The Key of the Cypher Flux

by R L Delaney

  Harrison swung his chair forward and got up, startled. Who could that be?

  The only one that ever came to the office was his nephew Justin, but he had a key of his own, and it was too early for him to visit.

  A client, maybe? Harrison shook his head and scolded himself for getting too excited. It was probably nothing, or a silly prank from the local youth. They had done that once before. Still, Harrison's nerves tensed as he walked to the intercom near his front door and pushed the button. "Hello… Who's there?"

  For a moment it remained still, but then a soft, melodious voice came through the intercom. "Hello, Mr. Ames. My name is Stana Growklowsky… A-Are you busy?"

  Harrison frowned. Who in the world was Stana Growlbowsky?

  "I-I need help," Stana mumbled some more. It was hard to hear her voice through the crackling of the intercom. "You are a detective, right?"

  Harrison's heart jumped up. "A client. It was a client."

  "Come on up, Mrs Growlbowsky," he replied while pushing the button to open the front door of the apartment building. Thoughts began to race through his mind as he quickly took note of his appearance in the mirror that hung near his front door. A woman needed his help. He had a client… What was it going to be? An unfaithful husband? Embezzlement…?

  As he tried to flatten an obstinate tuft of hair that kept sticking out in the wrong direction, he felt the excitement mounting.

  Go slow, Harry… Let's not jump to conclusions too soon.

  As he heard the elegant clicking and clacking of a pair of high heels coming up the stony stairs, he opened the door and peered into the hall.

  He swallowed hard as he stared at the woman that approached. Her long golden curls bobbed along with her elegant steps and as she came closer, she stretched out her hand while a timid, adorable smile played around her sensual, red lips.

  "I-eh…," Harrison stammered as he did not know what else to say as he felt the woman's deep, intelligent blue eyes sliding over his body, observing every detail.

  Harrison desperately prayed she wouldn't notice the coffee stain on his shirt and he clumsily moved his arm to his belly in an effort to hide the spot.

  "Detective Ames?" she said with a voice that could only compare to the crashing of the gentle waves on some paradisiacal coast in the tropics. "My name is Stana. Stana Growklowsky."

  Harrison nodded, and barely dared to look into the captivating, mysterious eyes of the woman before him. She was slightly shorter than the average woman, stuck in a tight, shiny, blue dress that came to her knees and she wore a fashionable leather jacket.

  "I-eh… I am Detective Ames," Harrison said, as he licked his lips and grabbed the woman's outstretched hand. Her fingers were slender, perfectly shaped and carefully manicured. A golden ring with a mysterious carving was on her ring finger.

  "W-What can I do for you?" Harrison stumbled over his words.

  Stana Growklowsky chuckled. "Would you mind if I enter?"

  "No…no, of course not," Harrison stumbled over his words and motioned for Stana to come in. Why was he always acting so stupid around women? "Let me take your jacket."

  As Stana Growklowsky took off her jacket, and handed it to Harrison, the detective blinked. Bare shoulders. The beautiful blue dress of Mrs. Growklowsky was strapless, and revealed her lovely and finely carved shoulders. Her skin glistened under the hallway light as she cast Harrison another one of her luscious smiles and said in a soft voice, "A gentleman… I have a feeling I came to the right place."

  She leaned forward and for just a second she gently touched Harrison's arm. A faint cloud of sweet, expensive perfume worked its way into Harrison's nostrils. He blushed as he hung up the woman's coat. "Come into my humble office, Mrs. Growlbowskie," he mumbled as he pointed towards the office.

  "Growklovsky." She corrected Harrison with another one of her sweet smiles. "And its Miss, not Mrs. I used to be married, but I am not married anymore. My husband was killed, and I am single again." She looked up at Uncle Harry with drooping eyes while she gracefully lowered her delicate body into the chair in front of Harrison's desk. She let out a puff of air and smacked her red lips. "It's a cruel world, isn't it, Detective?"

  Harrison sat down himself, but he was not sure what he was supposed to answer, so he just nodded, folded his hands and waited.

  Miss Growklowsky fumbled with the black leather handbag that rested on her lap and seemed uncertain as to how she was supposed to proceed.

