Tales from NeoNoir: Pastel Persuasions

     It’s been over a year since Neopia Central turned grey. The denizens walk back and forth to the Money Tree, their feet not quite as cheerily moving as the year before. I get it, I was right here in my office that fateful day in the Month of Gathering, I watched the colour bleach out of my fur in an instant. Ever since, it has felt like the effort to get up each day is equivalent to defeating Dr. Sloth.

     I look at the flipped letters on the glass door to my office. It’s been six months since I let my secretary, Mrs. Plume, go. No one wants to come to a Private Eye who can barely muster an enthusiastic ‘what can I do for you?’ and we were bleeding our coffers dry... the flutter of missing that old Pteri thrums in my ribcage, when I get the ping of a new Neomail.

     ‘Zach, have you eaten any breakfast today? You know how I worry. Keep your strength up, these grey days will soon be behind us all. You let me know if I need to come back, case or not, I’m still your friend. Regards, Mrs. Cecilia Plume’

     I really should have kept the old bird around, but she had been lucky to be visiting her grandkids in Faerieland when the grey plague had struck. Her fortitude had begun to weigh on me as I felt myself slipping into my own malaise. Rereading her neomail, I try to smile. She would always be ready for me each morning with a coffee with marshmallow, perking me up after a night sleuthing.

     Why had I stopped drinking those coffees again? I sigh, another day, another feeling of lacklustre enthusiasm as I wobble the Nova pencil before my eyes as a distraction. I was once a handsome Zafara, swift and eager to solve a case. After an Elephante came in looking for their lost Kadoatie, and I could barely hike a paw over my shoulder in the direction of the Kadoatery, the number of clients coming in has dwindled to… well, zero.

     I tell myself I should at least get some of the grey sunshine streaming in through the blinds behind me. With a shrug, I push myself from the desk and rest a paw on the cool window. The frigid temperature actually feels nice, so I let my head fall next. The tuft of fur on the crown of my head pressed into my eyeline. I nearly fall asleep when I hear a ‘tap tap’ behind me, followed by a demure cough.

     “Pardon me. I hope I’m not intruding”

     I turn and my world is full of colour and vibrancy. A pastel Usul blinks her long lashes at me from under hooded eyes as she smooths her powder blue ruff. This dame looks like a vision of pre-grey days. I can feel my knees go weak. Her fur shimmers with the colours of a morning sunrise in all its glory. Picking my jaw off my chest, I straighten my spine and smile at this class act.

     “Welcome Miss. I’m Zach Zaffa, Private Eye. Specialising in Neopia Central’s toughest cases.”

     “Well, it’s Missus, Mr. Zaffa,” the Usul gives a small smile, “Mrs. Skeith.”

     This doll begins to peruse the grey bookshelves and cabinets on the side wall. Her gloved mitten looks so delicate as she runs a thumb across the edge of my desk. The tip of her luxuriously fluffy tail flits nervously as she scans the room before eying the visitor chair on the other side of my desk.

     “Where are my manners?” I circle the desk, pulling out the chair for her; her tail brushes under my chin as she turns to sit. The smell of rose soap overwhelmed my senses for a minute. “May I offer you a refreshment?”

     As I make my way to the small cart with water, I hear her sniff.

     “Mr. Zaffa, you must understand, I did not know where else to turn.” Her ears fall back in despair, her eyes boring into mine with unshed tears. The lost part of my soul ignites looking into those lavender depths.

     I reach for the handkerchief in my front pocket. I always have one on hand for clients. My shoulders tighten when I realise this one had been in my pocket for so long it was crumpled and musty. Luckily, she does not seem to mind as she dabs the tears off her cheeks.

     “I’ll get straight to the point Mr. Zaffa,” Mrs. Skeith composed herself enough to speak, “Mr. Zaffa, my husband is Bank Manager Skeith. As you know, he has been grey like most residents of Neopia Central, but I’m beginning to worry. He’s changing…”

     I circle back to my desk chair across from her, sitting as I ask, “I didn’t realise the old Skeith was married, but changing how, Mrs. Skeith?”

