Ryou didn't remember falling asleep, but tried to hide his embarrassment when he realized he had passed out on the job. He occupied himself with gathering up his notes for the day's work, avoiding eye contact with his companion. Malik didn't say anything, but watched him with curious fascination. Ryou spent some time gathering himself – he didn't want to think of the disappointment his client felt at his less than professional behavior.

Normally, Ryou didn't care about how he looked, but there were several people he needed to talk to today, and he suspected that it wouldn't hurt to clean up a bit. He brushed out his hair, regaining some of the luster it had lost over the last few days. Malik quietly tidied up his appearance as well, trying to brush out the wrinkles in his shirt.

"Remind me to grab a set of clothes next time we're near the university. Not all of us enjoy looking like common riffraff."

Ryou pressed his lips together, hiding a smile as he watched Malik button his vest. Despite a night on the couch, Malik managed to still look beautiful, even with all the wrinkles. Ryou didn't voice these thoughts, changing into a new shirt. He had offered Malik a change of clothes, but his companion was a bit too tall to fit.

Once they had finished getting ready, Ryou grabbed the keys on his desk. He pocketed them, pulling on his coat as he glanced out the window. The sunlight peaked through the window, teasing a warm spring day.

Without another word, Ryou started his hunt again, Malik close by. He wasn't really sure what to say. He had many theories and thoughts about the killer, but he needed to find more evidence. Hard evidence outside of a personality diagnosis. The file regarding the disappearance of Isis Ishtar remained pitifully empty of useful information. They couldn't deduce where she had disappeared, nor did they have any suspects.

Well, aside from the usual delinquents the police kept their eyes on.

Still, one of the suspects listed might actually be of some use.

Ryou pulled out a journal, crammed with photos, notes, and any other pieces of evidence he could fit between the pages. A voice interrupted his thoughts; "So what's the plan for today?"

Ryou turned back to his companion. He paused, noticing how the sunlight restored some of the color in Malik's appearance. He still looked rather tired and haggard (though Ryou suspected no more tired than himself). Still, the light made his hair shine, a stunning glow to his skin. Ryou felt a twinge of something resembling jealousy – his pale features were sallower in the light. At least in the dark, he could pretend the shadows caused his ghostly appearance.

Ryou gestured to his notebook, a couple of names written down. "We're going to talk to some people who might be able to help on the case. Going off the police report, there's only one person of interest who might actually have information. And I know a gal who lives near where your sister was kidnapped who might have seen something. It'll be worth checking to see if these pull up anything."

Malik nodded, eyes furrowed. "When you say person of interest…?"

"He's listed as a suspect, but, I can assure you, the only thing he's guilty of is being a prat."

Malik raised an eyebrow, trying to see if Ryou was joking. He wished he was joking. Still, the man had his uses for all the pain and headaches he caused the police department.

Ryou didn't know where his suspect lived, but he decided to visit a few places he knew he liked to linger. As he followed along the Thames, popping into a few of the suspect's favorite haunts, he decided to at least attempt small talk. He couldn't bear the awkward silence hanging over them.

"So, when did you move to London, Malik?" Ryou asked, eyes skipping over the crowd of people walking by.

Malik tossed some bread crumbs to the birds in front of them, accepting the fact that they would be waiting here until Ryou was satisfied. His lack of complaints about Ryou's methods was a plus in Ryou's books. "About five years ago. Me and my siblings have been working at King's College since then in the history department. Consider us resident specialists."

"Do you like your work?"

Malik narrowed his eyes, shrugging. "I suppose. It's not bad work and I get to stay with my family. I do miss home a bit. It's a lot warmer there than it is here."

"So I've heard. I can't imagine your reasoning for leaving Egypt for this dreary city," Ryou snorted, annoyed at the cloud passing over the sun. It was so rare that they didn't have a cloudy day – he wanted the warm spring day to last.

Malik let out a short, barking laugh, a harsh look in his eyes. "It's not like we had a choice. It's my family's duty to protect the relics belonging to a long dead king. When the Brits came and started taking stuff out of the country, we did what we could to keep everything there. When it became clear that our duty meant nothing, we decided it would be better to stay with the king's relics and guard them away from our homeland."

Ryou blinked, startled by this information. He had no idea about this. The news coverage on the Ishtar siblings framed them as educated foreigners who had chosen to work in their fine city. He should have figured that was a skewed truth. "My condolences. That hardly seems fair to you."

