"...and he didn't give you further details? He just wanted 'information?'" Tannehill stirred sugar and cream into his coffee while relaying the previous night's events to Vera. Whether due to the mild concussion Otto gifted him with or sheer exhaustion from two nights of no sleep, Tannehill was able to rest his weary head for a solid 10 hours in peaceful, dreamless slumber the night before.
Tannehill took a drawn-out slurp from his bittersweet concoction. "Yup."
"Do you have any idea what type of information he was asking for?"
"Nope." He took another long slurp. Vera folded her arms and stared ahead at him. Realizing this answer wasn't going to satisfy her, he continued, "but I wasn't going to let him know that."
"So you fought it out like a couple of chess grandmasters, I suppose, with the prized family jewels at stake." She looked down at her folded arms and back up again. "Well played but how are you going to continue to bluff your way through this?"
"Uhh," Tannehill felt the confidence from last night's encounter with Otto begin to drain.
"I guess you can wow them with your knowledge of the latest jazz artists when you meet them later." Tannehill took another insecure sip of coffee as Vera sighed theatrically.
He colored slightly, "where's your yellow outfit? You're back in mint green again."
"Well, Sherlock, I wore my yellow one yesterday when we didn't see each other. I know your solipsistic mind may have problems grasping the continuity of people moving in and out of the frame of your quotidian happenings but I was, in fact, in existence yesterday wearing my yellow uniform."
Tannehill's next sip of coffee was no more secure than his prior one.
Vera groaned slightly, "anyway, quit deflecting from the matter at hand. Let's go through the timeline of events that occurred yesterday and see if we get any closer to the 'information' you and your new pet ape are seeking."
Tannehill straightened a bit and took a slightly more confident sip of coffee. Vera continued. "You started off meeting the detective on the case right? The one who's an inch shy of staring down Frankenstein?"
"Yes, and then I stopped by here for breakfast."
Vera's face brightened, "Oh, so you encountered Flo?" She whistled and rolled her eyes.
"Yes. What is it you do in between shifts here, anyway?"
"Turn tricks down at the pier."
"Fine, I won't ask."
"Geez, I go to school. C'mon, quit procrastinating. There's got to be something here that'll help us out."
Tannehill was intrigued by Vera's use of the word 'us' but didn't correct her. "Ok. After my initial interview with Lieutenant Murphy, I stopped by here and then went home to grab some shut-eye."
"And then?"
"Murphy called me back into the precinct to deliver the news that they'd identified a suspect - one who'd recently confessed."
"Your uncle friend from the apartment building, right?"
"Yes."
"What then?"
"He handed me an envelope with Snell's belongings and sent me on my way."
"And then you encountered your new friend in your office?"
"Correct."
"And all you know about him is that he's asking for 'information'?"
"Yes."
"What makes you think the story as it plays out now with your uncle friend as the murderer isn't straight?"
"Too coincidental. And Beederman - the uncle - was in the same location I was in when Snell was getting offed." Snell glanced toward the ceiling thoughtfully.
"What?"
"Otto - my assailant last night - didn't get Beederman's name right. You'd think that if they're connected in this, he wouldn't make that mistake."
Vera shrugged, "maybe they weren't close."
Tannehill shook his head, "no, I don't think that's it. This isn't some vast conspiracy where everyone connected only refers to one another by some secretive, theatrical name."
"What does that imply then?"
"I don't know. I'll have to chew on it."
"What was in the envelope?"
"What envelope?"
"The envelope Murphy gave you with Snell's belongings."
"His wallet and a cigarette case. I found that somewhat odd since Snell didn't smoke."
Vera raised an eyebrow. "Do you have the envelope with you?"
"No, but I can run to my place and grab it."
"Ok. I'll wait here for you. I don't have much going on."
A voice boomed from the kitchen "Vera! Stop chit-chatting! We've got a breakfast rush."
Vera rolled her eyes again and sighed, standing up in deliberate fashion. Before walking back to the counter, she leaned over to Tannehill and whispered, "come back at 10. I've got some free time before I need to head to the pier." Tannehill glanced at her sideways and smirked, taking another confident slurp of coffee.
---
When Tannehill reappeared, Vera was camped comfortably in a booth with her own cup of coffee intently working on the day's crossword.
"Who was the last emperor of the Julian-Claudian dynasty?" she asked as Tannehill approached. He opened his mouth to respond, but she raised an exuberant finger in the air and exclaimed "Nero!" before he could indicate he had no clue.
She put her pencil down and eyed the manila envelope tucked under Tannehill's arm. "Let's see the goods." Tannehill settled into the booth and slid the envelope across to her.
She pulled out the wallet first and flipped it over, revealing nothing. "No cash?"
"It's already been passed through precinct processing so I'm sure they've collected any requisite city taxes on Snell's behalf for dying."
She continued thumbing through the wallet to find anything of use, pulling out Snell's identification card in the process. "Huh, he was older than I expected. Didn't look half bad for his age." She paused briefly, "his middle name was Augustus?"
Tannehill shrugged. "I suppose. I forget my middle name pretty frequently, so I'm not likely to remember anyone else's."
She replaced the identification card and tossed the wallet aside. She slid the cigarette case from the envelope and looked at the engraving - "RAS". The A stood out prominently, one and a half times as large as the "R" and the "S". "The initials fit - Richard Augustus Snell. He didn't smoke?"
"Nope."
"It could be a keepsake. Do you know if his father had the same initials?"
Tannehill shrugged again. "Not sure, but he wasn't a sentimental individual by any means."
Vera opened the case up. It was completely stocked with a cheap brand of cigarettes. She began removing them one by one until the entire lot was scattered on the table. She ducked her head closer to the case with a quizzical look. "What's that?" She placed the case on the table and pointed.
Tannehill stared at the case and noticed a small slip of cardstock peeking from one corner. He looked briefly at Vera and matched the bemused look that had appeared on her face with his own. He pulled on the crossbar of the case and both of them watched as the interior of the case separated from its exterior. A silver key clinked on to the table unceremoniously.
Floating belatedly behind it was a torn matchbook cover with an address scrawled inside the cover - Loving's Bakery 9360 S. Oceanside.
[Author's Note: Today's edition is 1190 words for a New Year's total of 22397. I hope to be a bit more consistent in my upcoming chapters but I often rush to write my 1000 words on the weekend which causes me (a little) anxiety. If I can write a few words throughout the week I'll still stick to the Sunday release schedule. Otherwise, I'll slow things down a bit so I don't stress myself out for some arbitrary goal.]
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