Driving west from New York City is a surreal experience. I went from the busy streets of Brooklyn to skyscrapers in Manhattan, to the suburbs of the outlying towns over the bridges. Around an hour into the trip, the road was submerged in a forest with hardly a house visible from the highway. Further down, was mountain chains, interspersed with agricultural lots and pastures. The climate was snowy in the winter by Lake Ontario, but some New Yorkers go there during the summer, if they can’t afford to go to the Hamptons at the tip of Long Island.
“Even if I don’t find any diary, this trip was a good idea,” I thought as I checked the map and got off the highway. It was strenuous work in those pre-GPS days to figure out which way was east or west, so I only started thinking about how I would manage to look inconspicuous as I retrieved the diary when I took the last turn into …show more content…
“Hm…” Director Ruffle mumbled as he read the note through the plastic. His eyebrows contracted and he started scratching his lower lip as he progressed in this reading. “Did you read it?”
“Yes, a bit…”
“Well, I’m going to investigate this business with the diary myself,” he decided, and used both of his swollen hands to lift himself out of his chair.
“You don’t mean you’ll drive all the way over there?” I asked, considering blurting out the truth, but aware that every word we were exchanging was dragging me away from this option.
“This is a very serious matter. He seems to be making outrageous allegations, so…”
“Maybe I could go… I finished the paperwork for this case…” I suggested, trying to sound as if I was just a clerical service I was offering.
“Absolutely not, now go file the cases from the previous week. They’re piling up,” he commanded, shuffling out of the
“Even if I don’t find any diary, this trip was a good idea,” I thought as I checked the map and got off the highway. It was strenuous work in those pre-GPS days to figure out which way was east or west, so I only started thinking about how I would manage to look inconspicuous as I retrieved the diary when I took the last turn into …show more content…
“Hm…” Director Ruffle mumbled as he read the note through the plastic. His eyebrows contracted and he started scratching his lower lip as he progressed in this reading. “Did you read it?”
“Yes, a bit…”
“Well, I’m going to investigate this business with the diary myself,” he decided, and used both of his swollen hands to lift himself out of his chair.
“You don’t mean you’ll drive all the way over there?” I asked, considering blurting out the truth, but aware that every word we were exchanging was dragging me away from this option.
“This is a very serious matter. He seems to be making outrageous allegations, so…”
“Maybe I could go… I finished the paperwork for this case…” I suggested, trying to sound as if I was just a clerical service I was offering.
“Absolutely not, now go file the cases from the previous week. They’re piling up,” he commanded, shuffling out of the