The Cases of George Alpha #3 - Stolen Spirits

Puzzler

The puzzle involving Leroy and Travis was weighing on my mind that evening. It bothered me that there were pieces missing and I was unable to complete it, but I did not doubt that somehow they were part of one and the same jigsaw.

I was dedicated to solving each puzzle that crossed my path. In fact, my love for puzzling was so big that after solving real-life ones during the day, I enjoyed doing actual jigsaws on my evenings off. The process of searching out the tiny cardboard pieces that visually fit with others was very soothing, helped me to unwind and clear my mind. Puzzling had been a part of my life for so long that I had even created a separate room for it in my appartment, aptly named the Puzzle room.

I walked up the three flights of stairs to my apartment, unlocked the door and hung my coat on the hanger. I removed the Ability box from my suit jacket and the gun from its holster, both of which I stored safely inside a locked drawer in the living room cupboard before I slipped into my favorite evening-at-home attire, T-shirt and sweatpants.

With a slice of day-old pizza heating in the oven, I stepped out on to my little balcony to sniff the city air. I lived on Gravel Road, a four lane street bustling with people and cars during the day, but luckily quiet at night. At seven in the evening traffic had not yet fully died down and the crisp city air I was looking for consisted mainly of diesel fumes and hot dog smells rising up from below.

I turned and leaned against the balcony railing, looking at my small living room. My two-seater Chesterfield couch in pale leather faced the balcony window, a low wooden table in front of it. A single cupboard lined the wall, two finished jigsaw puzzles hung above it, like paintings. Center piece of the room was the darkbrown table with four chairs, three more than I strictly required. While I had a tiny table in the kitchen as well, which would do for a slice of pizza, breakfast was always taken in the more airy living room so I could leaf comfortably through the newspaper.

It was an apartment for one, my walhalla of peace and quiet. I liked it that way, but sometimes it could get a bit lonely. Not for the first time, I doubted if I shouldn't get myself a pet, a hamster perhaps, something to keep me company but also easy enough to keep alive. I pondered this throughout dinner, after which I cleaned up and headed to the Puzzle room.

My special room had a large flat table in the center where the jigsaw was being assembled, and two smaller tables to the right hand side, used for spreading out the pieces. I was currently working on a ten thousand piece nude model, of which I had an estimated two thousand parts in place. Once it was finished I would glue it on a plate and hang it on the wall in my bedroom.

Before settling down, I poured myself a snifter of thirty year old Ol'Finney, a very expensive but smooth brandy, with a touch of smoke and wood. I swirled it around in the glass, taking in the aromas, instantly relaxing. After putting on a record of Maryworth's classical symphonies, loud, I sat down at the puzzle table and started an evening of focused belly button assembly.