Alkimiya - A Fantasy Mystery Series

THREE - Meeting Room Five

Meeting Room Five was located one floor up, so Zenetra took the stairs for some exercise. She had only ever glimpsed the room in passing. Now, she took it all in.

A large, four-sided wrought iron clock hung from the center of the ceiling. Massive arms ticked slowly to the next number. Constables' workstations were separated into private areas by the same metal filing cabinets Commissioner Fokle had in his office. Captions of families were taped to some while others, like Zenetra, kept their desks devoid of personal items. 

She straightened her uniform and marched inside, passing constables of all levels. The stars adorning their uniform made it easy to tell their rank. Many vocalized their stress of having to police another election.

Zenetra sidestepped a four-star constable with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand, a file in the other, and a cookie dangling from his mouth. He blinked in surprise at seeing her and mumbled something that sounded like her family name. She left him flabbergasted in the middle of the busy walkway.

One more year and she would have a desk in this room, with a new partner and a new uniform, and a metal star to place over the left side of her breast. She smiled at the file in her hand. The mission to find Scarlett Burn was the kind she had worked so hard to qualify for and would be the experience she needed to find Xuxa.

She reached a set of double doors leading to a separate area and paused. Meeting rooms lined either side of the hallway. Adjusting her uniform one more time, she followed the plaques with numbers and stopped at the fifth door to her right. Meeting Room Five was closed.

Commissioner Fokle had not given her a specific time to meet with her team. He had only said they were meeting after lunch. She hoped she wasn't late. Tardiness, after all, was a red mark in a cadet's personal file.

At Zenetra's light knock, a jovial, feminine voice sang from within. "Do come in!"

Inside, a constable with lime green hair sat alone at an oval table. The sandwich in her hands dropped and she bolted out of her seat. In less than a second, she had trapped Zenetra in a bone-crunching hug.

"Zenetra!" crooned the woman as if they were old friends. She let go and launched into a friendly introduction. "We've all been wondering who the cadet joining us would be. Not one of us guessed it would be you! I'm Constable Qhina, but no one calls me that except on paperwork. Just Mimi is fine."

Constable Mimi Qhina was an energetic woman who seemed to be in her late thirties or early forties with short-cropped hair that had been dyed an unnatural shade of green. It was hard to identify what her ancestry comprised of, as her features hinted at several races. Her skin was tan, alluding to either Marzhanian, Vorrocan, or Gryphon Isle heritage. Upturned, almond-colored eyes gave the appearance of eastern blood and though it was difficult to tell under the green, Mimi's hair was thin and fair. Five badges in the shape of stars adorned the breast of her charcoal-colored uniform. An arm tattoo peeked out from beneath her sleeve. Six bracelets that looked to have been made by children were fashioned to a wrist.

Mimi caught Zenetra eyeing them and pulled her sleeve up further. "Do you like 'em? I volunteer at an orphanage on Turning Cross. Kids made 'em for me. Want one?"

Before Zenetra could refuse, Mimi had taken off a bracelet and slipped it around her wrist. It had translucent beads in the shape of snowballs.

"Er—thank you, Constable Qhina."

"Just Mimi." Mimi gave Zenetra a dazzling smile. "The others took a late lunch. Did you eat anything? Want some of my sandwich?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine. Really, Consta­—er, Mimi." Zenetra held her file between them. "Did the team plot out a course yet?"