[Create,Intrigues,Lazily,Large,Petite]

  Lucy knocked softly on the door at about ten minutes to ten. I went over and let her in.

  “We need to have a talk.”

  “What are you firing me for?”

  “I’m not firing you, but you might quit, when we reach the end of our conversation.”

  “Alright but I doubt it. Besides I’m ‘sentenced’ to a four week internship so I don’t see how I can quit.”

  “We’ll get to that. But have you heard that one of the writers that lived upstairs in the writing collective died in this store.”

  “Yes, I heard he was murdered here and that’s why suddenly the police keep coming to your store. But I’m a materialist so I don’t fear ghosts as I don’t believe that they exist.”

  “Yes, I’m happy to hear you are not afraid of ghosts. But I hope that you are not so much a rationalist that you can’t enjoy Casper.”

  “Funny, I did enjoy Casper when I was younger but always preferred Wendy. She just felt more real.”

  “Lucy, there is something I’ve been keeping from you. The police think that I killed Lachlan, the writer who was killed here.”

  She laughed.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “It’s hilarious. Have they even met you?”

  “Yes, I’ve been questioned by them multiple times.”

  “I mean how stupid could they be, you a murderer. Don’t make me laugh.”

  “I could murder someone if I had to.”

  She laughed again.

  “Look, whether you believe I’m the murderer or not, the police do, so I’ve had to begin investigating the case on my own. Which means I have invited certain people here to the store that might be the killer. So if you don’t want to quit, I want a solemn promise that if I ask you to go make tea, it means I want you to go to the kitchen and stay there until I come and get you. So let’s hear that promise please.”

  “Did you ever think that I could help? Wait, is this why I had to go to the bakery yesterday to make notes?”

  “Yes and No, yes for the fact that I sent you so that you were safe but no it was not the entire reason. I wanted you to see that your environment informs your thoughts. Did you in fact notice any difference in your notes from the ones that you wrote here and those that you wrote at the bakery.”

  “As a matter of fact, I didn’t at the time I was writing them. But last night when I was looking over my notes, here in the bookstore my notes titles were mostly nouns while my notes at the bakery were full of verbs.”

  “What did that mean to you?”

  “That when I started writing notes here in the store I was thinking more about concepts and when I got to the bakery my thoughts were more centered on actions.”

  “Wonderful, Lucy, the environment informs thought. But why exactly is the environment between a bookstore and a cafe or bakery really that much different?”

  “Yes, without a doubt. It’s customer intent. When a customer comes into a bookstore, unless they are here to pick up a book already ordered they are here to browse. If they are here to pick up a specific book, they still have to locate it, the process of doing that may just be a speedier version of browsing. In fact they are still browsing and may be distracted by another book in their quest to find the book they actually came in for. After being distracted they may still move onto finding the book they originally came in for. So they may buy two or more books while the initial reason for visiting was to pick up a particular book. The customer, without a clear plan, may just want a book and are here to find one that strikes their fancy. Finally the third customer, just here to kill time, window shopping.”

  “Excellant, so the people without a clear plan are just here searching.”

  “To contrast that with the bakery, their customers are like our customer that preordered a book and is now here to pick up said book. They don’t browse, they go from the front door to the register, pick up their food and leave. The bakery has lots of pickup business. It has a very low number of browsers and those that are browsing are mainly browsing while they wait to be waited upon.”

  “So less searching at the bakery than at our store?”

  “Yes hardly none, people are constantly hurrying in picking what they want and hurrying out. Even the people who take a table don’t linger. I did it because I had an assignment, there may have been one or two people who were sitting who were reading, so they were either killing time before going back to work, or just genuinely liked reading in a place with hustle and bustle. So my thinking was affected by the constant movement. Even the store clerks were constantly in motion, carrying baked goods from the back, or grabbing what customers wanted from the display cases.”

  “Very, Very good, Lucy. Now how about that solemn promise?”

  “Fine, I promise that if you ask me to go make tea, I’ll hide in the kitchen.”

  “It’s not hiding, it’s removing yourself from possible danger. Plus there is tea, that’s always a perk. The writers always keep a supply of paper and pencils and pens back there in case they get a stray thought. So think of it as a time to think. To draw connections. Speaking of connections, I’m about to introduce you to my former nemesis. Possibly a friend, her bark is worse than her bite.”

  Anais was walking in, it must be ten thirty. It was precisely ten thirty.

  “Anais, I’d like to introduce my exceptional intern Lucy. Lucy, please meet my friend Anais.”

