Once Upon A Dewdrop

ɪɴᴛʀɪɢᴜɪɴɢ

All of the customers had finally departed. It was around 11:30 in the morning, closing to noon when the morning shift ended. The manager of Stardust Cafe had to bid every single customer a customary smile and goodbye, followed by a 'Come again!' cheery remark. She soon flipped the sign to a close, before nearing the waiting acquiantance. 

"Your looks have changed compared to earlier, I believe you're here to talk to me about matters more important than us catching up?" She questions, partly hoping her intuition was incorrect.

"It's a side-reason, Dew. The other authorities will eventually publicize the news soon enough in posters." he smiled, "But if you want to hear it now, I'd be glad to tell you." Leejay's voice was rather softer as he clasped his hands on top of the table. "Frankly, I came here to meet you... with an agenda given to me by Senior Inspector Braum Bane." unfortunately, that part had to be added.

 "Go ahead, tell me about it. You know me Silverstone, I'm not the type to panic." -- 'Not outwardly of course...' Then Dew smiled at the man with a reassuring expression. She also felt the need to take off her green apron, just so the conversation would be more-- right, more formal.

The ticking clock and the jazzy blues being played on the amplifier was all the noise they could hear inside Stardust Cafe. Well, there was also the barking of dogs, chirping of the birds, and the humming of coffee machinery.

"When I got transfered here at Asahi District a few months ago, I asked my Seniors to hand me any unsolved murder cases they have, the usual. However, nobody seemed to be entertaining me, and I couldn't use my connections to do so because they me see as a newbie." began Leejay with his eyebrows furrowed. "I figured that I might just be unlucky, so I tried befriending the locals, but all I get where compliments for 'keeping the city safe'."

Clearly, Leejay Silverstone still had his misfortunes, thought Dew who became an unprecendented listening ear to the ranting inspector. She can feel her feet shifting away from the conversation, but stopped after hearing the man's next words.

"There's no thrill here at Asahi, but recently I got a letter,  something to crack open, so I figured I'd visit you instead since you mentioned two years ago that you were acquainted with the landlord of particular street in this District written on the letter." Leejay looked expectant, and surely he knows how to make his delivery appealing to Dew Eleanore. 

"Oh~." A short chortle escaped her lips upon noticing the shift on Leejay's voice when he began narrating his important quest at Asahi. She leaned on the table, but not too close that it would make her seem informal and rude, just the type of position to relax, "I don't owe you an explanation, but deary why would you involve a civilian in that issue?"

Dew was not yet done talking, "We were having personal shuzzbutts, that's why we're all out. You are inconveniencing me."

"Ah, that," Leejay smiled. It was written in the letter, but Dew did not open it yet, so he just explained instead; "The 30-day case for Mentis is for a future project. Years ago, there was a rumor that the locals began migrating from Mentis to other districts due to a series of murders."

Mentis Case 71. Dew quickly recognized what unsolved murder case Leejay was discussing, despite omitting the specifics, the mention of an incomplete project in relation to murders was an easy clue. 

The Stardust Cafe owner quickly leans back from her chair, disguising her movement as a back ache. She knew that if she kept entertaining Silverstone, she would soon be digging her own grave.

The inspector continued explaining the case to the girl before her, as he notices that he is getting her piqued. "But after the Chief Inspector's recent visit a few weeks ago, we found out that the citizens of Mentis that tried leaving the border had all died in an ambush. The Governor plans to make it up to Mentis, by re-opening the case  to see what the government can provide to the territory, be it infrastructures, protection, money to help the families who remained , and anything the landlord asks." 

Her smile never faded and stayed until Leejay was finished explaining the contents of the letter, actually she was glad he did, because she feeling a little lazy opening the said letter - reminds of her the paperworks she memorized from the Southern Hellhole, or so they call it. "It's not like I can't help you, but a higher authority always calls for danger. Thank you for coming here." She stated before moving away - standing up, craning her neck from side to side to relax her shoulder and neck muscles. "And the other reason?"

This was when Leejay's lips shut tightly. "Inspector Braum Bane... has gone missing," he informed, "His name was suddenly marked red in the lists of officers. Usually when that happens, an officer has either retired, or died. To make sure if he had resigned, we visited the Bane residence but..." a pause.

Dew Eleanor had no idea who Inspector Braum Bane was, but of course she does not want to appear insensitive when it comes to the topic of death. The cliffhanger that Silverstone gave her, made her feel uncomfortable but perhaps Leejay was also wondering, thinking, contemplating even as to what really happened to his Senior Inspector. "What did they find out?"

"We were told that Senior Inspector was in their household a couple hours back. It sounded fishy, so we decided to send off a spy to check on them. But that spy never returned... and Senior Braum's whereabouts are still unknown." Leejay squeezed his own hands, "As if... someone doesn't want to let us learn about information that our inspector discovered." 

"What do you say? It sounds exciting right?" Leejay's overall tone changed, his pupils constricting almost cat-like, his shoulders rising and falling in the process.

Silence engulfed the cafe, the surrounding noises filled the air, and if not for a ping from the coffee machine Dew would have ended up staring at Leejay Silvertone. "Inspector, I'm nothing but a mere business owner. I do not understand why you're approaching me this way. If you're doing this because you think I did something against the law..." her voice trailed off as if she was holding back her tears.

Leejay was caught off guard, quickly standing up straight, before waving his arms in front of him. He shouldn't have assumed spouted all those things just because he wants to solve a murder case - assuming that Braum Bane is truly dead.

He trusted her so much that he couldn't resist telling her before the news broke out, so he started to bite his inner lip. He looked down for a moment until a smile suddenly beamed on his face, "right, I may have overstayed. I forgot that you no longer wanted to be involved in these matters. Forget everything I said. Have a nice day." 

As the bell chimes finished singing goodbye to the young inspector, Dew Eleanore was left leaning by the countertop, fingers tapping on the glassy surface as if she was considering the offer.