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the man who smiled and nodded back. The judge glanced
at his watch then looked at Chris. “Now, unfortunately we've
arrived too late for dinner but I'm sure you're hungry after the
events of the last two days.”
    Chris suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten
anything since yesterday and had only drunk a little water. His
stomach seemed to wake up at the thought and rumbled loudly. Judge
Hawkes smiled.
    “Just as I thought. Martin, would you take
our guest to the kitchen, please. I'm sure Chef will be happy to whip
something up for him.” The judge pulled out his pad and tapped
on it a few times. “And I think we'll assign him to the
Lancelot room for now. It should suit him nicely.” The judge
put his pad away and looked at Chris. “Martin will be your
guide for now. Ask him anything you like. He will also explain the
house rules, our schedule and all that.” He shook Chris' hand
firmly. “I'm glad you're safe and sound, Christopher. And I'm
pleased to have you as a guest. Have a good night and I will talk to
you tomorrow.”
    “Good night, judge. And thanks for
everything,” Chris replied.
    The judge nodded and walked off briskly. As he
left, Chris saw him pull out his electronic pad again and start
tapping away.
    “This way, Mr. Wright,” Martin said
and led the way down the hall. “So, what do you think of our
little home so far?”
    “It's amazing,” Chris replied. “I've
never been in such a huge house before.”
    Martin chuckled. “Yes, it is a bit
overwhelming at first. I think I got lost three times on my first
day.”
    The two of them were passing many doors, all
closed. They turned left and walked down yet another hallway.
    “How long have you been here, sir?”
Chris asked the man curiously.
    “It's been about five years now. The judge
is an easy man to work for. Once he hires someone, they tend to stay
for a long time.” He waved his hand to indicate the house
around them. “And living in this place is a fascinating
experience as well.”
    They turned down yet another corridor. “Now,”
Martin continued, “the house rules are fairly simple. No one
not on official business is allowed to be wandering the halls after
eleven in the evening. All residents are expected to appear for
breakfast no later than seven-thirty in the morning. And if you want
to wander the grounds, please let whomever is manning the front desk
know before you go out.” He glanced at Chris. “Clear so
far?”
    Chris nodded. “Good,” Martin
continued. “All other regs are posted in each room. If you end
up staying with us for some time, you will be given a schedule.”
    They continued to walk the corridors and finally
approached a large arch leading to a stairwell. They were almost
through the arch when they heard someone call out behind them.
    “Oh, evening Chloe,” Martin said as he
turned to look over his shoulder.
    “Good evening, Martin,” a blond,
middle-aged woman answered. She was glancing down at a clipboard and
had a rather harried look on her face. “I hate to bother you,”
she continued, “but we've just received word that Father O'Day
is feeling ill and can't take his shift tonight.” She looked at
Martin expectantly and he nodded.
    “Right. Give me a moment to work this out.”
Martin turned to Chris. “Sorry, but I have to re-juggle our
schedule on the fly here. Why don't you head down to the kitchen and
have Chef whip you up something?” He waved at the stairs. “Just
go down to the bottom, turn left and the kitchen is right at the end.
I'll be along in a few minutes.”
    “No problem, sir,” Chris said and he
headed for the stairs. As he began to descend, he heard the woman say
“Sister Roberta is in tonight but with her gout...well, I don't
know.”
    Chris followed the directions given by Martin and
soon found himself standing outside of the kitchen. He peeked inside
and saw a large room that looked big enough to service a restaurant.
Pots and pans were hanging from hooks all over the