Chapter Three - Mrs Kim Narrows Down The Suspects
It was the next day. Lorelai was at Luke's, barely on her second cup of coffee, when she looked up and saw Mrs Kim sitting opposite her.
"I need to know everyone staying at Dragonfly Inn this week," said Mrs Kim. "See if they broke vase."
"That's kind of irregular-" started Lorelai.
"Do not concern yourself," said Mrs Kim. "Please be quick. Time is of essence."
"Sure, no problem," said Lorelai, between caffeine sips. "Anything else I can do for you?"
"Who is Rory's boyfriend today? Was he around yesterday?"
"It's Logan. Yes, he was around yesterday, but he flew out to London last night, so you'll have no luck there."
"No problem. I have passport."
And then, just as quickly as she'd appeared, Mrs Kim vanished, almost in a puff of smoke - a skill she had perfected over time - leaving Lorelai bemused and ordering more coffee.
Lane was feeding her children Steve and Kwan, when the phone rang. Zack picked up the phone and immediately thrust it towards Lane.
"Hello, Momma?" she said. "What? You'll be away? You'll need someone to look after the shop. Sure, that's no problem." Lane looked at the phone, the line now dead. "Bye, Momma."
"What's happening?" asked Zack.
"It's Mom. There's an emergency, she's off to London."
"What? Has someone broken something and not bought it?" he joked.
Lane smiled. "That would be ridiculous, even for Mom… I think."
Rory was at Yale, reading a book with too many words in it, when her phone rang. She hoped it was Logan, calling from a whole ocean away. She picked it up and heard words zooming straight out at her.
"Hi, Mom. You're talking even faster than usual. Dial it down to chipmunk," she said, as she tried to comprehend what she was hearing. "Somebody broke a vase and didn't buy it?" she continued, talking over her mother, who was simultaneously talking over her, telling her the next bit. "You told Mrs Kim about Logan? No, of course I don't mind. It gives me an excuse to ring him. The only person I've talked to today is Paris, time to talk to London."