"Okay Zachary what do you need help with?" We were sitting around the table. Part of me was focusing back on my table where I had my cheese fries and half eaten cheese steak.

"I need a bodyguard to protect me." he looked completely serious while saying that. Truly rich people got into a mess in ways that regular people would never be able to understand. Or at least in ways that didn't make sense to me.

"What makes you think that I could fulfill this role for you?" If he came here than that meant he had my business card and on it and those listed the exact services that I did and being a bodyguard was not one of them. Bounty hunter that was one of the skills listed on the card. Exorcists were another but there was no bodyguard listing on the card.

“Yes I read the card and I know it does not say bodyguard.” So if he understood all of that I couldn’t understand what he was asking of me.

“The thing is being a bounty hunter is like being a reverse bodyguard.The skills are just opposites. Like direct opposites and It’s even better because you’re psychic.” he was really pushing this. Truly he must be really desperate and in need of my help.

“What is it you need protection from?” Depending on the answer and how much money he was willing to pay me however might have been enough to change my mind. It was probably something simple liked he owed someone money or he got someone real dangerous angry enough to come after him.

“I think my siblings are trying to get rid of me and plan to split my inheritance.” Well that was a new one. Siblings getting “rid” of each other for money was a first world problem that only rich people had.

“That is definitely a rich white person problem.” Marcus said sitting at his own desk while reading one of my books that he had gotten from my bookshelf. It was an a Song of Ice and Fire book. He was paying the least amount of attention possible but given his supernatural hearing it did not really matter.

How I wished I did not have to deal with this either.

“How much would they get from you if you ‘disappeared’?” I believed that he believed that he was telling me what he believed to be the truth. Television and books had not led me wrong so far and it had raised me to believe that people were not rational people. However in the case of people spouting out conspiracy theories there was always the chance they were telling the truth.

“Two million dollars.” If I had been wearing sunglasses they would have dropped to the table. Hearing the book slam behind me was the sign that Marcus was interested in the case now. If he was getting that much I could charge him a lot for this job. Enough that I could actually accomplish my goal of hibernating through the winter.

“I will take the case.” Money was always a weakness of mine. That fact had led me into trouble on previous cases but it still wasn’t enough to make me change.

“You will? Thank you.” he started shaking my hand very quickly. Eventually I just yanked it back out of his grip.

“Sorry.” he said placing them back on the table. It was circular and very wide. You would need four song of ice and fire books to reach from one end to the other.

Thanks to magic my office was a lot bigger than it would have been if I left the building as it was originally and let the laws of physics dictate the space.

The outside was a red bricked building connected to a laundromat on the left and thrift store on the right with the Frankford transportation center train rail over the street. The inside was like a tardis. The inside was bigger than the outside but a carefully placed ward dealt with the problem.

Usually they are created to create a barrier around a place to keep people away from a place either by causing an effect that stops them from entering either by turning the place invisible, creating an uncomfortable feeling, or just creating a barrier people can’t walk through.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Mine couldn’t do that however as I wanted and needed clients to come into my office. So I had altered it to make it so that all guests could come inside but they would not really think too hard about it once they did and started looking around. The ward was an effect of an enchantment. It originated from the bookshelf and spread outward until it covered the whole building.

The building was double the space of normal. It was the double the space with an archway separating them. The front half was where I held my meetings. Our desks were in the back half and behind them was a room that held a hammock.

Whenever I didn’t have the energy to go home I would crash here and sleep. It had both a television and a refrigerator.

“Do you have a place to stay?” I needed him in a single place. Both to keep him out of trouble and time to do a proper background search on this guy. It was better to play it safe than sorry. Many noir mystery novels happened because the detective did not do a background check on their client.

“Yes. The place I live isn’t too far from here.” Once he had written down his address and the address of his siblings I told him to pack a bag of clothes as I planned to have Marcus pick him up and keep him at his place. It was an area that his family did not know of and if his story did not check out I would know where Zachary would be.

“Thank you.” he said one more time before actually leaving.

