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Chapter Text

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The clock's hand moved at every second passing by

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Almost a year had passed since he and his wife divorced.

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House quiet and unmoving, as the familiar smell of coffee didn't reach his nostrils anymore like it used to every morning.

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He had looked fine mostly drained from all the work but he seemed less stressed in the past few months.

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He slammed the clock face down with enough force to stop it completely, not bearing to hear the ticking anymore; Doohickey sighed rubbing both his hands over his face, he then looked up at the plain white ceiling, it was his day off. He kept staring up laying in bed under the crumpled covers, hoping for the dull color of the ceiling to give him some answers, anything but not even spiders crawled on it, reminding him how silent and unlived this place looked without her here.

Yeah, he couldn't even call it a home at this point, since his divorce it had felt cold, shivers running down his spine as he passed through the corridors hoping to see her figure but at last remembering she was not there at all: not reading at her chair or doing her usual chores by the studio or humming as the radio went when she sewn new patterns on their sheets. Even when he woke up with nightmares and reached over to tuck her close to his chest, Doohickey felt a pang at his heart feeling the cold side a reminder of shattered trust and his deep broken love for her.

=======================

The Chief had given him one single look after he entered, his eyes casting an internal turmoil that made Doohickey question in his mind what could possibly worry the Chief so much.

Then he saw Clancy in all his glory sitting at his own desk, flipping through pages and pages of files, he had just come back from a full week of rest, apparently Chief had imposed it on him; Jimmy was hovering over his desk whispering something Doohickey couldn't hear and honestly didn't care about. Managing to ignore his presence with a single swift of plopping down his chair and opening the first of his pile, spreading it out on the desk, Jimmy carefully came close with a thin folded paper in his hand.

"Constable Doohickey, uhm…"

"Yes Jimmy, how can I help you?" He brought out his best smile, it might have looked too forced because the boy slightly grimaced before putting the paper face down in front him and said:

"Detective Clancy wanted me to give you this, it's for that case of the missing man you've been working on." Doohickey let out a breath as he gave Jimmy a more truthful smile before thanking him and letting him go to his own little corner.

The Chief had let him do this case by himself only for one reason: that is because he had whacked Clancy straight in the face the last time they had tried to speak, it was right after the divorce was finalized: the blond had attempted to speak a word with him which resulted in Doohickey punching him before Jimmy and the Chief managed to pull him off a shocked Clancy. It's not like they could partner up any time soon and it wasn't all fairies and glitters, the Chief had pitied Doohickey enough to let him be for now.

He lifted the corner of the paper seeing the first few letters, curious he flipped it over.

'Meet me at lunch at Eurydice's den ---Clancy'

Doohickey sighed, what could he want now? God he hoped it really was work related like Jimmy had mentioned and nothing else, because he had no intention of speaking to Clancy in any other moment other than work. He put the paper in his pocket and looked back at the file trying to focus on the words in front of him, he rubbed his eyes the tiredness of another sleepless night weighing over his shoulders, for a moment he wished lunch time came sooner to rip the anxiety off his back and get the words out of Clancy so he could go back to the missing man:

Alex Ripley, a man in his 30s who had been reported missing a week ago by his wife, a woman in her late 20s; described as tall, with short black hair and green eyes, a scar over his lip, last time the woman had seen him he had worn his usual brown suit and coat with hat, given her the usual kiss on the cheek and a promise to be back home by the night. Mrs Ripley had noticed his disappearance the next day when she woke up, at first she thought he had gone to work super early but as the hours passed and he didn't come she called the police to report her missing husband.

Doohickey had interrogated her for over an hour to make his personality stand out, to get his habits, his usual routine. Then he passed to Alex's secretary, the woman had spoken worriedly saying she had seen him come by the office but had looked happy telling her how he was taking the day off to bring his wife to a romantic date and she was fooled by the lie so convincingly because apparently he took her out often.

Mrs. Ripley denied everything, Alex was a busy man to her word, he would come home late and take her out very occasionally.
Even his coworkers had spoken of him as a very lovely man and very passionate about his wife, Doohickey had asked them for Alex's wife name and they had all answered the same. Something was definitely hiding around all those lies Alex had been telling to everyone, even his own wife; could he be involved with the mafia? It explained his frequent disappearances from the office and the blatant lies, but Doohickey couldn't just maybe think that this 'perfect man' had an agreement with a bunch of corrupted souls.
In a moment of exasperation Doohickey hoped the man hadn't gone down that path, another Don Ciciccio situation could do no good to his career and his mind wasn't in the right place to get involved in such case which would lead to the Chief passing it to someone else.

