“You don’t have another computer or backup disks?” The nattily dressed forensic technician asked, expecting a negative answer.
“There could be some copies of some of the drafts attached to emails that I sent over the university email system. If they haven’t cleaned out my emails then they should still be there. I did have a USB stick and some CD backups but they were in my carrel at the university. When I finally returned to get everything the carrel had been cleared and no one seemed to know where my things were stored.”
“I see.” The tech began to unplug everything. “I’ll be preparing a report for you to review that contains our understanding of what you told us today. Let us know if we got something wrong, please.”
The partner made a last note before standing. “I’ve been in touch with the university’s investigator. Are there personal emails or notes that you would rather not disclose?”
Lucy thought. “I expect so. All of my relevant research and writing should be in the My Documents/Thesis folder. I did not email anything to my thesis advisor through my home account but you can check to confirm that. No, wait. There should be a sequence of emails between me and Gillian in January of this year when I was working in Edmonton. I’m afraid I was not terribly polite to her.”
The paralegal closed her portfolio. “Are we finished?”
The partner thanked her and asked her to see if Natalie could spare a few minutes. He turned to Lucy. “How are you feeling about the investigation?”
“I’m glad it’s started.” She glanced downward toward her baby bulge. “My goals and priorities have changed but I think I earned my doctorate and I’d like to finish it and be awarded the degree. Maybe I’d get some closure.”
Natalie joined them and sat at the table. She looked at the forensic partner. “Is there a problem?”
The forensic technician said, “I got a nice clean image of the hard drive. A quick peek at the metadata on the first draft of the thesis shows that the author, Lucinda A. Wilkinson, began writing it on this machine almost eighteen months before the disputed papers were published. Some of the notes and data tables go back five years.”
“Do you have a copy of your grandfather’s will?”
“I couldn’t find my copy but my mother or grandfather’s lawyer should have a copy. It should also be registered with the courts.”
The partner said, “It’s not terribly urgent at this point but if you can get it from your mother it would save you some search fees or copying costs.”
“I’ll give her a call, then.” Then Lucy asked, “Does it matter if the university owns the data?”
Natalie answered. “If the notebooks are yours, then you control their use and Dr. Drake can’t claim that you were working under her direction and attempting to co-opt her research.”
Lucy nodded reluctant agreement. “Right. If that was the case then the worst she would be guilty of is not acknowledging me as a co-author. So what happens next?”
“We obtain a digital copy of the published papers from the journal’s editor or the original submission if they have it and do a concurrence scan to see how much of your work is plagiarized.” The partner clasped his hands as he leaned forward. “If there is a statistically significant overlap, then it will be clear that Dr. Drake did not write the papers, unless she can provide a version or draft that was written or started before you submitted your thesis to her.”
“How long will that take?”
“We should have a report ready in two weeks if the journals’ publishers cooperate with us. I’m sure they will, though. They’re all full members of the academic integrity associations.” He looked at Natalie. “Do you have a problem with us fully disclosing our findings to the university investigator?”
Natalie looked at Lucy, who nodded. “No. Please disclose all relevant information to the investigator. However, my client’s personal life has no bearing at all on this case.”
The partner nodded in turn. “Agreed. Lucy has given us permission to copy and disclose her research notes and draft papers from the laptop and we will give the investigator access to the original notebooks on request. Additionally, there may be a sequence of emails between Dr. Drake and Lucy. We will wait on your instructions regarding those.”
Lucy said, “You may disclose any email correspondence between me and Dr. Drake that occurred after August 29 of last year. That’s the day that I was informed that my grant would not be renewed due to non-submission of a thesis and my university email account was frozen. You should ask them to disclose what they can find in the university system.”
Natalie stood. “I think everything is well in hand. Thank you for your prompt response.”
The partner stood as well. “Things slow down a bit in the summer and it was nice to do something a little different. Besides, chartered accountants are supposed to promote the open, transparent and honest exchange of information. I get a little hot under the collar at the thought of someone deriving a personal benefit from stolen intellectual property.” He rounded the table to shake Lucy’s hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lucy. I hope you get some justice from this process.”
Lucy used the proffered hand to get up from the chair. “Thank you.”
Natalie waited until the men left. “Are you okay with everything?”
“Yes. I am. I don’t think I care any more about Gillian’s punishment, though. That will be up to the university. But I don’t want anyone else to go through the kind of pain I did if she did it again.”
Natalie smiled. “Do you want to call your mother from here? We have a bundle that includes unlimited long distance in Canada.”
Lucy took a deep breath and blew it out again. “I’d rather not have anything to do with my mother if I can help it. What are the fees like?”
“The actual document copies are fairly inexpensive, between $3 and $5 per page, but unless you can afford the time off to do a search of the court records yourself, you’re looking at about $80 per hour for us to hire a researcher to find the file for you. I don’t know what the average would be but in your case probably around $400 total given that Dr. Eldritch had an unusual name and you know the date of death. If he was Paul Martin or James Watson it might take several days to locate the right person. If you got another notarized copy from your grandfather’s lawyer it would be about half that. And if it was a very simple uncontested will it may not have been registered with the probate courts.”
