[Evidence,Damage,Possession,Enemies,Revenge]

  I have a real problem, who do I trust? Amy, always and forever. That’s precisely why I don’t want her getting involved in my investigation. It seems that if that detective is determined to accuse me of a murder I had nothing to do with, that I’ll have to solve this case myself. I just have to sift through the evidence and what did Holmes say?

  What the hell I don’t remember. That bang on the head must have knocked a brain cell or two off course. Okay, I don’t remember the Sherlock quote on how to solve crimes, but I remember the hound on the moors and the red heads, but I don’t have the details and the mushroom farmer in Lord of the Rings, I remember him, but only vaguely and I can’t quote him at all.

  So there was a sliver of a silver lining in all of this. But to gain this sliver, I had to lose, maybe not a friend, but a close colleague, he’d lived with us for over a month. For all that he was a terrible writer, he still was a human being and certainly didn’t deserve to die in the manner, in any manner. So aside from being able to re-read some favorite novels, exactly how bad has my memory gotten? That I suppose would have to be a question for the doctor.

  I replayed my last conversation with Lachlan and I remember it word for word or at least I think that I do. That’s the problem with a non eidetic memory. You can’t trust it one hundred percent. But I do seem to remember it exactly as it happened. So until proven otherwise, I’ll trust my memory except for where it seems fuzzy. So until I get released from this hospital bed what can I do?

  “I was up the ladder, someone knocked it over. I regained consciousness and Anais was standing over me. How long was I out for? If it was just a second or two then Anais could have knocked me off the ladder, then checked to see if I was dead or alive. But what possible motive could she have for wanting Lachlan dead? Wow I had lots of questions and very little to go on. ‘But keep your friends close and your enemies even closer’. Good advice but I don’t remember the source of the quote.

  Well even if I wind up in prison at least I’ll be able to re-read my favorites. But the gist of it has to be to keep Anais close, and find out why she had been at the store, would she have a valid reason. Even if she had been my nemesis since forever, I can’t really recall that she ever did anything ‘wrong’ or against the rules. Just the opposite, she made it her duty to squeal on everyone. Which made her decidedly unpopular.

  The first day in kindergarten she’d squealed on that boy, what was his name, for eating paste. After that she became the teacher’s pet. The problem with going to a small school is you are in grade after grade with exactly the same people. Unless either you or they are held back thank the stars neither Amy or I were held back and we got to be in the same class for thirteen years. I seem to be rambling. Is that a side effect of memory fuzziness?

  Then the doctor walked in. After greeting me he shined a penlight into my eyes. I’d remembered the pain I’d felt yesterday when the EMT had done the same thing. But today it felt fine.

  “Good morning Ms Eriksson, how are you feeling?”

  “I feel fine, but please call me Laura.”

  “I’m ready to release you, if you think you are up to it Laura.”

  “Oh, yes I’m very much up for it. I just have one question. I’ve always had an eidetic memory, but this morning, I couldn’t recall one of the names of a boy I went to kindergarten with. Will I be likely to recall that with time?”

  “Well, Laura, that’s a hard question to answer, neurology has made great strides but there is still a lot we don’t know about the brain. It’s quite possible that you may recover those memories. If memories of more recent events are affected we’d need to run further tests. But according to your chart you are about fifteen years older than me and I don’t remember the name of even one person that I attended kindergarten with, if that makes you feel better.”

  “Why would you having a crappy memory make me feel better? What medical facts have you forgotten since you walked in. No, I think I’m ready to check out now doc.”

  He laughed. “Okay, now I’m one hundred percent sure you are ready to be discharged. Your friends and that detective are waiting in the hallway.”

  “Thanks doc, my advice is to read up on Sherlock Holmes. He has some wonderful ideas on memory, building memory palaces and the like. You don’t want all that medical knowledge just leaking out your ears.”

  “I’ll come to your store to pick up a copy.”

  “Good we can always use a sale. Alas the book market isn’t what it once was.”

  He laughed and walked out. Then in walked trouble.

  “Now that you are over your ‘brain injury’ I have questions for you Ms Eriksson.”

  “Good Morning Detective Jones. My attorney and I quote said to me “do not speak to anyone in law enforcement without me present.”

  “But I just need a statement from you, nothing incriminating.”

  “Detective, I listen. “do not speak to anyone in law enforcement without me present.” What’s the point of paying a professional if you don’t pay attention to their advice?”

