Luke "Perfect Partner"/Rewards
Scene 1: Street
The sun was waning when you left the client's house. Going back to the office now would be too late.
You called Celestine to make sure there was no urgent matter to take care of, and then started your weekend early.
You: Huh? Isn't this Luke's antique shop?
You: Come to think of it, doesn't that novelist live nearby the antique shop?
You are just about to drop in on Luke when you see a man lurking about suspiciously by the door.
The man is holding a large cardboard box, looking hesitant. He looks familiar.
You: That cardboard box... Could he be wanting to sell his antiques? Why linger by the door?
You: Excuse me... Are you...
The man turns. Upon seeing you, he drops the box and runs.
He's definitely up to something!
You pull out your phone and are just about to call Luke when you hear his voice behind you.
Luke: (Name)? Why are you here?
Luke: I thought I heard you. Turns out I wasn't imagining it.
You: Luke! Just in time! A suspicious man left some dangerous items at your door! Did you piss off anybody lately?
Luke: Dangerous items?
Luke looks about, and then notices the cardboard box.
Luke: You mean this box?
Luke kneels down to inspect the box. Upon seeing him touching the box carelessly, you stop him.
You: Be careful! What if it's a bomb?
Luke: Bomb... Really, (Name)? What got into you lately?
You: I just took on a case about a famous novelist being blackmailed.
You: His latest novel has a tragic ending; a fan got upset because of it and started mailing razors to his house.
You: He didn't take it seriously initially, but a few days ago, a bomb was delivered to his door!
Luke: That's so unbelievable! Did anyone get hurt?
You: Fortunately, the bomb maker seems to be quite the amateur; the bomb turned out to be a dud...
You: So the novelist called the police, and then came to our office to file a lawsuit.
You: I mean, the guy's only a novelist! As a detective dealing with a lot of money, you should be more careful.
Luke: Don't worry. I know what my job is like. I know how to protect myself.
You: Maybe I was really spooked... That suspicious man just reminded me of that case I'm working on.
Luke: Well, would it put you at ease if I inspect it for explosives? Stand back. I'll get my equipment.
Luke has the equipment to find explosives? Did he make it himself?
You stand aside while Luke comes back out with something that resembles a handheld POS machine.
He performs a complete circular scan of the box with the machine, but nothing shows up on the machine.
Luke: No hazardous materials or explosives inside. I peeked inside and saw only books. We should be fine.
Luke: I've been collecting second-hand books to donate to orphanages. Maybe the man just came to drop off some books.
He points at the sign outside the door that reads, "Second-hand books wanted."
You: If that's the case, why did he run when I confronted him?
Luke: Well, it is better to be safe than sorry. I'll look it over some more after I get it inside.
Luke picks up the box, his coral-colored eyes full of smiles.
Luke: Though I'm living alone, I do take good care of myself. I also prioritize my safety when out on jobs.
Luke: No need to worry about me anymore. I'm no longer that emotional and reckless kid you knew back then.
Luke's words break the awkward silence. The way he cherishes and cares for you is evident and heartwarming.
You: You have always been reliable, even when you were just a kid...
You: Anyway, let's check out the box. I'm a bit curious myself...
Suddenly, the bottom of the box collapses from the weight of the contents inside. All the books fall out.
Luke: The guy didn't even tape it up? What was he thinking... Books are heavy. Did he not take into account that the box might not hold up?
You kneel down to pick up the books for Luke. A small crimson box among them catches your attention.
The box is made of wood, about the size of your palm, with animals made out of mica flakes inlaid on the surfaces.
You: What a beautiful jewelry box!
Luke: Hmm... Mahogany, delicate craftsmanship... Probably from the Old Dynasty period.
You: So it's an antique?
Luke: Possibly. I'm no expert, but it definitely shouldn't be given to me instead of some antique market.
Luke tapes up the bottom of the cardboard box and puts all the books back in.
Luke: Come. We'll take a better look once inside.
Scene 1: Antique Shop
You've seen a suspicious man outside of Luke's antique shop.
