The Lovecraft Family Mansion,

Late Noon.

After what seemed to be an eternity behind closed doors and an age of sulking and self-loathing, Marimbo finally found it within him to convince himself that he needed to step out of hiding. He stepped out of his palatial room as stealthily as he could. The door nearly gave him up but he took his time to close it behind him until it was finally shut without a hassle. His face was bereft of any expression that could have given him away suggesting that he had been brooding behind closed doors. He stared down the hall to be sure no one was lurking around. He was taken aback to see Agon and Salerius standing in a corner watching him. Both of them paid obeisance to their leader. Agon bowed her head courteously and graciously. Salerius folded his arms across his chest and bowed his head as well. He wanted him to be assured that he had everything under control while he was away, on a protracted and unsanctioned leave, of course.

As Salerius raised his head, he addressed him; he was polite but there was a tone of contempt in his voice nonetheless – and it was justifiable in every way possible. “Finally, we were wondering when you would return to us.”

Marimbo let out a heavy sigh with pressure on his nose. He had one of his fingers in his mouth while he unconsciously chewed on his nails. It was a very bad habit, one that he knew of but he couldn’t help himself – it was the glaring sign that he was frustrated. And he was swimming in deep frustration right now.

Agon seemed to be more understanding and empathetic than Salerius. “Would you like me to make you some herbal tea, to calm the nerves?” she asked softly. She knew it often helped him to simmer down whenever he was a mess.

Marimbo turned toward her, barely dredging up a smile. “No, it’s fine. I’ll do it,” he answered.

He then stared around, hoping to find Moriaty in sight. He frowned. “Where is my daughter?” Marimbo asked, suddenly feeling guilty for deserting her when she needed him the most. He felt ashamed for turning her down when she reached out to him. He was disappointed in himself. He sighed, believing he was now emotionally ready and psychologically stable to attend to her needs.

Both Salerius and Agon exchanged puzzled looks. They recalled she had left the house in a fit earlier. “Well…she…” Agon stammered, trying to explain the whole debacle to him.

Salerius shook his head. He gave Agon a scathing look. He turned to Marimbo. “She’s out at the moment. She overreacted earlier but she’ll be fine after she cools off,” he explained. It was unlike her to have wandered far off from the mansion while he wasn’t available.

Marimbo sighed. My daughter is strong because of her caring nature. I hope keeping her at bay won’t be too much for her. He pulled himself together. “What about the others?” he enquired.

“Well Sigmund is in his bedroom meditating. That must be his own way of coping. As for Basil, you know what he’s like. He’s probably wasting away somewhere, who knows,” Salerius revealed.

Marimbo shook his head. He hadn’t been gone for long and the whole family seemed to have fallen into chaos.

That was the least he was expecting from everyone. He was greatly disappointed and he very nearly calumniated but he pulled the punch – there was no way he would do that as he would incriminate himself in the process.

“I need to get to work,” Marimbo announced as he set foot down the hall, on his way to the stairs.

About time you assumed your duties, don’t you think? Salerius thought. “It’s all sorted now. I’ve been taking care of things since you were…indisposed,” Salerius revealed. “You might just have to take things slow, you know. Perhaps, locate Moriaty whom I know you have been worried sick about. She would be anxious to see you, I’m sure of it,” he quickly added.

Marimbo paused for a few seconds, seemingly overwhelmed by the mere mention of his daughter’s name again. He had hoped that if he kept himself occupied, he might just keep his brain from going into an emotionally overdriven state. He came to the realisation that his daughter was in need of him elsewhere, much more than his presence was required in the mansion. It was as important as the breath that he drew that he should find her. And find her fast, he must.

“You’re right, I need to find Moriaty…” Marimbo disclosed as he hurried down the stairs.

*****

Hanford Town,

Not Far from Hanford Inn Bar.

Late Noon.

For quite some time now, Moriaty had been seated on the bench, all by herself, lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes were still fixated into the distance which inexplicably brought her soul a modicum of peace and solace. She embraced the feeling so much so that it made her calm. Heck, she had begun to come to terms with Brock’s demise even though only a few hours ago, it had seemed she couldn’t possibly overcome the despair.

At the thought of being so dependent on both her father and the late Brock, Moriaty exhaled deeply. She should have been more independent in her dealings. The realisation that she wasn’t a child anymore but was currently in the year of transition before adulthood had struck her. Perhaps, her subordinate lifestyle had contributed mostly to her unceasing sadness. Since she looked up to the two men, she had failed miserably at taking care of herself. For her, it was now obvious she hadn’t truly grown up nor had she ever been treated like one since she was always craving the attention from either her father or his most trusted associate.

Things have to change now, going forward, Moriaty thought. She accepted she had to find herself – locate her inner core; the things that made her tick as a superbeing in the absence of anyone in her life. It was clear something had to be done – anything that would keep her distracted from the ills of the world.

Suddenly, she questioned her role in the family asides from being the over-indulged daughter of the leader of the Lovecrafts – as it would turn out, everyone else, asides her, had one thing or the other to do or take care of. She seemed to be the only one without a finite office or designation.