Malik sighed, giving a weak smile. His expression softened a touch. "It's okay. To be fair, I never wanted to protect the Pharaoh's treasure. Duties of a firstborn son, I suppose."

"I thought you had an older brother?"

"He's adopted. My family line is confusing."

"So it seems. I take it you're close to your siblings, though?"

Malik nodded, a soft look on his face. "Very. Despite my own grievances with family lineage and inheritance and duty, my siblings have been my one constant through it all."

Ryou nodded, but said nothing. He sensed that there was more that Malik wasn't telling him, but knew better than to pry into business that wasn't his to know. He respected Malik's loyalty and love for his siblings. It reminded Ryou that he needed to do his best to help him find his sister.

Malik stretched his arms over his head, finally finished tearing up the bread for the birds. He cracked his neck. "Do you mind if I grab us some food? I don't think you've eaten anything today and I'm starving already."

Ryou blinked, now suddenly realizing the hungry pit in his stomach. "Uh yeah, actually, that sounds great. I sort of lost track of time."

"I noticed you do that a lot," Malik stated, lingering over the words. Ryou paused, confused by the smirk Malik gave him. He shook his head and reached into his pocket.

"I know there's a place around the corner that sells meat pies. The shop should be open by now. Let me just give you some cash," Ryou muttered, struggling to place his wallet. He could have sworn he had grabbed it this morning. He checked the other coat pocket before checking the pocket on his vest.

"Forgot your wallet?" Malik asked, glancing around as he waited for Ryou.

Ryou's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing in thought. "More like lost it, but where-"

He swore, face burning at his mistake. He leapt up from his spot sitting on the small stone wall by the river, marveling at his stupidity for missing the very suspect they sought. He gritted his teeth, swiveling his head around as he scoured the crowd. He heard Malik asking what was wrong, but a low cackle caught his ear.

"Bakura, damnit! Give me back my wallet!" Ryou jerked back, glaring at an albino who snuck his way in behind the two.

Bakura just gave him a cheeky grin, hands stuffed into his black overcoat. A quick glance might have confused the two for each other, though the subtle differences became apparent as they drew close.

"Wait, who the hell is this?" Malik asked, eyes darting back and forth between Ryou and Bakura in confused alarm.

Ryou raised a hand to cover his face, his irritation seeping through his usually detached façade. "Malik, this is Bakura. He's a cheater and a thief and a dick."

Bakura made a mock gasp, a facetious grin growing on his face. "Ryou, I'm horrified to hear that you think of me in such a way! What have I ever done to you to deserve such treatment?"

"You keep stealing my shit and interfering with police cases! Now give me back my wallet!" Ryou growled, reaching out to grab the thief's arm.

Bakura stepped away, dancing away from Ryou before quickly moving in on Malik. He wrapped an arm around Malik's neck, pulling him in close. He smirked at Ryou as he made light of their antics. "At least do me the honor of giving me a proper introduction. The name's Bakura and I specialize in fraudulence and alternative knowledge."

Malik blinked, trying to squirm away from the friendly albino. His eyes narrowed as he realized his implications. "You're a con man."

"In a way. I like to see it as giving people a new way of thinking about life!" Bakura explained, his lips drawing close to Malik's ear. Ryou swallowed as he watched Malik shiver involuntarily, his irritation reaching a peak.

"Stop trying to rob my friend and give me back my wallet!" Ryou snapped, walking back over to the two.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bakura grinned, a knowing look on his face.

Ryou walked right up to Bakura, reaching his hand out. The thief turned back as if expecting him to reach into his pocket, but Ryou knew better. He dug his hand into Malik's right pocket, which Bakura had slipped his hand into. He clenched the pale wrist, frowning while Bakura's grin widened.

"The hell?" Malik snapped, twisting out of Bakura's grasp and pulling away to check for all of his belongings. Ryou stood there, still holding the thief's wrist waiting to get his wallet back.

Bakura smirked, winking at Ryou. "It's been awhile, Ryou. Did you miss me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I don't have time for your shit."

"You do seem rather busy. What're you working on nowadays?"

"The Jack the Ripper case. But you already knew that."

Bakura shrugged, a light smirk on his face. He raised a hand up to trace the circles under Ryou's eyes with a curious fascination. Ryou jerked his head away, not wanting to play the thief's games today. Bakura chuckled before glancing behind Ryou at his Egyptian companion standing close by. "Who's the beautiful eye candy?"

Ryou scowled. "His name is Malik and he's my client. His sister is involved in the case."

