7.06: Sneak Errs

ANGEL PASTA: PART SIX

Angel felt a measure of relief, followed by a pang of guilt over her reaction. “To be clear, it is not that I do not want to spend time with you,” she assured.

[caption id=“attachment_3547” align=“alignleft” width=“198”] PÂTES[/caption]

Patty nodded back, her dark ringlets bouncing by her ears. “I get it. This is all business. For now.” She smiled again, but there was a hint of sadness.

Angel felt like perhaps she should give her new friend a quick hug, or at least a pat on the back, but that felt like it would lead to even more awkward places. “So, which of us should distract?” was all she asked.

“Obviously me,” Patty stated, crossing her arms. “I’m the one who found the information, and you’re the better investigator of the two of us. Besides, I am also still recovering from being hit on the head, and should avoid moving about too much.”

“Oh, I don’t know about the investigation angle,” Angel objected. “Looking into frogs legs would never have occurred to me, after all. However, I yield on the other points, and would add that I am not the best at making up stories, preferring honesty as a policy wherever possible.”

“Compliment accepted then, and thank you for agreeing. We do work well together.” Patty winked. Angel looked to the side and made a show of adjusting her bunny ears.

“Oh,” Angel added. “Also know that I try not to involve myself too directly in a town’s affairs, preferring to stay on the sidelines, moving on once things are resolved. As such, I may simply get a sense of things, perhaps take some photos for evidence, then report back to you.”

As she spoke, Angel reflected on the previous case that had occurred on her way here. The raccoon incident. At that time, she had even had Pierre take the photos, rather than doing it herself. Of course, then it had made sense for both of them to prowl around. Here, less so.

“Ah, unless the Captain is in trouble inside, surely?” Patty protested.

Angel’s gaze was drawn back to Patty. “Oui, there are exceptions, to be sure,” she agreed.

Patty was now nibbling on her lower lip, which was far too cute. Angel tapped her toe on the ground, becoming annoyed with how flustered she was getting. Had it perhaps been too long since she had kissed another woman? She forced herself not to reflect on the matter.

“Euh, so when did you want to head out?” Angel wondered.

It was Patty’s turn to look away, as she pushed herself back to her feet with the help of the table. “Let us strike while the iron is hot. He may not even be expecting me now, assuming I am still passed out, so I can catch him off guard. Make him say something he shouldn’t.”

Angel reflexively reached out to offer a hand before pulling back. “You are certain? Your head is all right? Is there more I can do to make you feel better before we depart?”

Patty chuckled. “Oh, there’s a number of things you could do to make me feel better, Angel. Alas, they would only delay our investigation.”

Angel frowned. “A delay is warranted if your head is causing problems.”

Patty stared directly at her. “Am I really so bad at innuendo? It is not my head that requires your attention.”

“Oh. Of course.” Angel was not certain if she had avoided blushing before, but she was certain she was failing at it now. If only they didn’t have the jellyfish issue to prioritize, this could have been a pleasant holiday.

Then again, if not for the jellyfish, Angel likely wouldn’t have come to this town at all. What a predicament.

“Bon, euh, I shall give you a drive in my van, and we can discuss options on the way,” Angel said, to break the ensuing silence.

Patty nodded. “Let me grab a couple of my communications devices first.”

Their talk remained professional for the duration of the trip to Legrand’s address. Though Angel had taken note of the way Patty had first looked over the interior of her van. Had her eyes lingered on the sleeping bag?

The property of Julien Legrand was a far cry from Patty’s abandoned house down by the shore. His grounds having space enough for two houses, the one building it did present was set back from the roadway, standing two stories high with visible balconies. The area itself looked to be meticulously maintained, with trimmed hedges, a freshly mowed lawn, and no sign of peeling paint anywhere.

To even approach the residence, you needed to call ahead using a speaker at the gate.

“Legrand might not even let me in,” Patty groaned, looking at the setup from half a block away. “Some distraction I’d be then.”

“Tell him if you don’t get your say, in person, your next stop is the press,” Angel suggested. “People with something to hide usually hate that angle. Even more so than the police.”

Patty nodded. “Good idea. So, how much time do you need to find a way in the back?”

“Give me five minutes,” Angel said. “I’ll let you know if we need to change the plan.” She looked down at the walkie-talkie device in her palm, then lifted it to her mouth, pressing her finger against the button. “You can hear this?”

“Loud and clear,” Patty said, adjusting the clip-on earring she was wearing. Apparently, it could work as a receiver. Angel knew there was a drive to miniaturize technology, but this was incredible.

Alas, there was no way for Patty to also reach her, unless they used another set. And Patty carrying a transmitter had felt like it was asking for trouble from Julien.

“Very well,” Angel concluded, putting the transmitter in the pocket of her lab coat. She double checked that her handgun had the safety on, re-holstered it, and reached up to curl her rabbit ears slightly down.

One could argue that Angel was less likely to be seen if she took the hairband off entirely. But one could also argue that hearing a rustling in the bushes, and then seeing a pair of rabbit ears, would make a person less likely to investigate the sound. Besides, Angel was so used to their presence by now that their removal would largely put her more on edge.

