Well, the owner was no Uncle Iroh to be sure. A gaunt woman in her sixties, she flung the plate in front of Zuko with supreme disdain.
"Here you go. One fruit tart, peach and lychee. Just holler if you want seconds."
Tasting a mouthful of his pie, Zuko nodded appreciatively. Hm. Not bad. Scraping the last residue crumbs off the plate, he gestured at the owner.
"I'll have second helpings, please! Mm, this is quite delicious!"
The owner shrugged. "The new cook suggested we turn the place into an all out vegan diner. Draws quite the crowd these days. You'd be surprised."
Zuko examined his fellow guests in interest. "Oh really? What type of clientele would that be, then? Trendy city people, eh?"
The owner shook her grizzled head. "Nah, not exactly. Mostly foreign exchange students and their friends. Once they've tasted the food, they tend to stick around."
"I'm not surprised they do. I might want to order a takeout someday."
"Nope. We don't do those." The owner ducked out of sight into what was presumably the kitchen, leaving Zuko searching for the photo in his pocket.
Damn! Not very sociable, is she? Well, I might just have to order a third piece of pie.
The door swung open, blasting Zuko with a cold gush of air. Leaning over the counter, the newcomer called out with some urgency.
"Hama! Are you in there? I need to talk to you! Please!"
Zuko eyed the new customer in interest. A young woman with long dark brown hair, she was casually dressed in jeans, sneakers and a simple sky blue sweater. Also, her cheeks were flushed and her fingers kept strumming the counter nervously. As the owner materialized out of the kitchen, the young woman burst out.
"Hama, have you seen him? He was supposed to meet me for lunch at the University Cafeteria. But he never turned up! No one's seen him today. It's like he vanished off the face of the earth!"
The owner reached out to polish some glasses, her gnarled face a study of indifference. "Worried he took off, are you Katara? Well, I wouldn't wrack my brain on that account. That boy's crazy about you to be sure."
Fiddling with her medallion necklace, the young woman almost yelled out loud.
"Are you deaf, Hama? He's gone! Vanished! Disappeared! He didn't turn up for any of his classes today. Have you seen him?"
Arranging glasses and tableware calmly, the owner nodded. "Yes, Katara. I saw him this morning. He came in and ordered two pieces of peach and lychee pie just like this gentleman over there."
Blue eyes pierced Zuko momentarily in what appeared, inexplicably, to be disgust. The girl dismissed him just as quickly.
"Well! So, he had breakfast here, did he? Then, what happened? Did he leave with someone?"
The owner shrugged. "I've no idea, Katara. The place was packed. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. What's with the panic? You're thinking he's seeing someone else? Well if I were you, I wouldn't worry. He's as blind as a badgermole to other girls."
The girl shook her head desperately. "No! I'm not worried about that, Hama! I've just got this terrible feeling…"
"Excuse me." Flashing his ID badge at the young woman, Zuko made her turn in annoyance. Locating the mortuary photograph of the dead young man, he placed it on the counter.
"Detective Duchamps of Caldera Police. Would this by any chance be who you're looking for?"