The Lake Side Case (closed)

[Lexavier]

"I have no idea how much this one gets... I just drive it and fill it up when it needs it." she chuckled to herself, seeming to relax a little more. She always did love a good mystery, and getting stuck into a case was a good stress reliever for her.

"Thankyou." she said softly, realising just what telling her that actually meant. She let that sink in for a while as she mulled around all the information he'd told her so far. When they arrived, she laughed as he pointed out her house before she'd indicated to turn in. "There's nothing wrong with showing a little pride." As they climbed out of the car, her eyes narrowed. 'Smug git' She thought to herself, rolling her eyes. "If I had the time... so where do you come from?" she tried to fit the question in naturally, something she'd been dying to ask for a while.

She unlocked the door and held it open for him as she waited with expectations of disappointment for him to answer.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

so where do you come from

"So where do you come from?" MIke thought about that. "If you meam where do I live. I have a condo on a place called Polo Island. Its west of the island in the town of Wellington. If you mean where was I born? I was born out side of New York in a little place called Cos Cob. My parents had a small 3 acre place on the Mianus River."

Mike walks into Lexy's house and looked around. "You've never been married I see." He walks in to the kitchen. "When I was young my father told me. If you want to know about a woman look in her kitchen, if you want to know about a man look in his den. I don't have a den, for that reason. I could walk out of my condo tomarow. Gather up all my clothes and you never would of known I was there. I learned that too. Leave as little of a foot print as you can."

He takes his jacket off and his double 45 rig and lays them on a hard bottom chair. I'm going to need a robe, I'm guessing you have one?"

 

[Lexavier]

The surprise of his honesty took Lexy back, she even paused as she listened. No jokes, no lies that she could detect, just down to earth truth... maybe there was hope for him yet. "Sounds like a sad way to live, not really settling in..." she trailed off, sure that her comments were most likely unwanted. The question perked her up again though, infact she actually smiled gleefully. "I do, I'm sure the bright pink will suit you." she giggled. "When I was young, my Mother told me that if I wanted men to respect me, I should keep my girlyness in the home."
She walked upstairs, calling down to him as she went. "Showers up here, first door on the left." she opened a wardrobe in her bedroom and pulled her fluffy bathrobe out.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

If you take a picture of me....

Mike looks at the pink fluffy robe. And shakes his head. " My partner Thomas Ketchen had a Swozi girlfriend a while ago that took his comany card and went to a Victoria Secret store and bought two of every thing she saw. When they broke up she left most of it behind. He now only dates size 6-8 woman."

Mike climbs the stairs and finds the bathroom. He strips and starts to run the water. It gets hot and he climbs in. The water is just as he likes it. After a few minutes he feels clean and the water has a freshness to it. Just as he is about to get out. He sees the door slowly swing open."If you take a picture of me...."

 

[Lexavier]

She busied herself organising her bedroom, she hadn't expected guests and there was underwear and clothes all over the floor. She hid it all in the hamper, realising as she did she hadn't given him towels. She grabbed a couple and stood by the bathroom door.

The shower was still going, good, she should be able to sneak in and place them and get out again without him noticing. The door creaked open as she snuck in. He was staring right at her, standing for all the world to see. She pulled out her poker face, and gave him a sly smile.

"Your towels." Her eyes took in his lean frame and generous size with a quick scan before she turned on her heels and closed the door behind her. 'Well well....' she thought to herself.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

no pictures...Please

Mike smiles to himself. The last woman to walk in on him had been just 5 days ago in Elat. Sarah Golan, Captain in Intelligence for the IDF. Mike knew she was using him, but he used her just as much. She was just as valuable to him as he was to her. She had walked in and joined him in the shower. Afterward, when they both needed a shower again she had said "shulem" and left.

Mike turned off the water and began to towel himself off. Then he stops. He starts to think of what Sarah had told him in Elat. Selma has family in Lake Side. A half sister is not family, to Captain Golan, that would be exstended family. If Sarah did any thing, she chose her words with care. Mike put on the pink fluffy robe hanging on the door hook.

He exits the bathroom and sees Lexy looking at him as he desends the stairway. " No pictures....PLEASE. You take a picture of me in this pink robe I'll drug you and sell you in a slave market in Cartum. They still do that you know, I know a guy over there....so no pictures."Then Mike smiles as he reaches the last step. "Then again, you might bring a nice peice of coin." he walks over to her." By the way, are there any Brownhousen or Browns living in this area?"

 

[Lexavier]

"Oh that's real nice." she said rolling her eyes. "You certainly know how to talk to a lady don't you." Lexy smirked as she made her way into the lounge, taking a seat on the spacious couch. "There's a few Browns I think, certainly no Brownhousen that I know of." Lexy played with the tips of her dark hair thoughtfully.

"Can I just clarify what you've told me so far? Otto Brownhousen is paying for you to find his wife (Germania Brownhousen)'s relative Mary Baxter-Packard, who didn't return from her trip oversees. Instead of going home, you think she came here to see a Selma Brown slash Martin-Harris. That correct?"

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

yeah-you got it

Lexi plops down on a mid 80's Bloyhill sofa. It seems to fit her. Not over the top, not rags and junk. About what one would expect from a lower payed cop on a small town budget. Mike smiles at her. "You got the jist of it. But I'm sure there is more to the story. There are to many loose ends. Too many international players. There is some thing big in the area. People like this are in to high end products."

