[Garrick Street, 3 - 4 PM...]

[Outfit]

The muggle world of London was pretty busy this time of day. The witch that traveled among them had enough knowledge to dress up in something uncommon, but not enough to make people shake their heads or get confused. Her outfit was bordering on American vintage style that turned heads. With each person that looked at her, she smiled and nodded energetically to say hello to them. Shannon walked briskly through the crowd along the street, turning off Charing Cross Road to make her way to a two-story building on a side-street labeled Garrick Street. The woman adjusted the bag on her shoulder, puffed up her black curls that had been pulled into a classic, American hairstyle, and put on her best smile. Although she gave off a youthful look because of her energetic personality, the old age was trying to catch up to her: creases now appeared when she smiled, bags were forming under her eyes due to a lack of sleep, and stress had added a handful of white hairs that streaked her hair here and there. Her work was wearing on her. But she didn't have time to think about that now! She had a job to do. With a deep, calming breath, Shannon opened the door to the stairway that lead up to the second floor and ascended.

Everything smelled funny to her. Old offices usually did, why would this one be any different? A private investigator had come to her rescue by contacting her through a barn owl some weeks ago. She kept up her usual routine with Kronos to keep his nose away from any suspicious activities she might have going on with this P.I. wizard. She really hoped he could help her and he'd sent a letter back saying yes to her request. One of the artifacts she had proposed to Kronos was hidden here for safe keeping. He had a desire for powerful objects and a cane that transformed into a sword at the uttered word "power" was something she didn't want to fall into his hands just yet. So, she sent a request to this Jonas Trevelyan to hold it for her until she came to claim it. That was why she was here now.

Her smile widened when she reached the top of the stairs, knocked and entered within seconds of each other, and took a good look around the office. It was cozy in here, just what she had hoped it would be. Cozy and safe from the reach of that evil limping warlock, Kronos Malvivicus. She stepped towards the desk and waited patiently for the man to acknowledge her. The witch was rather impatient and had to be home before her husband or children suspected anything, so she began the conversation almost immediately after silently proposing that she was going to wait.

"I don't mean to bother you, Mr. Trevelyan, but I am in a bit of a rush you see. My name is Shannon Thornton. I owled you the cane for safekeeping? I'm here to pick it up."

She gave him her sweetest of smiles to ensure him that she meant no offense in taking up his time.

Jonas had very clearly decided that the fifteen quid he'd spent on his new electronic pet was quite possibly the best purchase he had ever managed to make.  His surprise visitor from a few nights before had made it clear that wizards and witches took the fact that they could enter a building without waiting to be admitted as an invitation to do just that.

He didn't really mind someone breaking in and going through his files.  The most important ones were electronic anyway, and if they really wanted to know how many hours he'd spent tailing someone to verify an injury for the court, they were more than welcome to indulge their curiosity.  But the idea that a wizard could Alohomora his lock and sneak in while he was sleeping made him uneasy.  He'd spent too long watching over his shoulder for the Ministry to ever be truly comfortable with the idea that he could now be easily found.

Hence the frog that now sat just inside the door to the outside world.  Not only was its ribbit exceedingly irritating, but he'd positioned it to go off whenever the front door was opened.  Jonas was actually looking forward to the next time that one of the blokes from the big insurance company that he sometimes worked for came to visit.  Even if they didn't appreciate the inherent humor, he was absolutely certain that he would.

The cacophonous makeshift alarm system began its croaking as the latest visitor entered the building.  It gave Jonas just enough time to shove the latest pulp mystery novel he was reading (something about a magical detective, although it got all of the details about being a wizard wrong) into his desk drawer and pull out a stack of papers so that he could look believably and respectably busy.

He looked up as the visitor began talking.  He didn't recognize her, but the name identified the woman well enough - a Missus Thornton, who had owled him some walking stick for safe-keeping.

Jonas didn't know entirely what he'd suspected when he'd first taken out an ad in the Daily Prophet.  After it had become clear that nothing was going to be resolved with Anna, taking on work for wizards had seemed a smart way of supplementing his normal income.  So far, he had tracked down eleven relatives and counting for an old witch whom he suspected wasn't really related to any of them; hunted down a supposedly cursed stolen dagger; been unofficially contracted by the Ministry; and was now working as an unlicensed pawn shop.  He was beginning to suspect that he should have included a working definition of 'private investigator' in the advertisement.

"Yeah, I've got it," he replied, setting the papers down so that he could lever himself to his feet.  Jonas found it fairly incredible that in the day that Lexus had been gone, his desk had already returned to its disastrous state.  It looked as if it had been at the center of a paper factory explosion.  "Have the payment then?  It was a dozen galleons, yeah?"