| Fantasy Fiction posted February 25, 2019 | Chapters: |
...9 10 -11- 12... 
|
  |
The next morning, in New York City
A chapter in the book Renaissance of Enchantment
Chapter Four, Part 1
by Y. M. Roger
| Background Maggie is still unaware of anything. Rosemary's attorney/friend Geoffrey Staltson is in New York where he is having a meal with his private investigator, Stephen. We learn a bit more background info.. |
Stephen swallowed the New York style pie, trying almost to no avail to keep up with his boss. For a little guy, Geoffrey sure could put away the pizza. Stephen made a questioning face with a bit of feigned horror mixed in.
Geoffrey ducked and tried to cover his soft laughter with his napkin.
“Sorry, no time for breakfast before I left the house this morning,” he managed to enunciate before wiping his mouth and swallowing again, “Tell me what we know so far,” Geoffrey implored before flattening the napkin and securing another large bite.
“First” – Stephen held up a finger signally for a moment to finish his bite – “here’s what Jinx managed to find for me.”
Stephen wiped his hands on his third napkin and took some pages from the inside pocket of his coat.
“As I said, the dad apparently attempted to put her into the system just over six years ago.” Stephen indicated a highlight on the faintly printed page he flattened onto the table facing Geoffrey. “But the system has no record of it. However, I checked out his documentation and it is, indeed, legit. But when I asked the people at the front desk about the Marguerite B. Atkinson named thereon, they have no record of her placement. And here’s why.”
Stephen paused to take a big drink of root beer. He wiped the foam from his mouth on his sleeve and continued, that ‘I love my job’ look plastered securely on his face.
“It seems the caseworker’s name on here” – Stephen indicated the copy of the Transfer of Legal Guardianship Form – “disappeared completely, and the date on this receipt is the last time she actually checked into the office. Her assistant too. In fact, the missing person’s report filed by her husband at the police station was ruled a desertion of spouse along with her assistant’s that was filed by the assistant’s wife. Cops seem to think the two ran off together, and left it at that. But then I talked to both the caseworker’s husband and the assistant’s wife, and it’s pretty obvious that neither case was a desertion. Both couples were quite happy – hell, the assistant and his wife were trying to get pregnant – and nothing, and I do mean nothing, was missing from the residences of either missing person. It’s like they both went to work one day, and vanished.”
Geoffrey gulped some of his root beer and squinted at Stephen.
“So, someone waited until the dad left and, what, kidnapped the girl? Killed the caseworker and assistant? Kidnapped all three? I thought you said you found her, Stephen.”
Stephen had taken the pause to put another large bite in his mouth, but he chewed enthusiastically so that he could answer. It was obvious how much he was enjoying this case.
“Well, if you’d let me finish, bossman.” He pounded back another big swallow and set the glass down, once again wiping his foam mustache and winking at Geoffrey. “About a year later” – Stephen indicated another highlighted area further down the page – “this Dorothy Westmorland filed homeschool paperwork for a Marguerite A. Son, the ‘A’ apparently for the family name of ‘Atkin’. She was listed as Dorothy’s niece.”
“Mmm-Hmm,” Geoffrey interjected with a raised eyebrow, indicating to Stephen that he understood and that the investigator should continue.
“Seems Dorothy was a single mom with one son barely out of diapers and hardly a pot to piss in, but who, while working as an accountant to a couple of different small businesses in their neighborhood” - He flipped to the next page and pointed again – “managed to homeschool this Marguerite and, eventually, her own son, Addison. I’m guessing her major reason for taking the girl in and not enrolling her in the school system was partially for a live-in babysitter that she did not have the money to pay.” Stephen shrugged. “But I don’t know that for sure.”
He paused to take another large bite, and Geoffrey took that as another opening for his own input.
“So, she’s living with Ms. Westmorland now? Well, the three of them will be thrilled with their new living arran—”
Stephen began shaking his head adamantly and signaled for a moment to swallow, then chugged another swallow as he motioned to the waitress for drink refills.
“What?”
“No more Dorothy, bossman. Seems she died of cervical cancer a little over a year and half ago, leaving a nearly nineteen year old Marguerite and a six-year-old Addison alone.”
