Jeff Strand - Graverobbers Wanted - No Experience Necessary

"You can't use your cloak," another player pointed out. "It's still cursed for one more turn from my Wand of Dissatisfaction."

"But you're only holding it for six Curse points," said Carl. "So I'm going to use my +3 Reversal Armor to destroy the curse and then I can use my cloak."

"All right," said Harold. "You're currently floating in the lava.Your turn, Farley."

"I'll run down there and get Carl's head for my trophy case. It's time to move up to humans."

"Seriously, Farley, what do you do?"

"How many different points does this game have?" I asked.

"Sixteen points in each of the fields," Farley replied.

"How many fields?"

"There's the Field of Mind, the Field of Body, the Field of Might, the Field of Sorcery, the Field of Destiny, and the Field of Eternity."

"Gotcha.Somehow I missed the Field of Eternity."

"Now, I have a question for you," said Farley. "You're not here to learn the game, and you're not a real reporter. So who are you?"

The other gamers fell silent. Farley's squeaky voice and diminutive stature made him somewhat less than intimidating, but this was still not exactly a development I welcomed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I can tell by the way you're watching us. You're not watching to see how we play the game—you're trying to study us as individuals. What are you, some kind of FBI agent?"

I was secretly a bit flattered that he might have thought I was FBI material, but I didn't let it go to my head. "Okay, here's the real story. You're right—I'm not here to learn about the game. If I had an extra few hundred I.Q. points I could probably figure out how the hell the rules work, but the truth is that I'm a private investigator."

Carl stared at me, seriously annoyed. "You're disrupting our game because you're a private investigator?"

"That's right."

Farley's face lit up with fascination. "That is so cool! Which one of us are you investigating? It's Rachel, right? I always knew she was up to something shady."

"No, I'm here because your friend Michael Ashcraft has turned up missing. His wife hired me to find out where he is."

"Mike's missing?" asked Carl."For how long?"

"Wasn't Michael Ashcraft that guy who stayed here for about ten minutes then called us all a bunch of geeks and stormed out?" asked Harold.

"He's been gone since last night," I told Carl. "The police won't help because he hasn't been missing for twenty-four hours, but his wife believes there may be some element of foul play."

"Wasn't he on vacation?" Carl asked.

"It fell through," I said.

Farley pushed back his chair and jumped to his feet. "I know who it was!" he announced, and then pointed at Carl. "It was you! You had the motive, means, and opportunity! You've always hated Michael because his mother liked him better than your mother liked you! It was you! Admit it!"

"Sit down, you little nerd," Carl muttered.

Farley's eyes widened as he pretended to have another shocking realization. "But wait! It could also have been...me! That's right! How silly of me not to think of it in the first place! I'm the one who followed Michael home last night, burst into his living room, beat him to death with a snow globe, chopped up his body with a set ofGinsu knives,then stuffed the evidence down the garbage disposal, following it with a slice of lemon to disguise the smell. That's it! I've done your work for you, Andrew Mayhem...ifthatis your name!"

"Yeah, that's my name. Look, I didn't come here to interrupt your game, but do you and Carl mind if I ask you guys some questions?"

Carl looked pained at the idea of leaving the game, but Farley nodded enthusiastically."Sure, anything to help a private eye. By the way, how much do you guys make?"

"Millions," I said. "Movie stars get the fame, but we get the cash.How about I talk to you first, then Carl after we're done?"

"Fine by me," said Farley. He gestured toward the side of the room where Theresa and Kyle were playing. "Step into my office."

Theresa was sitting on a beanbag, so I sat down on the couch then hoisted Kyle up on my lap. Farley sat down next to us. "Have you ever shot anyone?" he asked.

Kyle looked up at me. "Have you, Daddy?"

"No, I've never shot anyone. That's all TV stuff. Most of a private investigator's work is really boring." I think I'd read that somewhere.

"Yeah, but do you take pictures of people cheating on their wives and husbands and bosses and that kind of thing?"

"I'm trying to get out of that field," I said. "Sometimes the emotions involved are just too intense. So tell me about Michael."

"You mean,does he have any enemies?"

"That would be a good place to start, yeah."

"I don't know if he has any enemies or not. I hardly ever see him outside of work. His wife's a babe, though, don't you think?"

"Kyle, why don't you go over and play with Theresa?" I suggested.

"I want to hear about the babe."

"Kyle, go play with Theresa."

Kyle reluctantly slid off my lap and went over to torment his sister. "Do you see Jennifer much?" I asked.

"You mean,do I see much of Jennifer?" Farley chuckled. The sleazy attitude seemed out of place coming from this little twerp."Nah. She comes around sometimes and complains that Mike should be spending more time at home instead of at work, but that's about it. Most of us just ignore her. Especially Rachel, she can't stand her."

"I got that impression. Now, let me ask you kind of a strange question. If Michael had a safety deposit box, what would you say might be in it?"

"Is that the kind of question they train you to ask in private investigator academy?"

"Just work with me. What might be inside?"

"I have no idea.Maybe nude pictures of his wife."

"Do you know if he had any money stored away?"

"Nope.The only time money came into conversation was when he said we were spending too much on the videos. So do you have to take a test to become a private eye or can anyone do it?"

"A written test, and a psychological screening," I replied."At least inFlorida ." That sounded good.

"Do you get to carry a gun?"

"Yes, but I usually don't."

"Why not?"

"I don't need one. Like I said, it's usually boring. Did Michael and Jennifer ever fight when they were around you guys?"

"You think she did something to him?"

"It's just a question."

Farley hesitated. "Can this be off the record?"

"Absolutely."

"I think she's cheating on him. Mike is paranoid beyond belief, but this is one thing he may have been right about."

"Did he accuse her?"

"No, nothing blatant, at least not that I know about.But you could tell he didn't like having any of us around her. And when they were together, you could tell something was up."

"How could you tell?" I asked.

"I don't know—you're the one who's familiar with psychological testing. All I can say is that if you're going to keep asking around, that may be something to bring up."

"Thanks," I said. "That'll be helpful."

"So do the cops resent you for intruding upon their turf?"

"No."

"Do you think I could tag along with you one day, on a stakeout or something? I won't get in the way."

"Don't you already have a career in special effects?"

"I don't want to changecareers, I just want to see what it's like to be a gumshoe. What kind of car do you drive?"

"A ratty old gray one."

"To be inconspicuous, right?"

"You know it."

"Thatisso cool. Hey, if you need anything else, feel free to ask. I'll go get Carl for you, if I can drag his obsessed butt away from the game."

"Thanks."

As Farley returned to the table I tried to figure out what to do with that new piece of information. Could Jennifer be behind this whole thing? If so, who was her accomplice with the knife? And once again, why?