The man left a cardboard box full of books and an antique mahogany jewelry box.
Luke studies the wooden box under a magnifying glass and finally finds something.
Luke: Here it is. A date at the bottom of the box. It's from the Old Dynasty period and made for the royals.
Luke: If it isn't a knock-off, it'd worth quite a bit. It makes no sense to just throw something like this away.
You: Maybe he didn't realize it was in here?
Luke: If that's the case, we better give it back to him.
You: But we don't have any info on him...
You: Also, if he didn't even want to be seen donating the books, I don't think he'd want to come for this box.
Luke: True. Dunno what he's thinking...
Luke pulls on the seemingly pure gold ring on the box, and then puts it to his ear and shakes it cautiously.
Luke: It's locked, and there's something inside.
Luke: Hm... I better try to open it. Such a luxurious box must hold something of great value.
Luke: If that's indeed the case, we'll have to report it to the police.
Luke really has thought everything through. You nod your head as he takes out several small tools from his tool bag.
You: You better be careful. We don't want to damage it...
Luke: Have some faith in me. The box is valuable, sure, but the lock on it isn't anything complicated.
By the time he finishes the sentence, he has already unlocked the box with a clean "click."
Luke: Photos! You rarely see actual photo prints nowadays!
You glance at the photo and then it hits you.
You: | just realized why he looks so familiar. He looks like Jacque Dennis!
The photo features the man and a woman at one of Jacque Dennis' live performances.
Luke: Jacque Dennis? The famous singer from here who uses a foreign stage name? The one who's topped the charts for 15 years?
Luke: The resemblance is striking...
One of the pictures features Jacques Dennis with the couple. Anyone would be fooled into thinking the two men are twins.
Luke: He looks familiar to me, too, not because he looks like Jacque Dennis, but because I've seen him somewhere...
You: Could this woman be the man's girlfriend or wife?
You: Both of them look like fans of Jacque Dennis.
You: From the pictures, they seem to have toured around the world with Jacque Dennis.
Luke: If I were to analyze, the woman wasn't in a romantic relationship with the man... At least, not yet.
Luke picks out two pictures and hands them to you.
Luke: See. They stood together side by side, but there was no physical contact at all.
Luke: They kept a friendly distance away from each other.
You: Com'on, don't tell me you don't see how they look at each other.
Luke: Really? Well... This is why I don't take any relationship-related cases... I really can't tell.
You: Hey! There's a card!
There is a hand-written card with an embossed rose amidst the photos. The handwriting is neat and elegant, evidently written by a woman.
You: "You don't have to do it like this. You are like nobody..."
Luke: That sounds like a rejection.
Luke: Wait! Now I remember! I did meet the man! Follow me.
Luke suddenly grabs your hand and leads you upstairs.
His hand is soft with some calluses on the upper palm that tickle your wrist.
This is in no way a casual distance. Looking at Luke's back, you can't stifle your internal laughter.
He would definitely blush if you were to tease him about it. At the same time, you hear your heart beating louder.
Scene 2: Detective Agency
Luke heads straight for his file cabinet upon reaching the second floor and soon takes out an old and yellowed book.
He opens the book, snatches out a photo from within the pages and hands it to you.
Luke: Look. Doesn't it look like one of the photos from the wooden box?
Scene 1: Detective Agency
Luke: It's from an old book that I got last month, Neruda's "Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair."
You take a look at the photo. It does look like it belongs with the photos found inside the wooden box.
The same locale, the same man and woman, but taken at different angles.
The photo that Luke has seems to be a selfie taken by the woman.
Luke: There's also a letter that came with the photo.
Luke: I've read it. It's a love letter to the woman.
You: A love letter?
Luke: Yeah... and a pitiful one at that, if I may say so.
You take a look at the letter in question, and find yourself agreeing with Luke's assessment.
You: "I know you love only him, but don't I also resemble him in many ways?"
You: "If you'd just give me a chance, I can become even more like him. All I ask for is to love and take care of you..."
You: "Even if I were just his mere reflection..."
Luke: I didn't get what it's about at first, but if the woman in the picture was whom the letter was for, it makes sense.
