Mr. Book was quite a writer. Between his online activity and the handwritten journals, there were thousands of pages to sift through. A team of detectives had been assigned to them, and I found the summation of their findings on my desk when I returned to the precinct. Mr. Book apparently had an appreciation for the physical that could not be entirely quelled by his obvious acceptance of the virtual world. I surmised that he was probably forced into using his computer because he could no longer write and still felt a compulsion to have hard copies that he could flip through and feel with his hands. The last dates on his handwritten work were around ten years ago, and the pace of his writings did not seem to vary once he had given in to typing things out. Email conversations did not start up right away, but by five years ago he had a steady stream of people with whom he was keeping up.
There were essentially two types of writings: journal/blog/diary entries and email correspondence. Here are the pertinent findings for each type.
Most of Mr. Book's journal entries concerned whatever he happened to be reading. His taste was wide and varied. Entries were found that ranged from contemporary fiction to Classic Greek poetry, from pulp romance novels to academic treatises on the study of history. A few entries, very few when compared to the overall number, were about personal events or interactions with other people. These disproportionately occurred within the last six months. He was preoccupied with a sense of pending doom. Much like the last entry I had seen at the crime scene, he talked frequently about the end of his life's work.
He mentioned a failure to prevent the coming event many times. He blamed himself for not being able to foresee it and more than once stated that his love for Allison had somehow interfered with his ability to predict it. The name Peter showed up three times, all within the last month and in the same context as that last entry each time. There was no clear indication of the nature of the relationship between Peter and Mr. Book, but given the correlation with Allison, it seemed possible that Peter was a lover jilted by Mr. Book and his affairs with her. The only thing that didn't fit with that scenario was the references to Mr. Book's life's work. Perhaps Peter was a competing suitor for Allison that had some power over Mr. Book's career.
This begs the question of what, exactly, did Mr. Book do. No trace of a profession could be found anywhere. He never mentioned his career in any journal entry dating back some fifty years. The detectives who read these entries made two conjectures, book critic or author. There were no specific entries to which the detectives could point to justify the latter theory but rather they insisted the collection as a whole seemed to convey an intimate knowledge and passion for writing. On the other hand, the sheer extent of Mr. Book's reading seemed to preclude the time to do anything much less anything as time consuming as authoring his own work. This led them to the possibility of book critic. I did not see how the work of a book critic could be affected in any such way as Mr. Book's journals seemed to suggest. However, an author's work could possibly become discredited, and the whole oeuvre come crashing down. And yet neither explanation completely satisfied me.
While the journals provided nothing but more questions, his emails offered up a healthy dose of both answers and questions. In the last several years he exchanged emails with four people. By far most were for or from Allison. The first real break in the case came from learning her full name - Allison M. Dollar. Their relationship extended back beyond the start of their online communications. (Someone was sent back to the house to look for handwritten letters but had not yet returned.) At one time they had been committed lovers, but Mr. Book broke it off. He frequently apologized for ending the affair, and Allison never seemed to give up hope for a reconciliation.
Peter was mentioned on only one occasion. The occurrence came at a time when Mr. Book had written her repeatedly but never received a response. Allison's last letter before the silence was unremarkable. She had reminisced of some time the two of them had spent together in the English countryside many years ago. The tone was contented not melancholic. There was no hint of disappointment or depression or pain that would foreshadow her coming refusal to acknowledge Mr. Book's entreaties. After a reciprocal jaunt through the memories of that time, Mr. Book wrote her a few emails asking for an opportunity to meet for dinner. When his requests had gone unanswered for some time, he wrote the following letter:
"Allison, why won't you answer me? We've managed to stay friends until now. What has changed? Have you run back to Peter, and you're afraid to tell me? I won't be hurt by that bit of news. In fact, it may make things better for me. Peter and I have had our differences, but he's always loved you more than I have. You are dear to me, and I wish you the best. (Hopefully still) your friend, J.G.Book"
This was almost immediately followed by this response from Allison:
"You don't think I know that you'd like to see me back with Peter! Should I whore myself out to save you because I love you!!? You don't need Peter any more than I do, darling. We were always so good together. Why can't you see that? I do still love you, but I can't stand this back-and-forth with you. Love me, or don't love me. I'm waiting for you, darling, but I can't see you unless it's to get back together. And don't ever mention Peter's name to me again! As always, your love, Allison"
Following that exchange the nature of the communications between Allison and Mr. Book returned to what it had been previously. Mixing recollections of old times with ponderings about what might have been, they talked like old lovers who had gone separate ways but had never entirely let go. Peter clearly held something over Mr. Book and his life's work, and they both seemed to have sought the love of the same woman. Allison, though, had made her choice.