She went around to the back of the Legrand property. It happened to run up against a large field, containing a football pitch. The open space would be a problem if anyone was watching out from the upper balconies, but Angel saw no one, and seemingly no one was out in the adjoining yards either.

Angel swiftly vaulted over the five foot tall fence, landing in the shrubs behind.

She counted to ten, risked sending Patty the message “all good”, and at that point - pulling some leaves out of her long hair - crept closer to the main building. The day had become quite overcast by now, which was working in her favour, though there was also a shed and some small trees which helped to provide additional cover.

Angel had just pressed herself up against the steps leading up onto the rear porch when she heard the back door open.

“Mon dieu. I know why you got chewed out,” one man was saying as he emerged. “What with actually knocking that poor woman out. But why ME?”

“Because you didn’t actually deliver your note in person?” came the dry response of a second male individual walking out behind him.

The two men stopped their advance before reaching the edge of the porch area, but Angel was rather concerned that, were they to keep moving and then look down, she was sure to be seen.

The first man snorted. “Funny. I ended up with the gun bunny! What, should I have handed over the note from my boat to hers? She might have shot me in the foot to find out who I was working for. Non, I strategically withdrew, and left her note back in her hotel room. It is FINE.”

“Legrand didn’t think so.”

“Uggh, obviously,” came the response, which Angel now knew had to be from the man who had followed her out in the boat earlier that day. “Sacre bleu, why is our boss so worried about a couple of women poking around? Worst case, we buy them off with pretty dresses or perfume or the like.”

“I do not believe he is worried,” his companion soothed. “He merely wants everything to go perfectly with this operation, so that–”

The second man didn’t get a chance to complete his thought. The back door banged open again.

“That woman you assaulted is now at my GATE,” snarled a man, who had to be Julien Legrand. “Were you seen? Were you FOLLOWED?”

“Impossible,” came the incredulous response. “I left her out cold on the bathroom floor. And I did not see either her friend Mimi, or that new investigator in the area, as I departed.”

“For the sake of your job, I hope you’re right,” Julien said. The door slammed shut with added force.

There was a moment of silence.

“I think I had better listen in to whatever this woman is about to say,” Patty’s assailant decided.

Angel then heard him head back to the house, the door opening and closing once more, and from the double set of footsteps, she concluded that the first man had decided to accompany his companion. She again counted up to ten in the ensuing silence before peeking over the side of the porch. It was empty.

“Well done, Patty,” Angel murmured. “Stay safe.”

In case that first man had decided to wait right inside the door, Angel continued to creep around the perimeter of the house until she saw a half-open window. She quickly climbed inside. It seemed to be a bathroom.

She listened at the door, and hearing nothing, crept out into the hall.

Honestly, she really didn’t enjoy resorting to trespassing this way. But the jellyfish, Pâtes, and possibly Mimi’s father, were all depending on her doing this. Or, that’s what she kept telling herself, at any rate.

She edged along the hallway, in the opposite direction to the back door,

There seemed to be a flight of stairs going down, and basements were always a good place to hide secrets. But they were also dark, potentially dangerous, and a good place to become trapped. Perhaps it would bear investigation later.

A couple of steps away was another door, partly ajar. Angel peeked inside, and then entered. Mostly to get out of the hall, but the desk and bookshelves implied that this was a study of some sorts, which could give her a better sense of Legrand himself.

What stood out immediately was the cork board beside that door, with a number of news articles tacked up, next to names and dates. Angel’s eyes were drawn to one event in specific, an article speaking of Felix’s concert in Paris. The one where she and her friends had thwarted the testing of a mind control device by the Octopus organization.

Was Julien Legrand an operative? Had Angel unknowingly crossed paths with him before?

“Non,” Angel realized, muttering the word aloud as she traced her finger from one article over to another. Based on the scribblings that accompanied them, she concluded that Legrand was not an operative. He had simply heard of the organization, and then gathered this data… to fight against them?

Again, it seemed like no. The tone of his writing implied he was hoping to one day become an operative. Which he somehow felt could be done by engineering his own scheme, to get the organization’s attention.

Was this a scheme involving jellyfish? Angel decided not to extrapolate.

“The Octopus is more likely to kill you for having this information than recruit you,” Angel muttered. She stepped back to take a quick photograph, then hurried over to the main desk.

There was a small key sitting on the corner, above an open desk drawer. The drawer was empty, but on the desk itself were a number of stacked papers. Angel concluded she had lucked out again, Legrand must have been looking them over when Patty arrived.

However, Angel only had time to read the title of the top document, ‘Distraction At Sea’, under which had been scribbled the word ‘ESCALATE NOW!’, before the telephone sitting on the far end of the desk began to ring.

“Zut alors,” Angel cursed, her heart pounding. Even if Legrand was kept busy, one of his assistants was sure to come and answer that call. She had only seconds to decide what to do.

poll.fm/13273119

We got what we got. If you’re impatient for Epsilon characters (or have been aiming to avoid them) know paths are veering that way now, feel free to drop a comment as to any preferences. Thanks as always for reading. Voting will close some time after February 6th, which is when my report cards are due, meaning I can write again.)