Chapter 4 pt.1 (Draft)

 BASSICS

The letter had been unexpected. 

Through it I learned that I had been left a property in the town of Stow-on-the-Wold in the UK. It had belonged to someone called Angie Beauchamp. This Angie Beauchamp had died without family and she left me her worldly goods. Well, some of them, at least. 

"Is this a scam?" I thought. You see, as a Professor of Cyber Security and consulting Cyber Security Architect, I spent a lot of my time warning people about this sort of "grift," Social Engineering aimed at people who thought that maybe this time, finally, the Universe had listened.

It took me a while to convince myself that this was something else. Or, to put it another way, it took me a while to realize that Angie Beauchamp was not a stranger. Or, she hadn't been.. 

The name hadn't exactly rung a bell at first. It was a French sounding surname and that threw me. Beauchamp added a kind of air of nobility that seemed possibly fictional and definitely unfamiliar. It had made me extra suspicious. Luckily, though, the letter from the UK Solicitors gave some further information, including a mention of this Angie’s maiden name: Fredricks. She was Angela Fredricks!

Now, that did ring a bell. 

Angela Fredricks had been, for a very short while, my music teacher. She had been a student of classical bass at Curtis. The Curtis School of Music is a highly regarded conservatory in Philadelphia. Similar to but not as famous as Julliard in Manhattan. She was a good teacher, a great bass player and a looker besides. We had been an item of sorts before I met Susan and changed course.  

We hadn't spoken or seen each other in a while when I heard about an important recital she had planned. I think she got the message when I showed-up with my very pregnant new wife. I lost track of her after that.

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