The remainder of Mr. Book's email correspondence centered on three other individuals. First there was a Laura Web. Her emails revealed a middle-aged woman with a fascination for all things virtual. Her appeal to Mr. Book was as a connoisseur of alternative literary forms. They often discussed at length the ways that the internet expanded the concept of literature. Ms. Web's tone was typically condescending, and she liked to make fun of Mr. Book's preference for offline reading.
He seemed very interested in the ways that instant interactivity could change how literature was created. Recently, Ms. Web pointed him to an article about a literary form called a wovel, or web novel. The wovel is serial fiction published online that gives readers a chance to vote on major plot points every week. Mr. Book was concerned with the way that such a form would tend to erase the author in the long term. In this context, Peter's name came up. Mr. Book was surprised, perhaps even disconcerted, that Ms. Web was familiar with him. After that revelation, Mr. Book and Ms. Web rarely contacted one another, and there was no evidence that they had ever met in person.
The second person Mr. Book talked with was Newt Tek. Their friendship extended beyond the virtual sphere and began decades ago. Their conversations covered many different topics, and they both enjoyed the other's differing points of view. The detectives reading these emails sensed a shared experience between them that came across as mutual respect.
Lately, their communications had become strained. Mr. Book accused Mr. Tek of working behind his back. The allegations were vague, and Mr. Tek denied them vehemently. Mr. Book's final email referenced the third person of interest the detectives found, Jonathan E. Reader. According to Mr. Book, Mr. Tek had taken Mr. Reader under his wing and was working to advance his career. Mr. Book was upset because he had been mentoring Mr. Reader and hoped to shape the young man's future.
Mr. Reader was a young man with a profound interest in books and Mr. Book. Their conversations often concerned aesthetic qualities in printed works that went beyond paper and ink. When they weren't talking about such things, Mr. Book would offer fatherly advice to Mr. Reader as the young man struggled to find his way in the world. The kind words were well-received, and their relationship was growing into quite a bond until last week. Mr. Book accused Mr. Reader of betrayal and abruptly stopped all communication. Mr. Reader wrote several emails begging to be allowed to explain (although these emails were not printed out but recovered from Mr. Book's computer) but never received a reply.
Scenarios were beginning to play out in my head as I finished reading through the summaries of Mr. Book's journals and emails. All that was truly clear was that Mr. Book had started a downward social spiral recently. Breaking things off with Allison, snapping at Ms. Web, shunning Mr. Tek, and abruptly cutting things off with Mr. Reader. Behind these events was the mysterious Peter who seemed to instigate the falling out.
I could feel a motive, a reason, swirling around in the facts that I knew, but I failed to tease it out of my gut into words that I could use to put a name to it. My place once again became unfixed, and I felt disconnected from the world I could see and touch around me. Words, names, drifted in my head, pulling me with them into the mind of Mr. Book. I felt the pull of Allison's love like a tidal force within me. The betrayal of Mr. Tek and Mr. Reader sent shockwaves through me, and the disdain of Ms. Web was a cold shiver in my spine. Peter's dark energy touched everything, at once attracting and repelling me. I closed my eyes until the feeling passed.
I needed to talk to Peter, but I had to talk to Allison first to find out who he was. I sent three other detectives to track down the others then headed out to find Allison M. Dollar.
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