Prologue
In this City, people only truly find rest when they're dead - or when they're recovering at the Eugenia Medical Center. Tucked away in this walled garden, you forget about the cruelty of the City for a while. You let your defenses down while you're nursed back to health. I can't count the number of times I've thought about quitting City PD while in this joint. I thought about just staying in bed here forever. Maybe I'd turn into a sunflower or something like that - give the City just a tiny bit of color before I wilt and fade.
Tranquil as this place is, though, when you've got unfinished business like me, I don't have time to die. I count the days before I'm discharged so I can carry on chasing this City's many shadows.
Irys Hopewell is probably just like that.
She's a Nephilim jazz singer and a rising star in the music scene. Fading starlets on the verge of breakdown can't sing songs that soften the hard hearts of the City like she can. She's no primma donna either - choosing to stay in the Nephilim Jazz Club instead of moving on to the big screen.
A performer with the heart of Vaudeville still coursing through her veins.
A V-Singer.
The bright girl faced down Tommy Guns in the Nephilim Jazz Club that night, but I can tell that she can't wait to return to the stage. The fire of her heart still burns strong. All that Kiara and I have to do now is hold a candle of truth close enough to the flame.
…
"HiRys! I'm Irys!" The Nephilim gave her greeting with a crisp, clear voice.
Ame furrowed her brow for a moment. She was taken aback by the Nephilim's strange phrase. Irys was famous for opening her packed shows with that greeting, but Ame didn't think that she'd hear it up close in a hospital wing.
On the other hand, Kiara was absolutely starstruck! She was so excited to be in front of one of the City's celebrities that she very nearly forgot that she, as 'Erika', couldn't speak a lick of English! It took a lot of effort for her to keep her mouth shut and let Ame do the talking for them once more.
"Sorry about that, Miss Hopewell. I'm Amelon. My partner Erika's German, but she's a huge fan of yours." Ame apologized cordially.
"Is that so? I'm glad!" Irys smiled at Ame. She then turned to Kiara as well and spoke in heavily accented German, " Danke… uh… shoen ?"
Kiara clapped her hands now, no longer able to maintain her silence.
"Ooooh~! Danke schön! Danke schön! " Kiara squawked happily.
The Phoenix's earnest reaction made Irys' smile grow even warmer.
"Alright then. To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Amelon and Miss Erika?" Irys finally asked with veiled inquisitiveness in her two-colored eyes, "Visiting hours ended already, and I doubt that you're here to join me for dinner. I just finished."
Hmph, she's sharper than I thought.
"It's a long story, Miss Hopewell." Ame carefully revealed, "Erika and I actually just joined the Shrimps gang today. Gura wanted us to deliver something to Fauna - and then Fauna had us send it to you!"
"You two are with the Shrimps gang, huh?" Irys paused. She watched Ame and Kiara with more scrutiny now.
Ame and Kiara promptly produced the shrimp-shaped pins that were given to them at the Lemon Shark cannery. That was enough proof for the Nephilim's curious eyes. Irys rekindled her smile and spoke casually once more.
"In that case, you don't have to call me Miss Hopewell, you two. 'Irys' is fine!"
"Heh, we'd appreciate that a lot, Irys." Ame nodded, "Isn't that right, Erika?"
Kiara happily nodded.
"It's a shame that Gura herself couldn't come and visit." Irys' smile soured for a moment, "I've been vocalizing whenever I can while I'm here at Eugenia Medical, but I was hoping that I could have done a little duet with her."
"Duet? Gura sings…?" Ame raised her brow, "That's news to me."
"You haven't heard Gura sing?" Irys chuckled, "Well, I guess it's not something that the hardboiled leader of the mighty Shrimps gang would have wanted her foot soldiers to know. The two of you are fresh off the shrimping boat too!" She looked at Ame and Kiara now and asked, "You don't think any less of your boss now, do you?"
Kiara turned to Ame as well and waited for her answer.
Ame rubbed her chin and thought about what she saw in the Lemon Shark Fruit Cannery. Tough as Gura was, there was a side of the Queenpin that Ame found admirable.
Dare Ame say, 'cute'.
The disguised detective snorted.
"It's a pleasant surprise, Irys. I thought she was uptight when we first met her. Pretty strange too. But it's good to know she's got singing as an outlet of hers." She put a hand on her hips and spoke honestly, "I'd like to hear her sing sometime. If she ever lets us."
Irys' two-colored eyes sparkled and she smiled again.
"Keep that sharkie girl happy and I'm sure you'll get your chance, Amelon!" Irys promised, "She's cuter than you think!"
Ame smiled back. She didn't disagree with that statement.
"So then!" Irys clapped, "What is it that Gura wanted you to bring to me?"
