The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 99: “You went to my apartment?”
“You went to my apartment?” James asked.
“I did,” Tucker replied. His voice was casual, but his eyes were hard and they studied James as he spoke. “We needed to see if anyone was there looking for something you might have brought with you, or if they were watching the apartment. Neither seems to be true.”
“I didn’t bring much with me,” James said. “And there was a delay with getting my belongings to me. Even then they would have gone into storage until I found a more permanent place.”
“Delay?” Tucker said. “I hadn’t heard about that, but then I only got the immediately relevant parts of your file.”
James nodded. “Morris said they didn’t get my file in Carson’s office.”
“It appears that is correct.”
“So I can go back to my apartment after this?”
“You can,” Tucker replied. “I’ll take you out there once we’ve finished eating. For a while I’ll be your new neighbor.”
“New neighbor,” James repeated.
“In case I was wrong.”
“I see,” James took another bite of his biscuit, hardly tasting it as he chewed, swallowed and took another bite. He tried swallowing back his own fear to look at the situation coldly. The business part of his brain turned it over as though it was part of a transaction. Something clicked.
“I’m bait then,” he said to Tucker.
Tucker’s left eyebrow twitched up in surprise. It was a small gesture that he easily got back under control. James would have missed it had they not been seated across from each other at a small table.
“Now why would you say that,” Tucker asked. An easy grin spread across his face, amusement lurking in the lines of his face. The amusement didn’t touch his eyes and James knew it was an act.
“Because there is someone else who makes my testimony irrelevant,” James said. “That’s what I was told when I was asked to look at the files. I was only being kept safe as …backup until the trial was over.”
Another something clicked into place.
“But you knew something other than the financials was out of place when you had me look at the files.”
In his head, different items all slotted into place with heavy thunks. They were less light bulbs of ideas and more the heavy gears of machinery being placed into position. As the gears all fitted the machinery began to turn and things started making sense.
“You knew something was off but didn’t know what names to use to trigger a response. That’s what I was there for. I was unnecessary to the case that caused me to enter protection and now you want to use me as bait so that if the people who killed Carson came back, you could catch them. And since I am irrelevant to the case I’m expendable.”
James leaned back in his chair as Tucker stared at him. His face was blank as though the agent couldn’t decide what emotion he should be presenting. Finally Tucker tilted his head slightly to the side.
“You know, even after all these years I still underestimate the survival instincts of rats,” Tucker said.
Ten til Midnight 