"So you're not bedding him. Good. That means he's free-"

Ryou twisted Bakura's wrist, a small twinge of satisfaction as he saw the man hiss in pain. It did little to ease his irritation. "What did I say about not having time to deal with your bullshit?"

"I got it! Geez, just let me go!" Bakura hissed, yanking his wrist free. Ryou let him go, eyes carefully scrutinizing the thief. He was aware that Bakura still had his wallet, but, more than that, he might also have answers.

"I noticed something interesting on the case file for Ms. Ishtar. It listed you as one of the suspects who might have kidnapped her. Any idea why?" Ryou asked, watching Bakura's reaction. This man normally had an excellent poker face, but even Bakura didn't know how to mask all of his emotions.

Bakura shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Perhaps because I'm their go to suspect for anything that goes wrong in this city. Logically, I'm responsible for every burglary, murder, and arson problem in London."

Ryou rolled his eyes, turning back to Malik. If Bakura was going to be difficult, perhaps Malik might be able to fill in the gaps until they saw the whole picture. "Hey, Malik, did your sister have to file a complaint in the police department? Anything stolen in the last year?"

Malik frowned, thinking for a moment. "Well, there was the incident at the university last year. Someone broke in and stole the king's scepter. We never recovered it-" Malik stopped, eyes flicking up to Bakura.

The thief shrugged, wearing a neutral expression. "That could have been any thief. The university doesn't have very good security."

Ryou looked down at his notebook to the small list he had comprised. "You've been charged with the theft of multiple rare artifacts in the past, Mr. Bakura. This is nothing new in your behavior. But I find it interesting that only one of the charges ended with jail time for you and that was the theft of an Egyptian artifact."

Ryou closed his eyes, a small smile on his face. "And not long after you got out on parole, women started being murdered. You were found near the scene of the crime of two the victims, yet you were released due to a lack of evidence. But what I find most suspicious is how the top historian in Egyptology suddenly goes missing a few months later.

"What a smart cover-up to draw us away from your real intentions of getting revenge on Ms. Ishtar, wouldn't you say?"

Bakura glared, eyes flicking between the two men in front of him. Ryou noticed Malik tremble next to him, quickly raising a hand to calm his companion. Ryou knew that the thought of his sister's kidnapper being right in front of them was torturous to Malik. But Ryou saw the bigger picture. He saw how he could manipulate information until he got the truth.

"Piss off, Ryou. You know I didn't do it," Bakura snapped, annoyance seeping through into his voice.

Ryou flipped through the pages, stopping at the photo near the end. He pulled it out and passed it to Bakura. "Then tell me what really happened. Tell me about any and all interactions with Ms. Ishtar and what you observed from the two crime scenes you were found at. If you weren't the murderer, it'll be made apparent by your honesty. As hard as that might be for a con man like you."

Ryou smirked, chuckling when he saw Bakura's eyes flash with anger. After dealing with numerous cases involving Bakura and usually getting the short end of the stick, it was good to see the man cornered and squirming under scrutiny. Bakura raised a hand to brush back his wild hair, only for it stick right back up into place once his fingers had passed through. His eyes settled on the picture as he studied the woman, nodding while he thought to himself.

Bakura let out a loud sigh, hand dropping to his side. "I never met Isis, sorry to disappoint. I only know of her because her family works there, so I was familiar with the staff and their working hours. I was caught because the police were already on alert when I arrived at the university to do my usual shtick."

"Already on alert?"

Bakura nodded. "Yeah, it was already a shit show before I even arrived. I ran, but the police arrived later with an arrest warrant. After they raided my home and some other trinkets that I have no idea how they got there showed up, I was sentenced to a short interim in jail, but nothing substantive."

Ryou noticed Malik clenching his fists, lavender eyes narrowing. While it would sound like motive to most people, Ryou knew better than to think so. Bakura wasn't one to seek revenge on Isis because he was sloppy on the job. He knew that was how Bakura viewed the whole situation. Had he done a better job covering his tracks, then he would've never been caught.

"So you weren't arrested for theft of an Egyptian artifact?" Ryou asked, curious about this new detail.

Bakura laughed, his face a cross between annoyance and amusement. "I never even got my hands on what I was looking for. I had planned to make off with a few jewels, but I couldn't find anything of precious metal. As for the scepter, I have no idea where that ended up. Maybe she lost it while cleaning up – who knows?"

