The night passed without any further occurrences. Olivier was still sitting in the alley. He didn't even know how he managed to endure the boredom. What he did know was that the wall in front of him was made from five hundred sixty-one bricks.
"Really, next time I need to bring something to relief the boredom."
Olivier sighed. If he would have known what was waiting for him he would have made some preparations beforehand. But then, the café didn't have anything suitable to combat boredom either. Was he supposed to bring his hoe and start overturning a garden? Well, still better than nothing…
As his mind moved to the café, Olivier naturally also thought of the coffee beans. The three types of beans each had special effects. They could also proof useful in his current situation. For example, the blue beans. A glimpse of the future might reveal when the murdered strikes again. If he knew that, Olivier wouldn't be forced to stick around Sam all the time. Really, why couldn't the black cat just explain everything from the start? Was she deliberately creating problems for him?
Cling!
A crisp sound suddenly woke Olivier up. He looked towards its source and found a coin lying in front of him. Turning his to the left there was a man in fine clothes smiling and nodding at him before continuing down the street. Only a second later did Olivier's brain process what had just happened.
"F*ck!"
Olivier couldn't help but curse. But he still took the coin. After all, he really had none of the currency used in this world. Olivier twirled the coin before his eyes. It was a silver coin with the number 5 on one side and the head of a woman on the other. It was not too different to the coins used at Olivier's home.
Putting the coin away Olivier stood up, moving his tired legs. The sun was falling on the town, and it was gradually waking up. People were leaving their houses. From talking to Sam yesterday Olivier knew that the man was working as a carpenter. He wasn't entirely sure what this entailed. At home Olivier was living in a tribe-like structure. Most people had to lend a hand wherever possible. Not everyone had a fixed job. But Olivier hadn't dared to ask too many questions, or he would have appeared even more suspicious. Now, he didn't even know about the concept of working hours.
Thus, Olivier was standing on the street, observing the surroundings. People, groggy and half-asleep, passed him one after the other. But Sam didn't leave his house even though the sun had already risen. It couldn't be that anything happened to him, right? Did the murderer return last night without Olivier noticing? The barista felt increasingly anxious. An hour passed. Olivier was already considering whether to search for Sam when the latter finally came out of the door.
Sam was talking with his two neighbours as always. But everyone could tell that something was on his mind. He was quieter than usual and kept glancing around. Seeing him like this, Olivier was afraid he might be spotted but in his new clothes he was indeed nearly unrecognizable. Still, he didn't dare to get too close, following Sam from a distance.
As they walked along the street, it became increasingly crowded. Olivier found it quite troublesome. Was this really a normal day in the town? Olivier was not used to it. He almost lost Sam.
Luckily Sam wasn't trying to hide or anything. Olivier managed to trail him towards a less crowded part of the town. A few minutes later Sam left the street, arriving at his workplace. Olivier kept his distance. When he arrived ten seconds later, he was just in time to see Sam enter a large building. 'Shelby's Carpentry Workshop' was written on a large sign outside.
Just as Olivier wanted to follow, he was spotted by another man in simple working clothes. The man eyed him suspiciously and addressed Olivier:
"Morning, Sir. Can I help you? Do you have a job for us, or do you want to buy something?"
"Ehm…"
Olivier froze with his mouth open. He was not prepared to answer questions. What was he supposed to say?
"Sir?"
"Yes. Ehm. So, what do you sell here?"
"Sir, this is a carpentry…"
Seeing that Olivier kept glancing towards the building the worker found in increasingly suspicious. His brows furrowed as he said:
"Sir, this is private property. If you are not here to buy something, please leave."
"No. I… I'm here for Sam."
"Sam? Ha! That's explains things! Go, get out of here! Sam is working right now, understood?!"
Olivier was shocked by the change in tone. The worker wore a disdainful expression as he looked him up and down. Olivier was utterly confused. Did he do something wrong? Did he brake one of the customs of this world?
While Olivier was confused, the conversation attracted another group of workers who had just arrived. Watching them come over with unhappy faces, Olivier realized that he probably wouldn't be able to enter. He hastily excused himself and left.
Olivier walked down the street until he was out of sight. After waiting a few seconds he turned around and returned, watching the carpentry from the other side of the street. Although he was annoyed, the situation wasn't entirely bad. After all, if he couldn't enter the carpentry, then the murderer certainly couldn't either. But just as he thought this, he was hit with a new worry. What if the murderer was already inside? He could be one of the coworkers!
Massaging his temples and taking a deep breath Olivier forced himself to stay calm. This possibility could indeed not be ruled out. All Olivier could do was checking all the workers one by one. Luckily, they didn't stay in the building the entire time. Two teams even left for jobs outside. Olivier scanned everyone he could see and didn't spot anyone suspicious. His only headache was not knowing how many people worked in the carpentry.
Two hours passed while Olivier observed the carpentry, switching spots from time to time, trying not to look too conspicuous. The barista couldn't help but feel increasingly frustrated. Everything would be easier if he had more information beforehand. Knowledge about this world, knowledge about the matters of hunters and anchors, preparation, perhaps even an assistant, he was lacking in everything.
Just as Olivier let out a sigh, something caught his attention. A young boy was coming closer, waving a stack of paper around. Not a few people went up to the boy to buy some of the paper. And what attracted Olivier the most was the line of thick text reading:
Alley Killer claims a new victim – Gendarmery clueless
Olivier's eyes lit up as he saw his chance. This was exactly what he needed to learn how this world dealt with a killer. He hastily walked up to the boy.
"Extra! Extra! The Alley Killer strikes again! Buy here if you want to know how to protect yourself!"
"The alley killer is still out there? I thought they caught him."
"No, they caught the wrong man."
"Really? Why haven't I heard of that?"
"I think the gendarmery asked the press not to report it. Their reputation is already bad enough as it is."
"It's really terrible. The Alley Killer has been out there for what? Seven years now? If it wasn't so difficult to get a job elsewhere, I would've already packed up my family and left."
Olivier listened to the cautious whispers around him. Hearing that the killer had been out there for 7 years already he guessed that it wasn't the murderer that he was searching for. Keeping at the back of the small crowd, Olivier observed the situation for a minute before stepping forward.
"Boy. One newspaper please."
"Here. Makes three Benar."
Olivier nodded and handed the only coin in his possession to the paper boy. The young one's eye lit up as he pocketed the coin grinning at Olivier. The latter felt something wrong. But with so many people around he didn't want to start anything. He grabbed his newspaper, found some stairs nearby and sat down. He only glanced towards the carpentry occasionally. By now he felt quite assured that Sam was safe in there.
Directing his attention to the newspaper Olivier began to read. At this point he didn't even think about why he could perfectly read the foreign language. He just focused on the first article. It talked about the Alley Killer, a fearsome figure who terrorized the town for almost eight years. But Olivier wasn't so much interested in the killer. Instead, he focused on the part about the gendarmery. Thanks to the article he understood that this was what the local guards were called and also learned how they operated.
Olivier felt enlightened. He read the entire newspaper down to every detail and finally gained at least some understanding of this world. Thanks to that he could form at least a rough plan. He would tell the gendarmery about Sam's situation so they could protect him. This would free Olivier's hands and he could search for the anchor without constantly having to worry about Sam.