Doctors Without Borders
Chapter 1: Persuaded
It was a crisp spring morning in the sleepy town of Cabot Cove. Just past sunrise, the only sounds to be heard were the chirping of songbirds and the soft crunch of gravel beneath sneakers. Jessica Fletcher- or rather renowned mystery author JB Fletcher as she was known to most of the world, was lost in thoughts spanning between rare poisons and instruments of torture. Often when she found herself with a serious bout of writer's block a brisk jog helped to clear her thoughts. It usually wasn't her only fallback in cases like this, but her usual sounding board Seth had left town earlier that week to visit his only daughter Margie. She knew their relationship was not a close one, yet still she couldn't fault him for taking advantage of one of the rare moments of planetary alignment that allowed time for a visit despite their busy schedules. She slowed her jog to an easy walk as she made the bend onto Candlewood Lane. Her steps grew tired and sluggish. Her mission to breakdown her own stubborn mental barriers added an extra 2 miles to her jogging route for all the good it did. Perspiration streaked down her flushed face and onto her cerulean blue jogging suit as she crossed the threshold into her kitchen. She gorged herself with water from the sink before starting a kettle for tea. She began to strip off her sweaty clothes to toss in the wash when her phone rang.
"Hello Jessica? It's Susan. I'm here on the line with Vaughn and we have big news, very big news that I know you'll love to hear." Her publicist babbled excitedly.
"Well tell me Susan, before your tongue runs away without you!"
Susan seemed to collect herself and cleared her throat saying, "Yes, well. Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Nicholaj Arthur?"
"Arthur… This wouldn't be Doctor Nicholaj William Arthur? The famous humanitarian who spent his career bringing medicine to under-developed nations? Goodness, I believe he was even a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize at some point or another. The last I recall of him from the news must have been years ago. He and his team had set up a permanent base somewhere in Africa if I'm not mistaken."
"Right you are Jessica", Vaughn cut in with enthusiasm. "But did you also know that in addition to his humanitarian work, he's also an accomplished author much like yourself? You may better know him as N.W. Arthur, author of the Errol Knight Adventures series."
"My word, I never knew!" exclaimed Jessica. "My nephew Grady had a copy of nearly every Errol Knight book in the collection. The ones he didn't have he'd checkout from the library until Jane, our local librarian, practically knocked down our door trying to get him to return them long after they were overdue." Jessica laughed. "My husband Frank and I would often catch him rereading Errol Knight: Beneath the Baobab Tree by flashlight well past his curfew- on school nights no less." She smiled and shook her head at the fond memory. She wondered if she could still find a copy tucked away on a bookshelf somewhere.
"I suppose it's hard to believe that the two men are one in the same." She sighed. "That one person should be so gifted, so generous to the world. It's certainly admirable, if not intimidating."
"I know what you mean" Susan agreed, "but I wouldn't sell yourself short Jessica. Afterall, I've heard plenty of others make similar comments about you."
Jessica blushed slightly. "That's very kind of you to say Susan, but neither of you have mentioned what Dr. Arthur has anything to do with me."
"Dr. Arthur is returning to the United States." Vaughn began, "No one knows why or for how long, but prior to leaving the country he hung up his hat as N.W. Arthur. When news of his departure leaked, a member of our publishing house managed to contact him and convince him to attend the PEN Literary Voices Gala in New York in two weeks. While he hasn't explicitly said he plans on coming out of retirement, he hasn't said no either."
Susan jumped back into the conversation; her demeanor beginning to sound more nervous. "I- or rather we, were hoping that you could attend the gala as his escort. Show him a good time and perhaps, if you could, try to convince him to write again, to sign on with us. We'll make it worth your while." Jessica could hear Susan's tentative smile seep into her last words.
"And what do you mean by that?"