  She raised one eyebrow.

  “Friend?”

  “You could at least greet Lucy, I just introduced you.”

  “Hello Lucy.”

  “Hello Anais, is your bark truly worse than your bite?”

  “Not at all. My bite is much worse, Laura just has this rose colored glasses view of the world, that doesn’t in fact line up with reality. She’s nice so she expects the rest of us to be nice as well.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to try and live up to her ideal then.”

  “Let’s hope that we do.”

  “Alright then, you too have met, so Lucy for the next twenty minutes or so, I’d like you to continue on your map. Then I’d like you to make some tea. Actually turn the kettle on, because we are having a visitor at eleven.”

  “Yes, Laura.”

  With that Lucy grabbed her backpack and went into the reading nook.

  “Well at least she is polite.”

  “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, she is a very nice girl.”

  “Good, glad to hear it. So what have you been doing so far this morning?”

  “Nothing, just chatting with Lucy.”

  “Shouldn’t you be focusing on the case without being distracted by your intern?”

  “I was not distracted, it’s too early to talk to Monique and I can’t find the phone number for Adirondack Lives. The website is old and looks like a blog, with no contact info.”

  “Did you try using ChatGPC?”

  “No, I don’t want to chat with an A I.”

  “No just type in the question and let it do the searching, it’s not one hundred percent reliable but the worst that can happen is it can’t find anything or it gives you the wrong number.”

  I went up to my room and grabbed my laptop and asked for the phone number, it gave me three numbers and the physical address as well as the email address. I called the number and a cheery woman answered the phone.

  “Hi, I’m Laura from Genre’s in Lake Placid. We’re a fiction bookstore and I was looking for a nature writer that might be veering into fiction. We also have a writer’s collective here so I was wondering if they might be willing to give a talk here at the store.”

  “We only have one local writer at this time, his name is Tyson Ricci. He started in fiction but has since transitioned into non-fiction. I don’t believe that he has given up on his dream of becoming a novelist.”

  “If I give you my number, would you pass it along to him and ask him to call me please.”

  “Why don’t I just give you his number and you can contact him directly.”

  That’s what I like about living in the Adirondacks. People are happy, helpful and willing to trust you until you give them a reason not to. I called the number that she’d given me but it went to voice mail. I gave him my number and the reason for calling and then hung up. Less than a minute later he called back.

  “Sorry, I don’t pick up unknown numbers too much spam and scammers. Please tell me you are not a scammer.”

  “No I’m not I promise, if you’re not far from Lake Placid we can talk in the store if that is convenient? I’m always looking for writers to give talks to the various book clubs and also we have a writers collective who of course are always eager to talk to other writers. It’s such a solitary profession we need to make connections wherever possible.”

  “Yes, I agree. I have a day job at the woodmill, writing still doesn't pay the bills. It might never but I really love doing it. I’m about twenty minutes away. What time do you close? I’d love to see the store and hear more about the collective.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “We close at eight, but I can give you a tour of the house and introduce you to any writers that are around, if you want to meet here at eight. If you want to be considered for the collective just bring any published fiction you may have. If not, some samples from Adirondack Lives will do. We have a few nonfiction authors in residence, but because the bookstore focuses on genre fiction, authors of fiction are usually preferred. I’ll even look over any non-published fiction you write. Do you have a genre that you mainly write in?”

  “Yes, I write mainly in the mystery thriller genre. I’ve even tried in the past to add in some psychological horror, nothing supernatural mind you. I’ll bring some samples.”

  “Wonderful Tyson, then I look forward to meeting you in person tonight.”

  I went back down to the store and informed Anais that I wouldn’t be able to go to the pub.

  “So the A I came through for you then?”

  “Yes it worked like a charm, I asked for the phone number and it gave me a few and the addresses. So he’s the only local author that writes for them right now and he also is interested in writing fiction. I don’t use A I because if I can’t trust the answer is correct, what is the point of using it right.”

  “Remember when the US and the Soviets would have nuclear arms talks, one of the slogans was trust but verify. Just do the same thing with A I. Ask the question, if the answer is critical make sure to ask for the source of its information and do a search. Sometimes knowing the answer can make finding the same information online easier.”

  “Yeah that makes sense. Lily should be here pretty soon. Do you want to sit in the reader’s nook, I think you can hear everything we say, I don’t want to spook the girl, or have her think this is an ambush. I mean, we know she’s not the killer, Anais.”

  “You’re that sure that the killer is a man?”

