An Outdoorsman's Guide To The Calls Of Common Thieves

14/05 - Ben

04/11/2024-13/11/2024

Knock knock knock. "Come in!"
The door opens, and Ben walks in. I put the papers I was skimming through on the coffee table as he sits on the couch.
"Good afternoon. Coffee?"
"Yes, please."

I place his coffee on a coaster. "Thank you."

"Now, where did we leave off last time..." I flick through my patient log to where Ben's last feedback is.  "...ah. We were talking about your time in prison, weren't we?" He nods. "Would you like to continue, or have you got something else you'd like to discuss?"
"We can continue, yeah."
"Perfect."

'14/05 - Ben' I scribble down on a new page.

Hazy Days - Lyle Jones

I turn a new page, write the date and look up. "You were telling me how someone would pick on you?"
"Yeah.. okay, I'll start from there then."

...tick...tick...tick...tick...
In a moment of silence, all that can be heard is the faint sound of rustling leaves, and the ticking of the second hand of the clock. Ben collects his thoughts.
...tick...tick...tick...tick...

"It was... strange, adjustin' to such a life. Wakin' up at this time and sleepin' at that. Eatin' what they tell you too 'cause there ain't no other choice.  All with about 50 other guys. Big guys, very... intimidating."

Ben doesn't look scary in the slightest. Small build, kind of frail... a bit of a mean resting face, the most terrifying thing about him is his horseshoe moustache. Once you get him talking though, he's so gentle and friendly. Like a kindly grandpa. I can see where he's coming from when he says the people he was with were intimidating. I write this down in my notes.

"They were all in these... gangs, bodyguardin' each other, you know, walkin' around like their stuff don't stink, startin' fights. There was this one fella - Buck, I think, was his name. I reckon he was around... 30s? Young guy. He had his own lil clique. Took what he wanted out of my commissary. I didn't say anythin', of course. I don't like gettin' involved in that kinda thing, you know what I mean? I just let 'em. Why not."

Poor Ben. All alone in that prison. No one to defend him from these lunchbox-stealing jerks. He's quite reserved when it comes to confrontation and conflict. I add this to the page notes.

"How long did this go on?"
"Went on for almost the entire time I was there. I left before he did. Prolly did somethin' really bad to be in the slammer so long."

Okay, so he seems to be displaying behaviour better known as 'being a pushover'. Got that down in the book. Might be a problem we need to work on.

Covert Affair - Kevin Macleod

"Can you tell me about your family? What was life like growing up?"

A lot of things like these start from an early age. Perhaps this could get us to the root of the issue?

"I've got two siblin's. Older sisters. We were quite a quiet family. Not much fightin' or anythin', if that's what you wanna know."

So it's not a domestic affair.

"And school?"
"I, uh... heh, school was a long time ago... but I remember I was quite a quiet lil boy in school..."

Maybe this is what started it.

"Quiet, huh? What kind of school did you go to?"
"It was a pretty bad school, I can tell you that much. Unruly kids, unbothered teachers, you know the story."
"And I'm guessing you don't really fit into that environment." I joke, as a compliment.
"Not one bit, I tell ya." He jokes back. "They'd mess me up quite a fair bit."
We might've just hit the jackpot.
"Bullying?"
"Yeah. You could call it that. They'd take my lunch. They'd wet my books. All sorts."
"How long would you say this went on?"
"From the time I went in to the time I came out."

Jeez. That's rough. No wonder... he's been taken advantage of so much that he's used to being everyone's doormat.

...tick...tick...tick...tick...

So. Now we know the root of the issue, what's the best way to dig it out without causing further damage?

...tick...tick...tick...tick...

"What made you want to move here?" I ask, to fill the silence.
"To Haven? Why, it's simply beautiful up here, ain't it?"
"Oh yes. The weather, the atmosphere, the nature - it's all stunning."
"Everyone here seems friendly too. Actually, my friend Nick and I go way back. He's the one that invited me to come up here. I couldn't deny after I saw those pichers."
"Oh- right, Nick. How is he by the way?"
"He's... good. He's a good friend. I owe him a lot. He's stuck by me for a while. I owe him a lot."
He doesn't seem too... happy about that.
"Aww, that's sweet."
"Yeah..."
I don't know if I'm seeing things, but... he looks a little scared.
"Do you like going to the Lantern together? I saw you in there with some friends not too long ago." I say in an attempt to cheer him up.
"Yup. Nothin' like a good beer after a good day."
"And what are you getting up to these days?"
"I like to work with those yellow roses, Riley said I could help her with 'em for the festival. I just water them."
Right, he helps out with the roses. That must be so peaceful, just watering flowers all da

...

...

Hold on a second. The yellow roses?

...

The note!

"Hey, you didn't see anyone... well, someone left a note, buried in the soil. You didn't see anything like that when you were there, did you?"
His eyes widen, and his face reddens as if he's choking on something.
"...everything alright?"
"Y-yeah, yeah no I didn't see anythin'. Nothin' at all."
"...mhm. Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yup. Definitely sure."
"Right."

Something suspicious is going on here. He knows about that note for sure.

It's probably best to change the subject. I can't have him walking on eggshells around me.

"So, any nice plans for the weekend?"
"Not that I can recall." He replies, his nervousness eased a little.
"Well you still have a day to figure it out." I start to close my notebook after writing the last few points.
"That's right, it's Thursday ain't it?"
"Yup."

Just as we're wrapping up, I get a knock on the door.
"One moment."
Behind the door are the 5 find outers - Ryan, Alex, Steph, Riley, Mac, Charlotte and Ethan. Okay, a little more than 5.
Z: "Oh, hello."
Ry: "Sorry, are we disturbing you?"
Z: "Not at all, we're just wrapping up."
Ben makes his way through the mini crowd, and I let everyone else in.

We all sit around the coffee table and I set some glasses of water down.
"What's up?"
"We found another clue."