Felix

The downstairs area was a straight hallway that led from the front door to the kitchen and office in the back, flanked to either side by sitting rooms that now served as combination tea house and historical exhibit for visiting customers. Both rooms were wide open, as was the front door, though fortunately Felix couldn't see anyone from the top of the stairs. He could hear some chatter coming from the room to the immediate right of the bottom of the stairs though, and he would have to pass by there in plain view if he wanted to walk downstairs... or he could drop himself over the side of the staircase and into the hallway, avoiding the view of the downstairs tea room but possibly exposing himself to anyone further down the hall as he leaped down.

As he nudged down another couple of steps to get a better view of his options, he heard a few snatches of a conversation happening in the sitting room nearby.

The first voice was a man's, young-sounding and a little nervous. "-fourth time you've raised the price. I should never have gotten involved with a bottom feeder like you."

The response was a woman's voice, smooth as a velvet glove. "It does seem to be a seller's market. Believe me, tracking down this thing was a lot more trouble than I thought. I had to travel all the way down to Los Angeles to secure it. But it's one hundred percent genuine, psychometry verified, and all that costs money. I promise you though, it's worth every thousand."

"My family doesn't let people take advantage of us."

"Oh please. This is a standard fee for services rendered, not extortion. You want it enough to pay the price and w both know it, so let's skip to the part where you give me the money you brought in your briefcase and I can tell you where your item is."

A tense business conversation from the sound of it, but then this was an antique fair. Rich people spent their money on all sorts of crazy things. Other than the two talking, it sounded like the sitting room was empty, though he couldn't be entirely sure about the back of the house.