Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown, Sally Smith, and Billy Haggerty reach the candy store on a bright afternoon. The bell over the door jingles through the warm smell of sugar and paper bags. Kids crowd the aisles, and the counterman is busy stacking boxes behind the glass case.
Billy slows at the entrance, glancing at the floor, then at the counter. He looks less like a boy leading a search and more like one hoping nobody remembers his face.
Sally scans the room, then the register, then the front window. Her shoulders set as she spots the clock above the shelves.
Arthur
Hold on there, fellas, I’ll be right with you. Just let me finish these boxes.
Billy shifts beside Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown, uneasy, while the children near the penny candy rack chatter over it and the old clock ticks loudly in the hush between customers.
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown
The clock, the counter, and the window all give time a place to hide.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether the counterman's testimony confirms Billy Haggerty’s timeline
✓ Quest Accepted
Resolve the contradiction in Billy Haggerty’s candy store timeline
“Does the counterman look surprised to see Billy back here?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 53)
The counterman glances at Billy with a weary, practiced indifference, his expression remaining entirely unchanged as he continues to stack the boxes.
“I ask the counterman about Billy's visit”
SUCCESS (Great Interrogation, rolled +1)
Leroy steps to the counter with his notebook open, and the counterman finally looks up from the boxes.
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown
He asks when Billy Haggerty was here.
Arthur
About ten minutes ago, maybe less. He came in fast, bought a candy bar, and left looking like he had swallowed a lemon.
Sally tilts her head at that, while Billy stares at the floor instead of the man behind the counter.
Arthur
If you mean the blue pouch, I saw that too. He was holding it when he came to the register.
He sets the last box down and brushes his hands together, as if the matter is already settled.
Arthur
So if he says it vanished before the store, that does not match what I saw.
“I compare the counterman's account to the clock”
SUCCESS (Legendary Deduction, rolled -1)
Leroy lowers his pencil and lets the counterman's words line up with the wall clock behind him.
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown
Ten minutes ago puts Billy here after the candy store clock should have been showing the quarter-hour.
He glances from the clock to the boy at the counter, and the mismatch clicks into place.
Billy shifts his feet and keeps looking down, but the counterman only waits, hands resting on the fresh stack of boxes.
Arthur
That’s the time I remember. He was in a hurry, sure, but he was here.
Sally gives a small nod, already seeing the same thing Leroy sees, the story now pinned to the clock and the register.
Billy swallows hard as the last piece settles, and the candy store falls quiet around the finished contradiction.
Quest Complete
Resolve the contradiction in Billy Haggerty’s candy store timeline
Skill Upgrade: Interrogation Great→Superb
“I ask the counterman what Billy bought”
SUCCESS (Superb Interrogation, rolled -1)
Leroy folds his notebook open again and asks what Billy bought. The counterman’s busy hands pause on the boxes.
Arthur
Just peppermints. He paid, grabbed the pouch, and left in a hurry.
Billy’s face goes red. Sally’s eyes flick to the register, then back to the counterman.
Sally Smith
So the story matches the clock. He was here, and he was carrying the pouch when he came in.
The counterman gives a small shrug, like the whole thing is ordinary now. The box stack leans slightly over his shoulder.
Arthur
That’s right. Nothing strange about the purchase, except Billy acting like he had somewhere urgent to be.
Leroy writes the word peppermints beside the time note. The timeline settles into place, clean and simple.
Billy Haggerty
I... I said it wrong, all right? I got nervous.
Quest Complete
Learn whether the counterman's testimony confirms Billy Haggerty’s timeline
Skill Upgrade: Interrogation Superb→Legendary