Double Trouble

Vincent drove the man all the way to his house. It was a long round trip, he would probably reach his house faster on foot through the withering lavender field, but Eugene did not complain. In the end, it would be quite an unpleasant walk, with some time wasted in the park one on one with various thoughts. For now, he wanted to fall asleep and leave everything to his tomorrow self.

"Thank you." said his regards Eugene and Vincent vanished in the streets of town that were glaring in amber lights of the sunset, despite it being only 7 pm. At that moment, Eugene remembered Arnold's plea for the man to return home, however, he was away for way longer than he expected. Perhaps, the old man was already preparing the café for closure. And Eugene was not eager to talk about the la Avise family again, either. Thus, he strolled into the building he called home and reached his door.

Inside, was awaiting another surprise that erased the melancholy from his soul and filled his mind with rage. In the living room, right above the small cupboard, instead of a painting that Jessie recommended him to get, was displayed a small black origami of a bird. It was nailed to the same spot where the painting was put.

"Are you fucking serious!?" exclaimed Eugene and sat on the sofa. Then, he immediately stood up and rushed to his gramophone on the windowsill. Luckily, his disk collection as well as the gramophone remained intact, although those held more value than a painting.

Eugene reached out for the phone to call someone, he dialed the number and waited. But no beeps came to his handset, it was silent as if it was threatened by a burglar. Of course, that was impossible, considering phones are non-living entities, but the culprit for sure did some manipulations with it, with the wire to be precise. On the first glance, everything seemed fine, but upon closer investigation, Eugene noticed that the wire's isolation was bulkier around the middle part. A tape was wound around it, and once the man unwounded the whole thing, the wire appeared to be cut in half. At once, Eugene dropped the handset on the floor and rushed back outside. His place of destination was Monso Rooster, he still had time until its closing.

"I can't even feel like shit in peace, this goddamn Cormorant!"

This instance was for sure a boost to his blood flow, never he had expected to be robbed so blatantly and during the day. And of course, it was bound to happen on the same day when he had beef with the family of aristocrats. Truly an unfortunate situation, but at least, it made him move forward without experiencing an expected depression.

For the reasons why he headed directly to Monso Rooster and not to the local police station, he wanted to notify Arnold about this instance first and convince him to hide his painting, notify Christopher, as well as hear the story that Arnold had with the la Avise family. Although the last reason was more so buried in his soul and was actively blocked by the mind.

When mere steps were left until the fancy threshold of Monso Rooster, Eugene slowed down his pace and observed the scene in disbelief. Several police officers were present at the café, not for the coffee break, but rather to investigate the crime scene. The display window of the café was shattered, but more importantly, the sizable, grand painting "Prussian Attack at Plancenoit" was not present on the wall. Instead, a lone and tiny in comparison to the ghost mark of the painting, a black cormorant figure was dangling from a nail.

Eugene's face was pale as a chalk, he backed off a little and nearly fell on his back. Fortunately, one of the police officers noticed his ill being and caught the man just in time. Eugene was pushed back to his feet, and when he turned, the police officer said, "Oh, Eugene, where were you at this time?"

"Are you asking to get my alibi?"

The officer laughed and answered, "If you were guilty, that would be one hell of a prank! But your face tells me that this situation is as big of a surprise as it is for us. Arnold, your unpolished gem is here!"

After a short while, from the entrance door peeked an old man, whose grey hair looked even lighter than a few hours ago. His expression was surprisingly calm, however, the red scratch marks on his neck told the opposite story. 

Arnold silently called Eugene inside with a nod. The man shook the hand of a police officer, thanked him and followed his boss. Several people sat behind tables that were further away from the window. Several glass shards were scattered across the room, on the floor and tables. The one picking them up were Jessie, who did not even notice Eugene's arrival, and workers from neighbouring establishments. The ones who sat did not have any cups of coffee, their tables were empty, eyes full of disbelief and anger, they all were directed at a single police officer that positioned himself in front of the occupied tables.