Stephen paused as Geoffrey thanked the waitress for their refills and ordered them some cheesecake for dessert.
“So, Addison was put into foster care and wha—”
Stephen was shaking his head again and grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
“Wrong again,” he responded lightheartedly, indicating the paper once again, “Seems the boy was M-I-A when the authorities came to collect him and, not having any record of Marguerite as part of the family household, they investigated what family they could of Dorothy’s – not much, mind you, just a crack whore mother who barely knew her own name and a brother who was in and out of jail for petty theft and such. Finally, they just listed the boy as missing, and let the case go cold.”
Not jumping to a conclusion this time and thanking the waitress for their cheesecake, Geoffrey prodded his investigator to continue with a wave of his fork.
“Sooooooo….”
After Stephen made a complete comedy act of tasting the dessert and rolling his eyes at its heavenly goodness, he savored the bite for a bit before continuing at Geoffrey’s prompt.
“So, that is about where Jinx almost lost her. There’s no longer an Addison Westmorland enrolled in the school system, home or otherwise. His records go cold around the same time of Dorothy’s death. Also, our designated Marguerite Son took her final paycheck from the diner where she was working around then, too.”
Stephen paused to put another huge bite of cheesecake in his mouth and worked it around like a little boy with his first scoop of ice cream.
“This stuff is ama-”
Geoffrey interrupted him with a very loud throat clearing – since his mouth was also full – and pointed at the paper to prompt Stephen to continue. The larger man nodded as he smiled and washed down the bite with another big gulp of root beer.
“On point, bossman.” Stephen’s grin grew wider at Geoffrey’s feigned annoyance. “Got it. But then we’ve got a Rita Bee Atkins opening a Pay-Save account at the new World Web Bank within weeks of Dor—”
“The ‘world what’ bank?” Geoffrey interrupted, incredulous.
“You know, one of those new-fangled places that doesn’t even exist as a brick-and-mortar building, boss; it’s just ‘money’-” Stephen illustrated the word with air quotes. “-that is simply deposited electronically, paid out electronically, and stored electronically.”
Geoffrey looked horrified. He’d known this was probably where the financial system was headed, but damn! No building at all?
“So, how exactly does one get their hands on cash, Stephen?”
Stephen chuckled as he scraped his plate from his delicious cheesecake; somehow he’d thought the piece was bigger.
“In the rare instance that you need cash, you can always go to any ATM, scan your code on your phone screen, and get cash for a small convenience fee. But most of the kids nowadays hardly use that option. Everything they do is ‘in the cloud’ and ‘on the phone’.”
Again with the air quotes.
Geoffrey was still mystified. Even his biggest clients still sent him a check, but now he wondered if that was because of him being old and out of touch when it came to this modern way of doing things. He’d have to—
“Hey! You with me, bossman?” Stephen teasingly waved the check in front of his face.
He must have zoned out for a moment. Geoffrey smiled at the investigator who had become more of a family friend than an employee over the years.
“Yeah, it’s just … that’s just … wow.” Geoffrey briefly shook his head. “Anyway, continue.”
“So, this Rita-Bee – oh, and that’s actually the word ‘bee’ that buzzes not an initial like in her real name – now works as a waitress and bookkeeper at a small shop down near where the Bronx meets Harlem called the Courtside Coffee-N-Cola. Lives near there in some building that, according to the city, has been uninhabited for over four months now. I’m sure she’s moved and just neglected to change her address in her bank records. Happens a lot to folks when they move but don’t have the landline phone and no paper bills, ya know?”
Geoffrey looked intently at Stephen as he handed the waitress his credit card.
His apparently outdated, old-man-prop credit card. He couldn’t wait to tell his Charlie and Gary about this ‘web bank’ thingy. God! He would be glad to get back to small town, busy-body life.
“Actually, I’m sure I don’t know, Stephen.” The comment made Stephen laugh into his root beer he’d paused to drink once again. “But do we know what happened to that poor boy she was supposed to be babysitting?”
Stephen smiled knowing Geoffrey – the high-price, hard-ass attorney – had a heart bigger than most men or women on any given day of the week. He sat back and patted his full stomach.
