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Week four of Seven Poets began the series’ second part, subtitled “a history, a mystery, a poet, a man…” Hands up if you think we’re going to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the children’s current de facto protector, Edmund Jordan. But first, we learn more about another intriguing character, Charles Richter’s Parisian-dwelling and (and now reportedly dead) sister, Elaine.
Really? Now Elaine Richter is dead too? Why is nearly every character we encounter in this story either dead or presumed dead?
Edmund has spent time mulling over the the few facts in his possession. We learn that Alain Hague, of J&D Consulting, hails from a prominent British family, and was a former diplomat stationed in Austria. Data on Tomás remains scarce.
Edmund’s encounter with a group of thugs on the Paris Metro reveals to us that he’s been using a second fake identity for four decades, and also, he has a back up wallet stuffed with homemade fake identification. His thoughts allude to his true identity: a retired agent of the the NSA.
After investigating Elaine’s apartment, Edmund uncovers an open bottle of extremely pricey cognac that is nearly full and one empty glass, which reminds him of the empty scotch glasses found at the scene of Henry’s murder, and Edmund suspects one man has paid a visit to both unlucky residents
Jessica is distraught that she is now the only one who doesn’t want to attempt to return to their previous lives. In the middle of the night she spies Julian out in the yard carrying a shovel and a lantern. Though it seems Julian is preparing to sneak away from the farm in the dead of night, Jessica’s decision that they should all stay convinces him otherwise.
The next morning the children organize a memorial for their parents, which is punctuated by hope when Five speaks for the first time.
Edmund meets with the children, explaining his plans for their education and their life as a family. He plans to educate them, but draws the line at being a nanny. He sets down three rules: do unto others as you’d have them do to you and don’t cross the creek alone, and no Internet.
As Edmund explains, the Internet makes it too easy for one of the children to attempt to contact someone from their earlier lives.
Elaine used to write for the Broadside, and its editor tried to contact her during week three, but there was no mention of her in the Broadside during week four, presumably because a dead woman can’t answer her mail. Instead the paper covered remarks from the Seven Poets fictional President Obama, and the memorial for the hostages.
As the story progress, are any of you readers keeping up with the challenges? While I like the idea of challenges, I find it hard to carve out time to complete them. While some of them are as easy as snapping a photo, other require visits to a cemetery or the agreement to abstain from the Internet for 12 hours.
» Related posts:
Seven Poets and the Assassin’s Secret: Week Two Wrap-up
Seven Poets and the Assassin’s Secret: Week One Wrap-up
Seven Poets and the Assassin’s Secret: Week Three Round Up
