Conversation · Smoker on the Balcony

"Gendarmerie! You found me." The young man on the balcony gives you a bright smile, before taking another drag from his cigarette.

His slender figure is backlit by city lights, its distant streets and motorways flashing like diamonds...

It feels like a Friday. He seems to be in a good mood tonight.

And his shirt is still unbuttoned.

"I found a key hidden under a stone. Was it yours?" (Show him the key.)

"It was mine. My friends use it from time to time to visit me." As he looks at you, something sparkles in his eyes.

"So tell me, are you here to make things right again?"

"That's what I'm aiming for, yes."

"Beautiful," he says again. A nearby street lamp casts shadows on his chin, drawing out the slender cheekbones.

"I have some good news for you. My Sunday friend is visiting me tonight. I told him about you and he'd like to say hello. Step in, he's already waiting." He nods towards door #28.

"By the way, I'm really digging the view here." (Point to the city skyline.)

"Mhmh, that's why I chose this place." He looks away, his cigarette end glowing in the dark. "Martinaise is special, isn't it?"

"Wait, suddenly you're digging things?" the lieutenant whispers to you, shaking his head.

"Is it Friday tonight? It feels like Friday."

"It does feel like the end of the week. It's so magical, the white falling against the black..."

"Yeah, it does feel like the end of the week. Such gentle weather..."

"Even the rain feels nice." He leans over the railing and sticks out his hand to feel the rain.

"Very well, I'll talk to him, but first I want to talk to you. I have so many questions." (Proceed.)

"That's nice, but I don't have anything to tell you. It's my friend you're looking for, not me."

He takes another drag of his unfiltered cigarette and looks around. It's getting dark and the neighbouring windows have lit up one by one.

Downstairs a cat crosses the yard, disappearing into the bush.

"Besides, I've got to run."

He's going to leave you alone again. That's sad.

Something tells you you're never going to talk to an individual this cool or mysterious ever again.

"But I just found you again!"

"Just look at it..." He gestures towards distant motorways, all leading to golden La Delta. "It's a beautiful night. Who's going to stay in on a night like this?"

He's right, only losers go to bed early. Time to break out the booze!

A man on high heels stumbles out of a basement club, music blasting over the entire district. It's chilly, and as the chemicals hit his nervous system a thousand shivers ripple through his body.

"Only if you promise that we'll talk again. It's important."

Something flutters in the corner of the lieutenant's mouth as you're saying those words.

It's laughter!

"We'll talk," the smoker assures you, brushing his hand through the hair. "Just not tonight."

"Take care, alright?" he says with another disarming smile, before slipping off into the night.

And he's gone again. Looks like it's becoming a theme for him.

"There's something so different about him that I just can't put my finger on..."

"Different, of course."

"There's just something so mysterious about the way he talks and moves..."

"Something so mysterious about the way he talks..." The lieutenant squints his eyes, trying to hold back laughter.

"Very mysterious."

"Very."

"..."

He's barely holding it together. It's all he can do to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"Come on, detective. Let's go -- we've got a potential witness to interview -- his 'Sunday friend', remember?" He nods at the apartment door before you.

"His shirt... why is his shirt always unbuttoned?"

"His shirt..." The lieutenant squints his eyes, trying to hold back laughter.

"His shirt."

"His shirt..."

He's trying to dive deep into the mysteries of his shirt!

"His shirt... No, I don't know why his shirt is always unbuttoned." His mouth tightens, as though trying to hold something back.

"He smells good. Why on earth does he smell so good?"

"He smells good..." The lieutenant squints his eyes, trying to hold back laughter.

"That's weird, right?"

"He smells good and that's weird."

"He's such a good listener, I liked talking to him."

"You liked talking to him..." The lieutenant squints his eyes, trying to hold back laughter.

"It made me feel special."

"It made you feel special..."

"Let's go, Kim. We have to interview his Sunday friend." [Leave.]

"Right after you." He nods at the apartment door before you.

"He's always leaving... Why is he always leaving, Kim?"