“Worry not, bossman,” he began, placing all of their napkins and dirty plates into a neat pile on top of the pizza pans, “Rita’s recent online purchase records include second and third grade school books along with a Kindle account that is loaded with children’s novels, nature books, family-friendly movies, and elementary science and history videos.” He grinned across at the obviously relieved Geoffrey. “Not exactly the usual stash for today’s twenty-year-old, eh?”
Geoffrey took a deep breath as he signed the receipt and downed the remainder of his root beer.
“So, I need to buy an extra return ticket for the boy, I suppose.” Geoffrey was listing off things for himself more than for Stephen. “And contact the boarding house about an additional occupant. And schools?”
Geoffrey looked up in question at the now standing Stephen who stepped over to pull Geoffrey’s chair for him.
“I’d wait on the schools, though.” Stephen replaced the chair and guided Geoffrey out with a large hand in the small of his back. “There’s probably gonna be custody issues you’re going to have to deal with in this case.” Stephen held the door for Geoffrey as he continued. “Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission or the sneak attack is the best attack. Either one applies best to government agencies.” He let the door close behind them as Geoffrey tried to take a breath of fresh air.
And coughed. There was no fresh air; it stunk. Was that a word? Stunk? Well, even if it wasn’t, it seemed that big cities always did it. Stink, that is.
And people were everywhere. In front of you. Behind you. In your personal space.
Stephen chuckled at Geoffrey as they continued down the sidewalk toward the parking garage.
“How do people live on top of one another like this?” Geoffrey was completely serious; he was certainly a small town boy at heart.
Stephen snorted.
“Come on, bossman.” He steered them into the garage and towards the elevator. “You can work in the privacy of the car while I do a little more legwork. Then we’ll have a cup of coffee or two at the Courtside, yeah?”
Geoffrey nodded and was about to respond when the elevator stopped, and a few other businessmen boarded. Stephen methodically stepped in front of Geoffrey, giving the lawyer his back until they reached their floor. He then guided Geoffrey out of the elevator, hand once again in the small of his back, placing himself between the strangers and Geoffrey’s exit before continuing in that same manner toward their car.
They walked in silence, Geoffrey’s steps seeming a bit faster than usual. Stephen held the passenger door for him before walking to the driver’s side and getting himself situated.
Once they were making their way out of the garage, Geoffrey spoke, although his gaze did not leave his touchpad.
“I do not like this place, Stephen.”
Out the corner of his eye, Stephen watched the shudder go through Geoffrey even though the attorney’s determination in his work never wavered. Stephen reached over and patted his thigh in a reassuring manner.
“I know, bossman, but we’ll be headed back south soon.”
As a dom himself, Stephen always looked out for Geoffrey as an unspoken accord with Charlise - she had been there for his Jinx on more than one occasion.
“Not soon enough,” Geoffrey grumbled, glancing at the paper Stephen had given him to assure his message to Demetrius was correct.
Stephen laughed heartily at Geoffrey’s comment as the car doors cycled in to locked position, both actions having a visible effect in helping Geoffrey relax. If only in the slightest.
to be continued…
Geoffrey ducked and tried to cover his soft laughter with his napkin.
“Sorry, no time for breakfast before I left the house this morning,” he managed to enunciate before wiping his mouth and swallowing again, “Tell me what we know so far,” Geoffrey implored before flattening the napkin and securing another large bite.
“First” – Stephen held up a finger signally for a moment to finish his bite – “here’s what Jinx managed to find for me.”
Stephen wiped his hands on his third napkin and took some pages from the inside pocket of his coat.
“As I said, the dad apparently attempted to put her into the system just over six years ago.” Stephen indicated a highlight on the faintly printed page he flattened onto the table facing Geoffrey. “But the system has no record of it. However, I checked out his documentation and it is, indeed, legit. But when I asked the people at the front desk about the Marguerite B. Atkinson named thereon, they have no record of her placement. And here’s why.”
Stephen paused to take a big drink of root beer. He wiped the foam from his mouth on his sleeve and continued, that ‘I love my job’ look plastered securely on his face.
