Nathan discovered that audio records of all 911 calls are retained by the Communication Center for a period of just three years, consequently, there were no recordings available of any emergency calls made on the morning of August 8th, 2007. However, in the case of Laura Richards, there were Police records as this was a homicide and in theory still an open and unsolved case. Cold case files are public records in the US, meaning anyone can view them by submitting a simple request. Nathan put in a request for a regular police record of that crime using the online facility. There was a small fee to pay, but it was very efficient, and he received an email reply three days later. The report was extremely disappointing in as much as there was very little to it. A few witness statements and details about Laura Richards and her movements that morning. There was half a page devoted to her friends, relatives, and work colleagues, but nothing to suggest anything questionable or suspect. There was a letter from Greeley Police Community Relations Unit.
“For immediate release; August 9th, 2007
Greeley, CO - Unified police is seeking the public’s assistance in a drive-by shooting.
On Wednesday, August 8th, 2007, at approximately 9,05 am, Laura Richards aged 35 was shot and killed on the corner of 16th Avenue and 7th Street in Greeley Town Center.
We are seeking information from anyone who may have seen or heard anything from this location just outside the venue known as “The Corner Café” on Wednesday.
The suspect shooter was a male Hispanic who was believed to be wearing a dark sweatshirt at the time of the shooting. The driver of the vehicle is unknown.
: The car is thought to have been around a 2004, Toyota Camry or Avalon or possibly a Hyundai Sonata. Four doors. Possibly white in color.
Photos of Mrs. Richards and the Corner Cafe are enclosed.
Assisting in this investigation are FBI, HSI, US Marshall’s office and Colorado Law Enforcement.
Sheriff Rivera will be available at the Greeley Police Department, 2875W. 10th Street, Greeley CO 80364 or by calling 970-350-7639
Alternatively, call the P10 Hotline on 385-460-2356”
Nathan looked at the digital copy of the photo of the smiling and carefree Laura Richards. There was also an image of The Corner Café and a few pictures of various 4-door cars. It was plainly obvious that the Police had very little information to consider and investigate.
However, there were the transcripts of the three calls made that morning to the 911 dispatcher. Two were from mobile phones and a third from a landline identified as The Corner Café. The first call was made at 9,05 and 44 seconds from a mobile phone. The transcript was chilling, as the caller had already ascertained that the victim was dead. A young woman had been shot in the head outside the café by a passing car. The other two calls more or less corroborated the first caller. What was extremely useful to Nathan was the precise time of 9,05 and 44 seconds. It could be presumed with a fair degree of accuracy that Laura Richards was shot at 9,05 am, give or take 10 or 20 seconds. It was all the information he needed. Working backward, it meant that Laura presumably left her office on 8th Street that morning just after 9 am… Even affording an interruption or two, she wouldn’t have needed more than 5 minutes to arrive at the Corner Café.
Nathan had arranged to meet up with Fish on Friday evening at his condominium in an area known as Mountain View, just to the south of downtown Greeley. Located off 47th and Highway 34 in West Greeley, and an easy commuter distance to the research Center in Auburn. He took two bottles of Budweiser lite, a Can of Dr.Pepper, and a Can of Coke. Fish buzzed him up to the first floor, and he went inside the surprisingly comfortable home that Fish had lived in for the last 18 years. Fish had no mortgage and owed no money. He was well paid and was the antithesis of extravagant and lavish. The apartment had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and Fish had a cleaning lady who visited his home twice a week, so it was always clean and well-kept. The open plan lounge had a corner kitchen and there was a very nice glass top table in the room with 4 chairs. Nathan sat at the table as Fish took the Coke and one of the Budweisers to the kitchen and placed them in the fridge. He returned with one glass, well acquainted with Nathan’s preference to drink directly from the bottle.
“I went back to the 7-Eleven store on Wednesday and I have the precise coordinates of the position behind the store to the left of the bathroom window.”
“That’s good” remarked Nathan, and he took a long sip of his beer. “I did some research too and discovered that the first of three 911 calls made that morning was at 9.05 and 44 seconds precisely. The other two calls were received almost immediately afterward. So from that, we can surmise that Laura was shot at 9.05 or as close to that moment as makes no difference.” Fish nodded in apparent agreement.
“So, with that information in mind, what do you think happened Exactly on the morning of August 8th, 2007?”
“Well, Laura’s working day always started a 9 O’clock in the morning, and she would drop Carys off at school before driving the short distance to the offices at Pitch Perfect. We can assume that she arrived a little before 9 am.” Nathan paused to clarify things in his own mind. “She decided to go to the Corner Café which is a mere 2-minute walk to collect pastries and coffees, which was their regular routine. In fact, the four girls in the office even had a “Pastry Tin” where they collected money every week to pay for them. We know she arrived at the Café at 5 minutes past 9, but we can’t be absolutely positive about the exact time she left the office. It’s a 2-minute journey if you walk directly and without stopping, but we can’t know for certain if she stopped and chatted with someone she knew or if she stopped to look in a shop window or if she paused to speak on her mobile phone. We have no choice but to make a best guess. If you take into consideration that this was a Wednesday, then surely most people wouldn’t want to stop for long to chat or delay a working day just as it had begun.” Fish considered this for a second.
