"Alfred F. Jones
Wizard"
Had anyone actually read that ad in the newspaper they would have laughed and I knew it. I sighed and crumpled the sticky note that I had jotted it down on and threw it in the overflowing trash bin. I glanced over at the wadded pieces of paper lining my floor and moaned in self-pity. Why? Why did I contain the creativity of a teaspoon? Shrugging off my utter failures of the past, what was it? Nearly two hours now? Yes, that sounded right I began to make myself a quick little doodle of what ended up looking something like my father with a cat's body.
My phone rang then. I stood and padded over to the ringing device, pressed the "talk" button and pressed it to my ear. Through the static and fuzz that came from the line I made out Natalia's voice. I was horrible with electronics really. Every wizard was. They would go on the fritz when I was near. Thus why I decided not to keep many electronics near by. Regardless of my eternal love for movies and video games, we just didn't mesh well.
"Hotel," I managed, "Two blocks over." I gave a gruff response to Natalia's demanding tone and stretched my back. If she was calling me, then she meant business. And business meant pay, and pay meant I could pay off my rent, and that meant I wasn't ass first on the concrete …again.
I clicked the phone shut and grabbed my old bomber jacket from the couch by the door. Sliding the old, worn sleeves around my arms and zipping up the jacket I made my way out of my apartment and into the hallway. I went up a flight of stairs and entered the downpour of rain that awaited me on the streets.
Snapping to myself about my stupidity of not checking the weather before, oh I don't know, not getting an umbrella or any article of clothing that could constitute as a hood, I made my way down the street.
The walk wasn't that long, but people really loose control in the rain. They run around like little itty-bitty bugs attempting to find their way home. I certainly had to include myself in this, for I too was running around the streets attempting to get to my destination as quickly as possible.
After a few horrible, freezing, angered moments I arrived at a nice hotel that was just off of the main road. Natalia was standing out front, her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked utterly pissed.
"Hi." I managed then dashed over to her (The front of the hotel had a nice green cover over it that was protecting her from the rain and frankly, I hate getting wet).
"Alfred there is a bit of a scene up there I want you to check out. It's murder, obviously, but I think there's something different about this. Magic involved." Her thick Russian or Belarusian or whatever it was called accent danced with her words.
"Good morning to you too." I grumbled as she led me inside. "Stairs." I told her when she was about to make a turn towards the elevator. Grumbling she obliged.
"Seventh floor." She told me, as if it would change my mind.
"Not dying." I reminded her and with a huff she lead the way. I was always right when it came to using electronics around me. She was right…well just about every other time.
"Tell me about it." I told her, she pondered where to begin for a moment. Her slender finger tapping her thin lip-stick dyed red lips in thought.
I always liked her thinking face. Her lips pulled out just a bit, her nose scrunched up and her eyes squinted. All barely noticeable, but still it made her look like one of those child movie stars. Of course other than her extremely long, painted fingernails, woman-like physique and things of that manner.
"First thought was a simple suicide." She told me stepping up more of the stairs. I quickly matched paces with her. Although she was fast, I was much taller than her, thus I had longer legs.
"What made you change your mind? And think that there was magic involved?" I pressed, she stopped and flipped around to look at me, her braided, waist long hair smacking my chest as she did.
"You'll see." She said simply and spun back around to stalk up the remainder of the stairs. She paused just outside of the door that read "Floor 7" and turned to look at me.
"What?" I demanded,
"It's not pretty." She warned me as she opened the door just enough for the smell of decaying corpse to assault my nose.
"I've seen some pretty ugly things." I told her, she rolled her eyes and kicked the door the rest of the way open. I took one look inside and regretted it. Blood was splattered from the top of the hallway to the floor. People were attempting to move around it so they didn't get footsteps or hand prints in it.
The victim, it would seem was hung. A thick rope tied around his neck and hanging him from…the floor. He was completely levitating upside down.
"I see why you thought magic was involved." I mused attempting to keep the lunch I didn't have in my stomach. "Where did all of this blood come from?" I demanded stepping back against the now shut door.
"That's one other problem. There, if you look in that corner is what used to be a…person." I looked, there was a face on a small bloodied carcass.
Without warning I heaved. Natalia stepped back as I doubled over, she kneeled next to me her high-heels giving her a bit of height as she sat next to me. She patted my back,
"How are you so calm?" I demanded,
"I already puked once." Natalia whispered in my ear. This made me feel a little better but still I felt myself heave once again.
"God…" I whispered and clenched my eyes shut. "That was a person?" Natalia nodded and patted my back.
