The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

So I called Central Intelligence, identified myself, and asked to speak to the fellow who'd let me know Henry Legion had shuffled off this mortal coil. I didn't have a name with which to identify him, but I hoped CI would be able to get around that. Sure enough, inside a minute he was saying,

"Good day, Mr. Fisher. I'm glad everything worked out well for you and your lady."

Well, I shouldn't have been surprised that Central Intelligence knew about such things. Thanks," I managed.

"What can I do for you today?" he asked.

I told him what I wanted and why I wanted it "I'll only use it the once," I promised. "If you like, I'll take a formal oath on that."

"No need, Mr. Fisher," he said. The phone imp in my ear reproduced a curious scratchy noise I identified as a chuckle.

"Just between you, me, and the wall, I'd say you've earned the right to use it any way you like. Don't stay on the ether now; I'll call you back in a couple of minutes with what you need."

I hung up. Pretty soon, just as promised, the phone yarped. I answered it, wrote down what the chap from Central Intelligence gave me, thanked him again, and hung up.

Then all I had to do was wait Since I was doing this for my convenience, not Charlie's, I waited till Saturday night my Sabbath was over, so I could use the phone without the slightest sin, and I didn't have to get up early and go to work the next morning. That counted, too, for what I had in mind.

I was yawning when I picked up the phone at my flat, but I didn't care. I called the number I'd gotten from Central Intelligence: Charlie Kelly's home phone. I listened to the racket it made.

"Hello?" Even with phone imps between us, Charlie sounded drowned in sleep.

"Hello, Charlie," I answered brightly. "This is Dave Fisher, out in Angels City. How are you this morning?"

"Jesus," he said, his voice a little clearer. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Since I'd asked my alarm clock, I knew down to the minute. "Your time, it's 5:07," I said: "Just the same time when you called me here to get me into the Devonshire toxic spell dump case. It turned out all right, no thanks to you."

He started to splutter. I hung up.

You know what? Phones aren't so bad after all.