138 Wearing a Disguise

Ding... dong...

The bell to the Hymes Detective Agency was rung. Graham Hymes quickly picked up the black lighter that was lying on the table next to the bed and lit a fire. He wasn't expecting any guests today, so he would like to see first who was at the door before answering it.

In the flame small flame before him, there was an image of an old gentleman in a suit. He looked to be in his late fifties but his figure still emanated vigor. The elegantly dressed man was waiting patiently behind the door for the owner of the place to open it for him. On his right hand was a brown briefcase that looked expensive. Judging from the gestures of the man, he wasn't in any way impatient.

"Who might that be, Val?"

Graham didn't recognize the old man. He might be a client, but Graham still wanted to be safe. He concentrated one more time on the flame that was still burning.

'Is it dangerous for me to meet the old man at the door?'

The flame once again formed an image that gradually became bigger and bigger. Instead of showing the scene, as usual, it just showed a piece of paper being burned. The fire consumed the paper slowly and stopped halfway, which indicated a negative response; it wasn't dangerous to see the old man.

Graham quickly went to his office and put a coat on. He didn't want to look like a savage in front of the well-dressed client that was about to enter his office. He unlocked the door and greeted the person behind it.

"Good morning," said Graham in a polite manner.

"Good morning. Mr. Hymes?" replied the gentleman. His voice showed his experience and dignity. He seemed to be a person from a good upbringing.

"Yes, I am Graham Hymes. Please, do come in,"

Graham made a gesture with his hand to let the guest in and then closed the door once the man entered his office. He then showed the man where to sit while he himself sat in his comfortable office chair.

"Excuse me," said the old man as he entered the office.

He hung the top hat that he was wearing on the coat rack and sat on the chair that Graham had provided. He then placed the briefcase carefully next to him on the wooden floor.

Graham observed his guest carefully without staring. His Supersight allowed him to catch the man's characteristics quickly without having to look at him for too long, so he wouldn't appear impolite. The old man in front of him was sitting straight but relaxed. His chin was raised without looking arrogant. It was apparent that he had had a lot of practice in manners and etiquette.

In front of the refined gentleman, Graham felt like a child who was just learning how to conduct himself.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" asked Graham, trying to sound as confident as he could in that situation.

"Yes indeed. But first, it is only basic manner to introduce myself. I am Frits Melchers, a good friend of Ruben Arnaud. I have heard of your prowess from him, in fact,"

Graham raised one eyebrow, not because of what Frits Melchers had said, but because of his manner of speaking. He looked over his shoulder and muttered.

"Val, he puts the stresses in weird places. That's how a real gentleman should be!"

Frits Melchers didn't show a change of expression. He kept maintaining his polite smile.

"I have also heard of your... peculiar habit from dear Ruben. I find it rather... 'intriguing', Mr. Hymes," he said without any mockery in his tone.

Graham let out a genuine smile.

"Then I'll take that as a compliment," he said, trying to mimic the way the man in front of him spoke.

Frits Melchers' smile became wider. He seemed to be truly amused. He crossed his left leg on his right leg and then replied.

"Mr. Hymes, I must say that you are a pleasant company even though we have only chatted for less than five minutes," he said.

"I don't deserve such praise, Mr. Melchers," replied Graham.

He then looked over his shoulder again.

"Val, I think it is ungentlemanly to jump straight to business. Should we engage in small talk more?"

"No need, Mr. Hymes," Frits Melchers smiled meaningfully.

Graham then leaned back in his chair to get more comfortable; he was ready to hear the man's request.

"Then let us get down to business in that case, Mr. Melchers," suggested Graham.

"Just call me Frits, please. It is just between us, so there is no need for formality. Besides, you helped our Ruben a lot, so that makes you my friend as well," he replied.

"Then in that case just call me Graham," he smiled.

Frits Melchers put his left down and crossed his right leg on it. It seemed that his left leg had gone tired.

"It would be my pleasure. So, Graham, I have come here to ask for your assistance, if it is possible."

"Tell me about it," said Graham, encouraging.

"Well then. Please hear out my story. I have a company, you see, Graham, that I built with my sweat and blood. It is my pride and joy and I have worked hard for it. However, just like any other company, there will be people who do not want us as a competition. Someone was spreading nasty rumors about my company and it threatens our integrity," explained Frits Melchers. His tone had become serious.

Graham rested his chin on his hand.

"So you want me to find this 'person' who's been tarnishing your name?" he asked.

The man in front of him shook his head gently.

"No, not at all. We have already determined who is behind all of that. What we lack, however, is conclusive evidence. If you can find it for us, we can bring the culprit to court,"

Graham nodded in understanding.

"Then in that case, can you tell me the name of the culprit behind the rumors,"

Frits Melchers picked up his briefcase and opened it gently. He took out a brown envelope and placed it on the desk.

