Olivier was sitting on the stairs in front of some house opposite Shelby's carpentry. He put down the newspaper, revealing a thoughtful expression. After sorting out everything he learned he decided that it was time to make a move. He couldn't entirely get rid of his worriers but observing the carpentry was clearly leading nowhere.
Burying his hesitation Olivier finally left. He knew the address of the gendarmery from the newspaper. He asked for the way and only got lost once before reaching his target. The gendarmery of Bell Town was not as big as Olivier had imagined. Apparently, this world didn't place much importance on guards. It was not surprising that they were unable to catch criminals like the Alley Killer.
When Olivier entered, he found himself in a rather large room with a few desks. Some people were working, wearing black uniforms with silver insignias on their chests. In front of Olivier was a half-wall. A sign told civilians to wait here. Olivier complied and it only took a few seconds for one of the workers to approach him. It was a woman in uniform with her black hair bound on top of her head. She had some more badges on her uniform than the others.
"Good day, Sir. How can I help you?"
"Hello. I came to ask you to protect a friend of mine."
The woman furrowed her brows lightly.
"Protect? Sir, we are no privately hired fighters."
"But my friend is in immediate danger! Someone is trying to kill him."
"This obviously changes the situation."
Olivier felt relieved as the woman nodded. Even some of the other people looked over with curiosity.
"If this is true, we will naturally help your friend. Can you tell me his name? What makes you think your friend is in danger? Please explain the situation clearly."
"My friend's name is Sam Hugh. Yesterday he had multiple accidents which almost killed or at least heavily injured him. Then, last night I brought him home. I stayed for a while longer outside as some suspicious figure suddenly appeared. They lit a little stick on fire, clearly intent on setting a fire to the house. When I called out, they dropped the stick and ran away."
The woman had already taken out some paper, noting everything down. But right from the start her expression was somewhat strange. And it didn't improve as Olivier continued.
"Could you describe the suspicious person closer?"
"Well… they are a bit taller than me. They wore a black trench coat and a hat. I only saw a bit of their eyes. They are brown and rather stern. Oh, and I guess the person was about 30 years old."
"Hmm…"
Done writing the woman looked back up, scrutinizing Olivier. After a while she finally spoke:
"Do you have any evidence for your story?"
"Evidence! Yes, there is this!"
Olivier reached for his pocket and retrieved a small wooden stick. One of its ends was black and had clearly been lit on fire.
"A matchstick? Is that it?"
"This was used by the suspicious figure yesterday evening."
"Alright…"
The woman fell silent again. She stared at Olivier while contemplating something. A few seconds later she let out a light sigh, saying:
"Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention, sir. We will look into it."
"Does this mean you will send someone to protect my friend?"
"Sure. After clarifying some details."
"Sorry, but I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. My friend is in real danger. Could you…"
"Sir, I told you we will look into it. If you could please leave the gendarmery now. We have work to do."
"You…"
Olivier realized that these guards didn't take him seriously. He gritted his teeth but what could he do? Letting out a snort he turned around and left.
After sending the civilian away, the woman revealed a thoughtful look. One of her colleagues approached, stopping next to her.
"Dalia, weren't you too dismissive?"
"Perhaps. But that man can't expect us to help when he comes only telling lies."
"Lies?"
"Of course. That story was full of holes. And the evidence? A single matchstick. Everyone can produce something like that."
"But what could his purpose be for doing so?"
"How would I know? I considered interrogating him, but we really don't have the time right now. We are already drowning in work. The Alley Killer is making a fool out of us!"
"That's it!"
Suddenly someone in the back let out a shout. Dalia turned around, eyeing him with her brows raised.
"I just remembered something. Sam Hugh. I thought that name sounded familiar, but now I know why."
"Oh?"
"Sam Hugh was the name of the man we suspected to be the Alley Killer. But we had to let him go. I don't know if it is just a coincidence or if there is a connection."
Dalia fell silent again. It was because of this wrongful accusation that the higher-ups got fed up with Bell Town's gendarmery. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been sent here. She didn't expect the name to pop up again. Perhaps her colleagues weren't entirely wrong before? Perhaps there was indeed something strange about this Sam Hugh…
Olivier didn't know what Dalia was thinking. He left the gendarmery cursing inwardly. He thought he would take a huge step forward only to run into a wall. Evidence? Someone's life was in danger! How could the gendarmery remained so cold-blooded? They reminded him of…
A chill ran down Olivier's spine. He didn't dare to continue the thought. These old memories should remain buried never to see the light of day again. The danger couldn't reach him anymore.
Olivier deliberately put his attention elsewhere, studying his surroundings as he hurried up. He still found it difficult to orient himself in this new world. Earlier, as he asked for the way he deliberately mentioned that he knew a bit of the area around the river. Although he might be taking a detour this way, Olivier didn't mind. Now after a few minutes he was back at the spot where he saved Sam yesterday. From here it was easier to find the carpentry. Crossing the main street, passing Sam's home…
Suddenly Olivier stopped. He was surprised to realize that Sam was already returnign home. Olivier frowned recalling the clock hanging in the gendarmery. Barely half a day had passed. Were people in this world working so little? Such strange customs…
Olivier inwardly shook his head, but something strange happened. After looking at Sam for a few seconds his eyes of truth reacted and showed the man's information.
[Inerxtal ???
Lifespan: 32,5/???
Origin: ???,???
Status: ???]
"What's going on?"
Olivier couldn't help but ask aloud. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Why did the information look so much like the hunter's? Could it be…
Upon a closer look there were instead discrepancies. Although the person looked very much like Sam there were small abnormalities. His face was a bit younger with less signs of hardship. The beard was too short. The man's shirt was too white. And was there a tattoo peeking out on the man's shoulder?
Olivier was confused. So, was this man really the hunter? Was he donning some exquisite disguise? But if that was the case, why didn't the man hide his tattoo?
There was no time to look for answers. Under Olivier's watch the hunter began to fiddle with the door to Sam's home. Olivier had an ominous premonition. His thoughts were turning quickly. Should he call out again? Would the hunter run away? Should he chase?
The door opened. Olivier had to make a snap decision. Without overthinking it he crossed the street and stopped the door from closing again. He entered the building behind the murderer.
Olivier's chest tightened and his body rebelled. But he had to suppress it. Just don't be suspicious! Walking along the hallway Olivier saw the murderer stop at the third door to the left. He continued advancing.
"Hey Sam."
"Hi."
A short exchange. Olivier passed the hunter and approached the stairs. He went up and turned around. There was a wooden railing to his left. Olivier squatted down and peeked through the gaps, observing the murderer with bated breath.
The murderer didn't seem to hold any suspicion. In fact, looking closely Olivier could see the nervousness on the man's face. His hands were shaking as he fiddled with the lock. But he still proved quite skilful. It only took two seconds until the lock opened with a click.
Watching the murderer enter the room, Olivier's heart beat wildly. What was he doing? From the way he targeted this room Olivier was sure that this was where Sam lived. Was the murderer setting a trap? Was he hiding somewhere in the room? This would be great! Maybe Olivier could convince Sam to gather some of the neighbours and face the murderer together. If the murderer could be apprehended, Olivier would have more than enough time to look for the anchor.
Unfortunately, Olivier's hopes were shattered the next moment as the murderer left the room. Olivier balled his fists. He didn't know what the murderer had been doing but he was quite sure that there was now a danger hidden, waiting for Sam. What now? Should he wait and warn Sam?