June 6th, 1894

[timeforjustice]

It was a fine Wednesday afternoon, only the gathering heat of the day a blemish on what would've been a perfect day for the outdoors. There was hardly a breeze and not quite enough clouds for any relief from the sun, which is why one Deputy Apollo Justice was forced to don his hat as he trekked further and further from the city center. He would've taken more notice of the day had he not been in a hurry, and grumbling under his breath besides.

His bicycle had been stolen again. He'd had it chained up behind the sheriff's office, but some scoundrel had pried a link apart and taken the goods, leaving only the cheap chain there in the dust. Lucky for Apollo, there'd been a couple of witnesses; the only problem with that was his thief had covered his head and his face, making real identification a tough prospect.

Apollo used what he'd heard to follow the trail, so to speak. His path lead down to the river, not further into town but heading out of it, towards where crops were grown using the water diverted from it. There were less people out here to be questioning, so he kept his eyes peeled instead, looking for a flash of metal -

And when he found it, it was on a river bank, half-submerged and stuck in the mud. Muttering a curse, Apollo shoved his gloves on his hands before sliding the short way down the bank, his boots leaving tracks in the mud behind him.

"Damn! It'll start to rust at this rate..."

Comments

[temsikspirit]

"I understand, Mr. Justice. Someone in your position can't go takin' every tale on word alone, can ya? I hope you find those papers, you'll get more information outta those than anything either of the men involved will offer, m'sure."

Cabanela was working double-time to wipe that particular stain off his coat and Jowd was preoccupied with awaiting the gallows in jail. Yomiel shifts his attention to his company's bike, looking though it, seeing that woman with the lavender hair sprawled dying on the floor before him, blood seeping into her spotless floor boards--her house was impeccably clean.

"People die 'round here every other day. I reckon after a while, people stop carin'. Maybe someday you'll end up the same with a position like yours, Deputy. Hold on to it while you can, I suppose."

He offers the other a more sincere smile again, eyes lifted from that dirtied bike. He knows fully well that Apollo will likely come across the name 'Yomiel' in that article. At the most, he'll come off as someone using an alias so long as the deputy doesn't dig up any photographs. That might be worth a laugh. Regardless, he might never see this man again. He wouldn't have even approached him today were it not for the circumstances. There's a strange pang associated with this feeling, a tinge of regret maybe; he really did enjoy conversing with this guy, it's kind of a shame. He shouldn't be messing with the law around here anyway. Shouldn't.

"Not so sure hearin' out somethin' that happened before your time is your job sir, dontchya got more current cases to be worryin' about? You gotta bike to worry about keeping out of the river too, by the looks of it."

He breathes a quick, playful laugh as he shifts his hands in his pockets, taking a preemptive half-step backward.

[timeforjustice]

True or not, Apollo wasn't about to ask either of them about the incident. He couldn't very well accuse the sheriff of making such a bad mistake when he worked for him, and Jowd ... well, Apollo had never much liked poking his head into the jail. He had never so much as shared words with the former deputy, and wasn't all that keen on doing it now.

He can't see the other's mile-long stare, thanks to those glasses he's wearing, but Apollo still gets the sense that he's a mite distracted. The mention of work makes Apollo wince a little, and he speaks up again with a slightly nervous laugh,

"Well yeah, I got other work, but there's the concerns of the community to think about! 'Sides, I'm in the business of Justice, and don't you forget it. Means I'm not plannin' on ever becomin' that callous, Mr. Yomiel."

And he really should be getting back to his work, as interesting as this was. Apollo didn't have cases yet, just the paperwork Deputy Gavin kept giving him to get him used to doing it. He would much rather stay out here in the sunshine talking about mysteries and injustice... but any longer and he'd get scolded for leaving the office, and he doubted Deputy Gavin would care much that he'd left because of a bicycle thief.

"I'd better head on back. I'll see you 'round, Mr. Yomiel. ... And if you do remember more about that incident you told me, I'd be happy to hear it."

Apollo briefly tips his hat to the other man before walking a couple of paces away, then hopping up on his bike. Using it had never bothered him much before, but after criticism of its capabilities, Apollo felt a little awkward about it.