Drag Shergi Mystery 08 - Excerpt

When I woke the next morning I went from my office apartment down to a little café. The place was set up so there were single person tables along the outside window. Further in were two then four person tables. At the center were booths. Further in was a counter with stools in front of it. This morning there was a loud ruckus as the majority of the people seated were more distracted by newspapers than their food. I walked over to the counter and plopped into a seat.

“So do the police know anything?”

“No, it doesn’t seem so.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah, but whoever it was butchered his hair.”

I turned my head to the side. The pose of the person a few stools down made it so I couldn’t see the headlines properly. As the waitress came over to me, I turned my head to look at her.

“What will it be?”

“I’ll have corn flakes and fresh fruit. Say, can you tell me what all of the ruckus is about?”

“Yeah, that head singer of the Pinstripe Crew was attacked.”

“No.”

The waitress bobbed her head. She scribbled my order down then slid it into the rack with the other people. “It happened last night.”

“What a shame,” I said while I shook my head.

“Yeah, I don’t know what the world is coming to.” The waitress said as she leaned one hand against the counter. She looked me up and down then paused to smile. “Hey, are you new here?”

I chuckled faintly. “No, but I can’t say I’ve come in on your shift. I’m Drag.”

“I’m Hailane,” she replied.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said as I held my hand up to her. She did look a little familiar though. Then I remembered; I saw her at the concert.

She looked to be in her forties. Back at the concert she had been in a white hooded jacket and oatmeal colored jean skirt with white sandals. That outfit made her looks younger than her age. She had gray hair that was pinned up on the top of her skull while her bangs fell between her light blue eyes. Tan skin covered her body.

The waitress smiled as she took my hand. “Likewise.”

I shook her hand then shifted it to rest on the counter. With a smile, I waited for my food to come. When Hailane brought it over, I thanked her and ate. Once I was done, I paid the bill and left. As I walked out of the café I pondered on what could have happened to that popular singer. The only odd thing I noticed from the previous night was the child. But, that little girl couldn’t have been the cause. Could she?

For the moment I decided to leave it alone. I walked out of the little shop and wandered down the street. Though it wasn’t absolutely necessary, I made my way back to my office apartment. It was still in the slightly out of the way part of the business district. There wasn’t as much traffic back there as I would have liked, but the rent wasn’t such that I could barely keep up with it. Of course having an office in the front room and my bedroom in the back room helped quite a bit. I couldn’t afford a phone though, so I relied mostly on walk-ins and bumping into people on the street.

I slid my trench coat from my shoulders and set it on the coat rack by the door. Then I wandered over to my desk and sat at it. I straightened my white shirt and brushed my hands over my jeans. My eyes roamed from the desk to the drawers in it. I pulled open the upper left hand drawer and riffled through it. There was an old paperback novel that I’d started a while back. I leaned back in my chair while I thumbed through it. I couldn’t stay in my seat for long. Maybe I had a condition, or maybe I just liked to keep active. I stood and wandered over to a window.

From there I could swear I saw the little girl on the street. I blinked twice. My eyes diverted then returned to the place I’d looked. There she was again. With a slight frown I walked out of my place down the stairs then into the street. I caught sight of her again. So I walked over and asked. “Little girl, what are you doing?”

She smiled up at me. “I’m waiting for you.”

I blinked twice. As I approached her I crouched down. “Little girl, who are you?”

“I’m Anntrine,” she replied with a grin.

“Well Antrinne, why are you waiting for me?”

“Because you saw me.”

I blinked again. “What do you mean?”

“At the concert,” she replied. Her hand went up and gestured while she stepped down the street. Rather than head into the residential area, she diverted into the business district of the town - the section with the hotels, to be specific.

I followed her while she led me through the streets; it was quite curious. When we came to the hotel, I tilted my eyes back so I could look at the height. From the label I recognized it as the one which usually held the entertainment community. With a small frown on my lips, I looked at the little girl. “What are we doing here?”

“I want you to meet someone.”

“Who?”

“Her.”

