Mama, Hold On

Chapter 2

Tilting my hat over my eyes, I put one boot in front of the other and ventured down into the alley. I kept my guard up, ready for anything or anyone to pop out at me. Just a few steps in and I was engulfed by the shadows of its surroundings, the perfect setting for a mind eraser to work his magic. 

Once I was in, I took in a nice scanning of the area, looking for anything suspicious. There was almost nothing. Just a few horseshoe and footprints. Two things I'd completely expected from the start. Unsatisfied, I ventured in a little further, discovering nothing. Soon, I walked down through the entire alley and came out in the other side of town. The sun beat down on the innocent Lenties each tending to their own business. I pursed my lips and looked around. Where would a criminal hide out?

Across the dirt road and a few blocks down, I could spot the Paris Hotel. Dean Paris' life work, pride, joy and the most successful of the five hotels in all of Gyran. Also the closest to the alley so it seemed like a good place to start. I crossed the road, avoiding strong horses and their cartloads and waving to various bypassers as they smiled at me.

As I walked into the Paris Hotel, I was greeted by an electrical fan cooling me down. At the receptionist table, was Dean's youngest child, Jocelyn Paris. Rumors were always circulating about the poor girl, claiming that she planned to live off her father's riches for fear of being on her own. Truth was, even I didn't know the whole story, but Paris was building quite the business for himself and having his daughter help out was beneficial for both. 

Waving at her, I walked up to her desk table. I gestured at the fan, "I see Dean's making good use of his wealth." Jocelyn smiled and excitedly nodded. The pale seventeen-year-old tucked a strand of platinum blonde hair behind a freckled, pierced ear as she stood up and shook my hand.

"Originally, I'd thought electricity would be a waste of an investment," she explained. "But it's turned our hotel into the staple place for people to just come in and relax even in this side of town." When Dean had first requested a few utility poles to be built and hooked up to Two's southernmost power plant, even I thought he was losing it. Other than radios, electrical appliances were foreign to most Gyranians and barely anyone had any curiosity for any of them anyway, so it really just seemed like a waste of money.

But taking just one look at the hotel lobby and how many people were in it, Dean clearly had made a smart decision. And, as a result, electrical forms of communication were becoming more popular in Northern Gyran. Recalling my mission, I faced Jocelyn and said, "Anyhow, I need your assistance for something important." In seconds, her smile had fallen and she was giving me her full attention. I leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Remember this all confidential, Miss Paris. A suspicious character has found his way into Gyran and is causing mayhem. There's not commotion so I believe he's hiding out in one of the hotels." I backed away and gave her a moment to process as she sat back down.

Jocelyn then pulled something up on her computer, "My apologies, but I'm still new with this form of tracking our clients. I'm only capable of showing you who signed in and out in the past hour but that's all." She reached over the computer and took a note pad and a pen. "I'll send an email to my father so he'll be expecting you. By tomorrow noon, he should easily be able to give you a list of everyone who checked into all five Gyranian hotels in the past month." Ripping the note off her pad, she handed it to me, "Here's the Central's address, just in case." 

I took the note and tucked it safely into my pocket. "Thank you very much, Jocelyn." I tilted my hat at her and took my leave.

~~~~~

Underneath the harsh sun, Wavu and I rode alongside a few other horse riders and walkers even on the cramped gritty roads. All the other horses seemed to be lugging some kind of cart. Which, when compared to the small bags of food and collectibles tied to Wavu's saddle, seemed completely outrageous.