第64期 Detective story writing 21

It was early in the morning, mid of August, with the sun not shining and a peak of the cloudy, gray sky, Oliver Barton woke up in his apartment. He was wearing his dark blue pajamas and made himself a cup of warm English Breakfast tea with two teaspoons of sugar, no milk. He walked to the balcony and glanced out of the window, Bafford Street was as busy as usual. The crowd has a life of its own, the vibrant clothes were shining in the morning light and the people were moving like a bunch of buzzing bees. There was chatter between sellers and buyers, old friends are catching up, new friends were making. It was busy for sure, but the hustle brings life to this city Oliver Barton wouldn't want to be without. He finished his tea and put on some clothes, a dark blue coat with a black shirt, tie and display handkerchief, gray wool socks, and a dark blue beret. He was just about to read the news and have breakfast at the same time, a knock on the door interrupted him. Quietly, he went to the door and looked through the peephole to see who was knocking. A giant head with blonde hair appears in his eyes, he realized something and opened the door.

“Good morning, Mr. Barton! I’m Jules Garcia, I’m your new assistant...”She was introducing herself but Barton wasn’t listening, he was watching her closely. Jules is a young and attractive woman, Her long blonde curls are like algae, quietly lying on her shoulder, fits her sapphire blue dress very well.

“I have a new case for you, Mr. Barton. My boss sent me from LA last night to meet you as soon as possible.” Jules went on.

Barton walked back into the living room, sat on the couch and signaled Jules to sit down. He pulled out a silver cigarette box and a lighter from his pocket skilfully, he took out a thin cigar from the box and slowly lit it.

The smell of cigarettes spread rapidly throughout the room. Jules couldn’t accept the smell, she coughed a few times. As Barton saw it, he strolled to the balcony, took a long slow breath of cigar, inhaling deeply and said: “ Tell me about it.”

“ Have you ever heard about a man called Matthew Dickson?” Jules asked.

“ Of course I know him, the richest man in the US, Matthew Dickson. He owns more than 15 hotels around the world and so many casinos that you can’t even count them with your fingers. What’s wrong with him.” Barton asked, took another breath of cigar.

“Well, he came to visit our office yesterday. The case is his son got kidnapped and the kidnapper is now blackmailing him for two million dollars to get his son back. He said he wants to meet you as soon as possible, so I suggest we leave now Mr. Barton.”  Jules said calmly.

Barton glanced at his uneaten breakfast.“I would not miss it for anything,” said he. He rapidly cleaned up the table and was ready to go in a few minutes.

Jules drove Oliver Barton to the place they will meet Matthew. Barton has a great craving of tobacco that he kept puffing smoke rings out of the car window on the way. They arrived in Matthew’s office when they opened the gate a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit rose as Jules and Barton entered.