Chapter 4

Drin was so focused on this crucial moment that he didn’t realize that people had long gathered around him. A little girl even pointed her finger at him while saying,

“Mommy, he’s weird!”

“Stop, you don’t point with fingers at strangers.” the mother rebuked her child. Gently she lowered the arm of her daughter as she took another glance at Drin. Mother: Even if they’re crazy and retarded like this one! But at second look––She bit her lip––he’s also sexy!

Drin stopped in his movement. His eyes rolled three times before halting at the crowd. He let out a big sigh and demanded,

“You people really have too much free time, don’t you? Do you enjoy stalking people when they are on a happy date?” A man in the crowd: Happy date? I doubt somebody could have anything happy with a psycho like you! Woman who bit her lips: Shit, have a date with me! Wherever and whenever you want! The crowd gazed at the cappuccino and then back to Drin. Some started exchanging wild theories while others could only shake their heads at that scene. Before this situation could get any worse, they decided to disappear from Drin’s sight as fast as possible. The last person leaving gave Drin a short miserable gaze, some tears sliding down his face. Man: May you find one day a woman who’ll accept you as you are! As crazy as you are I could picture you even with two women. Drin just responded with a jumbled expression.

The people had dispersed by yet and once again, Drin was left alone with his date. After a heavy sigh and a brief headshake his grin returned.

“Let me drink you!” he growled. Like an obsessed person, he packed his date with both hands. Drin was impatient and restraining himself wasn’t an option anymore. He wanted to finish his date as fast as possible. He himself didn’t know why; possibly a hunch. Maybe created due to the previous date failures.

Kiing! Kiing! “What is this?” Drin asked himself. He gazed around. Only when he felt a vibration against his leg, he knew that it came from his handy. Groaning, he took out his handy and answered the call in a loud tone, borderline shouting,

“What’s the problem? I hope it’s important, because I got a date with my cappuccino to finish!” He wasn’t even embarrassed presenting his date, a cappuccino! Drin glanced over to his date and raised one hand. An act intended to calm down his offended date. Drin: I’m soon there for you!

“Drin, hurry up and get your ass over here!” roared the man on the other line. ‘We’ve got a murder, a special one! Right now, I’m in the partly destroyed building on Denmark Street. You have to hurry up! S.M.O or M.H.O could arrive here any moment!’ Suddenly, Drin’s face switched from annoyed to serious and furious. He squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his forehead. Drin: S.M.O and M.H.O these bastards always arrive before us and take the cases from us away, especially these weird ones. Not this time!

“Ok, wait. I’ll be there in 15min.” Drin let the man at the other line know, in a calmer tone this time.

“Ok, I’ll wait here, Drin.” Drin tucked the phone back in his pants. However, before he could go solve that problem, he had to deal with another one, his now only half-hot date. No words were needed to express his feelings, for the tears that started trickling down Drin’s face made clear what kind of cruel decision he was about to take. He peered into the far distance, lips and eyes shaking. He didn’t want to do this, but tough times called for hard decisions. His gaze shifted back to the cappuccino.

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s time to say goodbye!” Drin was about to grab his date when suddenly a strong wind blew in his direction. The date was blown away, without even looking back or giving Drin the possibility to touch her a last time.

“You won’t even allow me to bid you goodbye! Haha! So, you’re also angry! I don't blame you. Go and find a better man!” Drin dried his wet eyes with a handkerchief. Drin: And now, the other problem! The time to regret was over and besides, he could have another date, but would it be the same?

Recovered from the emotional damage, Drin ran to the next near street. Arrived, he stopped a yellow taxi by raising his arm. Driver: Ok, my first target for today! The taxi halted

“Mister, you look outstanding!” the driver commented “With this handsome face you could even seduce wives! Where shall I take you today”’ Driver: Hopefully my flatter worked and he’ll throw a tip in!