"Everything is inside. If you manage to find a piece of evidence that we can use in court, I will make sure to pay you handsomely," he smiled, and then said heavily, "This whole drama is too much for my old body. I just want to resolve this quickly and move on with my life, you see?"

Graham nodded passionately.

"I understand, Frits. I will find that evidence for you," he said as he was opening the envelope.

Inside the brown envelope, there was a photo of a man and a document with the detail regarding the person. The name of the person in question was Konrad Dykman. He was apparently an ex-employee and was now working at a rival company as a manager. The document listed detailed information about Konrad, including his current address.

Graham turned to Frits Melchers and asked,

"How did you know it was this man who spread the rumors about your company?"

"I knew you were going to ask that," he smiled, "The man himself came and declared that to us. However, no matter what we did, we could not find evidence of his action," explained Frits.

"I understand," responded Graham, then muttered quietly, "But Frits, I will need your help first to solve this case,"

Graham looked at the man right in the eye and said whisperingly.

"I order you to fall asleep..."

Frits Melchers let out a big yawn that he covered with his right hand. He suddenly felt very sleepy and then fell asleep not long after. His desk was resting on the office desk with his hands as a cushion.

Graham looked at the sleeping old gentleman whose hair had mostly turned grey.

"He fell asleep pretty quickly, Val. Is it my ability that has gotten much stronger or he is just very tired," he muttered.

He then concentrated and focused on the specific information that he needed.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of Frits Melchers!"

Graham suddenly felt like he was underwater and was watching through a glass window a scene that was unfamiliar to him. There was a man whose face was in the photo that Frits had given him. The scene seemed to be the termination day of Konrad Dykman from Frits' company. The expression of the fired man was twisted and full of vengeance.

The scene changed to many others when Frits had interacted with Konrad. Graham memorized the details of the man's characteristics and also mannerisms. Besides the scenes, there was also information transferred to his brain about Konrad based on what Frits himself knew. Once he was done, Graham returned to reality.

"So he was fired for embezzlement of the company's money. How is someone like that appointed a manager?" muttered Graham, "And besides, why didn't Frits just get him arrested for his crime. Or is it because he couldn't get any evidence for that either?"

He had gotten what he needed from Frits, so he issued another command to wake him up; he wasn't sure if just shaking the man would have any effect since he was sleeping because of his Order.

"I order you to wake up!"

The sleeping Frits slowly got up and rubbed his eyes. He looked surprised and confused at the same time.

"Oh my, I apologize, Graham. Where are my manners? I promise I did not mean to fall asleep like that," he said apologetically.

"It is fine. I'm sure you were just tired. Maybe you should get some sleep once you are home," suggested Graham innocently.

"That might be what I need. Well then, I will let you work in peace. Just call my number when you have any update; it is on my business card inside the envelope," said Frits.

"Will do,"

The two men got up from their chairs and Graham showed his guest the door. Frits Melchers picked up his top hat from the rack and put it on before stepping out of the office.

"I will be looking forward to hearing from you, Mr. Detective. Good morning," said Frits as he left.

Once his guest was gone, Graham closed the door and locked it. He hung his coat on the rack before walking to his bedroom to stand in front of a mirror.

"I've been curious about what I look like during the Transformation process. Let's see it for ourselves, Val," he said.

He concentrated on the image of Konrad Dykman that he got from the old gentleman's memory and started chanting.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Konrad Dykman!"

Graham's whole body became itchy and he shrunk a little to match the target's height. The fat around his belly increased slowly and his skin tone turned paler. His nose became a little longer and his green eyes turned bright brown. His already thick eyebrows became bushier and the color became blonde, just like his new hair. A small mole grew under his lower lip just right on the right side of his chin. Just in under thirty seconds, Graham's appearance had completely changed.

Out of curiosity, he took off his t-shirt and looked at his new body. Konrad's skin was even paler under his clothes and his body was typical of a white-collar worker; his belly was big and his chest was flabby. Graham had done the same the night before while he was still wearing Rood's appearance and noticed that the man's body was ripped. It was a total contrast to the body that he was wearing right now.

"I know I'm also curious about it, Val, but let's respect Konrad's privacy just this once," he muttered in amusement.

Graham sniffed his own body and noticed that the man's natural scent wasn't as strong as Cornelis Haring aka Rood. However, he still could notice the difference from his own body smell. Once he had finished 'analyzing' his new appearance, he opened his wardrobe to get dressed.

"Now, what does this man usually wear?" he said and then concentrated on the memory he got from Frits.

Graham picked up a pink shirt that was buried deep underneath a pile of clothes and a pair of black pants. After putting the clothes on, combed his blonde hair neatly to the back and just like that, he had become a perfect copy of Konrad Dykman.