Ockham's Razor: A Deductive Riddle

Chapter 70

The gate agent grabbed her microphone and pressed a button. "Would LA passenger Ms. Erika Wilson please come up to the counter at Gate 15 for a message."

As soon as he heard the name Erika Wilson, a thousand thoughts flashed through his brain. But dominating the thoughts was the knowledge that Erika Wilson was the name of the Benefactor's adopted daughter.

Kate, or Erika, approached the gate, talked to the gate agent and handed over her boarding pass and passport. While doing so, her eyes remained locked on Ian's.

Ian tried reading her soul through those green eyes. But the shock of learning about Kate prevented him from seeing what he wanted, or rather willed to see.

Kate smiled at him. She grabbed her passport and new boarding pass from the gate agent, gave Ian his, and walked him back to their seats.

"Why are you so surprised Ian? Why don't you apply Ockham's Razor to what you know now? You have two competing theories. Industrial espionage involving the environment with stiff competition between Danny Corcoran and Stephen Gillies. Or, you have a dysfunctional family situation and a woman who wants to break free."

"Imagine growing up without parents. Or parental attention. Or any relationship at all. My adopted father Danny, a celebrity slut who slept with every diva that came along, shipped me off to be a student in a school on another continent. I grew up by myself. After I graduated university, I tried to establish a relationship by moving in with him. But, he never could get out of being the centre of attention. All his efforts were focussed on politics instead of being a playboy. Again, I was isolated, but at least in proximity."

"So," she continued. "I plotted a revenge. I started sleeping with his biggest enemy. Yes, Stephen Gillies. This was purely for revenge. Why do you think I refused to go with you to stop Stephen on the road? I did not want to be recognised. So, I slept with him. And he fell for me. Fell hard. But in seeing him fall hard, I knew I needed to do more. Danny was not aware that I was sleeping with Stephen, and I wanted to make him sweat. So, I stole the precious papers about me from Danny, and Stephen and I put them in the safety deposit box in the bank in Saint Barbara."

Ian found himself sweating, barely keeping up with her story. But he remained unable to interrupt.

"So, once I had the papers secure, I gave Stephen the idea that these papers were super important to Danny, and they could provide leverage to reduce the political pressure. A few weeks later, I told Stephen I needed some space, and Stephen gave me an apartment in town to live while I thought things over. I told Danny that I got through my 'sources' that Stephen had stolen some papers and was going to use them for blackmail. Now, that I had the ear of both men, I could call the shots."

"Danny was incensed. He wanted to break into Stephen's place and get the papers back. I told him that I found out that the papers were in the bank, and I prompted Danny to create the team to get the papers and he would assume the role of the Benefactor. As an actor, he relished the role. He came up with the plot to get the papers from the bank. I set myself up as the Courier to control all communications. I used my position at the university to find the right people for the heist. Danny came up with the way to get everyone to commit, and I put that plan into action."

Kate looked around to see if anyone was listening. "Danny did not know a thing about any of you. That was part of his way of compartmentalising this to contain the situation if the police got involved. He could not give up any of you, and he would not give me up. He was worried about people dropping out after committing. So, he wanted to have some strong-arm help. I told him I found a couple of members of the university wrestling team, when I actually found a couple of crooked cops. Danny didn't like that I was untruthful about the thugs I got. So, I was the one that got all the people involved. And I arranged all the meetings in hotels, and the travel. How do you think that all the hotel room numbers matched the safety deposit box number? In effect, once Danny came up with the idea, I was the one who planned the bank heist."