Persons of Interest · Chapter 01
William Occam
Private investigator. Formerly Asheville PD. Deceased. Case open.
William Occam
OccupationPrivate investigator. Formerly Asheville Police Department. Formerly U.S. Navy, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class.
StatusDeceased, two weeks. The finding was released within days and the file was closed. The people who knew him do not accept it.
ApartmentNot cleared. Not released. Not locked.
SummaryOccam left the police department years ago and worked alone after that — small cases, mostly. Then Nina’s parents hired him. In his last weeks he stopped sleeping, stopped answering, and put new locks on a door that had never needed them. He died two weeks ago. Days later a sealed letter in his handwriting reached a friend of his — hand-delivered by Mayor John Norcross, who said it was Occam’s last request. What Occam left behind in that apartment suggests he was much further into something than anyone knew.
Known associationsNina (missing), whose parents retained him. Mayor John Norcross, who appears in Occam’s files repeatedly and is never once explained. A contact he referred to only as “X.”
The Asheville Ledger
Investigator Found Dead; File Closed Within Days
William Occam, a private investigator and former Asheville police detective, has died. The department released its finding within days and closed the file. No inquest has been scheduled.
Those who knew him describe a meticulous man who in his final months grew increasingly withdrawn. Neighbors report lights in his apartment at odd hours and say he had become convinced he was being watched.
At the time of his death he was working privately for the family of a missing ten-year-old. That case remains open.
Someone’s been watching me. Haven’t heard from X. Things move around this apartment when I’m not in it.
