Exerpt from "Have Vampire, Will Travel"
As per Maxx’s request, Roger waited until Betty left for the day before coming to the office. As he approached his employer’s desk, Roger saw the trash bin was placed about ten feet in front of it. The top part of the trash was covered with dud pistachio nuts. Empty shells littered the desk and the half-empty bag was evidence enough that Maxx was on a binge.
Once again, Maxx displayed his prowess by flicking a dud pistachio and successfully having it land into the trash basket without it even touching the sides.
"You only pig out on these nuts when you’re either anxious or surprised," Roger said to Maxx. "Judging by your calm demeanor, and there are no nuts on the floor, that can only mean you have good news."
"You bet!" Maxx scored another perfect field goal.
"Too bad you can’t make a living at that. If it were an Olympic event, you’d take the gold and could live out the rest of your life from your endorsements of California pistachios."
Roger noticed Maxx was so pre-occupied he didn’t even hear his remark. "I found Lisa. Her parents are loaded. They spared no expense to have her moved to recover in a hospital closer to home, namely Elk Grove. She must be recovering quite nicely if she’s ambulatory. Like Patch, said, we need to keep a low profile as not to alert the IRA. Also, we can’t just walk in there and start asking questions. All it takes is someone to tell the police or media we were talking to her and they would come to us wanting to know what we know. Can’t have that now, can we?"
"Nope," Roger quickly agreed. "How should we play this?"
"Have you mastered the art of Obfuscation?" Maxx was referring to a vampire’s ability to be subconsciously unseen by humans. "That way, you could sneak into her room without attracting any attention and then use your power of mesmerism to lift her fog and unlock any buried information."
Roger contemplated this for a few seconds before answering. "I see you’ve done some boning up on vampire lore. As I told you before, I spend most of my time honing my powers toward strength, agility and stamina. I’m weak and out of practice when it comes to obfuscating. I suppose that with hours of concentration beforehand, and taking my time walking through the hospital, I could pull off that part of the job. However, my mesmerism is not sophisticatedas it is and the mental preparation toward obfuscating would take more of my edge off. I could get the answers you want, but I might have to force them out of the girl and may cause her psyche permanent damage. I believe we both don’t want to take that kind of risk with such an innocent victim."
Roger reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card he received only days ago. "But, not to worry, Boss. We may not be screwed, yet. I may not be fully up to the task, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find someone. This process simply requires an experienced vampire with a more gentle and refined touch. I know just the vampire for the job. Be warned, this vampire makes Patch look normal in the whacked-out department. I can’t believe I’m actually gonna’ call him."
Maxx wasn’t deterred in the least. "I don’t give a shit as long as he can get the job done. Get him over here as soon as possible."
When Maxx first saw Antonio, he suddenly realized there was a flaw in his plan. He assumed that Slouch was into women. Could his interest have been in the deceased boyfriend, Martin? Maxx didn’t worry too much as the odds were in his favor.
"Well, Maxxie-baby," Antonio drew a drag from his cigarette that was in a long, ornate holder. "Of course, I can assist you. It’s child’s play to me."
Being one never to expect something for nothing, Maxx replied, "And what do you want in return for this service?"
"Not much," Antonio answered as he looked over to Roger who had taken refuge in a corner to sulk since his arrival. "Since you are a friend of Roger’s, I’m sure we can work out something reasonable. Did you know Roger and I go back a long time?" Then turning his head back to Roger, he said, "Isn’t that right, Sparky-darling?"
"Yeah, right," Roger grunted between clenched teeth. "Now I remember the reason why I’ve been avoiding you."
Then Antonio spoke to Maxx, again. "Seeing you are a private dick, I may require a service from you in the future. Do we have a deal?" Then, he held out his hand with his palm facing down, almost in the same manner as a noblewoman would offer her hand to a gentleman.
"Deal." Maxx wasn’t sure if he should shake Antonio’s hand or kiss it. Instead, he extended his own hand and was only able to grip Antonio’s fingers in a handshake.
They walked outside to the parking lot where Maxx ushered Antonio into the back seat of the car. He then pulled Roger to the side to make sure Antonio was out of ear-shot.
