intro of jennings

"'Afternoon, sir," Marcus greeted as he jogged down the hall to the door of his apartment, where the detective was waiting.

The detective nodded. "Marcus Sanders?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nice to meet you.  I'm Detective Logan Harris.  You can call me Logan."

The two shook hands, and the detective unlocked and pushed open the apartment door before he offered the key to Marcus, who accepted it before entering.

Once inside, the room was, if nothing else, tidied up.  Marcus sighed in slight relief at not having to clean as much of the mess from the break-in as had been made.

Logan entered behind him and closed the door, then sighed. "We went ahead and straightened things out after we finished looking things over and documenting.  You should change your locks, obviously, and if you feel unsafe, it would be wise to invest in a security camera."

Marcus nodded, then looked around. "So, what'd you find?"

Logan's lips formed a thin line. "Not so much.  Only that you two didn't stage this.  No strangers in the area, no witnesses, no MOs that we recognize.  Based on what we saw in the pictures your roommate sent, only the mask was taken.  There were plenty of other things worth more money that were left behind." He frowned and shot a glance to the game consoles and flat-screen TV. "I don't like this."

Marcus ran a hand through his hair as he processed the information. "Don't you, like, look for prints?"

"We didn't find any.  That just means whoever did it wasn't stupid enough to do this without gloves."

"Dang," Marcus muttered. "Well... at least it was just a mask." He tried to hide his disappointment.  That mask was important to him not only because it had been a gift, but also because of what it represented to him.

"So," the detective said, "As it stands, there ain't much we can do right now 'side from sending patrols this way and keeping vigilant.  If that mask's important to you, it might be worth checking consignment stores in the area and checking social media for idiots taking selfies with it.  If you do find it, call us at the station, and we'll deal with it."

Marcus nodded. "Did you see anything about how they opened the lock?"

"Probably picked it," Logan answered bluntly. "It isn't hard to do, though popcorn going off mighta made it harder." A pause, and then,
"You said nobody else but you two and your friend's parents had keys, right?  All those keys accounted for?"

"Yeah," Marcus said.

"And your parents?  Do they have a copy?"

"No." Marcus answered more harshly than he meant to, but the detective only raised an eyebrow briefly.

"Bad blood?"

"Just on my end.  They're in Africa, anyway.  Some missionary thing." He couldn't keep his disapproval from his voice.

Logan was silent for a few long moments before he shook his head. "Not gonna ask." He let out a heavy breath. "You need anything else before I go, Mr. Sanders?"

Marcus shook his head. "I... no, sir." He sighed. "Thanks for all your help.  Sorry for snapping."

Logan shrugged. "'S fine." He waved his hand dismissively. "Take care of yourself, Mr. Sanders.  We'll be sending people by to check in now and then, and if we get any updates, we'll let you know."

"Thanks." Marcus nodded, then watched the detective walk out.  He waited a few moments beyond that before he let out an explosive sigh and slumped his way to a nearby armchair.  It jerked to one side.

Marcus yelped and gripped the chair's arms as he felt himself start to fall backwards.

When the fall didn't continue, he simply sat there, heart slamming as he panted for a few moments, then let out an awkward laugh to try to cover his embarrassment from the empty room.  He let his head fall back as he slid down until his lower back rested against the seat.

"Fuck's sake," he breathed, then pulled out his phone and set himself a reminder for the next day—'New Door + Deadlock' before he dropped his head back again, arms splayed over the arms of the chair.  He didn't budge when his phone hit the rug below.  It was too much energy to even try.  Too hard to move.  It was all just... too much.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him than lounging about uncomfortably.

[insert nerdy ring tone here]

Marcus grunted and forced himself to sit, then to bend and retrieve his phone.  He tapped and slid the green button without looking at the caller ID, then held his phone to his ear.

"Hey.  Who's this?"

"It's Mike," came the familiar voice. "You work today?"

"Got off a half hour ago."

"Oh, cool.  You at your place?"

"Yeah.  Detective met me here to talk about the break-in." He paused. "Abby with you?"

"I'm here!" Abby shouted in the background.

Marcus laughed. "You two wanna come over?  Cops cleaned up some, but I just broke the chair sitting down."

"Yeah?  You need a new lock, right?" Mike asked

"Yeah, Detective Logan suggested that.  I figured we should also get a deadbolt, too."

"Is the landlord gonna be ok with that?"

Marcus fell silent.

"Bet he didn't even ask yet," Abby said in the background.

"I'll... do that now," Marcus said as he stood up.

"Alright," Mike said, "We're heading over."

"Wait!" Abby said, "Ask him if he wants anything from the gas station."

"Abby wants to know if you need anything from the gas station," Mike relayed.

Marcus thought for a few moments before he answered, "Mm... Nah.  Gotta save our money for fixing things up."

As the call ended, Marcus pocketed his phone, then headed out.  He locked the door behind himself, tested it, then made his way down the hall and then down the stairs.

