XVII: In Which We Have a Guest

“I’d like to officially welcome everyone to the second meeting of the Kanetown Society for the Paranormally Gifted.”  Colin announced.

“That’s wonderful!  I am so glad I’m at the right place.” A woman’s voice spoke.  Startled, the entire group turned to see the speaker standing at the end of the table behind Selena and Ron.  She was a mid-height white woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties, blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun, neatly pressed business suit, with a black leather briefcase in her hand.  The words ‘driven career woman’ sprang immediately to Colin’s mind.

“The right place?” Alex asked.

“Oh come now.  Your flier last week said ‘All welcome’ did it not?  Has that changed?” She tilted her head slightly.

“No, not at all.” Colin said, not wanting to be rude, even though he actually did consider the group complete.  “Please join us if you’d like.”

She laughed lightly to herself.

“As much as I’d love to spend my Saturday afternoon relaxing in a coffee shop with all of you, I’m actually here on behalf of my employer.”  She set the briefcase on the table between Ron and Selena, opened it up and turned it around to face the rest of the table. “Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jackson Sheppard.”

Inside the briefcase was a laptop computer, which she had opened to reveal the face of a white man in his late fifties on a video chat program.

“Good afternoon, everyone.  I am indeed Jackson Sheppard.  As you may already know, I am the CEO and majority shareholder of Onieros Synergistic Solutions Limited.  As you may not know, I am also a person with an acute interest in the paranormal. Such things have fascinated me for my entire life, though I have had precious little time to pursue them.  Luckily, I over heard someone in the office mention your flyer. They found amusement in it, but I saw promise and potential. Therefore, I would like to propose a business arrangement: I would like to be your patron.  I would pay you, oh, let’s say, two-hundred dollars every week you meet in exchange for your minutes. Marlene has a thumb drive with a state of the art dictation program. All you would have to do would be to set out a microphone - Marlene could give you one of ours that we use for virtual conferencing - then review the text, edit it as you like, then e-mail the file to me.  I will, of course, give you time to consider this amongst yourselves before you decide. Are there any questions or concerns you have before I leave you to discuss?” He spread his hands in an open gesture.

The entire group stared at the laptop, dumbfounded for the moment.

“Umm.”  Selena was the first to speak.  “Some of the things we discuss may get rather personal.”

“That is the primary reason you would need to edit the transcript before sending it to me.  I have no interest in prying into your personal lives, just in learning more about the paranormal goings-on in this city.  There are more than you would guess. Do you see the young lady sitting in the corner with the uncommon hair color? She is actually one of the Fair Folk.  Everyone has their secrets.

Feeling responsibility for the group he had gathered, Colin stood up, addressing the computer. “Thank you for your offer Mister Sheppard.  We will need to take some time to discuss it and then we’ll contact you with an answer.”

“Excellent.”  Sheppard replied. “Marlene will give you an e-mail address to contact me when you’ve made a decision.  Be in touch soon.”

The laptop screen went black and Sheppard’s assistant, Marlene closed it and the briefcase, handed Colin a business card and left without saying another word.

The entire society stayed quiet as they watched Marlene walk out.  As soon as the door closed behind her, everyone turned to Colin.

“Well, that was weird.”  He said.

“Weird doesn’t cut it.  That was creepy as f**k.”  Steve said.

“I have two-hundred-thousand, seven-hundred and fourteen questions.” Selena volunteered.

“Same.” Alex and Xander said together.

Colin put up his hand as everyone began to talk at once.  Surprisingly everyone got quiet right away. He could get used to that.

“We’ll go around the table and discuss it.”

“Well, I’m gonna go first and say…” Steve began.

“Excuse me, is this the paranormal group?”  A disheveled looking man asked meekly from the spot Marlene had recently occupied.

“Yes, sir.” Colin replied. “Can we help you?”

“Well, it seems more of a case of me helping you.”  The man laughed. “This envelope got put in my hat today with instructions to bring it here at this time.”

Colin took the envelope.  “Did you see who gave it to you?”

“Sure didn’t.  I try not to watch what people put in the hat.  Some people are self-conscious about that kind of thing.

“Ah.  Well, would you like a cup of coffee or a sandwich?”  Colin asked.

“I’d really appreciate a coffee, thank you.” The man said.

Jane jumped up and went to the counter, coming back with a coffee immediately.

“Thank you.  You folks have a good day, now.” He said, then turned and left, sipping at his coffee. A surprised smile spread on his face.

“What is it?” Selena asked.

Colin opened the envelope.  “It’s an invitation, and a map.”