Rooted in Lies

by Kasia Chojecki

  "Negatives can easily last for a couple hundred years and even up to a thousand in proper conditions," he said. "However, "proper conditions" is the key here. The heat can destroy them very quickly, and since they were stored in the garage with no central air for so many years, it's hard to tell what conditions they are in."

  "What about the film?"

  "Same goes. The images are still here on the negatives, so that's a good sign," he lifted another strip against the light to demonstrate. "But, it's difficult to say how much of the original has faded over the years. I won't know about the quality of what's on the rolls until we actually try to develop the film."

  Ava tapped her fingers impatiently on the table.

  "How long is that going to take?" she asked. "And what about the disks? We need to know what's on there. Sharon wouldn't have kept them unless there was something important there."

  "Ava," her grandfather said calmly. "We don't even know what we found. But I can help with the floppy disks."

  "You can?" they both asked, surprised.

  "Of course," Stan said as he took the disk from her. "What do you think people used to save their documents on? These little disks. I got one of those floppy disk readers to access some of my original work. I still have it somewhere around here, or maybe it's at the office. Then we can print whatever is on them."

  Although Stan was retired, he still occasionally gave lectures and talks at the university. Because of that, he had his own desk in a shared office space on campus that he used from time to time.

  "You're full of surprises, Grandpa."

  Stan smiled sheepishly, then shrugged it off.

  "I think we can safely say that today was a rewarding day. Even if the two of you did most of the work," he said. "Why don't I order some food, and we call it a day."

  They regrouped when the food arrived. It was something that has become a habit as of late, Ava thought. The three of them, grabbing dinner together. That definitely wasn't part of his job description.

  Ava wondered if that was why Stan liked having Nick around. She hasn't been visiting her grandfather as much as she should have. He never made her feel like she was abandoning him, but truth be told, she was. Her father had Joan, but her grandfather only had her since her grandmother died.

  Maybe she could make Toronto a more of a permanent home, she thought as she chowed down on pizza. A base where she could live and work and keep Stan company.

  ***

  The following day Ava started the day off with a run. It was a lovely, crisp morning with some of the summer vibe still in the air. Today's playlist reflected her mood – it was fast, upbeat and loud.

  Finding Sharon's box was a small victory. Just when she thought things weren't going anywhere, the information literally fell in her lap. Now, she needed to figure out what was on the disks and film. She firmly believed, just like she told Stan and Nick, that Sharon wouldn't hide things if they weren't important.

  Ava made her way towards the Danforth, jogged in place at the light, then continued south towards Withrow Park. At this time of day, the park was mostly filled with joggers and dog walkers. She ran down the path that crossed it, making her way west through the streets towards Riverdale Park. The massive park, sloping west of Broadview Avenue, had, in her opinion, one of the best views of Toronto.

  She stopped for a moment to admire the view when she heard someone call out her name. It was Kevin, waving at her across the street. He walked over to her side, a coffee cup in his hand.

  "Hey, Kevin," she smiled. "How nice to see you."

  "You know me," he said, blushing slightly. "Once a coffee addict, always a coffee addict. How are you?"

  "I'm great," she beamed. "Just out for a run."

  "You sure seem to be in a great mood," he observed.

  "You could say that," she said.

  "Oh, do tell," he asked, intrigued. "Is there a special someone in your life?"

  "What? No."

  "Well, in that case, why don't we sit on the bench here, and you can fill me in," he suggested. "If it's not a new man, then what?"

  They walked over to the bench that overlooked the city and sat down.

  "It's nothing concrete," she said after a moment. "But I have a feeling that we might be closer to figuring out why Sharon was killed."

  "That's great," he said. "The cops find anything new?"

  "Not exactly," Ava shook her head.

  Kevin studied her as if trying to read her mind. A broad smile lit across his face.

  "It's you," he said excitedly. "You found something."

  "Maybe I did, or maybe I didn't," she said noncommittally.

  "How exciting," he grinned. "Do you want to include an update on your mom's case at the meetup? I'm sure everyone would love to hear it."

  She thought about it for a moment, decided against it.

  "I don't want to take attention away from the case we're featuring," Ava said. The meetup was several days away, and she wouldn't have anything concrete by then anyway.

  "Of course," Kevin nodded with understanding. "But you have to definitely do an event about Sharon's case once you have it all figured out."

  "You got it," she smiled. "I gotta head back."

  As she got up from the bench, a red Jeep stopped by the side of the road. The driver honked and waved at Ava.

  "You know him?" Kevin asked, nodding at the driver.

  "Unfortunately, I do," she said. "That's my assistant, Nick."

  "That guy is your assistant?"

  "Yeah," she nodded and left Kevin staring as she walked towards the Jeep and got inside.

  "Who's your boyfriend?" Nick asked. "Look how sad he looks."

  "He's not my boyfriend," Ava said as she fastened her seatbelt. "Did you get the stuff?"

  "I did," he said as he merged back with traffic. "Were you out for a run?"

