Millhaven’s four towns: locals, students, immigrants, newcomers Immigrants are newcomers, but some locals see a distinction Immigrants came as migrant workers, now stay as factory laborers Over 10% of town, but official statistics undercount Who’d come to America to send a toy salamander? Weirdness like this is homegrown, isn’t it? Students, locals, newcomers? How about…

2 Millhaven clues: salamander & note, marginalia in library book. Plan, plot, mystery. If a plan, then a planner. Phil the city consultant? Crush on Felicia the MBA. Time for a visit. Phil’s office: shambles, papers everywhere, wrapper from yesterday’s egg salad on rye, half-eaten pickle, gum, few scattered trading cards Phil’s books: dictionary, directory,…

Could Phil the planner have left the salamander with Felicia? I scan his office – no hint of nature-loving in him. Will you be at the community meeting? Phil asks Yes, I reply Felicia will coordinate it, I observe Phil looks up, about to speak Small-talk with Phil. Nothing unusual about him, unless one correctly…

2 Millhaven clues: salamander & note, marginalia in library book. Plan, plot, mystery. If a plan, then a planner. Phil the city consultant? Crush on Felicia the MBA. Time for a visit. Phil’s office: shambles, papers everywhere, wrapper from yesterday’s egg salad on rye, half-eaten pickle, gum, few scattered trading cards Phil’s books: dictionary, directory,…

Last real danger was two years ago, ending in capture and commitment of Loretta a.k.a. ‘Lottie the Psycho’ Only caught after confession on live TV Since Lottie, garden variety crime and administrative mediocrity are enjoying an extended run before packed houses each night Felicia the MBA: friends with ex-wife #2, still cordial Smart, hard-working, clever…

Note’s meaning? Walk, Swim More – salamanders walk & swim, what more? Orange ones live in Midwest, in forest streams ‘Talk Write More’ What’s more? Read, publish, photograph, film? Handwriting’s bold, in blue ink Toy salamander’s made in China, like toys, textiles, government corruption, dissidents People’s Republic mass produces everything Notebook paper, cut from a…

Clergyman: If gossip were Doctrine, he’d be a bishop Scurries for info like a pigeon for breadcrumbs, hoping for bits to drop My apt: bdrm, lr, den books computer dog-crap DSL connection parrot named Ludwig Scandinavian austerity All my ex-wives use Microsoft – justification for annulment Only Apple here No crashes OS X boots fast,…

Small pewter box, unmarked Inside: orange plastic salamander & note, folded in thirds The note: ‘Walk Swim More Talk Write More Never a Chore’ Notebook paper, cut unevenly, folded awkwardly Odd handwriting in blue ink Confident, bold Spoof? Mental patient? Politician? All possibilities Felicia asks me what it means I don’t know Unusual acquaintances? Anyone/anything…

Last real danger was two years ago, ending in capture and commitment of Loretta a.k.a. ‘Lottie the Psycho’ Only caught after confession on live TV Since Lottie, garden variety crime and administrative mediocrity are enjoying an extended run before packed houses each night Felicia the MBA: friends with ex-wife #2, still cordial Smart, hard-working, clever…

The Orange Salamander describes a small-town mystery, but ‘small-town mystery’ is as conventional as the story’s description gets. If you mixed a hard-boiled crime story with a cyberpunk novel, and asked a non-writer to write it, The Orange Salamander is what you might get. The sound of waves crashing against the beach repeats every 42…

People drift to work, starting early to end early. Local notables pass outside, the mayor leaves, to make Millhaven more orderly Lyons, the university president for a decade, passes – a smug and subtle cheerleader Does what town fathers ask Considers student silence golden Phil Bartram, city planning consultant, here a year, seems longer Thinks…

How are you, Ronnie asks. We saw Sophie. Ex-wife number two, back on campus after sabbatical. His way of warning me. Thanks. The mayor walks in. Our first mayor, first term. Gray hair, gray suit, blue tie, blue blood of Millhaven’s hue. Pale blue, watercolor. The mayor glances dismissively my way. He opposed the office,…

I live downtown, above the Agneau Grille, a Tunisian restaurant. Tasty lamb requires no passport. Restaurants, bars, small shops behind aging facades. Banners welcoming returning students, faded flyers in windows. Outside, cool autumn air. Cigarette butts on sidewalk – tokens of indifference, rebellion. I smile, lighting a Lucky Strike. A fat man walks by, eyeing…