Irregular Days

Chapter 8: Deep Fried Danger

The door to the theater burst open with a loud crash as Shere and her off-the-books partner burst inside, rifles at the ready. Light quickly permeated the darkness and flooded the entryway.

“Oh man, this is so cool!” Tulock yelled out with an ear to ear grin as he pressed further into the theater by kicking down the door Mignon had previously used to proceed to the center isle. Shere regretted bringing him along immediately.

“Be careful, that room is too open!” Shere weakly called out after the over-exuberant Tulock.

However, there was nothing to be found among the seats other than a particular cardboard cut-out.

“Huh…I must have a secret admirer!’ Tulock shouted as he stood the cutout of himself back upright as Shere scanned the area with proper diligence.

“Hey Shere!” Tulock called out. Shere turned to find the grinning fool with his arm around his likeness. “You want this for your room?”

“No.”
The sound of a door creaking upon brought the two back to attention. They crouched down with guns ready to fire at a small door near the stage, awaiting their potential foe. However it was the disheveled Ashal that emerged from within. Relief washed over Shere as she sprinted towards her friend and nearly plowed her over with a hug.

“Ashal! You are safe!”

“I’m glad you are here, Shere.” Ashal replied with a weak smile. “I’ve something to show you.”

Ashal led Shere, who had forgotten all about Tulock who had now made himself scarce, down a hallway and a flight of stairs back to the room where she had previously been held, briefly explaining her ordeal along the way.

“They sure packed this up in a hurry…” Ashal muttered in disbelief as she examined the now empty void of a room.

“Well one is a magic man after all!”

Shere quickly spotted the bloodstains which blended well with the red carpet. Her detective’s eye may have rarely seen use in previous times of peace, but she wasn’t head detective for laughs. She knelt down beside it.

“What happened in here?”

“Mignon shot a midget in the face.” Ashal replied. “He just shrugged it off.”

Shere stood still for a moment before looking up and placing her pointer finger on the center of her chin.

“I believe they prefer to be called ‘hobbits”

Ashal scrunched her face in disbelief before replying with a stern tone.

“You mean dwarfs?”

“Only if they have a beard.”

“Wh-whatever. Maybe I should just start at the beginning.”

Shere pulled her phone out of her pocket and began to dial the chief.

“You can give your full statement back at the station. ”Shere replied with a smile as the phone rang. “That DNA is going to lead me right to Mignon’s new friends!”

Back at the office Shere, Ashal, Xavier and the Chief began to discuss the situation. Ashal was the only one seated, while the Chief stood with his back to the rest staring out the window.

“Testing that blood will take days, Shere.” The chief grumbled out.

“Then how about process of elimination?” Shere replied

“What?”

“How many dwarfs can there be in the greater Quercitrin area?”

“I don’t know! Dozens?”

“Well what’s the rate of dwarfism?”

“Why would I know this, Shere?”

“Whatever, pull up birth records and show Ashal the photos of everyone’s files until we find the one that has Mignon!”

“Who says he was even born here?”

Xavier raised his hand up like a kid in a classroom.

“I know a Dwarf.” Xavier stated proudly.

“That’s great, Xavier.” The Chief replied with a sigh. “Good for you.”

“Mr. Hammond. He manages the Burger Castle.”

Shere’s eyes lit up as her mind came to a realization.

“Burger Castle!”

The Chief pondered what he had done to deserve such hopeless subordinates.

“Look, Shere. I know you are worried about your partner, but all we can do is wait for the test results.”

“You are right, Sir” Shere stated with a smile. “In the meanwhile, if you will excuse, I have yet to have my lunch.”

The Chief motioned her out of the room and as she exited he and Xavier went back to talking to Ashal. Shere stepped out of the office and gently closed the door.

“And for lunch I’ll be having justice, with a side of resolution.”

Shere giggled to herself a bit as she set off to the Burger Castle.

“Dipped in fudge.”

Filed under:
Mignon and Shere, Short Stories by Tawny