Page 109 of Ransom X


  Chapter 69 Another Mystery Solved

  Legacy slipped out of the room. He judged that with a full head of steam, that she’d continue talking as if he were there for another five to ten minutes. She’d probably save up the indignation of the moment of realization until later in the week when she was having dinner at his house, then unleash the entire argument again without the benefit of having a willing audience. Chess enjoying the blind-siding satisfaction of the moment would double the effect.

  Legacy quickly clicked onto the business at hand. Literally, he carried a stunning assortment of flowers, so grand that it would be almost embarrassing displaying them on anything smaller than a conference table. Legacy hadn’t thought of that when he’d purchased them, he was still getting used to adequate, or even socially accepted displays of almost anything.

  He crested the third floor stairs and walked into a labyrinth of cubicle offices.

  Heads turned as he walked past. The secretary pool seemed very interested. He didn’t understand why, as he was seeing most of these people for the first time in his life. Yet they somehow seemed to know him. He kept his nose to the air, and realized only later that he must have looked quite arrogant.

  Legacy had no idea who the flowers belonged to, and had only one sense to go on – smell. He stored the distinct citrus perfume smell in his memory.

  The problem was the scent of the flowers was working against him. They made it hard for him to set any course based on smell, because the strongest impulse along those lines followed him at arms length at his side.

  After several minutes of wandering the halls he was no closer to finding his target and he’d covered nearly every nook and cranny in the building.

  A hand tapped low on his shoulder and he turned to see a woman of medium build, slender, handsome in all aspects staring up at him in wonder. Legacy recognized her immediately, or at least the scent of the citrus hand cream, it wasn’t perfume after all, “Can I help you, agent?”

  “You’re the one who brings my coffee, everyday, why do you do that?” The sharpness of the question was unfortunate, but the woman shrugged it off.

  “Who cares? Are those for me?”

  Legacy handed her the flowers and they seemed to almost tip her over. He put his hand on her shoulder to counterbalance, and felt a shiver go through her. A smile flashed across her face accompanied by a blush the color of the deep red roses the filled the center of the arrangement.

  “Thank you –” Legacy said.

  She could tell that he was waiting for something, and somehow she knew what it was.

  “Doris.”

  “Thank you Doris.”

  Legacy felt the ripple of secretaries leaving their desks to congregate around Doris even as he walked out into the hallway. He imagined that the story of the crazy agent in the cellar would have a new crease to it. They’d all have their theories as to why Legacy had chosen that day to deliver his appreciation – and as far as Legacy was concerned any of them could be right, because he didn’t know why he needed to reach out or even if he had really needed to do so. All he knew was that for three years he hadn’t even known whom he should be thanking, and now she was Doris. He knew he could have simply waited for her to arrive on that day, but he knew that the effect would be much greater if he climbed the stairs to visit her for once.

  Legacy thought about going by Bailey’s office on the way back to his own, just to see the shock on his face, but he decided that the distastefulness of being in a room with him wasn’t worth the mischief of seeing him deal with the completely unexpected entrance of his star agent.

  He reached the end of the hallway and made a turn down into the stairwell. Legacy paused, thinking of what was waiting for him at the bottom. He felt the stir of something quite foreign – it was pressing him into motion. It could have been anticipation, but Legacy marked the odd feeling down to simple boring curiosity. Maybe Wagner was still talking to no one. That would be something worth seeing. He quickened his pace.

  *******

  Loyal Reader

  Thank you for reading the first Agent Legacy mystery. I hope you enjoyed Agent Legacy, Agent Wagner, and the delightful Chess. Another Agent Legacy is being penned as your read, so keep your eyes out for the next mystery.

 
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