Descriptive Essay On An Unexpected Visit

(An unexpected visit)

One early afternoon of July, as I was reveling in the idle peace that my activities as a private detective in Paris, the city where nothing is private, would often provide, I heard three short knocks at the door. They had a sharp, but “dignified” sound that helped me detect in my visitor, a social status which delighted me- considering the lowly state of my present financial condition. I went, without delay, to open the door. In front of me, stood the Baron Armand de Valfort. At least, it was the name that I read on the calling card he handed me with a prompt gesture which he did not intend to be aggressive, nor demeaning. He just seemed to be a person who was up-front about what he wanted, and his deportment reflected …show more content…
He had black eyes that were moving in a very slightly uncoordinated way, sign of a strabismus that must have been corrected long ago, maybe as far as his childhood. This small defect was unfortunately magnified by the powerful lenses of his gold rim spectacles, to a degree that could have made him project a sinister image, if it weren’t for the tempering effect of his well-groomed grey hair. The last touch to this portrait, were his unusual striated lips which showed their thin stripes when he smiled. They also were bordered by a reedy edge of white skin that gave his mouth a well delineated, and strategic anatomical position, between his prominent nose, and his stubborn …show more content…
There is. Don’t you see? There must be another letter! Because in the present one, as I told you before, the facts are missing!” “Why? I don’t understand!” “Yes, why? Let me explain. The present letter is evidently blackmail. Still, no matter how one reads it, one always ends up with the same three questions. ‘Who?’ ‘Why?’ ‘How much?’ But! Again! In a case of blackmail the victim is supposed to know who will ‘collect’ and above all, how much he is being taken for. This is a simple rule in that despicable business, and also, pure common sense. But! In this letter, such a rule was not applied. “As you can see, the blackmailer signs V.S., trusting that you already know his identity. He does not mention how much he wants you to pay him, but only makes reference to a debt. Again, he seems to be confident that you are cognizant of what he’s talking about. Finally, he adds that he cannot wait any longer, and this, can only mean that you have not, or at least, he thinks that you have not met his previous demands. “Now the problem becomes, how those previous demands were put to you? The answer is: in person, or… addressed in an earlier letter. If we eliminate the first possibility for obvious reasons, we remain with the ineluctable conclusion that the letter you just handed me, is not the only one that was sent to you. This is why, Baron, I am asking you again: ‘where is the other