Stranger on the lookout

Ronald Thompson knows perfectly well that he didn't kill Nina Peterson, but everyone around him is convinced otherwise. After all, he will be executed. Only an admission of guilt will appease Steve, the husband of a player, and calm the anguish of Nell, her son who witnessed her player's death. Perhaps it's because of what time has done, or perhaps because, before that, some dramatic twist strips heroes of their absolute power. Data, even when presented in official records, can be misleading at times, and there may be skilled hands behind the scenes manipulating people's roles and expertly sharpening the anti-falsification apparatus. That lurking force in the shadows revels in the thrill of its murder, ready to unravel the remaining special cases in the Peterson household. As Nikolai Clark is wont to say, there is no single truth, and everyone is respectable. Page after page, the reader gathers fragments of information, trying to piece them together like a Lego set, only to arrive at a conclusion that undermines everything that has been built. Ronald Thompson knows perfectly well that he didn't kill Nina Peterson, but everyone around him is convinced otherwise. In two days, he will be executed. However, the execution will not heal the grief of Steve, the victim's husband, nor will it soothe the fears of Nell, her son who witnessed her death. Perhaps only time can do that, or perhaps even before that happens, a dramatic twist will strip the facts of their absolute certainty. Even if they are recorded in official records, the data may be misleading, and hidden hands may be manipulating people's fates and skillfully fabricating falsehoods behind the scenes. Those shadowy hands are reveling in the thrill of the murder they committed and preparing to settle any remaining scores with the Peterson family. As is typical of Clarke's novels, the truth is not singular, and everyone is a potential suspect. Page after page, the reader pieces together fragments of information, trying to assemble them like Lego bricks, only to arrive at a conclusion that undermines everything that has been built.