Pete Lovelock, Demon Detective

Work had been a little slow that month.  Perhaps the world was getting back to normal.  Perhaps it was the quiet before the storm.

All I knew was that I needed to keep myself occupied in my office.  Make it look like someone was working within.  Ready and waiting should a client appear.  That’s what I kept telling myself for two and half weeks.

The accounts were up-to-date.  Case files were completed and my desk cleared.  Hell, I even swept the floor – and then mopped it.

I was starting to give up that Wednesday morning.  There was only so much office-based work I could cope with.  I was made to be outside, taking the fight to evil-doers, not cleaning and shuffling papers.  But the monsters of the world had gone quiet and my services were apparently not in demand.

That’s when the phone rang.  For a moment, I just stared at it.  Then, I grabbed it before it rang off.

“Hello?”

“Hi…er…” The woman’s voice on the other end of the line sounded nervous, unsure.

“Who you looking for, ma’am?”

“Umm…Pete Lovelock.  I was given this number by Tara in the crystal shop in town.  She said he could help.”

“Help with what?”

“Have I got the right number?  Who am I speaking to?”  She sounded guarded, worried.

“I’m Lovelock.  Now tell me, why might you think I can help you?”

“There’s something going on in my basement.  I hear noises.  Voices.  I went down there this morning and…I found…I’m not sure how I can say this without sounding crazy, but you’ve got to believe me.  I saw it!”

I was now perched on the edge of my seat, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.  “What did you see, ma’am?”

“It had teeth and claws and…and…wings.  And it said, ‘They are coming,’ over and over.  It’s locked in my basement, but it keeps banging on the door, screaming about the horrors that await us all.  What am I going to do when it gets out?”

All the emotion had drained out of the woman’s voice.  I guessed she was going into shock.  I managed to get her name and address out of her before she clammed up completely.  Then I grabbed my jacket and my bag of tricks, and left the office, a smile plastered across my face, a tune on my lips.

I was back in business.

---

This was written for Day 4 of “A Month of Mini Writing Challenges“.  See this page here for more details and a list of prompts.