Book 1, Chapter 3
This story just got much more investigative thanks to the popular vote. This time, votes were distributed more evenly across the three options: 18% for Option 1, 27% for Option 2, and 55% for Option 3 (all rounded to the nearest whole number). In case you didn’t memorize it, Option 3 was: The recorder has encrypted files that Alex and Olivia can’t access. Olivia takes it back to D.C. to a friend who works in cybersecurity to try to open the files. Meanwhile, she sets up meetings with DAI Global to find out what they know about Rafael’s disappearance.
The additional question— Should Alex also receive a letter from Rafael the following week when she returns to the D.C. area?—had a stronger majority, with 73% voting YES and just 27% voting NO.
And now follow up on a few excellent points provided by readers:
One reader noted that Rafael must have suspected someone would read the letter before it was delivered or he would have would have told her directly about the recorder instead of letting her find it in the mate. This is very plausible. But another reader suggested it’s a possibility that Rafael didn’t want Olivia to find the recorder. Maybe he just sent it to her for safekeeping, hoping she wouldn’t notice the gourd had been cut and the recorder sealed inside. We will have to find that out later.
On the additional question of whether Alex should receive a letter from Rafael, one reader commented that she should receive a letter but it should arrive at Olivia’s house, because would make more sense for Rafael to send it there. It’s a great suggestion, but I grappled with the issue that since Olivia had already received her package from him, it seemed less likely he’d send a letter to Alex that would arrive there at a later time. Instead, I had him send it to Alex’s parents’ house, since he’d likely have an address for her there from when they were dating seriously, but not at her new place.
A reader suggested Olivia and Alex have an expert look at the letter to see if it has been opened before or tampered with. I didn’t write it in this chapter, because there was already enough to cover in my 3000 word allotment, but it’s a great idea to consider for a future chapter.
Similarly, another reader suggested Alex should hire a private investigator in Peru to help with the search. I’m going to do some research into PIs in Peru to see how this could go. Luckily, I know nothing about the PI sector in Peru.
Another reader who chose Option 1 provided excellent suggestions for how to develop the story if and when Alex (and Livvy) go to Peru. Since Option 3 one, we couldn’t use those this time, but I’ve recorded them so we can use them in the future for if/when Alex goes. (And I mean, eventually she’s got to go to Peru. Right, guys??!)
So, here’s hoping you like Chapter 3. The diversity in votes this week made the story development process more exciting (and hopefully means I’m making the options more realistic), but that diversity also made it feel like more of a challenge to write a chapter 3 that would satisfy all readers. Fingers crossed!
