The Lotus ***

Geoffrey found the glorious and beautiful hotel, to be nothing special. How the case file and Alfie explained it, this stone and concrete building was an architectural masterpiece. “Imbrasing the new age in a bold modern manner” how a paper he skimmed over described the building. Everything about the building was boxy and flat. There were no stones sticking out giving the structure character other than a giant box with the occasional protruding balcony on the sides.

Growing closer to the building, he could start to see the faint designs similar to the Art Deco movement flourishing in the area, but the young man was already convinced that the building was a box and nothing more. Turning into the long driveway that lead to the box, the ugly blue car slowed towards a mixed welcoming party of media and police. They all waited on the sidewalk in front of the building next to a few other cars that Geoffrey instantly grew jealous of. New, beautiful models that the blonde Italian refused to convince Grandfather to buy. He instantly felt embarrassed to even park between two beautiful cars around the half circle.

The rain was starting to pick back up again, but these people didn't care, neither did Geoffrey. Alfie parked the car and without even waiting for him to bring an umbrella around, the Geoffrey was making a break for it. Alfie shouted his name, but he didn't listen. He raced past the curious reporters, none who seemed to care about the finely dressed boy arriving to the scene. Placing his hands on the metal twin door handles, he threw them open, walking through the middle of the open space. Once he took the first step into the warmth of the box building, he understood why the media didn't care of him. A top detective stood talking to Inspector John in the center of the lobby.

Geoffrey analyzed the tall, slender detective, dressed to a T in a cliché trench coat and hat. Everything about the detective seemed to be a joke, but the fact that the detective was clear beautiful woman, made him conclude that this was just a publicity stunt. The twin doors knocked right back into the unaware Geoffrey knocking him right in the face and throwing him backwards to the ground.

“Oh my gosh!” an hypnotizing siren voice with a hit if Irish called from above the poor boy, “are you alright?”

Geoffrey was never in love so much as he was right there. Cupid's arrows came into the form of two heavy brass door handles, and it felt right. Even if they may had chipped a tooth. Her bright copper colored hair dangled down into his direction only made her dull blue eyes shine like a clear pool. He wanted to know her name. The young college boy inside of him wanted to feel her soft hands in his, the detective wanted to know where the scar on the left side of her neck came from. He predicted thirty different reasons that moment, but they all disappeared when the double chinned Inspector pushed his face into the rose tinted image.

“He's fine,” Inspector John frowned.

“Master Geoffrey!”

The blonde's thin face squeezed into the picture. Alright, that was more than enough of that. He sat up rubbing his chin glaring. Alfie tried to help the man up by his shoulders, but was instantly rejected by the flailing arms of the boy. The woman gave a concerned stare as the Inspector crossed his arms.

“So nice for you to finally join us, Alfred.”

Alfie scratched at his head, giving a nervous laugh. He tried to explain himself but the Inspector wasn't listening and neither was Geoffrey. Part of the boy wanted to attempt to finger comb back his burnt curly locks and walk over to the woman who stood a solid three inches taller than the secretary he had to date for their last case. He didn't have to look down at this girl, a small pet peeve of his. He cared for a girl his height. No taller. No shorter.

“Hey,” Geoffrey grinned sliding over to the copper haired girl.

“Hello...?”

“Have you ever been into the Australian Outback before?”

Her thin eyebrows arched in sudden interest, “No...?”

“Well, neither have I! We now have one thing in common.”

Her eyes lowered as her curious look turned to an annoyed frown, “are you sure you are alright?”

“I'm sorry, Alfred, but Ms. Bridget Filler took the case.”

Geoffrey's dimpled smile instantly faded as he looked over to the Inspector with his arms still crossed. Wide eyed, he stared at the fat man. Bridget Filler. A rising detective, big within the woman's empowerment articles that made their way into the paper. Geoffrey couldn't help but laugh at them, such petty crimes that anyone could solve if they weren't so dimwitted about it. But as time went on, that name became unmistakeable. The maids wouldn't stop talking about the woman when her name was front news underneath the end of war articles. The siren which he was taken by quickly turned into a witch in his eyes.

“Maybe if you could control that spoiled child he could have taken the case before she.”

“But sir!” Alfie looked at the girl and pulled the Inspector aside, “sir, are you sure that she can handle such a case? Geoffrey has solved the last three cases in record time. You said it yourself, sir that he's a natural.”

“Yes, I did say that, and, yes, he solved the last cases too. The country thanks him. But may I remind you that I also had to give eight public apologies for each case he's worked on too?”

Alfie stopped. The man did have a valid point. A strong valid point. Geoffrey could have prevented five of those by just keeping his mouth shut. The Inspector placed his plump hand hard on Alfie's shoulder and gave it a good shake.

“You have a good heart, lad. But we need the good publicity. She has a strong following and is growing within the field. Her gut intuition may not strong as Geoffrey's but the woman has something important that he doesn't.”

“And what is that, sir?”

“She knows when to shut it.”

A crash echoed across the vaulted open foyer as Geoffrey glanced down at a vase. He looked up with big, attempting innocent eyes claiming that he was just looking for a clue. The Inspector's frown deepened as he told some of his officers to get the boy out of his crime scene.