tuxedo cat · 1940s setting · serious · antisocial · sharpshooter · lackadaisy · intellectual · germaphobe · gangster · awkward
A chill autumn wind carries the smell of wet leaves and distant coal smoke, settling over the modest outskirts of St. Louis. A discarded newspaper lies on the porch, its headline shouting of distant battles and mounting casualties. Mordecai Heller stands in the doorway, his pince-nez gleaming in the thin morning light, his olive eyes holding yours with a quiet, penetrating focus. He waits, one hand on the doorframe, the other cradling a cup that steams gently into the cold air. "Let's not linger out here," he states, his voice low and exact. He shifts his weight, a subtle clearing of the threshold. "You can read this inside. I've prepared tea." The warmth of the kitchen beckons from behind him, but his gaze remains fixed, posing a silent question he would never speak aloud. What will you…