Ockham's Razor: A Deductive Riddle

Chapter 60

"She's my daughter."

Lauren gasped inwardly, but Ian could hear it. He looked at her and at Bill. Both had their eyes locked on Corcoran's. "I thought you were a bachelor. That is what the entertainment shows say about you."

"True. She is not my biological daughter. She was born to my sister and her husband. But they were not running with a good crowd, got involved in crime, other nations' struggles, drugs and you name it, they gave up their parental rights just after Erika was born. I could not stand to see my sister's daughter vanish into a system when I was more than able to afford to raise her." He sighed, giving an air of almost wistful regret. "I could not raise her as I would have liked. I was still trying to grow my career and having a daughter at home that was not truly mine would be a minor scandal. I had not yet fully made it in the industry, but I was starting to do well enough. I boarded her at a school in Europe, and they essentially raised her. As my fame grew, I would take holidays to Europe and visit her often. We'd holiday in the Alps, on the Riviera, the Greek Islands, all over. I'm not as well known in Europe, so the paparazzi were not harassing me so much there."

He took another look around then continued. "Anyways, in her teen years she rebelled. And she rebelled hard. She accepted all the offers of support for school, apartment, money but she would not accept my offers of love. I offered for her to move in with me, but she said no. She needed her space. I moved here and finally convinced her to move here too. But she always wanted and needed her space. And I've respected that. I've been desperate to re-establish a relationship with her. In fact, just in the past year and a half, she has seemingly matured out of her rebellion and we've started to get to know each other." Corcoran gulped, took a breath and scanned his surroundings one more time.

"Then, Stephen Gillies entered the picture."

Ian knew immediately who that was. This story was getting interesting.

Corcoran continued, "If you aren't familiar with him, he is a major industrialist in this city and state. His industries are a major polluter of our environment. As a known celebrity, I've taken on an activist role for the environment. I can't get the work I used to, so I'm trying to get some environmental changes done while my name can still be used to convince people that action needs to be taken. I've even mentioned that I plan on making a run for office to help this from a governmental point of view. Anyways, Gillies and I have butted heads on many occasions on the pollution issue. If I don't get elected, he will have removed the only roadblock to unfettered access to pristine area for his dumping grounds. In other words, he wants to dump his industrial waste in Prairie Crocus State Park to the north of Great Plains."

Again, Ian heard Lauren gasp.

"Someone from his organisation managed to break into my house in what I believe was an attempt to intimidate me and steal any governmental or incriminating documents. As I'm not elected yet, I don't have governmental documents, and I really don't have any incriminating documents. So, they took the only documents they could find. They took Erika's birth certificate, affidavits from Erika's parents relinquishing parental rights, adoption paperwork, and several court documents detailing the criminal dealings of my sister and her husband. These documents could all be used to ruin me."

"How do you know it was Gillies?"

"He left a message. Taunting me. Threatening me."

"And so, you developed the plan to get it back."

"Exactly. He was going to blackmail me into derailing an environmental bill that would stop some of his heaviest polluting business practices. He also threatened Erika. Just as we were mending our relationship, she was being threatened because of my stance. So, I got you to get those documents back. I told Erika about the threat from Gillies. She got angry and we are not talking now. I'd give up my political ambition and give in to the fight against Gillies if I could just get my relationship with Erika back on track."

Ian cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but we can't help with that."

"How implicated is Erika in your scheme?"

Ian looked him right in the eye. "To be straight with you. Until you mentioned her name, we had no idea she had anything to do with anything. We could only track things back to you, and only barely."

Corcoran breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. At least some of my protections worked." He did not look like the dominant man who walked up to them. He now looked deflated, almost defeated. "When Gillies threatened me and Erika, I seriously thought about retiring from politics. Maybe just stick to bit acting and lending my face to environmentalism. Now, that my secret is truly out, I will retire. It is too risky now that you know."

"We won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with us." Ian felt a bit badly because he knew that Bill's hidden microphone was recording the whole thing.

"No. I suppose I trust you. But there are two rogue cops out there. They may be working for Gillies, and he definitely knows, even if he does not have the papers."

"I understand."

"Listen, I'm going to disappear for a few weeks. I'd advise you to do the same. Gillies is a dangerous man. I will not ever contact you again, and I ask that you leave me and Erika out of all your future plans. Can I get your word on that?"

Ian looked at Corcoran, then looked at Lauren and Bill. They seemed to be in agreement without saying a word.

"Sir, we will never meet or communicate again. Podcast and blog are done. We know nothing of Erika, so she is safe. And I apologise if we've done anything to jeopardise your relationship with her." The last bit was not really something he thought, but more felt.

With one last scan around the Trib area, Corcoran nodded to them and immediately turned on his heel and headed back the way he had come.

The three of them stood in silence, letting that brisk breeze blow through them for a minute. There was a screeching of a bird in the air and at that point, the three of them decided to slink away, feeling as low as possible. They did not want to think about the damage that they had done.