Alastor had put Edith down on the porch to lock the door behind them. The girl looked at the front of the house with wide eyes. It looked so nice! A long gravel driveway with nicely cut green grass on each side with large apple trees in the middle of the grass on each side.
"Wow" She mumbles to herself, staring at the beautiful landscape. Around the house were neatly trimmed bushes with flowerbeds in front of them. It was very colorful!
Alastor finished locking the door and turned around to see Edith staring with wide eyes. He chuckles to himself and picks her back up. "You like the landscaping, my dear?" he asked her, smiling.
She nodded her head before looking back at the wondrous sight.
"I just had the grass and bushes trimmed the other day. They did a wonderful job, wouldn't you say?"
Again Edith nodded in agreement, still in awe from the color hitting her eyes. The man laughs and walks down the steps of the porch and onto the walking stones below that lead to a bright red and black 1929 Hudson Roadster that was parked in the front.
The girl went wide eyed again upon seeing the new shiny car. "I-Is that your car?!" she questioned.
Al didn't stop walking towards it. "Yes, yes it is. I purchased it about 8 months ago! Do you like it?"
"Yes! I do! It's pretty and the sun makes it look like it sparkles!"
Alastor opened the passenger door and placed Edith inside on the passenger side, closing the door behind her. She sat up straight and looked around at everything inside, her feet dangling off the seat, kicking back and forth in excitement. The man got into the driver's seat and started the car, smiling at Edith's happy and ecstatic expression.
"If I may ask, what has got you so excited darling?" He asked, curiously looking forward as he drove down the driveway and onto the main road.
"I've never been in a vehicle in real life. Let alone seen one like this before! Everybody just uses the trolley to get around." she said, leaning against the door and looking out the window.
"Ah, well, best get used to being in a car my dear. I am truly not the biggest fan of using the trolley systems. You don't get much personal space while riding on those." He said, shuddering to himself. "And those who know me know very well how deeply I admire the idea of personal space."
'Personal space. He likes personal space. Remember that.' Edith told herself as she continued looking at the window and the people, buildings, and roads passing by. When her knees got tired, she decided to sit back in her seat, facing forward.
After a couple minutes of comfortable silence she decided to ask a question that sparked up in her mind. She was surprised it hadn't come up before but it did now, so why not ask it?
"Where do you work?" She asked suddenly, breaking the silence, hoping not to come off as rude or strange for asking all of a spontaneously.
Alastor didn't seem to mind it at all, in fact he seemed happy to answer such a question. "I work as The New Orleans Radio Host, darling!" He said joyfully. "I tell everyone the news and weather, I also tell stories and jokes to my listeners."
Edith's eyes widened with shock and surprise. "YOU'RE THE MAN ON THE RADIO?!?!" She beamed, almost at a yell. It didn't bother Alastor, he expected this response. Being on the radio has made him somewhat of a celebrity around the country, especially in his home town of New Orleans.
"Yes, I am the man on the radio. I'm glad you know of me." he said.
"I'm sitting next to a radio host!" Edith said, cheerfully. "Wow!"
Alastor laughed. "Such an engrossing reaction! Well my darling, here we are." He said, parking the car in front of a large multi-level building that had a rather big antenna at the top.
Before she even knew it Alastor was beside Edith picking her up, placing her on his hip, and carrying her into the building. Once they walked in, they saw a young blonde woman behind a counter, typing on a typewriter. "Ah Vivienne, hello!"
"Hello, Alastor! Welcome!" She said, standing up from her chair only to be surprised when her eyes landed on the girl who's shyly hiding her face in Alastor's shoulder. "Oh, who is this cutie?!" Vivienne asks, making the girl giggle a bit.
"This little fawn is Edith. Edith, this is Mimzy's sister, Vivienne Medrano." He said, introducing the two.
Vivienne smiled warmly, holding her hand out. Edith lifted her head up and shook the woman's hand before putting her head back onto Al's shoulder.
"Awww!" Vivienne said, tilting her head. "It's nice to meet you, Edith! Now Alastor, they are waiting for you upstairs in the sound room so you should head on up there. Is there anything you'd like me to bring up to you? A coffee? Maybe some juice for this little cupcake?" She asked, cooing at the young girl, making her giggle more.
"Both would be lovely!" Alastor responded.
"Alright then," she started writing in a small notepad. "Would you like Orange or Apple juice, Edith?"
The girl looked at her, confused. "I don't have money..." she said sadly.
Both of the adults chuckled together. "Don't worry, it's free honey! You won't need to pay a cent!" Vivenne stated.
"Really?!" Edith asked excitedly. "Orange juice then!"
Vivienne smiled, writing that down on her notepad. "Great! I'll bring that right up to you then!"
