[piosenniel]

Milo danced nervously from foot to the other as Halfred sat at the desk in the back office, head buried in some papers he was reading, and tried to ignore him. Finally, when Milo began clearing his throat in an increasingly loud manner, Halfred looked up over the rim of his half-glasses, and scowled.

‘Can’t you see I’m busy?’ he admonished the nervous deputy. ‘I’ve gotten some quite disturbing information this morning and I need to read it thoroughly. He pointed to the stack of reports he had been sent from various parts of the Shire concerning the upswing in suspicious and unlawful activity.

‘Well, those reports will just have to wait, Halfred Whitfoot!’ Prim came sailing in through the closed door, and pushed Milo out of her way. He blanched at her entrance and nodded his head toward her as he spoke to Halfred. ‘It’s Miz Prim, sir. She’s here to see you on a matter of some importance.’

‘I can see that, Milo,’ came the strained voice of the Shiriff. ‘Why don’t you get us some tea, and I’ll have a talk here with Miz Prim.’

Prim sat herself down in the chair in front of Halfred’s desk and looked directly at him. “I’ve had some rather grim news this morning Halfred, and I want you to reassure me you are doing everything to see that nothing like this happens around here.’ Halfred took off his glasses and paid close attention as Prim told him what Cook had learned that morning from the tradesman. ‘And this isn’t the first we’ve heard of the Big Folk stirring up trouble and grumbling about how poorly they’ve been treated.’ She went on to tell him about Ferdibrand and his trip to Bree-land a fortnight ago. ‘Now we’ve got kidnappers coming into the Shire and taking two little ones in Eastfarthing. It’s getting too close to home, Halfred, what are you going to do to prevent any Hobbiton children from getting kidnapped?’

Halfred sat back in his chair and sighed. He could see how upset she was, and he did not want to tell her that there were already sightings quite near Hobbiton and Bywater of suspicious looking Big Folk skulking about. He leaned forward and answered her with a confident ring to his voice.

‘We’ve got the problem well under control, Miz Prim. Nothing for you to worry about.’ He pointed to his stack of reports. ‘I’ve already read the information on those kidnappings and from what we can see, they were probably isolated incidents, and not any sort of problem that will spread here.’ He smiled, steepling his fingers, and rested his ample chin on them. ‘I’ve put on extra patrols, and we’re interviewing anyone who may have heard of anything suspicious going on around this area.’ Halfred looked thoughtfully at her. ‘Tell me are those Big Folk still staying at the Inn? I may want to ride out there and speak with them.’

Prim shook her head and frowned. ‘Don’t be a fool, Halfred! There’s no need to go bothering Mistress Piosenniel or her Mister. Or their friend, either, for that matter. You’ld best be looking farther afield than the Green Dragon for suspects.’ She hmmphed at him, and stood to go.

‘Nonetheless,’ he said evenly, undaunted by her less than enthusiastic assessment of his plan, ‘they are considered to be “persons of interest”, and I intend to ride over there soon and interview them in a thorough manner.’

Milo, smiling nervously, came in with a small tray holding two mugs of tea. Prim ignored him as he offered one to her, and strode past him determined to tell Miz Pio and Mithadan what the Shiriff had said. Her fears had not been laid to rest by what she’d heard from Halfred. 'The fool has no idea what needs to be done,' she fumed to herself.

As she rode home, she turned over in her own mind what she and the staff might do to defend the Inn should the need arise.

[ March 25, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]