A One Shot Book of Unfortunate Events

The Beatrice Letters Part 2

*Bea's POV*

I set down my bag in my room, pulling out my English notebook, the picture of my family, and the business card. I flipped the notebook to my drawing and a page of notes. He might have been looking for my family. Maybe he knows about me? I held the photo in my hands. "Millie? You up?" I heard a faint squeak. She was awake but she was certainly tired. "I want to show you this. It's Mom, Uncle Klaus, and Aunt Sunny. They're so little! I'm going to go to the library once I finish this homework and a few chores. Uncle Lemony is a writer, so I decided I'm going to try to find some information on him."

Millie squeaked happily. I was glad to have a supportive friend- er... Bat...

I fed Millie and Arthur, finished my homework, put away some of the dry dishes, and wrote a note saying where I was. "Be good, Millie. If I'm gone too long, open your cage yourself. Bye!" I smiled, grabbing my bag and posting the note on the front of my door.

~*~

I smiled at the comfortable sight of the city library. I practically lived here during the summer... I went to a computer to look up where they'd keep the books he writes. Once I found where it'd be I went to get a copy of one of his books. I selected a book labeled "Shouldn't You Be In School?" The cover was very orange and depicted, what I assumed, were some of the events in the book. I flipped to the back of the book and read what I could. It didn't have much information, other than some of the books in his series and a possible explanation for his "ability to evade capture." Underneath, there was a much more detailed , yet unhelpful, paragraph for the illustrator.

I, instead, used a much less conventional route of research I liked to call 'Flip & Skim': Flip to a random page and skim until something is familiar. I skimmed through a specific paragraph until I recognized a name. I sat down at a table and wrote down the quotation, underlining the name.

"Page 234--- '"Kenneth Grahame," someone murmured at my elbow, and I saw it had been easy business for Moxie Mallahan to sneak up beside me. Her mask sat blank under her hat, but I had the suspicion she was smiling.'
Note 1--- Ship it.
Note 2--- Who is Moxie Mallahan, and why is the name familiar?? "

I went back to the computers and looked up the name. I got several news articles as results. "Small Town Woman Flips The Daily Punctilio on It's Head." , "New Owner of the City's Worst Newspaper Leads the Charge!" and "Moxie Mallahan, Journalist, Changes Newspaper for the Better."

"Note  3--- Owns The Daily Punctilio Newspaper."

Mom liked reading some of the articles published in that newspaper... I liked the comics... I looked at a map on the wall. The news building wasn't too far from here... I shut off the computer and put back the book. When I got there, the waiting room was quiet, but I could hear hustle and bustle behind the doors. "Excuse me, Miss," I spoke to the receptionist up front," Is Moxie Mallahan free? I'm um... Doing an interview for school... And I'd like to talk to her..."

The lady smiled warmly. "Mrs. Mallahan is currently in a meeting, but I could show you to her office in about twenty minutes time... Er... Are you all alone?"
" Yes... My Mother and Uncle weren't home, and I simply couldn't wait to speak to Mrs. Mallahan. "
"Oh how precious! Just take a seat over there and I can call her apprentice to expect someone when the meeting is over."

I nodded gratefully and took a seat, taking out a copy of The Wind in the Willows, which was completely unplanned seeing as Mrs. Mallahan and my uncle used to have an inside joke about Kenneth Grahame...

~*~
"Here we are! This door leads to Mallahan's apprentice's office. He should be able to keep you entertained for a few extra minutes."
" Thank you so much, Miss. Have a good day."
She opened the door and ushered me inside. I was greeted to a nice sized room with a relatively large desk in the corner. Everything on it was neatly sorted and filed. The only thing that was messy was the wall of pictures behind the man. His hair was neatly combed and he looked at me curiously with wide green eyes.

"You must be the little girl here to interview my boss. She's gonna need something like that after this board meeting." He grinned. "Although she usually prefers to do the interviewing... I'm Duncan Quagmire. And you are?"
"Beatrice. I'm named after my grandmother..."
" Well, Beatrice, I have a little extra time in my schedule; how 'bout I interview you some? "
"That sounds like fun..." I shrugged with a smile.

"Who's in your family?" He asked as I pulled up a chair and sat.
"Well... I'm kind of an orphan... But I was adopted when I was a baby."
Duncan frowned. " I'm an orphan too... But I'll tell you, it gets better. Especially with good friends. I had good friends... "
"You did?"
" Yeah... They were the best people my sister and I ever met... "

I smiled. This Duncan guy is nice...

"Now that we've had a bit of a heart to heart, what are you really doing here, Miss Beatrice?"
My eyes widened. "W-what...? What do you mean? I'm here to interview her for school."
" No. No you're not. I'm a journalist with impeccable observation skills. For example, I saw you carry that bag. It's too light to have school stuff in it. May I?"

I nodded slightly, handing him the bag. He looked through it, pulling things out. "An English notebook belonging to Beatrice... Baudelaire... Ahem... The Wind in the Willows. Moxie's favorite book when she was young. It's good to bring a book with you everywhere. A pen. A business card... For Mr. Snicket..." He chuckled, "I think I'm understanding. And... A picture... Of... Your family?"
I nodded. "This was taken before I was born. That's my mom, my uncle, and my aunt..." I pointed to Violet, Klaus, and Sunny respectively.
"That explains it," he said, putting my stuff back and handing the back back, "Her meeting should be over soon. I should um... Get back to work. I'm terribly sorry..."

I nodded a little bit. "Thank you, Sir..." I said quietly. I waited for the meeting to end instead. He seemed like a nice person. A couple minutes of reading my book later, a group of people wearing business casual outfits left her office. Duncan said goodbye and wished them all a good day.

Mrs. Mallahan leaned against the doorway. "You know, Duncan, those meetings can be a real pain in the-"
"Ahem..." He interrupted, pointing to me. I stood up and smiled softly. The woman grinned.
"Well aren't you too cute for words? Moxie Mallahan. I see you've met my apprentice here. Welcome to The Daily Punctilio; come on in." She said, tipping the brim of her a-shaped hat.

************
1206 words