  “Have it your way if you want to pay some overpriced attorney, when all I need are just some basic facts.”

  Just then my attorney walked in behind the detective.

  “Excuse me detective, I heard that exchange and very soon so will your chief. As soon as Laura asked for her attorney you are supposed to say yes ma’am I’ll get her on the phone for you. Secondly I’m not overpriced, point in fact, I’m taking on this case pro bono. I don’t like little men who try to bully people to get what they want. Why’d you move to such a small town detective are you lazy or just a bully. Don’t bother answering, I don’t really care to know.”

  “Fine counselor, please have your client at the station in one hour.”

  “Detective, are you charging my client with a crime?”

  “Not at this time.”

  “In that case you may come to Ms. Fernandez’s home at four pm, where Ms Eriksson will answer any appropriate questions, in my presence. If you do not follow the law, I’ll be suing to see that your department does. That’s why there are laws, I shouldn’t have to remind you but you are meant to be enforcing the laws not picking and choosing which ones to break.”

  “Four o Clock Ms. Eriksson.”

  With that he walked out the door.

  “Wow, I’m glad that you are on my side, Eve.”

  “I just hate it when cops don’t follow the law. It’s their one job. But never mind, I’ll be at Amy’s at three thirty so we can go over everything you are to say and more importantly what you are not to say.”

  “Thank you.”

  With that she left and Amy and Anais came in.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Much much better, Amy. Thanks.”

  “Can I come over to Amy’s so we can plan how to begin investigating this?”

  “Sure Anais but don’t you have an important client coming to town.”

  “No, I postponed that for a few weeks.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, because this is more important, more time sensitive. I can meet with him just as well in a few weeks as right now.”

  “Thank you, that’s very nice.”

  “Alright, well, don’t get all sappy, let’s get out of here.”

  The nurse wheeled me to the front door where Amy was waiting to pick me up. Soon the three of us were seated in Amy’s living room. Amy was pouring tea for us.

  “So I have to leave in half an hour or so for work, but can I do anything for either of you before I go? I wanted to take the day off and help but Anais said it’d be more valuable to go to work and keep my ear to the ground.”

  “Amy, I don’t want you doing that. I won’t have you risking your dispatching job, you love it.”

  “Laura, I won’t be risking my job, I’m not going to steal arrest reports or tamper with evidence. But if I hear something, that’s their problem for saying something in front of me.”

  “Just promise me you won’t do anything to get into trouble at work.”

  “Yes I promise.”

  “Good.” and I turned to Anais. “And don’t you go asking her either.”

  “Just as bossy as ever. But fine, I won’t ask her to steal arrest reports, or throw away the murder weapon you used.”

  “Very funny Anais.”

  Amy went to get changed for her dispatcher job. She looked good in a sheriff’s uniform and she loved the work. Being able to help people instantly, sometimes a calm voice is all someone needs to help get them through a crisis.

  “Look Laura, there is something I want to talk to you about, before Eve gets here and before we start planning the investigation.”

  “Good, I had a few questions for you as well. So you go ahead and start.”

  “Alright, yesterday, I told you not to trust anyone. Not Amy, of course but you’ve never asked about it but you have to know before we start working together. Why I was disbarred. I was working at a small law firm in Boston while you were living in New York City. It was a four lawyer office, each of us a partner. We each had a speciality. My speciality was criminal law, another partner covered corporate law, another was elder law and the last one covered real estate law.

  Anyways we’d cover for each other in case of sickness or conflicting cases like that. So the partner who specialized in Elder Law caught the flu and I went to the court to ask for a continuance. But the judge wanted the case off his docket so he said I would replace my colleague, until he could come back. It was a dispute over a will. The other side was scheduled for testimony all day. The most I would have to do was raise an objection. So I spent the whole day in court. Thereby my name became attached to the case.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The other lawyer came back the next day and took over again. In the end our client won. Everyone was happy. Until the case was appealed, during those proceedings it became clear. That my partner had defrauded his client of thousands and thousands of dollars. Because I was listed as a co-counsel, I was painted with the same brush. He went to prison for too short a time and we were both disbarred. That’s when I moved back home. You’ve never once asked about it or mentioned it, so I wanted you to know about it.”

  “Anais, I never thought it was my business, I honestly still don’t but I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “One good thing about it is you begin to see who your real friends are, and it turned out I only had one in Boston, that’s Eve. She’ll fight for you, and she’s good to, almost as good as I was. But she’s also a hell of a lot smarter because she skipped the partners and just works on her own. She handles only one case at a time, so she will devote all of her time to your defense, until you are cleared or another person is arrested and charged. But you had some questions for me?”