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“I think you are right. It is highly likely that Laura Richards took less than 5 minutes to do a 2-minute journey. This would mean that if you arrived at the 7-Eleven location point at 9 O’clock that morning and took up a position where you could see the front doors of the offices, you would undoubtedly observe Laura as she left the building.” Fish got up from the table and walked across the room and picked up a shopping bag. He returned to the table and took out five items and placed them on the table. The first item was a watch of some sort with a big black face and a heavy-duty watch strap. The second Item was a curved ruler made of clear plastic and hinged in three places. There was also a big black marker pen and a large piece of white folded card The fifth article was a yellow folder with the words Nathan Carpenter written in big black letters on the front.
“It looks like you’ve been busy Fish. What are these?” asked Nathan
“If we are to pursue this experiment, and I call it that because I have no better word for describing this completely unconventional process, then we need some serious and fundamental rules, and you must agree to follow every directive without any question or contention. This has to be absolutely accepted by you before we proceed. There can be no discussion or debate about these rules and conditions.”
“OK, I understand. What conditions are you talking about?” Fish picked up the watch.
“This is a Garmin Tactix military grade watch. It has a countdown timer facility. You must wear this on your wrist. We will preset it to 585 seconds and as soon as the procedure begins the countdown will start. This will show you how much time you have remaining before you need to return to the 7-Eleven location point. It is absolutely crucial that you return and stand in exactly the same place when the countdown timer hits zero. There will be a warning beep at 120 seconds. This is the amount of time we have worked out to be the minimum amount you need to travel from the Corner Café back to the 7-Eleven location point. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing if that alarm sounds, you drop everything and head back to that location. Do you understand?”
“Got it and understood” Fish picked up the plastic curved ruler.
“This is a circle template that opens up to a circumference of exactly 141.37 centimeters or a diameter of precisely 45 cm.” Fish opened the three hinges and snapped the ends together with two magnets that were fixed on either end. The curved ruler instantly became a complete circle. He placed it on the table. “You must take this with you and when you arrive in 2007 you must draw a circle on the ground BEFORE moving away from that spot. This is so that you preserve and pinpoint the exact spot that you arrive … You must not move away from that spot until you mark it so that you can return and stand within the circle as your countdown timer hits zero.” Fish took the piece of card and unfolded it. He placed it underneath the circular ruler. He took the large marker pen and drew around the edges, marking out a circle. “You will need to stand within this circle on the ground with your hands crossed in front of you. AS your timer hits zero, you will return to 2022, but only if you are standing within the circle. Don’t get it wrong, Nathan. There are no second chances.”
“Wow, that’s really clever. I hadn’t thought of that at all. So what’s in the folder? Or is it top secret?” Fish opened the yellow folder and took out 8 or 9 sheets of A4 paper. They were completely blank.
“You need to write down everything about Nathan Carpenter from August 2007 to today. I will make a similar document and then you will need to take this folder with you and make sure you bring it back. When you arrive back in 2022 you must hand it to me” Nathan looked mystified.
“Why? you know everything about me already and what purpose is there in taking a folder to 2007 only to bring it back. I can’t see the sense in it”
“When did you meet Carys?”
“It was in 2017, at a party”
“When did I meet her?
“Not long after that really. I seem to remember bringing her to the Pizza Palace on one of our Pizza nights and introducing her to you. I also remember that you instantly liked her and told her she could do much better than me. Thanks for that”
“I do remember and yes I did like her straight away. But you are planning to go back to 2007 and we still don’t know what the repercussions of that will be. Only you will have any memory of the parallel world you left in 2022. When you come back that world may have changed. As you are planning a huge change that will incontrovertibly affect Carys It is highly likely that I won’t even know who she is. It is reasonable to assume that Carys will be a complete stranger to me and probably to you too. The reason you must take the document with you is that when you return I can read about the life you left in that world, the document won’t alter if you keep it with you but if we left it here in a drawer it would document the life you have in the new 2022, not the old 2022. You must write down your address, the car you drive, the work you do, everything that has shaped your life since 2007. I will write a letter to myself explaining the experiment that we have undertaken and why we did it. I will include some technical details that may come in useful. These two documents are vital Nathan. Take them with you but please make sure you bring them back too.” Nathan suddenly felt the magnitude of what he was planning to do. Fish was surprisingly insightful. “You don’t have to do this you know. You have a great life, a girl you love and she loves you too. You have a lovely home and a good job. I know you talk about destiny and fate but it’s a significant risk. A risk you don’t need to take” Nathan reasoned with himself and rationalized what Fish was saying and of course, he was right. It was a foolish and irrational thing to even contemplate. There were no guarantees or assurances that things would work out as he wanted. Fish was right as usual. It was reckless.
“No, Lets do it. I know it’s the right thing to do. I want to do this for Carys. "