Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

"Welcome in." With an easy smile, Jam Hardy looked up from his desk, as Cole and Alyx entered his office. "Give me just one more second." Jam's eyes glazed over for a few seconds, before he blinked rapidly and stood up.

Jam's physique could in no way stand up to the chiseled form of Sivil, yet the way he held himself radiated calm confidence. HIs shirt was tight enough for Cole to see the sag of a large stomach, hanging slightly over Jam's belt. There were hints of muscles rippling across Jam's arms, yet they added to the image that Jam's upper body was too large for his legs. Jam's pants were slightly rolled up, and Cole thought that the man's legs were just a tad too small for his body.

Jam's sleeves were also rolled up, revealing a large tattoo wrapping around his right forearm. Depicted in the image was a hand touching an effigy that resembled a children's drawing of the sun. The tattoo was inked with a deep red that was complimented perfectly by Jam's almond skin. While Sivil appeared statuesque, there was a realness to Jam that was inviting, which his face only accentuated. He had brown hair with hints of red blended in it, messily swept out his calming brown eyes. His nose seemed slightly too large for his face, but it added to his look of natural imperfection. He seemed so cheerful that when his full lips were not stretched around his smile, they looked slightly pouty. Peeking out of the shirt collar, on his burly neck, Cole noticed two black lines that looked to be a marking of some sort.

"I am Jam Hardy, Resources, nice to meet you two." Cole and Alyx introduced themselves, accepting his firm handshake. "How can I help you folks today?"

"Jake Jenkins has been killed and we are questioning all of the Resource Management employees." Jam's smile quickly faded and he waved the pair to sit down. Looking into his emotive eyes, Cole could see pain and sorrow. Cole suddenly remembered Sivil's words, could Hardy be sad that his crime had been found out so soon.

"Ugh." Cole grunted, this new job was making him too paranoid. "Sorry." Cole muttered as he saw both Jam and Alyx looking at him. Alyx shrugged it off, but Jam held Cole's gaze as if to reassure him that everything would be just fine.

"Walk us through your day yesterday. When did you enter and leave your office" Cole was now used to this familiar question, and wondered what different thing Alyx would ask. It seemed that there were unique questions for each employee, and Cole could not find a pattern.

"I got here at 5:50, my usual time, and ate lunch around noon. Oh do you folks need to know about my bowel movements?" Jam smiled, it was hard for him to stay serious. Alyx was looking blankly at the man, so Cole jumped in. "So sorry, but it would help us to know when you left your office to go to the bathroom."

As if reading the seriousness in Cole's voice, Jam's smile faded and he responsibly finished outlining his schedule. "I went to the restroom a few minutes before I had my lunch, and once more before my meeting with Sivil at 2:03. Then it was just when I went home at 7:00 pm."

Alyx nodded before blurting out her next words. "Sivil Casper said he thinks you are the killer." Her words were harsh without any hint of softness, and she sent a challenging glare to Jam.

"Sivil is a good man, but he can be a bit jealous. He gets upset when I suggest something he didn't bring up. I doubt he was serious." Jam smiled wryly, but Cole caught a hint of annoyance in his eyes. Somehow Sivil was not able to get along with the friendly man before them. "Ask him again tomorrow and I wouldn't be surprised if he pointed his finger at someone else who annoyed him."

"So you don't think you did anything suspicious, yesterday?" Alyx bulled on, ignoring the look in Jam's eyes. "No it was just a normal day at work, though I did miss talking to Jake." The easy smile was back. 

"You don't talk to one of your bosses every day?" If Jam was bothered by Alyx's continual questioning there was no longer any hint in his eyes, instead it felt as if he was having a conversation with a good friend. "Jake and Ms. Hopkins are very busy, so it's not unusual to go a few days without meeting with either of them."

Cole was surprised, even Jam didn't call Ms. Hopkins by her first name. How was it possible that Ms. Hopkins was not on good terms with Jam. Cole gasped to himself, how was he so firmly on Jam's side after only a few words, he already could not believe Jam was the killer. In fact it would be so easy to believe that Sivil Casper was the real culprit. The stony man was so different from Hardy, that it seemed like he could be a killer.

Cole looked at Jam with suspicion, his paranoia had vanished too quickly, and that in itself was suspicious. 

"Welp that's all for us for today." Alyx stood up. Cole followed suit and felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder. "Feel free to come back any time." Jam's smile was too genuine to be forced.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Cole left the room catching up to Alyx who had left the office in a hurry. 

"Just one left to talk to." Alyx muttered. The pair made it to Jan's storage room, and Alyx wasted no time. "Please tell me where you were yesterday."

Jan looked up from a small machine he was tinkering with and replied. "Of course. I can't tell you the specifics, but I arrived at 4:00 am and was cleaning other departments until 6:10. After a short break, I ran into Cole in Resource management. What time was that Cole? 6:30?"

Cole nodded, finding no reason to nitpick about the actual time, it was probably closer to 6:33 when the two had met. After Jam, Jan was still easy to talk to, but he did not have that overwhelming friendliness that radiated from Mr. Hardy.

"Do you want where I was after that? I am afraid I can't go into much detail again." Alyx considered Jan's words before shaking her head. "Why can you give us such little detail?"

"I am not sure myself, I am just not allowed to tell which departments I work in. It was in my contract when I signed and I never bothered to ask why."

Alyx nodded and left the room. Cole waved goodbye to Jan and hurried after her. They were in the elevator a minute later, it was like Alyx did not want to spend another second on the floor.

Back on the floor with only three doors, Alyx led Cole into her office. "We are done for the day. Go home and think about what we learned today. Tomorrow we are going to the crime scene."

While Cole had not done much that day, he was still exhausted, the scrutiny his brain had placed on every detail, along with his paranoia had tuckered him out. He was looking forward to making a nice meal and sleeping, but he knew there were some things he needed to ask Alyx.

"What exactly is my role in this investigation?" Alyx looked at Cole and it seemed like she was just as tired as him. "You are my partner, so you better figure some things out on your own." She offered a faint smile. "I don't care if your official role is just an observer."

She looked into the distance for a moment. "In fact, I think I have a good idea for you. After tomorrow go and find ways to interact with the Resource Management workers. They might open up more to you. I know I can be a bit prickly."

Cole had never been the type to be Mr. Social, but compared to Alyx, he could definitely see himself being an easier conversation partner.

"Ok, shoo shoo. I have some things to think about." Alyx waved Cole away. As he left the room, Cole thought he saw Alyx lift her head, as if hesitating to say something more. He paused in the doorway, but Alyx did not speak.

Cole shut the door and wondered if he needed to report to Mirai. She had said something about filing consistent reports. Cole shrugged, she had been there the whole day, what was he supposed to report that she didn't know.

Cole's trip home passed in a blur, and soon he was laying on his bed, after scarfing down a delicious rice dish that he had mastered. The printed grains tasted heavenly when soaked in a tangy sauce of meat paste and an artificial spicener. As he lay there, Cole realized he had not thought about Mr. Jenkins' body very much that day. Even though he was trying to solve the murder, he had been too focused to let the haunting imagery take hold.

He hoped it would be that way again tomorrow. His dreams swiftly dashed that hope, as he was forced to open that door over and over again.