The stage was set. The lamp was on. The backdrop of spaghetti boxes had been cleared, replaced with a wall of soup cans.

“I know you were all worried,” Cadoc said, hands folded over his desk. “It wasn’t right to run out on all of you before the end of the day, but with the health issues I wasn’t thinking straight. It came to my attention later that there was a spot of trouble with the food…” He stared dead ahead, launching into one of his trademark silences. Then, after pulling his answer from the great beyond, “It won’t happen again.”

“What a chill guy.” Nero was working his way through some mashed potatoes like it was second nature; eyes on the phone screen while his hands automatically plowed a bowl with a spoon. “No mention of me or the other screwup of the day. I mean - he knows about me and Kep, right?”

“Yes, we let him and his manager know,” Sao said.

“Does he know about Basil?”

“Yes, Cadoc knows about him too.” Sao turned the volume up a few blips.

“I know this video's shorter than usual, I just wanted to give everybody an update, so there won’t be anymore… rumors.” Cadoc was as charitable as Nero claimed; the bombastic list of top-related-videos had certainly evolved into something Sao would not simply call ‘rumors’. “My manager and I are fine. I’m going to prepare another video shortly and we’ll be reading out your questions there, like always, so as usual, please send your enquiries to the links below...”

Nero began chewing his spoon. Behind him, Trae was returning with seconds - or maybe it was thirds by now. He set down another bowl of potatoes for Nero.

They were seated outdoors, at one of the many tables that dotted the pristine hospital lawn, just outside the sun-catching East wing of the cafeteria. The hospital lot was surrounded by a row of evergreen trees and looking out at their tall, proud heads that obscured the roadways that he knew were just beyond, Sao almost felt like he was on a picnic, or a camping trip. Of course, camping had never been high on his list of hobbies, but the enormous white building that sat behind him was enough of a root to civilization that he could let his mind wander.

“The reception lady said she’ll come get us when the doctor is ready,” Trae said, shoveling potato and bacon into his maw, wads twice as large as Nero could manage. In the open air, in his assigned habitat as it were, he had no need for a mask and simply blasted puffs of aura-smoke in the air when he felt like it, feeding the trees.

“Cool,” Nero responded.

“He’ll make sure you get all your papers ready before the trial.”

“Sounds good. I’m not too worried. I’m more interested in meeting this doc, seeing what Life Fountains have really been up to in recent years. I never met any outside of the eating world, and us LF weren’t even supposed to be there.” Nero put his spoon down. “You say he’s keeps a lot of incoming LFs on file? I wonder if he really does know my mom or dad in some capacity, like you said...”

Sao then recalled that he had been the one to bluff Nero with exactly that in the meaty smog of the dressing rooms. He hadn’t counted on running into Nero again so soon, to have his word put to the test. But Trae nodded to the suggestion in buoyant agreement. “Yeah, I bet he’ll know, or know someone who does. The doctor knows a lot. He’s been watching the Life Fountain movement for almost three hundred years! He even had some old newspapers about me, from the city that I lived a hundred years ago. That place doesn’t even exist anymore. He knows a lot.”

“No joke?” Nero’s suspicion collapsed and he slid back, stunned. “Three hundred flipping years? Man, I can’t imagine anyone doing anything for that long. Especially a Life Fountain. He must really be on top of things.”

Sao released a quiet sigh of relief and noticed Trae grinning at him. Saved you. Sao passed him a small smile. Not for the first time, and not ungratefully, he thought that Trae was an abnormally eloquent liar.

As Nero and Trae make short work of their second or third lunches, Sao caught sight of Rai slouching their way, pallid grey on the sunny green. He had two cups of coffee in his hands, and finished one before reaching them.

Trae surfaced from his bowl for air. “Hello, Rai. Did Cadmus tell you to come get us?”

“What? No, why would I know where the old man is?” Rai pushed his way onto the same side of the table as Trae and Nero, generously leaving Sao with a bench all his own. “I was checking in on Basil.”

“Ah,” Sao said, “I was wondering why we came here for lunch. Is he doing… better?”

Rai shielded himself from a spray of potato. “He isn’t in any immediate danger, if that helps. Although if you’re still haunted by doppelgangers and ghosts of past selves, let’s just say it’s better if you don’t drop in for a look.”

“I hope it isn't too bad... no, if you're saying that it's better not to pry. We’ve been watching the latest video Cadoc put out.” Sao slid the phone across the table.

“Already saw it this morning. It hasn’t done much to stop the crazies and their theories, though. Look at the view counts on that garbage - five mil in what, a day or two? There are still videos coming out saying he’s dead every other hour, even though official news has confirmed he’s found.”