Lucy considered. Was it worth a couple of hundred dollars to avoid talking with her mother? She sighed again. “Can I use your phone?”
Natalie smiled in sympathy and said, “Sure. I’m doing administrative paperwork for the next few hours so you can stop by and let me know how it went.”
Lucy sat at the table and pondered before dialling her mother’s home number. The new housekeeper answered and told her that the doctor was at the clinic today.
Taking another steadying breath and wishing that John was with her, she dialled the clinic. The receptionist put her through.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Lucinda. I haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you settled in?”
“Yes. I’m working in Smiths Falls and staying at the farm until Thanksgiving.”
Lucy could picture the pinched look on her mother’s face. “I would have expected you to give up on Father’s nonsense now that you’ve dropped out.”
“Degree or not, Mother, I’m still a scientist.”
“Not if you don’t have the credentials.”
“I didn’t call to argue about that. In any case, I’ve laid a complaint of academic fraud against my thesis advisor. My lawyer and the forensic accountant she hired both think I have an excellent chance of success.”
“But why bother? No university will hire a troublemaker.”
“Because I earned the degree and I don’t want anyone else to have their career shot down in flames because of Gillian Drake. And it would be nice to have some closure.”
Lucy could picture the
shrug as her mother responded, dismissively, “Well, I suppose you’ll do as you wish.”
Lucy held her temper. “I’m calling because I need to obtain a copy of your father’s will.”
There was a sudden cold silence. “Why do you need a copy of your father’s will?”
Lucy was puzzled. “What does my father’s will have to do with grandfather? And what do you mean, my father’s will? You always told me that he never contacted us or left us anything other than the survivor’s pension from Médecins sans frontières.”
There was a stony silence from the other end. Lucy continued. “Mother, please forward a copy of both wills to me. I’ll email the forwarding address to you. I know that you know how to use a courier.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play stupid. I know that you didn’t want me in the first place but I think you owe me at least a copy of father’s will.” Sensing her mother’s reluctance she said, “I’d rather not file a suit with the court in Edmonton.”
“Lucinda, this is so beneath you.”
“What do you have to hide, Mother? The fact that you had a very temporary marriage of convenience with a man twenty years younger than you? Or are you upset because I’m actually asking you to acknowledge his existence?”
More silence. “Fine, ignore me again. You’re very good at it, after all. But if I don’t have copies of both wills by next Thursday, I will ask my lawyer to file a production order on Friday morning.”
Her mother hissed. “You ungrateful girl. After all I did to make certain you were happy and healthy.”
“Healthy? I suppose. Happy? Not really. What I wanted was a mother who would hug me once in a while, who would arrange her schedule so that we could celebrate birthdays together, who would include me in her life and make me feel as if I mattered.” Lucy shrugged. “But I got you instead. I don’t know why you couldn’t care about me and at this point I don’t think I care anymore, but I swear that my daughter will be raised differently.”
“You’re still pregnant? But I told you to get rid of it.”
“Why? Because you were able to get rid of all of yours except me? Or because you’d have to acknowledge that you’re a grandmother and finally stop chasing younger men? And it’s not an it, it’s a baby. A baby girl.”
“Lucinda. I don’t know when you lost your manners but…”
“Mother, I should have stood up to you years ago, for all the difference it would have made. But I’ve finally accepted that there isn’t that much wrong with me because I have people in my life now who love me and appreciate me.” She felt the tears coming, “I don’t want to be crying about this but I’m sure you know that pregnant women cry at the drop of a hat. Regardless, Mother, I refuse to believe that it is my fault that you never hug me or comfort me.”
“Lucinda…”
“Mother, at this point in my life all I want from you is those documents. I’ll send news as I have it. There’s a wonderful man who is courting me and there’s a baby coming. I don’t know if we’ll be married before or after the baby comes but I’ll let you know. What you want to do with the information is your decision.”
In a warning tone her mother began, “Lucinda…” Then there was a pause and her voice became saccharine. “Lucinda, it was so good to hear from you. I’ll send those things as soon as I can.”
“I’ll look forward to receiving them. Say hello to your visitor and thank her for saving me from another lecture. Good bye, Mother.” Lucy hung up the phone.
She took a deep breath and wondered which job site John was visiting today. At the reminder of him and the comfortable evening yesterday she asked herself what he’d advise and found herself clasping her hands and praying.
“Dear Lord. I know I’ve behaved badly and don’t deserve to call myself your child but I am sorry that I did those things. Help me to find the strength to turn my life around and to follow you. Help me find the words to say when I have to deal with my mother and help me find the courage and wisdom to forgive her. If you can send your Holy Spirit to her to turn her heart, that would be good, too, but mostly I need help for myself so I can be a good mother when my daughter is born. Thank you for sending John into my life. Please watch over him as he grieves his brother. Thank you for sending me all of my new friends. And thank you especially for new life in the person of my daughter. Amen.”
Feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she dried her tears and went in search of Natalie to let her know what transpired.
“Landscape architect? That’s a bit of change, Lucy.” Zara sounded dubious.
Lucy served herself some chicken guy ding and shrimp fried rice from the dishes in between them. “Actually, it’s coming together nicely. I met with a friend of John’s who has a cottage on Big Rideau Lake. His grandfather clear cut the entire space from the cottage to the shoreline. They couldn’t do that today but it was what they did back in the fifties. What Walt and his wife want is more of a terraced garden environment with a mix of roses and shorter native plants arranged so that there’s still a view of the lake, the run off is slowed, and he doesn’t have to mow two acres of lawn. I don’t have to do the actual work, Zara. I just have to design the layout and supervise the landscaping team. Another of John’s friends owns a landscaping company but he’s is really excited about the idea of working with me. Colin’s okay at tweaking designs and maintaining existing gardens but doing something like what Walt wants is out of his comfort zone.”
Zara picked up on the enthusiasm in Lucy’s voice. “Native plants? Well, you know them better than most people.”
“I have a second landscaping project on the go, too. John’s sister has the same kind of problem with run off contaminating the streams that flow through her farm. Irene wants me to recommend some plants or shrubs that would be more effective than just letting the provincially mandated buffer zone grow wild. It’s an interesting challenge.”
“And you’d get to keep doing some research to keep your hand in. Maybe get a book or two out of it.” Zara nodded appreciatively as she sipped some tea then asked, “And how are things between you and John?”
“Well, he asked me last night if we were a couple and I said yes.”
“And…”
“We only kissed, Zara. It was… different. Good different. Special. Better… I don’t know how to describe it.”
Zara smirked, “Oh my God. You’re in love with him. I never thought I’d see the day. Oh, Lucy, I’m so happy for you.”
Lucy was torn between sharing Zara’s pleasure and being annoyed with her but happiness won out. “I didn’t think I’d see the day either. It’s kinda scary and comfortable all at the same time.”
Zara got a strange look. “I know what you mean.”
Lucy looked puzzled and asked, “How so?”
“I’m not quite sure what to do about Zack.”
“Oh?” Lucy took a bite and adopted an ‘I’m listening’ attitude.
“He’s way too kind and caring and considerate and… well, comfortable. And he isn’t as young as we thought. He’s twenty three. He spent the five years after high school helping his parents out at their medical mission in Lesotho.”
“Half your age plus seven years. It’s in the right range.”
“But it’s usually the guy who’s the older partner.” Zara looked like she wanted to say more.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “And…”
“The mission society gives doctors’ kids a full ride scholarship anywhere they want to go to university.”
“Anywhere?”
“Anywhere. He’s applied to two universities in Brisbane to see if he can transfer there to be closer to me.”
“Is this a problem?”
“I don’t know, Lucy. It feels very serious.”
“Zara, sweetie, what does your heart tell you?”
“That I’m safe with him and that I can trust him to take care of me.”
“So yo
u’re falling in love with him, too.”
Zara sighed. “I think I am. You’re right about the kisses being different. They’re more like a promise of forever than a promise of tonight, if you know what I mean.”
Lucy played back her handful of kisses with John. “That’s a really beautiful way to describe it. That’s how I feel with John.” She poured some more tea. “I know you can’t stop Zack from following you to Australia but I think you should clear the air before too long.”
“I’m pretty sure he wants us to get married.”
“And what do you want?”
“Well, my baby sister just had her first daughter. I’m the only one left who hasn’t started a family. And I think Zack would be a great dad. We had lunch with one of the nurses who worked with his parents in Lesotho and he spent most of the afternoon with two toddlers crawling all over him.” Zara got a wistful look at the memory.
Lucy teased, “Then plan for a Christmas wedding in Winnipeg and honeymoon in Hawaii on the way to Brisbane.”
Zara turned thoughtful then she smiled broadly. “That’s a wonderful idea, Lucy. I think I’ll propose to him soon.”
“You’ve only known him for four weeks.”
“But we’ve seen each other every day for the last two. And it’s been mostly talking.”
“Really?”
Zara glared at Lucy. “Yes. Really. He’s probably wondering where I am.”
“Give him a call and tell him to join us.”
Zara looked at her watch. “He’s probably close to downtown on the bus by now. He had a late tutorial.” She took out her smart phone and called. Lucy listened with interest to Zara’s side of an endearment laced conversation.
Zara sighed as she put her phone away. “He’ll join us in about ten minutes. That gives me enough time to get a debrief on your meeting with the lawyer.”
Lucy took a drink of her tea to wet her throat and began to tell the story.