  “Well, first I want to thank you for finding me. The doctor said it was you finding me fast and the EMTs' use of ice that kept my damage minimal. But why were you at the store in the first place?”

  “Oh that’s simple, I was there to holler at you, my bible hadn’t arrived.”

  “No it was still early in the morning and Harry always does all of the commercial accounts that receive regular orders first. I take it you don’t have much shipped in UPS.”

  “No, we mostly send stuff through the post office.”

  “Just guessing but I bet Harry got to your office right after lunch.”

  “Yep, that is what my assistant told me this morning.”

  “But what I don’t understand is why you are helping me. You clearly wanted to buy my land to develop it. You told me the first day I opened the store after Aunt Nan died.”

  “Because I thought you wanted to head back to your glamorous life in New York City. So I thought I’d help you unload the place, I had no idea you planned to carry on your aunt’s crazy scheme. How are you not broke yet?”

  “I’m afraid that this just might be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The store doesn’t bring in a ton of money but just enough to keep us afloat. If we are closed for an extended time, we might never reopen.”

  “I’m sorry, so I guess we’ll just need to solve this case quickly and get those weirdo’s back home. So do you do background checks on the writers before they are accepted. I thought we could start there.”

  “No, we’ve never done background checks of any kind since Aunt Nan started the collective in the late nineteen seventies.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense, she was the first woman I’d ever seen who didn’t wear a bra when she went out in public.”

  “Yes Aunt Nan was very much into women’s lib. She encouraged me to go to college and do whatever I wanted in life and not to let a man, baby or woman tell me I was wrong for going after my dreams.”

  “Okay, so no background check. What did you know about him and where did he come from?”

  “He was born in Toronto but went to university here in New York, I think he said he went to Russell Sage.”

  “You think? Did something happen to your memory? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say I think when you are referring to something that you are remembering.”

  “Yes, just when an eidetic memory would be helpful it has turned fuzzy. On the bright side, I’ll be able to re-read my favorite books again."

  “That will be a great comfort for you when I ship The Lord of the Rings to Dannemora.”

  “Look I’m just trying to stay positive.”

  “What did the doctor say?”

  “He said that they still have a lot to learn about the brain and that it might return completely, or it might remain fuzzy on details. By the way, that doctor couldn’t name one person he went to kindergarten with. That is just sad.”

  “I’d be willing to bet that unless the person lives in a small town and spends the majority of their school life with the same students year after year, the vast majority of the country are in the same boat as the doctor. So you think Russel Sage, that’s the capital district, not a real hub for crime.”

  “Actually the main Russell Sage campus is in Troy.”

  “There we go, the memory is back. Next week we can go to trivia night at Waterhole Number 3 in Saranac. What else do you know about him, did he work before arriving here?”

  “Yes he worked at a Mom and Pop store in Korea Town in Toronto.”

  “How about the other writers any friction with any of them?”

  “No he actively avoided the other writers, told me more than one that he was afraid that they would steal his ideas, which was ironic.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he got a very large portion of his novel from reddit contributors.”

  “So maybe some redditor got angry and came here and wacked him for stealing his idea.”

  “No it wasn’t like that, Lachlan thought he’d hit on this great scheme to both market and sell his book to the very people who helped him write it. He went on reddit and posted that he was writing a novel and wanted input for his first contact novel. Then in the first three chapters he used posts by over twenty different users.”

  “So do you think he was on to something? Could someone have stolen his reddit idea and killed him before he found out?”

  “No on both counts, imagine twenty different cooks in the kitchen or twenty different lawyers on the same side of the same case and each gets an equal say even though opinions vary widely. Good novels are carefully crafted, to have a clear theme. His novel was about twenty different ways for the six limbed alien species to have sex with the earthlings. It was horrid, at least the first six chapters that I’d read so far.”

  “Okay so stealing his novel wasn’t the motive then, what about his method, can you think of a way to make a good novel that way.”

  “Sure, but it’s not some ‘great new idea’ back in the eighties there were lots of shared fantasy world series. First you’d assemble a team of decent writers, create a world, some stock characters that all the writers can share and have them all write individual short stories with their own characters mainly but a few stock characters wander through the stories as well. They were very popular and some good short stories resulted from the collaborations. But one the were professional writers and second they wrote entire mostly standalone stories. Not just post after post of sex scenes.”