“There was official news?” Bowl empty again, Nero gnawed at his spoon. “What, like in the corner of a paper or mid-morning news? Nobody sees that kind of thing. A lot of that five million is probably overseas followers - I hear Cadoc’s pretty popular in the South.”

“That will make the finals interesting,” Sao mused.

“Have you seen some of these?” Rai asked him.

“I’ve been trying not to give them attention.”

“One minute of your day isn’t going to help or harm these people.” Rai selected the gruesomely titled and insanely popular SHE’S A ****ING MURDERER. “Look at this nonsense.”

The creator had cut out and enlarged a tiny photo of Carme from the background of an event and painted a red glow and fangs over her blurry face. 

SHE DID IT. COVERUP. LONG TIME COMING.

Carme North, the video claimed, had a history of abusive behavior toward her brother and alleged employer. For example, she force fed him masses of spaghetti. Deliveries were seen going into their house.

“As if they don’t know what competitive eating is,” Nero yawned.

His latest disappearance should come as no surprise to anybody with a functioning brain, the video claimed. There was clearly foul play, and Carme was at the center of it.

The PROOF - in all capitals - was widely known. Cadoc often retained marks of his pin test WEEKS after a match. He was absolutely being denied medical treatment, sooner or later he’d be left to go septic, and die. Why did he still show scarring in his videos when Nero and company were fully healed? Unnatural. Very suspicious.

Nero yawned again.

Carme lived with Cadoc, and he was never seen anywhere without her. He was only permitted to do remote interviews on the off-season, he was only let out to eat, like some sort of dog. Surely she was keeping him handcuffed to a bed, in a dark room, trapped, unable to be his best self. She was a seducer, a groomer, possibly an incestuous rapist. At the same time she was a prude, insensitive and callous toward her own family member. They were never seen hugging or showing affection. Extremely damning evidence.

Eyewitnesses claimed, said the video, that she intentionally bashed his head repeatedly against the door of the expo hall as she smuggled him out, after losing her patience with him, perhaps wanting to punish him for some perceived slight. His head was cracked, caved in, practically falling apart in halves like a cleaved melon, brains everywhere. He was dragged - by the feet, witnesses said something about shoes - out to the parking lot, smearing blood all the way. People saw it, and here was a re-enactment to show how truly awful the whole event was. 

There was a photo of the black ash-trail Trae’s aura had left behind in his attempt to chase the car. Blood, claimed the video. Buckets of it.

“Wow. That is horrible,” Trae said.

ABUSER. MURDERER. DEMON.

“I think that’s enough,” Sao said. “Why would anybody put work into this kind of thing? What is there to get from smearing Carme North?”

The three across from him were far too nonchalant.

Rai tried. “I can’t argue that it’s not in bad taste, but this kinda shock piece might be an advertising ploy. To get people riled up for Cadoc’s ‘comeback’ after he ran off that day and disappointed a bunch of fans. Some companies think that - all attention is good attention.”

“True enough. Marketers can be a nightmare.” Nero sipped some soda, inspected his cup with a burst of nostalgia. “I got sponsored by a soft drink corp back in the day. They made me drink a bottle of their stuff every time I was on camera, and they arranged my interviews too. My system’s pretty robust - as you know - but even I got sick of it.”

Rai shook his head. “Even this is speculation. All this racket could also be normal people with nothing better to do.”

“It’s a lot of people.” Sao closed the video. “I wonder if they’d stop if Cadoc were to actually defend his sister. Even seeing a clear picture of her might help. Their faces are so much alike.”

Trae seemed confused. “They’re twins,” Rai grunted.

“Twins?” Nero’s forehead wrinkled. “Huh. I never noticed - must have been the way she dresses. Suit and tie kinda girl. Kind of like she wanted to look as different as possible - I guess being mistaken for a competitive eater isn’t flattering to the average lady. They never seemed that close, either.”

“They drifted apart when they were young.” Sao stared at the clouds. “Family issues, was what it sounded like.”

“I guess even close families drift,” Nero said. “Not often they drift back. Good for him, you know? He deserves to have a good time. He deserves that final spot, he’s gonna kill it.”

With the finals on their minds, Trae and Nero began discussing some unfamiliar names. Sao supposed they were speculating who would be the Southern finalist. Being exposed and removed from the competition did not embitter Nero in the least. He really loved his food, and fellow big eaters. The flurry of talk continued and Rai uncapped the cup of coffee he had been saving, unable to resist any longer.