  Whatever had happened to this woman, or whoever had done it, Harrison already knew he was going to take the case. Miss Growklowsky was right. It was a cruel world. A world that harmed such beautiful, tender creatures as Miss Growklowsky was a horrible place to be, but he, Harrison Ames, was around to help to right all wrongs.

  She sighed, and Harrison noticed that even her sigh had a pleasant ring to it. "Detective… would you have a drink for me?"

  Harrison blushed again and he jumped up out of his seat. How stupid. He had not even offered her anything. "O-Of course… W-What can I get you? Tea, coffee…" He was just about to add instant tomato soup to his list, but decided against it. Soup was not something you offer a beautiful woman who comes to you for help.

  "You got anything a wee bit stronger, Detective? I am so lost… I can use a bit of a booster."

  Harrison had seen enough detective shows on television to know that most self-respecting detectives always had a bottle of whiskey stashed away somewhere, but Miss Growklowsky was only his first client and he clearly lacked the experience. "N-No, I don't," he stammered, feeling awfully dumb.

  "Never mind," Miss Growklowsky said while another lovely sigh escaped her mouth. She swung her left leg over her other leg. Harrison tried to force himself not to look, but he did not quite succeed. "W-What is it Miss… that I can do for you?"

  She cleared her throat. "Stana, Detective… please call me by my first name. It makes talking so much easier, don't you think?"

  "Yeah… eh… it does, Miss Growl…Stana. My name is Harrison, but my friends call me Harry."

  Stana cast Harrison a wide smile. "Good, then I will call you Harry as well."

  Harrison, trying to uphold a resemblance of professionalism, cleared his throat and asked, "Why don't you tell me what I can do for you, Stana."

  "I came to you," Stana began, "for two reasons." She tossed her blond curls backwards with a flick of her hand, revealing an expensive bejeweled earring. "The first one is simply because I believe you are a good detective. Your name was mentioned among my friends."

  Harrison blinked. "And… who are your friends, that they were so kind to recommend me?"

  Stana gave Harrison a wave with her hand. "Let's not get sidetracked, Harry, but let me finish."

  "Sorry."

  "But the second reason I came to you…" she stopped and looked deep into Harrison's eyes, "… is because I know I can trust you because of what happened."

  Harrison rubbed his nose. "And… what did happen?"

  Stana turned her head, and peered around the office almost as if she wanted to make sure nobody was listening. When she felt secure, she turned back to Harrison and whispered, "The Shadow Walkers, Harry."

  A shock went through Harrison's body and he leaned forward. "What did you say?"

  Stana continued in her soft, low and melodious voice. "I could have hired a private eye from Bakersville or any other place for that matter, but they will not believe me when I talk about the Shadow Walkers. You do. You have had dealings with them in the past, have you not?"

  Harrison nodded. This was getting interesting. Not only was this woman absolutely stunning, sweet, lovely and… a whole lot more, but she had come to him because of his expertise on the Shadow Walkers. "Yes, Stana… I have had my share of Shadow Walkers. Tell me more."

  Stana licked her red lips, and spoke barely audible. "Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Alvaro Cruz?"

  Harrison's face paled. "I did… I mean, I do. He was a prize fighter. His fighting name was Alv
aro Ironbark." As he looked at Stana, his heart skipped a beat. There was a tear rolling down her face and it dribbled over her peachy cheek. "D-Don't cry, Stana…" Harrison knew it was a stupid thing to say, but nothing else came. At last he grabbed a box of tissues and handed it to Stana.

  "Thank you," Stana sniffed as she cast Harrison a grateful smile. "You remind me of him."

  "Y-You knew him then?"

  Stana nodded. "He was my husband."

  Harrison fell back in his swivel chair. "Alvaro Ironbark was married to you?"

  "He sure was," Stana replied promptly. "We kept it hidden from everyone. We married in secret, but I've got papers to prove it." She pointed to her handbag. "You want to see them?"

  "No need," Harrison clicked with his tongue. "But why did you keep it a secret?"

  Stana looked around the room again before she answered. Then she leaned forward and whispered, "Because of the Shadow Walkers."

  Harrison arched his brows. "How is that?"