“It seems the caseworker’s name on here” – Stephen indicated the copy of the Transfer of Legal Guardianship Form – “disappeared completely, and the date on this receipt is the last time she actually checked into the office. Her assistant too. In fact, the missing person’s report filed by her husband at the police station was ruled a desertion of spouse along with her assistant’s that was filed by the assistant’s wife. Cops seem to think the two ran off together, and left it at that. But then I talked to both the caseworker’s husband and the assistant’s wife, and it’s pretty obvious that neither case was a desertion. Both couples were quite happy – hell, the assistant and his wife were trying to get pregnant – and nothing, and I do mean nothing, was missing from the residences of either missing person. It’s like they both went to work one day, and vanished.”
Geoffrey gulped some of his root beer and squinted at Stephen.
“So, someone waited until the dad left and, what, kidnapped the girl? Killed the caseworker and assistant? Kidnapped all three? I thought you said you found her, Stephen.”
Stephen had taken the pause to put another large bite in his mouth, but he chewed enthusiastically so that he could answer. It was obvious how much he was enjoying this case.
“Well, if you’d let me finish, bossman.” He pounded back another big swallow and set the glass down, once again wiping his foam mustache and winking at Geoffrey. “About a year later” – Stephen indicated another highlighted area further down the page – “this Dorothy Westmorland filed homeschool paperwork for a Marguerite A. Son, the ‘A’ apparently for the family name of ‘Atkin’. She was listed as Dorothy’s niece.”
“Mmm-Hmm,” Geoffrey interjected with a raised eyebrow, indicating to Stephen that he understood and that the investigator should continue.
“Seems Dorothy was a single mom with one son barely out of diapers and hardly a pot to piss in, but who, while working as an accountant to a couple of different small businesses in their neighborhood” - He flipped to the next page and pointed again – “managed to homeschool this Marguerite and, eventually, her own son, Addison. I’m guessing her major reason for taking the girl in and not enrolling her in the school system was partially for a live-in babysitter that she did not have the money to pay.” Stephen shrugged. “But I don’t know that for sure.”
He paused to take another large bite, and Geoffrey took that as another opening for his own input.
“So, she’s living with Ms. Westmorland now? Well, the three of them will be thrilled with their new living arran—”
Stephen began shaking his head adamantly and signaled for a moment to swallow, then chugged another swallow as he motioned to the waitress for drink refills.
“What?”
“No more Dorothy, bossman. Seems she died of cervical cancer a little over a year and half ago, leaving a nearly nineteen year old Marguerite and a six-year-old Addison alone.”
Stephen paused as Geoffrey thanked the waitress for their refills and ordered them some cheesecake for dessert.
“So, Addison was put into foster care and wha—”
Stephen was shaking his head again and grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
“Wrong again,” he responded lightheartedly, indicating the paper once again, “Seems the boy was M-I-A when the authorities came to collect him and, not having any record of Marguerite as part of the family household, they investigated what family they could of Dorothy’s – not much, mind you, just a crack whore mother who barely knew her own name and a brother who was in and out of jail for petty theft and such. Finally, they just listed the boy as missing, and let the case go cold.”
Not jumping to a conclusion this time and thanking the waitress for their cheesecake, Geoffrey prodded his investigator to continue with a wave of his fork.
“Sooooooo….”
After Stephen made a complete comedy act of tasting the dessert and rolling his eyes at its heavenly goodness, he savored the bite for a bit before continuing at Geoffrey’s prompt.
“So, that is about where Jinx almost lost her. There’s no longer an Addison Westmorland enrolled in the school system, home or otherwise. His records go cold around the same time of Dorothy’s death. Also, our designated Marguerite Son took her final paycheck from the diner where she was working around then, too.”
Stephen paused to put another huge bite of cheesecake in his mouth and worked it around like a little boy with his first scoop of ice cream.
“This stuff is ama-”
Geoffrey interrupted him with a very loud throat clearing – since his mouth was also full – and pointed at the paper to prompt Stephen to continue. The larger man nodded as he smiled and washed down the bite with another big gulp of root beer.
