Midnight Gathering

The tiny kitchen of Dagaz' household was overflown with people, Vera's sight was switching from one point of interest to the other, eventually she caught a towel mid-flight that was accidentally pushed off the counter by Garland. The place was her sanctuary, reminiscent of a painter's office, thus her nervousness was to be expected when a broken plate was just a matter of time.

And while Vera played the role of mother hen, looking over her nest, the other three people were in debate over a small jar filled with cream-brown coffee beans. It had been opened and the bitterness of coffee along with the sweetness of licorice were enveloping the room. However, one person was doubtful about the source of the lesser aroma.

Garland took out a pinch of coffee and put it on the table as if he was seasoning steak with salt. Aside to particles of coffee, there was also a dust like particles which were lighter in colour. He gently stroked the coffee with his finger to spread it around the table and began his explanation.

"It might be hard to tell, but this dust mixed with coffee is way too fine for it to be licorice. Usually, licorice grind is coarser than this."

"Usually, but not always! For example, Arnold is able to grind this fine even nutmeg!" exclaimed Eugene his point to which Garland nodded but retaliated.

"And there are not this many pedantic people as Arnold. It would take way too much effort. Moreover, the aroma of such strong spices would only increase, but here," he took a sniff and outstretched this pinch of spice to Eugene and Sylvia "It is way too weak. Anise fits the description far better than licorice."

"So far, your argumentation is rather poor, Eugene. Moreover, it makes sense for anise to be used in this case. Anise contains a chemical called anethole, which is a rather rare allergen, but glycyrrhizine contained in licorice is anti-allergic. Since both these chemicals give off identical flavour, it is fairly easy to mask one another. The allergen should also be common knowledge in the medical card, meaning medical staff has easier access to it." stated Sylvia, who up to this point remained silent, despite being the one to announce anise as an important piece of evidence.

"How would you even know it?..." said Eugene and lowered his head in regret, his thoughts were deep in sorrow and did not let any words further exit from his mouth. Vera shrugged due to cold atmosphere that formed in a room, all she could do from this point forward is to cast her sight from one person to another in search of an answer. As soon as Eugene moved towards the small table to have a sit beside it, Vera tried to reassure him.

"What is the matter, Eugene? This is not such big of a deal, is not it? Marco must have just mixed up the spices. In the end, only knowledgable people would notice the difference." She glanced over Garland, who nodded nervously.

That's essentially right, the gift that was given to their family by Marco Garcia, Christopher's colleague and close friend, was this jar of aromatized coffee. Marco was not particularly knowledgable about this coffee, in the end, he never worked in this industry and all he could possibly learn stemmed from Christopher. He might have indeed mixed up the ingredients, or perhaps the vendor tricked him by selling a cheaper anise under the amplua of licorice. But this scanty probability of Marco poisoning Christopher on purpose scared him regardless, especially when the weight of emerald pupils pressed on him.

Eugene jerked his head and met with Sylvia's gaze, who was observing him and patiently waiting for him to break the barrier of silence.

"Sylvia…" he murmured in half whisper, still doubtful about this idea, "If Marco has Christopher's medical card, he is confirmed to be a culprit?"

Garland and Vera exchanged shocked gazes, they stood silently and just listened to what the unfazed woman, Sylvia, had to say.

"Well deduced. At least for now, he is my main culprit, and the card might prove his guilt."

Eugene clenched his teeth and exclaimed, "Thats bullshit! He wo-"

But at once, he got interrupted by a doorbell. At first, the company did not realize it was a call to their house, but then another bell rang and quite assertively. They all exited the kitchen to Vera's relief, and the four of them ended up in the hallway. Vera peeked into the peephole and mumbled, "Oh my!" Onwards, she opened the door and made a step back to let in unexpected guests.

In front of them stood 2 policemen who were holding onto a peculiar individual. He wore quite an exquisite suit, although it was tattered a little, his usually neatly trimmed hair was messy, and the face was decorated with some drunkards attributes like a black eye and a broken lip. This individual was Douglas, whom Eugene has not seen for a few days.

"Douglas! Holy shit, it's you!"

"Oh, Eugene!" for a split second the man smiled, but soon after it dropped along with the gaze to the ground. He stood like that as long as the policemen pushed him inside. And after they did so, the two of them said their fairwells and were about to leave, but were suddenly stopped by Eugene.

"Wait, your help with this case won't hurt."

"I am sorry, Monsieur, but it is way past our working shift. We will hear you out tomorrow." and at such, they disappeared without a trace.

"Useless as ever…" Sylvia crossed her hands and sighed in displeasure.

"Eugene, Vera!" exclaimed Douglas while raising his eyes which were full of tears. "I am so sorry about Christopher, it just happened so suddenly! I did not know what to do, someone hit me! And the next thing I remember, I was taken to the police station. I swear to God, there was nothing I could do!"

Vera shook her head and kind-heartedly said, "Do not worry, there was not much you could do. We are glad that you are safe yourself."

Immediately after her words, his tears stopped and a smile once again rose on his face. Douglas nodded lightly and entered the living room while saying, "Thank you, also, do you happen to have some evening snack? I am feeling a bit peckish from all the talk with the police."

"I will bring you food right away, hopefully you like duck." energetically said Vera and rushed to the kitchen. She was followed by Garland, who added, "Although it is late evening, but I will brew you a cup of coffee. It seems a long night is awaiting."

"Oh, Gar... land? You are here as well! And also…" he looked at Sylvia and raised his brow in interest, "And who are you, Madam?"

Afterwards, he stood up and outstretched his hand while bowing a little. Sylvia, though, did not give out her palm, her eyes switched a few times between his face and hand, and she announced.

"My name is irrelevant as of now, the task at hand is more important. I would like you to tell us everything regarding the incident in the bar "Samuel"."

"Not walking around the bush, huh?" grinned Douglas dramatically, which would be much more charming if his black eye did not stand in the way. With a sideways glance, he noticed Eugene holding his breath to not laugh from his rather comical attitude. Douglas, unpleasantly clicked with his tongue, sat back by the table and declared.

"I will tell everything, but not before filling my stomach. So I am scared you have to wait for a brief while."

Both Sylvia and Eugene squinted at him, however, only the woman was about to protest, but the man stopped her, feeling tactful. In the end, Douglas was one of the victims that suffered from the attack in the bar. It would be better to keep him in great condition, to possibly increase his ability of remembrance.

Thus, the room was overfilled with awkward silence and small chats, while Douglas was enjoying his meal. Due to his table manners being far above the common folk, he ate quite pedantically and finished his meal only after 20 minutes or so. He actually insisted on finishing his coffee as well, but his request was denied by everyone involved, although some were silent about it. Douglas was not the only one to receive a cup of coffee, Garland shared with everyone, putting them into equal position and as a result less opportunity for Douglas to nitpick their refusal.

Soon enough, he started the gruesome story about the shooting incident in a bar of politicians. Truly a perfect story for midnight gathering that was uncalled-for just a few hours ago. Usually, it would be a thrilling experience for Eugene, alas, the seriousness of the situation blocked his from imagining false details. In the end, his brother's life was on the line and as such, he had to listen attentively to what the only witness has to say regarding the incident. Some aspects of what was told were obviously exaggerated to make it more dramatic for the listeners, but the general essence was clear to everyone, especially those who knew Douglas quite well. But the whole story went as such...