     Blowing her pert little nose into my handkerchief, she smiles at me, “You may call me Uzzie.” She wrings the handkerchief for a moment before letting it fall to her lap, “He’s been in secret meetings, he sneaks out of our home and ventures into Meridell nearly every night of the week. I never see him anymore.”

     I feel for the dame. What could that Bank Manager be thinking? She’s everything vibrant and beautiful, what I wouldn’t give for a girl like that. Lost in thought, all I can do is focus on her lips as they move, when I realise she has continued to speak about her husband's exploits.

     “I followed him last week.” She blushes prettily at me, picking the handkerchief up again to twist nervously, “He’s been entering the castle, then heading straight into the Bank.”

     “If you know where he’s going, why would you need me? Could you go visit him at the bank and ask him?” I don’t mean to push off a case, but when dealing with the National Bank, things could get dicey.

     “Mr. Zaffa,” she sternly says, “I am but a desperate wife. You are the expert! You must have connections and investigative means to get to the bottom of this.”

     Uzzie sniffs and sighs, “Besides, he never gives me the time of day when I go visit at the bank.”

     My mind blanks at the thought, this grey curse must have affected the Bank Manager worse than me. The fact that he was still able to run his business spoke volumes, but the emotional neglect of a creature such as his wife made me despise him. His lack of resolve to fight the grey thoughts I know are swirling inside his mind makes me sick.

      “So you’d like me to follow him? Get to the bottom of what he’s doing?” It was a simple task, a case I would get three times a month in the pre-grey days. My gaze graces over the Usul again, my mind drifting to wonder if her fur was as soft as it looked.

     But I hesitate, “Uzzie,” her name rolls off my tongue smoother than a Milk Chocolate Negg from the Chocolate Factory. “Have you considered it could be bank business, and my involvement would be against TNT regulations?”

     “Oh Mr. Zaffa,” she practically purrs the ‘Z’ in my name. I feel the tingles all the way in my toes, “I would move Kreludor and Moltara to know what my husband is doing. If you don’t think you’re up to the task, I will find another P.I.”

     She rises to leave, adjusting her ruff and smoothing the creases from her tail from sitting in the hard chair. Gone is the despairing wife, and in her place lies a cold, hard Neopet ready to challenge the Battledome to get back her husband's attention.

     “Now hold on,” I stand as well, bracing my paws on the desk, “I never said I wouldn’t take the case…”

     She practically leaps at me, encircling me in a rose-scented hug. “Oh, thank you Mr. Zaffa. You’ve given me the most hope I’ve had in months.”

     “Mrs. Skeith,” I push her back to keep things professional as my thoughts swirl in the haze of her perfume, “I will follow your husband over the next week and get back to you. If I think something is amiss, we will proceed further. I’m not about to get in the TNT or the Defenders line of sight, you hear me?”

     “Why heavens no!” the Usul clutches her hands to her chest, “I’ll look forward to your findings, we’ll meet in a week. Say, Grundos Cafe at 10 pm? It’s one of the few places I know my husband never frequents… not that he is anywhere but the bank or Meridell these days…”

     Her vigour drains out of her as she nearly whispers the last sentence. I round the corner of my desk and state, “You can keep your retainer, as I haven’t fully taken the case. We’ll meet in a week at the Cafe.”

     Placing my paw at the small of her back, I lead her to the door. Her tail once again brushes against my chin as she sashays out into the streets of Neopia Central, a spotlight of colour fading into the grey horizon.

     My body is kickstarting back into mild excitement. I had almost forgotten what this felt like. Something about this Usul is opening my heart to possibilities again. The only difficulty will be getting eyes and ears into the castle, my mind begins plotting and planning.

To be continued…