When Irys asked this, Kiara brought out the repackaged packages. While the Nephilim was going through the paper bag, Ame twirled a lock of her golden hair between her fingers.
"This was the first assignment that the Boss gave us." Ame explained, acting coyly, "We still don't really know what went on in the Nephilim Club that night. But we hope that the Boss' gift helps you out."
Irys carefully opened the package from Gura and revealed its contents: canned fruit from the Lemon Shark Fruit Cannery. Ame and Kiara pretended to look surprised by the contents. Regardless, Irys was delighted by Gura's present.
"Fruit salad!" Irys cheered, "My favorite!"
She raised it up to the light of the hanging lamps of her room. Ame and Kiara watched the celebrity fondly.
Then, all of a sudden, Irys brought the can to one of her smaller Nephilim horns and poked open a hole.
"Ooh. Nice hiss!" Irys remarked.
She proceeded to open up the can with her horn like a can opener. Ame's and Kiara's jaws dropped.
What in the world…!?
Completely unaware of Ame's and Kiara's shock, Irys passed the now open can to them and asked, "Want some?"
"U-uh… we'll pass." A pale-faced Ame promptly declined. Kiara, likewise, pursed her lips and stepped away from the open can.
"Huh? But this is the good stuff!" She found a clean fork from her dinner meal tray and started eating straight from the can. All the while, she spoke with a sing-song voice, "Yummy, yummy, yummy! Fruit salad~!"
Neither Ame nor Kiara ever thought that their first private concert with a celebrity would be a jingle about fruit salad.
Once Irys finished up half of the can, she set it aside and reached for the second repackaged package. Likewise, Ame and Kiara tensed up. They wondered what other ungodly things they would see Irys do with the tea and the tea set from the other Queenpin. So much so that the two of them closed their eyes and prepared for the worst.
They heard water being poured from a thermos. Then, the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed tea filled the room.
Ame and Kiara dared to open their eyes. Then, they saw that Irys had poured three cups of tea from the tea set! Once again, Irys offered 'Amelon' and 'Erika' cups of tea. The Nephilim pouted at the two.
"What the heck did you think I was going to do with the tea?" Irys asked with a frown.
Honestly, Ame didn't want to answer that question. Instead, she and Kiara obliged and sheepishly accepted the tea.
Irys and Kiara sipped their tea but Ame did so more cautiously. She kept her wits about her and prepared to spit out the tea if it turned out to be poison.
However, it was just Earl Gray tea.
Good, imported Earl Gray tea.
While Ame savored the flavor of the exquisite tea, Irys smiled at the two and remarked, "It's good tea, huh?"
Kiara nodded quietly but wholeheartedly. Ame followed suit.
"Well!" Irys' voice swelled along with her excitement, "Do you know that you just drank tea from the Swingwell Trade and Freight Union company?"
Ame and Kiara already knew that, but Irys looked so proud of herself. The Nephilim's chest was puffed up and she wore the smuggest of smiles like she had just won a Nobel Peace Prize. The two detectives, again, acted shocked and played along with Irys' fantasy.
Now that her ego was inflated and stroked, Irys leaned back into her bed and mellowed down. She then turned to Ame and Kiara and spoke more earnestly.
"You may not know this, you two, but your boss Gura isn't on super bad terms with Calliope Mori." Irys revealed. She picked up her cup and looked into her reflection in the tea, "Those two are rowdy and antagonistic, but they're civil and honorable. The two of them actually support me and the Nephilim Jazz Club community." She paused and wore a smile for her guests, "Calli and Gura attend my shows at the same time sometimes. I only caught a glimpse of them from the stage when I performed, but I could tell that they didn't dislike each other's company."
Ame set down her teacup and turned to Irys.
"Is that so? But in the newspapers, boss Gura and…"
"The newspapers don't know the real Calli and Gura." Irys interrupted. She looked straight into Ame's eyes and smiled, "But I do."
"Erika and I were at the fruit cannery just today." Ame argued, "Boss Gura's preparing for war. Our folks who poke around the South say that Calliope Mori is doing the same."
"That's because they're being manipulated." Irys countered.
She finally stunned the doubtful Ame.
After moments of tense silence, Irys set down her teacup as well.
"Allow me to tell you something that you won't see in the newspapers - something that I didn't tell the journalists or the City PD detective who questioned me." Irys glanced at Ame and Kiara and revealed, "On the night of the shooting, Calli and Gura weren't in the jazz club. Their lieutenants were the ones who shot up the place!"
"Their lieutenants…!?" Ame gasped.
"That's right." Irys confirmed, "The Deadbeats' Death-sensei… and the Shrimps' Bloop. They're the ones who started the bloodshed. They're the reason why I nearly died!"
…
Queenpins
Two-Colored Lies
…
To Be Continued