Writing Prompt:

Earl Grey: Crime Fighter

Earl steps out of his car, hit with a wave of heat and humidity. He checks his watch; it’s not even 7 AM and he can feel the sweat crawling down his back. Nothing new living in the south then, it’s going to be a scorcher of a day.

Earl unlocked the door to his business, a small shop settled in and away from the sunlight. It still got hot, but could be regulated with less air conditioning. And the best part was that it was all his. The section of the floor he rented was enough for a small office, a reception and waiting room, with a small kitchenette. The kitchenette was one of the best things about his office, as it was where he could make the thing he was second known for: his sweet tea. He still wasn’t sure if his clients came because he was the best private detective in the tri-county area. Still, he started his morning route: warming up a jug of tea just enough so that the sugar can absolve in it, then opened up the rest of his office.

His receptionist wasn’t due to come in later. A nice woman by the name of Ginger Sprite, or so she told him. He didn’t question her; it was part of their unspoken trust agreement that he didn’t question or research what her real name is, and she doesn’t say anything to anyone about the more “special cases” he handles. Those cases that occasionally involved unexplained creatures, that Ginger didn’t want to ever have to try to explain to lawyers or anything. Basically, Earl and Ginger trusted each other more than anyone else in their lives.

With his tea brewing and breakfast cooking, Earl grabbed the files Ginger had left for him on her desk. Case files for clients that were still open or who had left messages and needed to have meetings set up, if Earl was going to check out their problems. What Earl needed to admit sooner or later was that he was starting to backlog the non-supernatural cases more and more, at the expense of boring normal cases. He needed to consider hiring another partner, or talking to Ginger to see if she wanted to move up from just being a receptionist. Not that she had ever just been that. But that was a discussion for later.

Between the three files, Earl had a potential vampire nest out near Blue Ridge, Kennesaw State had called about discussing an issue that sounded exactly like some kind of trickster fairy stealing documents and money. Finally, John Lowe’s farm had something stealing his pigs, only to have them returned a few days later slightly altered somehow. The pigs were definitely the new case, especially as Earl couldn’t quite get a feel on what the farmer meant by “altered.” It was still too early to call the farmer and have him come in, so he reviewed the vampire file again as well.

Word Count: 500