|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 9:21 am
It was the end of the day, Jeremiah having already made it home to change out of his work those (not that not work clothes were not close to his work attire anyway) before he was heading to Algie's bookstore. A file folder was tucked under his arm, something for his old friend, as he was pulling open the door to the bookshop. With the time he assumed it would be closing soon but Algie was expecting him. Jeremiah was never one to not let someone know he was coming in advance. There looked to be no one left, not even in the front part with the chairs and couches, but also no immediate sight of the owner. "Algie?" he called out, walking towards the register. iloveyouDIE LET'S START THIS TRAIN *choo, choo*
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:41 pm
"Jeremiah." He popped out from behind a shelf, movements a bit too quiet and voice too loud and just enough to make a normal person jump. Algie was holding a book in his hand, peering over the top of his glasses, and appraising his friend with a small smile. "Is that the umm-" his fingers flicked idly towards the file, "-information I asked for?" The book in his hands was closed and pushed into a very particular spot on the shelf before his glasses were pushed up his nose and he approached for a handshake of greeting. They really should see each other more considering how few close friends they both had. But so far since Algie had come to Ashdown their interaction had been work related, a lunch once a week, and the occasional get together at the bar to watch their team play (Borr was nice enough to put on the club leagues from back home, soccer football, when asked).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:21 pm
Jeremiah did not jump but that was because he forced himself not to. Too many years of training and not jumping at being spooked. A hand was raked through his hair instead, fingers pushing bangs back ( visit the barber, Jeremiah, it's getting too long) before he was nodding. "It is." His hand reached out to shake Algie's, his handshake was odd as it ever was. Two fingers briefly resting against the pulse point of the other man's inner wrist and then pulling back as he let go. Some part of him wondered why they did not get together more often, the other Brit one of the few that seemed to mellow him out versus the other way around. "Don't suppose you've got a pot boiling? I wouldn't say I'd kill for a proper cuppa but ..." It was a near thing by the way his lips twitched upwards towards a smirk. Algie was one of the only people he knew that could brew a proper pot of tea (besides himself). "In any case ... you can look this over and ask if questions if you need to as well."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:34 pm
Only as an adult had Algie found Jeremiah's odd handshake to be strangely intimate, near invasive, but they'd been friends for a long time and he also had figured out that only those Jeremiah trusted and respected received it. Now, it was just another quirk of the detective and they all had their quirks. "I don't.. but I can put one on." He checked his watch, bobbed his head from side to side, and muttered something about 'close enough', before walking to the front door to lock it and swing the sign to 'CLOSED'. "Any red flags?" He motioned to the file and headed towards a back door. The shop was in an old adapted house and they'd kept the kitchen intact. It served as the break room. He moved to set the kettle on the single burner and began rolling up his sleeves to rinse a couple cups (because nothing was clean).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:58 pm
The head bobbing and muttering to himself made Jeremiah's lips twitch again. While some things had changed, that was one that had not. With the sign flipped to close he did not feel as if he was potentially stopping the man from getting business.
"Depends." A snort as he was following to the break room. The file folder was laid out on the table and flipped open. He wasn't sitting yet. "What's your definition of red flags?" Judging from the glint in his eyes and the look on his face, he might have been teasing. That and Jeremiah's red flags and Algie's red flags were not necessarily the same thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:16 pm
"Felony? Major arrest? Arrest of any kind?" Algie shook his head, wondering what it could be that Jeremiah himself would consider red flags. Sometimes it was hard to tell which of them was more of a stickler. "She was much too friendly. And brought a carrot cake.." It was a small loaf, iced and wrapped in cellophane on the counter. It actually looked good. "You try it first." In case of poison. The interviewee in question had been a little too smart, a little too nice, and a bit too eager. When she brought a cake he was even more suspicious. Algie, being very sensible, abused his privileges as Jeremiah's friend and had her record run, "So, serial murderer or just strange young woman?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:28 pm
Jeremiah was making a face at the idea of him trying someone else's carrot cake. "Alg ..." he started and then just shrugged. They could go round and round about it but ultimately he would do it. Heaven help him if anyone else found out about it. "I doubt she poisoned it."
Instead of sitting he was poking around in the kitchen for a couple plates and a knife, sliding past Algie to get them. "Just very strange young woman," was added as plates were grabbed, "as the worst thing on her record is an instance of the police being called because her cat attacked someone."
