Two black cars pulled up outside of a building in the south district. Nia, Hiura, and Eda stepped out of the two cars and gathered in front of the building.
 
          “This the place?” asked Nia.
 
          “Yeah,” answered Eda.
 
          “Doesn’t look as fancy as I imagined. There’s no giant white tiger in front of the place?” joked Nia.
 
          It looked like your average building from the outside.
 
          “So what’s the plan?” asked Eda.
 
          Hiura held up his cellphone. A picture of the murder victim was on the screen.
 
          “I asked the family if they could send me a recent photo on the way over. I’m going to send the picture to both of you as well since it may come in handy,” Hiura explained as he began to push buttons on his phone. “The first thing I think we should do is ask the people here if they recognize him, we may get lucky. Otherwise we’ll have to see if they have surveillance. If they do, hopefully they’ll be willing to let us have their tapes.”
 
          “And if they refuse?” asked Nia.
 
          “Then our hands are tied. We’d have to see if we can get a court order.”
 
          Just as Hiura said that, a young woman walked out of the White Tiger. He walked over to her.
 
          “Excuse me miss, but is the owner here?”
 
          The woman looked at the three police detectives suspiciously before answering.
 
          “Yeah, he’s in his office.”
 
          “Thanks, and one more thing… have you seen this person before?”
 
          Hiura held up his phone. The woman looked at for a bit before shrugging.
 
          “Sorry, I’m a bartender. I see a lot of people every night and I can’t remember each and every one.”
 
          Hiura nodded and lowered his phone.
 
          “Is something going on?” the woman asked suddenly.
 
          “There’s no need to worry, we just have a few questions for the owner,” said Hiura.
 
          Despite Hiura telling her not to worry, the woman still seemed worried as she turned and left. Hiura turned back to Nia and Eda.
 
          “Shall we go inside?”
 
          Both nodded and the three of them walked into the White Tiger. Unlike the outside, the inside was far from average. High quality walls and flooring greeted them as they entered, as well as exotic paintings that lined the walls of the currently empty hallway. The detectives followed the hallway to the main area of the first floor and were greeted with countless tables, two bars, and a dance floor. The lighting was dim but there was still probably much more visibility than at night. Everything seemed to have a white theme to it, and in a few places, such as the tables, there were even black stripes. There were a few people going around cleaning the tables and floor as well as four people behind one of the bars talking. Nia and the others headed for the bar first.
 
          “Did we really have to have performance reviews today?” they heard one man ask the group. “Last night was really crazy. I could’ve used the extra sleep.”
 
          “I’d rather just get them over with now,” said a woman. “It’s about time I got my raise.”
 
          “You really think he’s going to give you a raise?” the man asked.
 
          “Why wouldn’t he?”
 
          “Because he could just fire you and find one of the thousands of other chicks that would love to bartend here.”
 
          The other people in the group laughed.
 
          “We’ll see who’s laughing when I get my raise.”
 
          The man looked like he was about to say something back but—
 
          “Excuse me ladies and gentleman, but do you know where I can find the owner?” asked Hiura.
 
          The four bartenders turned around.
 
          “Who are you?” one of the men asked.
 
          “We’re detectives with the Yuyusura Police Department,” explained Hiura as he showed his badge.
 
          “Holy shit. Is the boss man in trouble or something?” asked the man.
 
          “We just want to ask him a few questions, and you all too if you don’t mind. Do you know where I can find him?”
 
          “Yeah he’s in his office on the second floor. Make a left when you go up the stairs and it’s the first door on the right.”
 
          “Thanks.”
 
          Hiura turned to his colleagues.
 
          “Eda, do you mind asking them about the victim? Tatsumi and I will go see the owner.”
 
          “I’m on it,” said Eda.
 
          Nia and Hiura left Eda behind with the bartenders and headed up the stairs on the far side of the first floor’s main area. There were several more people cleaning on the second floor as well, but none of them seemed to pay much mind to the detectives as they walked to the owner’s office.
 
          “I guess this is it,” Hiura said as they reached the first door on the right.
 
          He immediately reached for the doorknob and walked right in with Nia close behind. Two individuals came into view as soon as they walked. One was a woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She was standing in the room in only a bra and skirt and quickly grabbed the blouse at her feet when she noticed someone come in. The other was a man in a blue suit sitting behind his desk.
 