Out of the front doors of the hotel came a lady in a fancy dress. She was in her thirties, it seemed. Brown hair fell to her shoulders, but with the kinks in it the length was probably further. The ruddy skin was a nice contrast to the green and blue fabric. The cut of the dress went in a halter top with a keyhole that exposed the very height of her bust. A slit went up the skirt to her thigh, showing some skin in the midst of the floor length fabric. She had plain black heels, which let the attention rise back up to her purple eyes. Her height appeared to be the same as the lead singer from the Pinstripe Crew.

“She’s the manager, Roliana Thembie.”

“Oh? I haven’t seen her before.”

“She mostly stays behind the scenes.”

“I see. Why do you want me to meet her?”

“Just talk to her. Once you do, then you’ll know.”

I looked at the child with a skeptical gaze. “Okay, will you come with me?”

She shook her head quickly. Then in a moment she turned on her heel. She dashed off down the street then turned the corner.

“Hey!” I called out to her. Just as I took a step to chase the child, the manager looked across the street at me. I paused as I looked over at the woman. With a sheepish smile I waved my arm lightly.

She stared at me. I couldn’t blame her – I looked like a fool. As the woman looked up and down the street, a group of paparazzi darted from the side of the hotel. She looked at them in fear. I couldn’t blame her for that either; sometimes the press just went wild.

Before I could think, I found myself halfway across the street that separated us. With one hand up to block the view of the cameras, I turned my head away so I could speak to her. “I’m sorry, are you alright?”

She took a step away from me. Then she turned and darted into the door of the hotel. Before she completely disappeared, she called out to me. “Come in.”

I hurried after her through the door. The portal closed. It wasn’t fully apparent to me at first, but the doors were the only part that had a slightly see-through appearance. The rest of the walls on the floor were made of one way mirrored glass. I stared outside then glanced away at the dim flashes behind the break.

“Now that we have a moment, who are you?”

I looked at the manager. My head ducked slightly while I spoke, “My name is Drag Shergi; I’m a private detective. I’m sorry for the trouble ma’am.”

“I’m Roliana Thembie. So, what was that all about?”

“Actually there was a child...but it doesn’t matter now.”

She blinked at me. When the security came over she waved them off. Alone with her again, Roliana gestured towards one of the many plush seats that were scattered over the receiving area. “A child?”

“Yes, she wanted me to meet you. Then as soon as she pointed you out, she ran away. I’m just confused by it.”

“So am I.” Roliana said with a small frown. She sat down with one leg curled over the other. She folded her hands across her knee. “Who is this child?”

“I’m not sure, but she said her name was Anntrine-”

“Anntrine?” The look on her face was pure shock. Her hands clutched her knee tightly. Her lower lip trembled as she took several breaths in before she
spoke up again. “It couldn’t be. Was it a little blonde girl?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

Roliana shook her head softly. “It’s nothing.”

“Please, I must know.”

“I can’t say. It’s private.”

With a sigh, I put my hand on my forehead. It was a minute or two before I could think of what to say. “Very well then, but if I don’t know then I won’t be able to help.”

“Thank you for your offer, but we don’t need your help.”

“What about what’s going on now, the attack?”

“What do you know about it?”

“Just what’s been in the paper and talked about.”

“Then that’s all you’ll know.”

I could only sigh at the stubborn reply. My hands rubbed on my thighs while I pondered. There wasn’t anything else I could do now; it was doubtful I could get in touch with any of the other musicians without help. “Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be around.” I slid my hand into my pocket. When I pulled it out again there was a business card in it. I handed it over.

She took it with one eyebrow lifted. Roliana nodded faintly then walked away. “I doubt it, but thank you.”

I watched her as she walked away. All I could do was shake my head. Whether anything came of the interaction would have to be seen later. For now, it was time to go. But, as long as I was in the hotel already, maybe I could take a look around. I took a casual glance around the front part. My eyes caught sight of the manager as she went to the elevator. I waited to see which floor she stopped on. Once I found that out, I walked over to the stairs.