C019D9C090E03@comcast.net> 2965fa68   
   Title - Decoding the Enigma   
   Authors - Amy Jonas and MagsRose   
   E-mail - adjonas2000@yahoo.com or magsrose@comcast.net   
   Rating - FRT-13 (PG - 13)   
   Category - AU/Gen/Het   
   Archive - Just let us know.   
   Feedback - Yes, please. Any kind is always welcome. We just like to know   
   someone is reading this stuff.   
   Disclaimer - Without Prejudice. The names of all characters contained here in   
   are the property of Chris Carter, et. al. No infringements of these copyrights   
   are intended, and are used here without permission. All original characters   
   are the sole property    
   of Mags or Amy and may not be used without the author's permission.   
   Summary - In 1940, Private Investigator, Melvin Frohike thought he was working   
   on a simple missing person case but he soon found himself embroiled in   
   something far more sinister.   
   Authors' notes - After seeing the Maltese Falcon, Amy presented Mags with an   
   idea for The X-Files characters in an Alternate Universe.  Intrigued by the   
   possibilities, Mags suggested a co-authoring effort.  The result is the story   
   you see here.  Thanks    
   to Erynn and Alison for betaing this for us.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   Chapter 7   
      
   Friday, September 27, 1940   
      
   Maggie came in to work at her usual 9:00 a.m. As she tried to put her key in   
   the lock, the door swung open. She hesitated. She knew she had locked the door   
   when she left. She always did.   
      
   She peered cautiously into the room. Nothing seemed to be amiss except for the   
   smell of fresh brewed coffee.   
      
   She took an apprehensive step inside, pushing the door open all the way. She   
   walked behind her desk and ran a hand along the file cabinets checking to see   
   that they were still locked. They were but one had a strange scratch around   
   the lock, a scratch she    
   didn't remember making. She would have to ask her boss if he'd been in the   
   files.   
      
   She was distracted from her examination of the files by the sound of whistling.   
      
   Whistling?   
      
   She turned toward the noise and saw a figure moving around in the other room.   
      
   "Melvin, is that you?" she asked.   
      
   "Maggie!" he said coming out of his office. "How are you today, Gorgeous?"   
      
   "I'm fine," she said studying his smiling face. "You're in a good mood this   
   morning." He helped her out of her coat and hung it up on a peg near the door.   
      
   Continuing to watch him closely, she asked, "What happened?"   
      
   "Nothing happened." He walked over to the coffee pot and poured her a cup. He   
   added sugar and stirred it in before handing it to her.   
      
   "Something happened. You're just not telling me."   
      
   "What time did Monica say she'd be here?" Frohike asked pointing to her   
   appointment book.   
      
   "You know very well what time she's coming," Maggie accused him. "You're just   
   avoiding my questions."   
      
   Giving his secretary a lopsided grin, he returned to his office.   
      
   Maggie sat behind her desk and picked up her phone's receiver. "He thinks he   
   can keep secrets from me," Maggie thought, chuckling softly. "But I'll get to   
   the bottom of this."   
      
      
      
   ~:~:~   
      
      
   Monica arrived at her prearranged time of 10:00 a.m.   
      
   She barely got her coat off before she was ushered into Frohike's office.   
      
   "Monica, thanks for coming," Frohike said as he escorted her to a chair. He   
   leaned back against the front of his desk crossing his arms over his chest. "I   
   talked to the man who was following you."   
      
   "You did? Who is he?"   
      
   "He said he was from the FBI, an agent John Doggett." He watched Monica's   
   reaction carefully. Her amazement at this revelation was sincere.   
      
   "The FBI? Why would they be watching me?"   
      
   "I asked him that question and he wouldn't give me a straight answer."   
      
   "What did he say?"   
      
   "Just that he was there on official FBI business. Can you think of any reason   
   you might be part of an FBI investigation?"   
      
   Monica shook her head, deep in thought.   
      
   "Anything going on at work?" Frohike asked.   
      
   Monica was the chief administrative assistant to the Undersecretary of   
   International Affairs at the Treasury Department. "Not that I've heard of but   
   I can check when I get there."   
      
   Frohike nodded. That the investigation was work related was a possibility but   
   his gut told him otherwise. It was something of a more personal nature. The   
   agent's first reaction to hearing that someone had broken into her apartment   
   was concern for Monica'   
   s safety. Only after he had ascertained that she was unhurt did he ask if   
   anything was stolen.   
      
   "Let me know what they say at work." He moved around to behind his desk. "You   
   were going to go through everything…" He didn't need to finish the sentence.   
      
   "Yes, I spent most of the night going through all my possession. There didn't   
   seem to be anything missing until I noticed that the photograph of my sister   
   and I at the beach was no longer in its usual place on the mantel. The other   
   picture I had of her    
   was gone from the wall in my bedroom."   
      
   "This is the sister you hired me to find?"   
      
   "Yes." Monica continued, "I'm also missing all the letters she's sent me. The   
   ones from my brother in the army and the ones from my father were still there   
   but everything from my sister is gone."   
      
   Frohike sat with his chin in his hand recalling what he knew about Monica's   
   sister. He hadn't looked that far into her background when Monica had asked   
   him to locate her. At the time, it was none of his business but now he   
   regretted not taking his    
   investigation a step further.   
      
   "What was in the letters?" he finally asked getting up and going to the door   
   that led to the outer office. "Maggie, would you get me Monica's file?" He   
   turned back to listen to Monica's response.   
      
   "Nothing of importance just general chit-chat, getting to know each other.   
   That's all."   
      
   Frohike made a thoughtful noise and sat back down at his desk.   
      
   "Did you continue your correspondence when she moved to this country?" he   
   asked.   
      
   "We wrote each other a couple of letters but it was easier to get together for   
   lunch or dinner."   
      
   Maggie came into Frohike's office. He held out his hand for the expected file   
   but she was empty handed. "Mel, can I speak to you out in the reception area."   
      
   Realizing that what she had to say couldn't be said in front of a client,   
   Frohike got up and followed her, shutting the door to his office behind him.   
      
   "What is it, Maggie?"   
      
   "Monica's file is gone. I know it was here the other day. I got her phone   
   number out of it when you asked me to call her and I know I put the file back."   
      
   Frohike knew that if Maggie said she put something away, it was put away. She   
   was nothing if not meticulous.   
      
   "And I noticed this earlier," Maggie continued. She pointed to the scratch on   
   the file cabinet's lock.   
      
   Frohike recognized the damage that is caused when a lock is picked. He scanned   
   the other cabinets looking for similar markings. "This one is scratched, too,"   
   he said pointing to the cabinet labeled F-G-H-I-J.   
      
   He pulled open the third drawer down already suspecting what he wouldn't find.   
   He sifted through the files: Hackett, Hagen, Hamilton, Harwood, Harris, etc.   
      
   "Monica's sister's file is gone, too."   
      
   Maggie glanced at the folders. "Which one was it?"   
      
   "Yves Harlow."   
      
      
      
   ~:~:~   
      
      
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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