Couldn't let that happen, he sighed again hand sneaking up to massage his own neck, listening over and over again at the tapes of the interrogations of the few he spoke to, hoping for something to resonate through his mind.

Chapter Text

Eurydice's den was a quiet and cozy restaurant at the end of the street where the police department was at: run by a Greek fiery woman and her two youngest sons, with a thick accent and the hands of a magician, she had warmed up to Doohickey so much through the years he had been at the police department that she and her two sons were ones of the few who knew about his divorce; she pampered him as if he was one of her children and her two sons treated him like an extension of the family.

So of course at his appearance at the door, she was immediately in front of him with hands on her hips and a stern look on her face, it warmed his heart feeling like he had a second mother looking out for him.
"Freddy i was worried, you never pick up your phone. I tried to come yesterday." Doohickey smiled at the nickname, the warmth and spreading all over his body like comfortable blanket.
"Sorry Selene, i was probably out when you called." False, he was home just drowning in his own pity and simply didn't hear it. Selene gave him a concerned look but pulled him close by the arm to his usual table before shouting the name of one of her sons.

"Alright love, let's get you settled anyone joining?"
Doohickey contained a hiss before nodding at her question: "Yes Clancy, he'll be here for sure in a few." Her eyes lit with fire at the name but there's not much he could do to stop seeing him.

"What's he coming here for, i feed no cheater."

"Selene please—" He raised up his hands in defeat before she could continue her ramble. "—just work stuff nothing personal." She sighed but let him be as she went back to the kitchen to prepare him food. Doohickey finally relaxed in his booth: he rested his head on his hand and closed his eyes, the low chatter echoing in his ears and the steps of the waiters hitting the wooden floor either gently or with a quick short run, soft music playing from a radio set on Selene's favourite station. The doorbell jingled softly as the door opened, the cheer of one of the two brothers as someone entered arrived at Doohickey's ear but he was relaxing so deeply in his hand almost falling asleep that he didn't hear the footsteps coming close to the table, a hand sneaking on his shoulder stirred him letting him open his eyes as it gently massaged his shoulder.

"Freddy, your coworker is here." The younger brother was smiling down at him as the blond man stood behind him, watching them silently.

"Thank you Athan, please bring him the menu." He said with a smile as the man left murmuring at Clancy to take a seat.

Clancy stood there for a minute before sitting down across him, still silent he leaned back on his part of the booth and looked around the place, like he hadn't been there before at all, which wasn’t possible because Jimmy had definitely at least dragged him here once, it was the kid's favourite place too. Doohickey studied his side profile waiting for the other to say something because he was certainly not going to speak first, not this time.
"I've only been here once. You seem a regular for even allowing them to say your first name." Clancy pointed out finally turning his face towards him but still not looking into his eyes, Doohickey chuckled leaning forward.
"I trust them enough to allow that yes." A low blow but the subtle angry face Clancy shot him was worth it the trouble of possibly getting punched, either way the man was right, he allowed very few people to call him by first name not even chief dared to say it, Jimmy was more of a delicate situation but the boy was smart enough to pick up quickly how Doohickey's shoulder tensed at his name, his wife— ex-wife had always used nicknames for him; Clancy on the other hand only dared once to say his name and had gotten his nose broken over it.

"What fancies you enough to discuss work over lunch, specifically my case." He changed topic quickly seeing Nikephoros come their way instead of his younger brother.
"Sorry darling, Athan got held back by mana in the kitchen, here's your menu." He passed the menu directly to Clancy knowing full well what Doohickey liked. "Yours is almost ready Freddy, something to drink?"

"Water as always, for both of us."

"Coming right up." With that Nikephoros went back to serve other tables and left them in a thick silent tension.

"Any good recommendations?" Clancy asked as he looked at the menu further avoiding the question Doohickey had placed, and some way to distract himself from Doohickey's penetrating eyes.

"Depends meat or fish? Allergies?" He murmurs drawing pattern on the tablecloth, while Clancy flipped through the menu with a curious expression.
"Meat is good. And no i have no allergies." Doohickey hums before raising his hand catching Nikephoros' attention, the man swiftly made his way over the booth with a smile.
"Decided?"

"He'll have spetsofai." Doohickey starts before Clancy can utter any word, Nikephoros nods writing it down. "Should i add couscous with it?" Clancy looks confused for a moment, mouth agape he shoots a 'help me' glance at him. "Yes, add it." Nikephoros hums taking away the menu, he disappears for a minute before coming back with a pitcher full of water.
"There you go."
They both thank the man as he disappears in the kitchen shouting for his brother saying something in greek they both don't understand.

