Revenge of the Adventurer! 6.

Although now a part of Greater London, Carshalton still has some character of its own, at least in places. It was quite nice to walk down the high street to the internet cafe.
It looked much like any other internet cafe in Greater London, ranks of computers, a CCTV camera in one corner surveying the room.
"Can I help you?" the girl behind the desk asked, looking up from a lurid horror novel.
"Yes, I left a pen here the other day. It was a gift - engraved, that sort of thing."
"It wasn't handed in."
"Then I guess someone must have walked off with it. Could the camera have captured that?"
"Only if it happened before yesterday. That camera developed a fault, and so there aren't any pictures."
Just my luck, I thought. That was, if the fault was really a fault, not sabotage. Unfortunately neither of us look like technicians, so we were unable to examine the camera.
Instead of going straight home, I decided to visit John Barton. I hoped he'd see me. After all, he might have noticed me at the studio the previous day.
I adopted a cunning disguise in an attempt to fool Mr. Barton. I left off my glasses. They're just props, anyhow, plain glass. My eyesight's great.

Mr. Barton's flat was a top-floor flat in a hideous building on Stanley Road, Carshalton. It was quite a come-down from the palatial mansion that had been his before a bad investment wiped out most of his fortune.
I rang the bell on the ground floor.
"Who's there?" Barton's voice shot back.
"Miss Jane Hill. I want to talk to you about the Adventurer."
"Go away!" he shot back.
"Mr. Barton! Galliard's trying to get me to finance the film..."
"No! No friend of Galliard's is welcome here!" Barton's voice cut off with a click.
Barton obviously didn't like Galliard.
"Let me try," Scruff offered.
"Scruff..."
"I look more of a fan, don't I?"
Scruffy teenager... yes, she did, I decided.
I stepped back and Scruff hit the buzzer.
"Mr. Barton?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes? What is it?"
"I'm called Scruff. I came to get an autograph..." she displayed a battered copy of one of the 'Adventurer' books to the small camera on the 'phone.
"Come on up!"
Scruff smiled.
"See," she pushed the door open. "Works every time!"
We were going to get our interview!