Conversation · Sylvie

"Hey, Sylvie, it's the police again."

"Oh, great." She doesn't sound thrilled. "What else do you need, detective?"

"I must have had some sort of official police documents on me. Do you know where they could be?"

"I, ugh... the ones I had to wrench out of your toilet?"

"I put them in my toilet?"

"Yes. You put something there. Causing bad water damage in the kitchen. I think it was that."

"What happened to them?"

"I... dammit, I don't remember what I did to your damn papers! I don't remember every little thing I do..." Resentment gives way to concern in her voice.

She's worried she might have accidentally done something bad. Then she remembers it's you.

"Especially when there's a hurricane loose. It's your fault for losing them -- not mine."

Something in you wants to immediately forget about this. As if there was a reason you threw them away.

"You quit your job at the Whirling -- why?"

"You mean why did I leave the bar?" You can hear her tense up on the other side. "Honestly, I'm... not really comfortable discussing it with you, sir."

Why not?

"Okay. Did you leave because of Garte?"

"What?" She stops abruptly. "No, why would you even think that?!"

"He told me he asked you out. Are you saying it didn't happen?"

"Please don't bring Garte into this, it's none of your business!"

"God, why can't you just mind your own business..." she mutters.

"I already said I don't want to talk about this! You're messing everything up again!"

"Sylvie, don't be afraid of that pig. You have to stand up for yourself!"

"So you do agree that quitting your job just because someone asked you out is an overreaction?"

"Wait, why aren't you comfortable discussing it with me?"

"I, uh..." The static wavers. "Let's just say I left because I needed to get away from someone."

"Alright, I won't push you on this. Are you ever coming back to work?" (Conclude.)

"Maybe, I don't know..." She seems to relax a little bit. "I just know I have to take some time off right now."

"Get away from whom?"

"You know whom."

You think you hear a sliver of accusation in her words.

Don't be paranoid, she's obviously talking about someone else, not you.

"You mean me? You needed to get away from me?"

"I really don't want to talk about this. Let's just forget about this, okay?"

"Do you know how my paperwork ended up in the trash container behind the Whirling?"

"Well." There's an uncomfortable pause. "You tried to jam it down the toilet, sir, clogging it completely. After I had unclogged the toilet and retrieved the paperwork I threw it out in the trash, thinking you didn't need it."

"I am sorry about that." She doesn't sound like she's actually that sorry. "Anything else, detective?"

"I think I got everything I need, thanks." [End call.]

You hear the call breaking up on the other end of the radio and then the already familiar voice:

"Anything else I can help you with, officer?"

"I do hope so. Please don't call me again. Bye." She's ready to hang up.

Wait, why does she seem angry with you?

Yes. You have obviously done something to upset her -- at the Whirling-in-Rags, when she was still working there.

"Wait, before you go... You're mad at me, right? Tell me, what did I do? I can't remember anything."

"I'm not mad, it's just..." The static sighs again. "You were so drunk and so emotional all the time, and then the skua thing happened. It just made me want to quit."

"But... when I spoke to Garte it seemed like he thought you left because of him."

"Wait, really? No, this is absolutely not true. I like Garte, I really do."

"Didn't he cross a line when he asked you out?"

"No, I was actually flattered, I've always liked him. It was just bad timing... with the corpse and all that."

There's a pause. You can almost see her on the other side, the telephone cord coiled around her index.

"I didn't know what to say to him later. Then you came and destroyed the place. So I left without explaining. I should have told him maybe..."

"I can tell him." (Accept.)

"Okay, but... please don't mess it up. Please don't take out your gun or something."

"Understood." (Refuse task)

"Right. Well... Are we almost done now, officer?"

"So you're telling me that I was the one who made you want to quit?"

"Yes, obviously. You were the worst client I've ever seen. And I have seen so many assholes in this place..."

"I've had sailors fighting, Union guys grabbing my ass, kids stealing booze. Once a guy was glued to the karaoke machine every night for two months. But you..." She pauses.

"Go on. I want to know what I did."

"Well... You were worse than all of them. Honestly, you were getting borderline aggressive."

"Even about little things, like not turning down the volume at 3 AM. I even liked one of those songs you kept listening to on repeat. No more. I hate it now."

"Right. Was that all?"