By Zephyria 
The downtown cafe, famous for its delicious sandwiches, was as bustling as ever with people coming and going. Chrissy arrived ten minutes earlier than the appointed time, secured a seat, and waited for his counterpart. He had finished about half of the coffee brought by the waitress when the man finally appeared.
Charlie Brown.
The man, who had undoubtedly been teased quite a bit for his name as a child, looked far thinner and more haggard than before. What must this man have thought when he heard the trial had been canceled, especially after he had already agreed to stand as a witness in court?
“Thank you for coming out to meet me.”
When Chrissy offered the greeting first, the man looked around anxiously and spoke in a lowered voice.
“Why do you keep calling me? I told you I have nothing to say.”
“Yes, but some additional questions came up…”
“The case is already over, so why are you bothering me! I told you I don’t want to mention it anymore!”
Before Chrissy could even finish his sentence, the man suddenly let out a hushed shout. His flushed face and bloodshot eyes gave off an unsettling vibe. Chrissy intentionally remained silent and waited for the man to calm down. After confirming that the heavy breathing had subsided to some extent, he spoke.
“I will ask just one more thing. I won’t bother you after this.”
“What is it, for heaven’s sake?”
Ultimately, Charlie asked irritably, rubbing both eyes vigorously with one hand. Chrissy didn’t miss the timing and posed his question carefully.
“By any chance, do you know of anyone named James Barry?”
Charlie’s hand paused, and he peered at Chrissy through his fingers.
“Who… James Barry?”
“Yes, James Barry.”
When emphasized once more, Charlie slowly lowered his hand with a bewildered expression. He looked innocent, as if it were a name he was hearing for the first time, but Chrissy did not let his guard down and changed the question.
“Did Anthony Smith ever visit a hospital in secret, or was he ever sick?”
“What?”
Charlie asked in surprise again. Since no investigation had been conducted in this direction so far, no records remained. If it was James Barry, a doctor, there might be something in this direction. At Chrissy’s question, Charlie seemed to think for a moment, then muttered in an uncertain voice.
“He wasn’t a doctor, but…”
“Wasn’t?”
Prompted by Chrissy repeating his last words, Charlie continued, glancing around as if reluctant.
“There was a junkie Anthony used to visit occasionally. That man might be able to tell you something you’re looking for.”
“A junkie… you mean a dealer who sells illegal drugs?”
“That’s right.”
Charlie nodded, still unwillingly, but then added with a serious face.
“This has nothing to do with me. I’ve never used those kinds of drugs.”
“Yes, I know. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”
Having quickly calmed him down, Chrissy took out his phone and held it out.
“Just leave his contact information and name here.”
Charlie looked flustered and held up both hands, but soon resigned himself and pressed in the numbers and name as instructed. Quickly taking back the phone before the man could change his mind, Chrissy added calmly.
“Thank you for coming today. I won’t bother you anymore.”
Then, he took out a pre-ordered packaged sandwich and handed it over.
“It’s a gift. The sandwiches here are very popular. I had the peanut butter removed just in case you have an allergy.”
Charlie looked back and forth between Chrissy and the bag, then hesitantly picked it up.
“…Thank you.”
Muttering his thanks, he hurriedly stood up and left the seat with the packaged sandwich. Chrissy watched the back of the man who vanished in an instant, drained the rest of his coffee in one gulp, and rose from his chair.
“What? Bahama?”
The detective frowned and asked Chrissy back after hearing the nickname of the dealer Charlie had mentioned. Chrissy nodded while drinking a canned beverage.
“Yes, he’s said to be a dealer. Have you heard of him?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be a very famous guy. Why all of a sudden? Did some incident happen?”
At the obvious question, Chrissy gave an ambiguous smile.
“I’m still investigating. I’ll tell you after I find out more.”
The man in front of him, named Simmons, was one of the detectives who had handled Anthony’s case. Chrissy had asked just in case, but seeing that he seemed completely unaware of the situation, Chrissy gave a vague answer. Simmons, who had been looking at Chrissy with a tilted head, suddenly spoke up.
