Silent Harbour

Chapter 6: Motives & Memorials

I sit at the desk, pouring over the files Erin gave me last night. From my years working at Page Six, I've come to learn that there are three main motives for murder. Although it's too early to say with confidence, I would bet that any one of those could have played into Peter's death.

Revenge. Is there someone who hates Peter enough to go as far as to murder him to exact some sort of vengeance? But frankly, what could Peter have possibly done to piss someone off that much? Growing up, Peter was always known as the town's golden boy. He didn't earn the title because he was the smartest kid in class. That's far from the truth; you could always count on finding him begging to copy my homework ten minutes before class.

No, that nickname was fondly given to Peter by the old folks in the neighbourhood to whom he'd always lent a hand. Back then, the only way to get around town was on foot, thanks to the shoddy, low-budget public transport initiative put forth (and later scrapped) by the mayor's office. Peter, being the kind teenage boy that he was, would spend his free afternoons waiting outside the grocery mart with the old wagon he previously used to deliver newspapers, and would offer to haul the folks' groceries home for them. If that wasn't enough, Peter was also the quarterback for the high school football team. His unrivalled performance during the season of '09, propelled the team to the regional championships for the first time in three decades. I swear that my ears still ring from the cheers led by the PTA in the bleachers. They threw the biggest party to celebrate the championship win, but we all knew it was really to celebrate Peter.

Until the summer of the 11th grade, Peter and I were thick as thieves. We were set to take our annual trip to my parents' cottage in Muskoka, but he never showed. When I tried calling him, they'd all go straight to voicemail. After my family returned to town, I tried popping by his farm to see him, but Arthur answered the door and told me Peter was busy with football and prepping for college scouts. I remember scoffing at Arthur's words back then. If he knew his nephew, Arthur would've known that Peter had no intention of playing football beyond his high school years. Peter wanted to be a schoolteacher. I'm proud that he stuck with his dreams and didn't heed to the crowd telling him he ought to choose a career 'worthy' of his talent.

After all these years, the nickname still stuck. Who better to exemplify the moniker of 'golden boy' than the man who grew up and continued to give back to his beloved community by teaching at the local high school? So, unless Peter lived a double life, I highly doubt that revenge would have compelled someone to end his life.

Jealousy. It might actually be a more plausible motive compared to revenge. Given how much the town respects and adores Peter, I don't think it's far-fetched to believe that a person or two may have developed some green eyes over Peter's status. Or perhaps a scorned ex-lover despised being replaced and having Peter take their place in the relationship. These considerations make me realize how little I know about present-day Peter. Do I believe that Peter had fundamentally changed since high school, given he had maintained his job as a teacher in Silent Harbour before his death? No. Still, even the subtle changes brought on by day-to-day life, the ways we change without meaning to, add up to an entirely different version of ourselves - a different version of Peter than the one I have etched into my memory.

I pull out a notepad I bought at the store the other day and quickly jot down some of the many questions racing through my head. Was he seeing someone? The town's penchant for gossip would have meant that the secret would be unearthed and hung out to dry for everyone to see.

Greed. Would it be too easy to pin Peter's death on Arthur? Better yet, what does it say about my investigative journalism skills if I blindly follow public opinion without so much as looking for other possible suspects? Or would doing so afford Arthur time to build an alibi and possibly get himself a get-out-of-jail-free card?