A Gap in Ideas

I am hoping that I can become a farmer soon. I wanted to do it earlier, but I was one of
the lucky ones plucked to be part of the police force. My boss, Jacob Gander, insisted that as
having great skills, you, John Newman, should be an officer. I mean, seriously? Cant I become
what I want to be? Just a farmer? Now, all I can just do is do my job, and hope I can get revenge
on the corrupt government and its leaders.
Suddenly, I heard a loud gun shot, and some yelling. I ran as fast as I could to the top of
the hill, in the direction of the noise. Arnolds wife, Melissa, was behind the house, and a few
moments later, three people came running out of Arnolds house, and being curious, I went down
there. What happened, Melissa?
I had heard someone knocking at the door, and told Arnold to get it. Next thing I know, I
hear Arnold telling me to get out, and a gunshot.
Lets go inside and see what was done.
I took a quick peek around the house, and saw many items toppled. Based on last time I
have visited, there were many item missing, including an important bracelet. I asked, Melissa,
didnt you have a bracelet here before?
Yes! Oh how I hope the scoundrels havent stolen it.
I hope the same, but the chance of it to not have been stolen is very unlikely. I knew
that this information would be important to the solving of this mystery, and it might help me
track the three down. Lets go find Arnold, and hope he is OK When we got to the door, the
sight wasnt as horrendous as what I thought, as I thought him to be dead or dying and lots of
blood.
Arnold, are you OK? Melissa inquired. Are you hurt? Can you talk?
Arnold replied, saying Im hurt, in lots of pain in my shoulder, and I think I wasnt
supposed to survive.
I wondered why he had said that. Melissa, get Arnold fixed up, so I can ask him some
questions. I hope your arm feels better Arnold. I was thinking of a way to help my friend. I
realized that taking a case would allow me to get the resources and maximize my ability to find
clues and put them together. Im going down to the station to get a case for this horrible thing.
Its going to be a while, so it will give you plenty of time to help Arnold the best you can,
Melissa.
Melissa replied, OK. I hope you can solve this case, because this is very important to
me. Good luck!
I start walking towards the town, and I start to remember one of the reasons I absolutely
despised the idea of being an officer-because of how far it is from my house. I have to walk 3
miles, quite a long distance, just to get the case approved.
After a long time of walking, I finally reach the station. I ask, May I see Jacob Gander? I
want to request a case. I ask this a few more times, and Jacob finally comes. Hello.

A Gap in Ideas
Why did you call me? asked Jacob in his squeaky voice.
I need to ask you a favor. A friend of mine was a victim of crime recently, and I would
like to take up a case for him.
Why would I do that?
Because of the integrity of justice, and I want to help my friend in any way possible.
Too bad. I cant help you. I will not approve this case.
Please. I am solemnly asking to solve a horrendous crime, and to help my friend.
Was I not clear? I said no.
Take some more time to consider it.
Instantly he said, I have. My answer remains the same. No. Go do something more
useful. Or go home. That would be useful too.
Fine. Ill go and leave now. I walked out, and went to a nearby friends house.
It was only a five or ten minutes walk over there. I hope he can help, because he wants
the government to change too. Samuel is also a good friend of Arnolds. When I get to his shop, I
see that the door is slightly ajar. I cautiously walk in, hoping nothing bad has happened to him
too, but then I see him pop up behind the counter. Thank goodness youre OK! I came here to
get some advice.
Ill see what I can do. Tell me what you need.
Arnold was victim of a terrible thing- some people came and ransacked his place after
they tried murdering him.
WHAT!!!??? Thats awful! What else happened up to this point?
Well, I went there to help, and I promised Arnold I would get a case for this and solve it.
However, my boss rejected the idea, not once, not twice, but thrice. Now I came here for some
advice on what I should do.
Its simple, John. What would you do as a friend, rather than one of those officers? Its
really your choice, but I already know what you are going to do.
Um I pondered this sentence for a moment, then I looked at what he said. Being a
nice friend, I would take the case anyways, but as an officer, I would just abandon it. I was the
good friend. I know what I am going to do now. Thanks for the advice!
If my judgement is correct, can I help you?
Excitedly, I said, By all means! I need all the help I can get to help Arnold.
We should go to Arnolds place, and see if we can get more clues. You can tell me what
has been going on while we walk there.

