Making Contact

Chapter Eleven

Evrin rang the doorbell while Argyle stood off to the side. Evrin looked around while grumbling under her breath. Argyle wasn't sure if it was from agitation due to impatience, or because of him. She rose her hand to knock on the door just as it creaked open a few inches, a chain-lock rattled on the other side.

“Who's there?” Asked an aged voice from the other side of the door. Evrin flashed her badge. “Oh, I see. Hmmm…”

“Mind if we take a look around?” Evrin said, breaking the long span of silence.

“Oh, uh, hmmm. Well I suppose it'll be alright…”

“We would like to figure out possible points of entry, to better protect your granddaughter.”

“Oh, well that makes sense. I just didn't expect you’d wanna come in. You know, I haven't gotten around to cleaning yet this week. I usually do it on Fridays, but yesterday was the second Friday in a row when it just slipped my mind.” Argyle could hear the woman behind the door shuffling her feet nervously. “Been happening more these days, forgetting stuff. Just the other day I couldn't figure out where my favorite bowl went. I checked every cabinet, the sink, every table and counter in the house, and just couldn't find it. But then Mel came home and went to the fridge to fix something for supper, she's nice like that, helping an old woman out now-and-then, and there it was. My favorite bowl was sitting in the fridge, with some milk and soggy cereal. Well, mush by then.”

“It's fine, it's fine,” Evrin nodded at the door, almost groaning forlornly. She had a hand on the door frame now and rapped her fingers on it.

“Oh, yes, you have a job to do. I suppose I can't watch over Mel as good as I used to. She does most of the watching over these days. Just a second, I'll get the door. Just one second.” Evrin stepped back as the door creaked shut. She looked back at Argyle.

“Let me do the talking,” she said. “Understand?” Argyle nodded, happy to be looked at as more than just a watchdog to be locked in the car until further notice, and couldn't help but smile. Evrin didn't take into account the reaction someone would have from seeing him for what he was, up close and personal. To him, that meant she was getting used to the idea of working with a thinking machine.

“Mother would be proud,” he thought, and shook the thought out of his head. “Her intentions may not be the best, and I'm only helping the cause, without being able look more into what it is she has in mind for me and the future.”

Argyle adjusted his hat then slipped his hands into his coat pockets while the chain rattled from behind the door. The front door creaked open slowly revealing Melissa Gilmano’s grandmother, Abelie Gilmano. She smiled at the sight of Evrin.

“Oh, you're a looker, officer,” Abelie said. She brushed back a strand of gray with shakey wrinkled fingers, but her hand stopped near her ear, and a gasp of surprised escaped her lips as she caught sight of Argyle. Abelie’s eyes went wide and the color drained from her face. Argyle noticed her carotid throbbing more quickly in her neck. As he took a step forward, Abelie took a step back, her diminutive form shrinking further, her hands drawn to her face as if to shield her from the sight of her worst nightmare, or the grim reaper himself.

Evrin cursed under-breath and stepped in front of Argyle, blocking his vision of the older woman. “Miss Gilmano, I'm sorry, I should have said something. He's with me, sent by the FBI as some test run of their new tech.” Argyle could hear Abelie gasping, trying to catch her breath. “He's not going to hurt you, I promise. He's going to help us protect your daughter and catch this killer.

For a split second, Argyle thought he could hear a touch of trust and honesty in Evrin’s mention of him.