          “What the hell? I thought I said no one was to come in here? Just waltzing right in like you own the place. Have you completely lost your… who are you?” asked the man.
 
          He was an older man as evidenced by his graying black hair. His skinny frame gave him a frail look, but his dark brown eyes were sharp and angry.
 
          “That’s illegal you know,” said Nia as she motioned to the half naked girl.
 
          “She said she’d do anything for a favorable review and a potential raise. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her? Besides, you think it’s legal to just go barging into wherever the hell you feel like? Don’t you have any manners at all? Haven’t you heard of knocking? Let me guess, you’re with the police? Get out,” said the White Tiger’s owner.
 
          “Now wait just a—”
 
          Hiura stopped Nia from saying anything else by holding out his hand.
 
          “You’re right, that was completely rude of us. I take full responsibility as I’m the one that decided to do that and I apologize. We’re not here to start any trouble, we’d just like to ask you a few questions. We’ll be out of your hair immediately after.”
 
          “So you’re really with the police? Show me your badges,” said the man.
 
          Hiura showed his badge.
 
          “And the woman?”
 
          He stared at Nia who hadn’t moved.
 
          “She’s also a detective,” said Hiura.
 
          “I want to see for myself.”
 
          Hiura looked pleadingly at an annoyed Nia. She gave an irritated huff and showed the man her badge.
 
          “Fiesty, aren’t you?”
 
          The man smiled creepily before turning to his half naked employee.
 
          “Get out, woman. We’ll continue this later.”
 
          The woman hurriedly put on her blouse and rushed out of the office. The owner pulled out a large cigar.
 
          “Close my door, will you?” he said.
 
          Hiura walked over to the open office door and closed it before walking back to his previous spot in the middle of the room.
 
          “Now, what do you want with me?”
 
          The man lit his cigar and began to smoke it. Hiura walked up to the man’s desk. Nia took a few steps forward as well but remained a considerable distance away.
 
          “Have you seen this man before?” asked Hiura.
 
          He showed him his phone with the victim’s picture on it.
 
          “Never,” said the man after a quick glance. “Why? What’s this about?”
 
          “This man was murdered a few days ago, and this is the last place he was seen alive,” explained Hiura.
 
          The man’s face became one of surprise for a few moments before he regained his usual countenance.
 
          “Well I’ve never seen him before, that’s all I can tell you,” he said.
 
          “Does this building have surveillance? Mind if we get your tapes from a few days ago?” asked Hiura.
 
          “For what purpose?”
 
          “We think the victim met his killer here at this club and we’d like to see if we can find out who he left with that night.”
 
          “That’s a lot of footage to look through,” said the man.
 
          “It’s the only option we have right now.”
 
          “Hmm…”
 
          The man took another puff of his cigar as he thought.
 
          “Fine.”
 
          He pressed a button on his desk.
 
          “We have some police detectives here. I’m sending them down to you, accommodate them with whatever they ask for.”
 
          “Understood, sir,” said a male voice.
 
          It seemed to come from an intercom on his desk.
 
          “There you go. You can find the surveillance room on the first floor. It’s far in the back, past the bathrooms. If you get lost just ask someone.”
 
          “Thank you, and sorry again for the intrusion,” said Hiura.
 
          Hiura bowed slightly to the man before he and Nia turned for the door.
 
          “You’re welcome here any time you like, Lady Detective,” said the man to their backs.
 
          Nia didn’t answer and left the office with Hiura. The man sat there smoking his cigar for a few moments before hitting the button on his desk again.
 
          “Make sure you get them out of here. Don’t give them a single thing.”
 
          “Understood, sir,” said the same voice as earlier.
 
          The man grinned as he leaned back in his chair.

###

          “That went better than I expected,” Hiura said as he and Nia walked down the stairs to the first floor.
 
          “Maybe for you,” said Nia.
 
          “Well, he was a bit of a sleazebag, huh?”
 
          “That’s an understatement.”
 
          “But at least he agreed to give us the tapes,” said Hiura.
 
          They walked over to Eda who was sitting at the bar drinking something.
 
          “Look, Tatsumi, we leave him alone for fifteen minutes and this is what happens,” said Hiura.
 
          Eda looked up in a panic.
 
          “I-It’s not what you think! It’s just water!” he said quickly.
 