A Gap in Ideas
We started walking towards the crime, when I started talking. I already told you what I
know so far. Can you tell me whats been happening over here in the town?
Ok. Its not really as much as what you told me, but I have something that is of interest.
I was walking back to my shop from the harbor to get my things, and I heard some suspicious
voices. There were four. It seemed to come from the narrow alley I passed. They were saying
things like it was done, I have another job, and what supplies do we get. This definitely
seems like something shady was going on there, but I dont kno-. Then a loud gunshot
interrupted him. We saw a person, probably the mailman, fall on the floor, letter in his hand.
Sam, come behind here! I whispered. You think that may have something to do with
Arnold?
Maybe. But that person really seemed to hold a grudge with either the person or the
contents of the letter.
I peeked around the corner, to find the man with the gun starting to look for more people.
We should get out of here! We ran all the way to my house, not wanting to look back, and
therefore not knowing if the person was trailing us. Once we got to my house, I wrote everything
about the case, and clues we collected, in my journal. We rested for a while, and called it a day.
The next day, we walked down to Arnolds house for more clues. I knocked and waited
for a response. Then I said, Arnold. Its me, John. The door opened.
Sorry for not answering the door. I thought it might be them again, stated Arnold.
Its fine. I dont want you to get hurt again. I came to make sure you were feeling better,
and to ask you some questions about what happened yesterday.
I am feeling much better. The pain has gone, but my arm is still bleeding, which is very
concerning.
It is. I hope it gets better really soon. Anyways, I need to ask some questions.
Ask away. I want to get back at the people who did this to me.
First I need to know what the people look like.
Well there were three, all of similar stature. They were short, like four foot, and
seemed to be like brothers or something. They were thin, and looked like they needed some
food.
I wrote this down in my journal. Samuel then asked, What did they want of you?
They asked if I wanted to help them stop all the riots. They wanted me to join them, and
sabotage them. I wondered what they were trying to do. I declined nicely, but they still got a gun
out and threatened me, so I yelled for my wife to get out. They shot me, but luckily it was in my
arm, so Melissa was able to get it out.

A Gap in Ideas
When I finished recording all of the conversation, I said, Thanks for the info buddy. I
hope its enough to try and continue pursuing the criminals. By the way, can I have the bullet that
was pulled out?
Sure. I hope that it will help you in solving the case.
With the leads in my journal, we decided to go to the place where the mailman got shot.
When we got there, we needed to look for the evidence. Got any idea of where everything
might be at? I wondered.
It could be in the bushes over there. Now Im starting to see something like a body
there. It seems like they were in a rush to hide everything.
I pulled the corpse out from under the bushes. Theres the bullet used to kill him. Laying
right next to him. The bullet was the exact same as the one used on Arnold. Now we know the
same people have been doing these things.
Sam noted, The letter that he was holding isnt here. Must have been important to them
if they took it.
Definitely. I think I know where to find it- the alley where you said similar people group
up and hold a meeting or something.
Great idea John. If we get anymore leads, it will be there. We walked there with no
problems, unlike the trip back to my house. Its right over here. He pointed to an alley, one that
I had not seen before he pointed that out. A perfect spot for an illegal meeting.
Definitely a suspicious spot for a group of people meeting. Lets go in. We went in,
which was slightly hard. Not really a problem for someone thinner than me. We had to squint,
because the lighting was terrible. Whats this over here? I pick up a piece of paper, and some
metal. I gave the paper to Sam so he could read that while I try to find what the metal was about.
Inscribed on one of the pieces of metal was a very faint police badge. Something definitely worth
noting about. On the other metal, there was a Bought in Calebs Weapons. That was a huge
lead. Sam, I have great info from this metal over here. What did you find in the paper?
Its a letter, possibly the one the mailman was holding. It said that a group of people,
doesnt specify, owed money to someone, which is scratched out, for buying bu, which is also
scratched out. I dont know for what, but this is important, as the guy shot him over this.
I think I have the ties to those loose ends. One of the officers probably bought bullets
from Calebs Weapons, so that whoever he hired could do the job. This makes plenty of sense,
but I wonder why all of this was in here? Its almost as if they wanted us to find this.
A random voice then said, Because we did.
Luckily, Sam realized what was happening and yelled, ITS A TRAP! I pulled out my
gun, and shot the random person.

A Gap in Ideas
Watch out Sam, theres more. He shot the next person. I injured the next. We then
knocked him out for questioning. One thing we did realize was that he had the bracelet on him. I
took it off to bring it back to Melissa.
Sam started to look outside to see if there were any more people out there. The coast is
clear. We should bring him to the weapons shop you talked about to get more info there while
interrogating this guy.
Good idea. You should run ahead to make sure the owner is ok with bringing an
unconscious criminal to question him.
Ok, John. Good luck dragging him. Although he might be thin, he still could be very
heavy.
See you there, Sam. Assuming I can get this guy over there. It was a long trip to
Calebs Weapons, but at least I knew the way. It seemed that Samuel was finishing asking him
some questions by the time I got there.
John. You wont believe what had happened here earlier this week. Caleb just finished
telling me. The group that we encountered earlier was here about a week ago. They were talking
about some weird things, like its not the best job, cutting people off from this world and we
need the income. They seemed kind of reluctant to do the deeds, but they had to do it in order to
get the things they needed. They bought the gun and bullets shortly after. They are the exact
same thing we saw in all of the crimes. Caleb is also nice enough to lend us some guns in order
to solve the case.
Thats a great explanation of whats been happening. But I want to get to the source,
their boss. At that moment, the person I dragged waking up. The perfect time to start
questioning him.
Samuel asked, Do you recognize this place?
Still a bit dazed, he replied, Yes. I was here maybe six or seven days ago.
What were you doing here at that time?
I dont remember much, but what I do remember was buying a gun with my friends and
discussing plans about the task we were given by my boss.
All of this I was writing in my notebook. Sam dug deeper by asking, Do you know what
those plans were?
I dont really remember well, but it involves getting people to my bosss side. If they
didnt comply, we kill them. I dont know why we took the job, but we did a few tasks already.
I then stepped in and asked, Who was your boss, or leaders?
Yours, or mine?
I think you know what I mean. Lets get to the point.

A Gap in Ideas
Well. There were three people. One definitely stood out as the leader. He was silent for
a while.
Can you tell us their names? Sam asked.
I cant. I dont know them. All I know about them is what they look like and how they
got us to work for them.
Can you tell us that information please?
He then paused for a moment. I noticed a piece of paper come out of his pocket and go
through a crevice in the wall. Almost like a secret message. I whispered to Sam, There might be
more people coming to try and stop us from solving this. Be on the lookout. He seemed to be
passing a warning or message to someone out there. I then directed my talking to the criminal,
and stated, Well. Can you answer that question?
I will, after you answer mine. What were you talking about to your buddy over there
about?
I replied, Just talking about information. I answered your question. Now answer ours.
Fine. My bosses seemed to know each other very well. Two seemed to be similar, like
brothers almost. Those two were relatively tall, and had deep voices. The other one looked like
the leader of all of them. He was a bit taller than me, but not as tall as the others. He definitely
had a very squeaky voice.
While he was talking, I wrote everything he said in his notebook. Youre doing great so
far. Tell us more about how you started working for this group.
It started when my brothers and I were living in the alley you found. The three I already
described walked in, and asked if we needed an extra job. All of us said yes. He gave us the task
and the materials to do it. We executed the first successfully. The leader came the next day saying
that we missed a spot. He needed us to cover up anything that might lead to us being
uncovered. Obviously quite a fail. The next day two of the three, the tall ones, came saying that
they had plans to ambush the ones on our trail. Thats when you brought me here, to start
questioning me.
We have a few more simple questions. I took out the bracelet. Where did you get
this?
I faintly remember. It was when we were doing our first job. I saw a glimpse of the item
out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was valuable, so I took it. Can always use some extra
income.
Sam also asked, By the way, what is your name?
Im not telling a single thing more.
I finished writing in my notebook, and said, Fair enough. Thanks for the info. Your
cooperation was well accepted. We need to leave now.