“On point, bossman.” Stephen’s grin grew wider at Geoffrey’s feigned annoyance. “Got it. But then we’ve got a Rita Bee Atkins opening a Pay-Save account at the new World Web Bank within weeks of Dor—”
“The ‘world what’ bank?” Geoffrey interrupted, incredulous.
“You know, one of those new-fangled places that doesn’t even exist as a brick-and-mortar building, boss; it’s just ‘money’-” Stephen illustrated the word with air quotes. “-that is simply deposited electronically, paid out electronically, and stored electronically.”
Geoffrey looked horrified. He’d known this was probably where the financial system was headed, but damn! No building at all?
“So, how exactly does one get their hands on cash, Stephen?”
Stephen chuckled as he scraped his plate from his delicious cheesecake; somehow he’d thought the piece was bigger.
“In the rare instance that you need cash, you can always go to any ATM, scan your code on your phone screen, and get cash for a small convenience fee. But most of the kids nowadays hardly use that option. Everything they do is ‘in the cloud’ and ‘on the phone’.”
Again with the air quotes.
Geoffrey was still mystified. Even his biggest clients still sent him a check, but now he wondered if that was because of him being old and out of touch when it came to this modern way of doing things. He’d have to—
“Hey! You with me, bossman?” Stephen teasingly waved the check in front of his face.
He must have zoned out for a moment. Geoffrey smiled at the investigator who had become more of a family friend than an employee over the years.
“Yeah, it’s just … that’s just … wow.” Geoffrey briefly shook his head. “Anyway, continue.”
“So, this Rita-Bee – oh, and that’s actually the word ‘bee’ that buzzes not an initial like in her real name – now works as a waitress and bookkeeper at a small shop down near where the Bronx meets Harlem called the Courtside Coffee-N-Cola. Lives near there in some building that, according to the city, has been uninhabited for over four months now. I’m sure she’s moved and just neglected to change her address in her bank records. Happens a lot to folks when they move but don’t have the landline phone and no paper bills, ya know?”
Geoffrey looked intently at Stephen as he handed the waitress his credit card.
His apparently outdated, old-man-prop credit card. He couldn’t wait to tell his Charlie and Gary about this ‘web bank’ thingy. God! He would be glad to get back to small town, busy-body life.
“Actually, I’m sure I don’t know, Stephen.” The comment made Stephen laugh into his root beer he’d paused to drink once again. “But do we know what happened to that poor boy she was supposed to be babysitting?”
Stephen smiled knowing Geoffrey – the high-price, hard-ass attorney – had a heart bigger than most men or women on any given day of the week. He sat back and patted his full stomach.
“Worry not, bossman,” he began, placing all of their napkins and dirty plates into a neat pile on top of the pizza pans, “Rita’s recent online purchase records include second and third grade school books along with a Kindle account that is loaded with children’s novels, nature books, family-friendly movies, and elementary science and history videos.” He grinned across at the obviously relieved Geoffrey. “Not exactly the usual stash for today’s twenty-year-old, eh?”
Geoffrey took a deep breath as he signed the receipt and downed the remainder of his root beer.
“So, I need to buy an extra return ticket for the boy, I suppose.” Geoffrey was listing off things for himself more than for Stephen. “And contact the boarding house about an additional occupant. And schools?”
Geoffrey looked up in question at the now standing Stephen who stepped over to pull Geoffrey’s chair for him.
“I’d wait on the schools, though.” Stephen replaced the chair and guided Geoffrey out with a large hand in the small of his back. “There’s probably gonna be custody issues you’re going to have to deal with in this case.” Stephen held the door for Geoffrey as he continued. “Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission or the sneak attack is the best attack. Either one applies best to government agencies.” He let the door close behind them as Geoffrey tried to take a breath of fresh air.
And coughed. There was no fresh air; it stunk. Was that a word? Stunk? Well, even if it wasn’t, it seemed that big cities always did it. Stink, that is.
And people were everywhere. In front of you. Behind you. In your personal space.
Stephen chuckled at Geoffrey as they continued down the sidewalk toward the parking garage.
“How do people live on top of one another like this?” Geoffrey was completely serious; he was certainly a small town boy at heart.
Stephen snorted.
