Frozen hearts, in the house of cards,
a game of pale illusions.
Lonely souls, left out in the cold,
salvation feeding flames of retribution—
"Frozen Hearts"—Altaria
Darkness and Light: Part II
Chapter IV
While the four ascended the stairs to the main office of Garland Detective Agency, Johnny, Jeanne, and Lenny, took in the features of their potential client from Great Britain. The woman had auburn hair with a few specks of gray. She was a petite woman, and she looked to be in her early 50s.
Once the four entered the main office, Lenny gestured to the couch. "Please have a seat," he said to the British woman. "Would you like something to drink?" he added. "I could make you some coffee, but we have tea and water available."
"Tea will be fine; thank you," replied the British woman.
The woman took her place on the couch, while Johnny and Jeanne sat facing her.
"I'm Johnny Garland," Johnny said, while he extended his hand.
The woman shook it, but as she did so, she thought, "He must be the son of that older gentleman, and this must be his sister. Although I thought that I did see them holding hands."
"I'm the man in charge of this detective agency."
The woman grinned. "Oh, I'm sure that you are."
"Actually, he is," Lenny said, while he handed the woman her tea. "He may be young, but the young master is very good. We've tracked people between North and South America."
"Hmm," the woman said, while she sipped her tea. "And you are?"
"I'm Lenny Curtis. I've worked with the Garland family for about 14 years."
"My father was a prominent doctor in New York," explained Johnny. "But he passed away, a little over three years ago. Since I was his only heir, I took out some funds and opened the detective business that you currently find yourself seated in."
"And you get lots of cases?" asked the woman.
"Like Lenny said, we have tracked people between North and South America."
"Like who?"
"I can't really comment on that. It's a personal matter between those who have hired me."
The woman nodded. "I understand." And turning to Jeanne, she asked, "And who is this?"
"I'm Jeanne Hyuga," Jeanne replied, while she extended her hand.
The woman shook it.
"I'm Johnny's girlfriend, but I also work with him in his detective business."
The woman smiled. "But by your accent, I can tell that you're not originally from America."
Jeanne returned the smile. "That's true. But based on your accent, the same could be said for you."
The woman maintained her smile. "Well, yes, that's true as well. I'm originally from Wales. But your last name, Hyuga, it has Japanese origins, does it not?"
"Yes, it does," Jeanne said with a nod.
"Yet, you look very European."
Again, Jeanne nodded. "I do have Japanese blood in me. My father is part Japanese, but he is also part Russia. My mother, by contrast, is part French and part English. As for me, I consider myself to be French. That's where I was born, and that is my native tongue. In fact, that is where Johnny and I met."
"Excuse me," Johnny began—interjecting himself. "But I highly doubt that you came here to talk about our personal history. What is your name, and what brings you to Garland Detective Agency?"
"My name is Koudelka Brankett, and the reason that I'm here concerns my son, Halley."
"You son, Halley?" asked Johnny.
Koudelka nodded. "Neither me or my husband has seen him for about two weeks—no phone calls or anything." Reaching into her handbag, Koudelka pulled out an image. "Here's a photograph of him, by the way."
Koudelka handed the photograph of her son to Johnny. Johnny, along with Lenny and Jeanne, glanced over the image. The young man in the picture looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, and his features revealed someone with descent from the British Isles or continental Europe.
"How old is your son?" asked Johnny.
"He's 31."
"You mentioned both you and your husband earlier. What is your husband's name?"
"Edward."
"You mentioned earlier than you're from Wales," began Jeanne. "Is your son also Welsh?"
"He's probably more English than anything else. He was born inWales, but grew up inLondon. We left England for America, when he was 14."
"So he is a U., right?"
"Yes," Koudelka said with a nod.
"Have you contacted the police about him?" asked Lenny.
At that question, Koudelka paused. "No, I have not."
"Any reason?" asked Johnny.
"…My reasons are personal."
Johnny nodded. "I can understand that, but to find a missing person, it really helps to file a police report."
"Plus," added Lenny, "it also come across as suspicious, when the police are not informed."
"…I have my reasons for why I do not want to inform the police…"
"But you want to inform us," interjected Johnny. "Therefore, to truly help you, we need you to tell us what is going on."
"…Let's just say that both my son and I have a unique gift from God, and I don't think the police would understand that."
"But we would?" asked Jeanne.
"Not necessarily, but you're on a much smaller scale than the police, so I think it would work out easier than having the police informed."
There was a moment of silence in the detective office, before Johnny nodded. "Does your son have a place of residence and a place of employment?"
"Yes," Koudelka said, while she took out a notepad and a pencil. "I will write you down his address. He lived inChelsea, by the way. As for his employment, he worked at Winchester's as a gunsmith."
"And I take it that's also inChelsea?"
"Yes, that's also inChelsea," Koudelka replied, while she handed Johnny the piece of paper with her son's address.
"Well, the flat fee we have for a case like this is $20. Are you willing to make a payment now?"
"Yes," Koudelka said, while she removed a 20 bill from her purse.
"Thank you," Johnny said, while he took the money. "The last thing we will ask of you is your address and contact information."
"Certainly," Koudelka said. Once again she took out the notepad, and wrote down her address and telephone number.
"Thank you," Johnny said, while he took the information.
"Is there anything else that you need of me?"
"No, I think that's pretty much it."
"Very well," Koudelka said, as she stood from the couch. "I hope to hear from you soon," she added, while she prepared to leave the agency.
Once Koudelka left the main office, Lenny turned to Johnny and said, "Master, are you sure this is a safe case?"
"Yeah," added Jeanne. "I mean, I'm just starting this, and I found something odd about that woman—such as her reasons for not going to the police."
"I'll admit some of it was odd, but we haven't had a case for about three months. I need work, and this is it. It is late, however. We'll start on this case first thing tomorrow."
"Where will we go?" asked Jeanne.
"We'll first go to Halley's place of employment."