Chapter Six: Larry Butz I presume?...

WN: Okay, HUGE APOLOGIES for not updating in a little while, things have been utterly mad recently, (ie. Was in car accident, and have been vomiting a lot since last night and college finals) anyway, excuses out the way :p Onward with the story….

There was a just a moment of silence as Nick and Maya's jaws hit the floor at the sight as well as the sound of Larry. They had seen many things in there time; evil spirits, Old bags to whip wielding prosecuting attorneys…. This was a new low…. Even by Larry's standards….

"LARRY?... what in the name of all that is good and….." Maya was cut off by Larry himself who exclaimed:

"Maya, Nick… and Pearls!... the gang's all here… so… daarlings… what do you all think of my look hmm…. Don't you think I look rather stunning?" He grinned…

Nick paused for a moment, trying to think of a suitable response, as stunning was not the word he would use to describe Larry's…. current attire to say the very least. He then spoke, trying not to give in to the oh so powerful urge to bang his head against the wall.

"Larry….. May I be so bold as to ask how in God's name do you think that dressing as a drag queen costume designer's assistant is a good thing to be doing at any given time?" He asked in a somewhat exasperated tone.

"Oh COME ON Nick! Clearly you do not know a THING about women!... this shows that I am in fact in touch with my feminine side…. Something of which women crave these days… isn't that right Maya" Larry grinned and gave her a flirtatious wink, which made Maya take a massive step back and shielded Pearly behind her.

"Rest assured Larry… none of us will be sleeping well tonight…" Nick shuddered. The smell of Larry's perfume alone was giving him a migraine.

"So… what brings you here anyway then…. I would have thought that you would have been on one of your cases or something" Larry shrugged, and then added…

"Or… are you here to get a sneak peek?"….

"What do you mean…. a sneak peek?" Maya asked.

"Of the show of course…. or in Nick's case…the lovely actresses!" He beamed, and looked somewhat misty eyed. It was then Nick was one hundred percent sure… a woman was involved. And the object of Larry's affections was most likely way out of his league… as always. Then again, any woman with a sound mind was most likely out of his league.

"WHAT… Mister Nick would never look at another woman!... especially in the presence of his special someone!" Pearl squeaked and slapped Larry; getting some of his makeup on her and then slapped Nick.

"YEOWCH!" Both men yelped.

"That being said… Nick and I do so happen to be on a case… the murder of Miss Em Mei… we are defending Miss Kat Nep…. And are trying to find out who really murdered her friend" Maya added.

"Poor Em…. It was tragic really… but I am sure that the kitty kat woman killed her!.. killed my Mei!" Larry wailed.

"Wait… I thought that you were eying one of the other women?" Nick questioned.

"Well… a guy does have to move on Nick… that being said….. Miss Em Rei was…. *sigh* so lovely….. and that Kitty Kat woman murdered her!... oh the crimes of show business!" Larry declared, and swooned back in a dramatic fashion.

"Oh really?... I thought that those two were friends" Nick countered.

"….. That's what everyone thought….. But rumour has it… their friendship was somewhat…. Strained…" Larry whispered.

"How do you mean "strained"…. Strained as in "I am prettier than you, but love you anyway, or the whole… "I am a far better actress than you and you are stealing my spotlight sort of thing" Maya questioned.

"….. Man Nick, you should stick with this one, she has mind reading powers!... in answer to your question…. We think there was jealousy… that ran deeper than their acting abilities…." Larry shrugged and looked around once more.

"Well how do you know Larry…. We can't exactly go around investigation with our leads based upon well…. idle gossip" Nick reasoned.

"Well… okay, okay…. I did not actually hear it from anyone who worked here personally…. I heard it from a reporter"….. Larry smirked.

"A reporter… oh dear merciful lord…" Nick started praying hard to whatever Gods he could think of. Of all the reporters in the USA…. It always seemed to be "that woman" who got herself involved in the very same cases that Nick and Co were investigating…. And always with a photograph of some sort that always managed to implicate their clients… but at the same time hold a clue of some sort to the true killer in every case. The problem was…. in order to get any reliable information out of her… required a lot of time…. sanity… and patience. These things are in fact valuable commodities.

"Yeah, though I don't think she was a local though… she had an unusual accent…. Still… she was telling me that my information could lead to a big scoop! I mean, imagine that Nick, me, Larry Butz mentioned in connection to the stars!" He beamed once more.

"Yeah Larry are you sure that your name being mentioned in connection to an on-going murder investigation should be classed as a good thing?" Maya pointed out.

"Ah…. Yeah…. I guess you are right…. But still, she did promise me one thing though…"

"Yeah… what was that?" Nick asked, fearing he would not like the answer.

"That with my information and hers, Miss Kitty Kat would go down for good!... now anyway darlings, I must go and powder my nose… toodles!" And with a wave of his hand, Larry sashayed out of the room, leaving the trio open mouthed.

"Well…. that was slightly disturbing…. On a number of levels" Maya exclaimed.

"I could not agree more Mystic Maya…. Why was that man dressed as a woman from a…. what do you call them"… Pearls thought back for a moment.

"A pantomime?" Maya offered.

"Yeah! that's it!" Pearl beamed.

"I know… dispite Larry's lack of fashion sense…. He did give us a valuable lead though…." Nick chimed in.

"That's true Mister Nick… I mean that reporter he mentioned had to be her….. Right?" Pearl questioned.

"Agreed… let's finish up here…. Then go talk to Lotta Hart"…

WN: Okay, apologies as I know that this is shorter than previous chapters, and will be most likely subjected to re writes from yours truly…. But I wanted to give you guys something at least… till then…. Please review? Also for fans of Little Brother's Assistant, I am writing a sequel, opening chapter of which is on my profile :D. Feyfangirl out…. Xxxx