On a cold night, a man in smart clothes was adjusting his gloves before placing both hands behind him. "So, you're saying your mommy went missing suddenly too?" he asked the little girl in front of him.
The girl wearing a red scarf nodded, sobbing, "Y-Yes... When I went to ask her for something to eat, she had already disappeared and left me all alone at home," she tried to compose herself.
The blonde-haired girl beside the blue-clad man then crouched down and stroked her hair, "Don't worry, we'll look for your mommy" she said in a soft, soothing tone.
Elsewhere, a man with ginger hair was sitting, watching from a distance—a bow clutched tightly in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth.
As for me, I was hiding and watching from a dark alley. Robin and I aren't that clever when it comes to prying information out of people, so we're leaving it to the two of them to handle.
"My daddy has already reported it to the police… but they still haven't found my mommy at all," said the girl, clutching the scarf tightly around her neck.
Seeing this, Alice smiled and gently took both of the girl's hands. "Your name's Clara, isn't it?" she confirmed, and the girl with black hair nodded. "Now you'd best go home and don't wander about on your own anymore."
"Your father has already lost his wife; don't let him lose his beloved daughter too," hearing this the girl nodded once more; Alice was indeed the best at handling situations like this.
Then the girl followed Alice's advice and returned home; from below I saw Robin running and leaping from building to building to ensure Clara's safety.
I stepped out of the alley and saw Holmes letting out a long sigh. "Given all the information we've gathered, this certainly isn't a run-of-the-mill kidnapping—Everafter must be involved," he said.
"Did you try to read the girl's mind just now?" I asked, and Holmes immediately replied with a nod.
"Yes, but she was just panicking in her mind," he said, adjusting his glasses. "What about you, Red? Did you notice anything suspicious?"
I shook my head, "Robin hasn't indicated he spotted anything out of the ordinary either." Hearing that, silence filled the street.
Before long, Robin returned and said straight away, "She made it home safely without a single suspicious sign" he remarked, folding his arms.
Suddenly an unexpected sound was heard—GROWL—a sound I hadn't expected to hear; it was the sound of my stomach rumbling, craving food.
All eyes turned to me; I looked at them one by one before finally replying, "What? At this hour I'm usually enjoying my midnight snack." I glanced over and saw Alice slapping her forehead.
On the other hand, Holmes chuckled and Robin looked utterly stunned—Alice always said that if any other girl accidentally let her stomach growl, they'd be mortified—but I was far too hungry to care about that right now.
"Shall we find somewhere to eat and discuss this? Do you have any ideas for a good place?" asked Holmes; from his question, he probably preferred eating at home rather than going out.
It was the middle of the night and I wasn't sure any restaurants were still open at this hour; I thought for a moment before an idea came to me.
"How about we go to a bar?"
I asked, and that startled them all again. Robin and Holmes exchanged glances before Holmes cleared his throat and said. "I didn't expect you to like places like that, Miss Red"
"Yes, aren't you still underage? You shouldn't go to places like that" Robin continued.
"Relax," a faint red light appeared in the air and, once the light faded—my shotgun took shape. "Who dares come near?"
Robin sighed, "that's not what I meant—I know perfectly well that that shotgun could scare off a man twice your size…"
Before he could continue, Alice cut in straight away. "Don't worry, we're not drinking alcohol and I won't let her drink either" upon hearing that they seemed relieved—so, that was what they were worried about, huh?
We then left and walked towards the underground bar Robin had recommended; upon entering, we could see the place was quite crowded with people drinking and playing pool.
The place was buzzing with chatter here and there. We approached the counter and took a seat. "Red?! Alice?!" Hearing our names called out startled us; we hadn't expected to be this well-known already. When we looked up towards the voice—it was the bartender.
"Egghead!" Alice and I exclaimed in unison.