“To Denmark Street!” Drin answered, fast and dry, as he entered the car. Driver: Fuck! Why do I always get the weird ones? Seem like the flatter didn’t work! Without putting much effort on this thought, the man drove off.

The taxi was soiled, green chips were distributed on the torn and brown leather seats. The seats also bore holes in which something brown was hiding, wait, even moving. And the glasses were smeared with old and sticky brown juice. Surely the juice must have been there for a long time, because it was already merging with the glass. A distinct smell of cigarettes and cheap vodka lingered in the air. Drin viewed the inner of the taxi. His brows and corners of the mouth pulled down. Drin: Wait, you’ll regret to have driven me with something like that!

Having reached the destination, Drin paid the driver and rushed to the building. While running to the construction, Drin heard the driver cursing at him,

“You bastard, this money is not nearly enough! Didn’t you go to school? You fucking, stupid bastard!” Drin simply smiled. Drin: Idiot, I know that it’s not enough. Did you take a look at your fucking taxi? You can be lucky I even gave you anything! Drin was now out of reach of the man and couldn’t hear his complain any longer. He entered the building and sprinted the stairs up. The room was at the highest level. No knocking was needed due to the destroyed door. Thus, Drin invited himself in.

The room carried an old brown-and-green hue. Parts of the walls were torn away, and the ceiling fared no better. There was little furniture—only a few cupboards and fragile white plastic chairs. At the far end, a window stood wide open. Even so, the air inside remained sour and stale, to the point that Drin had to cover his nose briefly.

The only thing that drew the eye were the walls to the right and left of the door, splashed with layers of graffiti.

Drin immediately noticed the dried-up corpse on the floor. Drin: He’s wearing a uniform––

“Drin!” a man around 2m interrupted him in his thoughts.

His hair and beard were brown, streaked with golden highlights. Sunlight caught in his light-brown eyes, making them glint, then slid across his pale skin. His clothes––one size too tight––strained with every movement, seams pulling as if they might give at any second.

Drin quickly regained his composure and looked to the officer. Their eyes met.

“Jeffrey, what exactly happened here?” Drin inquired.

“You forgot the officer!” Drin waved one hand in the air and said,

“Don’t mind that!” Thereupon Officer Jeffrey grunted though this was all he did.

“Fine. I’ll let it pass. Well, my men followed a thief to this building, but during their chase they lost him. Therefore, they decided to split up to track down the thief faster. Drin: Split up? It seems like some people never learn! Do they only have shit in their heads? Don’t they know what happens in a horror movie once people divide into groups? And then they dare to call themselves the police! All of sudden, one of the men heard the other one shouting, so he rushed to his help, too late! When he set foot in the room, his comrade was already like”––he pointed at the corpse––“this. No trace of the thief. He contacted me and I called you afterwards.” Head-nodding, Drin praised the Officer,

“It was clever of you to contact me! At least, you’re someone who uses his head. You wouldn’t die that fast in a horror movie!” The Officer just let out some,

“Mhh!” Then he nodded. This wasn’t the first time he had done such a thing. Officer Jeffrey and all the other people never truly understood Drin, for that, he was too weird sometimes. So, when Officer Jeffrey was confronted with Drin’s strangeness, he always nodded or just went along with whatever was going on. Fast and effective. Out of the blue, Drin rose a grin, raised one arm to the level of the chest and formed a fist.

“Yeah, we are the first ones to arrive! These bastards of S.M.O and M.H.O always show up before us, but not today.” Drin started rubbing his palms together while putting on a cunning smile. Then he glanced Officer Jeffrey straight in the face. Officer Jeffrey: Fuck, I’ll have to nod again!

Despite, being a police, Officer Jeffrey was far too unsportsmanlike. It was really a shocking surprise that he had managed to stay alive up till now. And even a bigger surprise he had not be fired by now. Well, maybe he contributed in his own way. Drin drew closer to him and spoke,

“Imagine that they arrive here and realize that we already took care of everything. I can’t wait to see their faces. Like idiots they will they will stare at us, hahah!”

/