"…So" Doohickey starts again looking expectantly at Clancy, the man slightly leans over shooting a glance around before he whispers:

"An informant of mine has some news on your missing man." Doohickey raises an eyebrow, when had the detective started looking into his case to be already having an informant with news?
"And who exactly asked you to help? Cause i certainly didn't." Clancy huffed bothered by his answer but the man pulled out something that looked like a folded letter from his pants and held it between them, Doohickey reached for it with a sigh, their fingers touching briefly before he pulled the paper up close and opened it; a hand written letter by the Chief, of course, stating that he had personally asked Clancy to do some hunting for Doohickey's case and to please try and work with the man because there was no escaping any time soon.
He carefully refolded the paper and looked over at Clancy, the man was already staring at him.
"Did you read it?"

"No, Chief told me it was for you only." A silent thank for the Chief discreet manners made space in Doohickey's mind as he hid the paper in the pocket of his pants.

"We should-"

"Here's your food loves!" Athan appeared with the food breaking Clancy's words but he didn't look too mad, the younger man's smile was too innocent and sweet to stay angry at. Athan placed the food in front of them, gave Doohickey a smile with a wink before leaving them alone, he shook his head with a smile and picked up his fork to start eating, Clancy stared off at Athan's figure with bewilderment before going back to look at Doohickey.

"I think we should go speak with the informant."

"I will speak with the informant." Clancy shook his head as he started eating, Doohickey raised an eyebrow at him. "They specified they'll talk to me." Doohickey scoffed, well that was one way to be part of the case without even consulting him first, great move from both the Chief and Clancy, god he wanted to strangle him right here.
"And why is that?"
Clancy sighed scratching the side of his face with a sheepish smile. "It's unfortunately someone i know quite well." Doohickey breathed in, he was going to strangle the blond at any second, closing briefly his eyes to compose himself.

"I would like to remember you Detective Clancy that informants shouldn't be people you know closely, especially in a weird situation like this."
"I know but they're someone i trust enough for this." Doohickey raised his hands before continuing:
"Alright fine, we'll speak with this informant of yours tomorrow, how's that sound?"

"Not today?"

"No, i have a coworker of Mr. Ripley coming in to answer some questions." Clancy hummed eating a spoonful of spetsofai. "I'll notify them." Silence fell between the two as they ate in the peaceful buzz of chatter from other customers, the low enough soft music to not bother; Doohickey's eyes cast on his food with no mind just enjoying the marinated swordfish and beans, out of nowhere Clancy's voice came out clear and loud:

"So, between you and Athan…Something going on?"

Doohickey paused his hand mid air, he glanced up at Clancy's curious eyes casting a dark gloom that did not scare the blond one bit. "I don't think that's any of your business Sebastian." Clancy grimaced at the mention of his name but uttered no word for a couple of minutes, letting the tension spring up again between the two, Doohickey was intensely staring down at his face, studying the way his brows slightly twitched and quickly relaxed trying to not make Doohickey read his expression, but the man could tell he had pissed him off in some way.
Clancy cleaned his mouth with the napkin acting nonchalant, he threw it to the side eyes locking deep with Doohickey's gaze, stern and unbreakable:
"Get your shit together."

"What-"

"Don't test me Frederick, I'm trying to work here, so I'd like for this partnership to work between us. I'm not here to fool around or be a pain your ass, I'm simply doing my job and possibly mending our broken bond into a more amicable direction. I am—" He looks around to see if anyone is watching. "—deeply sorry that i slept with your…with Elisa, but i didn't know who she was and certainly you've never been one to talk much about your spouse or family. I don't expect you to forgive me, no that would be stupid of me, but i would like for us to be civil enough to work together like we used to." Doohickey clicked his mouth shut as Clancy finished talking, he'd never seen him so serious it was definitely a new side of the man, guess pushing his buttons would bring it out, he nodded silently casting his eyes down on the tablecloth, no he was not going to forgive him any time soon but he could try and work with him.
"Fine." Is all Doohickey said before continuing to finish his food, Clancy stared at him without uttering a word.

"What?"

"Answer my question." Doohickey breathed through his nostrils. "No, he did ask me out but i refused." For how much Athan was a handsome man with those big sweet green eyes and soft black hair that reached almost at his elbow, with a lovely personality and charming smile; Doohickey couldn't bring himself to go out with someone else, not yet. Even if Athan had asked him out not too long ago but he had been kind enough to understand Doohickey's reasons on why he had refused the offer.
"Not your type?"

"No, it's…more complicated than that."

