Excerpt: Murial's Story

Ideas my muse threw at me...

The accident is NOT an accident. Yes
The accident was aimed to kill someone. Yes
The target was Murial. No
The target was her mother. No
The target was her father. Yes

By doing a cluster with main idea of father as a risk, I found this statement to be true:
Her father's job put him into a position to have knowledge of some illegal act that caused him to do something that created his enemy and made clear that he was going to do something else that would further damage the enemy in the near future.

Fact: He gained the knowledge and did the action that created his enemy without telling his wife before the accident.

Fact: The action was contained to few enough people to make it believable that it was not revealed at the time of his death.

Fact: His death stopped the future action from happening.

Questions:

Why does the enemy target Murial?

Does the enemy target her mother?

Was her mother in the car at the time of the accident?
A. No. She wouldn't have seen anything. Her depression may not be strong enough to warrant blaming Murial for accident.
B. Yes. If facing rear while dealing with Murial, she would not have seen anything. Her depression would be strong enough to blame Murial.
Choice B wins.

What would Murial be doing in the back to distract both parents so completely?
A. Having a screaming fit.
B. Having a seizure.
C. Spilling something dangerous.
D. Lighting something in anger.
E. Getting her finger caught in something that risks cutting it off completely.

A: suggests something that doesn't fit in Murial's character.
B: Mother wouldn't blame her for that, even in depression.
C: More of an accident in itself and not warranting the depth of guilt needed.
D: She would have had to be pushed into this.
E: Curiosity fits Murial's character. Could tie into father's job. Gives more reason for guilt.
C: Could also be like E if she was snooping in father's equipment.

Why weren't Murial and her mother targets right after car wreck?
1: Mother went into clinic for a year or two.
2: Murial spends time in coma and hospital.
3: Both moved far away after released.
4: Case was closed quickly as an accident.

So what makes them a target now?
A: Chance meeting with someone involved.
B: The company rep had paperwork and something said concerned enemy.
C: One of father's colleagues come across something that reopens concern.
C wins.

What would colleague come across?
A: Files with notes of putting evidence in something for wife to give police.
B: Notes saying he kept more info at a home location.
C: An unfinished letter or copy of full letter to his wife giving her cryptic instructions that only she could understand.

A: All files are there. Might check wife out, but she wouldn't be risk.
B: They would check out the home rather than hunt down wife.
C: They need wife's input on finding information, so gives more reason to have her watched and ultimately kidnapped.
Like C the best.

What does the colleague do with this info?
A: Turns it over to superiors.
B: Contacts her mother.
C: Enemy finds out and forces him to contact mother under guise of friend.
D: Reveals enough to get killed in a 'plant accident', but enemy finds clue and realizes that the mother is still a risk because of information she has.

A: If he turned all evidence, they'd either just bury it or kill him and bury it.
B: Not sure that would do much good or make sense.
C: Possible. But doesn't work with the stalker conflict.
D: Eliminates the colleague and allows for stalker to come in.
Like D the best, although needs more work in why they approach it this way.

Conflict fact: Murial's mother is completely unaware of the danger because her husband died before he could tell her anything.

Next: Trying to write a few scenes. Would like to present all of this in 2-3 scenes, including the accident and specific details of it.

Will have to determine...
1. what her father's job was and the information he had.
2. if I should show anything in his pov or have all revealed by information gathered later.
3. if Murial is a target based on accident...if there was another car and driver involved that she would know details of, or if it was a set up accident involving just their vehicle.
4. With 3, if Murial is a target at all or if it's just her mother.