Yaxley Farcett was sitting in front of a computer screen in the study of Reg Dixon's house. His hands were poised above the keyboard, uncertain which characters to punch in next. Farcett had just successfully accessed the PC by typing in the nickname of Ron Atkinson, who still beamed down on him from the poster above the desk. Various images and programme icons appeared on the screen until all that remained in the centre was the E-mail log on box. Farcett groaned - another bloody password. However, there was a small tickable box hidden away in the corner labelled 'remember password'. Surely not, thought Yaxley. Too easy surely ? He clicked the box and there, instantly filling the monitor, was the late Reg Dixon's E-Mail system, ready to be nosed into.
It was obvious to Farcett that Dixon was a keen, if not obsessive mailer, judging from the amount of folders he had set up. However, as the man lived alone, Farcett was not surprised. You can be anonymous nowadays, yet communicate with the whole world from your study.
Farcett cast an 
eye down the left hand side of the screen at the names of the folders. 'EOTN', 'Trent', 'A.W', 'College' and many other names which looked to be Dixon's 'Penpals'. He clicked on 'Trent' as it was the name that instantly caught his eye. His meeting with the Editor of 'Ealham On The Net' had been his most unpleasant few moments in the Fens so far. His brash, loud manner was at odds with most of the locals quiet good nature. The list of incoming mails received from Graham Trent dated back from June 1997 and the most recent on was dated May 17th, the day before Dixon's death. 'Strange' thought Yaxley, considering that he had been sacked a couple of weeks previous to that. Yaxley clicked on the first mail in the list and he found himself staring at a very originally styled letter.......
eye down the left hand side of the screen at the names of the folders. 'EOTN', 'Trent', 'A.W', 'College' and many other names which looked to be Dixon's 'Penpals'. He clicked on 'Trent' as it was the name that instantly caught his eye. His meeting with the Editor of 'Ealham On The Net' had been his most unpleasant few moments in the Fens so far. His brash, loud manner was at odds with most of the locals quiet good nature. The list of incoming mails received from Graham Trent dated back from June 1997 and the most recent on was dated May 17th, the day before Dixon's death. 'Strange' thought Yaxley, considering that he had been sacked a couple of weeks previous to that. Yaxley clicked on the first mail in the list and he found himself staring at a very originally styled letter....... FROM: Graham Trent Date: 12/06/97
TO: Reginald Dixon
CC:
Subject: How About It ??
TO: Reginald Dixon
CC:
Subject: How About It ??
Reggie, Reggie, Reggie, I've beeN speaking to people (I kNow lots of people, Reggie). They all tell me the same thiNg Reggie. You waNt to write about the laNd. You waNt to tell the world about farming. You waNt to use all that college traiNiNg you had. I kNow you caN't make a lot of moNey from that joke of a farm your old maN left you, so what do you thiNk. BuNg me a thousaNd words a week with a farming slaNt aNd there might be a driNk iN it for you. What do you say, Reggie ??
Graham Trent: Editor, Ealham On The Net (Electronic News Gathering in The Fens)
Yaxley thought about this for a moment. Fred Ricketts had told him in The Skater's that Dixon was the agricultural correspondent for Trent's site. Surely he wouldn't have worked for a creep like Trent after an initial offer like that ? '...that joke of a farm your old man left you' !! Yaxley imagined that his reaction to that would have been to smash Trent over the head with a computer rather than to start writing for him. However, the letter was entirely consistent with Trent's behaviour in the pub the night before. He was obviously one of those people that were obnoxious and proud of it.
Interested in what Dixon's reply would have been been to this 'offer', Yaxley clicked onto the 'sent mail' box on the screen, in the vain hope that Dixon was really as much of a librarian as he appeared to be. He was. As Yaxley scrolled down through the list, he came upon an entry dated the 13th of June 1997, addressed to 'G.Trent'. He clicked on it and waited for the screen to fill......