“It seems you’ve been digging around into the Anthony Smith case lately. Is this related to that?”
As expected, was the ploy too obvious? Chrissy answered without hiding his embarrassed expression.
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
As expected, the questioning didn’t end easily. Chrissy paused with an “Um,” then spoke.
“I’m investigating another case, and since it’s a name associated with that, I just wanted to see if there was a connection. I wouldn’t want to be blindsided for no reason.”
At the indifferent tone, Simmons nodded, saying, “That’s true.” Chrissy added nonchalantly while bringing the can to his lips.
“It seems that junkie sold some drugs to Anthony as well… if this blows up, it’ll be troublesome in its own way.”
“How so?”
Simmons asked with a surprised face. Chrissy frowned and grumbled.
“The case is already closed; what’s the point of poking around? If this blows up, wouldn’t it obviously affect our side, which just covered it up? Once I confirm it has no relation to the case I’m currently handling, I’ll just drop it.”
“Uh… I guess that could be…”
Simmons stammered, flustered. His bewildered expression clearly showed he wasn’t entirely convinced. Tilting his head and drinking his beverage, Simmons seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking again.
“Um, Prosecutor. Could I do some investigating first?”
“Investigating?”
When Chrissy asked with a frown, he continued awkwardly.
“Yes, since you have a case you’re handling, please focus on that for now. I’ll look into that dealer. After all, it’ll be easier for me to find things out than for you, in many ways.”
“I’m sure that’s true… but is there really a need for that?”
Chrissy intentionally adopted a passive attitude, furrowing his brows.
“Since you don’t know him, he must be some insignificant neighborhood dealer. Why waste your precious time? It’s a closed case anyway, so just folding it roughly…”
“No, I still think it’s better to investigate.”
For the first time, Simmons took on a serious expression and stroked his bushy-bearded chin.
“I’ve been in this profession for 30 years. I know you’ll laugh if I talk about ‘gut feeling,’ but my gut has never been wrong until now.”
“And?”
“This smells fishy. It smells like it could be a very big case.”
As expected of Detective Simmons. Chrissy gave a faint smile, knowing his guess hadn’t been wrong, but he didn’t let the man in easily.
“But you must have cases of your own, and there are still too few clues to ask you unconditionally.”
“We can figure that out as we go. I’ll just squeeze one dealer, and if it’s nothing, I’ll drop it immediately.”
“There’s no need to go that far…”
“Prosecutor, I’m saying I want to do it.”
Simmons spoke bluntly for the first time. In truth, he had been puzzled for a while. This half-hearted attitude was something that would never happen with the usual Chrissy. No matter how much the Anthony Smith case had fallen through, to let go to this extent…
“Of course, it might be nothing, right. But if there’s even a slight suspicion, shouldn’t we look into it? Prosecutor, what’s wrong with you? Are you just going to let bad guys roam the world? Huh?”
“Wait, Detective. Just a moment.”
Chrissy hurried to calm him down. He had cast the net expecting the detective’s usual enthusiasm, but he hadn’t expected him to bite this quickly. Feeling a slight sense of guilt, he spoke.
“Alright. Then do that. It probably won’t be much, but I’ll be waiting anyway.”
“That’s how it should be.”
The detective nodded firmly, then crushed the empty can and tossed it into the trash bin.
“Then all I have to do is find Bahama and find out if there’s a record of him selling drugs to Anthony Smith?”
“For now.”
Chrissy nodded.
“It would be even better if you could get the client list.”
“Got it.”
To the slightly added request, the detective immediately added.
“Once I find that out, you have to tell me exactly what case this is.”
Chrissy gave an ambiguous smile, but the detective left without waiting for an answer. Left alone, Chrissy took a sip of his remaining drink and thought.
I don’t even know what case it is yet.
It was perplexing, but he had to proceed with the next step. Once Detective Simmons brought information from Bahama, he would compare it with the information he had found.
Wondering inwardly what Bahama would say to him and the detective respectively, he walked toward his office.