A Gap in Ideas
He then said something funny. But why leave now, when the fun has just begun?
I realized I had forgotten about the others who were on the way. I then kicked him to
knock him out again. There are more criminals coming this way to try and stop us from solving
the case. Do you have a back door? We need to get out of here, I told Caleb.
Caleb stated frighteningly, Y-yes. Its right behind my stash of weapons. Im not coming
with you for fear of getting hurt.
Samuel said, Its your choice, but I recommend you come with.
Its fine, really. Im just going to stay in my shop and pretend nothing happened.
I said, Sam! We need to leave! We rushed out the back door, and ran to a spot we
thought safe. Just before we got there, I turned and looked for any pursuers. When I looked, there
was nobody, but I heard a familiar voice yell TREASON! and a gunshot ring out. I was
worried for Caleb, but I think I know what happened to him.
Samuel shared his thoughts. I told him to come. I feel bad for him. Either way, I think
we have enough information to try and solve the case. Lets go back to my store first to solve
who is the leader behind all of this, and to get some shuteye.
We ran all the way to Samuels shop and we rested there for a bit. Then I started to get
my notes and clues out. The first thing that should be noted is that the three people we already
saw and know that they did it, were only doing a job. This was ordered by their boss, which we
are trying to figure out right now.
Thats right, John.
So. The clues we have right now are a police badge, a description of the leaders, and
their plans.
Seems like a ridiculously low amount of clues, but its enough to solve the case. We just
need to piece things together. The fact that there was a police badge, and that the people doing
this yelled treason, means that corrupt officers might be doing this. If this is true, you have any
idea who it might be? Seeing as you work there, you might recognize some faces based on the
description.
You are completely right, Sam. The voices earlier seemed to spark something in my
mind that these people are the top of the line. I just cant remember who matches the
descriptions. I thought for a very long time. I tried to remember all the people of importance in
my station. Then it hit me. The leader of all of this was my boss! He matched the description
perfectly. The squeaky voice, the height, and the thought process. I got it! It is none other than
my own boss-Jacob Gander. I guess thats what the guy meant by your boss or mine. It all
makes sense now.
Sam added to this. We need to gather up a group to retaliate against this group of awful
people. We will let them know, and we will meet up in the weapons shop on the 5th. We will
make our move then.

A Gap in Ideas
Lets spread the word tomorrow. Now we need to get some sleep.
The next day, we woke early to get to town while everyone was out and about. We
walked the four miles down to the town, and saw many people walking around. We walked to
some of them who we knew didnt like the government. To most of them, we asked, Do you
want to help us bring down some corrupt officers? Most agreed. To them we added, Meet in
Calebs shop early on the 20th. The others that said no claimed that they were going to keep this
event a secret. By the end of the day, we had a good 20 or 30 people to our cause to bring down
officers.
Samuel reminded me of something. We should definitely go check on Arnold and say
that we solved the case.
I completely forgot about Arnold! We need to go there and tell him what we have done
and what we will do to fix this! After he said this, I picked up the pace we were walking, which
was relatively slow. We got there just before sundown. I let Sam knock on the door.
Arnold! Its us, John and Sam. We want to see if you are getting any better. We also
solved the case, and we want to let you know what we figured out. Arnold hastily opened the
door.
My arm is bleeding far less now, which is good. But my arm is getting purple, and
oozing out something weird. Seems like something funny is happening here.
I replied, That is disgusting, and seems very bad. Anyways, as you heard, we figured out
who did this to you. Want us to tell you the clues and what we did, or just get straight to the
point?
Get straight to the point. Its getting late.
Samuel said, Great. We dont know the names of the three people, but we do know who
ordered them to do it.
Thats great! Tell me more.
The one behind all of this Is none other than my own boss, Jacob Gander. We are
preparing to attack him soon.
I would have never have thought of him! Im glad you took on the case, John.
No problem. Now we need to get some sleep. See you later! stated Sam.
Hope you have success on the attack!
We woke up very early the next day to get to the shop on time. We walked the usual four
miles, but it turns out we were a bit late. Everyone was talking about us, and worried that we
might not make it, or something along those lines. Sorry for being late, everyone. My house is a
long ways from here. I hope everyone is ready?

