Participants:
Also featuring… Jamie
| Scene Title | A Little Mystery |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | In search of information, Cooper brings a sketch of Tamara to the front desk of Le Rivage. |
| Date | November 9, 2009 |
Le Rivage: Lobby
Le Rivage is a building constructed very much in the Art Deco style. Its lobby walls are quilts of slim wooden paneling, primarily a light tan but with several pieces of darker hue mixed in. The floor is similar in scheme, if with geometric designs in taupe and chocolate on the golden background rather than random bits of color. The wooden receptionist's desk almost blends into its surroundings, despite a glossy black top and the painting centered behind it. This complex offers a variety of apartments for people of moderate income, from studios to three-bedroom suites.
The lobby of Le Rivage is an expansive, warmly-decorated room; quiet and sparsely populated at the moment, some short while after the main Monday morning exodus. The receptionist sits alone at her desk, focused on the computer screen; paperwork or Solitaire, take your best guess. The monitor is angled so that patrons on the other side of the desk can't easily read it. A couple emerges from one of the elevators, hand in hand across the lobby, offering a polite smile to the woman as they pass by.
A soft ding and the rattling whoosh of doors heralds the arrival of Cooper into the lobby. His suit only slightly rumpled, with its power-red tie, and of course his scuffed white tennis shoes that would look worse if he hadn't windex-ed the leather. He's still settling his canvas duster as he starts to move through the lobby.
A wave is given to the woman with a sheepish half smile, Cooper's never really figured out the etiquette that comes to the apartment's staff. He moves on past towards the front door and pauses. Wait…. He turns slowly on the heels of his sneakers and studies the receptionist. "Hmm." He approaches the desk, flashing her a bright smile. "Good morning, Miss. I see you fairly often." He fishes into the inside pocket of his jacket to pull out a piece of paper folded into quarters. "Mind if I ask you something?"
If there is a set etiquette, the receptionist doesn't seem to mind its breach — if Cooper's wave, approach, and question qualifies as that. "Apartment 206, aren't you?" A sheepish, crooked smile. "I'm sorry, I don't know all the residents' names." She looks down towards the folded paper with some curiousity, and then bobs her head. "Sure, go ahead."
"That's alright, not like I've been all that social since I got here. " Cooper quips with a hint of a chuckle to his tone. See, nice guy, doesn't bite is what he's trying to get across. "Thomas Cooper, nice to meet you….?" The last word is drawn out encouraging her to give up her name. Unfolding the paper he gives her a wink. It is smoothed out before it's handed to her, it's a fairly accurate artist's rendering of Tamara. The poor boys that helped him with that program, they were so happy once he finally said it was perfect. He spent many free hours saying.. 'Let me see one… okay two… one again aaaannndd two. ' One would think he had been getting glasses.
He taps the paper lightly with an index finger. "This girl here. I ran into her when doing my laundry. You recognize her?"
"Jamie," the receptionist supplies, cheeks dimpling in a cheery smile. Apparently the wink counted for something. The smile dims as she looks down at the paper, replaced by a hint of concentration. "Oh! You met her?" Jamie asks, looking back up at Cooper. Seems there is an element of recognition. "Odd one, isn't she? Sweet, though; sometimes leaves flowers or candy or little things like that on the desk. I think for a few of the residents, too."
Cooper, feeling a bit better that it wasn't some halloween spirit or such weirdness, nods slowly, "Yeah I did. Tried to sort my clothes and was washing some other guy's stuff." The smirk tugs a corner of his mouth up as he looks up from the paper to her, "She didn't give me her name or nothing, and I wasn't even sure she lived in the building. Being a detective, I can't help but wonder about all that. So… Jamie. Pretty name by the way." Yup, he's laying on the charm. "Do you know her name? Or if she lives in the building?"
Jamie's brow furrows as she considers his remarks and question. "Well… she doesn't come around so much, you know? We'll see her once or twice a week for a while, and then she won't show up again for months. Pretty sure she doesn't live here." She studies the picture again, picking at memories. "If I remember right, she seems to answer to 'Tam'. Although the kid answers to just about anything directed her way, too; even when the lobby's packed."
"Tam?" Cooper murmurs committing the name to memory, "And you don't think she lives in the building?" That concerns him a bit, evident by the furrowing of his own brow. "It's obvious that it's a male, whoever it is, as the clothes she was folding belonged to a guy and she insisted they were not hers." He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, fingers of his free hand tap lightly on the counter. "Boyfriend… some sort of relation?"
"Maybe," Jamie replies dubiously. "She's a little odd, but she always seems fine, you know?" Simply because Tamara doesn't show herself to the building staff when she isn't. "Like she's got someone looking after her, somewhere. And like I said, she's a sweet girl — brings people flowers, helps some of the older residents with grocery bags if they come in while she's here, stuff like that. Maybe it was just a kindness."
"Hmm… Okay.." Cooper murmurs thoughtfully. "Okay…" He says the second more firmly. "That's something at least." He rests his arm on the counter and leans over a bit. "Mind if I leave this here?" His other hand extracts his wallet and he slips a business card out of it. He offers it to her. The little badge on it and the Detective Thomas R. Cooper in bold print goes along with his side anyhow. "Make sure some of the others see this? They can call me if they have any more information that maybe you're not sure on. I just want to keep an eye on her. I have a daughter, so I tend to worry about teenage girls wandering around like that."
Accepting first the paper, then the card from Cooper, Jamie bobs her head. "Sure, I can do that. Don't know that anyone knows anything— " A glance at the card. "— Detective, but I can ask." She sets both down beside the keyboard, tapping her hand on top of the documents twice.
"Wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't try. She's a little mystery, that is for sure," Cooper comments lightly, straightening from the counter as he tucks his wallet back into place. He brings his hands together and and gives her a bright smile. "And you Jamie, have been a wonderful help and I do appreciate it fully." He glances at the chilly world outside the door and starts to wrap his coat around him, tying it off. He flashes the receptionist one more smile. "You take care, Jamie, and have a good day." He'll definitely start thinking about leaving his own little gifts… sugar coated donuts being his favorite, he could easily start leaving a small box of them.
Cooper's sneakers squeak softly on the floor as he turns to make his way out the door. He didn't learn a whole lot, but he has a name… and he has a face. It is more then he had when he stepped off the elevator.