Introducing Kathryn Lawless
Tweed skirt and jacket, plain white blouse, flat shoes, eyeglasses, large brooch, library book in hand.
Who She Is:
Kathryn is Elizabeth Killingsworth’s best friend. Elizabeth often volunteered at the local library where, for the last ten years, Kathryn has been the head (and only) librarian. Kathryn is unmarried, but has several nieces and nephews which she dotes over almost as much as she does her fifteen cats.
Not only is Kathryn the town’s librarian, but it’s historian (and biggest gossip) as well. It is almost impossible to keep a secret in such a small town and she is proud of the fact that she knows everything about everybody. Kathryn has read every novel by Agatha Christie, Patricia Cornwell and, of course, Lilian Jackson Braun (The Cat Who… series). Sometimes, on rainy days, she feels like picking up a Steven King…
Today, Kathryn dropped by the Killingsworth Farm to visit Elizabeth and savor a nice cup of tea. Kathryn is sad that Elizabeth is selling the farm and is going to miss her terribly when she moves back to the East Coast.
Her Darker Side:
Enrique, the Killingsworth Farm farmhand, is writing a paper on the history of the town for his college English course. He came to Kathryn one day and worked out a deal – Kathryn does the research he needs, and he keeps Kathryn company on lonely nights. He is beautiful, and Kathryn is single… in the back of her mind, though, she knows he is only using her.
As Kathryn dug deeper into the history of Marcocain, Kathryn uncovered an interesting story about the previous owner of Killingsworth Farm who discovered a gold vein on the property. With a little more research using that new- fangled Internet thing Kathryn figured out that the farmer died before mining the gold, and it could still be buried on the land. Kathryn called the one nephew she has in real estate to come and buy the farm from Elizabeth and sell it to Kathryn for at a small profit. Kathryn like Elizabeth, finds such a great deal of money and a life outside this small town very tempting.
Introducing Michael Nightshade
Charcoal business suit, confident tie, flashy watch, dark sunglasses, conservative hair, mobile phone in hand.
Who He Is:
Michael has come from New York to California on business. Business is his life and his cell phone is almost a permanent fixture in his hand. As a land development consultant, he’s been hired by the state of California to find an inexpensive tract of land to develop into a low-cost housing project.
When he is not working (a rare occurrence) he enjoys hitting the clubs. He is young and energetic and quite charismatic. The ladies tend to fawn over him, but he suspects that is because of the 2.6 million dollars he made last year in land development. If he can pull off this job for the state of California, he may even become a partner in his firm. Unfortunately, the state has given him a minuscule budget with which to acquire and develop the land. It was almost a dream-come-true to find the Killingsworth Farm available under the current market value. Elizabeth’s misfortune was his good fortune. He hoped that she would see that his mission was for a good cause and give him an even better deal.
Michael arrived without an appointment. He saw the real estate listing in the newspaper and rushed right over. He has spent much of the day surveying the Killingsworth Farm and sketched out a map of the area.
His Darker Side:
He is not Michael Nightshade, land developer. He is actually Michael Nightshade, junior executive trainee at a real estate brokerage firm in New York City. He does not have millions of dollars, but he is charismatic and can easily convince others that he is made of money.
He has never been to California before which is exactly why his Aunt Kathryn Lawless insisted he come. He knows that she is crazy, and she wouldn’t give him exact details, but she told him that there would be a lot of money in it for him if he could get Elizabeth Killingsworth to sell the farm to him – and then sell it in turn to her. Kathryn insisted that Michael keep her identity and his relationship to her a secret. But why?
Secret Clue #1
Michael’s sketched map of the surrounding area:
