I wrote a thing or I'm trying to write something.
So this is the first chapter of my Noir Detective story.
Tears in Rain, a Summer Rain mystery
1 - The Damsel
My name is Summer Rain and I’m a product of my environment. I am from Millennium City, the greatest city in the world, born and raised.
Millennium City has many names. The crime capital of the world, the powers capital of America, New Manhatten or home of Captain Tomorrow & Miss Century.
Most often called the city of heroes, but the name I like best, what the sons and daughters of Millennium City call our home is the City of Masks.
It is true we have heroes flying through the skyline, like so many brightly colored exotic birds. Most are just people, most of us live down on the street in the smoke and smell of urine and all the people in the sky are wearing masks anyway. No, we can’t all be heroes.
When you grow up in Millennium City, when you’re raised in the piss stains and smoke of it. Something happens to you, you grow up different. It is not that you grow to like the bad things, I mean piss still smells like piss.
But It becomes part of you. It’s been through a lot and survived. So you can too.
The city has been spoiled, abused, bent and broken, just like you will.
You learn that you have to live with the bad, like you have to live with yourself.
Nowadays I appreciate the city for what it is. Don’t get me wrong the smell still gets to me sometimes. Sometimes I feel like retching when I get the worst of it. But growing up with it, I know something others don’t, I understand that it’s in me too. And instead of retching I breathe it in deeper and it makes me stronger, some days it even makes me smile.
After the war I could not wait to get back state side and I had to move back to Millennium City, a city of mighty heroes and broken dreams. My home...
The end of summer was approaching. The trees were slowly beginning to shed their leaves and the stifling heat was being replaced by cooler air. You could smell the change on the air.
My days were long and boring, I hadn’t had a job in a while. It was early September and I quietly getting desperate for something to do.
On another of those too long day's something finally happened.
On that particular day trouble walked through my door. That was not unusual, trouble is how I pay the bills. But her brand of trouble turned out to be very unusual,
I was sitting at the desk in my office, feet up, bored out of my mind and day drinking. I know that drinking to pass the time isn't conducive to healthy living, but I didn't have anything else to do and the bottle of smooth and expansive alcohol was a thank you gift from my last satisfied client. Actually, that had been my latest case, a long bit ago and my coffers were getting dangerously low. So, day drinking it was, don’t judge me. Most of my day was spent sprawled in my chair, listening to the crackle of the radio, trying to catch the bit of sun peeking through the blinds of my windows. I had almost emptied the bottle and was about to close-up when there was a shy knock on the door, I froze. Damn my place looked like shit, you would think I would be better at this business thing by now. The knock became more persistent.
“One moment please”
I quickly dumped the bottle in a drawer in the desk, the glass followed after I gulped down the rest of its content. I turned off the radio and sat down. I arranged my notebook and pencils on the desk and tried to look professional.
“Please come in” I said as I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear
That is when she walked in. My next paycheck and couldn't have asked for prettier package.
She was blonde as hell and wearing a lot of black. This girl could get any man she wanted or a woman. Get a hold of yourself Rain. I scanned her with my professional detective vision, so I told myself at least.
Her slightly curled blonde hair fell just past her shoulders, in that way that makes it seem natural but takes hours of maintaining each morning. She had clear and very blue eyes. Though she didn’t show much skin, her leather pants and clingy shirt showed of her curves. God, I wish I had a chest like that. Don’t stare, don’t stare. Looking professional had gone straight out the window. The booze had definitely been a bad move.
“My name Nora Bloom” She said clasping her hands at her belly, clearly uncomfortable. “You’re The Detective? mrs Rain then right?”
“It’s miss Rain and yes I’m the detective” I answered
“oh sorry, actually thought you were a man. I mean I thought detective Rain was a man”
she was getting flustered now. Crap, I couldn’t lose another client because of my gender.
She scanned the room. I couldn’t really read her but she was definitely nervous. Trying to make her more comfortable.
“But I try so hard to look pretty” I said in my best starlet voice, tossing my hair in a gesture of mock femininity. I got a tiny closed lipped smile in return. Good enough for me.
I stood, walked out from around the desk and offered her my hand.
“I’m Summer Rain, private investigator. Missing jewelry, cheating husbands, insurance claims, I even rescued a kitten out of a tree once, think his name was Mittens or something. How can I be of service?”
She shook my hand and gave me another timid smile, with her close I could smell her perfume it gave off a faint scent of lilacs.
“You do missing persons?”
“yes of course. Only thing I don’t do is powers.”
not anymore, not ever again,
“Who is missing?” I grabbed my notepad and a pencil from the desk. My professionalism gear finally kicked in.
“My boyfriend.” She was fidgeting with her perfect nails “Uhm my fiancé actually. we just got engaged” she showed me her engagement ring, modest but gold. “see”
“okay how long has he been missing?”
I couldn’t help but think that this was just another case of an adulterating husband escaping with his mistress or just some man who was too damn chickenshit to actually break it off in person. Poor girl.
Behind her thin facade was just an innocent and scared young woman. God, I felt old, I couldn’t even remember when I was that naive. This city will eat up and spit out people like that. I see it all the time.
“He’s been gone since yesterday. he left for work in the morning and I haven’t seen him since. I work late but when I came home he wasn’t there… He’s always there when I come home, he makes sure of it.”
Tears began to spill from her eyes threatening to ruin her makeup. I put my hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.
“Don’t worry I’m on the case” I said giving her a small smile. “did you contact the authorities?”
“uhm, the police won’t do anything before he’s been gone for 48 hours”
She was staring at me with those blue dewy-eyes. So blue those eyes and innocent, but in that moment, they were filled with a pleading desperation.
“so, you are really going to help me?” She asked.
“of course,” why not.
Her fiancé was missing and she was desperate so I took the case why not be the hero I’ve always had a soft spot for a damsel in distress. To be honest I was kind of curious. What kind of man could make a girl like that, settle down? and besides I didn’t really have a choice, I had to pay the bills. a girl gotta eat you know.
“One more question, where did you hear about me?”
“well you’re in phonebook, miss Rain.”
