The Second Lie

xXx Crysis Theatre, 32 Green Star Avenue, 8:35 A.M

Dan and Edwin arrived, and Dan parked his car. They walked toward the theatre, but their path was blocked by the head of the Scarlet Claw, a team of specially trained people who safeguard the Crysis family.

"Greetings, Matilda." Dan stated.

Matilda Bright was 178cm tall with long scarlet hair that was braided, her face was carved, her cheekbones were clearly visible, and her chin was slightly cleft, her eyes were a beautiful blue, and even though she didn't have visible muscles, she was strong. Her shoulders were broad, and she was a medium build, her bust was around a C-cup. "I just came down to say hi." She stated in a medium-tone voice with an angelic inflection.

"Are you sure you're not here to ask about Damien?" Edwin asked with a wink.

Matilda blushed. "He's a handsome young fellow, I don't mind waiting for him to get a place of his own before we start getting serious. By the way, you're here to meet with Isaac. I must warn you though, the man is quite the handful." She winked in return and then she used her parkour skills to make her way up the theatre and onto the roof. She was amazingly athletic; she must have been a trapeze artist in a prior life.

Dan and Edwin walked into the theatre. The main area had tables with scarlet red tablecloths and atop them were dark blue chairs turned upside down. There was a stage with poles and some cages hanging up either side of a centre walkway. They were gold.

There was a microphone stand at a different stage and there was a bar on the far side of the interior. There was also a door that had a sign above it that read: "To movie screen and snacks" with arrows pointing down.

"Why were the doors unlocked if this place looks like its closed?" Dan asked.

"Well," stated a dark yet theatrical voice. "Someone named David Lancer called down to interview me."

David Lancer and a taller man with a tattoo of a lady with her breasts exposed on his left arm, a short sleeved white top with a barman's apron and a silver tie tucked beneath it, long skinny blue jeans entered from the staircase on the other side of the room.

"My goodness." Daniel announced. He went to the bar and got some paper towels and proceeded to cover the tattoo. "Do you not have any decency?"

"My place, my rules." The man announced and removed the paper towels.

"Who are you anyway?" Dan inquired, looking directly at the man's eyes so not to look at the woman.

"I am Isaac Crysis, owner of this establishment. I know who you are, pig. You're Daniel Smith." Isaac stated.

"Pig is more of an American term for law officers." Dan stated.

"Shall I remind you, my place, my rules?"

"David, did you get anything out of this guy?" Dan inquired, looking toward David.

"I did my best, I even used my signature stare, all he did was joke around and try to distract me with that tattoo, who the hell does this guy think I am? When I wish to see a lady nude, I actually charm them naked, mays as well challenge yourself." David noted.

"I would endorse that." Dan stated. "I did the basic same thing with Elizabeth, and now we have four children."

"So, I want to know why the blue shirt convention decided to throw a surprise party here." Isaac interjected.

"Surely, you must know. David must have asked you." Dan replied.

"I wasn't paying attention; I was too busy with my business and trying to find a dirty joke that would at least put a smile on Mr. grumpypants' face."

"I'm more mature than you think, besides, I've grown used to the humour down in Argentina; so, if you wanted to make me laugh, you should have at least tried saying a joke in Spanish." David retorted.

"Do you know why we make a visit before business hours?" Dan inquired.

"I assume it's about some sort of crime? Look, I know what goes on around here, I ain't as stupid as I look. If something wrong occurred, I'd be one of the first to know, you know, since I'm Don Crysis. Godfather of the EED Mafia." Isaac relayed.

"We are well aware of that," Edwin stated. "That's why we had Marvin come down and change your ways."

Isaac did the cross gesture. "Oh, yes, the poor boy. I'm sorry to have heard what happened, although, I do have to wonder where that wig came from."

"Wig? You mean in the photo on the paper?" David inquired.

"No, the one the dead cat in the trash can was wearing." Isaac retorted sarcastically. "Of course, I'm talking about the one that's in the photo. He wasn't wearing one when I saw him this morning."

"Did you happen to go to the alleyway between 97 and 99 Carvaladis Avenue this morning?" Dan inquired.

"Of all men that have ever been in my presence, you are of few who had the braveness and audacity to cover up my tattoo in my establishment, and I respect that. As such, I will tell you everything I saw this morning at 3:00 A.M, when I saw Vincent Marlow's dead corpse." Isaac stated.

"You saw him at 3:00 A.M? Why were you there? I would like the full story if you don't mind."

"I got a call from an anonymous fellow who spoke like he was trying to imitate a low functioning robot; he said that one of my boys was causing some trouble in that alley. Since it was so far, my local fellows wouldn't have been able to provide me with more details about who it was or what they were doing, so I had no choice but to check it out. When I arrived, I saw Vincent laying there dead, it sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to fall to my knees and cry as if he were a child of mine taken too soon from the world. However, before I could process my grief, I heard a police siren wailing and I dashed off because of how it would look if an officer spotted Don Crysis next to a dead body. They'd think I did it. The scene looked almost like it did in the paper, just darker cause it happened early in the morning and without him wearing that ridiculous wig."

"You didn't touch the crime scene or see anything?"

"No, of course not. Vincent was my friend. His loss still hurts me, I'm doing my best, but there's not enough booze, tits and bushes in the world that can fill this void." He began to cry.

Dan held him and patted him on the back. "It's okay."

David helped Kevin back to his feet. "You could have just told me that, instead of just ignoring me."

"Well, one of my rights is that I can choose to remain silent. This ain't a court of law where I have to tell the whole truth." Isaac stated smugly. "Besides, it wouldn't be fun if I revealed my cards from the get-go, I didn't respect you enough to do that, but I do now."

"You sure know how to flip a switch." Dan noted.

"I own a business that deals in legally approved adult entertainment, it's just part of the job. I will cry for Vincent from time to time. He helped us see the error in the ways of organized crime. He pushed us to make a difference, and I hope there will never be a day where I forget to honour his passing. That's how important he was to me." Isaac explained.

"You don't mind staying in town until we sort this affair out, right?" Dan inquired.

"Anything for a man I respect." Isaac gave a bow. "Now if you don't mind, I have some unsavoury stains to clean up before we open at 2." He stated and he walked away.

The three men cringed before making their way outside.

"David, what are your thoughts, do you still consider Isaac a candidate for the culprit?" Edwin inquired.

"You know, captain, after that sob story I'm willing to believe he is innocent, Daniel?"

"I do believe he told us all he could, and that he isn't responsible for anything. But I know one person who will at least try and twist the narrative." Daniel noted.

David and Edwin nodded in agreement.

"So where to next Daniel?" Edwin inquired.

"We should go to Lupain casino, and after that, Hyence Corner, I heard that a homeless man made the report, and we'll have questions for him. You will take the wheel and I'll get an analysis of the footage for that alley over the last year, and I'll do some statistics and see if anything was particularly odd about that night."

"Yeah, you better do the math. I still have nightmares about the C I got in 11th grade."

Dan laughed and they entered Dan's car. "Don't laugh." Edwin stated. "It was quite traumatic."

"My apologies, I shouldn't make fun about something your uncomfortable with, besides, I only started getting straight As in high school. I have a low D on record in grade 5." Dan stated.

"You don't have nightmares about that?"

"Off course not. I would never let something so trivial bring my mood down." Dan nodded.

Edwin smiled and laughed. "You know, you're right, my thing is funny now that I think about it." He then began driving the car.

"See. You just needed to learn to laugh about it to overcome it." Dan said with a smile. With that they were on their way.