Over their heads, tan-suited receptionist was seen emerging from the cafeteria doorway. She looked out the door and spotted her target instantly; Trae’s coat and wildfire of hair was impossible to miss. She approached with a small paper card. “From the doctor.”

“Thanks.” Trae read the card, then stood and stretched like a shag rug unfurling. Rai’s cup was nearly flung off the table. Trae yawned a faint apology, and turned to Nero. “Lunch is over. We can go meet the doctor now.” He passed the card over.

“Ah, a wire,” Nero chuckled. “Just like back at the manor. My mom got them from her offices in the city...”

“You got telegrams back at your mansion?” Rai asked.

“Of course. Didn’t we all?”

The two unstuck themselves from their bench and left, dutifully taking their eight empty bowls with them. Rai shook his head. “I feel like I missed a joke.”

“I’ve been having that sensation a lot, lately.”

Rai stood. “Since Cadoc’s no longer missing, Kep’s finally been taken into custody for his misdeeds.”

“That’s good. I think?”

“I thought you might like to know, for closure. All four corners of the Meat Cup Semis are accounted for. That means the case is really over.”

“Ah. Then that is good.” Sao smiled, tried to enjoy the sun on his stiff face. All done. Hands washed. Why was he feeling the tickle of deja vu?

---

“Alright, get this,” Rai said, setting an elbow on his desk with a crack to catch Sao’s attention. “Central Giant Lobster Fest. The Cadoc North method of shelling lobsters came to fruition on that day, the inventor getting all the meat without dirtying his hands, and using nothing but a paper plate.”

Cadoc’s supply of wonders was making it hard for Rai to say goodbye to the case for good. Sao tapped out a few more words of his assignment and tried to look impressed. “An innovation for the ages.”

“How does he come up with this stuff?”

“Study and practice. He talks a bit about it in his videos - every form of food is like a puzzle, and you have the benefit of knowing the intended form - in your stomach. Then it’s a matter of engineering the quickest solution. Of course, that presupposes your body can handle the food in the first place, and your arms and jaw don’t get tired midway. Training cannot be ignored.”

“‘Engineering’? Gotta wonder how much of that lecture is Carme’s,” Rai said. “She was in some kind of tech. Hospice care machinery. Sounds like a field full of body-based puzzles.”

They went silent for a while, the quandaries of the terminally ill weren’t much of a conversation prop.

“It was his birthday last month,” Rai reported. “I mean, both of their birthdays.”

Sao resisted a sigh. After a solid two hours buckled over his keyboard, Rai had finished his work for the day. That left him with three more hours to dig for Cadoc trivia with Sao as his audience.

“Like the fans say, born a ways outside of Central, at the fringes of the country. Cadoc and his sister attended Upwater District School, primary and...” Rai leered at the screen. “Only Carme graduated. Cadoc’s name doesn’t show up in the mid or highschool roster at all. Did Carme say what age he ran away from home?”

“No. She did say it was a school night, so I expect they were young.”

Rai scrolled and tapped with the grace of a bull, brow furrowing further. “A stuck-up churchy place like Upwater. Can’t really blame him. When did he go missing, when they report him… huh.” Rai stopped, pressed his chin into his hand. “Okay, found a few local missing person calls. 19xx, so he would have been… 12?”

Sao lifted his head. “That’s very young.”

“His name appeared once in the local news when he ran away. Corner ad, shitty photo. Oh, a couple of posters, too. Some calls to the local station, but the parents never took the search any further. The search never went national - they kept flipflopping, saying he’d come back on his own. All this info got dug up by the fans - this was one of those buried cases. I wonder who leaked it.” Rai kicked back in his chair, surveying the old records with a curled lip. “Not even a teenager, and your parents give up on you. And to think he’s a celebrity these days, making millions off food. Old acquaintances probably popping up all over, suddenly wanting to be his best friend. No wonder he and Carme don’t want to reconnect with mom and dad.” 

“It’s possible they weren’t well-off. Not to mention, a missing child takes a lot out of a family. Disappearances were rampant back then.” Sao leaned back on his seat. A dusty ray of light floated drowsily across the room. He wanted a nap. “And disappearances often went unsolved. The police force was something rather different, ten or twenty years ago.”

