"Welcome masters!"
A woman dressed in a maid outfit greeted James and Sirius as they walked into Maids are Babes, and James couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the strange sweet scent that lingered in the air. The...establishment looked like it jumped straight out of the 1950's with the checkerboard floor, the old jukebox that was playing songs in the back, and the old fashion seats some of the customers were sitting at. Women dressed in maid outfits bustled to and fro as they placed food for the customers on their tables or left the...establishment to go...please their masters. James couldn't help but sigh, he knew the economy had started to slow to a crawl, but he never imagined it had gotten this bad for the people who lived near Knockturn Alley.
Unlike the rest of London, Knockturn seemed to be in a never-ending slump, with its residents finding themselves wrapped up in debts they couldn't afford. The number of people sleeping outside on the streets had increased during the past few years, and in desperation some of the people had either turned to drugs, gangs, or prostitution to get by. Gang violence had increased, and the police nervously watched for any signs of a gang war. So far, the gangs hadn't done anything rash, but it was worth watching the gangs just in case things got too hectic.
"Are you here for the usual, or to place an order for a package?" The maid continued.
"Ah no, we're actually here for something else." James said as he held his badge out, "We're with the police, is the owner here?"
The smile on the maid's face faded, and James noticed that most of the customers had fallen silent. The customers eyes glared at James, becoming suspicious that a cop would show up at Maids are Babes for seemingly no reason.
"Yes she is officer, is there a reason you want to see her?" the woman said in a clipped tone as she looked him up and down.
"My partner and I wanted to ask her a question, it's about one of the workers here." James said.
The maid frowned, "Officer I think you don't understand how we work," she said. "We don't give out our worker's information, especially to the police."
"Look," Sirius growled, his patience at his limits, "One of your 'workers' murdered their client last night, just cooperate and maybe you'll be lucky enough to keep this 'establishment' running."
"Are you threatening us?" The woman asked in mock shock, "You get very far if you keep that attitude up."
The other customers murmured in agreement, their beady eyes glared at the two of them, they looked like they might soon do something they'd regret.
"We're not here to start a fight," James said in attempt to calm down the potential mob, "We just have a few questions to ask the owner, and then we'll leave."
The woman frowned, "I don't-"
"Don't worry Janice, I'll humor these polite officers." A voice spoke out from the back of the room, and a tall blond man walked to stand in front of James and Sirius. He wore gaudy clothes and smelled like cheap perfume, which explained the sweet smell that hung in the air. The man stuck his hand out and shook James hand, "Hello officer, I'm Gilderoy Lockheart-nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too," James said as Lockheart continued to shake his hand, "So you're the owner Mr. Lockheart?"
"Correct, you truly are an amazing detective officer!"
"Ah..." James decided to ignore Locheart's sarcastic quip, "Anyway so can you tell us about one of your workers, her name is Rose."
"Hmm...Rose huh?" Lockheart mumbled to himself before perking up, "Sorry but there isn't any 'Rose' I know of."
"That's impossible," Sirius cut in, "We have evidence that this 'Rose' girl worked here and then killed Quirrell."
"Quirrell? Oh, you mean the man who was killed recently!"
"Yes, he called here for a 'funtime' package last night." James said, "So you or someone else should have known about him, and the girl who went to visit him."
Lockheart looked confused though and pulled out a notepad from his pocket. His frown grew deeper as he flipped through the pages. Eventually he snapped the notepad shut and looked at James and Sirius,
"I'm sorry but I don't see any customer listed as Quirrell in here..." Lockheart said. "Are you sure you have the right place?"
"Yes, we're sure we have the right place, this is Maids are Babes right?" Sirius asked.
"It is, but I don't see his name in here anywhere, I write down the names of each customer who calls us, but I don't have Quirrell's name in here."
"Maybe you erased it as soon as you found out he was dead?"
"Are you accusing me of something officer?" Lockheart asked in shock, "I'd be careful if I were you, do you even have anything that proves I would want a source of my money dead?"
"Well no but-" Sirius begins but gets interrupted by Lockheart,
"The way I see it, you have nothing but tangible evidence at best," Lockheart continues, "For all you know the girl could've been lying-regardless I think it's time you gentlemen see yourselves out."
"Wait," James said, "I just have two more questions to ask you Lockheart."
"Fine, but then you get out of my place."
"One, you never knew anything about Quirrell until today, is that correct?" James asked.
"I thought I already told you," Lockheart frowned, "I've never heard of this Quirinus person before today."
"Alright then here's my last question, was everything you said today the truth?"
"Yes."
"...Okay then, Sirius we're leaving." James said as he grabbed Sirius and left the store.
"Hey officers, maybe the next time you show up here we can be a bit more...friendly with each other." Lockheart called out as the two of them left the store, "I'm sure some lonely policemen at the station would like to relive their stress...if you know what I mean."
"That guy is such an asshole..." Sirius complained as soon as they were far away from Lockheart's place. "He's so smug for someone who's running the equivalent of a-"
"He's also a liar." James interrupted Sirius, "I don't know if he's stupid or if he just let it slip on purpose..."
"Let what slip?" Sirius asked in confusion
"I'll tell you later, first we've got to pay a little visit to Hogwarts."