"How the hell did a guy like you get mixed up with a weirdo like that?"
"I don’t want to talk about it?" Roger softly grumbled.
Once again, Maxx displayed his prowess by flicking a dud pistachio and successfully having it land into the trash basket without it even touching the sides.
"You only pig out on these nuts when you’re either anxious or surprised," Roger said to Maxx. "Judging by your calm demeanor, and there are no nuts on the floor, that can only mean you have good news."
"You bet!" Maxx scored another perfect field goal.
"Too bad you can’t make a living at that. If it were an Olympic event, you’d take the gold and could live out the rest of your life from your endorsements of California pistachios."
Roger noticed Maxx was so pre-occupied he didn’t even hear his remark. "I found Lisa. Her parents are loaded. They spared no expense to have her moved to recover in a hospital closer to home, namely Elk Grove. She must be recovering quite nicely if she’s ambulatory. Like Patch, said, we need to keep a low profile as not to alert the IRA. Also, we can’t just walk in there and start asking questions. All it takes is someone to tell the police or media we were talking to her and they would come to us wanting to know what we know. Can’t have that now, can we?"
"Nope," Roger quickly agreed. "How should we play this?"
"Have you mastered the art of Obfuscation?" Maxx was referring to a vampire’s ability to be subconsciously unseen by humans. "That way, you could sneak into her room without attracting any attention and then use your power of mesmerism to lift her fog and unlock any buried information."
Roger contemplated this for a few seconds before answering. "I see you’ve done some boning up on vampire lore. As I told you before, I spend most of my time honing my powers toward strength, agility and stamina. I’m weak and out of practice when it comes to obfuscating. I suppose that with hours of concentration beforehand, and taking my time walking through the hospital, I could pull off that part of the job. However, my mesmerism is not sophisticatedas it is and the mental preparation toward obfuscating would take more of my edge off. I could get the answers you want, but I might have to force them out of the girl and may cause her psyche permanent damage. I believe we both don’t want to take that kind of risk with such an innocent victim."
Roger reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card he received only days ago. "But, not to worry, Boss. We may not be screwed, yet. I may not be fully up to the task, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find someone. This process simply requires an experienced vampire with a more gentle and refined touch. I know just the vampire for the job. Be warned, this vampire makes Patch look normal in the whacked-out department. I can’t believe I’m actually gonna’ call him."
Maxx wasn’t deterred in the least. "I don’t give a shit as long as he can get the job done. Get him over here as soon as possible."
When Maxx first saw Antonio, he suddenly realized there was a flaw in his plan. He assumed that Slouch was into women. Could his interest have been in the deceased boyfriend, Martin? Maxx didn’t worry too much as the odds were in his favor.
"Well, Maxxie-baby," Antonio drew a drag from his cigarette that was in a long, ornate holder. "Of course, I can assist you. It’s child’s play to me."
Being one never to expect something for nothing, Maxx replied, "And what do you want in return for this service?"
"Not much," Antonio answered as he looked over to Roger who had taken refuge in a corner to sulk since his arrival. "Since you are a friend of Roger’s, I’m sure we can work out something reasonable. Did you know Roger and I go back a long time?" Then turning his head back to Roger, he said, "Isn’t that right, Sparky-darling?"
"Yeah, right," Roger grunted between clenched teeth. "Now I remember the reason why I’ve been avoiding you."
Then Antonio spoke to Maxx, again. "Seeing you are a private dick, I may require a service from you in the future. Do we have a deal?" Then, he held out his hand with his palm facing down, almost in the same manner as a noblewoman would offer her hand to a gentleman.
"Deal." Maxx wasn’t sure if he should shake Antonio’s hand or kiss it. Instead, he extended his own hand and was only able to grip Antonio’s fingers in a handshake.
They walked outside to the parking lot where Maxx ushered Antonio into the back seat of the car. He then pulled Roger to the side to make sure Antonio was out of ear-shot.
"How the hell did a guy like you get mixed up with a weirdo like that?"
"I don’t want to talk about it?" Roger softly grumbled.