Dahlia decided to walk to Tender Lender. It was bit out of her way, but it was a nice day and she wanted to stretch her legs. Eventually, she passed by a restaurant that made her gag. Just by looking through the window she could tell the place was overflowing with frill and painted with an overwhelming amount of pink. She quickened her pace to get away from the building and entered a fruit-themed park, complete with an uninviting-looking old man feeding the pigeons.

Finally, she came across a brick building with a sign that read "Tender Lender." Dahlia walked through the doors and soon found herself in an office. There were a few strange items on display, along with a sign depicting the company's infamous slogan.

"Hello again, Ms. Fey," Violetta said.

Dahlia jumped, she hadn't heard her come up from behind her. "Oh, hello Violetta."

"What bring you to Tender Lender?" Violetta said.

"You dropped this at the crime- I mean park," Dahlia said, taking out the keychain.

"Thank you," Violetta said, put the key chain in her pocket. "And what was that about a crime?"

"Did Lotta tell you about what happened at Exposé Park?" Dahlia said.

"I heard someone was dead," Violetta said.

"Yes," Dahlia said, trying very hard not to be unnerved by the young woman. "Did you know Maggey Byrde?"

"Not personally," Violetta said. "But she was a customer here, before she died."

"Really?" Dahlia said.

"Her debt was piling up," Violetta said. "It's a shame she died before she could pay it."

"I see," Dahlia said. Interesting.

"I'll be right back," Violetta said. "I think the coffee is ready."

Violetta walked away, and Dahlia looked around. However, she was soon interrupted.

"GGGRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRR!"

Dahlia spun around, arms raised for self-defense. A large man with orange skin and a shirt depicting a tiger and a dragon burst into the room.

"Who are you?" Dahlia said. And where did you get that shirt? The 1960's?

"Don Tigre," Violetta said, making Dahlia flinch. "Welcome back."

The man wilted, clasping his hands together. "H-hey Violetta."

"Would you like some coffee? I made it myself" Violetta said.

"Sure thing," the man said. He regained his aura of wild power and his hair stood straight out.

His hair is spiked out. Dahlia stared at the man as Violetta left once more.

"So, youse a customer or something?" the man said. "I'm Furio Tigre, the owner of this fine establishment."

"Oh, I'm not here to borrow money or anything," Dahlia said. "I'm… a friend of Violetta's."

"A friend of Violetta's?" Furio said.

"Yeah," Dahlia said. "So… where'd you get the shirt? It suits you."

"This?" Furio said, tugged on his collar. "Just some store, don't remember which."

"Oh, so Mr. Tigre, what have you been up to lately?" Dahlia said. "Just get back from a meeting or something?"

"Ize was just out on my scooter. Violetta and I were on break," Furio said.

Why do I get the impression that he's not really from Brooklyn? Dahlia nodded. "So how long have you known Violetta?"

"A couple months, I guess. What zit to ya?" Furio said.

Down, Tiger Boy. Dahlia faked a smile. "I was just curious. Say, Mr. Tigre, can I ask you something about Violetta? I'm really curious, but I don't want to be rude."

"Spit it out. What do you want?" Furio said.

"It's about Violetta's bandages," Dahlia said, lowering her voice. "What happened to her?"

Chains rolled around and locked the tiger-man in a cage of his secrets. 4 Psyche-Locks kept the chains in place. Furio, naturally, was unaware of it and appeared completely unfazed. "That's a personal matter, understand girlie? I'm not gonna gossip with ya."

Girlie? Alright, I'm gonna make him spill his guts then slip on them. Dahlia reached for Magatama, but stopped herself when she realized she had no idea what to do. All she knew about Violetta's injury was that it was a secret.

Not a lot to go on. I guess I'll have to get to it later. Dahlia put her hands in her pockets.

"Alright, I got business to take care of," Furio said. "See ya."

Furio left the room, leaving Dahlia alone in the room. Okay, now I can investigate.

Dahlia snooped around the office, examining the strange decorates around the room. She found maybe things that could be classified as interesting; a pink fur-lined long coat, a book about Brooklyn dialect and a punching bag to name a few, but nothing related to Maggey's murder.

On the desk, Dahlia spotted a loose sheet of paper. She grabbed it and discovered that it was a repair bill for a motorized scooter. Attached to the bill was a picture of a pink scooter and according to the record it belonged to Furio Tigre.

Dahlia snickered when an image of the tiger-man hunched over a miniature pink scooter came into her mind. I wonder how this got damaged. I'll make a note of it.

