BURDEN OF AN ANCIENT OATH by Joshua Brown (early reader books TXT) 📕

“Morning, ladies, Aaron,” I said, realizing that they were all too lost in conversation or work to notice my arrival.

“Good morning, Jacky-boy,” Gwen said, winking at me from across the room.

“How’s everyone doing today?” I asked, tossing my coat and hat over the rack beside the door.

Apart from the usual doing good or can’t complain, Gwen rose from her chair. She stuck her hand in her red handbag hanging from one shoulder and drew two letters.

“I know,” I said, not even having to see them. “I got them too.”

“And your crew?” Gwen asked.

“I’m about to let them know.”

On hearing what I said, Aaron and Lauren stopped what they were doing and turned to me.

“Let us know what?” Lauren asked.

“Well, we’ve found ourselves in a bit of a pickle. As I’m sure Gwen already knows having spoken directly with Spencer, whoever’s chasing after Jane Dench has us in their sights too,” I said, walking over to the visitor’s section and taking a seat on a small, flimsy chair. “I’m not trying to alarm anyone with this news, and I don’t want you two to panic, I just think it’s best that we clear the air and everyone knows the situation we’re in.”

“What exactly is the situation?” Aaron asked, steepling his fingers.

He sat in his chair, facing Gwen and me. Lauren was on her feet, moving her weight between one foot and the other. Both tried to hide their feelings of fear for what I was about to say, and both failed. How could I blame them?

“I received a letter of my own last night. The first came from Jane, who handed me a note, and the second was waiting as I arrived at my door. The messages are coming through more brazenly now, and they’re leaving hanging squirrels on doorsteps as a sign to show what’s coming our way.”

“And what does this mean for us?” Lauren asked, swallowing hard.

Out of the four of us, Lauren was the furthest removed from this lifestyle. She had a place in the office, sure, and she helped with cases, but she wasn’t a detective. Nor did she have any further training if anyone did come knocking at her front door. So, her fears made me uncomfortable, knowing that I could make all the promises in the world, but she wasn’t a fool. She’d been there when I was successful, and she knew how small my failure rate was… but still, she knew it.

I knew that might sway her judgement when asking her to stay calm.

“I’m hoping it won’t have any impact on any of us. If anything, I’d be the first target, maybe Gwen, but I don’t think that you have anything to worry about. Nor do I mention this to scare you, either. I just think it’s better that we all stand together on this one and we don’t start making brash judgements because of threats,” I replied.

I didn’t actually think anyone would do anything foolish, not that I even knew what a thoughtless action would be in this situation. I rarely did anything different apart from smoke more and drink less when I found myself on a case like this.

“Jack, I know you’ve got our best interests at heart, so you don’t have to worry about me,” Lauren said, giving me a smile. It nearly melted my heart.

“Of course, and that goes for everyone else in this room, too. As long as I’m still here, kicking and screaming, nothing will happen to any of you,” I looked at Gwen, who rolled her eyes with a little grin.

“Now, I’m not saying it’s not appreciated, Jack, but let’s face it,” she chuckled, collapsing into a chair next to me. “I can take good care of myself.”

“Lions hunt in packs for a reason,” I said, giving Gwen a wink. “That’s what we’re doing here anyway, right? Fighting for justice and making sure that the innocent lives around us make it through the night without a hitch.”

“And we’ll do it, no matter the cost and risk,” Gwen replied.

With hopes that I set everyone’s minds at ease, we all went on with our day. Aaron, once more searching for anything else he could on this elusive case, Lauren going about her business, and Gwen and I trying to figure out anything we could.

We were old-school detectives in that way. Working on logic, reasoning, and deduction, moreover than trusting what the internet had to offer. Together, we sat, analyzing the tapes I collected from the hotel. After showing it to Gwen, giving her the man’s face that left the squirrel, we called Aaron in too.

Not only was this a way for him to learn more about the trade, but perhaps he had ways to track down the man by the image displayed. It was somewhat blurry in the cheap, black and white video from the apartment cameras, but it was something.

“He’s a fat sack of shit,” Gwen said suddenly after viewing the tape a second time. “There’s no way he gets in and out of places without being seen by people.”

“It’s not about that, right?” Aaron replied. “We know what he’s doing, so we’d know to look out for him. But that doesn’t mean it would carry over in the mind of anyone else seeing him. When 40% of the population is overweight, it’s easy to overlook a man dressed in uniform and think him normal.”

“No one’s going to look at the blue outfit and think he’s a part of the problem, either. There’s been an outbreak of soldiers getting false valor lately, so who would look twice to see if a mailman’s outfit is up to code?” I added.

“I’ll see if I can dig anything up on the man in the video,” Aaron said. “Just forward it through to me and I’ll get started.”

“Thanks,