#11: Those Whose Weapon's are Pens

There was supposed to be a grand event today at Grande’s Auditorium at the far-west side of Central City. A popular singer idol had just finished her six month tour across the country, and was going to have a closing performance there. It was really an unusual sight for the locals to see the auditorium’s parking space full of cars. The auditorium had been unused for quite some time, since a tragic event had happened in the past where an actress had been murdered. However, despite the haunting past of the place; the present singer idol had insisted that she would end her tour there.

It was cold inside the building. Even though the crowd was building up, the room temperature did not rise. A young man who was sitting on a VIP chair near the stage shivered violently. He never thought that the place would be that cold, having that many people coming to see the performance. “I should’ve at least brought my jacket,” said the young man to himself as he rubbed his nose with his fingers. After shivering a few more times, he glanced at his surrounding as if he was looking for someone.

“I’m right here,” spoke a woman’s voice very close to his ears. The man made a startled jump. “What the-? How did you get near me without me noticing?” he exclaimed with a laugh. The woman took a seat next to him. “I saw you shivering here and there at the front,” she explained, handing the man a shopping bag. “I thought I’d give you a scare. And you can borrow that jacket I just bought in there.” The man was extremely grateful, and he said his thanks.

After wearing the white jacket inside the bag, he smiled at the woman and said, “Well, long time no see Anisah. You’ve been following her all over the country have you?” Anisah took a sip out of a soda she had just opened. “Yup, been covering her story all the way,” she replied. The man nodded intently. “Ah, the legendary ‘mobile journalist’ really does live up to her name,” he said with a grin. Anisah chuckled. “Where did that nickname came from? Anyways, nice to meet you back Dzaf.”

Dzaf replied this with a warm smile. He was about to say more, but the auditorium lights began to dim. It seems that the performance was about to start, so the hall was hushed. An announcer began to give its welcoming speech. “Welcome all to the final performance of our darling idol’s tour. I don’t want to hold her for too long at the backstage; so ladies and gentlemen, I present you Miss Hana!”

#10: A Detective's Intuition

Ben stared at the card for a while. "Dzaf," he muttered. "Nana must've contacted Dzaf that day as well, and he might have picked up something." For Ben, Dzaf was a friend who had a very critical thinking mind. Dzaf used to be able to figure out complex mathematical questions or solve problems much better than himself. He was also a friend that Ben had not seen for a long time. It's a wonder why he had lost contact with almost everyone he had ever knew in the past, but it was not an important matter at that moment.

Amirah who had already cleared up the table where Ben had eaten, curved a smile. The worried look on his face was already gone. "So I guess that card is really helpful," she said as she placed the cups in the sink. "What are you going to do now?" Ben thought of this for a while. Green Road was not that far away if he took his motorbike, and the evening weather seemed to cool down. He glanced at Amirah and chuckled. "I'm going to Dzaf's place then," he said. "My intuition tells me I may find something there. Everything may turn out well. Thanks Amirah, for the food and information."

Ben made a quick dash towards the automatic door, but halted just outside the bakery. He turned around and waved at Amirah who was watching him go. "I'll come back and try some other breads next time," he exclaimed. Amirah giggled. "You better," she cried back. Hearing this, Ben gave another wave and continued to run along the empty pavement towards his motorbike.

When Ben reached his vehicle, his heart was suddenly filled with an uneasy feeling. It was as if a strong chill had came from the direction of the bakery. Is everything really going to be okay?

******************************

"I'm sorry sir," the clerk at the National Food Magazine apologised. "Mr Dzaf had to go to an important event this evening." Ben frowned. He had drove as fast as he could to get there, only to hear that his old friend was not in. He sighed a few times before asking the clerk again, "What event was he attending?"

The clerk looked at her computer for a while before answering, "To a concert of an idol, sir."

#09: An Important Clue - The World Is Such A Small Place!

"Wow, this is really good," exclaimed Ben as he took a bite out of a bread he had bought from the bakery. "What was it called again?" Sitting in fron of him was Amirah, who was wearing a clean and white uniform of a baker. "It's a Cheese Swirl," she replied. "And thank you for the compliment." Outside, the day was getting hotter. Ben had came across this bakery while he was looking for a place to escape the heat. He was surprised to learn that the owner of the bakery was an old colleague of his, Amirah. "You know," said Ben as he finished his bread. "I'm suprised that you decided to become a baker."

"Well, I'm suprised you're a detective," replied Amirah in a polite manner. "Besides, I had just began to start business. It's been quite a while since all of us had gotten together." That was true. After finishing their training, it was rare for all of those in his batch to get together and hang out. Everyone was already busy with their routines and careers, some might have been busy with their own family. "So," Amirah said, handing Ben a cup of water. "I've never seen any police coming around the vicinity ever since I moved here. What brings you along?"

Ben took a sip of the water, and replied, "Well you see, I'm tracking a missing person who lives around here. A person whom you also know. Nana." As he said this, he noticed a confused look on Amirah's face. "Um, you don't remember her?" Amirah shook her head. "No, it's not like that," she answered. "I remeber Nana, how could I forget anyone during that time. It's just weird, I met her just a few days ago and now she's missing?"

Ben's heart skipped a beat. "Nana was here?" he asked for confirmation. Amirah began to show signs of worry. "Y...yeah. She was also suprised to see me," explained Amirah. "She told me that she wanted to plan a reunion, and asked if I had any contacts with the others." Hearing this, Ben began to move into deep thoughts. Had Amirah's information had anything to do with Nana's disappearance? Amirah looked at Ben intently.

"I don't know if it helps," voiced Amirah breaking the silence. "But I did give Nana a work address to one of our friends back then. Hold on." She stood up and made her way inside a room. After a few seconds, Amirah came out with a card in her hand. "This is what I gave her," she explained as she handed the card over. It read:

DZAFARIN

FOOD CRITIC

NATIONAL FOOD MAGAZINE

NO. 12, GREEN ROAD,

CENTRAL CITY