"Who are they?" asked Eugene, to which the police officer replied, "Do you recognize any of these gentlemen, Eugene?"

The man glanced over them in silence. They all were well-dressed and whispered to each other in French. Two out of five men had big rectangular cases, a similar one he saw in the art institution of the University of Seine. Those two could potentially be citizens of the town, however, Eugene recognized neither of them. The remaining trio was a dark forest as well.

"No, what the hell happened here?"

"Obviously a robbery!" exclaimed Jessie, finally turning her gaze at the man. Eugene narrowed his brows and said, "Obviously! But you two were here, how the hell did it happen?"

Eugene turned to Arnold with this question. The old man only sighed silently and averted his gaze to the police officer.

"If they were accomplices, I doubt they would just stand here like deer on the road. We already questioned young men and learnt nothing, let them go, Eustass."

"I am sorry, but we really have to check their background before releasing them." said the police officer, to which an uproar of whines spread across the cafe.

"Oh, come on! The old man already said that we are in the clear!"

"I would never steal someone else's piece of art!"

"We are just wasting time here!"

Their protest was justified, but Eugene could not help but to be annoyed by this sudden noise. As if reading his mind, Arnold agreed with the man's thought by saying, "Well, if you want to further question them, then take those brats to the damn police station! Get lost from my cafe!"

After Arnold's motivational words, the café indeed became quieter. Lousy men were escorted by Eustass, however, other officers remained in the café to help with clean up and fencing of the crime scene. Jessie quit cleaning with the increase of helping hands, and leaned on the table with a groan to bethink the situation. Arnold also stood across the room, silently observing the once harmonious interior by the tunes of Jazz that were diligently played in the gramophone.

Eugene came up to his boss and asked once again, "How did cormorant rob you in the broad daylight?"

"Flawlessly."

"This is not what I am asking, damn it! Jessie, how did it happen?"

The woman groaned once again, lazily turned her head to the man and said, "It happened about an hour after you left. We had an influx of clients, which was quite hard to deal with without you. I barely recognized anyone there, just some art students. Everyone was served their cup of coffee and all became quiet, until the window shattered!" She pointed at the display window and then slowly rotated it across the whole premise, "Everyone panicked, several clients were cut with glass shards, but they were also too dumbfounded to do anything. The one who rushed outside, though, was Arnold. He ran after kids who likely threw the rock at the window."

"I was not able to catch them." added Arnold.

"Then, some people went outside, either to look around or seek medical help. And while I was pulling glass shards out of Marguerite's hair, someone stole the painting and left that stupid figurine. And when Arnold returned, only those five you saw earlier remained in the café."

Eugene gritted his teeth, came closer to the figure of the cormorant, but did not have the guts to rip it into pieces. But, this instance actually made him remember the similar scenery that happened at his place. Phantom Cormorant robbed two places on the same day, which was unprecedented. As Eugene strolled towards a police man that was collecting the smallest shards from the floor, he was stopped by Arnold.

"So, Eugene, would you like to know about the la Avise family?"

Eugene fulmintantly turned to his boss with his eyes nearly rolling over the eye orbits. His example followed everyone present. In the end, the la Avise family is still a big mystery in this town, and even the slightest bits of information excited the minds of many. Although Eugene was amongst those many, he was not taken aback by this sudden opportunity, but rather the tranquillity of Arnold's words.

"Why are you so calm, Arnold? Your café is in shambles and your painting was stolen!"

"Choose Eugene. Now or never."

Eugene glared at the man for a minute, then looked around to notice approving expressions of those who sat around, and finally his eyes returned to his boss. After another round of thought, he decided that it was his only way to potentially fix the relationship with Sylvia, although the timing for this instance was wild.

"Fine, for goodness's sake, promise to check your head afterwards. Alright, Arnold?"

"Mine head was not in its right place for longer than you were alive, young man. Come to the kitchen, I will tell you everything."