said the same words, singing them with pride, "Have you met my handsome young man?" ; Baltimore's Lexington Market was the oldest still operating in America, founded just after the Revolutionary War and seldom cleaned since. Early in the last century, when Baltimore's port serviced a burgeoning population, Lexington Market was the upscale place to shop. This neighborhood boasted the first skyscrapers south of New York, with their lower floors reserved for fashionable stores. From dawn to dusk the area served as America's first pedestrian zone. ; But nothing remained the same for long in Baltimore. The high-rises had stood empty for a generation, and the acres of diamonds and furs had been replaced by pawnshops and dollar stores. The pedestrian streets were lined with hawkers and grifters and bums. Lexington Market stood as a citadel against the worst a modern world could offer. ; Yet Baltimore remained the perpetual fighter, knocked about but never defeated. Megan's husband led a new consortium that had declared a block-by-block war. Downtown, as their development was called, was the largest inner-city project in Baltimore's history. Nine city blocks--thirty-three derelict skyscrapers--with Lexington Market at its heart. Small wonder the stallholders backed her husband's bid for the United States Senate. ; Megan stopped by Polish Johnny's to buy a yard of kielbasa, sausage guaranteed to lift the diner's cholesterol level by double figures. The manager made a process of wiping his hands before reaching across to shake her own. She introduced her son, stating, "Matt has just graduated from some secret agent school I can never remember the name of. I went down for the ceremony, of course. He graduated first in his class. The head of the Secret Service himself pinned the medal on Matt's chest." ; Megan had to shout against the market's din. But anybody raised in Fells Point, the worst of Baltimore's waterfront slums, knew how to make themselves heard. She pretended not to see her son's embarrassment as he shook the stallholder's hand and accepted congratulations from admirers on all sides. She handed Matt her latest purchase, started down the aisle, and asked her son, "What would you like for dinner tonight?" ; "Peace and quiet." ; "Don't be silly. What could be grander than this?" she asked. ; Megan Kelly was overdressed, as always. Fashionable attire was her signature. Today it was a coarsely woven linen jacket with gold brocade and buttons, black silk dress, matching alligator purse and shoes. Her hair was sculpted gray, her eyes merry. They stopped for chocolate at Mary's, where the manager drew out her best wares froBunn, T. Davis is the author of 'Imposter ', published 2007 under ISBN 9781595542267 and ISBN 1595542264.