Ryou furrowed his brow. He had assumed Bakura had stolen it because that would make sense for him. Bakura even admitted to having planned on stealing the item. So if he didn't take it, where was the scepter now?

"So after you got out from petty thief charges, why were you near the murder scenes so shortly after the murders?" Ryou asked, having a sense that he might already know the answer.

Bakura smirked, a gleam in his eyes. "Because I do my best work at night. You know that. Petty thieves steal small during the day – legendary thieves make history in the night."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "You dramatic moron. I figured you would say something like that. Did you perhaps see the murderer?"

Bakura shook his head. "When I stumbled upon the scene, the women were already dead and the killer gone. Sorry to say that I don't know much else outside of that. I know that's not what you wanted to hear."

"Not really, but I'm getting used to the whole 'no witness' ordeal that is this case. Mind if I ask one more question?"

"Yeah, I do mind, but I get the sense you're going to ask anyway."

"Are you Jack the Ripper and did you kill any of these women?" Ryou pulled out the seven photos tied to the serial killer case. Bakura took the photos, staring unflinchingly at the gory bodies that had been brutalized before death. His expression was harsh and jaded, accustomed already to such violence.

"First, that was two questions. And second, does me saying no really indicate that I'm innocent?" Bakura handed the photos back to Ryou. "No, I'm not Jack the Ripper and no, I did not kill these women. I'm a connoisseur of alternative knowledge and perspective, not a murderer. Now, whether you believe is up to you."

Ryou took the photos back, sliding them back into the notebook after he finished writing down his notes. He sighed, shaking his head to flip his bangs out of his face. "Okay. That's all I have for you for now. You don't suppose I could bug you if I have more questions?"

Bakura just cackled, turning away to leave. "Fat chance. I've got places to be, money to be made, lovers awaiting – How about I'll bug you when I need a distraction, okay?"

Ryou let out an exasperated groan, storming after Bakura. "My wallet, you ass!"

Bakura grinned, raising his hands up as if to feign innocence. Ryou rolled his eyes, reaching into the black trench coat and locating his wallet. He struggled to pull it out of the pocket when he felt Bakura lean in close, his lips close to his ears.

"You sure I can't help you take your mind off things?" Bakura purred, the facetious grin on his face.

Ryou snorted, yanking his hand out of Bakura's coat pocket and leaning back to check if he still had all of his money. As far as he could tell, nothing of value was missing. "Can you please shut up for five minutes?"

"Geez, you're turning into a real anal son of a bitch. You need to stop spending so much time around Commissioner Kaiba."

Ryou knew he shouldn't have laughed out loud, but the sound escaped before he could stop it. He covered his mouth, trying to scowl while Bakura grinned at him like Ryou was the main course. "Is there anything about you that isn't sarcasm and snark?"

Bakura gave a low chuckle, slowly stepping away. "You know that's what you like best about me. I'll see you around, Detective Ryou."

Ryou watched him step backwards, quickly disappearing into the throng of travelers. Despite his rather distinctive hair, he had a gift for losing himself in a crowd and Ryou quickly lost visuals on him. He sighed, raising a hand to rub at his temple. He heard Malik walking up to him, glancing back to see his companion wore a rather bewildered expression.

"That was… wow."

Ryou snorted, nodding. "Yeah, he's a real pain in the ass. I've dealt with him long enough to know that and not much else about him."

Malik frowned, raising a hand to pull his hair back into a ponytail. His brow furrowed as he regarded Ryou. "You don't really think he's Jack the Ripper, do you?"

Ryou smiled, glad that despite his early display of aggression, Malik seemed to have reached the same conclusion. "Not likely. While he's most certainly guilty of… lesser crimes, as you've heard him admit to, he's no murderer. It would have been nice if he had seen the killer, though I'm not surprised. No one's come forward saying they've seen Jack the Ripper yet. Perhaps one day we'll actually have a witness."

"Preferably sooner rather than later," Malik muttered, eyes gazing around the cobblestone streets. There were more people milling about as it grew closer to noon. Ryou was relieved that he hadn't needed to waste the entire day trying to hunt down Bakura. That gave them the afternoon to talk to another potential witness.

He heard a loud grumble next to him, his eyes shifting to stare at Malik's stomach. His companion's arms shot his midriff, an embarrassed look crossing his face. Ryou smiled, giggling at what he was sure was Malik trying not to blush. "I'm sorry. You're probably still hungry. Let's grab some lunch, then. Hopefully it will be Bakura-free."