Bridge over Icy Water
Page 16
“It was,” Lakita confessed. “But you have to understand. You have to understand why I did it!”
“I’m listening,” I smiled.
“Scott Olson is a dangerous man,” Lakita explained. “He’s a neo-Nazi. He’s not just any old neo-Nazi. He’s their writer. You know how they say that the pen is mightier than the sword? He’s the pen! It’s his words that are attracting new members. It’s his words that are inspiring the Nazis to atrocious acts.
But he’s not good at being a Nazi. He has a thing for women like us. He has a thing for the people he writes about as vermin worthy of extermination.
I believe that in most instances we should judge people by their actions and not by their words. But I submit that when their words are odious enough, then we should judge them by their words instead of their actions. Especially when their words become the actions of others.
So I came up with a plan. I planned to frame Scott for a murder. It was a brilliant plan…”
“So an innocent girl had to die!” I gasped.
“I sacrificed one for the many,” Lakita snapped.
“Why didn’t you just kill him if you felt that way?” I demanded.
“Murder is too good for him,” Lakita hissed. “He doesn’t deserve some quick, painless death like Faith Nguyen. No, he should suffer. He should spend the rest of his life in prison. That’s the kind of suffering he deserves.
You have to agree with me. I continue to believe that I saved your life, or at least played a part in saving your life. I jailed a Nazi for the rest of his life, a Nazi that would ship you off to a concentration camp after he tired of you. And I think that he was already tired of you. Who are you going to defend? Are you going to stand up for Scott Olson? A Nazi! Or are you going to stand with me? That’s the question before you, and I know that you’ll make the right choice.”
Lakita turned to walk away. I watched her walk to that lone car in the ramp, but I was in another world. I felt frozen in place. I felt like a snake charmer’s fangless cobra.
Eventually I walked out of the Walker. I decided to take a Lyft back home in a daze.
15
How I agonized over what to do!
First of all, I could see why Lakita had such magnetism. I knew everything that she was guilty of. And she still charmed me.
At first I was convinced that she was right. I was a traitor to my race(s) if I took the side of Scott Olson. How could I stand up for a Nazi?
And even if I wasn’t exactly standing up for a Nazi, how could I protest or report a plan that was designed to frame a prominent American Nazi for murder? I had to recognize that there was a war going on. I had seen enough of the Nazi propaganda (probably penned by Scott himself) to know that to them it was a war. It was a race war.
If the Nazis were at war against us, against me, then all was fair. All included framing someone for murder, and maybe even sacrificing one of our own to that end.
It took me a long time to see the obvious problem with that.
Scott Olson was not dead. He was just in jail.
Some writers did their best writing in jail. And some, like Adolf Hitler, did their worst.
There was no reason to believe that Scott Olson was any less than the premier Nazi writer from prison.
Plus, Faith Nguyen deserved better than to be treated like a pawn. Lakita held Scott Olson in absolute bondage. She could’ve convinced him of anything. There was no shortage of ways that she could’ve gotten him arrested. Maybe he would’ve even turned the gun against one of his own…another Nazi. It seemed incredible with how poised and confident she was, but it looked like even she didn’t realize how absolute her power was.
And those were the reasons why I went to the police.
And I believe that those were the reasons that led Lakita to confess to her role in the (now clearly) murder of Faith Nguyen. I believe that those were the reasons that led to her presumably guilty conscience.
Both Lakita Howard and Scott Olson were awaiting trial when this tome was released.
I must add that the Minneapolis Police Department is the queen and king of mixed messages. They lectured me when I came in with my recording and all my information about Faith Nguyen’s murder. They told me that I should have come in to them much sooner. They told me that I shouldn’t have gone vigilante and become too involved in a criminal case. These people can be dangerous.
Then they gave me a citizen’s award.
My girlfriends and my new trivia friends were shocked. I don’t know what surprised them more, that I had solved a murder or that I had written a book about it.
Even my dad wrote a poetic ode about it. It wasn’t good, but for a second he was almost the man that I remembered from my early childhood, from back when mom was alive.
My brother also called on Christmas for the first time in years. He said that he was in some type of treatment again. It sounded like a weird treatment. According to him, he didn’t have to stop drinking until he was ready, but he was drinking less and the professionals were happy with that.
That could be just his take. They may want him sober, but even if he just drinks less for a month or two that would still probably help.
MNDOT gave me and Thad a special award for finding that length of rope. And I got to enjoy my Christmas and New Year’s completely off.
All in all, things were good. But boring.
I comb the news at least once every day. I’m still looking for two things.
Bridges and suicides.
More Mysteries!
Did you know that Jeff Isaacson also writes mysteries for kids eight and up? Add a little mystery to the life of a girl and boy in your life with one of the Science Mysteries starring Sarah and Emma, two girls who solve mysteries with STE(A)M.
It’s a Royal Mess
As Much an Art as a Science
A Music Mystery
A Championship Mystery
A Tale of Two Emmas
About the Author
Jeff Isaacson is the author of both the Sinister Span Mysteries for adults starring Angie and the Science Mysteries for kids starring Sarah and Emma. He’s also the founder of FS Books. FS Books publishes fun and thoughtful mysteries for readers of all ages with a focus on multicultural mysteries and female sleuths who use their STE(A)M knowledge to crack the case. Ten percent of all profits from the sale of FS Books go to a non-profit supporting girls and women in STE(A)M and in life. You can learn more about the press and view Jeff’s other books at FS Books. Jeff has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota and an M.A. in Human Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Jeff has worked in social work for the past decade, and he cares deeply about the people that he serves. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, walking, yoga, meditation, and is a huge Gopher sports fan, especially hockey.