Work Text:
When Li entered the Albion Detective Agency, he was startled to be greeted with, “Please don’t tell me this is another cheating wife case.”
At Li’s dumbfounded expression, the blond behind the reception counter continued, “Lost puppy? Or are you a cat person? You look like a lost puppy yourself.” The receptionist stared at Li, chin on his hand, waiting for a response.
“Uh…” Li mustered weakly, at a complete loss at where to go from here. He was rescued by a new arrival. A man emerged from an office, frowning.
“Rowan, where is Kassidy?” the new man asked.
The receptionist shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t know.”
The new man came to stand beside the reception desk before giving Li a smile. “Are you looking to hire a detective?” he asked.
Finally, a reasonable question. Li nodded shyly, sweaty hand clutching the strap of his backpack.
“Come on in. Tea? Coffee?” the man asked, gesturing to the office.
“I’m good, thanks.” Li entered the office. It was neat and clean, everything on the desk straight and orderly. There were photos on the walls, mostly nature shots, but Li noticed a few art pieces among them as well. The office gave off the vibe of a home study, and Li sank into a chair that wasn’t uncomfortable.
The man said something to the receptionist before he closed the office door and went past Li, around the desk to take his own seat in front of the closed laptop. Smiling, he said, “I’m Theresa, one of the detectives here. You are?”
Li swallowed. “Oliver Blake,” he said.
“Please don’t mind Rowan. We usually don’t let him man the reception desk since he tends to put visitors off. He has little patience for our usual cases, though he’s quite good at dealing with the infidelity cases.”
Theresa smiled, and Li smiled in response, put at ease by Theresa’s comment.
“I’m just… a little nervous,” Li confided. “I’m not even sure if I should have come here…”
“Let me be the judge of that,” Theresa replied. “This little chat is free, so don’t worry about taking up my time. We’ll only charge you if we decide to take your case on, and you’ll be able to read over our contract before you agree to anything.”
Li nodded in response. His gaze skittered around the room again, noting the afternoon sunshine streaming through the light curtains over the window. They ruffled in a breeze. This agency was located on the ground floor of an office building, with a park behind it. Li had passed its sign many times during his walks through the park. Until today, he’d never had reason to venture in.
“So, what is your problem?” Theresa asked.
Li reached into his backpack and pulled out a photo he’d taken from a family photo album. He placed it on the desk and Theresa reached over to take and examine it.
It was the most recent photo Li had been able to find. His parents were, oddly, camera-shy. Li had looked online for photos, hoping to find some from professional media outlets, but had come up empty-handed. The photo Theresa was now examining was from his parents’ twentieth anniversary celebration. Li did not even have any photos of them on his phone as he so rarely saw them in person.
“Those are my parents,” Li said, “and they’ve gone missing.”
Theresa frowned. “Is there a reason you’re coming to a private detective agency instead of the police?”
“Yes. My parents travel a lot and are often out of contact so the police won’t think there’s any reason for concern. Also, my parents are private people and they wouldn’t like me getting the police involved,” Li explained.
“So, you must have some reason for concern. What is it?” Theresa asked, accepting Li’s reasoning without further examination. He passed the photo back to Li.
“They always send me a happy birthday message,” Li admitted. “It was my birthday three days ago, and… nothing. There was no message.”
It was a ridiculous reason, in Li’s opinion, but Theresa didn’t laugh. Ridiculous or not, the lack of birthday message, plus the gnawing worry in his gut that refused to go away, was enough to concern Li. Maybe his parents were fine. Maybe they’d just forgotten his birthday because they were busy. Yet Li could not rest until he’d confirmed that they were fine. While it would be upsetting to learn that they’d simply forgotten their only child’s birthday, that was better than the alternatives.
“Names?” Theresa asked, opening the laptop.
“Peter and Eleanor Blake,” Li replied.
“Last known location?”
“New York, the fourteenth of March,” Li answered. “I have a message from them on that day.”
“The fourteenth of March? That was two months ago,” Theresa said, lifting his eyes from his laptop screen. “They do not contact you very often at all, do they?”
“No, they don’t.” Li smiled wryly. He’d long ago become accustomed to his parents’ odd behaviour. Since they always saw to his financial needs, he never felt truly abandoned. Still, it would be nice to see them more than once or twice a year.
“Well, I’ll draw up a contract and e-mail it to you. If we have to travel, it will be expensive, but I can make some inquiries over the phone first. We do have some contacts, both local and international. We often trade favours with them so that cases like this can be dealt with cheaply. But if that isn’t possible…”
“I can pay,” Li assured Theresa. “I’m…” Li blushed. “Well, I’m not exactly poor,” he confessed.
Theresa studied him, looking over Li’s crisp shirt and slacks, which wouldn’t be out-of-place on a mid-level office worker, and his shoulder-length blond hair, loose but tidy. “Why do I feel like ‘not poor’ means something more like ‘filthy rich’?” he asked. “That explains why your parents are able to travel so much.”
“Yes. They’re wealthy enough to not need to work. I do work, though.” Li felt like he needed to make that clear. “I’m a translator.”
“Ah, that’s interesting. We sometimes need materials translated,” Theresa said. “Perhaps we can add you to the books if you’d like some extra work here and there.”
“That’d be nice,” Li agreed.
“We’ll discuss that at a later date. Mind if I see that photo again?” Theresa asked.
Li handed back the photo, and Theresa used his phone to capture a digital image of it.
“I’ll do some preliminary research while you look over the contract,” Theresa said, “then we’ll arrange another meeting. You can leave your contact details with Rowan.”
That seemed to be it. “Thank you,” Li said, rising to his feet. A surge of relief washed over him as Theresa stood too, offering his hand for Li to shake across the desk. Finally, someone was taking his worries seriously.
Li shook Theresa’s hand, then left the office, Theresa on his heels.
To Li’s relief, there was a new blond at the reception desk, and he greeted Li with a warm smile.
“Kassidy, take down Mr. Blake’s contact details,” Theresa said, gently pushing Li toward the desk with a hand on his shoulder.
Li shyly returned the blond’s smile. This had to be the regular receptionist, and he certainly looked more welcoming than Rowan had.
“I’ll have the contract to you this evening,” Theresa told Li. “Don’t rush into signing it. Make sure you take the time to read it over. I know you’re stressed, but your parents are unlikely to be in immediate danger.”
Li nodded as Theresa gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze before retreating into his office again.
Theresa gave off an air of confidence and competence, like this was par for the course for him, like he handled this sort of thing every day. Li was sure that he’d made the right choice in coming here today and trusting Theresa with this problem.