The Graves File- Entry 1

The Afternoon of April 17, 2013

Later that same day: “Slum Park”, as it is affectionately referred to by the populace of Broward County is a dumping ground for the thieves, drug lords, carjackers, vagrants, and the other lowly-thought-of people of Broward County.  However, there was one person who didn’t fit in any of those categories: Ewan Graves.

      Ewan Graves was not a well-known man, but to those who knew him, he was a legend.  Ewan was a child prodigy who graduated from M.I.T. at age 15...and then he became a highly sought after computer hacker.  He hacked into various important systems from various governments around the world.  This lasted for about 12 years before he was finally arrested and sentenced to 10 years in jail.  After getting out, he became a private detective and has been so for the last five years. He claims to operate out of Slum Park by choice, but many have just shrugged it off as part of his prideful nature.  There was quite a long list of people who hated Ewan, but there was one person who hated Graves more than anyone else.  That man was Lieutenant Emerson Lee.

      Emerson Lee had been Graves’ parole officer when the latter was incarcerated and had received nothing but grief from the job.  However, the one plus-side was that he was able to use Ewan’s knowledge to his advantage, and this boosted his reputation, and caused his promotion to Lieutenant.  Ever since Graves had gotten out, the two had been bitter rivals, although it was very one-sided as Mr. Graves didn’t really care much about what others thought of him.  

      Earlier, as the mocking voice blared from the speakers in the darkened room, Lee had already began to suspect this was Graves at work yet again.  When he reached the empty bench, he saw a postcard with a picture of a graveyard on it. This confirmed his suspicions, and now, 30 minutes later, he pulled up at the cramped townhouse that Graves operated out of.  

He knocked on the door and it opened automatically.  However, nobody was standing in the entryway.  Emerson cautiously took a step forward, and cringed at the sound of the creaking floorboard.  He continued to walk forward, when suddenly, a blur flung out from the shadows, almost knocking Lee over before it finally landed at the far wall.  Out of the lump rose the infamous Mr. Graves. His glasses were askew, his brown hair was tousled, and he had on mismatched socks.

“Oh, Emmy, it’s you.  It really has been far too long.  If you told me in advance I would’ve baked some cookies.”

“I hate that name.” mumbled “Emmy” under his breath.

“In case you’re wondering, right now I’m working on a headset that allows me to open the door just by politely asking.  It’s quite advanced and I really don’t expect you to understand it, but that’s quite alright because I can tell from your facial expression that you are here for a totally different reason.” continued Ewan without pausing.

“I know you were on that bench when I was mobbed outside the station, and I don’t really think I need to ask, but why were you there.”

“First off, I expected you to know.  I’d be surprised if a man of your intelligence didn’t.  Secondly, I was obviously there for the fun of it.  After all, life is really just a big game, and I believe that you should try and enjoy it as much as you can before you have to put it back on the shelf and go to sleep.”

“Okay, smart guy.  Answer this then.  If my theory is so laughable that you had to publicly embarrass me, then what’s your theory?”

“Oh, I don’t have one. I just know that your idea obviously isn’t right.  After all, some of us like to do a little thinking before we open our mouth.”

“Why you little…” started the policeman, but he didn’t have time to finish because Ewan had rolled his chair back past Lee and into the shadows.