Luke: The man and the woman were both fans of Jacque Dennis. They probably met each other during the tour.
Luke: The man wishes to court the woman, but she loves Dennis and Dennis alone.
Luke: The man resembles Dennis to begin with, but he's willing to imitate Dennis in every way just so he could get the girl... However...
You: The woman turned him down?
Luke: If the card inside the wooden box was indeed her reply, then yes.
You never would have thought to discover such a story from a pile of books...
However, there is no mistaking the way the woman looks at him in the photos. They even have the photos printed out as keepsakes...
You: Neruda! Did you say the photo and letter were tucked inside Pablo Neruda's poetry book?
Luke: Yeah, Neruda's "Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair." Is something—
Luke: Ah! I get it!
Luke: This poetry collection's fourteenth poem...Luke frowns slightly, trying to recall the poem.
The gentle and warm waning sun fills the whole room, adding a sense of devotion to his eyes that are looking beyond the moment.
He then stares into your eyes and recites those beautiful lines softly.
Luke: "You are like nobody since I love you."
Luke: "Let me spread you out among the yellow garlands. Who writes your name in letters of smoke among the stars of the south?"
His voice is a bit low and course, delivering your favorite poem from your student days to perfection.
His recitation moves you deeply. You can't resist the urge to recite with him.
Luke: "Oh let me remember you..."
You & Luke: "As you were before you existed."
Both of you recite in unison. As two voices become one, you also find your heart riding on the syllables of the lines.
The poem has ended with that last line. Still, both of you remain silent.
Submerged deep within your thoughts, you feel like you were drowning in the sense of melancholy floating in the air.
Luke closes the poetry book, and then his eyes.
Luke: "Aquí te amo..."
The evening breeze brushes past your burning cheeks. You turn around, slightly flustered, but are suddenly reminded of the rose-embossed card in your hand.
You: She... I don't think it's a rejection at all.
You: I mean, though backwards, she IS quoting Neruda here, right?
You hear Luke breathing deeply behind you, followed by the sound of pages flipping.
Luke: The woman must have loaned this book out from the library.
Luke: The last borrower on the library book card is a... Yolanda Jenkins.
You turn around to look at the library book card in Luke's hands.
You: Yolanda... Her reply was misinterpreted... How sad.
You: You received that book last month, and the man just discarded those treasured photos...
You: They probably never ended up together.
Luke: We can't be sure of him discarding those photos yet. There's a chance he didn't even know they were here.
Luke: The photos are dated eight years ago. Why would they keep the photos all these years just to throw them away so casually?
Luke: One misunderstanding drove them apart for eight years. Maybe over the years, it has grown into a grudge or obsession.
Luke: In my opinion... If it were me, I'd do my best to make sure there's no misunderstanding even if everything was set in stone.
There's a sense of sadness in his tone so unlike his usual self. Something he may not even be aware of himself.
What happened during those eight years...?
You: Are you going to try to find Yolanda and the man to see if you can help them?
Luke: Although it may be rude to meddle with someone else's relationship like this... But yeah, I do want to try.
Luke: I'm probably too nosy, right?
You: A little. But I don't think it's wrong to want to help them out from the bottom of your heart.
You: Can't say I blame you, because... I'd want that for them as well.
Luke: I knew you'd be behind me!
You: So, the real question is: how do we find them?
Luke: This poetry book! It was signed out of the Stellis Public Library. We can start by asking them for Yolanda's contact info.
Luke: Yolanda may be in contact with the man. If we find Yolanda, we can probably find the man as well.
You: The library should already be closed for the day though...
Your stomach suddenly growls.
You: ...
You feel embarrassed and try to think of something to get out of this awkward situation when Luke rubs his stomach in an exaggerated manner.
Luke: I'm SO hungry I could eat a horse!
Luke: We can go to the library tomorrow. You're not working tomorrow, are you?
You: Nope. It's a Saturday!
Luke: Great! We'll meet up at the library tomorrow morning.
You: Sure.
Luke: Now... Dinner!
