The room erupted in cheers and clapping. It was incredibly emotional to see how invested this team was in finding out what happened and how much they wanted to speak for the victim of the crime, who no longer had a voice. This was the way “it” was supposed to work. It was the golden rule and the idea of karma, of putting things out into the world that you wouldn’t mind getting back. It was a moment I hoped I would never forget.
“What? No, I didn’t,” I said, “Julie no, that’s very flattering, but I just did what you asked. I spoke to people and got them to tell me things.”
I felt my cheeks burning and looked for Barb in the crowd of people standing in the room. Barb was still in front of the island and had her hands on either side of her nose, covering her mouth. Her eyes were shining with what I thought could have been tears, although she likely would have never admitted it to me or anyone else. Catching my eye, she dropped her hands and gave me another thumbs-up, which made me chuckle. Someone started to gather the plates and mugs and someone else was loading my dishwasher. I wanted that magical moment back. I didn’t want the spell to be broken.
I said, “Wait, everyone, we still need to find out more about Dr. Easton and tie it all together, right? I don’t think we are done yet.”
“No, of course, we aren’t done yet, but we are dang close,” Julie said. From the back corner, one of Julie’s officers said, “I have something, Cole. Can you stop sharing your screen for a minute and let me share this?” It took a few minutes of connecting and clicking, but then we were ready to go.
The screen filled with database searches and articles from different sources. We all read quickly and quietly. Julie corralled the group after we processed several articles. “Okay, team, so I think we have enough to get a general idea of how to move forward.” She stood at the kitchen island and outlined her plan. Immediately, people sprang into action, breaking down the technology, updating files, and preparing for the afternoon in front of us. Several officers would be heading back to the mainland office to work on further research, but a core group would stay behind. My heart was pounding as I listened to our next steps.
Reality was here. We had left the theoretical, the puzzle of it all.
Julie said, “Carr, I want you to reach out to Paul and see if he will meet you someplace with some element of privacy. I guess we can go to his rental, but that won’t give us the chance to set up a video recording and it would be weird to invite him to your house. I won’t ask that of you. What I want is a place he can be interviewed. Remember—this is not an interrogation. If all goes according to plan, that will happen on the mainland. We’ll need to talk to Missy, too.”
“How about if I close Books & Brew for the afternoon?” I offered. “It would only be for a few hours and I can offer a special something for people who are inconvenienced. Let me reach out to Tripp now and then I will call Paul for his availability. He wanted to talk to me yesterday, but I didn’t get to him. I think I can get him to meet me someplace, but it may be tough. He doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. Do we have a Plan B if I can’t convince him?”
Julie smiled, “You can be sure of that, Carr, you can be so sure of that. He won’t like our Plan B any more than he will like you telling him his needle in the haystack books can’t be found yet.”
After a few calls, it was arranged. Missy agreed, though she sounded suspicious on the phone. Tripp asked no questions and offered to take care of the communication plan for our customers. He indicated we had a busy morning so far but things were starting to slow down. It was no surprise on such a beautiful beach day. Many people would want to take advantage of the mild spring weather. The store would be empty by 1:00 pm.
Paul, on the other hand, wasn’t as easy, of course. The conversation began with a dissertation on all the ways we had disappointed him. Without having made the progress on his request he expected, Paul was not interested in meeting me in person. I told him that I had received one book that was on his list, which I could give him if he stopped by the store. He demanded to know which book it was. When I told him, he made it clear it was not the book he was most eager to find. Although he was doubtful, angry, frustrated, and who knows what else, he finally agreed. Dealing with him on other occasions was a challenge, but today was next level. Maybe I was sensitive this time because I knew what was in front of us. Or maybe he was just becoming unhinged. It was hard to tell. The most important thing was—this was happening. We just needed to get all the players in place. A few more calls and we would be done.
The team headed to the store. Barb, Buddy, and I went first in my golf cart. This gave us time to do some preliminary setup and explain the plan to Tripp. “You said you would be willing to help us, right? This may be way out of your comfort zone. I understand that and I want to give you a few minutes to think through this before Julie gets here. You don’t have to do this, there is no pressure, Tripp,” I said as gently as I could.
“No, Carr, I want to do this. I want to be here with y’all and help in some small way. Just tell me what I need to do,” Tripp said, his arms wrapped protectively around his middle.
We locked eyes and I was trying to see what he wasn’t saying. “Seriously, you don’t have to do this.”
He tilted his head slightly, “I think that is where you are wrong, Carr. I think I do need to do it. Can’t hide behind grief and fear and disappointment forever, right? I should be part of the community. I have a responsibility to do what I know is right. You did it, right? You were uncomfortable and out of your element, but you did it. Just tell me what to do, and I will follow your lead.”
Tripp had just finished speaking as Julie entered the room. She and I looked at each other as she stood at the store’s threshold. She nodded slightly and turned to her team to get everyone in place. There wasn’t much time and we needed to work quickly. “We good?” she asked.
I replied, probably sounding more confident than I felt, “Yes, we are all good, ready to go.”
In a last-minute scramble, Julie and Cole were in my office with the door partially closed, for now. The two other officers had set up the video and recording equipment in the kitchenette. Tripp was stationed behind the register. From my seat at the Trading Floor table, I watched his lips move silently as he rehearsed the suggestions Julie had given him. Tripp was silently carrying out what looked like both sides of a potential dialogue, complete with hand gestures to make his point.