“Come on, bossman.” He steered them into the garage and towards the elevator. “You can work in the privacy of the car while I do a little more legwork. Then we’ll have a cup of coffee or two at the Courtside, yeah?”
Geoffrey nodded and was about to respond when the elevator stopped, and a few other businessmen boarded. Stephen methodically stepped in front of Geoffrey, giving the lawyer his back until they reached their floor. He then guided Geoffrey out of the elevator, hand once again in the small of his back, placing himself between the strangers and Geoffrey’s exit before continuing in that same manner toward their car.
They walked in silence, Geoffrey’s steps seeming a bit faster than usual. Stephen held the passenger door for him before walking to the driver’s side and getting himself situated.
Once they were making their way out of the garage, Geoffrey spoke, although his gaze did not leave his touchpad.
“I do not like this place, Stephen.”
Out the corner of his eye, Stephen watched the shudder go through Geoffrey even though the attorney’s determination in his work never wavered. Stephen reached over and patted his thigh in a reassuring manner.
“I know, bossman, but we’ll be headed back south soon.”
As a dom himself, Stephen always looked out for Geoffrey as an unspoken accord with Charlise - she had been there for his Jinx on more than one occasion.
“Not soon enough,” Geoffrey grumbled, glancing at the paper Stephen had given him to assure his message to Demetrius was correct.
Stephen laughed heartily at Geoffrey’s comment as the car doors cycled in to locked position, both actions having a visible effect in helping Geoffrey relax. If only in the slightest.
to be continued…
Book of the Month contest entry
 Recognized |
I know, longer than most...but, once again, I really did not see a good way to 'split' this one. :) :) Thanx for reading! :) :)
Rosemary - (deceased) Rosemary Fenna, Sister of the World Wide Hecate Order and Guardian Protectress of The Refuge
Geoffrey Staltson - Rosemary's lawyer and friend to the residents at The Refuge
Demetrius - tall, mysterious male resident of The Refuge, does not seem to socialize with the others
Peadar - Irish male resident of The Refuge, helped Rosemary with upkeep
Lycaois - (aka Lyca) Goth, warrior-looking female resident of The Refuge
Koko - Native American male resident of The Refuge, has unending optimism and warmth about him...most of the time
Kato - large male resident who wears the clothes of a teenager
Charlise Staltson - Geoffrey's wife (they have a three-way marriage - Geoffrey, Gary, and Charlie)
Gary Staltson - Geoffrey's husband
Freki - Lyca's over-sized pet 'dog'
Stephen - private investigator employed by Geoffrey
Jinx - computer hack/whiz working with Stephen, handles all the tech-forensics for investigations.
Maggie - Marguerite B. Atkinson
Addison (Addy) Westmorland - little boy with Maggie, being raised by her
Dorothy Westmorland - Addy's mother (deceased)
Image of 'Requiem for 2016: Cropped' from VAST photo [vastphotos.com]
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Rosemary - (deceased) Rosemary Fenna, Sister of the World Wide Hecate Order and Guardian Protectress of The Refuge
Geoffrey Staltson - Rosemary's lawyer and friend to the residents at The Refuge
Demetrius - tall, mysterious male resident of The Refuge, does not seem to socialize with the others
Peadar - Irish male resident of The Refuge, helped Rosemary with upkeep
Lycaois - (aka Lyca) Goth, warrior-looking female resident of The Refuge
Koko - Native American male resident of The Refuge, has unending optimism and warmth about him...most of the time
Kato - large male resident who wears the clothes of a teenager
Charlise Staltson - Geoffrey's wife (they have a three-way marriage - Geoffrey, Gary, and Charlie)
Gary Staltson - Geoffrey's husband
Freki - Lyca's over-sized pet 'dog'
Stephen - private investigator employed by Geoffrey
Jinx - computer hack/whiz working with Stephen, handles all the tech-forensics for investigations.
Maggie - Marguerite B. Atkinson
Addison (Addy) Westmorland - little boy with Maggie, being raised by her
Dorothy Westmorland - Addy's mother (deceased)
Image of 'Requiem for 2016: Cropped' from VAST photo [vastphotos.com]
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. Y. M. Roger All rights reserved. Registered copyright with FanStory.
Y. M. Roger has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