  A new tear rolled out of Stana's eye, effectively messing up her makeup. "Alvaro, was part of the Shadow Walkers, but ever since the day we met and fell in love he wanted out…"

  A shock rippled through Harrison's body. "Please don't tell me you have been a Shadow Walker?"

  Stana laughed. It sounded refreshing. "No, not me. I do not want to have anything to do with those people. They scare me. But Alvaro found something out."

  She motioned with her hand for Harrison to lean forward even more. Harrison's nose could now almost touch Stana's tearstained face, and the delicious scent of her perfume made him think of joy, love and laughter. Stana continued to whisper in his ear. "… My husband was a history buff, and in his desire to please the Shadow Walkers, just before we met, he stumbled upon a well-preserved secret from the past. At first he wanted to share the details with the Shadow Walkers, but when he met me, and we fell in love, he kept it from the Walkers and only wanted to share it with me."

  "A secret?" Harrison was glued to the woman's words, although, on the very far fringes of his consciousness, he was vaguely aware of the fact that his fascination for Stana was not only because of her story, but had a lot to do with her tantalizing beauty as well. "W-What was it?" he mumbled without moving away from her.

  "It's the key of Cipher Flux," Stana replied.

  "The what?" This time Harrison moved away as he narrowed his eyes.

  "Cipher Flux was a Shadow Walker too," Stana continued. "A very bad one."

  "Aren't they all bad?" Harrison asked, feeling dumb.

  "Not like Cipher Flux. He was a wizard, an alchemist, a sorcerer… an astrologist. Now my husband, Alvaro, God rests his soul, found out that Cipher Flux created a key… a beautiful key, studded with diamonds and covered with gold. It's worth a fortune. "

  Harrison raised his brows. "A key to what?"

  Stana shrugged. "I don't know. But that's not the point. I believe, it's just a thing of beauty. But Alvaro told me he knew where the key was hidden. We were going to find it…" her voice faltered and a new wave of tears rolled in, "… but now, he's dead."

  A look of understanding flashed over Harrison's face. "And you want me to find the key?"

  Stana nodded and stuck her tender nose in one of Harrison's tissues.

  "Why do you need it?" Harrison asked.

  Stana looked up. For just a fraction of a second her face hardened and there was something like a mocking look of disdain, but it had flashed by and was gone before Harrison had been able to pinpoint it. "Life has been hard, Harry. My family is suffering; my aging mother is ill, my father had a stroke and the bills are piling up. I need that key. I need the money. But the reason I choose you is because the Shadow Walkers are looking for the key as well. Just before they killed my husband, in an attempt to save his life, he told his assassin he knew where the key was hidden."

  "I believe he was killed by Richard Sternfoot." Harrison added. "So Sternfoot knew too."

  Stana gave him a helpless look. "I don't know who that is. All I know is that they took my sweetheart away from me." Her face hardened and she wrinkled her nose. "The idiots. But they didn't know that my husband left me a vital clue as to where the key is hidden."

  "Where is that?" Harrison could hardly contain his excitement.

  "Will you take the case?" Stana asked.

  Without thinking twice, Harrison raised both of his arms into the air and shouted in a jubilant voice, "I will… I will… I will."

  Stana smiled. "I thought you would, Harry. You are just the man for the job, and I will pay you royally."

  Harrison was dazzled. He had a job. No more dishwashing and no more helping out at the Second hand store, and what was more, he was going to work together with the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

  It seemed like Stana could read his mind, as she placed her hand on Harrison's arm and said in a soft voice, "I feel safe with you, Harry. You are quite the man. If you play your cards well, who knows what the future may hold for us."

  Right after these words, she pulled her chair away and asked for her leather jacket.

  Harry jumped up, rushed to his coat rack and helped Stana into her jacket.

  "It's nice doing business with you, Harry Ames," Stana said in a playful way; her voice a mixture of honey, hope and heaven. "I'll be back tomorrow to discuss the details."

