A/N: Trigger warning - Not suitable for people with coulrophobia (fear of clowns)
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"Everyone's here?" MC asked as she walked into the small meeting room of the Mystery Investigators, Inc. office in Colville.
In the middle of the room sat a second-hand, oval wooden table with mismatching wooden chairs around it. Jake sat at the far end working at his laptop, ignoring Jessy and Cleo who had been gossiping all the latest happenings in Duskwood. Dan sat at the other end opposite Jake. While he seemed to be in quiet contemplation, the truth was he was still a bit hungover from the night before from one too many drinks at the Aurora.
"Well, everyone that was available," Jessy corrected. "Thomas and Hannah are still on their road trip and Lilly got stuck doing double shifts. She says, 'Hello', and wishes she could join us."
"Ah well, we'll take what we can get," MC shrugged and put a couple of large paper shopping bags down in the middle of the table.
"Hey, you've got me. What more do you need?" Dan boasted. "Honestly you could just send the rest of them home."
"Oh so you know how to bypass biometric locks?" Jake mocked.
"I am sure I can work it out. I graduated from the MacGyver School of Resourcefulness," Dan joked. "Just need some tape and some powder and boom! Instant fingerprint!"
"That might work on locks from the 80s, but this is the 21st century," Jake rolled his eyes. "And what would you do if it had an eye scanner?"
"The ol' knock-out-a-guard-and-hold-his-eye-open-in-front-of-the-scanner trick, duh!" Dan beamed.
"Wait, we're knocking out guards?" Cleo questioned.
"No, we are not!" MC exclaimed. "This is a nonviolent operation!"
"Ugh, fine," Dan leaned back in his seat with disappointment. "I suppose Jake can come then."
Cleo sighed with relief, "Ok, good. You know I don't mind a little B & E, but I have my limits."
"Well if everything goes according to my plan, you won't have to worry about the guards at all," MC began. "Our target is Jorge Santos. You may have seen his name on the signs around the city. He's a real estate agent here and we believe he's been scamming some of his clients, but the only way we can prove that is with access to his home computer."
"Is this legal?" Cleo questioned.
"Cleo, the man is an asshole," Dan pointed out.
"Yes, but if they steal information and give it to the police, it can't be used against him, right?" Cleo asked.
"If our goal was to get him arrested, sure. There are other ways to ruin him though," Jake interrupted.
"Our client knows proving a crime actually happened will be difficult with the way these scams are done. However, leaking the right information will heavily damage his image and his name, especially with high profile clients. The goal is to get the truth out in the open," MC explained.
"Ok, let's do it," Dan nodded. "What's the plan?"
"Well, getting into Santos' house- mansion really, won't be easy. Due to his connections with the mob, his place is guarded. However, it also turns out Santos has an 8 year-old son who turns 9 on Monday. And Santos is going all out on his birthday party. His son wants a circus and has requested clowns," MC smiled with confidence.
"Wait, you mean..." Cleo trailed off, looking around the room.
"Jake as a clown!?" Dan burst out laughing. "This is the best news I've heard all year!"
YOU ARE READING
The Misadventures of Mystery Investigators, Inc. (Duskwood Short Stories)
Non-FictionInfiltrator MC and Jake are working on a case for a client, but have reached a stalemate. The CEO of a major corporation is corrupt and they know it, but they just can't find the evidence they need to take him down as none of it is stored digitally...
