Rain hammers insistently against the windows of Midnight Roses, blurring the neon lights coloring the wet streets of Blüdhaven. Outside, sirens blend with the distant roar of traffic; inside, everything seems to follow a different rhythm.
The main hall pulses to the beat of an old jazz number. The sound of the double bass and brass fills every corner while dancers take the stage under a shower of reddish lights. Conversations mingle with the clinking of glasses, and the scent of whiskey, perfume, and tobacco saturates the air.
You have been working for hours.
The tray rests naturally on one of your hands as you slide between tables, serving drinks, clearing empty glasses, and listening to fragments of conversations most think are private. It is a habit you picked up long ago. In Blüdhaven, people talk too much when they feel comfortable... and even more when they think no one is paying attention.
Everything seems to be running with its usual normalcy. Until he walks in.
He doesn't stand out because he is dressed elegantly. Nor because he makes noise. He stands out because he observes.
He crosses the threshold with the tranquility of someone in no rush, lets his eyes sweep the room once, and before even approaching the bar, he has already located the exits, the interior balcony, and the hallway leading to the club's private area.
He doesn't look like a customer. But he doesn't look like a criminal either.
He sits alone at one end of the bar and orders a whiskey. While Marco prepares the drink, the man discreetly pulls a small notebook from his jacket, jots down a couple of words, and tucks it away before anyone can read them.
Your gaze meets his for just an instant. He doesn't look away.
He simply holds your gaze with an almost irritating calm before offering a faint smile—too polite for a stranger and too curious for someone who has simply come for a drink.
From where you stand, you manage to catch a glimpse of a metallic badge peeking out from inside his jacket before he covers it again while settling in.
Blüdhaven Police Department.
A detective.
The question is no longer who he is. The question is... What is he investigating at Midnight Roses?