  "What are you, a cop?"

  "Just making friendly conversation," he said. "What got into you? Did you get in a fight with your sad-looking boyfriend?"

  "Shut up."

  ***

  "Where do you want the scanner?" Nick asked as he looked around the office.

  "I'll make some space on the desk," she said as she moved things around. "That way, I can copy everything directly to my files."

  Nick set up the flatbed scanner on Ava's desk. It was slightly larger than a standard laptop. Since hers didn't have the required software, they had to hook it up to Nick's. That meant more shuffling of papers and screens.

  "Do you really need this many screens on here," he asked as he looked for a way to connect the scanner to one of the monitors and an external hard drive.

  "Are you sure you can get it to work?" she asked.

  "What would I do without all this praise? "Nick said mockingly. "You should know better by now. Whoa, wait."

  Ava's hand stopped in mid-air. "What?"

  "You don't want to get your fingerprints on it," Nick said and took the envelope from her hand and set it back on the table. He reached inside his bag and pulled out a new set of latex gloves, then carefully put them on and got to work.

  Ava observed him clean the strips with an air blower before loading them on the film trays. He slowly snapped the lid closed and made adjustments in the software before initiating the scan. The machine hummed quietly as the image slowly appeared on the screen.

  "They don't look like much," she said, leaning over his shoulder for a better look. "Are you sure this is the best way to do it?"

  "There are several ways to scan negatives," Nick said, trying to ignore the way her hair brushed against his arm. He shifted slightly, forcing her to straighten, putting some distance between them. "This was the quickest way, but if there is anything here that you want to develop or preserve, it will take longer."

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  "We are using a scanner like this one because it scans multiple strips at once," he said. "You can easily use a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with a micro lens. You put t
he negative on a light table or a light box to illuminate it and then photograph each frame. The rest is the same."

  "That sounds complicated," she noted.

  "Once you set everything up, it's not that complicated. It just takes time."

  "So this is the faster method?" she asked dubiously. "Even this looks like it will take forever."

  "Scanning them is only part of the process," he said. "You still have to adjust the images on screen after they are scanned. Otherwise, you're still looking at negatives."

  "Great," Ava said and checked her watch. "I'll leave you to it. I told my grandfather I'd go with him to look for the floppy disk reader."

  "Take your time," Nick told her. "This will take a while."

  While Nick continued working on the negatives, Stan and Ava went to his office at the university and got the reader. They decided it was better to print everything at home in case they found any sensitive information.

  "What is this?" Nick asked as he flipped through the pages Ava printed.

  "It looks like accounting ledgers or banking statements, maybe," she said as he filled his plate with more lemon potatoes. "No idea who they belong to."

  "Was that all that was on there?"

  "Pretty much," Ava told him. "I checked all the disks, but since they were all full of these accounts, I only printed some of them. It's enough to get us started."

  "Are you going to let Tyler know what you found? I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

  "Stop being such a child," Ava said as she rolled her eyes. "I left him a message. At this point, we still don't know for sure that this has anything to do with why Sharon ended up dead."

  "She wouldn't have these records if they weren't important."

  Ava didn't answer right away. The accounts proved that Sharon was up to something. Still, she couldn't figure out if the records would exonerate Sharon or prove that she was blackmailing someone. At this point, Ava herself wasn't sure if she was ready for the truth.

  Chapter 9

  The process of scanning the negatives took longer than she anticipated. They worked late into the evening and finally had enough images to work with. There were several of Ava as a baby, but the rest were all Sharon. Group shots with classmates, friends and several with Michael. They both looked happy.

  Ava examined the images of her parents. She knew they met in university, so she wasn't surprised to see them with people she assumed were their classmates. Candid shots of faces she didn't know or recognize. Graduation shots of Sharon in her gown and cap holding flowers. Her father standing with her, proudly smiling at the camera.

  They were so young, almost the same age as her, but with so much more experience. The pictures showed snapshots of a time Ava was very unfamiliar with. A life of two people who made her, only one of them raised her. Both were unaware of what the future had in stock for them when those pictures were taken.

  "I don't see anything here that gives us anything new," she said, disappointed. "I don't know what I expected, but I really hoped there was more."

  Nick watched her frown at the screen. He could feel her disappointment, but he could do nothing to change what was on the negatives. Her feelings weren't his concern. The job was.

  "Have you seen any of these pictures before?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

  "No, I don't think I have."

  "They might not give you the answers you were looking for," he told her, "but there must have been a reason why Sharon kept them."

  She considered his words. Individually these images were random, but altogether there was a common thread. Different places, people and events, but they meant something to Sharon.

  "Happy times," Ava said as she leaned against the desk. "These are all reminders of what made her happy."

  "Yes, they definitely are," Nick said as he looked at the images on his screen. There was Sharon, beaming at Ava with her hair in little pigtails. Sharon with Ava in the park, playing with dolls, laughing. These were definitely happy memories, and they meant something to Sharon.