  “I’m ninety five percent sure, just look up crime statistics for bludgeoning deaths plus only ten to twelve percent of all murders are committed by women. We are much less bloodthirsty than our male counterparts. Makes you wonder how many wars would be fought if women were in charge of the world. Maybe ninety percent less.”

  “Alright, I’ll wait in the reading nook, but if those statistics are to be believed. That guy coming here tonight is nine times more likely to be the killer. So I’ll be here tonight.”

  “It’s not necessary, he sounded really nice on the phone. He wants to join the collective.”

  “You can't let him join while the killer is at large if he is a suspect. Unless you can find some way to clear him from the suspect list. Like he was away on assignment and we can verify that. Besides, don't we want this guy to be the killer, that clears all of your writers and Lachlan's killer goes to prison.”

  “Yes of course I want to catch Lachlan’s killer. But I’m hoping that it’s someone mean, not someone that I like.”

  “Why someone mean?”

  “Because mean people suck.”

  “Alright, deadhead, not another rant. There’s your girl at the door. Boy, Lachlan really had a type didn’t he.”

  “Blonde and very well endowed.”

  Anais went over to the reading nook, as Lily approached the counter.

  “Hi Lily, I’m Laura. It's nice to meet you.”

  “Hi Laura, Hazel told me who you are, and what you wanted. But that’s not why I’m here, I don’t really have any inspiring stories for Lachlan’s parents. Just the opposite really.”

  “How so?”

  “Well I’ll start at the beginning. I’d gotten into a fight with my idiot boyfriend. He’d promised to bring me somewhere nice. I thought maybe a nice restaurant in Burlington, but instead he took me to the Ausable River, so he could fish. I was all dressed up, in a little black dress and this jerk takes me fishing. Plus every boatload of stupid fisherman that passed by would make remarks. Very complimentary remarks in their eyes I’m sure.”

  “Yes, I can imagine. Why do men never grow up, especially when they are in a group with other men?”

  “Exactly, anyway, I was mad as hell when I arrived at the Brew House. I got a beer and sat alone at a high top table. Then it started, I swear that every man, walked over to try their best line on me. I chased them all off. I was ready to swear off men in general. Anyway I was tired of being regarded as a piece of meat or some prize. But one guy completely ignored me. He just sat there seemingly oblivious to the world typing away.”

  “Lachlan, I take it?”

  “Yep, I was intrigued. A few girls went up and spoke to him and he seemed polite, I couldn’t hear what was said, but he seemed to smile and nod but always gestured back to the screen. The girl would leave and he’d resume his typing. I think I was on my third beer, I’d been pretty much staring at him the whole time. When it happened. I was feeling a little buzzed. He stopped typing and put his hands behind his neck like he had a crick in his neck or possibly he was just trying to think of what to write next. But slowly he stopped looking at the ceiling and as his eyes were drawn back to his screen, his eyes met mine. He gave me a half smile. He looked so cute, or so I thought after three beers and no food. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Beer vision, where you see exactly what you’d like to see instead of what is really there.”

  “That’s just what I saw, this devilish half smile. He was exactly what I wanted. So I picked up my empty glass and approached his table. He stopped typing when I got close and again he gave me this knowing half smile like he could see into my soul. Instead of chatting to me and sending me on my way like he had the other girls, instead he said he needed a break and asked if I’d like a beer. He went to get me a beer and I looked at what he was writing. It was weird alien porn, two alien men each with four arms were making love to a blonde earth girl who started out wearing a little black dress, just like I was wearing. I don’t know if it was the three beers or just my vanity, that some guy would write about me like that. I felt like a nude model for a great master painter. Long story short, I told him that I had a boyfriend but that I wanted him. We chugged our beers and went to my place. I asked him if that porn story with the aliens was about me. He admitted that it was and apologized and said he found me breathtaking and just couldn’t help himself. That just fueled my vanity even higher. So I slept with him. I woke up in the middle of the night, with a wicked headache, I never drink that much. I also felt guilty as hell. I’d never cheated on my boyfriend before. Also starring in a porn story didn’t have the same charm when I was hungover as it did when I was buzzed.”

  “I’m really sorry that happened to you.”

  “Thanks but this was all my own fault, I was going to go and apologize to my boyfriend, when he called and told me he was going away for a three day fishing trip with the boys. That really made me mad, he hadn’t even said he was sorry for taking me fishing the day before, instead of the date he promised, and now he was just taking off. So I spent the next three days with Lachlan, in and out of bed, drunk most of the time. But on the third day I sobered up, Lachlan was asleep, so I decided to read more of my story. But when I looked at Lachlan’s computer I started to read the reddit thread he’s been posting about us for a couple of days and these incels were making up porn stories for him about me having sex with alien men. So I closed the laptop. Went over to the bed and tossed him onto the floor and told him to get out. So I thought that was the end of it. But when the boyfriend came home some friend of his told him that I was cheating on him with some little dweeb.”

