The trio leaves the candy store and turns into the narrow alley beside it. Sunlight slants between brick walls, catching dust, a milk crate, and the wet shine of a back faucet.
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown stops at the alley mouth and scans the ground. The concrete is streaked with old footprints, but a fresh line of damp drips leads toward a half-open service door.
Sally Smith
That water trail is new. Somebody was back here not long ago.
Billy Haggerty
I did not come back here, I swear. I stayed in front of the store.
The Counterman appears in the doorway with a box balanced in both hands, his apron dusty and his face tight with annoyance. He glances from Billy to the damp floor, then toward the alley wall.
Arthur
I was using the back sink. If something was dropped, it was dropped here, not out front.
Encyclopedia’s gaze fixes on a small blue fleck caught in the cracked concrete near the drain, just where the wet footprints end.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find the missing coin
“I will ask the counterman if he saw anyone else near the back sink.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Interrogation, rolled +1)
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown lifts his eyes from the blue fleck and asks the counterman if anyone else was near the back sink.
Arthur
Just me. I was hauling boxes, and I rinsed my hands there. Nobody else came through.
Arthur
Well... except a delivery boy earlier. Not this minute, though.
Arthur
He brushed past the sink, muttered about being late, and left a wet ring on the step.
Sally straightens, looking from the ring to the drain. Billy swallows hard and keeps his eyes on the concrete.
Arthur
If you're hunting a dropped coin, check the drain cover. Small things skitter there.
At the drain, the blue fleck sits beside a thin glint caught in the grate, half-hidden by damp grit.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who the delivery boy was
− Scene Quest Removed
Find the missing coin
“I ask the counterman for the delivery boy's name and company.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Interrogation, rolled -1)
Leroy Brown lifts his notebook a little higher, and the counterman answers without looking impressed. The delivery boy's name is Pete Mercer, and the bakery sends him over twice a day.
Arthur
Pete Mercer. Mercer Bakery. Same route as always, unless he's late.
Sally straightens at the word bakery. Billy's shoulders drop a fraction, as if the shape of the truth is changing again.
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown
Bakery route. Wet step. Small things in the drain.
The counterman finally glances down at the grate and gives a short, bored nod toward it.
Arthur
If that glint matters, pull it out before somebody steps on it.
Sally shifts closer to the drain, and the blue fleck sits right beside the thin shine, waiting for someone to decide which clue comes first.
Quest Complete
Learn who the delivery boy was