The Case of the Missing Rugrat

"Now that is a car, ain't it Tommy?" Lou said, walking up to the 19040 Dunsenberg. The two of them were going on a little adventure up the coast… no real destination in mind but Lou was thinking he might stop and get some fresh oranges from a grove he knew was nearby. Tommy would like those. Maybe hit the beach and walk along near the surf, let Tommy just run to his heart's content.

They'd stopped off at a grocery store to get some supplies (with a baby it never hurt to have extra diapers!) when Lou had spotted the car, a man in a fine suit standing near it.

"She is a beaut."

"That she is."

"Reminds me of a car I had back when I was a private eye." Lou smiled at the memory. "Mind if I sit behind the wheel for old time sake?"

"Sorry, the car's actually not mine. Just admiring the car myself."

"Heh, can't say I blame ya." He looked at his watch. "Well, I need to go. Me and my grandson are on an adventure! Come on sprout!" Lou pushed the cart back to his car, the baby smiling and playing with a rattle; he was a bit too old for rattles but it was a fun toy to play with on trips in the car. "Hey, I ever tell ya about the time I saved 15 campers Trick R Treaters from some nut in a Captain Kirk mask? It was back when I was livin' in Illinois… though it looked an awful lot like California with the palm trees…"

Meanwhile Max the butler left the store. "Right, must hurry back to Emma and Clarice." The two old women had been dear friends of Max's father, the daughters of one of the maids. They had seen Max's father as a second parent due to all the support they'd given them… which had caused problems when they began to grow senile. Max, unable to think about casting them in some nursing home, had instead decided to play along with their delusions that they were really the wealthy owners of Grey Gardens and he was merely the butler. It made them happy and seeing as his children were grown and living their own lives he didn't mind in the slightest. It was rather entertaining. Let him feel like a normal person rather than the very rich man.

With a smile Max got in the car and drove off, preparing to slip back into the role of Butler Max, adopting the German accent they liked to hear him use, the posture, the cool conversational tone...

'Hmm… I should really check in on Howard… Phil and Lil haven't see me in ages and probably miss their Grandpa Max…' he thought.