"A shame, he looks like a really sweet kid." Ah right, Clancy was at least 4 years older than Doohickey meaning there was a bigger age gap between the two, in retrospect to the 2 years between Doohickey and Athan, but Clancy didn't seem like the type to go for much younger people, he didn't seem like the type to go for men at all.
He hummed not really wanting to talk about it, but Clancy couldn't stop asking questions it really seemed like the only thing he could do:
"And the other? He looks older than you and Athan." Doohickey raised up and eyebrow as he sipped his water. "Nikephoros is a year older than me. Not that much between the two compared to their older siblings."

"Siblings?"

"Yeah, Selene has 5 kids." Clancy whistled almost shocked to find out about it, Doohickey raised an eyebrow at him somehow questioning if Clancy had gone crazy but the man looked tranquil for once inspecting his watch to look at the time.
"Maybe we should go back to the office. What time is that coworker coming at?" Doohickey shot a glance at his own watch hidden under his cuff, it was almost two in the afternoon:
"At around 2:30, we should probably head back." They both got up from their seats and made their way towards the counter where strangely for once stood the eldest sister scribbling down something in a tiny book, Doohickey hadn't seen her when he had come in too distracted with the way Selene worriedly looked over him.

"Hey Petra." The woman smiled up at him recognising his voice immediately, her ring adorned fingers let the tiny book fall closed as she put the pen aside, her earrings jingling as she moved closer to the register and her green dress swiftly following every step.
"Good to see you Freddy, same table?" She asked picking at a paper with their food written on it, she paused when she noticed Clancy standing behind him.

"With a friend?"

"Colleague." Doohickey answered with a tight smile, she hummed and gave a tiny smile towards blond man. "Nice to meet you…" She paused waiting for the other to introduce himself "…Sebastian Clancy." He replied with an awkward smile, Petra nodded before opening the register.

"That'd be 20,50."

As Doohickey reached out to give his money from the pocket of his pants, Clancy slapped it and handed the money directly into Petra's hand, she gave a soft smile that got quickly hidden awaqy when Doohickey looked her way.

"It's on me today."

He scrunched his face in confusion, but let Clancy do the honors although Doohickey hated having to repay back someone with a favor; when they walked out with one final goodbye to the three siblings and Selene, Doohickey had to ask:

"Why did you pay? I could've easily done it."

"Because I invited you out." Clancy replied, with a duh expression on his face.

"Well shit I gotta pay next time." Doohickey said with a chuckle as they walked back to the station, Clancy shook his head as he walked along side.

"No, this one won't count."

He then opened the door and let Doohickey enter first closing the door behind them, it was still a bit early for the appointment as he noticed on his watch but another police officer was making his way towards them as soon as they entered the building making Doohickey briefly think of only one thing.

"Constable Doohickey, a Mr. Tinn says he's here to see you."

"Ah great, he's early bring him into the interrogation room please." The officer nodded disappearing through the crowd, the two detectives sighed as they also made their way up to the room, Clancy gave the other one single look seeing the tiredness tightening over his shoulders, Doohickey leaned close for only a moment:

"Go get the recorder."

"Will do."

Chapter Text

Mr Tinn, was a fairly young man in his late 20s of German origins despite the surname: he had striking clear blue eyes adorned in blond eyelashes and blond curly hair that fell in a perfect combed hairstyle pinned with either gel or hairspray behind his ears, his skin quite pale with scattered moles all around from what Doohickey could see on his face.
He sat in his chair in an elegant almost perfect cross of his legs one over the other, as Doohickey studied him he could notice the way his hands looked delicate almost soft meaning he could have been born in a high-class family; Mr. Tinn wore more casual clothes for this day but Doohickey had definitely remembered seeing him once around the office with a weird combo of suit jacket and pants, like a mustard jacket and brown pants type of thing, now dressed in a white loose blouse covered by a turquoise jumper and black pants with sport shoes.

"Mr. Tinn welcome, I hope we haven't made you wait for too long, Detective Clancy." Clancy started as they entered the room, holding up his hand to greet the other man, Mr. Tinn stood up and shook his hand giving a polite smile to Clancy.

"Not at all, I barely arrived here. I've been told by Monica that Mr. Ripley has been missing for over a week, my apologies I know someone named Constable Doohickey tried to contact me during the week but I was out of town on vacation." Mr. Tinn had a soft and reassuring voice, someone who was used to speaking with customers and important people, from what Doohickey could remember he had a high position in the company Mr. Ripley worked at just like the missing man.

"Yes, that's me. Thank you for coming, please have a seat." Doohickey said as well shaking his hand with the other man's, a strong hold for such soft and manicured hands.

"This is Constable Doohickey and detective Clancy on the 22nd of October 1985, we're here with Mr. Maximilian Tinn a fellow coworker of Alex Ripley—" Doohickey had pressed the button for the recorder talking into the microphone while Clancy positioned another in front of the man "—who has been missing since the 15th. Mr. Tinn, could you describe what kind of man was Mr. Ripley in the office?"

