You heard more in Cal's words than Gabrielle did. Twenty-eight days ago... So there should be another full moon, tomorrow night. You hope that will give you the chance to prove to yourself that Cal is lying.

Cal breaks the momentary silence with a soft clap of his hands.

"Well darling, your brother has been waiting most patiently. He must have something very important to discuss with you. I'll go and tell Marguerite to prepare an extra place for dinner. You will join us, won't you Edward?"

He turns to you with a friendly smile, as if he were not the insane murderer that you know him to be. You return the same smile. "That's very kind of you, Cal. I would love to."

"Wonderful. Excuse me." Cal nods to you and then to Gabrielle before leaving the room and closing the massive double doors behind him.

- - - 

You are alone with your sister at last, but now things are somewhat different than you had anticipated. You no longer want to arouse her suspicion of Cal, and you don't really need to pry any information from her. But it wouldn't hurt to try convincing her to leave him.

"We've barely seen each other at all since the funeral, Gabrielle."

"I know," she replies. "I've been meaning to come and see you, but... well things have been happening so fast and I'm trying to adjust to my new life... you understand, right?"

"Of course I do. I just... Gabrielle, I know I told you this before the funeral, but I want to say it again, to be clear. When Father died, I expected you to come live with me. I still want you to. And frankly I don't think it's a good idea for you to marry Cal so soon after Father's death. You haven't known him very long, and you're only 19. You're so young... I think you should spend some time alone before committing yourself like this."

You pause to observe her reaction to your speech. You're happy to see that she isn't angry. That's a start. "I don't mean to be intrusive, I just feel the need to look after you..."

"It's okay. I understand, and I do appreciate your concern for me. But I assure you I know what I'm doing. Things are working out very nicely; I'm happy here." But her smile fades slightly when she says that last sentence.

"Edward... Do you dislike Cal?"

"No, no," you say rather quickly. "I do like him... He's a very interesting man. I'm sure he'll make a fine husband for you, Gabbie, if that's really what you want." As you close your mouth, you grind your teeth together as hard as you can manage without your face displaying your frustration. There's no turning back now, you realize. I've just given her my blessing.

Her smile is brighter than ever. "I'm glad. I don't know what I would do if you two couldn't be friends."

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CHARACTERS:
-- You (Edward) - a police officer in your mid-30's
-- Cal Beauchamp - a wealthy, respected 28-year-old businessman who you know to be a murderer.
-- Gabrielle - your 19-year-old sister who is engaged to Cal and recently pregnant.
-- Joseph - normal-looking 30-something-year-old guy who does Tarot readings on the street.
-- Old man - an old man who dresses like a gypsy and works on the street, saying creepy rude things to people for money.
-- Nicolas Dias - depends on who you ask.

SETTING:
New Orleans, present day. Well, let's say pre-Katrina to keep it simple.

STYLE:
The title is Outsmart because the characters are constantly lying and hiding things from each other. OR ARE THEY??? Everyone has his own agenda and probably doesn't want to reveal what that is. But somewhere, deep inside this story, there really is a coherent plot.

NOTE:
If you want to add to the story and wish to know a little more of what Jillian and I are planning, email me and I'll be glad to fill you in!

updated Jul 7 by Rac7hel