Haunted Things

Across Town....(Kristin)

Across town from the Himmel house, another meeting was taking place. A rather clandestine meeting by all accounts as one Gertrude Schwimmer tentatively made her way into the darkened open space of a seemingly abandoned warehouse.

She was here to meet one Clyde King, P.I. who did not come highly recommended but was in her price range: dirt cheap. She wandered through the warehouse, frowning at the broken windows high over head as she reconsidered her life choices. Maybe if she hadn't blown all her money on her previous scheme, she wouldn't be tip toeing through refuse and rat feces at midnight. Except...she looked around again. There were no signs of rats. None whatsoever, which struck her as odd for such a location. 

Where was this stupid King guy?

A scraping sound made her tense up. She slowly turned her head, taking in the shape emerging from the shadowy recesses of the room. Her eyes widened, looking up and up as she took him all in, right up to the fedora jauntily set on his head and over sized sunglasses perched on his ...nose. She wondered where one could get such a large custom made accessory before she took in the rumpled and slightly tattered trench coat fitted to his frame. A second glance made her realize it was several trench coats sewn together. She blinked, trying to process what she was seeing before her mind quietly blew a fuse and accepted it with a quiet whimper. 

"Ms. Schwimmer, I presume," came a Stephen Hawking worthy mechanical voice. She couldn't pin point the origin but she knew it had to be the figure in front of her by the questioning tilt of his wedge shaped head. 

"Yeah--yes--that's me," she stammered, shifting uneasily on her feet. A deep primal fear was rather insistent she turn tail and run. Clyde King, P.I. was definitely not as advertised in his yellow pages ad.

The figure in the cobbled trench coat waved his too short arms in what could be construed as a welcoming gesture. "Why don't we step inside my office?"

He turned, which was a sight in itself, and lead her to the back corner of the warehouse where a large oak desk, desk lamp, and a slightly scarred MAC sat. A sizable filing cabinet and potted fern completed the 'office'. Gertrude followed, her mouth slack, surprised how Mr. King left only the slightest tremor in his wake. She watched the big guy shuffle awkwardly behind the desk, knocking over the fern with his tail as he went. He settled back on his haunches, studying her down the length of his nose.

"What can I do for you Ms. Schwimmer?" She didn't register the mechanical voice for a moment, trying to figure out how he typed with those short little arms. There was a crackling sound, like a shorted out walkie talkie. She realized he was clearing his throat as he asked, "Can I get you anything? A coffee perhaps?"

Gertrude shook herself, vowing never to mix her anti-depressants with bourbon again. "Um, I am looking to prove a claim for paternity. I believe I sent my file ahead of me..." she trailed off, watching as Mr. King lifted a long thing silver pole and used it to flip open a manila file on his desk. 

"Ah, yes, the Himmel case. You wish to obtain a DNA sample from one Frances Himmel to prove possible relations through the paternal line."

"Yes, I want to prove she is my half sister and therefore not the sole inheritor of the Himmel trust," Gertrude said, trying to keep the old bitterness from her voice. She wasn't sure she wanted to be acknowledged as a Himmel relation, they had a tendency to meet a bad end, but her situation was fast turning desperate. 

"It says here you previously hired someone to investigate her?" The glasses tilted on the bridge of King's snout. He made a vain attempt to right them with the metal rod, resulting in them sliding further off his face before he gave up with a mechanical wheeze. 

Gertrude grit her teeth at the mention of the other 'investigator'. "Yes, bastard took my money and totally blew the job."

"What happened?"

"He married her," grumbled Gertrude.

Mr. King tapped his metal pointer on the desk, considering her. "I suppose I could take your case. Do you wish for me to confront this 'Drake' on your behalf as well?"

Gertrude stared at him, surprised by his willingness to move forward on his case, though at the mention of Drake her insides squirmed. "I don't have much to pay you with other than your fee."

Mr. King held up a clawed hand. "No need, if I successfully complete the case all I ask if for a bonus payment of 100lbs of raw beef. Any grade will do. I 'm not picky."

She nibbled her lip, considering his proposal. Meat could be rather expensive but if she proved her relation, a portion of the inheritance would cover all her expenses, including Mr. King's bonus fee. "Deal."

"Very good. I took the liberty of putting out my feelers before you arrived this evening," said Mr. King. Gertrude tried to picture that and firmly shook her head before her imagination wandered too far off course. There would be time to rationalize the reality of Clyde King, P.I. at another time, probably with copious amounts of alcohol. "It appears Frances Himmel is attempting the final requirements to claim her inheritance and spend one night in the Himmel House."

Gertrude paled. If her supposed half sister succeeded, the family trust would go to her and be out of Gertrude's reach for good. "I've run out of time," she squeaked.

King snorted, sending her hair back in a small windstorm. "Nonsense. You could always attempt the stay as well to sway the trust. I, myself, will be heading over there presently to case the scene."

Perhaps it was the prospect of staying a night in that horrifying house, or the idea Frances Himmel would invite all and never know her from Eve while that piddly Drake leeched money off her like an overly attractive tick. Gertrude's finer sensibilities reached their limit as she looked up and up at Mr. King.

"But you're a great bloody dinosaur. How are you going to case shit?"

Clyde King, P.I. and Tyrannosaurus Rex, sniffed, prodding his fedora back onto his knobby skull. "You do your part, Ms. Schwimmer, and I shall do mine." 

With that he rose from the desk, toppling it over and spilling papers and computer across the warehouse floor. King rolled his shoulders and sauntered off into the shadows. Gertrude watched him go before realizing he'd completely vanished, leaving her to ponder the physics of such a feat and if she could get a discount for buying beef in bulk.