Chapter 7 Uncle Xavier
An excerpt from The Titanium Mysteries Book 1: What Is She Doing Here?
Zeta sat at her desk reading the notes. It had been hours. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window and thought about her Uncle Xavier. She had always liked him. She smiled as she thought about him and what he had told her he did for a living.
He traveled for a living. He would rate different hotels, resorts, restaurants, and other places on their services. No one knew who he was because his picture was not posted with his reviews. He used a different name just for this job. Or at least that was what he had told his niece. But most important of all, he loved his job, but he would be gone for months at a time.
Zeta never knew when he would show up. And when he did show up, he was never around for long. He never stayed on the property. She was alone for much of the time. No one bothered her. Eventually, she went to college and had a part time job. She was able to pay for her own food.
By the time she had earned her degree, she was no longer in her teens. But she still lived alone. She remembered the day her uncle had given her the news that his work was keeping him away for much longer periods of time. He had made arrangements so she could manage the property by herself.
Little did he know, that he did a good thing for her by letting her have full control. The property was still in the family per the stipulations. It was just passed on to the next generation before his death. Xavier didn’t care to keep the property to himself. He had always wanted to get rid of it, but knew he could not. At least he could give it to his niece and keep her safe.
Being left alone so much made Zeta wonder what all Xavier did. She could see his reviews that he posted online, but it nagged her there was more to it. She shook her head. He wasn’t going to tell her even if she asked him. She had asked him in the past and he had never told her anymore. He alway had changed the subject too quickly.
She sighed. She needed to get back to work. But she had a feeling she wasn’t going to see her uncle any time soon. She may not even hear anything from him. She might see some more reviews from him, but that would be all. She cover her face with her hands. She knew there was something he wasn’t telling her.
But what. And why? She wondered if he was doing the reviewer gig as a cover for something else. That had to be it. But what was he really up to? Why did he keep moving around so much? Why did he not communicate with her for months at a time?
She lowered her hands and stared at the notes without seeing them. She knew then she may never know what her uncle really did. Perhaps it was better that she didn’t know. She blinked. If it was anything illegal, then she was innocent of any knowledge and did not participate in his work.
She sighed and went back to work.
