In a restaurant on a scorching afternoon, there was a policewoman radiating an intimidating aura—beside her sat a detective eating fish and chips with impeccable manners.
In front of them, a girl with a ribbon in her hair sat sipping her black tea, whilst next to her, another girl devoured a strawberry parfait with such relish that it seemed she'd never been taught table manners—or that's what they told me.
The navy-haired policewoman then clutched her glass tightly. "So, can you explain why you asked me to come here?" she asked, turning to Holmes at her side. "And how come you're friends with that brilliant detective—Sherlock Holmes?!"
"We need to build connections to make it easier to find work, don't we?" Alice replied before sipping her black tea. "That's certainly what Mother told us."
Before Ciel could ask a question, she was immediately interrupted by Holmes. "Calm down, Miss Morgan—we've called you here simply to ask for information regarding the recent disappearances of so many women; would you be willing to answer?" Holmes's popularity meant Ciel couldn't say no.
"Well, whatever," she sipped her juice through a straw; for her, this could also be an opportunity for her and Holmes to get to know each other.
"Excellent!" said Holmes before pulling out a sheet of paper and pointing to an illustration of a man with a striking blue beard and a hat adorned with a large feather. "Do you, by any chance, recognise this man?"
Ciel's eyes immediately lit up as he took the sheet of paper. "I... I think I've seen him before..." She muttered, and upon hearing this, we gave her a moment to refresh her memory.
"Last night we saw him leading a woman into an alley and then, in an instant—POOF—they'd all vanished as if they'd never been there in the first place," Holmes continued, whilst Alice and I watched Ciel studying the man's face closely.
"Gilles Moreau, a rich man from France—a convict who was released about two months ago," Ciel's information immediately caught our attention—yep, including mine, having just polished off that parfait until the glass was empty.
"What was he charged with, if we may ask?" Holmes continued, and Ciel did not seem at all reluctant to answer.
"Harassment of women," Ciel's reply convinced us even further that Gilles was the culprit behind this incident. I glanced out of the window and saw Robin gesturing that the person we were talking about had just walked past.
Robin darted straight into the crowd; I stood up with a slight thud against the table—all eyes were on me, "He's here," I said before running out.
"Holmes! I'll follow Red, you squeeze every last bit of information out of Ciel," said Alice before finishing her black tea and running off, leaving the two of them behind.
Ciel couldn't process this; Holmes placed his hand on her shoulder and asked her to sit back down. "So, could you please tell me more about this man named Gilles Moreau?" Holmes's hand touched Ciel's, causing her face to flush instantly.
"A-Alright!" said Ciel before pulling her hand away from Holmes's gentle touch.
In the crowd, Robin was running, chasing the man in front of him and pushing people aside; the man was easy to lose sight of but very conspicuous. Many people were shouting in irritation, and some even jostled Robin as he tried to clear them out of his path.
Until finally, someone snapped, "What's your problem, huh?!" A large man whom Robin was trying to push aside grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.
"Get out of the way, old man!" Robin shouted in exasperation, glancing towards the crowd and seeing Gilles slowly disappearing into the throng.
"What'd you say?!" The man had raised his hands and was ready to throw a punch—STEP, STEP, STEP—I sprinted towards him and—SMACK—the butt of my shotgun landed squarely on his temple.
The man staggered to the side in pain. "Don't hesitate to use force on civilians if they interfere with the mission—especially if they're annoying," I said before running past the crowd.
Unlike Robin, I have a slender build that allows me to slip through the crowd with ease. Behind me, Robin fell silent for a moment before smiling. "Understood, senior," he said sarcastically before resuming his run after me.
The man with the blue beard entered the alley again and, the moment I saw that—my legs shot forward even faster so as not to be left behind. I was already close to the alley and even from here I could see the man with the blue beard holding some sort of golden key.
Before I could get any closer—CRASH—someone knocked into me, sending me tumbling backwards; before my bum hit the ground—GRAB—a hand grabbed my jacket hood, stopping me from falling onto the road.
"Look where you're going," said the man who'd caught me. I lifted my head and saw a man with ginger hair. The man who'd bumped into me apologised before walking away, leaving the two of us. "Are you all right?"
I was silent for a moment, taken aback by his action. I took a deep breath before saying, "I'm alright, but it looks like we've already lost him," I said, gazing towards the alley.
"Ah! You're right!" We then went into the alley and found it filled with the smell of rubbish, as usual.