(June's P.O.V.)
I barely slept a wink the night I spent at the motel. I kept thinking of the fantastic event that I had witnessed earlier that day. Never before had I seen such a person like Shamus Gild. I'm not attracted to him in a romantic way, but I can't deny that I'm not fascinated that a man like him existed. I spend just a couple of hours of my late night on my scroll looking for any reference to Shamus' work. I was fascinated, yet confused on a certain something I noticed.
Early in the morning, I checked my traffic app to find the address Shamus mentioned before. I found the apartment building on 3110 Brick Rd. It was a tall apartment building with shining black bricks and brown doors. I approached the front door and knocked on it. A few seconds later, someone opened it up to let me in.
There was a middle-aged woman who looked old enough to be my mother. She had long, messy, brown hair that had a slight shade of white at the ends. She wore a white-and-blue dress with a white apron at the front. Lastly, she had a pair of brown rabbit ears exiting from the top of her head.
"Oh, you must be Shamus' roommate." The elderly rabbit Faunus said. "I'm Mrs. Harrison. I'm the landlady here."
"Nice to meet you." I greeted back. "Dr. June Hopper."
"Yes, you're the lady who Shamus befriended the other day." Mrs. Harrison said. "You know, it's great you found him. He rarely has any friends."
"Rarely?"
"Well, he has me and that nice inspector from VPD, but other than that, I don't know much other people."
Based on his behavior to the policemen before, I wouldn't say I was surprised. He didn't exactly strike me as a people person. Still, he was nice enough to share the apartment with me, so I'm sure I can tolerate it.
"So you'll find him in the room already." Mrs. Harrison guided beginning to guide me there. "He's just practicing his pan flute."
"Pan flute?" I asked curious about why he would play such an old instrument. I didn't even know there was anyone left alive who played it. It was then that I finally heard the whistling tone coming from the second floor door.
"Yes. He plays it frequently. Well, I'll have you set your stuff."
I thanked the rabbit Faunus and entered into the room. I was immediately in what appeared to be a living room coming with sofas, an end table, and even a fireplace. Standing behind a window, I could see Shamus himself wearing a fancy-looking red robe. He blew a musical tone into the brown group of tubes with a golden bind holding them together. He played it beautifully and I couldn't help but admire that. Once he was done, I congratulated him by clapping my hands. He turned his head and smiled.
"Thank you, Hopper. I must say, I didn't expect myself to have an audience other than Mrs. Harrison. I often catch her listening in to my practices like it's some kind of private concert."
"Well, you play it well, Shamus. I didn't think there were any people who still played a flute like that."
Shamus stared at the instrument in his hand before placing it down at the table beside him. "Well, now that we're here, we might as well know each other. Come, take a seat." He lead me to two chairs which were set up in front of the fireplace. I sat in one and he sat in the other one next to me.
"Well, you already know most of my adult life. Honestly, it's hard to believe that you knew I was an Atlesian doctor by a small stitch and you could tell my love life just by seeing my cane."
"It's all a matter of observing, not just seeing." Shamus said. "Do you know how many steps you've taken during your flight up to this room?"
"Uh... No. I don't think anyone thinks about that."
"And that's what makes me different. It always pays to have an ear to the ground. You see, if you notice nothing, then nothing notices you."
His words actually got to me. I actually felt goosebumps at that quote. "So you notice just about every detail at a single nanosecond's notice?"
"It's not that hard once you practice enough." Shamus said. "I even wrote a book on it. The Theory of Deduction. I've been meaning to get it published, but not a lot of people would be open to the ideas that I have written. Well, at least I still get paid by the consulting."
"They pay you?"
"Well, as much as I love my work, I do need to pay the rent. If you'll have me, Hopper, I should also like your assistance in some of my cases."
"Why? I don't know what I'd do. You excel at every field."
"Incorrect, I'm afraid. There are gaps in even my own knowledge. And I shall refer them to you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of notebook paper. He passed it to me and I read off of it.
"Shamus Gild's Limits:
Literature – Nil, especially in fairy tales
Philosophy – Nil
Astronomy – Nil
Politics – Feeble
Botany – Variable. Well up in poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening
Geology – Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other and could probably determine the origins of Dust crystals by their cut.
Chemistry – Profound
Anatomy – Limited. Could determine the way in which a weapon damages a body, but doesn't know how certain body parts work.
History - Practical
Weaponry - Practical
Physics - Profound
Algebra - Profound
Pop culture - Nil
Grimm - Practical. Keeps record of Grimm behaviors.
Plays pan flute well
Is an expert in Huntsman skills, boxing, and swordsmanship
Has a good practical knowledge of all forms of law in the Four Kingdoms"
"These are your strengths and weaknesses?" I asked.
"I've made certain to keep it all well organized in here." Shamus answered placing his finger at his right temple.
"Made certain? How does that work?"
"You see, a mind is like an attic. You have to stock it with whatever furniture you choose. If you just throw in everything, you'll have a very messy space. It matters to know exactly what you need and what you don't need so you'll have a nice, organized room that you can walk in. You wouldn't want to step on anything. And besides, the ones labeled as 'nil' doesn't really affect me."
"Really? Even this part where it says you know nothing of fairy tales? Didn't they tell you these stories when you were a kid?"
"Most likely, but I erased it from my mind. It doesn't matter to me about a girl trapped in a tower or a man who's stared at the sun. How is that ever going to be included in my work?"
I chuckled. I was in utter amazement how this guy is willing to accept his own flaws, yet I was also baffled at the limits he had. "So are there any thing you do when you're not working, other than playing a flute and making a list?"
"It's important to keep your mind sharp, even with menial tasks. That's why I practice my musical arts. I also have a chemistry set in my bedroom and there's also a spare room where I can do experiments that can be relevant to a case."
"I see." I look down to observe the list again, but this time, my eyes were fixed on one thing. "Hold on. This says you're an expert in Huntsman skills. Were you once a Huntsman?"
"No. But I did go to a Huntsman school. Haven Academy."
"And you didn't graduate? Why?"
Shamus didn't answer my question. I could already tell that it was for a sad reason by the sorrowful frown on his face. He got up from his chair and returned to the window he was at before.
"If it's a bad memory, I'm sorry." I said.
"It's fine." Shamus sighed. "Although, I think you might want to brace yourself. We just got a new case."
"Really? How?"
"Elementary, my dear Hopper. Elementary." He gestured for me to join him by the window. I did and looked out at the street in front of us. I figured out what he meant with a very clear indication: the police car that was parked in front of the building.
The door behind us opened. A man entered the room in a black suit. He had a police badge on his belt. His hair was silver and his face was slightly under middle age. Shamus seemed happy to see him.
"Inspector Langstrom. Glad you could be here. This is my associate and part-time partner, Dr. June Hopper."
"Charmed." Langstrom greeted. "If you're helping, thank you. We've got a strange one."
"Well, this is off to a great start." I admit turning to my new partner. "What do you say?"
Shamus smiled. "I say, the game begins."
Author's Note: And now, we are hereby introduced to 3110 Brick Rd, which of course I based off the Yellow Brick Road. The next chapter will have the first official case, but it will take quite a while. Any and all comments are welcome.