"Thank you darling!" Al said, walking down the halls and up a flight of stairs and into a rather small room with a window that led into a bigger room.
"There you are Al, I almost thought you were gonna be late." A gruffy old sounding voice said.
"Oh, Husker. I would never start one of my shows late! Surely you know that!" Alastor responded, looking at a man with black hair with his back facing them, slumped over a table with a sound control panel on it.
"Don't give me the 'surely you know that' bullshit, Al! Who gives a fuck what I know, you were almost late, that's a fact. I'm not taking any shit the producers give us if you're late." Husk says angrily.
"Now now! That's no way to talk in front of a young maiden!" The man holding the girl warned.
"Young maiden?! Wha-" Confused, Husk turns around and sees Edith smiling back at him, waving her hand innocently. "Alastor... Why do you have a kid in your arms?" He asked calmly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Oh, just some small arrangements have been made, she and her brother saw some things they shouldn't have. I couldn't just let them get away."
With that one statement, Husk knew what Alastor was talking about for he had also been let in on the secret of the wanted serial killer. He sighed, brushing his hair back with his fingers and stood up. "You're crazy Al, ya know that?" he said, taking a few steps towards the two. "Hey there, kiddo! I'm Husk." He said, playfully ruffling her hair with his hand. She laughed and smiled in response to his friendliness.
"I'm Edith!" She said happily, her adorable voice filling Husk's ears.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" But before he could say anything else the door behind them opened and in walked Vivienne holding a white glass mug and a plastic cup.
"Hello!!!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I have a coffee for Alastor and Orange Juice for the little sugar pie!" She said, putting both on a small wooden table next to the door.
"Thank you kindly, my dear!" Alastor said, smiling brightly at her. She nodded her head and exited the room while Al put Edith down. "Why don't you go drink up while Husker and I have a little chat, hm?"
The little one nodded happily and skipped over to the table.
"So let me get this straight. You fucking kidnapped two goddamn kids?!" Husk swore into the other's ear who nodded in response, his smile not leaving his face- as usual. The black haired man rolled his eyes, facepalming. "Why would you-?! How could you-?! What?!"
"Her and her dumb brother witnessed one of my murders. I couldn't just leave them there with that kind of information, now could I?"
"Why not just fucking kill them both?! It's not that hard! You do it all the time!"
Alastor sighed. "She's a lady! I can't just kill her and I couldn't kill the brother in front of her, she would have wanted revenge. They are homeless so I took them in. What else could I do?"
"Wait a minute, where's the brother?!" Husk asked, panicking slightly.
"I have Mimzy watching over him. I thought it best to separate them that way if one escaped I could still have the other as leverage."
Husk rolled his eyes again before turning back around and sitting back down at his control panel. "You better know what you're doin', Al. If the cops know about you, they'll swarm this place and if they go after you, I'll be on their radar too." he mumbled.
Alastor didn't respond, instead he went over to the small table and grabbed his cup of coffee. It was exactly how he liked it, espresso served with frothed milk. Vivienne was such a dear.
"You're on air in 5 minutes." Husker said.
Al kneeled down to the little five year old who was happily sipping her juice next to him. "Hello my darling. How would you like to help me do my radio show today?"
Edith's eyes widened with excitement as she put her cup down and smiled at him. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, trying but failing to hide her sudden and overwhelming joy.
"Just in there is the sound room," he said, pointing at the small window that led into the larger room. "That is where I go on air and speak to the audience of wonderful listeners! But- there are papers I read from. You would be the one to hand me the paper I need to read!" he explained to the young girl.
She smiled even brighter. "Okay! I can do that!"
"Great, come now dear." Alastor said, holding out his free hand. Edith moved her juice to her left hand and held the man's hand as he brought her through a single wooden door and into the sound room where he led her to a desk with two chairs, a microphone, and a stack of papers with typed up words on it with notes on the side in pen ink.
He pulled out the chair on the side of the desk and gestured for the girl to sit down before sitting down in the other chair in front of the microphone and taking the first paper in the stack and putting it in front of him with his coffee to the side. "What I would like you to do is hand me the next sheet of paper when I finish reading this one. That's all you need to do my darling! I'll put my hand out for the next one when I need it."
Edith nods and straightens the stack of papers.
Husk knocks on the window gesturing to Alastor that he goes on air in 1 minute. The excitement started showing more and more as the seconds counted down. This was so exciting! She was getting to help put on a radio show! How incredible! Sam would never believe this!
Now thinking of her brother, Edith wondered what Sam and Mimzy were up to. Hopefully they were having just as much fun as she was! Mimzy did seem very friendly and kind and fun, surely they were enjoying each other's company! Surely!
The man on the other side of the glass knocked again, slowly counting down with his fingers, when he reached one a large sign on the wall glowed with the words 'ON AIR' im bright red.
Here they go!