  Seconds later the door fell closed behind her, and as he listened to the receding sound of her clicking high heels, Harrison wondered what had just happened. Had he been dreaming, or did he actually truly meet the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, who on top of being beautiful had also given him his first job as a private eye? Harrison could hardly contain the joy he felt as he raised his arms to the ceiling of his office and whispered a word of thanks to whoever it was that was listening from above. Brother Perpetiël had been right. There was still much to do and thank God, he had not left school before the bell had rung.

  Chapter Two

  Justin was surprised to see Uncle Harry so joyous that morning when the detective stormed into the living room, beaming a bright smile from ear to ear.

  "Justin… I've got a new mission." Harrison almost stumbled over his words as he pulled out a chair and plopped himself down next to Justin who was just scanning the Dewsbury Clarion.

  "You want coffee, Harry?" mother called out from the kitchen.

  "No thanks, Ethel," Uncle Harry replied in a loud voice, without taking his eyes off Justin. "I won't be staying long."

  Justin pushed the newspaper away and stared with curious eyes at the detective. "What's up, Uncle?"

  Ever since Uncle Harry had quit Dewsbury's police force, and had started his own private company, the man had been a bit downcast, almost depressed. Justin had understood that it was hard for his uncle to make ends meet since he was no longer receiving his monthly paycheck, but he doubted if that was the main reason for the detective's gloomy spirit.

  Uncle Harry was a man of action. He was a doer, and after the whole ordeal with the Shadow Walkers, the sleepy town of Dewsbury had returned to its former sleepiness. There just wasn't enough action for a man like Uncle Harry, but today something seemed to have changed.

  "As I said," Uncle Harry said with shiny eyes, "I've got a client… and she is just beautiful." To show Justin how impressed he was, Uncle Harry placed the fingers of his right hand to his lips, kissed them and threw the kiss into the air.

  "She's that beautiful, huh?" Justin leaned back and chuckled.

  Uncle Harry shook his head. "No, she's more beautiful than that, Justin."

  Justin wasn't sure how to proceed. … “And she has a job for you? What does she want? You need to rescue her cat out of a tree or something?"

  Uncle Harry narrowed his eyes. "Come on, nephew. Don't joke with me… She has given me a serious job." He leaned forward and whispered, "She was married to Alvaro Ironbark. She knows the Shadow Walkers."

  That did the trick. A shock went through Justin's body and he stared with big round eyes at his uncl
e. "She… is a Shadow Walker?"

  "Of course not," Uncle Harry vehemently shook his head, "… She was the reason Alvaro Ironbark wanted out of the Shadow Walkers. But apparently, before he was killed, he found a very rare artifact, a very precious key that is worth tons of money…"

  "…And?"

  "She wants me to find that key." Uncle Harry leaned back, a smug expression covering his face. "And she pays me royally too."

  Justin frowned. "Did she lose it then?"

  "No-no-no," Uncle Harry impatiently tapped with his finger on the table. "This Ironbark fellow only found out about the existence of the key, but he never actually held it in his hand. I need to find it, and…" he lifted his left index finger and pointed it at Justin, "I want you and Amy to help me find it."

  "You do?" Justin furrowed his brow. "I would love to help you, Uncle, but after Amy and I graduated from high school, we are busier than ever."

  "With what?" Uncle Harry scoffed. "Both of you are studying online. Since you can set your own pace you can put a pause in your studies anytime you want to." He halted and wrinkled his nose. "I thought you wanted to be a detective too. This is the stuff you need. The real thing… Experience. You don't get that from a confusing website, riddled with little YouTube clips that teach you how handcuffs work."

  Justin had to grin. "Come on, Uncle, you know it's a bit more than that. But, before I get Amy all interested, tell me more about it."

  A pleased smile rolled over Uncle Harry's face. "Stana mentioned the existence of the key."

  "Who is Stana?"

  "She's my client," Uncle Harry chuckled, his face wearing a blissful expression.

  Justin raised his brows. "You are already on a first-name basis?"

  "Sure. I told you she is wonderful. You'll like her too."

  Mom came in and joined them at the table with a cup of steaming hot tea and peered at Uncle Harry. "You are not suggesting you want Justin's help again, are you Harrison?"

  Uncle Harry leaned back and crossed his arms. "It was a good thing he helped last time, Ethel. You were even arrested. If it had not been for Justin and Amy, you might still be in jail today."