"Alex is…very focused over his work, he's diligent and expects the same from all of our coworkers. I'd say it's a great thing to have him in our business. He has no problem helping others in difficult situations."

"Have you ever spoken with him of personal matters?" Clancy asked this time, face completely blank of emotions but Doohickey caught a glimpse of something lying under the facade, questions popping in his mind but he let Clancy carry the interrogation.

"Not really, I didn't think it was appropriate, after all we're just coworkers." Mr. Tinn shrugged looking over with a closed mouth smile almost silently taunting Clancy, for the question.

"Has Mr. Ripley ever spoke about his wife?" Doohickey asked after a prolonged silence from Clancy's side, he shot a glance over the man's face but Clancy stood still with a stone like expression, unmoving, staring ahead towards where Mr. Tinn was.

"Rarely."

"What would he say about her?" Mr. Tinn seemed to think about it, moving his eyes around the room then focused back on both of them. "How much he couldn't wait to see her, how much he loved her, how he wished to kiss her lips because he missed her so very much."

"But you said he spoke rarely of her to you." Clancy butted in suddenly leaning forward with a raised eyebrow. "One can't stop their ears from hearing phone calls from the phone right by their desk." Mr. Tinn replied with a sly smile.

"How would you know it was her?" Clancy continued

"He said her name, always said her name."

"What was the name?" Doohickey butted in before Clancy could say any word, Mr. Tinn looked at him like he was stupid for a second but didn't question it too much.

"Clarence, parents must have wished for a boy to call her that."

Doohickey smiled and nodded, he asked a couple more questions to the man before shaking his hand and letting him free. Clancy remained silent the whole time something definitely going through his mind, when they were finally free Doohickey had such a beaming smile he couldn't keep it together.

"What's with that smile of yours Doohickey?" Clancy asked almost annoyed at seeing him smile so brightly.
"Well you see Clancy, Mr. Ripley's might have talked about his wife very much to his other coworkers but Mr. Tinn here just told me one hell of an information."

"Which is?" Clancy had followed the case only through bits and pieces the Chief had reported to him and had not put his hands on the extensive file Doohickey had with all the notes on the interrogations so expectantly looking at his partner was the only thing he could do at the moment.

"Alex Ripley's wife name is Susan." Doohickey stated with a smirk. "And if your informant confirms it for us tomorrow i would be overjoyed." Clancy nodded, finally putting the pieces together, Clarence, a simple mistake made by a man in love with another woman, that was going to be hard to explain to Mrs. Ripley and she had been a wreck already at him just disappearing.

Doohickey then proceeded to shoo him to his desk while taking the whole file and making copies for him.
"Read through them by tomorrow so you'll get to question your informant without much of my help." The man passed the file over while looking at his watch, Clancy took it silently inspecting the way Doohickey moved around his desk gathering his coat, scarf and hat.

"You're already leaving?"

The man stopped in his track slowly shuffling from one foot to another. "Yes, i am. I'll be taking today's tape with me." he showed the cassette up in the air, catching Clancy's eye with it.

"Wait for me, we could re-listen to it together." He tried persuading, Doohickey gave a chuckle as he passed Clancy and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for the offer but no, have fun reading the entire file." With that Clancy let him walk away as he saw him bid Jimmy goodbye and disappear into the night.

The Chief peeped out of his office just after Doohickey left, he met gazes with Clancy motioning him to come over; He stood up with a sigh taking the file with him, he opened the door and closed it behind himself with a soft click.

"Detective Clancy, please take a sit."

"Chief-"

"Let's not wander off shall we?" Chief was quick to interrupt his words probably sensing his displease with the way the older man had set up the whole thing between him and Doohickey.
"Any progress with the missing man?"

"Yes, we hypothesized he has some kind of relationship with a woman named Clarence. Thanks to a coworker of his we found out about it, unlike the previous people Doohickey spoke to who seemed all pretty oblivious. Furthermore, if you remember about my informant, they have contacted me and we'll be meeting up tomorrow." Clancy laid out all the possible information he had gathered through the day, seeing the way the Chief nodded along with his every word.

"How does Doohickey look?"

Sudden and unprepared Clancy stuttered trying to find some words, the Chief smiled seeing his embarrassment. "I mean emotionally and mentally speaking, Clancy. Has he given you a hard time?" Clancy shook his head.

"At first a bit, but the letter you gave me made him hold back snide remarks." Chief nodded fishing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it as he stood up to open the window and let the smoke blow out, he watched the streetlights lit up as the night progressed, something in his eyes made Clancy shake with uneasiness.

