Chronicles of Mystery

The cold

Lucy plopped down on the sofa where Alistair usually slept, causing an eerie creak. She opened the small sachet offered by Nana and began to swallow the contents, sparing nothing. Alistair sat down in a chair with holes in it, moss sticking out from various places like an old man's beard or like stubborn leafy bushes, and began to read the newspaper. At the end of his reading, he sighed and put the paper on the table in front of him.

 - This is hardly ideal. We pass for complete charlatans. It's like reading an unbelievable fairy tale, we will never be taken seriously this way.

 - It's already satisfying that they wrote an article about us, isn't it? Anyway, I wasn't expecting more, she said, swallowing another candy and eyeing Alistair's bag hungrily.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway and the door opened as Maude appeared. She had swapped her servant's outfit for a simple black dress with white gloves that came to her elbows. Her hair had grown out slightly and she had tied it at the nape of her neck with a red ribbon.

 - What are you talking about?

 - Someone wrote an article about us!

 - Ah, she said simply. I have again posted messages in the newspaper offering our services, as you requested.

 - Maude, do you want to taste candy from Nana?

 - Impossible, I can't eat.

 - Yes, but you can smell it at least! Lucy offered in desperation.

Maude shrugged, not tempted by the idea.

At the same time, knocks sounded at the door. Alistair got up from his seat and went to answer. Behind was a child, a filthy street kid with a beret on his head and a dusty jacket on his back, handing him something. Alistair gave him a coin before grabbing the item. When he came back into the room, it was with a letter in his hand.

 - What is it ? What is it ? Lucy asked excitedly.

Alistair opened the envelope and took out the paper.

 - Our services are requested, he replied.

Lucy began to squeal with delight and jumped off the sofa to run around the room.

 - Who is it this time around? A crank? A madman released from an asylum? Maude asked.

 - No, it's... Martha Delaway, he said, re-reading the letter. All her jewelry is gone and she suspects her deceased great-aunt, Victoria Carrey, that's why she calls us.

Maude gave a rather wry little laugh, a slight grimace on her lips.

 - I think that's the only kind of customers we can attract. Well... Is the pay any good ?

 - Pretty much. It's a good deal, let's accept it, Alistair suggested, having much more in mind their current finances than the veracity of the mystery in front of them.

Lucy, who had stopped doing her dance of joy, sighed, as if she had been suddenly sapped of all her energy.

 - I would have preferred to have to solve a serious matter, not the delusions of old Martha about her aunt. With any luck, she will have dropped her jewelry in the gutter.

Alistair shrugged, looking like they couldn't expect better.

 - When does she want to meet us?

 - Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp.

Lucy sat back and stretched, getting comfortable to think about her new and grand adventure, which she hoped would turn out a little better than the last. However, as she reflected, it was normal for famous sleuths to experience a few setbacks at first, while they managed to adjust their genius to the world around them. Leaving these thoughts aside, she began to envision what the new apartment they could rent might look like when they could afford it, following a succession of well-conducted investigations, decorating it already in advance without having the least penny that could have paid for it. Silence settled in the room, while Maude went back to one of her household chores, Alistair continued reading the newspaper and Lucy was deep in thought, something that rarely happened given the young girl's propensity to chat. So, after only a few minutes had passed, a time that was already too huge, she raised her head, determined to break this unbearable blank.