The Final Chapters

[seymoure]

Chapter 68
“Machinery of Life”

This world had returned to what it had been before the thing that stole the identity of Damien Kane had arrived on this plane.

No one had died by buying collectable books, no one had been burned up in mystic flames.

Even the Sisterhood was confused about what had happened. All those assorted characters who had died in the flaming lobby were back at whatever nefarious doings had brought them together in the first place.

Ethel Muntz was ecstatic when they rejoined Jeanne Gary and Ricky Screed, both of whom had more questions than anyone was going to be able to answer.

Sanchez and Vaskania both decided to stay in Europe for various reasons. There was much hugging and a few tears before the airplane departed.

Harriett Dante had returned to her undestroyed home with the noble Chief Pontiac. Ethel had noticed that she had grown much closer to the two than she would have thought possible when she first met the detective.

Claus sat beside Ethel on the flight home.

She wasn’t very comfortable with the big man so close. She might trust him with her life, but it was a five hour flight just to get to New York.

“I would like to make you a proposition,” Sebastian confessed.

“The last time someone said that to me I ended up underwater drinking tea,” Ethel smiled.

“I know this is not what you normally do,” He continued on, trying to stress the uniqueness of this situation.

“Yes...?” she held her breath.

“We are a group, as you know, that doesn’t make any money. Nobody really knows, in the general public, that we even exist. We sometime have to work outside of the law, as many of them do not believe that what we deal with even exists.”

“I understand that,” the writer understood.

“I would like to offer you a chance to join in with our team, whenever this sort of thing happens again.” He told her.

“Sebastian Claus,” she smirked, “I would be thrilled, should anything like this come up again.”

“My dear,” he counseled her, “It will come up. The world is full of magic, and it often ends up on my doorstep.”

“You have my number,” She said as she raised her champagne glass to her lips.

“I always have had,” he said as he did the same.

The in flight movie began.

It was “The Omen.”

Ethel Muntz fell asleep 20 minutes in.

She’d seen worse.

 

 

 

Chapter 69
“Happy Ending”

Ethel walked into her hallway and saw the parcel leaning against her door.

She lifted it and looked at the label.

“The Hacksaw, The Rose & The Parthenon Parrot.”

She laughed as she entered her apartment.

She dropped the book into a wastebasket and moved to her computer.

She had a lot of research to do.

© 2005 by C. Wayne Owens