Gods and Monsters

V

Quinn's Pub - Camden, London

The dark car from the other night was now parked outside of Charlie's worn down pub as he and Peggy entered so they could talk about recent events. The bar still needed some decorating, the floor had been placed down and the outside painted, as well as the Quinn family name being proudly displayed above the door, but the bar remained bare and there was a large delivery of chairs and other interiors

furnishings waiting to be fitted. Charlie led Peggy over to one of the completed booths, gesturing for her to sit down as he quickly fetched them both a drink from a box left on the bar. She wasn't a huge fan of pubs; she always thought that they attracted the wrong crowds, especially when Peggy wasn't all that much of a sociable person in the first place, but she could definitely imagine spending time in here once it was eventually finished.

"So, any luck finding anything yet?" Peggy asked, hopeful that Charlie would say yes so they could get this wrapped up as soon as possible.

"No," he said, crushing whatever leftover remnants of hope Peggy had. "I've got Broderick looking at stuff for us, and whilst we're pretty sure there's a connection between Yates and Eugene, they're certainly good at covering their tracks.

She was beginning to get frustrated, even though their investigation had only lasted a few days. "And what do we do until then? Just sit on our arses until something turns up?" Charlie waved to her drink, a dried martini, hopeful that it might calm her down a bit. Taking a sip, Peggy leant back in her chair and tried to ease herself.

"We'll get something soon, I promise," Charlie said to her, in a hushed tone which comforted her. The pair waited in silence for a few moments, drinking their drinks before Charlie brought up his phone and began reading an article on the site. "Missing – Londoner Jacob Kenny missing from morgue after an accident on the Millennium Bridge." He looked over at Peggy with a knowing smirk as they both realised they were likely just minutes away from being called to their next case. As they finished their drinks, the door to the pub opened behind them. "We're closed. Come back soon and we should be up and running."

A well-spoken female voice replied. "Even to the family?" Charlie spun round to be met with a beautiful, young woman, her mousy brown hair tied up in a small ponytail, and just a dash of makeup to accentuate cheekbones that could cut glass. The woman wore a classy blue blouse and business skirt which showed off just enough leg to be sexy, but still look elegant at the same time. Charlie dashed up from his seat and embraced the woman, turning to Peggy. "Parker, I'd like you to meet my twin sister, Mary Quinn."

Peggy rose from her seat to shake Mary's hand and introduce herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Charlie's mentioned you a lot so it's nice to put a face to the stories."

"Charlie talking about someone other than himself? Maybe it's been longer than I thought since we saw each other," Mary replied jokingly, as she moved back to the door.

"You sitting down or what, Mary?" Charlie asked as he prepared a drink for his sister.

Mary began to open the door to the pub. "Well, I found an old friend outside, and figured they might want to say hi too." Charlie looked at the door, confused for a moment before the mysterious figure from the car outside walked in. Another beautiful, young woman, leaving Charlie's jaw hanging so low it almost dipped into his drink. Peggy felt slightly jealous that she was forced to be in relatively business-like attire for her job, whereas the woman who had just entered wore a short floral dress which her dark blonde hair fell neatly onto, and which also showed off tanned and toned legs. Again, Charlie shot up from his seat and dashed the short distance to the mysterious woman who had previously been in the car following Charlie for the last few days.

"Scarlett Huntington-Evans..." Charlie said, with a large grin across his face. "I didn't know you were even back in the country." He wrapped his arms around Scarlett, pulling her in tightly for a hug which she tentatively reciprocated. There was clearly some awkwardness between the two friends, and Peggy wasn't sure whether she should stay or go, instead deciding it might be best to just quietly sip on her drink for a while.

"Charlie... you're not mad at me?" Scarlett said, in a thick New Zealand accent. "I just left... without saying anything... God, I was so stupid.

"It wasn't your fault, Scarlett. You did the right thing going home to look after your Dad. I'm sorry for your loss," Charlie replied, smiling coyly. "I'd like to offer you a drink, but I'm afraid we're still waiting for some more stock. Peggy and I are just finishing off our lot."

"Well, maybe I could lend a hand here? Mary called me a few weeks back and said about you helping the police now. What if I looked after the pub while you were doing that? You know I have the business skills, and it'd give me a chance to make up for me bailing on you a few years ago.

Looking up from her drink, Peggy had overheard Scarlett mention that both she and Mary were aware of the task force, at least in some capacity. She wanted to berate Charlie for being unable to keep a secret, but she thought now probably wasn't the best time, and frankly, she couldn't be all that bothered really. With what was happening with Yates, she wasn't even sure what this task force truly was anymore.

Charlie and Scarlett shook hands. "I'll get a contract drawn up for you," he said jokingly, before both his and Peggy's phones vibrated, signalling they were needed elsewhere. "Make yourselves at home." Charlie planted a kiss on both Mary's and Scarlett's cheeks whilst Peggy shook both their hands before her and Charlie made their way over to Peggy's car. Getting in, Peggy turned the key in the ignition before asking about Scarlett.

"Scarlett and Mary were flatmates when we all went to Oxford. I studied ancient history, Mary studied psychology, and Scarlett did multiple languages. After hearing about our family's trips from Mary, Scarlett became interested into my work with occultism, being one of the few people who believed me. After we finished uni, Scarlett worked at her family's translation company, eventually running their UK branch. She used to travel with me in her free time, like the trip to Ecuador I mentioned the other day, with Eugene. Eventually, her father became ill so she returned to New Zealand to look after him and console her mother after he died. A couple years back their company was bought out by-"

"Let me guess, QT?"

"Ding-ding-ding; we have a winner. And now they're linked to some of our cases? I don't buy it, not one bit."

Peggy didn't even have to answer for Charlie to know she echoed his sentiments. Something fishy was going on at Quantum Technologies, and they were sure that it wouldn't be too long before they found out what it was.

Continued in Part 6