"Good, i hope you know why i had to force your way into this case." Clancy remained silent for a moment processing what the Chief was implying, with scrunched eyebrows and confused eyes he shook his head again towards his superior, the Chief sighed before fishing out a file from his desk; Clancy's eyes recognised the name of the doctor immediately:

"Doohickey had a psychological evaluation?"

"I asked him to. He knew he couldn't refuse and I knew it was gonna happen at some point that they would ask after he punched you in the face."

"That was an accident!" Clancy worriedly said, the Chief raised up his hand to stop his defense.

"I know it was in a moment of rage towards your…business with his ex-wife, I made him take one before anything else happened just in case."

"And? Is- Can you tell me anything about it?"
The Chief remained quiet as he smoked his cigarette going back to looking out the window to the lit city. "Just keep an eye on him for me, would you? You're dismissed Detective."

With that Clancy silently made his way back to the desk, a bit defeated at hearing Chief's worried words, the man had a stiffness on his back that Clancy didn't like, it meant something was off but he knew Chief had to keep quiet for Doohickey's sake; He sighed, gathered his papers and put on his jacket before making his way out too, finally going home to make sense out of this case.

Chapter Text

"Did you sleep last night?"

Doohickey grunted with his eyes closed shut, sinking deeper into his seat as Clancy drove them through the streets of New york to the place the informant had told them to meet at; Doohickey had no clue where it was so he let the other do the driving apparently very familiar with it. Doohickey never cared enough to know every single street of this damn city unlike Clancy who knew almost all the bumps and cracks of the streets.

And the answer was no, he had not slept too focused on replaying the tape so many times to possibly detect even the smallest breath Mr. Tinn had made to get any new information and unfortunately had realized too late that it was morning already, not that he could sleep in 5 minutes and not get killed by Clancy on the spot for being late.

"Doohickey you gotta take a day off to get some sleep or you'll collapse from fatigue."

"No."

Clancy gave him an unimpressed look but the man couldn't see it, he had his eyes closed after all. Clancy stayed silent for the rest of the ride giving Doohickey the time of sleep he very much needed but wouldn't get, he changed to a radio station that played soft jazz and kept it at the lowest volume possible until he parked his car; that's when Doohickey finally opened his eyes and got out of the car as well.

"Where are we?"

"Just follow me, come on." Clancy ushered him over to a hidden street while he looked around to make sure no one was following them; he made his way towards an even more hidden door, an unlit sign next to it that read 'open', made Doohickey question what kind of place this was the street wasn't in any really weird part of New York and the hidden street they were currently in wasn't dirty or full of trash like many Doohickey had seen before; Clancy knocked on the door, with a patterned knock, maybe a private one?

Waiting silently, Doohickey could hear in the distance cars passing by and the voices of people at a nearby park, kids and laughter made him think back to his wife to the child they always both had wanted to have but it quickly lost relevance when a pair of eyes appeared into a tiny hole in the door.

"Name?"

"Cherry."

The hole closed and after different clacks it revealed the figure of a tall man with a big smile on his face.
"Cherry! Boy you've not been around in a while what brings you here- Oh! a guest? Does the mister know the rules?"

Clancy seemed flustered as he pushed back the taller man as he tried to hug him close and giggled to himself, Doohickey silently followed letting Clancy do the work as he seemed to know the people and the place pretty well: to Doohickey it looked like some kind of private club but he wasn't sure for what, it was definitely something not so common for his eye, the place had a big stage with long draping red curtains, on one side there were few chairs and a drum set probably for a band the rest of the stage laid bare probably to give space to performers.

"Girls! Cherry is here!" A bunch of people peeked out of behind the curtains of the stage and at seeing Clancy some waved and others full on went to hug the man.

"Cherry baby! We got worried, you weren't coming back no more." One man said stroking Clancy's cheek, the blond chuckled reassuring everyone, holding hands with a younger woman and another man.
"Sorry guys i had work, we got busy this past few weeks."

"We?" Different pairs of eyes settled over Doohickey, who awkwardly waved not really knowing what to do other than just stand slightly afar from his colleague.

"Is this your boyfriend?" The woman asked a huge gasp coming out her mouth as the two men howled in laughter at Clancy's rosy cheeks, he punched one of the man's shoulders as he grumbled the words:

"Doohickey is a colleague of mine! Actually… I'm here to speak to Sage." They all went quiet making oo's and aa's.

"Always at the same place darling, have fun." The man who had opened the door came through the performers to shoo them away and let Clancy and Doohickey go freely around the place.