"Come on," She murmured and lifted my head to look at her. Taking a napkin she dabbed at my mouth. "Can you stand?" She asked,
"Yeah." I muttered
"Can you check out the scene?" she pulled some of my hair back,
"I hope so." She lifted one of my arms over her shoulder and I brushed her off,
"Nah, I got this." I assured her putting my hand on her arm. I was finally able to stand again and I took a deep breath. Finding this to be a mistake, I fully inhaled the smell of the decaying corpses. Biting my lip I fought back my vomit again. "Alright," I pushed through and took in the scene again, this time, with more luck.
The person hanging upside down had his…no her eye's open. She had short cropped hair that was flying around her face, going with gravity. Her clothes where also following the suit of gravity, a jean skirt folding over her and her shirt lifting up over her brassier covered chest. I walked over to investigate more. Her neck was bleeding where the rope was tied.
I flinched again and felt Natalia's hand on my shoulder, I walked closer to the woman hanging. "Who was she?" I asked,
"Kendal Missy." Natalia said, "32. She was a cashier down at the gas station." I took note of this in my mind.
"And the gelatinous blob of human flesh?" I inquired sneaking another look at the massive pile of human pieces.
"Michael Nancy." I nodded, "37. Librarian." I raised an eyebrow, a gas station cashier and a librarian? Was there a connection?
"Any relations?"
"No."
"Any way they could have met?"
"No."
"No even through the gas station."
"Never."
"At the store?"
"I wouldn't think so."
"Then how are they dead, and together?"
"That's what we have to figure out." I sighed heavily.
"Wrong place at the wrong time?" I suggested,
"It seems that way." I snuck another look at Michael's remains.
"But I don't think that some one would kill someone…that way and use that much magic on strangers." Natalia shook her head unsure of how to respond,
"You're the magician." Natalia snapped suddenly, "Why the hell would someone do that? Just to try out a spell?"
"No. Unless they are a over-flowing-power-house of magic no one would try such a large scale thing just to try it out." I closed my eyes and pressed the bridge of my nose, "Who ever did it was obviously experienced and had something against both of these people. But who the hell could connect a librarian and a cashier?" I shook my head as if to clear it,
"I don't know, but you're going to help me find it out." I nodded, in agreement.
"Hey, can we…leave?" I asked Natalia nodded.
"I'll deliver the pictures to you later, so you can investigate on your own time." I nodded as she opened the door to let me out and into the stairway.
"You have an umbrella?" I asked, she shook her head.
"The rain might let up."
"Okay." I chuckled, "You know I'll never know how you do it…" I whispered,
"Do what?" She demanded with a raised eyebrow in curiosity,
"Be so calm." I snorted, she shrugged, her slender shoulders bobbing up and down as she did.
"I was raised that way." She shot me a quick look, "Now, keep your mind on this investigation. Don't involve yourself with anything else you hear me?" I nodded,
"Wait." I held up a hand, something suddenly clicking in my mind. I thought perhaps someone both me and Natalia knew quite well, might have something to do with this situation and maybe would have a idea for the killer. "Do you think Elizabeta might have an idea about what happened?" Elizabeta was an infamous vampireress. She was in charge of this district in the underworld and might have an idea as to what happened. Natalia's face lit up,
"Perhaps." She nodded, "I'll question her later." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow as I looked into her serious blue eyes
"No, no, no, no!" I said in one big jumbled up word, smooth Jones… I grumbled to myself. "She wont listen to you. You're just a mortal." Turning my head and smiling I added, "She might just have a little thing like you for lunch." Natalia was unscathed by my attempts to stop her.
"I doubt that. Unless she wants to involve all of the human world police stations." I rolled my eyes,
"Like that will stop her." Natalia glared at me.
"She'll know what damage killing an officer will cause." I shook my head,
"An officer about to loose her job." I reminded her. It was a low blow, but true. Natalia's area of work wasn't really looked highly upon by the public, nor was it appreciated by the other police officers. Most people really were either afraid of the magic underworld, or despised them. In most cases both.
Despite Natalia's sectors attempts to control the underworld people still thought she was useless. This was true as well, until someone died or was involved that was not of the magical ethnicity, she couldn't involve herself.
"I don't care." Natalia snarled and pushed me further towards the door that lead to the lobby. "Now get out here. I'll visit Miss. Elizabeta when I'm damn good and ready." She turned to return to the crime scene before she added, "But if you even step a foot in her territory you'll have your foot so much further up your ass then it is already." I snorted as I watched her sashay back up the stairs.
She had a nice ass. What could I say?