“So what do you think?” Marcus asked as I approached my desk and tried to enjoy my interrupted breakfast. That meeting was the longest twenty minutes of my life.

“Interesting story.” That was truly how I felt. Whether he was telling the truth or merely spinning a story he saw on television I would look into it all the same.

“Aren’t you glad I called you today?” Marcus had a grin on his face as he began to walk over to my desk.

“We have no idea how this will turn out, do not gloat yet.” The only good thing so far to come out of this meeting was that my cheesesteak was cool enough to eat and not worry about burning my tongue.

“Did you bring me anything?” he asked.

“No.” my answer was short and quick. One of the reasons that I had bought it was to watch him suffer as I ate it. It was a petty thing but pettiness just like caring too much was one of my stronger personality traits.

“That is so cold.” he said as he grabbed his heart and fell back. Drama was something that Marcus was fond of. Usually I played along but today was not that day.

“Like an iceberg.” Walking out of the office I paused. The sun was very bright. If I had walked out of there right now I would have to wait and let my eyes readjust to the sun.

Luckily I had another option. Reaching into a pocket on the inside of my trench coat I pulled a pair of sunglasses out and put them on my face. They were enchanted to let protect me eyes but let me see everything as if I was not wearing them. I had stolen them off of a vampire a four months back on a case that involved a ghost and a cursed blade.

As I walked out and wasn’t blinded by the light of an afternoon sun I once again was extremely thankful for magic.

Getting into my black ford car I drove off to the area where my client and his siblings lived.

Chestnut Hill was about an hour and ten to twenty minutes away if you went there by bus from Frankford. A car drive there however would only take about thirty minutes tops.

Driving to Chestnut Hill however brought to mind some memories that I wished that I had forgotten. Passing Northwood Park reminded me of how I discovered Ethan’s body which led to me later summoning his spirit to solve his murder.

The fact that I still could not find his Aunt bugged me. It was like she just vanished off of the face of the Earth. No matter what way I scryed for her either will spells or with crystals. I just could not find her. She wasn’t hidden and she wasn’t dead. If she was dead I would at least have found a body.

There was just nothing.

Whatever Bryan or his teacher in the mask had done with the old lady it had made me unable to find her. That annoyed me as I had promised Ethan I would try to find his Aunt.

I didn’t like putting too much effort into any task but this was personal. Both since I had promised and because I had spent so much time searching. I was too determined to quit and soon I would move to different methods to find her.

As the light changed I drove past the park trying to clear my head. At a time like this I would have preferred Marcus to hypnotize a random person to drive me to my destination so I could take some time to get my thoughts in order.

Being unbalanced mentally would not help when I started questioning the people who knew Zachary. Checking his story against people who actually knew them was the first step. The siblings would be next but I would have to be discreet.

As I arrived at the house of his neighbor I clenched my hands on the wheel and took a deep breath. These meeting were the make or break moments of this case. If he had the money I would still take the case whether he was right or just paranoid and crazy.

If he did not have the money than I may just conjure a fork and stab it into Marcus’s hand. He was a vampire. The pain would not be permanent with his healing factor. The pain would be temporary but it would satisfy his need for revenge.

Walking up to the huge house I knocked three times and waited for someone to answer. It took about five minutes for me to decide to ring the doorbell when I was given no response.

That took a lot less time to get a response. I had a suspicion that they knew I was there but had waited for me to ring the doorbell before opening the door.

“Good evening.” the butler said to me as he held the door open but stood in the threshold to prevent me from coming inside.

“Hello I am a private detective and need to speak to the owner of the house.” Showing him my badge I tried honesty for the first approach. The owner was not involved in this in any way so they should be willing to speak.

However if that did not work then I would move onto my second option. That option was using magic to get what I wanted. Treating people with kindness was always my first choice. It was only when they declined to tell me the truth of their own free will did I use other methods.

Those usually got me the answers I needed. I really hoped that Zachary’s neighbors were the type that would stick their noses in the business of others.

As a detective when questioning people these type were my favorite even though as an introvert I did not like interacting with people.