Ockham's Razor: A Deductive Riddle

Chapter 14

It had been a long week at university. Ian had nearly lost complete interest in school since his return from Chicago. School, routine, responsibility, whatever you want to call it, just did not have the same allure. Exams were far enough off so that he did not have to worry about them quite right yet. He would do his customary, reckless cramming sessions just before the exam. This had always worked for him.

It was an ugly, rainy day as he looked out from the main campus building towards Lewis & Clark Avenue. He had not ridden his bike as the rain would make him uncomfortable. He did not mind getting wet, but he did not like being drenched. And this rain was the type that would soak him within seconds. He quickly paused to think about the ride for the getaway. Would he do things differently if it was raining?

He pondered on how he was going to get home. He did not want to spend any money on a bus ticket. Despite having a considerable portion of his cash left, some old habits died hard. He stood there, looking down the road, through the rain when he suddenly stopped breathing. He saw her. It was Kate. She was at the bus stop.

Forgetting the rain, he charged out of the foyer of the building into the downpour. He ran down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. The sidewalk did not run straight to the stop, but ran in rather eccentric angles around the quadrangle. Not wanting to experience two soaked feet, he scurried around the perimeter of the quadrangle. He got to the bus stop, dripping and out of breath. Looking around, he could not see Kate. Nor did he see anyone who resembled Kate. He looked around to see if she had shuffled off somewhere, but did not see her anywhere. Dejected, and feeling soaked, he waited around until the next bus showed up.

He got to his apartment, took off his wet jacket in the hallway, and opened the door. He hung his jacket up and went straight to the kitchen to get himself a beer. Realising that he had left the apartment door open, he went to close it. However, sitting on the floor was a familiar white envelope. And he thought he noticed something else. Did he smell a familiar perfume?

He stared at the envelope. He knew exactly what it was. Without a second thought, he picked up the envelope and quickly closed the apartment door. It was not as thick as it had been before. But it could contain rewards far beyond cash.

He sat down in the chair near the front window and opened the envelope. Inside was just a note on the familiar rag paper. The note just had a date, time and room number in the Midcontinental Hotel. He knew exactly what he had to do. Show up at the appointed date and time at the appointed location, and he would be informed of the requirements.

The meeting was scheduled for the next morning, just before noon. That did not give him a lot of time to prepare. Kate forgotten for the moment, he went to go sort his stuff out for the meeting. He did not know if he was coming back to his apartment for a few days.