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Sebastian jumped, his quiet afternoon of browsing casting calls interrupted as the door was flung open, and Lu barrelled through the door.
“Hey! So, we went to visit our suspect’s sister in the care home. She was asleep, so we didn’t manage to speak to her, but get this – someone had brought flowers for her, and you’ll never guess what colour th-”
Lu stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of Sebastian.
“What on earth are you wearing?”
“Um… remember that ‘Shakespeare For Kids’ thing I told you about?”
“The show for the primary schools?”
“Yes. Well, it’s that.”
“What? But I thought you were going to be playing a builder or something?”
“A carpenter, and yes, I was. But since Carl had to withdraw after a horse bit his foot, I’m now playing a patch of moss. It’s a bigger role than it sounds, in this adaptation the moss is basically what keeps the story going.” Sebastian may have been an actor, but he certainly didn’t sound convincing in that moment.
“Right… and you didn’t think to maybe take off that outfit before coming in to work?”
“It’s actually quite comfortable. Anyway, what were you saying about the case?”
“Oh yeah, the flowers. So, what I was saying was; you’ll never guess what colour they were!”
Sebastian waited for Lu to continue, but she stayed watching him expectantly.
“Oh! You want me to guess. Right, uh… pink? Purple? I don’t know.”
“White. They were white!”
“Gosh, no way! And… that’s relevant because…?”
Lu sighed. “Do I have to do all the work around here?”
“To be fair, it’s not actually my job to solve the cases.”
“It’s relevant because-”
Frank chose that moment to storm into the room, his clothes dirty and his hair littered with petals.
“Sebastian, hey, has Lu told you that we solved the case?”
“I was just about to tell him before you came in. And anyway, what do you mean ‘we’? I’m the one who figured out the thing with the flowers, you were just there. Where was I… oh right. It’s relevant because they were the same white flowers that had been left on the victim’s grave, and the same white flowers I saw at our suspect’s house!”
“Right. And, guessing from the state of Frank’s hair, you went back to the house?”
“What? Ugh, I thought I’d gotten them all off me.” Frank began to shake his head violently, and the petals fell over the floor,
“Frank! You’ll have to clean that up later.” Lu rolled her eyes and turned back to Sebastian. “We tried to look through the window to see if anyone was in, but Frank here managed to trip and fall into the flowerbed. And then-”
Lu was once again cut off mid-sentence, this time by a voice shouting from the stairs.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
Sebastian froze. “Oh no.”
An old woman waltzed through the door, and shrieked with happiness.
“Seb, darling! Oh, I’ve missed you so much! And what is that you’re wearing?”
Frank and Lu looked at eachother in confusion as the woman wrapped her arms around Sebastian.
“Hi Granny!” Sebastian gave a pained smile, and then glared at Frank and Lu, who were trying (and mostly failing) not to giggle. “It’s… it’s from a modern interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With a very prestigious theatre group.”
“Granny?!” Frank said. “What’s she doing here? You never told us you had your grandmother coming to visit.”
“That’s a good question. What are you doing here Granny? You said you’d be here tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, well, I wasn’t busy, so I thought I’d just come early. And I’ve never seen your workplace before, which is why I decided to come and visit you here!”
“I see…”
“Seb, dear, it’s so lovely to see you. And what a lovely little place this is! Now, are you going to introduce us?” she asked, gesturing to where Frank and Lu were standing.
“Yes,” Lu added with a smirk on her face, “aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“You’re going to pay for this” Sebastian whispered, before plastering a smile back on his face. “Granny. This is Frank and Lu, the private investigators. Frank and Lu, this is my grandmother.”
“Lovely to meet you!” Lu leant over and shook her hand.
“Likewise, dear.”
Frank shook her hand too, and more white petals scattered everywhere.
“Oh, uh… oops! Sorry about that.”
“Granny, we’re actually very busy right now, solving cases and everything. You know what, how about you go and meet Gloria? She owns the costume shop, and I think the two of you would get on amazingly. It’s just down the street, you won’t miss it, and tell her I sent you! I’ll see you once I finish work, ok?”
“Well, if you insist. I won’t hang around and cramp your style!” She turned towards the door, and as she left, shouted “See you soon, Seb!”
“Thank goodness” Sebastian muttered.
“So… ‘Seb’?” Lu questioned.
“Don’t.”
“No, no! I think it’s great. In fact, I think we should start calling you Seb too. What do you think Frank?” The death stare Sebastian sent his way did absolutely nothing to deter Frank. “Oh, absolutely! I think it really suits you, Seb.”
Sebastian groaned, and desperately tried to think of something – anything – that would change the topic.
“Lu, you never finished telling me how you solved the case! Go on, I’m desperate to know what happened after Frank landed himself in that flowerbed.”
“Oh yeah! So, the suspect tried to run after hearing people outside, but we’d already called the police, so they got her before she even reached the garden gate.”
Sebastian looked at Lu in anticipation, waiting for the climax of the story
“Oh. Is… Is that it?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“I see.”
Frank grabbed his coat, and walked with Lu towards the door. “We’re off to buy celebratory doughnuts, do you
want any?”
Sebastian smiled. “Is that even a question?”
“See you in a bit then.” Frank and Lu left the office, but a moment later, Frank popped his head back around the office door.
“Bye Seb!”
Frank only just managed to escape the cushion Sebastian threw at his head.