Episode 5 - Business

"Please, come in!" Justin said as he stuck out his hand.

I shook his hand and stepped into heaven. As unbelievable as it may sound, the house was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

"Mr. Twubber, probably everyone who steps into your house says this but you have a beautiful house."

"Why thank you. And please, no need for formalities here, call me Justin."

Yes, we were truly on a first name basis now. Now all I had to do was persuade him to sign me into his will.

"Shall we get down to business then? Bo, is it?"

"Yeah, Bo's fine."

Justin led me through the labyrinth to his study. I thought old Justin here would be wheezing as he tried to catch up with me. But, I found myself wheezing as I tried to catch up with him. I chided myself for procrastinating my exercise routine for the past 15 years. Not being able to catch up with an 83 year old could be quite a painful reminder of how unhealthy you are. Then what was the cane for?

I found out soon enough. I was wheezing and gasping fo breath when Justin announced our arrival at the study. The door to his study was almost the same size as Mann-Eater, and probably weighed the same too. And no door knob. Just a little jagged hole in the middle of the door where the knob should have been. Justin lifted his cane and jammed it into the hole, and the door magically began to open. All Justin needed was a tall pointed hat and anybody would have sworn he was a wizard and his cane was his staff. The titanic door slid to the side. This guy has more amazing things in his house than there are grains of sand in the Sahara. And yes, there is quite alot of sand in there.

Walking through that doorway was like walking through a portal to another dimension. I had never seen so many gadgets in my life.

"Please, have a seat my dear man," Justin said as he motioned to the sofa that was bigger than my bed. This guy had a fetish for size... I figured he must have been screwing Mann-Eater.

I plopped my butt down on the "sofa". It was so comfortable I almost asked him how much it cost. I didn't, because if he told me then I would have to live the rest of my life knowing I could never own a chair like this. Justin sat oppossite me. "Clarissa, bring the coffee please," he said into his cane. Apparently the cane was used for everything except as a walking stick. I wouldnt be surprised if he sat on the cane and it flew.

"so, Bo, to business. My daughter, that's Lukinor, has been... acting out of sorts lately. She comes over weekly, but she seems to be becoming more... reserved, more touchy, like she's hiding something from me. Sometimes it even feels like she's angry at me. And I dont even know what I did." His voice trailed off. He seemed to be deep in thought. Or crying. Or having a chat with his toe. Whatever he was doing, he was pretty nervous.

Just then a cube the size of a coffee table rolled into the study. On it stood a teapot and 2 cups of steaming hot coffee. Meet Clarissa, just another grain of sand in the Sahara.

Justin took a cup of Clarissa's special brew and offered it to me. I took the proffered cup.

"You want me to tag her and find out whats wrong Mr. Twubber, I mean Justin?" I nearly added "Is that all?" but checked myself. I didn't need him to know I thought it was a grossly overpriced job.

"no, no. not JUST tag her. I want you to report her every move to me, where she goes, who she meets. I think... I think she's on drugs." On saying this he really did cry. At least now I knew he wasn't having a chat with his toe.

His last word hung in the air between us for a minute or two. I respectfully kept my silence. Telling him he looked like a horse when he cried would not be the appropriate thing to say at a time like this.

"Bo, I want you to watch her. Day and night for the next week, and find out what my darling is upset about. And if she really is on drugs, I want the name of the bastard who's supplying her. I will provide you with the best surveillance equiment money can buy. I want you to tap her phones, her bedroom, her shower."

Watch Lukinor in the shower? Hallelujah. I reminded myself to go to church the next morning.

"I want to know everything about her Bo. Everything. I am a dying man, and it... it hurts to know that I dont have enough time left to understand who my daughter is anymore."

He was trying to suppress the horse in him but Justin looked even more frail now. He was still strong on the outside but he was a broken man inside. I could see it, he was dying.

And I had the honor of performing his dying wish.