  "Do you think the rest of the film is going to be the same?" she asked. "You know, more shots of happy times?"

  "Hard to tell, but we'll find out tomorrow," he said and checked the time. "Now, I have to get ready for my date."

  "Don't let me keep you then," she said absently as he left.

  She looked through the photos again. Trying to understand her parents as they were in those pictures. Her grandparents had other albums of family photos stashed away. Were these ones there too?

  Curious, she went downstairs to look for the albums. It didn't take long to find what she needed. Growing up, Ava used to flip through the pages hoping to feel closer to her mother. Eventually, they stopped being comforting and stood as a reminder of what she lost. It's been a while since she looked at them.

  Memories flooded back, many a sad reminder of the past. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Ava snapped the album shut. A loose picture fell on the floor. She picked it up.

  It was a group shot taken at what looked like a house party. Her parents were among the cheerful party-goers, but so was another familiar face that shouldn't have been there. She took another look. This didn't make sense. Had her father lied to her?

  ***

  Traffic in the city was a killer. With construction still in full swing, many city roads were cut down to one lane in each direction. Nick tried to avoid the main roads, but he didn't fare better on the highway. Here too, the cars moved at a snail's pace through the elevated stretch of the artery weaving through Toronto's downtown core.

  Usually, Nick enjoyed the drive through the condo-littered downtown with the top down on his Jeep and the breeze blowing through his hair. But not today. He was exhausted. His date with Amber the night before was a bust. Based on her profile, she should've been a perfect girl for him.

  Smart, attractive and not looking for a commitment. She flirted outrageously with him all night, teasing at what awaited if he went home with her. But he didn't. Like a sucker, he made excuses about having to work in the morning and spent the night tossing and turning instead. That would teach him a lesson.

  The morning's photoshoot was out of the city, so he had to leave early to get there on time. That gave him time to think and kick himself again for declining Amber's tempting offer. The job took longer than he expected, and now he was stuck in traffic. That means he didn't have time to drop off the film at his buddy's place to get developed. That would have to wait till tomorrow.

  Nick could already hear Ava in his head. He could already picture her disappointment when he told her about the film. She wouldn't say it, but her disapproval would be clear.

  Ava was relentless, even stubborn at times, and expected everyone else to work like her. There were times when she irritated the crap out of him. She didn't think much of him, that was clear, but he never gave her a reason to complain about his work.

  There was darkness wrapped around her like a shadow, and occasionally, he caught glimpses of darkness inside her. She chased ghosts, digging for answers even when there were none. That was her deal. He had no interest in dealing with that.

  Today, she would have to take that prickly personality and shove it. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her. Maybe he could avoid her for the rest of the day and reach out to Amber instead. He could probably talk her into continuing where they left off the night before.

  With traffic at a standstill, Nick decided to take the next exit and try his luck on the road. He maneuvered the car to the left lane and joined the line of cars trying to get off the highway. He glanced at his navigation system, trying to figure out the fastest route. At this rate, he was better off taking Lakeshore all the way east than heading north on one of the streets that would take him home.

  There was probably enough time to drop by The Acropolis and grab some food. He could text Amber from there while he waited. As the plan formulated in his head, his mood improved significantly. He turned the radio up and tapped his hand on
the steering wheel to the music as he waited for the light to change.

  He almost missed it. A slight movement in his rearview mirror caught his attention. There was a car, a dark sedan with tinted windows, that he was sure was there when he left the photoshoot. Granted, he wasn't the only one driving back into the city, but there weren't many other cars taking the exact same route home.

  On a hunch, at the next set of lights, Nick made a right, leading him into the small industrial area away from the residential neighbourhood he initially planned on taking. The dark sedan switched lanes as well and got in the turning lane several cars behind him.

  He was at a certain disadvantage. It was harder to hide his bright red Jeep than it was to blend in with a dark sedan. Whoever was following him was careful enough to stay on his tail for this long, which concerned him. Nick cursed under his breath. If he wasn't so distracted, he might have noticed the car earlier.

  To ensure he didn't imagine things, Nick made a few more random turns and switches. The dark sedan remained discreetly in the distance. There was no way to get a clear view of the driver. Debating his options, Nick pulled into the parking lot of a large shopping plaza. Whoever was following him would have to park if they wanted to follow him out of the car.

  Nick slowly navigated the parking lot without spotting the sedan. He either managed to lose them, or they lost interest. He might have imagined the whole thing, but the more he tried to convince himself of that, the less likely it seemed. The question was, who wanted to follow him and why?

  There was only one person with a grudge against him that came to mind – Nicole. But sneaking around wasn't her style. He dismissed the idea. He thought briefly of his slashed tire. Was this the same person?

  Nick decided to head home. If the sedan was still following him, he would deal with that then. But as he made his way out of the plaza, he didn't spot any suspicious cars. No dark sedans followed him home.

  As he waited for his food, Nick messaged Amber to make plans. Reluctantly, he left a message for Ava about his weird experience with the dark sedan.

  ***