Ockham's Razor: A Deductive Riddle

Chapter 64

Ian looked at the call display on his phone. The name Stephen Gillies lit up brightly. Ian looked around. He was sitting in the Diner with Lauren and Bill having a late lunch, and he showed them. Bill sat idly, looking shocked, while Lauren motioned for him to pick up the call.

"Hello." He put it on speaker for the others to listen in.

"Is this Ian?" Terse, direct and no context. It was too short to see what the mood was for the person on the other end, but Ian could assume that Gillies would be angry. Ian decided then and there that he was not going to make it easy on the guy who started it all.

"You dialled the number, you tell me. Who are you?"

"Don't be a fool. We need to talk."

"You can always stop me on a roadway." Lauren smiled at that.

"Listen. This has gotten out of hand. You have tried to take on something you can't control. You are putting yourself in great danger. We need to meet to sort this out so that we don't force each other to do something we regret."

The speech sounded rehearsed, almost forced. Ian thought about his words for a second. "I agree. We don't want to destroy you, but we also don't want you to continue harassing us."

"I am only going to give you this one opportunity to save yourselves. We will meet this Saturday, 9 pm. At Prairie Crocus State Park north of Great Plains. Meet me by the Devil's Dustbowl. I want the six of you there so I can get agreements with all of you. I will be alone."

Ian looked into the eyes of both Bill and Lauren. He was reluctant to agree. He could immediately see the difficulty in it. A quick Ockham's Razor analysis gave him two options. Six people together to resolve a problem vs six people together to eliminate a problem. Easier to eliminate. Lauren gave a subtle nod in agreement. That was enough for Ian.

"We'll be there." And the call ended.

Ian tried to smile a relaxing smile at Lauren and Bill, but found himself grimacing instead. He was unsure if what he agreed to was a good idea or not. Prairie Crocus State Park was far from ideal territory for this. It was peaceful, beautiful and nice, but it was isolated. If Gillies tried anything fishy, he would be able to get away with anything. Before the police or paramedics could arrive, the animals would make off with the remains of six dead people. Ian was uncomfortable but he did not know how to let the others know.

Lauren was already on the Bluetooth headset talking to Dean, Moussa and Rab. She seemed unconcerned, even energised. Ian looked over to try to get Jan's attention. He was going to need a coffee. Better yet, a shot of brandy in that coffee. But coffee is all he could lay his hands on now.

Thirty minutes later, everybody was gathered around the table at the Diner. The group activity was subdued, but Ian could feel an energy that he was sure was going to be uncontrollable if it surfaced.

Lauren was the first to break the ice regarding the meeting in the state park. "He wants to meet all six of us. He says he's seeking an agreement with all of us so we all leave it alone. I think this is the break we've all been seeking. This is the end."

The head nodding and low grunts of assent from the rest of the gang told Ian that they agreed. Was he the only one that thought that this was wrong?

He gathered up his thoughts then called attention to himself. "I'm not so sure this is a good idea. You heard Corcoran. He did not send Smooshface and the Bulldog after us. So, who else did? He did not have Dean arrested. Who orchestrated that? We know it was not an official police arrest, or else real police would have been watching Dean in the hospital. Gillies started this whole thing. And he's been behind it the whole time. Whether I use Ockham's Razor or not, Gillies still comes out as the bad guy. And, if we go into the deepest part of the park, the Devil's Dustbowl, we won't have cell coverage, access to anything public... we will be isolated. Easy spot to leave six bodies."