The landlord's office was there, but so was the landlord's apartment.  Marcus tried the office first.  After he got no response, he knocked on the door to the landlord's apartment.

Through the wall, he heard muffled sounds and movements, and he took a step back so he'd be visible through the peep hole.  With his hands stuffed into his pockets, he fiddled with the curves of his phone as he waited, though it wasn't long.

When the door opened, he looked up and offered a smile to the landlord.

"Afternoon, Mr. Jennings," Marcus greeted.

"Marcus," the bony, string-bean of a man greeted with a broad smile, his voice seeming to sample both syllables as though tasting them.  He was middle-aged, with streaks in his mid-length hair that had been tied back into a messy ponytail, and he looked like he was swimming in his loose pants and striped button-up shirt.  His half-moon glasses hung against his chest by a string of beads in jewel tones.

Marcus couldn't help but admire his landlord for a few moments.  Mr. Jennings was, if nothing else, an example of a unique and beautiful aesthetic.

"Can I help you, Marcus?" Mr. Jennings prompted, an amused twinkle in his eye.

Marcus pulled himself from his thoughts, cheeks warming, then nodded. "Right!  Right.  Me and Abby had a break-in, night before last.  It ok if I install a new lock and add a deadbolt to the door?"

Mr. Jennings tilted his head slightly as he lifted his glasses up by one of the arms and put them on before he looked through them at Marcus. "A break-in?  Terrible.  I'll take care of those locks for you.  I'm so sorry you've gone through such a thing."

Marcus nodded, unable to cool his cheeks.

"Were either of you home?"

"Uh... Yeah.  Abby."

"She is alright, I hope?"

Marcus nodded.

"That is good, at least.  Was anything stolen?" He pushed his glasses up by pinching the joint where one arm of the glasses met the lens frames.

Marcus shifted to one side. "Yeah.  A carved wooden mask my friend, Mike, gave me last year."

"Oh, that's a shame.  I remember seeing that on your wall.  I will keep my eyes open for it when I'm out and about." He smiled. "Gifts from friends are worth more than their monetary value—that is my belief."

Marcus nodded, a small smile on his face.  In front of someone like Mr. Jennings, he felt like a grade-schooler again.  It was... a strangely nice sensation.

"Hey, Marcus!" Abby called from one side, "Hi, Mr. Jennings!"

Marcus looked up and offered a small wave as she and Mike walked over.

"Ah, Abigail!" Mr. Jennings smiled warmly at her, then looked to Mike. "And... Michael, was it?  It has been some time since your last visit.  I see you've put on a little more muscle since last year.  It suits you."

Mike laughed, cheeks slightly red. "Ha, thanks," he said as he absently scratched at his cheek. "Dig the glasses."

"Why, thank you." He smiled, then looked again to Abby. "I'll be installing new locks for you and Marcus.  You need four keys, yes?  One for each of you, and then one each for your parents?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah, thanks, Mr. Jennings."

"Of course, my dear." He smiled, warm despite seeming tired. "I'll stop by later today with Jed.  I apologize in advance if his language offends—you know how his words grow positively foul when a project frustrates him."

"Yeah, no worries." Abby nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Jennings!" She gave a little wave, then turned. "Bye!"

"Good bye, Marcus.  Abigail.  Michael." He inclined his head to each, and the trio departed.

On the way up, Marcus glanced toward Abby, who shuddered and rubbed her arms as they climbed the stairs.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's just... kinda creepy." She shook her head. "I know he doesn't mean it, but..." She let her words trail off, then twitched as she felt Mike rest his hand on her shoulder.  She looked toward him, curious.

"He's harmless," Mike assured. "Just a little possessed, maybe."

"Nooo, don't tell me that!" Abby swatted the air in front of Mike, and Mike just laughed.

Marcus smiled as he walked behind the two, content to watch them until they reached the apartment.

"Marcus, you forgot to lock it!" Abby complained as she pushed the door open.

"Huh?" Marcus stepped forward. "No, I mean—I did lock it!" He pushed past her to enter first.  The apartment was chilly as he looked around.  Nothing was disturbed since he left, but... He knew he'd locked the door on his way out.  He stared around, mouth opening and closing as he tried to defend himself from the accusation, even as he started to doubt his memory.

Abby walked past him and rubbed her arms. "Jeez, it's freezing.  I'm turning on the heater."

"Hmmm," Mike hummed thoughtfully as he stepped around Marcus, gaze roving the apartment. "I think there was another break-in," he said quietly after a few moments of observation. "Someone malicious was in here."

Marcus turned sharply to face him, glaring slightly as he did. "What?"

"I'm going to get some sage," Mike said, "I won't be long." He shot Marcus a grin before he left.

Marcus turned to watch him go, then dragged a hand down his face as he puffed out a heavy breath. "Shit," he muttered. "I wasn't even out of the apartment that long..."

"Hey, what happened to the chair?" Abby asked.

Marcus looked over, then offered an apologetic grin. "Sat down too hard," he offered.

"Let's flip it over," she said, then began to work on doing it herself before he joined her.