Clancy looked back only once with an apologetic look, but Doohickey just chuckled with a gesture to lead the way; he opened a door over the back that lead to a tiny corridor, where only one door was slightly open and behind could be heard someone softly playing what seemed like a guitar, Doohickey became curious as they made their way over the door, it opened with a creek revealing a beautiful almost ethereal woman playing a lute while she smoked a cigarette, smoke patterns filling the air around her quickly dissipating as she puffed out more smoke.

She had short red wavy hair styled in finger waves, they were wrapped with a sky blue headscarf to keep them in place; she had a soft makeup but with a darker lipstick, her body was wrapped in a dressing gown adorned with beads and embroidery it was beautiful and it reflected the light coming out of the window behind her.
Her brown eyes moved from the neck of the lute where her fingers were playing to where the two stood, with a smirk spreading on her face as she saw Clancy first and then enlarged when she saw Doohickey.

"Well, well look who finally decided to make his presence." A more deep voice made Doohickey question the person's gender but he decided to avoid asking for now.

"Sage, this is Constable Doohickey the one who's working on the case." Clancy made no note on the remark from Sage seeming to not mind her words when Doohickey briefly looked at him to see his reaction, he looked calm although the woman seemed displeased without his acknowledgment.

"Good afternoon Madam." Polite, he could be that yes, his mother had taught him well enough to remember the basics, he was a guest after all even if he was with Clancy he needed to be polite for his sake and to keep a steady conversation with the person right in fron of them.
Sage seemed to look pleased with a smile playing on their face, they unlit the cigarette in the glass ash tray on the desk after putting away their lute onto a stand.

"Please have a seat." They gestured to the two chairs in front of her, Clancy moved first followed closely by Doohickey who took off his hat while he held the file under his arm.

"Show me the picture." Sage finally asked still not looking at them as they rummaged through one of their drawers fishing out a pair of glasses; Doohickey pulled out a picture of Mr. Ripley from the file and slid it on the desk towards the madam, they hummed picking up the photo and inspecting it closely.

"Yes, i've seen him before."

"Really?" Clancy asked with almost joy in his eyes.

"Let's hear what she has to say Clancy." Doohickey made sure to put a hand over his forearm to remember him to remain professional even if in front of a friend.

"Well said Mister. Yes, yes he's…Alex right? Mmmh yes he came here often in the past two months, someone was always waiting for him. Quite a mysterious man I might say, he was definitely older than Alex but looked so elegant and refreshed i thought he was much closer to your age—" They gestured toward Clancy with a hand while they kept the photo in the other. "—my, my what a handsome man. They seemed to be…pretty close, if you get what i mean. Last time i saw Alex…Ah yes, they had an argument, i had to make Archie escort them out, so much yelling, they scared half the customers ugh-"

"Madam, do you remember the name of this man? How he looked maybe, a description would do us great help." Sage smirked pulling out a paper from a lower drawer, a complete drawing of a very handsome man sat on it staring at them with a sly smirk.

"I knew you were gonna ask that, i let Manny draw him for you, he's very good isn't he?" Doohickey picked up the paper with a smile, it definitely was an impressive job and on the side was noted his hair and eye color plus anything particular they had noticed.

"Exceptional."

"The name Sage, what's the man's name." Clancy pushed with a raised eyebrow, Sage huffed as they leaned forward.

"You're no fun you know that? From the fight and the few times Alex asked for where he sat, his name should be…Clarence."

Well shit, or hell that was great news but what they be doing in a place like this? Dealing? No, Sage seemed too strict even at first meeting to have that kind of business running around their bar without any notice from their attentive eye and they also mentioned another kind of business... Doohickey slightly leaned forward, his face scrunched but getting full attention from Sage.

"Could you tell what kind of business they were doing?"

Sage gave a quite shocked soft chuckle hiding behind their hand, even Clancy looked at him a bit speechless but he remained only confused.
"Business? Constable, constable they were lovers! Why do you think they would be coming here for?" Sage continued to chuckle as Doohickey got a bit red but the information was enough to pull him out of his trance and finally understandthis was no normal bar but a gay club or well still more a fancy bar than anything else.

"You said you haven't seen Alex?" Sage hummed with a nod at his question.

"So…Could this Clarence be here tonight?" They looked at the calendar to make sure of the date before giving a firm nod, Clancy smirked as he somehow made their intentions clear to Sage on what their idea was, they scoffed a bit disappointed but shooed them out of her office with an elegant hand.

"Fine, fine stay over or whatever. Cherry if you wanna do a number just ask the girls for your stuff, they know where it is."

"I'll think about it." Sage gave a final hum and the door closed behind them, Doohickey gave Clancy a curious look but said nothing only having a smirk on his face, he gave Doohickey a wary glance but moved first towards the bar.

