the sun. the moon. the truth.

I don’t have a seat at the table, so activism or no activism, I can’t do anything about it. Sorry.

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Why would a guy make them take drugs and shoot Enzo for anything other than money? I don’t think anyone was playing for poker chips. I have no idea who that guy was, so I wouldn’t know, but people like that don’t frequent the Royale. The strippers at the Bare Minimum are always hanging out with dangerous people. The biggest scumbags in the city go there to get their five minutes of grab ass, and I don’t say that to criticize the girls, but I’m pretty sure one of them is or was that drug lord’s girlfriend, the guy you guys put in jail a few months ago. I don’t make time to hang out with people like that.

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Pride makes you do stupid things. Or he could have had a grudge against Enzo, or an unreturned infatuation with one of the girls. But my working assumption is that cash was present. No one knows who he was, except someone does, or he wouldn’t have been there.

You’re welcome to pass along the message yourself. 

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I don’t know him well, well but I do know he’s friends with the strippers at that cub. I wouldn’t really look much into that though, Enzo’s friendly with literally everyone. He has friends at the hospital, the fire station, even patrons at the Royale. He’s charming and everyone likes him. I don’t know how much money they were gambling anyway, I’m nosey but not that nosey. I’ve never seen him take drugs either.

I’m sure she’s more likely to listen to her daughter. Especially given that daughter is clearly very unhappy with the lack of positive momentum in the city. ACAB, right? You’re into activism. Do something with your seat at the table.

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So, not to be nosey, but have the police actually done any progress with catching that guy who shot Enzo at that obviously illegal poker game like, weeks ago? I’m the first one to criticize awful social and political reforms, but I have to hop on the boat with my mother on this one. Its like nothing even happened. Enzo’s a good person, you know? And this city just keeps getting progressively more dangerous. 

Your mother is welcome to encourage more police training and reduced spending in weapons. Or better funding overall. I’m happy to admit the PHPD can have a nasty habit of moving on when a lead isn’t obvious, too quickly and too soon. 

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Thanks. I definitely prefer it. Metalhead. Rebel. Anarchist. An all around little shit. You ask those thing like you didn’t have a similar phase yourself which would be heartbreaking to hear. Yeah, I’ve… got something fun that’s not a button up or gym top. I’ll just wear that… thing.

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I shouldn’t have stopped dying my hair black. Teenager me had a much more terrifying scary face. I’ll make it work. And miss out on making a bunch of people extremely uncomfortable? I wouldn’t miss it. 

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If we can’t convince a kid, then we know who must’ve gotten to him first. A distributor, a safehouse, a name, a place, a time… anything counts as a step forward at this rate. We could also press to get a warrant to search his phone. If he’s had any communication with the distributor on there, we can use it. 

Triple shot latte, extra foam, sprinkle of cinnamon, right?

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Okay all you, put your scary face on. Speaking of that scary face, I’m planning on drinking at the Crystal Lizard a couple nights in a row. See if Delgado gets antsy or just pissed at cops camping out. That print tracing back to there means it’s at least an occasional drinking spot for criminals. Wanna come?

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So it’s definitely still out there. And active. We could’ve had another death if that had gotten out. Shit. Do you know how his questioning went? Does he already have a record?

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Jesus, how long have you been sitting there with that look on your face? What happened? What did you find?

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Food for thought: when you look for a place to live, don’t move into an apartment complex next to a sport’s bar if you’re a white woman who uses noise complaints liberally. It’s sport’s season, lady. 

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Well ‘I carry the team’ sure is a drastic transition from ‘buy my coffee, maybe?’. I’ll hand it to you though, the sense of direction is a damn welcome change. But if I end up having to spend hours matching the victims’ descriptions of the guy to every single patron who ordered a Modelo in a two day range, it’ll be my turn to accept regular coffee donations. You’re the best, sometimes. I’ll let you know if I find anything. 

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You know what? That is coffee-worthy. I don’t know when you became a wizard, but I’ll take that technically legal magic. It’s a better lead than what I’ve been running up against. Which is zilch. It could be worth it to see if your favorite bartender’s memory could be jogged or if someone else at the bar would know the guy. Please tell me you know what kind of beer it was and that it’s a super obscure brand with a label that’s easily identifiable on, say, security footage, should the bar be willing to lend out the tapes for a police investigation? Please?

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Judging by your smug… everything, I’m guessing that someone’s going to be me. You’re telling me you have the guy’s prints? Shit, maybe you do deserve that coffee. As soon as you explain what ‘a kind of match’ is. 

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Briefly before she got scooped up by the Bureau. Of course the other cops hate her. She wanted to actually help people and do some honest work. Exactly. That’s why I’m figuring we have a tight time limit. Guy has a death wish on multiple fronts. Either he doesn’t know the massive mistake he just made and someone’s going to get to him before us, or he knows exactly what he did and he’s mere hours away from being wheels down in another country. Sudoku is still a puzzle. Just not a puzzle worthy of your itchy brain.

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They’ve been poking their noses in anything and everything without formally taking a single case. I don’t see that changing here. I mean, look at the victims: Xavier’s girlfriend, the other two strippers from the Bare Minimum, Enzo from the Hotel Royale, and the bartender from the Crystal Lizard. The perp fucked with a table populated by members of every shady business attached to a fabled ghost story in town. That’s a mess of a Venn diagram of loyalties. So unless the FBI is here to defeat the global forces of evil in Port Henry once and for all, I don’t think this is exactly what they’re looking for. But it’s a great time to ask questions while everyone’s hovering around the hospital. You, with that much power at your fingertips? But then where would the puzzle be?

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I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say ‘nothing’ in all my time working here. You sure it’s just the caffeine? Cute. The same bartender who was accused of murder? Sucky week for her if it’s all just a coincidence, but I won’t hold my breath. My thoughts are we have a tight time limit to find the perp before they’re gone for good. And anyone who had access to all of those drugs, a gun, and the audacity to steal away with twenty five grand allegedly by themselves is someone I want to see cuffed in the interrogation room. Any news from ballistics? Or information about that gunshot wound? Getting the guy’s height is a better place to start than nowhere.

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