A Gap in Ideas
All answered yes, but some said that they werent armed. I replied, Dont worry about
arms, we have some in this store right here. Take what you think you need to take down some
officers.
When everyone got the weapons, we were ready. We waited for the majority of the
officers to come out. Once they were in a group, I whispered, Get ready. When the chief came
out, I yelled, Fire! Then the fight began. Many of the others went for the officers that were
fleeing. Some went for the ones who brought their guns out. Samuel and I started to shoot for the
top guys, my boss, and anyone who wanted to shoot us. After a few rounds were gone, I finally
got the opportunity to shoot him. A clean shot brought Jacob Gander to the ground. Yes! The
fight continued for about three more minutes. In that time, I
At the end of the gunfight, there were many people injured or killed. Most were officers,
but some were colonists. There were about 3 colonists down, and a few more injured. All of the
officers were badly injured or dead. Jacob Gander was clearly dead, but I shot him once more to
be sure. Everyone cheered. I yelled, Our job is done! Good riddance! Thank you for grouping
up to rid ourselves of this horrible, corrupt group!
With this group gone, we now dont need to worry about troubles with that group. At
least for a little while. All of the police will be replaced, and hopefully they will be better this
time. Im glad that we finished this. We helped Arnold and many other people.
Samuel said to me, We need to go back to your house. It will be a bit safer for now,
because there will be more chaos in a moment.
We also need to tell Arnold that we did it.
Good idea. We walked back to our house with no problem. When we got there, we
rested a bit, and decided to go to Arnolds in the afternoon. We walked down there and knocked
on the door. Arnold opened the door, and he looked awful. At least his arm did. It looked limp,
horrible, and not functional.
He said, I know. Its awful. I cant do anything anymore. This arm is basically dead. I
cant move it. Its limp.
Thats awful! Is there any way we can help?
Sam already helped out the most he can. He just needs to continue what he has been
doing. John, however, can help me more. Thats if you are willing to leave your job. It might be
something you like.
Ill think about it Arnold. Maybe I will. I want to help you the best I can.
Ill wait about a week for your response. Please take time to consider it.
I will. We came here to tell you that many of the corrupt police are now gone for good.
Thats great! I wish for your success in the future. See you later! We went out of
Arnolds house. I went to my house, and Samuel went to his house.

A Gap in Ideas
After a few days, I went to check my mailbox. It had two things. A letter from the
governor, and a newsletter. I looked at the news first. The header was The Boston Massacre. An
interesting title. I can almost guarantee that Samuel came up with that. I like it, for it makes the
British look even worse. I then opened the letter form the governor. Inside, the main contents
said that he was going to keep a watchful eye on me, and that the chief was replaced by a close
friend of his. At that instant, I knew what I was going to do.
I went down to Arnolds house to tell him my decision. I knocked on the door to answer
him. He hastily opened the door. Your hand isnt looking any better.
Yeah. It doesnt look like its going to heal up. Thats why I asked you of the favor. Is
that why you came? Do you have an answer?
Yep. My answer is. Yes. Many things led me to make this, and I want to do this!
Great! What I need you to do is run my farm. Seeing as I cant do this, and that you
wanted to be a farmer, I think you would be suitable for the job.
Sounds great! Im going to start working right away!