Soft jazz was playing in the background and the easy-going musical notes were weaving through Chinese lanterns above the tables. Red dragons with carefully golden embroidery seemed to come alive with the music.

I moved my platter of sushi away from me and stood up to make my way towards the customers, my chair screaming painfully against the concrete floor. The closing time of the restaurant was already near, which meant only a few customers arrived within the past hour.

"Remain calm-"

I cleared my throat.

"-Yes Ma'am the police will be here shortly."

I cleared my throat again. Louder.

"Sir return to your table. Everything is-"

"Under control? The police have been notified, yes I know."

I took a moment, just a quick moment, to look at the workers. I saw the waiters closest to me, three here, all in the same uniform, white shirt, black suit jacket and matching trousers, cuff-links with the initials of the restaurant in silver. The women wore the same, replacing the shirt with a blouse with ruffles at the neck-front. Heels seemed to be mandatory as no female workers wore flats. No workers wore make-up in addition to tattoos (if any) where to be covered up, out of sight from regular customers.

"Show me the body. "I showed him my licence. "Detective Grimm."

He looked me up and down and chuckled. I felt out of place suddenly as I noticed my clothes, a jacket that's seen better days was on my shoulders, covering my black shirt and the top half of my beige trousers, my hand relieved an itch on my chin as I rubbed the stubble of my so-called beard. I raised an eyebrow at his changed attitude but shook it off as easily.

"You're a little young to be a Detective aren't you?"

"I've been in the line of work for years…"

"You're just a kid. And where's your hat?"

I grumbled. "I'm twenty-seven! And-and that's not important!"

"Right this way Officer."

I frowned. "Detective." I corrected. This is going to be a long case…

By now the customers had been returned to their seats and the air was filled with the quiet mumblings of the customers. During my observations the body had been covered by a table cloth and moved to the kitchen area, away from the eyes of the customers.

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The waiter opened the doors and mentioned that I was here. The chefs moved out of the way. The only people left near me was the waiter who I had talked to, the head chef and of course the deceased.

"Jim."

I looked at the waiter.

"Jim, that's my name. Jim Watson."

I took a mental note. Then returned to the body, I lifted the cover and took a closer look at the body. A man, in a black business suit and greasy hair was before me. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No external wounds or punctures. I checked his wallet. He had a ring on one bruised hand.

Married then?...No…

I examined the ring more closely; it slid off easily and left no white un-tanned line.

I covered the body and stood up. "Martin Williams. 37. Three kids. Wife. Helen. Second wife Trisha. The ring easily comes off, and there's no pale skin underneath, he takes it off frequently. Doesn't walk around much, so he doesn't have a very active job, maybe behind a desk all day."

"How do you know that?"

"I checked his wallet..." I calmly replied.

He did a double-take. "That's brilliant!"

I smirked. "I know."

I turned around to the Chef. He wiped the guts of a fish on his apron -which I noticed was covered in stains- and went back to chopping ingredients. His shirt was failing to restrain his excessive stomach.

I returned to the dining area of the restaurant. The police were already here, but let me continue my work. This took a while with no luck until I heard a reply...

"I heard a gunshot."

I looked at the elderly women. She was here with her husband, probably on an anniversary according to her attire. "Where and when did you hear this gunshot?"

"I heard it…maybe a half an hour before the scream?"

I looked at where she was sitting. Her table was near the middle of the restaurant but secluded by a patch of tropical foliage. She was pointing to where she heard the shot but not to the table where the victim sat, but ahead, to where teenagers were celebrating an event. I walked over and looked at the left overs. Paper hats, confetti, two bottles of champagne.

"You said you heard a gunshot?"

"Um…why yes, yes I think so."

I popped the last, unopened bottle of champagne. The woman flinched. "That's it, right there! Another gunshot!"

I sighed and explained to her that it was just the cork and no gunshot wound was found on the victim.

"I saw what happened, it was an accident not a murder!"

The woman who spoke was a young blonde, in a skinny black dress and wore a pearl necklace.

"Care to explain?" I asked.

"He choked to death. He had a piece of sushi stuck in his throat, we tried to help him but…but he collapsed on the floor." She ended, near tears.

"You were the woman he was meeting up with weren't you?"

"Pardon?"

"You were having an affair."

The woman looked at me with a blank face, then her eyes darkened as she realised this situation looked bad for her.

"Aha! So she did do it! She poisoned him!"

"Not quite Jim."

"How so Officer?"

"Detective. It's because I had the same dish as the victim, so there was no way for her to poison it, this leaves only one explanation."

"You know who did it?" An Officer asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I turned to the murderer, our eyes locked.

The murderer spoke. "You don't scare me, the word 'fear' isn't in my vocabulary."

"No...but it's in your eyes..."