  “Could all of your other writers have decided to get together to write one of these shared world novels?”

  “No I don’t see that happening, see almost all of these shared world novels were fantasy or science fiction, a very few have over time been tried in other genres but not with anywhere near the same level of success.”

  “So what about you, how were you going to make money off of the kid?”

  “I wouldn’t, not unless he ditched all that reddit crap in the second draft and got serious. But he really thought that he had the holy grail, he thought if the book was marketed to redditors as written by reddittors for redditors, they would all buy his book. One of the subreddit’s he used has over four million members, he expected at least half to buy his book.”

  “So I see why your business model is broken. You let horrible writers take up space, when you should be showing them the door.”

  “I’ll admit, Lachlan’s chapters were some of the worst chapters I ever had the displeasure to read. But, it was a first draft and a bad first draft can be turned around if the writer realizes what he needs to do to fix his novel. That’s exactly why I wanted him to engage with the other writers. He could have made that into a saleable first novel and maybe landed a contract for more.”

  “Okay so the novel wasn’t good, the method wasn’t good, but he was still worried about someone stealing it. You know, Laura, who worries about getting robbed?”

  “Rich people?”

  “Nah, they have security and insurance, thieves worry about getting robbed. Liars expect other people will lie to them. Maybe Lachlan was a thief. Maybe he stole something he shouldn’t have and the person he stole from killed him for it, and either got it back or it’s still there in the house.”

  “Or the police took it as evidence. Or he never stole anything.”

  “All possible but we’ll never know unless we stakeout the place. What do you say, tonight? We’ll keep the house under observation. See if we can catch anyone trying to break in.”

  “That’s as good a first move as I can think of. Let’s do it.”

  Shortly after we decided on our first move, Eve arrived. We had half an hour before Jones was supposed to arrive.

  “Alright Laura, he is going to try and make you emotional, get under your skin. But you are not going to answer a question until you look at me. If I nod yes, then answer his exact question. Nothing more, he’ll pause, let a silence hang in the air. He wants you to fill that silence. Do not do that. Answer only the direct question. If the question is where were you in the store. I’ll nod yes and your reply should be Aisle A1. That’s it not a word more, not what you were doing there or what you thought. Let’s give it a try. Why do you think Lachlan was killed?”

  Pause, I don’t say anything. Finally Eve nods no.

  “Perfect, Laura. When he asks you some questions that I don’t want you to answer, I’ll shake my head no and your reply will be ‘No comment’. Laura where exactly was the ladder placed.”

  She nodded yes.

  “It was in front of the westerns.”

  “Do you like westerns?”

  She shook her head no.

  “No Comment.”

  Then she rearranged the furniture so that she was directly in my line of sight. All the other chairs were moved from the room except one slightly off to the side. The bell rang, Anais answered the door and ushered in Jones and a young female deputy. Eve had warned me this might happen. She was left to stand behind Jones. He asked me a bunch of stuff I’m sure he already knew. Name, address, how long I’ve lived in town. How long the collective has been running. When had I met the victim, when was the first contact with the victim. Why was he here? Was he well liked by the other writers? I got head nods from Eve for all of these and I tried to answer yes and no whenever I could. Otherwise I answered just as she had instructed short direct answers. She was a very good coach.

  Jones was getting visibly agitated from my not taking the bait, the questions he just left dangling out there. Finally he switched tacks and began a direct assault.

  “Why did you kill Mr Grauers?”

  “I did not.” If I hadn't been coached I would have added that I could not as I was unconscious.

  “Are you sure?” Now Eve changed tack as well, I watched her and there was no nod either way for a good fifteen to twenty seconds. That’s a long time for silence just to hang between two people. I was beginning to understand how this game works. Because even though it was dead serious for me and tragic for Lachlan. It was a game to Jones, but he’d met his match in Eve. Finally she nodded yes.

  “Yes.” I really wanted to add I’m sure, but I thought just the yes would make him even madder. I was rewarded with a growl, when he suddenly stood up, turned to the deputy and said “We’re done here.” That earned him a yes sir from the deputy.

  Then before he could leave. Eve sprang.

  “Before you leave, detective, how long before you have finished processing the crime scene. My client has a business to run, and nine people have been forced from their home.”

  “It’ll take as long as it takes, counselor.”

  “Well, if it takes much longer, we’ll see you in court on harassment charges.”

  I received a call around noon the next day. I was cleared to go home.