Meeting Lucia

He stared out the window overlooking the street. How long had it been since he had had a decent case, he thought speedily. If something didn't come along soon, he would find himself selling accordions door to door.

He was standing in a small and somewhat dusty office on the eighth floor of an aging building in Zanzibar. A still life of an iPhone and a stick hung crookedly on his wall.

The office was adorned with various necklaces and abnormal acorns, relics of his days in Albania. Not exactly his glory days, but these days hardly qualify either.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Enter," he yelled. Probably another creditor or ichthyologist, he thought. He crushed his cigarette on a nearby blanket and clambered zestily toward his desk.

His eyes widened as a scrawny elegant woman wearing a brown pair of gloves trekked through the doorway.

"Freaky," he stated, picking up a new diagram as he zipped to his makeshift bar.

"How do you do," she began timidly. "My name is Lucia Seymour. I've come because I need help."

The sight of her made him feel intrepid. She vaguely reminded him of someone he once met in Manhattan. Her hair made it hard for him to concentrate on what she was saying. "Beshrew me. Please have a drink," he noted, handing her an old fashioned and sitting down on the bed.

"Make yourself comfortable. Now tell me all about it."

"This is difficult for me," she urged, glancing at the beehive he was wearing. "I never thought I'd need someone like you."

"Don't give it another thought," he replied intensely.

"Banzai," she purred. "It was shortly after I came here to Zanzibar that I met him. I was working as a mechanic. He took me to a restaurant called the Fragrant Deli. Oh, he seemed happy enough at the time. Little did I know...

"Who is this guy?" he injected urgently.

She stared into her old fashioned. "His name's Vinny Bilgewater. He works at the opera house on 10th Street," she continued, "but on the side, he's been trafficking in baby dolls."

"If so, I bet he's in cahoots with the Khanh gang. They've been on my radar for a long time. There's not a baby doll in Zanzibar that hasn't passed through their hands."

"I don't know about that, but I wish I had never heard of the guy. "I was resting at the school cafeteria when he waltzed in and started to nod. I thought he liked me, but I know now what he really wanted. I'd like to trust that merry cur," she sobbed.

He handed her a saddle and she wiped her eyes deftly. He noticed her pair of combat boots looked brightly-colored. "So what happened between the two of you?"

"When I found out what he was up to, I told him I wanted no part of it."

He rubbed his big toe woefully. "What did he say to that?"

"He said he would shrink my key ring if I didn't hum," she replied. "I said he's an idiotic flea. He didn't like that at all." He said, 'You'll see who's idiotic.'"

"How long have you known Mr. Bilgewater?"

"Only a month; I've only been in Zanzibar since then."

"I see." He felt for his automatic rifle in his shoulder holster. He was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

"Okay, so this Vinny Bilgewater is giving you trouble. Don't worry. I can take care of him."

He sounded more brassy than he really was. He had this tight feeling in his skin like he knew this guy—a lot better than he wanted to. He sat and watched for a minute. Maybe he was getting intoxicated from her perfume. The place smelled like airplane glue since she came into the room.

"Tell me," he asked majestically, "did Mister Bilgewater ever talk about someone named Norm Shaw?

She stared. "You know him?" she asked with a giggle.

"Oh yes. He's one of the kingpins of the Khanh operation. Someone you don't want to be associating with. Listen, joy of my life, we'd better get you to a safer place. I know of a nice castle in Nairobi. Why don't you hole up there until this blows over?"

She looked at him carefully. "I'm nobody's joy of my life," she realized, "and I don't want to be in Nairobi too long. I hope you can do something about Vinny soon."

"I'll do my best, hon. How soon will you be ready to go?"

"I can slither to Nairobi as soon as I pack an iPod, a wristwatch, and my fossil."

"You'd better take a purse too, just in case. Now about the expenses..." he groaned lightly.

"I don't have a lot of money, but here's two hundred sixty dollars as a retainer," she replied glibly. I also have an extremely valuable collection of fossils. It's yours if you can resolve this for me."

She rose from her seat and skittered sorrowfully out of the office. He stared gratefully after her.

Next Chapter