60 Percent

<Sovereign Town>

<In the afternoon>

The sound of a bell can be heard on the door when someone pushes it from the outside.

"Welcome-"

Adam Meyer's greetings paused when he saw the new customer standing there. She is pretty...

Iris glanced at the name tag on his chest and smiled at him. "Hello."

He blinked a few times and stood straight. "Uh... yes, hello."

She had a phone in her hand and held it to herself as she stepped inside. "I'm sorry to disturb you but if you have time, can we talk for a moment?"

Adam scratched the back of his neck and turned around behind him before looking up at her again. "Sure. Let me ask my friend first. You may take a seat."

Iris nodded without any question. She sat down at the table on a hidden corner, placing her bag on her lap while shaking her legs.

"Is there anything I can help you, miss?" Adam said when he arrived and seated himself opposite of her.

"You can call me Iris. I just want to ask some questions. This is about your regular customer."

He frowned before realization dawned upon him. The young man who often comes around to order hot cappuccino drinks for his boss.

"Oh! Customer number twelve! Yes!" He said excitedly.

Iris smiled. "Okay. Did you happen to see if he is meeting with anyone suspicious when he usually comes here?"

Adam furrowed his brows. "I'm sorry but I don't think I have ever met him talking with anyone. He only sat next to the glass wall, alone, whenever he visited. Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, something is definitely wrong. It's just, he suddenly disappeared when he was doing a delivery. He never went back to work after that. I have been trying to reach him but I couldn't find him anywhere nor in his apartment this morning."

"What? Have you asked his neighbors or the landlord? He could be staying over at a friend's place, maybe?"

Iris shook her head. "Negative. He barely knows anyone except his workmates, me and you."

"Why don't you try calling him?"

Iris lifted her hand, showing the phone screen. "Already did but the one who answered was not him. It was the cops."

His eyes widened as worry took over his expression. "What? The cops? Is everything okay?"

Iris' smile fell and her eyebrows knitted together. She bit her lower lip, hesitant. "Like I said before, something happened to him. If you want to know, the cops found his phone near the murder scene."

"The murder scene? You mean, the one on the news last night? That gruesome case involving a murder of headless man? Was he involved in that?"

"No! I mean, I don't know if he was really involved with that case but he would never do something like that. I know my best friend well. He wouldn't harm anyone, especially not another human being."

"Then what happened? Did the cops ask you or anything?"

Iris sighed and lowered her gaze, staring at the phone on top of the table. "Yes. They interrogated me after they checked in the history call, and they found out that I was the last person he called. I can feel that something was happening to him that time because he's not the type to call me twice."

Iris sighed again and this time, it sounded heavier than before. She put her hands together in front of her, and rested her forehead on top of them. "If only I didn't silence my phone, I would have answered him. I would never let him be left uncalled. What a terrible friend I am."

Adam leaned forward across the table, resting his arms on the surface of the table. "Hey, stop saying that, Iris. You were worried about him. We all are. He might be gone for a while but I'm sure he will be back again. There must be a reason why he suddenly disappeared."

Iris stared at him for a moment. "No. It would be better if he doesn't come back yet."

Adam couldn't contain his surprise. "What? What do you mean? Why would you say something like that?"

"Adam, didn't you listen to what I said earlier? His phone were found in that crime scene, which means the cops are now suspecting him as the cause of the murderer."

"What? That's nonsense! He might be some witness who were just passing by and for sure, he has no connection with the murderer! And most importantly, both of us know that he's not a criminal!"

"That may be the case but they already have the proof. Right now, they are making a search warrant all over this town, solely because they suspected him as the killer."

Her voice was firm, and Adam didn't dare to contradict her. A sigh escaped from his lips. "Then, what should we do? We have no idea where he is or what's happening to him right now."

Iris stayed silent. She remained sitting still while staring at nothing in particular in front of her.

After a minute, she finally spoke up. "There will be a low chance for us to find him. So I'm thinking. The only thing we could do for now is to clear his name. We just need to search for another evidence point so that we can find the real culprit."

Adam swallowed hard. "How do we do that?"

"It will probably take some time but we can start by visiting every single house that he sends the deliveries to. I will try to gather the voices while you go check at the crime scene, search for anything that seems out of place to you."

"O~kay. But wait, what do you mean by gathering the voices?"

She placed her elbows on the table. Her lips curled upwards into a small smile.