“Giving up due to emotional toll… I guess that makes sense. But Upwater's not a low-income area.” With a puff, Rai lurched up, hands straight to the keys. “Whatever happened, he was gone. No schools have a claim to him, and no workplaces either, though I’m guessing if anybody hired a 12-year old, they aren’t going to be making note of it - even if he is a star now. No criminal record or hospital reports, if that makes it any better. Cadoc North all but vanished until his resurfacing at Central Bread and Whiskey for his first tournament, although some claim that he was seen hopping local restaurants and bars for a while before that, blasting through various small-time eating challenges. Take down three kilos of curry rice for a year of free lunch, that kind of thing. Apparently, he accumulated 250,000 in vouchers and discounts for himself and his sister in his first year of work.”

“If only we all had a Cadoc of our own.” Sao thought of the comment sprawl, where Carme was called a bully and a despot, who was booted from her job for graft, now holding Cadoc under thumb as a meal ticket. “Anything on Carme during that time?”

There was a storm of clicking and clattering as Rai rooted around for Carme’s records while rattling his keys around a finger. 

“She survived Upwater District High, made it out and went to college out West. Product design.” The clicking continued, slowing a touch. “Some research papers, medical materials, but she’s never the primary author. Oh, and she interned at a video production company; sheds some light on how Cadoc’s getting these videos together. But before working with Cadoc, she’s close to a blank slate too. She doesn’t even have any active social profiles.”

“No mention of her previous company?”

“It just says ‘2 years at L.E. & A.C. Co.’ Who or what are LE and AC?” Rai dug his knuckles into his chin and stared hard at the screen, as if he could menace more information out of it with focus. “The company’s just a deactivated page. She did say the business went under about five years ago. Probably a startup - there were just six employees, now scattered around the continent. She’s the only one who stayed in the city.” He sniffed, sententiously. “Five years unemployed, in Central? L.E.A.C. must have been a hell of a cash cow in its time, to give her that buffer.”

“She could have been working with Cadoc earlier than a year ago. Saving money on bills with his vouchers, getting prizes in small contests, working part time, who knows.”

“The Norths know, of course.” A gloved hand pawed the desk, now searching for its cup of coffee - which was empty. “Ugh. I wish I’d done my research before we met with them.”

“What would you have asked them?”

“There’s just so much missing. Cadoc’s a real blank.” 

“Only in the public eye. They seem like private people, and from what little we know of them, don’t they deserve it?” Sao directed a simpering look at Rai. “Running away at 12 couldn’t have been easy. People should be allowed to keep their personal demons locked up if they can, no?”

“Right.” Rai bit his lip, eyes shooting toward Sao, then back to his desk. “I keep forgetting. You had a missing phase of your own. Sorry.”

He did look excessively sorry. Sao eased his tone. “It is a curious thing, though. The Norths seem so cagey, and yet they take interviews. Have photoshoots, hold a public forum for questions...”

Rai slapped down his cup, sighed a hurricane. “I swear those questions are vetted to be as dull as possible.”

“Some of them hold a bit of insight.”

“Some, a bit. Like lobster-shelling tactics. But for a guy that eats a quarter of his weight, it’s hard to get anything substantial about him. I’m not gonna go invading their house for answers, I’m just...”

“Curious?”

Rai shrugged.

They lapsed into silence, somewhat more comfortable than their last. Sao gazed again at the shaft of golden light above his head. Its incline had grown steep as the sun began to set. Dust danced in the rays like tiny angels. Outside the window, the streetlamps were flicking on valiantly, light piercing through the rising fog.

He pondered Cadoc looking out his windows by K Lake, seeing nothing of the water or pastel sunset, only ivy and darkness. And he thought of Carme hard at work with the machines and behind the camera, eyes on her work, without even time to watch the walls. 

Instead she had mail, the sponsors, callers and videos, and the ensuing comments. Swathes of slurs and incoherent violence. That was what she saw, and then Cadoc might see them, and then...

He didn’t know.

Sao closed his eyes, rubbing them. “They didn’t seem so opaque when we spoke to them - when we met Carme, and when Cadoc called back. I think they’re both more sensitive than they appear. They’re private, and for good reason - but not cold people.”

“Yeah, because they like you. Cadoc reminded me of you.”

“I’m still not entirely sure why.” Sao opened Cadoc’s latest video, which he had viewed with Nero and Trae over lunch. “But I hope you’re right.”

Rai seemed unsure how to respond.

Sao clicked an item, and moved his hands over his keyboard. “Even if I’m too much of a coward to speak of it on video, I wouldn’t be able to ignore a letter from a friend.”

“What are you writing?”

“Some thoughts. I suppose I’m curious too.”

---

A call came in.

Bleary, facedown in his heavenly bed, Sao opened his eyes. He knew immediately it was not an hour he wanted to be awake. Beyond his window he saw the sparkling black of Central’s night skyline. It was half past ten, he’d just fallen asleep, and his phone was blaring like it was the second coming. 

