Charlie's Angels... of DEATH: Chapter 2 -- The Girl Next Door

    “Mr. Charles… sir…” the guard stammered.  “A security situation has been brought to my attention.”

    “What is it?” Charles asked calmly.

    “Sir, the perimeter has been breached…  several times… by a seven year old girl,” the guard said sheepishly.

    “And how did she manage that?” Charles asked, with curiosity creeping into his voice.

    “She climbed over the wall, sir.”

    “A seven year old?  Climbed over nine feet of smooth, polished stone?  How?!”

    “We have studied the security footage, sir, and it appears that she climbed over in bare feet.  Sir, her fingers and toes…  they are abnormally long, and appear to have incredible strength, dexterity and endurance.  She can climb the wall like a spider monkey,” the guard said quietly.

    “Has anyone questioned her?” Charles asked.  “Asked her why she decided to scale a nine foot wall?”

    “We have, sir.  She said it’s because she had heard that a little girl lived on the premises, and she wanted to make a new friend.”

    “I see…” Charles said thoughtfully.  “Is she… interfering, in any of Mira’s daily routines?”

    “No, sir.  The tutor has said that Mira is still engaging in her daily lessons, including piano and tae kwon do.”

    “What do they do together?” Charles asked.

    “Mostly, they pretend to be wizards, sir.  One of the landscapers gave them sticks from a tree was being pruned, and they pretend that they’re wands,” the guard said.

    “Have their games… caused any problems?” Charles asked.

    “Nothing major, sir.  At first, they squabbled over who would be named ‘Hermione,’ until they decided they could both be ‘Hermione.’  Aside from that, the housekeeper did scold them for tossing the cat off of the roof of the guest house into the pool, sir.  The neighbor girl said they were trying to make it levitate.”

    “So they tossed it in the pool?”

    “She implied that it was to ensure a safer landing for the cat, in case they were unable to make it levitate, sir.  They said they didn’t know the cat couldn’t swim.”

    “How did they get on the roof of the guest house?  Weren’t they supervised?  And where is the cat now?” Charles inquired. 

    “Sir, they snuck out when the tutor went to use the bathroom.  She was gone approximately three minutes.  Fortunately, the pool boy was on the scene and fished the cat out of the pool with the skimmer.  When it was retrieved, it was angrier than any cat I’ve ever seen, but it was not harmed.”

    “Good,” Charles said.  “That is good, at least.  Do we know anything else about this girl?  She seems like a trouble maker.  What is her name, and do her parents know she has been climbing the wall to come over here?”

    “Her name is Candy Chen, sir.  We have paid a contact at the girl’s elementary school to pull her file.  Her teachers like her, but say her intelligence and curiosity tend to get her in trouble.  Sir, her IQ is off the charts,” the guard reported.  “Her parents were not aware that she was coming over here.  She was supposed to be practicing piano in their living room, but she had used a computer program to record hours of herself practicing, and she simply played the recording whenever she wanted to go out and play.  They had wondered why they kept hearing her make the same mistakes, and why she didn’t seem to be improving.”

    “Quite resourceful…” Charles mumbled, deep in thought.  “Smith?”

    “Yes, sir?” asked the guard.

    “Have Dr. Daniels perform a general psychological assessment on Miss Chen, but have her conduct it in a non-obtrusive way so that she doesn’t know she’s being tested,” Charles said.  “I would like to know more about this girl, what her talents are, and if there is… something I can do to help nurture those talents and perhaps provide a more intellectually stimulating environment.”

    “Yes, sir,” said the guard.

    “And Smith?” Charles paused.  “Ask Miss Chen to please refrain from harassing the household animals, and instruct her to enter through the front gate from now on.”