"If we can't find the evidence, at least we have our alibi to support our story. We have these people on our backs to support my best friend. I don't care how much I needed to bribe them, as long as this could protect him somewhere out there. Besides, isn't that the cheapest way of how the king built his own army?"

<<8>>

"Here's my contact number. If you find any leads, just call me."

Adam nodded after they exchanged their numbers. "I will try my best because I don't want you to go around bribing people. It's still a crime, you know. Also, be careful, Iris. The real culprit is still roaming around freely and I don't want anything bad to happen to you like what happened to him. His friend is also my friend."

She chuckled. "Don't worry, I will be fine. After all, I have a third-degree black belt. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Iris."

She turned away from him and headed upstairs.

Adam sighed and returned back into the café.

"Yo Adam! Who was that beauty? Your girlfriend?"

Adam rolled his eyes and grabbed his water bottle. He made eye contact with a girl wearing a round spectacles behind the counter that he recognized as his new coworker. She just worked in the café a month ago.

"None of your business, Jeanne."

Jeanne snorted and gave him an amused look. "Alrighty then. It would be weird to think you guys were dating when I could feel the tension  between you two. Must have something urgent to discuss."

Adam sighed deeply. "Do you remember the albino guy who always visits our café?"

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "The red eyes one? Yeah, what's wrong with him?"

Adam went silent before shaking his head. "Nothing. It's just...he doesn't come this morning like usual. That's all."

Jeanne tilted her head sideways. "Really? You're acting really strange now."

Adam shrugged and drank some water, avoiding her stare.

"Guys! Guys! Look at this!"

Both of them turned to the table filled by three students. The trios were busy looking at the phone screen.

"There's a photo of the serial killer from last night shown in the news. But, don't you think he looks familiar?"

"Hmm… hold on. Isn't he the guy that's always coming here and sitting on the back there?"

"What?! That means, he's been near us this whole time?"

"I get goosebumps when I think about it! Luckily we are not the target."

"And you guys believe that when those cops still don't have their legal proof? Pft! They are really pathetic to label an innocent person."

"Wait! Were you observing people again? Are you a stalker or what? Why would you observe someone you don't know?"

"It's just a habit. You know that I can see something I shouldn't see."

"Now I get it. Is that why you are always wearing your sunglasses?"

"Of course." The student in a hoodie, pushed the sunglasses upward.

"You're a weird dude. But you're the kind of weirdo we like being friends with. Lol!"

"Yeah!" They started giggling like they just own the world.

"Funny kids." Jeanne shook her head before walking away while Adam stayed still in his place.

A few seconds later, he took out his phone and dialed someone's number. Once the other line picked up, he started speaking quickly.

"Iris, I think I might have another lead to find him. I'll tell you more details tomorrow. Bye,"  and he ended the call without waiting for a reply.

"Jeanne!"

"What?" Jeanne peeked out her head from the door.

"Tell my uncle, I'm going to quit." Adam took off the apron and gave it to her.

"Okay- What?! You're quitting?!"

Adam ignored her and went to the three students. He focused on the one wearing sunglasses.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

The kid pulled the sunglasses down slightly and stared at Adam right in the eyes.

"The name is Carl. Pleasure to meet you." Carl held out a hand when suddenly Adam pulled, causing Carl to trip up and fall into his arms.

Carl's two friends, Jeanne and other customers watching them with wide eyes. What kind of bromance is this?

"Dude, what are you-"

Carl didn't get a chance to finish when Adam had taken Carl by the hand and was dragging them outside the café.

"This is urgent but before that, I need to confirm your weird power first."

Carl frowned. "Are you that otaku that you start spouting nonsense? I have no power."

Adam stopped. "But earlier you said you can see something you shouldn't see. Doesn't that makes you some sort of fortune-teller?"

"Pfft! And you just believe that? Dude, I was just making it up."

"Then, what about the albino customer?  You were talking about him and you said he was an innocent person. How did you know that?"

Carl scoffed softly. "Fine but I'm not what you think. If you are that desperate, I can take you to see my teacher. He might be able to help you."

Adam blinked.  "Really? Thank God! Let's hurry then. We don't have much time."

"Wait. How are we going to get there?"

"By car of course."

Carl let out a fake laugh before shaking an index finger. "I never said he lived in this town."

"What? Then where is he?"

A mysterious smile crept under those sunglasses.