Vaughn broke into his easy, charismatic salesman voice, one befitting a highly sought-after literary agent such as himself, and Jessica steeled herself for his pitch. "You've often spoken of your work life balance since becoming JB. How you never seem to have the time to go fishing, or work in your garden, or visit all your nieces and nephews as much as you would like." He took a deep breath. "What if I told you that we would be willing to modify your current contract to require only ONE book a year? That we would shorten your publicity tours, the number of TV interviews, and photo-ops? Less traveling so you can focus on the things- the people who really matter to you?" There was a long pause and Susan took the reins.
"You've shown real star power Jessica. With all the work we've put in over the years, making appearances at big events, keeping your name in the headlines, your face on the cover of magazines, JB Fletcher has become a household name. The publicity and curation of the exciting and mysterious JB Fletcher persona has no doubt helped our sales, but we're willing to try it your way, to tone it down and see how things turn out-"
"-That is, if you can convince Dr. Arthur to return to the fold." Vaughn cut in.
Jessica's mind was racing. Yes, she had thought about stepping back her work as JB. More than once, in fact. Even on this morning's jog, thoughts of frustration about murderers without motives and tight looming deadlines needled at her. It would certainly make things with Seth easier if she cut back on writing. He always went into fits over all her obligations as JB that took her away from Cabot Cove for weeks, even months on end. And yet. She had come to love the life she had built for herself. It's not that she was ever unsatisfied with her life before; a small-town high school English teacher happily married to the love of her life. But how she had grown! She was bold in ways she never could have imagined. She challenged herself both personally and professionally. The satisfaction she got when she was finally able to nail down an especially tricky plot. The warm glow she felt when interacting with fans of her books, and how no matter how tired she felt she was always happy to leave them with warm words. She thought of her newfound confidence and independence. Confidence in her own abilities that let her provide insight into real murder cases with real people to whom she could bring closure and justice. What would she become if she were to whittle down this new piece of her?
Having left them dangling for long enough, Jessica finally spoke.
"You aren't trying to get rid of me, are you? This isn't a polite way of telling me that I'm a has-been that's on their way out?" She arched her eyebrow questioningly.
"Of course not Jessica! You couldn't be farther from the truth. We have no doubt in your abilities and as far as I'm concerned, your writing career will be a long and fortuitous one." Vaughn affirmed. "It's just Dr. Arthur, he's well… the one that got away." he finished lamely. "He truly was in his finest form before cutting the line and disappearing without a trace. He was always incredibly private before, not that it's a surprise. Never attended the big events-"
"At least not as N.W." Susan muttered aside.
"-All interviews and statements were always given over the phone or sent by mail. Few people even spoke to him, he was so intent on keeping his privacy. The higher-ups were prepared to offer him a fortune—ANYTHING to persuade him to come back, but he never responded. Even the rising star Dr. Nicholaj William Arthur, "The man meant for greatness" as the papers said, faded into the background until he was nothing, but a forgotten memory. As we see it Dr. Arthur's return to the literary world would soften the blow if our best mystery writer decided she needed to step back." Vaughn finished.
Jessica considered for a moment. "Well as I'm sure you're aware, writing books can't always be planned. When the inspiration strikes, I write. If I were to have say more than one book idea itching to get out-"
"- then we would be more than happy to accommodate you, Jessica. If you're able to churn out more than one book a year I would be truly delighted, but I also want to give you the flexibility to write on your own terms. I've seen what can happen to burnt-out, over-worked authors and that's not how I see things going down for you Jessica. You have a bright future and I don't see that changing anytime soon."
Jessica pondered again. The idea did seem appealing to her. A little more flexibility to write as little or as much as she wanted would allow her to stop and smell the roses once in a while, as Seth would put it.
"Your offer has definitely piqued my interest," she began. "But what makes you so sure that I'll be able to get you what you want? That I can convince Dr. Arthur to write as N.W. again? I've never even met the man!"
"Simple." Susan said with great satisfaction. "He requested you to attend the gala with him personally."