          “I’m joking. Did you find out anything?”
 
          Eda shook his head.
 
          “None of them remembered ever seeing him before. How about you two? Any luck with the owner?”
 
          “He said he hadn’t seen the victim before either, but he agreed to let us take the surveillance tapes from that night. We’re going to get them now,” explained Hiura.
 
          “Hold on a sec!”
 
          Eda quickly drank the rest of the water in his glass and thanked one of the bartenders before standing up.
 
          “OK, let’s go,” he said.
 
          The three detectives followed the White Tiger owner’s directions and made their way to the surveillance room. As they approached, they saw a very large man standing in front of the door. Not only was he tall, but he had to weigh over 250 pounds, and he was practically all muscle. He had a buzz cut and dark menacing eyes.
 
          “Is this the surveillance room?” Hiura asked the man.
 
          “It is.”
 
          “We’re the detectives from the Yuyusura Police Department. We came here for the surveillance tapes.”
 
          Hiura showed the man his badge as he spoke.
 
          “Right this way,” said the man.
 
          He motioned back toward the main area that they had come from with one of his huge arms that were visible thanks to his sleeveless black shirt.
 
          “I don’t understand,” said Hiura.
 
          “It’s not your place to understand. Just be quiet and let’s go.”
 
          “Hey! Watch your tone!” said Eda.
 
          “Relax, Eda. Look, we just want the tapes and we’ll gladly be on our way. Your boss specifically said to allow us to have what we wanted, correct?”
 
          “And that same boss said not to give you a damn thing right after that, so we’re leaving,” said the large man.
 
          “What?” asked Hiura in astonishment.
 
          “Figures…” mumbled Nia.
 
          The large man reached for Hiura but Eda smacked his hand away.
 
          “You better watch what you’re doing, little man,” said the large man.
 
          He stepped up into Eda’s face and Eda stepped forward as well even though the large man easily dwarfed him. Hiura slid his hands between the two men right as their bodies were about to touch and held them away from one another.
 
          “Hey, hey, hold on now! There’s no need for tempers to fly!” said Hiura.
 
          “Tell that to this idiot! He was about to put his hands on a police detective!” said Eda.
 
          “Idiot?! I’ll break you apart, little man!”
 
          “And you’ll be locked away for the rest of your life!”
 
          “Enough! Come on, Eda, let’s get out of here,” said Hiura.
 
          He began to push Eda away from the large man and back toward the main area. Nia raised her phone up to the large man.
 
          “Ever seen this man before?” she asked.
 
          The picture of the victim that Hiura sent her was on the screen.
 
          “No, now get that thing out of my face.”
 
          Nia lowered her phone and followed after Hiura and Eda. The three detectives were escorted out of the White Tiger by the large man and gathered near their cars in front of the building.
 
          “Well, perhaps it went as I expected after all,” said Hiura once they were there.
 
          “We should’ve known we couldn’t trust that old man,” said Nia.
 
          “You didn’t have to break us up, Hiura,” said Eda.
 
          “Are you an idiot? That man was three times your size. You should be thanking me,” said Hiura.
 
          Eda didn’t respond.
 
          “But now what? That was probably our best chance at finding something related to the case. It could take days to get a proper warrant,” said Hiura.
 
          “Yeah, but I’m almost convinced they’re hiding something big,” said Nia. “The whole place just seems pretty shady.”
 
          Hiura nodded.
 
          “We should get back to the station and plan our next move for now.”
 
          Nia nodded and the three detectives got into their cars and drove off.

###

          Later that night Eda walked into his home. It was a modest size, but it had a lot of expensive things in it that he had saved up for over the years. He gave a big sigh as he tossed his suit jacket onto his couch and went into the kitchen. Just as he opened his refrigerator and looked inside, his doorbell rang. He looked around strangely as if he couldn’t believe it but the doorbell rang again a few moments later leaving no doubt.

          Who could that be at this hour?  he wondered.

          It was only ten, but Eda didn’t usually have visitors this late. Completely confused, he lazily walked to his front door and opened it. A black material immediately covered him. Then… darkness.

###

          Eda slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurry, he struggled take in his surroundings. He tried to move but couldn’t. His body was strapped to a St. Andrew’s Cross and he was only his underwear. A few candles brought a dim light to the immediate area, and there, standing a few feet away, Eda could see a figure in a red cloak.