Zanzibar the Magician - Unleashed

5 || NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS

The Lexington Candy Shop was a popular diner on the corner of Lexington Avenue, Upper East Side Manhattan. It provided Zee and Jim the perfect spot to study the dossier on Chiyo Natsumi.

Sitting in a booth at the rear of the diner, they started looking over the information provided by Lombard's butler, Burrows. When the waitress arrived soon after, however, Zee surreptitiously closed the file.

"One milkshake and a slice of apple pie for you, sweetheart," the waitress announced as she placed Jim's order in front of him. He smiled and thanked her. 

"And a coffee for you... Miss." There was a hint of distaste in the waitress' tone, matched with a coolness in her eyes. She planted Zee's coffee on the table. 

The magician noted the woman's name badge. "Thank you, Rita," she said, polite but firm. She held the woman's stare. 

The waitress dropped her gaze and turned away to resume her duties serving other customers.

Jim sat with a questionable look in his blue eyes. "She likes you, I see," he said with a little nod in Rita's direction. "Come here often, then?"

Zee huffed, a twitch playing at the corner of her mouth. "No. I gather she simply doesn't approve of my attire," she replied, returning her attention to the documents. 

"Well, granted it isn't very feminine," Jim commented.

"Quite. But it's comfortable."

"And are ye watchin' yur figure?" Jim asked, delving into the pie.

Zee looked at the dessert then afforded the Irishman a glance. "No. I ate earlier." 

"Are ye sure now? 'Cause, it sure doesn't look like much of anything goes into that pretty little mouth."

The comment caught Zee completely off guard, making her extremely flustered. She felt her cheeks aflame, and she avoided looking at the Irishman. Her fingers trembled as she turned the pages of the file. This predicament was most unexpected.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to embarrass ye," Jim said. "But, where I come from, we just say it like we like see it."

Recovering a little from her humiliation, Zee cleared her throat. "Not everything is as it seems. I would have thought your experience at the hands of the Sorceress would have taught you that."

Her clipped answer resulted in awkward silence, the only sound heard being Jim chomping on his apple pie and draining his milkshake through a straw.

Zee, still agitated, focused hard on shutting out all other chatter, enabling her to focus on the Japanese curator. 

Chiyo Natsumi started as a history student at Kyoto University in Japan. Once graduated, she travelled for a while before finally setting foot on US soil a few years ago.

From cleaner to curator she'd held several posts across the country, always favouring museums; but each, only lasting a few months. The references available were glowing affording no insight to anything untoward.

Her last post was held at the Henry Clay Frick House;  a one-time private residence but turned into a public museum in 1935. The late industrialist, Frick, had also been a passionate art collector, with an extensive collection of paintings, bronzes and enamels. He'd made many connections in the world of art and history.

Eventually, Jim broke the silence. "So, what do we have?"

Zee pushed aside her awkwardness and looked across at the Irishman. He seemed a little unsure, most likely due to the uncomfortable exchange minutes before. 

She felt guilty. Jim was oblivious to her situation. He had no idea that she was once a man - a mere two months before. He did not know she had been deliberately hiding indoors because she could not stomach people looking at her - wondering, suspecting. They may not have even known Zee when she was a man and therefore were ignorant of the anatomical change - but that did not erase the fact that she knew. She was painfully conscious of it; paranoid, fearful, and utterly at odds with her/himself.

Since she and Jim had left the safety of her apartment, she'd been on edge - consciously fighting the urge to flee, to hide. But, she knew the propensity to remain behind closed doors was impractical, nonsensical and unproductive. She needed to pick up the gauntlet and run with it - there was no immediate possibility of her life reverting to what it had once been.

She slid the file across the table, pointing to the details. "While Miss Natsumi is well versed in her subject and has worked her way up through the ranks, so-to-speak, I feel her employment record is questionable."

Jim studied the files. "In what way?" he asked after a few moments. " It all seems feasible to me, plus there are good references."

"Yes, but her length of service in each post troubles me. As does her moving across the country."

Jim sat quietly for a moment, ingesting Zee's possible inclination. He grinned. "She's looking for something in particular; and when she doesn't find it, she moves to the next possible location - right?" He looked up expectantly.

Zee smiled. "My thoughts exactly. I think our historian has been searching for this particular artefact." Zee slid the photos of the kimono over to her colleague.

Jim picked up the pictures, looking at each one carefully. "Well, maybe she is extremely passionate about her culture's history, or..."

"There is something very significant about this kimono," Zee finished. 

"Such as?"

Zee lifted her coffee cup and took a sip. She looked at Jim, square on. "Call it a magician's instinct, but I sense sorcery. We need to carry out some research of our own."

"Let me guess - starting at the Henry Clay Frick House?"

"Correct. But, it is late, the museum will be closed now."

"Then tomorrow it is. I'll pick you up at 9 am."

 Zee smiled and looked at the Irishman over the rim of her cup. "I'll be ready."

*****

Trivia:

The Lexington Candy Shop - The shop was first opened in 1925 as The Lexington Candy Shop, one of the few diners which actually made and sold chocolate. By 1948, they discontinued the candy and concentrated on the shop as strictly a luncheonette, serving milkshakes and butter burgers ever since. Source: Untapped cities.com

Henry Clay Frick - (born December 19, 1849, West Overton, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died December 2, 1919, New York City). Frick was U.S. industrialist, art collector, and philanthropist who helped build the world's largest coke and steel operations. Upon his death, Frick bequeathed $15,000,000 and his Fifth Avenue mansion to New York to establish the Frick Collection, a trove of paintings, bronzes, and enamels he had collected over a 40-year period. It is generally considered one of the great privately owned museums of the world. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica