the
hushed, busy but discreet air of a well-established—and expensive—law firm.
Matthias smiled at the perky blonde receptionist. She had a
large white-toothed smile that she could probably thank her dentist for and a
colored business shirt with only the top two buttons undone. Despite her
concession to propriety, she seemed more than willing to take in a long eyeful
of both Julian and himself, and Matthias decided to let her while he made a
mental first impression of what he could see of the office.
The receptionist’s desk had been positioned to block direct
entrance into the main office area, but he could practically smell the old
money stamped on the furniture and in the atmosphere of the place. With a small
smile, Matt gave himself one moment more to cast another quick glance around
and take in what he could see of the Retrievers’ office.
Dark wood paneling and a carpet at least two inches thick
gave the rooms an air of elegance and no expense spared. While the usual sounds
of keys clacking and people speaking softly gave it the air of being in use,
that didn’t disguise that faintly empty feeling of an area where the real
business occurred elsewhere.
All in all, Matt was not surprised by anything he saw. None
of his internal alarms went off to indicate that something remained hidden
under the surface. This appeared to be all an old-school, well-established
Retrieval outfit should be. The office seemed designed to remind the wizarding
clientele that this was a well-respected group of traditional people who only
hired the best of the best.
Clients could come here, divulge their problems and go home
without ever having to see or come close to the grittier, harder facts of life.
The real world outside wouldn’t leave mess on their hands or smudges upon the
window of their day.
“Good morning, I’m Ida Riedars,” the blonde introduced
herself as Matt and Julian went up to the receptionist’s desk. “Welcome to
Poulter, Williams and Brown, Inc. How may I be of service today?”
Ida spoke with the quick-worded, smooth confidence of a
woman who had said those exact same words at least a thousand times and fully
expected to say them at least a thousand times more. Matt shot Ida his most
charming grin and pulled his Enforcer badge from the inner pocket of his
jacket.
Opening the leather wallet to show Ida the badge then
replacing it in his inner pocket again, Matt spoke.
“Hi there, Ida. I’m Matthias Kestell and this is Julian
Sherwyn.” Matt grinned again as Ida’s eyes widened at the sight of his badge,
and continued to speak before she could worry too much. “We’re just here to ask
a couple of very routine questions about something that’s come up in a search
we’re doing. We’ve already spoken to Vincent Monard on the phone, but he seemed
extremely busy. My partner here and I thought maybe it would be easier if we
could have a brief chat with Mr. Monard in person.”
A knowing light appeared in Ida’s savvy gaze. “Of course Mr.
Kestell,” she replied. “Mr. Monard is frequently…very busy and struggles to
give much time to anything other than what currently holds his attention.”
Matt grinned at the subtle and diplomatic wording the
receptionist used. Not for the first time he thanked the vagaries of Fate that
allowed receptionists to manage not only their own work but half the rest of
the office’s as well and still keep their fingers on the pulse of everything
that occurred around them. He had often found receptionists to be absolute
gems, not to mention veritable mines of information.
“Do you think he’d be able to squeeze in some time to speak
with us?” Matt cajoled gently.
Ida grinned, clearly more than willing to help him out. “I
feel positive Mr. Monard can spare a few of his very hectic minutes,” she
assured him. Standing up, she pointed the way across the room and toward a
corridor. “Mr. Monard’s office is down that corridor, fifth room on your right.
His name
hushed, busy but discreet air of a well-established—and expensive—law firm.
Matthias smiled at the perky blonde receptionist. She had a
large white-toothed smile that she could probably thank her dentist for and a
colored business shirt with only the top two buttons undone. Despite her
concession to propriety, she seemed more than willing to take in a long eyeful
of both Julian and himself, and Matthias decided to let her while he made a
mental first impression of what he could see of the office.
The receptionist’s desk had been positioned to block direct
entrance into the main office area, but he could practically smell the old
money stamped on the furniture and in the atmosphere of the place. With a small
smile, Matt gave himself one moment more to cast another quick glance around
and take in what he could see of the Retrievers’ office.
Dark wood paneling and a carpet at least two inches thick
gave the rooms an air of elegance and no expense spared. While the usual sounds
of keys clacking and people speaking softly gave it the air of being in use,
that didn’t disguise that faintly empty feeling of an area where the real
business occurred elsewhere.
All in all, Matt was not surprised by anything he saw. None
of his internal alarms went off to indicate that something remained hidden
under the surface. This appeared to be all an old-school, well-established
Retrieval outfit should be. The office seemed designed to remind the wizarding
clientele that this was a well-respected group of traditional people who only
hired the best of the best.
Clients could come here, divulge their problems and go home
without ever having to see or come close to the grittier, harder facts of life.
The real world outside wouldn’t leave mess on their hands or smudges upon the
window of their day.
“Good morning, I’m Ida Riedars,” the blonde introduced
herself as Matt and Julian went up to the receptionist’s desk. “Welcome to
Poulter, Williams and Brown, Inc. How may I be of service today?”
Ida spoke with the quick-worded, smooth confidence of a
woman who had said those exact same words at least a thousand times and fully
expected to say them at least a thousand times more. Matt shot Ida his most
charming grin and pulled his Enforcer badge from the inner pocket of his
jacket.
Opening the leather wallet to show Ida the badge then
replacing it in his inner pocket again, Matt spoke.
“Hi there, Ida. I’m Matthias Kestell and this is Julian
Sherwyn.” Matt grinned again as Ida’s eyes widened at the sight of his badge,
and continued to speak before she could worry too much. “We’re just here to ask
a couple of very routine questions about something that’s come up in a search
we’re doing. We’ve already spoken to Vincent Monard on the phone, but he seemed
extremely busy. My partner here and I thought maybe it would be easier if we
could have a brief chat with Mr. Monard in person.”
A knowing light appeared in Ida’s savvy gaze. “Of course Mr.
Kestell,” she replied. “Mr. Monard is frequently…very busy and struggles to
give much time to anything other than what currently holds his attention.”
Matt grinned at the subtle and diplomatic wording the
receptionist used. Not for the first time he thanked the vagaries of Fate that
allowed receptionists to manage not only their own work but half the rest of
the office’s as well and still keep their fingers on the pulse of everything
that occurred around them. He had often found receptionists to be absolute
gems, not to mention veritable mines of information.
“Do you think he’d be able to squeeze in some time to speak
with us?” Matt cajoled gently.
Ida grinned, clearly more than willing to help him out. “I
feel positive Mr. Monard can spare a few of his very hectic minutes,” she
assured him. Standing up, she pointed the way across the room and toward a
corridor. “Mr. Monard’s office is down that corridor, fifth room on your right.
His name
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