  “What did your boyfriend do?”

  “He was incensed, so I told him the whole story. Then he finally said he was sorry for taking me for granted, that it wouldn’t happen again. Said he forgave me, but he wasn’t going to let Lachlan talk to other guys about me. So anyway he knew right where to find him. Lachlan spent every night there. So I begged him not to do anything but he went to the bar and wrote a note for Lachlan, telling to quit talking. Then he went over in person and told him to stop talking about me on reddit or that he would crush him. He could because he's a huge guy, chopping down trees works better than working out does for muscle. Then he handed him the note and called it a reminder.”

  “I’m surprised he forgave you so easily.”

  “It was easy, there was plenty of make up sex, his favorite kinds. Not necessarily mine. But finally I got him back the same way that Lachlan had gotten me. Through his vanity. I told him that he was much better endowed than Lachlan.”

  I laughed. Until I saw a very very large and good looking man walk in the front door. Everything about this guy screamed stumpie.

  “Lily you said you were done with this asshole, where is he, I’ll rip his head off.”

  “Moose relax, will you. He’s not here, he’s dead.”

  This stopped the big guy in his tracks.

  “Dead?”

  “Yeah, honey, dead, murdered in this very store. This lady was asking around in the bar for girls that fell for his literary bull. I knew it was only a matter of time before she found out about you and that stupid note I told you not to write. So I wanted to come clean ahead of time.”

  “Moose you are a logger?”

  “Yep, why?”

  “Do you have a axe”

  “Sure it’s in the truck. Why?”

  “What do you think of the Lord of the Rings?”

  “Boring as hell, I only watched the first one.”

  “Just wondering, anyway, you two need to go to the police station and tell detective Jones everything you just told me.”

  “No, we ain’t doing that, come on Lily we’re going.”

  “Look I can’t stop you, you are as big as a tree, but you know the cops are going to find you or at least Lily. She was seen in public with Lachlan. If you don’t go to the cops and they find you on their own, they will think the worst. They already have the note, written in sharpie, on a Brew House napkin. Which means they also have your DNA. But if you go in on your own and tell them what you just told me.”

  “Why would they have my DNA?”

  “It’d be on the napkin that you touched and wrote on remember.”

  “Oh, crap, I shouldn’t have done that, I should have just popped him right there in the bar.”

  “No, the cops will take a threatening note much better than an assault.”

  “I’m sorry Moose, this is all my fault.”

  “No, Lily you were right I was taking you for granted. If I’d taken you to Burlington instead of fishing we wouldn’t be here right now. I hated that little dweeb, but I didn’t want him dead.”

  “Let’s do what Laura says and go see this detective. Better than a sword hanging over our heads.”

  “Alright Lily. Sorry for yelling when I came in, Laura.”

  “It’s fine, Moose.”

  They left hand and hand.

  “Let me guess you don’t think he did it.”

  “No not at all, besides he’d have to be the greatest actor in the state. Didn’t he sound completely surprised to hear that Lachlan was dead.”

  “He did, but that was a great clue you’d found and one day later you have to go and negate it. You, Jones, will be coming back at you hard.”

  “Maybe, but it also disproves something he thinks I’m doing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Creating the evidence to throw the police off of my trail. This proves that I’m doing just the opposite, I’m finding clues that they missed and even if that evidence doesn’t clear me, I’m still sending in the people involved with the clues. If he thought that Claire was lying for me about seeing a man watching the store, maybe now he’ll take this and me more seriously.”

  “Yes I suppose so, well let’s hope this guy tonight is the murderous type.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up, he sounded awfully nice on the phone.”

  Anais left and I got out my laptop and started to do a little research on Tyson Ricci. There were a few articles written by him that had been posted on the Adirondack Lives website. Which looked a lot better than the blog I'd visited before. It was very professional and had their contact information clearly displayed on the bottom of the front page. I’m glad I hadn’t complained to the cheery lady that had answered their phone. I’d feel like a real idiot. It seems to me that is the main function of the internet to show us all just how stupid we are.

  “So, Laura, is it safe to come out now?”

  “Yes, Lucy, I was just going to come get you.”

  “You forgot all about me didn’t you?”