Blood-Feud

Chapter I - Part 3

The two of them stared at one another as silence fell upon the small cramped office with the exception of the distant sounds that managed to make their way in from outside the windows along one wall.

Agnes studied the man as intently as he appeared to have been studying her.

Average looking with short brown hair and nearly clean shaven at least within the last few days given the residual evidence that had been found in the bathroom.

His nose showed evidence of having been broken at least once in his lifetime while a mole managed to dot his right cheek. 

"Let me get this straight ..." John Francis Davis began, still irritated that he had been consigned to the guest chair of his own office. "You're angry just because I missed our interview this afternoon?"

Agnes Pennywinkle sat back in what until this particular meeting had long been his chair, with a pert smile that was not pleasant nor was it apparently meant to be.

"The interview as for this morning ... not for as late as it clearly has become of the afternoon."

Not the first woman to have been irritated with him for reasons that he was unaware of by any means and definitely not the last.

"If your being late was all that had occurred ..." She continued evenly, "... then I would have left this den of male ineptitude not long after I arrived to have discovered it in the ragged shape that it was clearly in."

"Then what ..." Davis offered, not having bothered to cover the irritation that had boiled over to growing anger. "You broke into to my office only to search my things ... for what, may I ask?"

"Not your office." She replied curtly. "Your place of residence that clearly has long suffered as what very few would have even considered as an office space by any color, shape or definition of the word on a good day let alone bad."

Rather than argue with this woman who had dared to trample on his last nerve, Davis sat back to wait for her to continue as he was sure that she would.

Two could play at this game.

"And I was let in by the head of your local grey haired mafia who, by the way were also responsible for the transformation of the ghetto out there to a far more presentable place for most any visitor to appreciate."

"Grey haired mafia?" Clearly he had missed something.

"The widows that live around you are like a pack of angels who have taken it upon themselves to right your ship so that you can survive having lived with yourself as you clearly had far and above failed to do and yet considered it a place that you could bring clients, if you were to have had any that would not have fled at having seen what I saw when I first entered."

She reached over to pick up an envelope that from the glare of her golden brown eyes undoubtedly held some sort of key to her simmering anger with him.

"And then there was this that may have cleared up what has been going on here."

Without warning she tossed it to him where he managed to catch it before he opened it and read the card inside.

"You know if you and your friends at the paper had wanted to make a mockery of me, why go to all this trouble?" Agnes nearly seethed with anger that clearly was not meant for only him.

"Friends at the paper...?" He replied, now clearly more confused than ever.

The smile at what he could only have assumed that she had thought of as his attempt at a dodge was chilling given what he had been exposed to by others far more dangerous and devious with their intent.

"Why, none other than the illustrious pair of jackals Andrew Van Gullen and Marcus L. Martin, of course."

Davis shook his head as sincerely as he could.

"I'm afraid that I have no knowledge of the two men that you mentioned ..." Caught up by intrigue, he found his anger had down shifted a bit to a bubbled simmer. "... and I have not worked with anyone from any of the papers in town other than for background reference."

"Then ..." She leaned forward to place both elbows on his desk. "How is it that the invitation in that envelope states that the senior executive assistant of my old paper has requested a meeting with both you and your executive assistant, with me listed ... by name as the assistant."

Davis took the opportunity to reread the invitation that had been printed on impeccable looking official raised letter card stock. Of course she was right as he found Agnes Pennywinkle was clearly listed as his designated executive assistant.

Something that until this very moment he had been rather keenly unaware that there had had even been such a position let alone having filled it with the likes of the woman before him.

"I'm sorry ..." He offered as a truce of sorts as he held up the palm of one hand, "... but I'm as much in the dark here as you clearly are about this meeting that I knew nothing of until you gave me this card."

Agnes watched the man across from her and realized that it was entirely possible that he had been telling the truth as far as she could decipher from his apparent complete lack of deceit of any kind. Perhaps it was not as diabolical a ruse as she had first thought that she had stumbled into very much at her expense.

"Who all knew that we were meeting today, then if I may be so bold...?"

Davis appeared to consider the question when he suddenly realized something.

"I did contact your references, perhaps one of them may have contacted whomever this woman ..." He looked back at the card, "... Miss Malenca is that set up the meeting after what she could only have assumed that I would have hired you given your clear pedigree on the resume that you supplied."

"As a secretary ... per the listing of course ..."

"Well yes, I highly doubt that I could have afforded an executive assistant even if I had wanted to." His use of air quotes amused her which made her realize that it was entirely possible that she had overreacted after all.

Agnes frowned as she pushed back his chair and stood.

"My apologies then, apparently you were an unwitting pawn in this game that they have been playing me for."

Davis watched her turn to leave the room before he gathered himself enough to get up and follow where he found her putting on her coat and carefully tucking her hair beneath her flop hat in clear irritation that was no longer directed at him.

"If I am as much a pawn in this as you are ..." Davis offered as he reached for his own coat and hat, "... then we will confront them together and clear this up one way or the other."

She considered his offer and appeared to accept it as she patiently waited for him to open the door for her which he did with a resigned yet mused sigh.

As they made their way through the lobby, Agnes saw the old woman smile and give her the thumbs up sign with one hand which only served to make her shake her head and smile in return as they headed out into the cold and made their way toward the hotel Darklore and whatever answers would await them there.

Along with a mysterious woman named Malenca who appeared to have known far more than she should have of about things that had not yet happened as she clearly thought that they had.

Although the title of executive assistant clearly had a better ring to it than a common secretary Agnes mused while she waited for Davis to flag down a carriage.