Catching Sunshine | JJ Maybank

7 // Homecoming

"You think that was too much?"

The three loud, echoing thuds of the brass knocker attached to the door of the Limbrey's mansion yielded no initial response. "It echoed the entire house, that's for sure," JJ responded to Pope, "So they definitely heard it."

"Maybe nobody's home?" Kie suggested. I looked skyward at the curtained-off windows high above our heads; not even a phantom draft rustled them about. The place was dead.

"Or maybe, this was some wild goose chase," I pointed out, "Wouldn't be the first time." Kiara shot me a look. Okay, so maybe it was a little pessimistic, especially for me, but she couldn't deny that I spoke the truth. Pope stepped forward and thudded the knocker several more times, more insistently that the last.

On the third, the door opened swiftly without warning which made Pope step backwards in surprise. The man who answered was...not exactly who I would have expected which was putting it delicately. I was anticipating slick-backed hair, tuxedoed, graceful, Kook-ness, not an unkempt, wrinkle-clothed, middle aged white guy. He seemed out of place in the storied, Southern wealth this estate exuded.

However, he only seemed phased by us for a few seconds before wagging a finger and a sly smile in Pope's direction. "You must be Pope."

"Um..." Pope hesitated, glancing over at JJ. "Are you Mr. Limbrey?"

"Ms. Limbrey," he emphasized, "was expecting you yesterday."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way up here-"

"Carburetor blew up," JJ interjected, "in the middle of Nowheresville. Sorry 'bout that."

The stranger seemed unmoved by our tale of woe. "Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up."

"We tried to call..." Kie supplied.

"There's no number on the letter though," I finished for her, slightly irritated by the song-and-dance he was leading us through. "We got here as fast as we could, all things considered. So can we come in or not?"

He looked the three of us over once, twice and said to Pope, "She also expected you to come alone."

My fingers tightened at my sides and my mouth opened again but Kie silently advised against it with a firm but cool grip around my wrist. Pope spoke up with a bit more eloquence than what I had in mind. "I mean, these are my friends. They helped find the Royal Merchant too. I-"

"The instructions were explicit," the guy interrupted with an eye roll, "Your friends can stay outside."

"We're kind of a package deal man-" JJ argued but Pope was quick to cut him off.

"JJ, it's okay. I got this," he reassured the blond, turning over one shoulder to nod at Kie and myself. "I'll be good."

He had to know this wasn't smart, that is wasn't a good idea but if there's one thing I could count on from Pope, it was his sense of curiosity. He wanted to know what this Limbrey woman knew about the case and why she was so insistent that it would be him alone she would divulge it to. So Kie said, "Yeah, we'll be right here."

The two of them squeezed hands briefly and I heard Pope whisper, "Keep the car running."

I nodded once with a tight-lipped smile and watched him disappear into the depths of that house until the heavy door slid shut with an ominous thud. "Anyone else very uncomfortable with the situation?" I asked the two remaining parties at my side, still staring at the ornate golden knocker. Very slowly, both Kiara and JJ raised their hands in the air without saying anything.