He lay flat for a while. Who could it be but Rai? All things considered, 11pm was on the kinder end of the scale when it came to off-hour calls from his supervisor. He pulled the phone over with his fingertips, pressing the volume down as it came. The name of the caller lit up. Not Rai.

A friend.

“Hello... Is the detective?”

“Yes.” He shook off his stupefied state. The slow voice on the other end gave him ample time. “Yes, this is Sao. How are you doing, Mr. North?”

“I’m alright. Better.”

“Good to hear. So, what brings you to call this late…?”

“You said I could call anytime. I got your mail.”

“That little thing.” Sao rolled over and sat up. “And your thoughts?”

“Do you think...” A shorter-than-expected pause. “Do you really think I should bring it up on a video? For everyone to see?”

“Cadoc, that is your decision. And that of your sponsors, of course. I don’t want to dictate how things are run, I was simply sending in a question as the video mentioned. I’m sure you’ve gotten much zanier requests.”

“Yes, but...” There was that murmur again. “I respect your opinion.”

“As I do yours.” 

This rally of responsibility wasn’t sitting well with Cadoc. Without a pause this time he continued, “I don’t understand why you’re the only one who defends her.”

“I’m sorry?” Sao rubbed his eyes. They felt crusty. “I assume you’ve seen the rumors and commentary flying around since your case. Not your fault, sure, but your question still stands for me, too. Why am I the only one who thinks it’s unfair to her? Being called an abuser, a sexual predator, even a murderer based on speculation and anger alone. Do you not feel a little bit of a need to speak up, as her brother?”

“Why should I?”

In a tone no different from his unremarkable norm, Cadoc still managed to cool Sao’s blood. “Cadoc, are you asking me why you should defend your own family?”

Cadoc went silent. Sao took in the background shufflings for a while.

“I mean, what do I say?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Cadoc.”

“What reason do I give? For them to stop?”

“You mean…” Sao ventured into this slowly, “you’d need to explain why you’d stick up for your sister to your sponsors, before recording? I think they’d understand...”

The long lapse and fluff of noise. “No. I just need to know what to say on the video.”

For the first time - even after hearing Trae’s account of the head cracking against the door frame; seeing the videos and learning of the poison; the visit to the lab-lounge where a prone body had sat receiving treatment from a variety of alien machines - Sao thought to himself, there was something seriously wrong with Cadoc North.

“Cadoc,” he said slowly, “I’m not sure what sort of life you and your sister have seen, and I won’t ask. It’s hard to assume how close your are based on our brief meeting, but I do see that you rely on each other to some extent. She got you out of the expo when you were sick with poison, and treated you at home so you wouldn’t have to go to hospital. Surely you’d feel bad if someone were to hurt her too.”

Nothing.

“Perhaps I’m reading too much into your relationship. But on a professional level, I think it would be right as well - the level of vitriol toward Carme seems a bit excessive. If the wrong people start encouraging each other, it could get dangerous for her, and with her being close to you...”

“You’re right. That will work.”

Now Sao was the speechless one.

“You’re a good person. I think.”

What about you? Sao rubbed the skin around his eyes, scraping the old scars. “That’s kind of you, I think.”

“One more thing. Can I use your name? In the video, as a special thanks for helping my case clear so quickly. And the other investigator - his name was Rai?”

“That’s him.” Sao rested against his pillow, surveying the pristine blankness of his bedroom ceiling. Not a crack or a stain. Just one simple light and a divot for the overhead camera. Did the North’s house have internal security cams? He hadn’t seen them, but then, it had been too dark. “If you think it is appropriate to mention us. However, I’d rather you not refer to us as police. I’m not an officer as such...”

“Yes, sure. If that’s what you’d like.” The next words came soft, not exactly theatrical quality, but an unusual tone for Cadoc, who spoke every line like a recitation. “Sao. Thank you again.”

“I’m not sure how much I’ve helped, but you’re welcome.”

“You help more than you know. It always takes so long for me to come up with the right words. And sometimes, they never come. There are times where I can’t do anything right.” And there was that pause again. “So thank you for the words. And for being the one to stand up for her.” 

Sao laughed, his face sore.

“Good night.” Cadoc hung up.

If there had been some hidden message in those final moments, Sao did not bother to try to dissecting it. Joke, jab, earnest compliment, whatever it was - it wasn’t the time - he tossed his phone aside and fell back to sleep moments after he sank back into his pillow.