Love, Inherited

Ch. 8 -"Mystery Train"

Mike and Hayden stood outside the office door. He looked into Hayden's eyes and back at the door. His giant hand reached for the handle and gave it a jiggle.

"I tried it Mike, what kind of gal do you think I am? I wouldn't be asking someone to break into an office that was open."

He gave her a shrug and a half hearted grin before answering. "You'll have to turn around Ms. Hayden".

Thoughts of arguing made their way through her mind but she knew it would be useless. Mike obviously had some behind the scene skill and she was asking him to break in. She didn't have much ground for complaint.

Within seconds the door was open and Mike was walking back toward the desk. "Thank you Mike" she called and he raised his right hand in a semi wave without turning around.

Hayden walked into the office and was assaulted by the smell of patchouli. Tropical plants withered on the window sill and papers were strewn about the desk, the floor, and the chairs. A giant velvet painting of Elvis covered the back of the door and a shelf to the side held a clear plexiglass block with a picture of Elvis on stage sweaty and holding a guitar. A scarf was the centerpiece of the box. White, dim and showing orange stains. The 'E' on the corner of the handkerchief matched the one in the photo and Hayden found herself laughing.

Of course Dee had an autographed Elvis scarf!  Complete with the sweaty remnants of probable alcohol preserved sweat. Knowing Dee she bought it on Ebay with a certificate of authenticity electronically printed from a suburban neighborhood in Ohio. Hayden felt Dee here. Every inch of the office called her memories to the front. Crazy, messy, genius, trusting Dee.

Hayden opened the shade and allowed the late day sun to permeate the dimly lit corners. How long has it been since Dee had dusted?  The shelves were coated with a think blanket of fuzz and the corners of the floor and ceiling had cobwebs that moved with the air as if waving their greetings.

From her view she could see the south side of the beach, white sand and the surf rolling up. It was no wonder Dee's office was a mess. How could anyone get anything done with a view like that. From her angle she could see Warren down there on the beach, relaxing, drink in hand, hat just making his face impossible to catch.

Hayden quickly turned from the window afraid of where her thoughts would lead her. She moved the stack of files off the leather rolling chair and plopped herself behind the desk. A small cloud of dust rose in protest and Hayden felt an attack of sneezing coming on. She held her nose and glanced at the light willing it away.

As she brought her head back down, sneezing rage passed, she noticed the computer buried beneath the files of the desk. It was a Mac, and looked like it had been taken care of. No dust covered the surface. Scrunching her brow she tried to figure out why her mid was so determined to fixate on it. It wasn't like she had much use or knowledge of computers. But then it hit her. The computer was the only dust free object in the room. It looked as though it had been wiped down just hours before, and the stacked up files were placed in front of it.

The more Hayden studied the mess the more she realized all the files were just piles placed directly from the filing cabinet and placed in areas around the room. They were ever in alphabetical order! Her mind tried fixing scenarios. Had aunt Dee been looking for something? If so, wouldn't it have been easier to take out one file at a time. It certainly would have been less overwhelming to Hayden.

She opened the file cabinet drawer and started restocking to files in their appropriate places. She felt a weight lift off her shoulder hen she realized cleaning the office was way less of a task than she had envisioned. In the whole system of filing only one file stood out. A bright red folder with a picture of the King, Elvis himself glued to the file jacket. The name on the file was "Cassie".

Hayden purposely left this file out of the current put back shuffle and sat down at the desk to open it when she heard Mason coming down the hall. His voice vibrated and he sounded irritated. Hayden felt her muscles tense and for some strange reason she had an overwhelming urge to hide under the desk. Silly, what is wrong with you. He is your employee. You are the boss. You have every right to be in this office. Stop trying to turn this into an Agatha Christie lifetime movie.

Mason's feet clumped in hall and it wasn't until he was an office away that his voice became clear.

"I don't know John, the niece showed up early. She's just a kid, this won't be a problem. Give me a week. I'll contact you when I'm ready.....Not necessary, like a told you, she's a kid. No problem at all."

As his office door closed Hayden felt herself breathe again. A shiver shook her out of her stagnant pose and she decided to get out while the getting was good. Silently she stood from the desk and grabbed the red folder as she tiptoed to the door. Something was up, lifetime obsessed or not, Hayden knew when to follow her instincts. And right now they were telling her she'd better find out what the hell was going on.

Creeping down the hall Hayden made a quick zag to the elevator. As the door was closing she looked up at Mike who was helping a customer decipher a map. His glance caught her's and he gave her a wink. In the dimly lot safety of the elevator Hayden smiled. She had one hour left until she had to be at the bar with Star. Attraction, mystery, friends. Growing up was just what she dreamed it would be. A whole big pile of confusion. 

***************************************
Mystery Train was released in 1956 on Elvis's Rock and Roll album. His train was sixteen cars long. Thankfully this chapter is a bit shorter (lol).

Sorry for the slow updates. Hayden decided to have a little tantrum because I wouldn't let her sleep with a certain attractive lawyer. She's feeling much better now. Maybe I'll throw her a bone.