Detective Moss
Case Two: Chocolate

Moss sat at his desk in his office, watching Hamish sweep the floor. Now, it hadn't been his intention to have the boy do all the cleaning, but the first thing he did when entering the office was shatter a vase, knock over a stack of files, and spill a flowerpot, all within three seconds of stepping foot in the office. 'Course, he wasn't mad at the boy. No, even when he had only known him for a few hours, there was just something about him that he liked. It seemed impossible to be angry at him.

"Son, just how old are ya?" the detective asked, eying him thoughtfully.

"Sixteen," he replied, setting the broom down in the corner.

"Sixteen? And they let ya join the Talons?" Moss asked incredulously.

"Well... They did, until that there murder case... They went and kicked me out after you had the Commander arrested..."

"They kick you out 'cuz of that?"

"Naw," Hamish replied. "They was goin' ta kick me out anyways on account of me a'ways slackin' off." He flushed and hasten to correct himself. "But I'd never slack of workin' for ya, Mr. Moss! Honest!"

Moss snorted in amusement before standing up. "Well, we're done workin' for the day... Jus' tell me where ya live and I'll take ya home."

"I... Uh... Well, nowhere, sir. I joined the Talons cuz I ain't got nowhere else ta go... But now that they kicked me out... I was hopin' that maybe..."

He sighed. "Yeah, c'mon, son... Yer comin' home with me."

The boy immediately brightened. "Thanks, Mr. Moss!"

"Ya know how ta fly a skimmer?"

"No sir."

Moss sighed again. "Good thing that there's room enough on Bessie for two then..."

"Ya can let go now, son," Moss said as he landed Bessie outside his home. He glanced back at Hamish who was clinging to him, face pale. "What, ya never ride a skimmer before?"

"No sir," Hamish replied, slowly letting go of the detective, as if the skimmer would suddenly take flight again without warning. He turned his head to look at the house curiously. It wasn't large, nor was it particularly small. It was an entirely inconspicuous house; painted a dull off-white color. It had a nice green lawn and was surrounded by a white picket fence. As he looked around, the boy noticed that all the houses around were surrounded by white picket fences, and all looked almost identical.

"Ah, so the Great Detective returns!" A cheerful voice exclaimed.

He turned toward the voice with a smile. "Evenin' ma'am," he greeted, tipping his hat. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I was just walking by when I noticed you coming, so I decided to drop right in... Who's that behind you?"

"This is Hamish," he replied. "Hamish, this is my neighbor, Ms. Robin."

"It's nice to meet, you Hamish," she greeted warmly, her green eyes shining.

"Nice ta meet ya too, ma'am," Hamish replied, imitating Moss's hat tip.

"Aww, isn't he just adorable, Mr. Moss?" Robin reached over, pinching his cheeks, causing the boy to flush. "Is he a relative of yours?"

Moss laughed warmly. "Naw, he's jus' my roommate... for the time bein', that is... Would ya like ta come in?"

"I'd love to," she replied with a smile. She walked through the gate as he opened it and tipped her head to the side for a moment. "Hey, what's that on your porch?"

"Hmm?" he walked over and picked up a small box off the step of his porch. "Chocolates...? Must be those damned recruiters again... They're always tryin' ta get me ta join the Talons."

"Well you would really be a great addition, a man of your caliber... Better than most of the lazy riffraff they let join..."

Behind them, Hamish knocked over a trash can, flushing and hastening to pick it up.

Moss snorted as he eyed the boy. "Can't argue with ya there... Anyway, I don't eat these thanes." He made a motion with the box. "Too sweet for me... Would ya like 'em?"

"Oh, yes," Robin replied. "It's funny, I just lost a bet to my husband and now I owe him a box of chocolates. I guess now I won't have to go through the trouble of buying one!"

"Oh really? What was the bet?"

"Oh, you know that new mystery film that came out, right? Well we saw it last night and we made bets on who the killer was... He was right, of course."

Moss laughed, causing her to quirk an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, Ms. Robin, it's jus'... The reason why ya lost is because Kalen and I saw the movie last week."

She looked shocked for a moment before she laughed. "I should have guessed as much... Just for that, I'm not going to give him the whole box!" Popping open the box, she took out a piece of chocolate and ate it. "Mmm... That's good..."

"Hey, cain I have un?" Hamish asked, staring down at the box with pleading eyes.

She snapped the box closed. "Sorry, Hamish, but I really can't be giving away all of his chocolate, can I?"

The boy looked to the ground, clearly disappointed. "D'awww..."

She smiled, amused, before looking up at the darkening red sky. "Oh! Look at the time; I really should be going."

"Make it home safe, now," Moss replied, tipping his hat.

Robin laughed. "As if someone would dare commit a crime in your neighborhood..." And with that she left, disappearing down the street.

"Well, c'mon. Let's head inside, son." He took the key that hung on his belt and opened the door, ushering him inside. "Now you jus' go and set yerself up on the couch, ya hear? I'm just goin' ta grab ya a blanket..."

"Yes sir," Hamish replied taking a look around. The house was rather plainly furnished, with little decoration. He settled himself on the brown couch and nodded, deciding it was comfortable enough. He kicked off his boots and settled back, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. So far these new arrangements seemed pretty good. Detective Moss seemed much nicer than the Talon Commander... He felt a hand on his shoulder, and thinking it was Moss, he opened his eyes. Leaning over him was a man with long black hair and sunken yellow eyes. He let out a scream and scrambled backwards.

"What in Sam's hill...?" Moss came rushing into the room at the sound of Hamish's distress. "... Duken? The hell do you think yer doin' in my house?"

"Just checking out the fresh meat," he hissed, staring down at the boy inquisitively. He rested the back of a cold hand on his cheek for a moment, making him squrim away in discomfort. "He looks... Delicious. Tell me boy... Do you like candy?" He began digging through his pockets. "I could get you some if you like..."

"... Git outta my house."

"Fine..." The man turned and slunk out of the house. Hamish was almost surprised that he didn't leave a trail of slime behind him.

"Who was that?" Hamish asked, shuddering.

"The man's named Duken. Despite his attitude, he's harmless enough... Has a bit o' a trespassin' issue though..."

"Is he goin' ta eat me or somethane?"

"Naw, he's jus' a bit o' a creep." The detective shrugged. "Now, ya just settle on down here while I make some dinner..." He blinked as someone knocked on the door. "Hang on a minute... Jus' stay where ya are..."

Moss opened the door, finding him face to face with his neighbor Arad, a rather disagreeable man who seemed to despise him no matter what he did. "Howdy, neighbor... Any particular reason yer standin' on my doorstep?"

"You parked your skimmer on my newspaper again," he hissed,brown eyes narrowing.

"Well what's yer newspaper doin' on my property? You sure that ain't my paper?"

"As if you would even read the paper," he sniffed contemptuously.

"Well it ain't my fault that yer paper ended up under Bessie. Now if ya don't mind, I have a guest over." Shaking his head, he began to close the door.

"Fine, have it your way Moss, but let me tell you! Very soon, you will have your comeuppance!" Arad smirked. "Very soon... I hope you're ready."

Moss closed the door without further comment, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Mr. Moss... Are all yer neighbors complete creeps?" Hamish asked, getting up from the couch.

"Naw, only a few... The only other one ya might need ta look out for is Yarda on account of me findin' her husband guilty o' murder, but..." He shrugged. "Other than that it's a'right... Now, let me get started on that dinner, then it's off ta bed for ya."

"Bed? But it's so early..."

"Now son, since yer livin' in my house, you got ta live by my rules, understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good... Glad we're seein' eye ta eye."

Hamish couldn't sleep. How could he? It was like what, nine? And yet, he could hear Mr. Moss snoring away in the next room. This man... He liked him well enough, but he was just so... different. He wondered how long this arrangement would last for. Probably not long if it was like all the others he had had... Ah well, at least he had a roof to sleep under for now.

He laid there for hours, just trying to get his eyes to close, but failing miserably, his mind continuing to wander to random topics. Just as his mind went blank and his eyes began to close...

"Mr. Moss! Mr. Moss! Get up! Emergency!"

Hamish bolted upright, startled, his heart pounding in his chest. He heart Mr. Moss jumping up and stumbling his way over to the door.

"Huh? What?"

"It's Robin and Kalen! They've been poisoned!" It was a female's voice that sounded extremely panicked. The boy got up and went to the door to see what was going on. "Kalen's dead, and Robin's been taken to the hospital!"

"What poisoned 'em?" Mr. Moss demanded, the sleepiness disappearing from his eyes.

"It was a box of chocolates," she replied.

Hamish's eyes widened. "But Mr. Moss... Those chocolates were meant for you!"

A/N Yep, this one is a two-parter just due to lengthy-ness. Yeah... I kind of focused too much on Hamish instead of the mystery at hand. Oops... Hehe... Well, who could possible resist the adorableness of Hamish?