Moriaty realised that her father was always getting things in place: he handled all the family business as well as the general organisation of the family; he also kept everyone else in line. He was efficient, much more than she could say for the rest. However with the recent events taking place, he had failed to live up to everyone’s expectations when they had all looked up to him. And beside her father were Salerius and Agon always, giving advice when needed and providing quality and dependable assistance when it mattered most. Brock, up until the time of his death, had been the chief investigator of the family. He also took the role as Marimbo’s personal guard. In addition, he was an expert at gathering information to keep the family secure from external threats and undue exposure. And he had excelled at it all without blemish. Sigmund on the other hand seemed to occupy an indefinable position in the family – more like a backseat in their affairs. She recalled that he had been a fighter in the “Pre-civil American War Era”. That had been circa forty-five years ago. It all made sense as it had been the same war that changed him forever. Everything had happened right before Sigmund had moved to Europe to join forces with the Lovecraft family. It was during that same war that he had discovered the rare blood type gene within him – it so happened that he had survived tons of musket shots which he had received to the abdomen. He had been surprised to find himself healthy afterwards for he had completely been healed. Moriaty noticed that as much as he sometimes liked to tag along in family matters when he was needed, he often preferred to spend quality time all by himself for excessive meditation. With all these thoughts lingering, she could finally concede that she wasn’t so much different from Basil. The only main difference between them that was worthy of mention was that while Basil seemed to enjoy his independence and rarely called on anyone for help, she had been depending on others her whole life for everything that she might need. However, she came to the realisation that she had to find herself – that she would have to seek out her own goals and find her own way to get through this because unlike Basil whose idea of living was drinking himself into misery, thus making him reliant on alcohol to function at his bet, she had to find something legitimate to call her own form of dependency. Moriaty’s dependency was stemmed on the need to confide in others, especially Brock who had a soft spot for females. Just as she had come to accept this fact, a black cat made its way toward her, pausing her ruminations for a moment.

The cat meowed as if it could feel her pain. It purred, hoping Moriaty would pick it up and place it onto her lap. It wagged its tail continuously while it stared deeply into Moriaty’s eyes with its amber glare.

“Come on,” Moriaty urged, smiling at the cat. It made its way onto her upper legs and sat there, whimpering softly. Moriaty smiled at it. “It’s okay, little one. It’s all right.” She stroked the cat’s fur gently till it felt totally at ease in her hands. It purred softly and slept off. The cat felt at peace. She sighed – that was exactly how she had felt with Brock around, and also, in the company of her father without argument.

“Basil’s right and Salerius always pretty much points this out to me,” she commented to herself. “If only I had taken notice of my immaturity,” she sighed.

“When I think about it now, the only reason the others don’t tell me what they really think of me is because of my father. If they weren’t following his rule, then, they most likely wouldn’t put up with my behaviour.” She looked down at the cat which seemed to be enjoying all the strokes that Moriaty was giving to it. “Am I really so childish? I’m supposed to be acting more maturely now. Or isn’t that what I should be doing since I’ve passed my teenage years? With all things considering I’d be an adult within the space of another. Doesn’t that mean I’m supposed to be more coordinated than I am now?” she directed all her questions to the cat which meowed on its apparent bliss of its new-found caregiver.

Like a dreamer, Moriaty turned her face skywards, noticing that the feline was too preoccupied with getting satisfaction from her than becoming her unwilling conversationalist. “I need to learn to deal with my problems on my own. They all seem to do so and I often forget to ask them how they are. No wonder Salerius always looks at me like a pest. I always act as if I am the only one having a tough time and when I think about it now, most of my problems are not really that bad,” she continued, trying to make herself not feel too uneasy about her predicament. “No, there needs to be a change from now on” she said out loud whilst she still had her fingers on the cat’s fur, stroking it as tenderly as she could.

Moriaty was done being a liability. Whatever it was going to cost her, she would make sure she contributed her own quota to the development and safety of the Lovecrafts. She had a point to prove now and she had a name to live up to. “Brock, I won’t disappoint you this time around. You just wait and see. I need to be there for my family. And even in death, that means I need to find your killer and avenge you as well. I swear it today that I shall not rest until I make your murderer pay for their sins!” She clenched her tender fist till she heard the knuckles crunch loudly. The intensity felt like she had snapped a finger.

The cat purred once more in her hands. Then, as if it had been spurred into action, it jumped out to the ground where it lay quietly, beside her right shoe. It rolled its body all over the shoe, leaving Moriaty's feet covered in fur. The cat meowed in her direction — its way of calling out to her that it needed her attention. Moriaty caressed its head for a few seconds. If cats could grin, the expression on its face portrayed the demeanour. It scratched its fore leg with its mouth and then bolted onto its feet, scurrying nearly out of sight. It paused a few feet away from where Moriaty sat and cast a grateful glance at her. Then it was gone: disappearing into an alleyway to the east.

*****

The Hanford Inn Bar,

Late Noon. Same Day.

The barmaid Rachel was getting impatient as the minutes frittered off into oblivion. There was no telling where Felicity and Croid were. Her eyes kept darting upstairs every few seconds.

One of the new customers noticed that she wasn't concentrating on her job. He could see that her eyes had turned towards the staircase no fewer than five times in the last minute. It so happens that Rachel didn't pay attention to the drink she was pouring for him. She had over filled and kept filling regardless so he had to yell out to gain her attention. "You're spilling the wine goddammit!"

She jolted, spilling some on the man's face then apologised haphazardly. Her uncoordinated efforts only made her stain the man's clothing even more.

"Fuck off!" He yelled at her. She muttered her apology ceaselessly as she sought to make reparations for her gaffe.

Rachel couldn’t stay still. Felicity was the head barmaid and she was meant to take care of sales while the others followed her lead. It was disturbing to note that she hadn't returned since she followed Croid upstairs after she had only sent him to retrieve some tape. The place was starting to get extremely busy and many people were coming in for a late afternoon meal. Rachel felt uneasy taking all their orders without assistance. It was only going to be a matter of time before she became too stretched thin. She counted the number of heads that had gathered in the inn. There was no way she could cater for them all by herself. As the place began to get more packed, she became more agitated.