The plates were set down, the forks and knifes following and set in the proper placement. On auto-pilot he also managed to snag napkins and fold them into some kind of neat shape for the utensils to rest on. "Also a bit of protesting. Something to do with an old building being demolished a bit further up north." The detective was unwrapping the cake, leaning to sniff at it and blinked. It smelled delicious.
Entirely too suspicious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:23 am
Algie gave him a look over his glasses, which had a bad habit of sliding down his nose. He probably needed a new pair (and a new prescription) but a trip to the eye doctor was a pain in the a** and they put those drops in your eyes- "Cat attack?" The writer was a bit incredulous at that, "I'm tempted for details. I can get behind a protest of tearing a building down though. Depending on it's historical value of course.." The plates and forks an knives were given another look. "It's just a carrot cake Jeremiah, we don't need a full place setting." Algie was a stickler about everything- except when it came to eating. He'd eat the cake without even cutting it if it was deemed safe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:53 am
Jeremiah looked up at the wrong moment, catching that look over his glasses and let out a huff. For a second he was about to say something but instead just let it go. The man was all eyes without those glasses of his.
"Apparently she breeds," he leaned over to look at the file, "savannahs? Or her family did. Either way." Kind of crazy, to be honest. Wasn't that one of those near wild cat breeds people went on about? He paused at the setting and then shrugged (because that look again). "Old habit." It was really, something in-grained from years of cooking and making sure things were just right. "Besides, if I'm going to die from a poisonous carrot cake, at least the table is set right."
Self-mocking already this early. His fingers flicked at Algie, lips twitching up into a smirk before he was cutting into the carrot cake and putting a slice on his place. Before he took a bite, he glanced back to Algie. "Just so we're clear ... Should I die, I do not want my epitaph to be 'death by cake'."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:23 pm
" Cake or Death? Guess who won?" Algie smirked and shrugged, "No? Ah- well." He then stared until Jeremiah put the bite in his mouth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:31 pm
"Alg," Jeremiah paused before the bite, "you can do so much better than that."
He was taking the bite, chewing a moment, blinking widely and then taking another. In his surprise that the cake was good, he was getting another piece with his fork and holding it out towards Algie to try. His hand was underneath the piece of cake to catch crumbles.
"It's good." High praise from Jeremiah.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:33 pm
It had to be pretty good to get two bites and a fork offer, but even as the tips of his ears warmed in response he simply huffed, "I can feed myself, thanks." Algie plucked up his own fork, a stubborn bobble in his movements, "Besides it could be a slow acting poison." His eyes darted to Jeremiah's again for effect, "Hm.. Not dead. And passed your single bite test..." He finally took a bite of his own. And then another. And another.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:53 pm
Jeremiah seemed to realize what he did the moment that Algie was reacting as he did. It was covered smoothly with a shrug. Your loss at a quicker bite was implied.
"I'll have you know I routinely take small doses of slow acting poisons so that I build up a tolerance," he replied, hand coming back and taking the bite himself. The slight twitch of his lips gave him away that he was so very obviously teasing Algie. Especially because he noticed the warm color that was showing on the other man's ears.
"Not many past the single bite test," he agreed. "Might want to consider that a point in her favor for hiring."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 7:39 pm
"You must have known life would lead you at some point to be my food tester," Algie had a rather smarmy look on his face. Conversation ended up abandoned for cake and tea, no sound but munching, until he was clearing his throat and smearing a finger across to snag some tiny smear of icing. "Perhaps I should find it more suspicious that she seems aware of my weakness for snacks." The young woman who'd interviewed to help with his book keeping certainly was a sly one. Not that he'd mind another cake. "But if I know you, you're already planning to make something better as a point of pride."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:13 pm
"Prat." Jeremiah grunted out, rolling his eyes at Algie. He might have throw a piece of carrot cake at him but that would be a waste. Not there had not been, years past, moments where he had thrown biscuits at the other man while they were drinking tea.
His own plate cleaned, he did not go for seconds. Sweets filled him too fast, especially something with icing that rich.
"More than likely a lucky guess. After all, you are a professor. It's customary to bring you food and snacks." With a small chuckle, he was putting down his fork and using his finger to get the last bit of moist crumbs. It was Jeremiah's turn to scratch at his stumbled jaw, a sheepish look flickering across his face briefly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Alg." He totally was already planning on it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