Mike sits on sofa and looks at Lexi. "What could be in this area that would bring Mary to this back water town?" Mike thought about what he had said. "Sorry Lexi, you live here so its important to you, to know what is going on, I get that." Mike looks down at her rug. "Where did you get this rug?"

 

[Lexavier]

She nodded along to his pondering questions. She was about to retort sarcastically when
Lexy just burst out laughing, tipping her head back. This man could not keep his mind on anything, and he did look ridiculous in her pink bath robe. She couldn't help but flashing a grin at him. "Sorry sorry. Um, the rug? I dont know, picked it up in a store somewhere, why?"

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

A Ghiordes Prayer Rug

"A store?" Mike inquires. "I saw one just like it a few days ago in Jaffa. I flew into Tel Aviv and I had some time before heading south to Elat. It was $1800. This looks like a Turkish Ghiordes Prayer Rug." He looks at Lexy. "THat is interesting. Brownhousen works for Julious Blum. An Austian furniture maker and dealer. I wonder if the rugs are involved in this some how?

"I know some one that knows a great deal about Ghiordes Prayer Rugs." Mike gets on his hands and knees and looks at the weave of the rug. "There is something wrong with this rug. Some of the weaves have been cut." Mike sits on the rug looking up at Lexy. "This might be important. Try to remember where you bought this rug. A second hand store?" Mike pauses and smiles. "Is there a second hand store in town owned by a Brown?"

Lexy is looking at him sitting on the rug like he is crazy. Mike realizes this and looks back down at the rug then back up at Lexy. "Carpet and rug smugling is rare. But, some rugs have golld weaved into to the fibers. The receivers of the rugs cut the fibers and retreive the gold and then sell the rug for a fraction of there cost. The gold could add 10% to the weight of the rug or carpet. Even on a bad day gold goes for $1800 an ounce. Think of it. A fifty pound rug at 10% weight would be 5 pounds of gold. Some one might disappear for that kind of money."

 

[Lexavier]

She watched his mind work with an awed facination. When he'd finished, she laughed again but quickly got it under control. As she was thinking about the rug, gazing down at him sitting there, she couldn't help but notice the way the robe had shifted. It left little to the imagination, and the imagination was vivid as she'd already seen what lay beneath. She tried to meet his eyes and continued "Lets see. I think it was a second hand store on the main road that runs through the town centre. I can't remember the name of the woman who sold it to me, but yeah, we should check it out."
She actually smiled warmly at him, She'd never been on such a comprehensive, international case before, and it felt good. "Just one thing though, you seriously need to get dressed, I'm having a hard time taking you seriously in the pink fluff."

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Second Time Around Gift Shop

Mike got up from the floor and closed up his robe and with a profunctional. "Sorry!" He returns up the stairs to the bathroom. He climbs back into his clothes and frowns as hangs the pink fluffy back on the door hook.

In no time they are back in Lexy's Chevy heading to town. For some reason Mike doesn't have anything to say. He is in a loss for words. He sits in the car watching the country side. After a while they arrive back at the town center. Lexy cruises through the main drag and around the green and past the police station. Then four blocks further down on the corner of Main and Maple he sees it. Second Time Around Gift Shop Mike points to the store. " This must be it."

Lexy parks the Chevy and they get out. "I know this is your town but let me see if I can find out any thing,first." They walk in the front door and a little bell rings over the door. A young woman is behind the counter and looks up. She smiles and look of shock comes to her face. "OH My god its Tommy Future I sleep in your jersey!"
Mike closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Tommy is my younger brother, I'm Mike Future. The girl sinks into a funk before their eyes. " Oh, well welcome to STAGS how may I help you?" She askes in a flat canned inquirery showing her new found bordom.

Out of the back comes a voice old as the wind. " I'll help these people!" The woman Mike had rented the room from last night came through the curtain. See looks at Mike and then sets her sites on Lexy. "Good to see you Detective Alexandria, may I help you?"

 

[Lexavier]

"Be my guest." she mumered as she followed him inside the store. As the woman declared to know who he was, and his subsquent revelation, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "Famous little brother? You just get more interesting by the second, dont you..." She muttered to him as they stepped further into the dusty store.

Rugs hung from the ceiling, and little oddities sat on the shelves. She remembered coming in here, and finding her beloved rug. She glanced up as the old woman entered and addressed her. She smirked, hearing her full name. "Please, it's just Lexy." she said respectfully. "And this gentleman would like to ask you a few questions if that's ok?"

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

היכן היא גב' מרי baxter-packard ? ו את בת דודתי סלמה, האם היא תהיה זהב?
(Where is Mrs. Mary Baxter-Packard? And your cousin Selma, does she have the gold?)

The old woman looks at him and shakes her head. "מרי לא נמצא כאן, אין לנו זהב כאן. "
(Mary is not here, we have no gold here.)
Mike decides that while it was interesting the switching to Hebrew for the shock effect it had little effect except to confirm that the woman knew and spoke Hebrew. It proved little if anything. Mike was about to turn around and leave when he thought back to what the woman had said. She had not answered about Selma. She had said we have no gold here

Mike smiles and thanks the woman and leads Lexi out the door to the street. They walk slowly to her Chevy while Mike thinks. He stops and hits his head with his hand of coarse "I just figured it out!" He looks at Lexy "Lets have lunch at Tony's and I lay out what I think happened!"