Just as Kim Gardner dumped all the blame on others for her mismanagement of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office, her final act on Tuesday was to dump all of the remaining cases, personnel disasters and other assorted legal and political sewage right into the laps of her successors. There's no telling what they will find when they finally get to the bottom of this mess in coming days, but her successors owe it to St. Louisans to tell the full inside story of the damage she inflicted — if for no other reason than to ensure she never runs for elective office again.

There are victims who continue to suffer because of Gardner's incompetence. Family members of murder victims want to see justice carried out against the perpetrators, and they've had to sit and wait amid constant, frustrating delays because Gardner couldn't get her act together. For anyone who still needs convincing of the serious emotional damage Gardner leaves behind, the victim stories recounted by the Post-Dispatch's Katie Kull on Sunday should be required reading.

Just because Gardner is gone doesn't mean the chaos has ended. Her abrupt departure Tuesday prompted a mad scramble that, for several hours, raised questions about who would wind up in control. She indicated that St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell would take over, but Bell's spokesman said his office had been taken by surprise by Gardner's sudden resignation. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey indicated he would send an emissary to take over. Gov. Mike Parson designated his general counsel, Evan Rodriguez, to assume the job of interim circuit attorney.

"This is a very unprecedented situation," said Bill Corrigan, a lawyer for Bailey. "A very volatile, very fluid situation."

Many questions remain about why Gardner decided so abruptly to leave now instead of remaining in office until her planned departure date of June 1. A strong hint of motivating factors came from news reports Tuesday that Bailey had assigned someone to track Gardner's movements to determine how, exactly, she was spending her time during working hours. The revelations were shocking.

It turns out, according to a Bailey court filing, that when Gardner was supposed to be in court defending her management practices in a contempt hearing, she was instead attending a nursing training session at a St. Louis clinic. (She's working on a nursing degree.) The filing said Gardner had appointed a legal representative to appear for her in court but had not briefed that lawyer on the specifics of the contempt case and what arguments he should present on her behalf.

Perhaps Gardner was upset at being followed. Perhaps she was upset at getting caught moonlighting on the taxpayer dime. Either way, she can now turn her focus to healing patients while St. Louis can begin its own healing process free from Gardner's distracted excuse for leadership.

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