"So, you're a performer?"

"In my free time."

Doohickey hummed still following closely with a smirk plastered over his face what went through his mind the blond had no clue of it.

Clancy remained silent for a while before they reached Archie, the man who had opened the door, and referred to him what Sage had let them do, Archie laughed before giving his okay.

"Cherry, we have the full band tonight you could do your number!" He said excitedly while he watched the few waiters prepare tables and chairs, Doohickey had left to make a call to the Chief telling him their whereabouts.

"Mh i don't know, it's been a while we haven't practiced together that much lately." Archie raised up an eyebrow a smirk slowly forming over his lips while he looked up and down Clancy's face.

"Is it because your colleague is here?"

"What-"

"Hey, Chief just gave the okay for us to be here." Doohickey had appeared suddenly interrupting the two, Clancy slightly panicked while Archie had a smile badly covered by a hand.

"Everything good?"

Clancy seemed to almost say something but got pushed aside when Archie started speaking. "Well yes, I was trying to convince Cherry to perform. You wouldn't mind me stealing him for a bit right?"

Doohickey gave a quick glance at Clancy's face but the man was face palming to notice him.
"Uh i mean, if he wants to. I don't mind." Clancy looked up at him with a weird look in his eyes but Doohickey had no time to think about it as the man was snatched away quickly by Archie with promising words to bring him back, not sure when but Doohickey was sure he'd be back at some point.

He chuckled to himself as he found a seat on one of the booths facing the stage, he sighed as he finally sat down on the soft cushion.

Resting his head against his hand he looked around the bar with curious eyes as he noticed the well painted ceiling and the way the wooden counter complemented well with the overall atmosphere of the place, Sage definitely had some good taste in color coordination because the place looked amazing with very well hidden details that refined the entire look of it all.

Slowly through the hours passing by with Clancy gone and few casual words he exchanged with one waiter, the night slowly seeped through the bar and a few people came in early chatting up with each other and sitting a bit further down from where Doohickey was; a joyous laugh of a young woman arrived at his ears as he wondered what they were talking about, then he saw her with a man by her side sitting down few tables down from his view.

The woman smiled sweetly as her partner moved away to ask a waiter for something: she had soft looking face with lashes moving swiftly as she blinked, her hair cut in a short curly haircut was pinned to the side with a beautiful hairpin it reflected the lights above her.

She reminded Doohickey of her, the woman he had loved for years from back when she was young and full of love for him and their future together, for the times he would see her gazing at the engagement ring he had gotten her with fingers grazing it lovingly.
He missed seeing her the morning but the thought of even touching the memory made him want to vomit for what she had done to their love, he couldn't hate Clancy, no, the man had no idea who she was, Doohickey couldn't stay angry at the man for long but it was just the only thing close enough to her that made him burn with rage.

Tlack

A glass was put down in front of him, a young man smiled down at him as he moved the glass closer. "From Archie, you good? Looks like you got…troubles on your mind."
Doohickey chuckled as he sipped the glass, it was a simple non-alcohol drink but it made him smile at the thoughtfulness.

"Don't worry about it kid." The waiter chuckled but leaned closely on the table as he stared back deep in his eyes.

"Come on, just a penny for your thoughts."

Doohickey shook his head as he sipped again on his drink, he knew the waiter wasn't asking by chance he could see it in his eyes a flicker of interest Doohickey couldn't give back the way the kid would have liked.

"Trust me, it's nothing nice to hear on such a night."

"Mh what a pity-"

"Jamie!"
Archie had finally come back but by himself with arms crossed, he looked over them and immediately Jamie moved away from Doohickey with an apologetic look and disappeared behind the counter.

"Sorry about him, he tends to go for older men can't always keep an eye on him."

Doohickey chuckled sipping on his drink while motioning for Archie to sit, which the man kindly refused deciding to just rest his body on the booth facing front to him.

"You know, Jamie is the one who spoke with your man." Archie said after a beat of silence between the two.

"Really?" The man hummed as he passed his hands over the cushions with a lost gaze.

"Jamie told me he had looked sad, distraught even and had the compassion to ask what was wrong. He said he didn't answer just cried into his drinks all night." Doohickey smiled a bit even with the bitterness spreading in his mouth at hearing Clarence's emotional roller coaster and thanked Archie for the information; he thought about it, as the bar slowly filled with people mostly regulars or patrons.

A man, Clarence, in love with Alex, distraught over something even crying over it maybe, could he…no Frederick, don't make suppositions rely on facts only. Alex was not dead not in Doohickey's mind and maybe Clarence was the key to open the door to his hidden soul.