Open Post.

[rareradiance]

Gabrielle is out walking, without any particular destination. There is a bag slung over her shoulder containing the sign she has made for Zara, which she intends to deliver eventually, but for now she is simply exploring the grounds, enjoying herself. She carries one of her own fans, an elaborate creation of cream-coloured silk, lace, and ribbon.

Comments

[mancalledspade]

"Hey, kid." And it's Spade, there as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't been gone for a week, as if the circumstances hadn't radically changed since last they spoke. He smiles a bit. "Looks like you're having a good time."

[mancalledspade]

"Hey, better than I could do. Never had much of a knack for art of any kind." Unless, of course, one counted things like gunplay or investigation as art.

[rareradiance]

"Most people do not," she says, with a wry smile. "I've seen many positively dreadful paintings displayed proudly as examples of great skill, with the painter possessing nowhere near enough sense to be embarrassed."

[mancalledspade]

He laughed. "Nice to know there are fakes all over, I guess, not just in law and politics."

[rareradiance]

"There isn't much people are better at than falsehood. It's honesty they find worrying."

[mancalledspade]

"Sharp, angel. You'd make a fair detective, thinking like that."

[rareradiance]

"Do you think so?" She cocks her head to one side, as if considering the idea. "I 'm not certain -- I've always been more interested in why people do what they do than what they've actually done."

[mancalledspade]

"Well, that's the whole trick to to it; you figure out why someone would do something, and it gives you a lead. Know whether someone is lying, and it points you to why they'd want to lie. Without the why, you're a two bit hack as a private dick."

[rareradiance]

She nods. "That makes a great deal of sense. But of course, all that would be useless without being able to prove that they actually had done something . . ."

[mancalledspade]

"Well, sure. But one step at a time."

[rareradiance]

". . . What sort of cases have you had, in the past?" She's been curious about this for a while.

[mancalledspade]

"Oh, this and that. Infidelity, missing persons, shadowing people. Most recently before I got here, got mixed up in a homicide."

[rareradiance]

"Really?" Her look is curious, but in a quick, sharp way -- no bland, polite interest here. "What happened?"

[mancalledspade]

He shrugs, though it's hard to tell whether his indifference is feigned or genuine. "My partner got shot, then the guy who was supposed to have shot him got shot too."

[rareradiance]

"Who wanted him dead?" She isn't sure whether to stop questioning or not, and 'not' is usually default.

[mancalledspade]

"Turned out to be a dame, but I didn't know that until later. The dame wanted both of 'em dead, turns out."