Dahlia decided to check the drawers for evidence. The first one she opened revealed nothing more than pens and documents. She closed the drawer and opened another one. The young defense attorney almost jumped when she saw a gun in the desk drawer. I'm no expert at firearms, but I think that's a 9 mm pistol. What's that thing underneath it?

Dahlia grabbed the gun and used the fabric-like material underneath to keep her fingerprints off.

"Ms. Fey?" Violetta said.

Dahlia quickly turned around and shut the drawer, keeping the gun behind her back. Once again, she hadn't heard the mysterious young woman come into the room. "Violetta."

"What are you doing?" Violetta said. "You're not trying to steal something are you?"

Dahlia shoved the gun underneath her hoodie and tucked it in from behind. She then revealed her now empty hands. "No, of course not."

"That's good," Violetta said. "When people steal, bad things sometimes happen to them. And I don't want something bad to happen to you."

Are you sure? "I wouldn't steal from you Violetta. Let me explain."

"You want information on Ms. Byrde, don't you?" Violetta said.

"Well, yes," Dahlia said, thinking on her feet. "I need more info on her. I thought since she was a customer here, you might have something that could lead me in the right direction. Like a background, or contacts."

Violetta turned her head, giggling faintly. "I see. Alright, I'll help you."

"You will?" Dahlia said.

Violetta stepped over to the desk and pulled open the first drawer Dahlia had checked. After skimming through the papers, she handed Dahlia a portfolio. "This is all the information we have on Ms. Byrde. Since she's dead now, I think it would be okay if you had it."

"Thanks, Violetta," Dahlia said, stunned by how things had turned out.

"It's fine," Violetta said. "Just don't tell anyone, promise?"

"Sure, no problem," Dahlia said. "I should be going, thanks again."

"Good-bye Ms. Fey," Violetta said. Dahlia fought the urge to shudder.

She placed her hands behind her back to discreetly support the hidden gun and walked out of the room. Once out of the building, she put her evidence in a more secure place and high-tailed it. Alright, I think I have a lead now. What next? Maybe I should talk to Nick again.

The detention center wasn't too far, so Dahlia was soon seated opposite of Phoenix with a glass window separating them.

"Hey," Phoenix said.

"How's it going Nick?" Dahlia said.

Phoenix shrugged. "As good as it gets, I suppose. Did you find something?"

"Actually, yes," Dahlia said. "I did find a few things. You mind telling me again about what happened?"

"I don't mind," Phoenix said.

"Great. So tell me, was I right about the paint?" Dahlia said.

"Now that I think about it, I did spill some that day," Phoenix said. "Besides, those tests confirmed it right? Luminol, was it?"

"That's it," Dahlia said. "Speaking of blood, remind me what you did after the murder."

"Right after the murder?" Phoenix said. "Well, I saw this knife on the ground and I picked it up for protection. Although now that I think about it; a knife wouldn't have protected me from a gun. It's a good thing the killer didn't shoot me too."

"True," Dahlia said. "What did the killer do after the victim was shot?"

"They just ran," Phoenix said.

"Did they take the gun with them?" Dahlia said.

"You know, I think they did," Phoenix said. "There never was a gun mentioned during the trial, was there?"

"You're right," Dahlia said. "Prosecutor Butz never showed a gun during the trial. But they knew it was a 9 mm pistol somehow."

"Forensics, I guess?" Phoenix said. "I really don't know that much about it."

"Me neither," Dahlia admitted. "Anyway, can I ask you about something else?"

"Shoot," Phoenix said.

"Have you ever heard of Tender Lender?" Dahlia said.

"Tender Lender?" Phoenix said, rubbing his chin. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"None at all?" Dahlia said.

Phoenix shook his head.

"What about these people?" Dahlia said, taking out profiles of Violetta and Furio Tigre. "Do these people look familiar? Either one?"

Phoenix stared hard at the photos, squinting. "Are you suspecting one these people of being the killer?"

"I'm pretty confident they're involved," Dahlia said. "What do you remember about the killer?"

Phoenix closed his eyes, thinking. "The killer looked at me. I remember a pair of crazy, almost demonic, eyes staring. It sent a chill down my spine. The face becomes dark, but not in a hardened way. It was like a delicate cold."

"I see, very poetic," Dahlia said. "Anything else?"

"Well, you already know the killer had spiky hair. Kind of like mine," Phoenix said. "I looked at that photo of guy, because of his hair you know, but I think I would remember orange skin. Even if it was getting dark, I'm pretty sure the killer's skin was pale."

"Pale?" Dahlia said. "You mean like this?"

Dahlia took one of the photos and covered part of it with her thumb. "Is this the person you saw?"

Phoenix's eyes widened. "That's it!"