A Ham Shovel Mystery.
The Big Slumber.
The City clockwork tower struck midnight as I arrived back, alone at my rooms, and the light, from my window suggested, I would not be alone for long.
As I walked in, there she sat, a vision of loveliness, as the candle light glimmered off her face, and silhouetted her body .
Beauty which was a rare thing in these parts, was sitting in my office, but why?
I threw my hat on to a chaise-lounges that sat on one side of the room, and walked further into the room. She didn’t move a muscle as I drew nearer to her, she just continued to smoke her long black cheroot, then casually offered me one from a small silver case.
As I took one, and then lit it with the candle on the desk. She said.
‘Ham Shovel I presume?'
‘What makes you think that.’ I replied.
‘I need your help Mr shovel, my husband as gone missing.’
‘Well you have wasted your time, I don’t do missing persons.’
‘Well if it’s a question of money, I have plenty.’
‘You have still wasted your time, I don’t do missing people, if you had said a missing artefact, then I might have been interested.’
She stood up quickly and pace towards the window, puffing on her cheroot vigorously.
She then turned and walked over to me with a walk that told you, she was all women, and stared straight into my eyes.
‘Look Mr Shovel, can’t you see I am a desperate women, as she looked at me with her baby blues, then slung a small coin purse on to my desk, without averting her eyes from mine.
‘There his a hundred gold *lion’s in there, if you will find him for me.’
I reach out and grabbed a coin from those that had spilt out onto the table, and then bit it with my teeth.
‘ Seem genuine enough,’ I replied.
But I still found myself playing hard to get.’
‘I told you I don’t do.' –
'Missing persons, I know what you said Mr Shovel,' as she threw another bag onto the table.
‘There’s is an extra one hundred, if you will take the case Mr Shovel.
‘ I charge twenty *bears a day plus expenses, I have no need of your bags of gold.’
‘When did you last see you’re Husband?’ She then took her gaze from mine and walked back over to the window.
‘But you haven’t even asked who I am?’
‘You’re Countess de marie de courtemanche, the wife of the Count de courtemanche are you not?’
‘How did you know that?’
‘The perfume you are wearing, his only made in *Endoeia.’ And the clothes you have on are that of the artisan clothes makers of De manch the finest dressmaker of the Duchy of the court of your father Marquis de courtemanche.
‘How perceptive of you.’
I knew the kind of women she really was, rich and spoilt, and didn’t really care about the whereabouts of her husband, which had started to intrigued me, greatly.
‘Who are you looking for?’
‘I told you, my husband.’
‘ I meant from the window, you’re very good at hiding your true feelings Countess. But you can’t hide your anxiety from me.’
‘ I felt I was being followed, I had to walk from my carriage to here.’
The Countess then walked towards my office door and hung there, half in and half out.
‘Come to my fathers small resident here in the city tomorrow, he will tell you more.’ Then she left.
I turned to see the gold was still laying on the desk, I quickly grabbed it and ran after her, but the Countess was gone.
I walked back up to my rooms, and shut the door.