A few days fly by, and Lyam finds himself, once again, hard at work in his office. Newspaper clippings, clues, and plastic encased evidence hung on the wall. This, alongside  investigation notes and potential leads. Amongst it all, pinned photos with string tied around each notch to give the visualization of their connection. Each case had its own little section. Small sections of the office were filled with minor cases, but the one case that took up the most space on the walls was the one that had to do with the Royal Owls. On his desk, Lyam had a collection of various contact sources and written witness testimonies. He tried to cross-examine every bit of information he had, making sure it all made sense.

One of the cases that he worked on was about a missing wife. The husband came to the detective one night in a hurry, explaining the fight they’ve just had the morning before her disappearance. At first the husband thought that his wife just went shopping with her friends. But as the night grew long and quiet, he realized some of the hen’s belongings were missing. The bird started to panic, he was sure that his wife may have left him. By now, the detective had called any close friends and family the husband had offered, and he asked them all the same questions, ‘When was the last time they saw her?’ Nothing added up, Lyam was going in circles with this case. Either there were missing details, someone gave him the wrong information, or perhaps, the truth is just that simple. He needed to contact one of the family members for the case, his hand absentmindedly going for the phone. 

“Hello Lyam, I do hope things are going well.” Red’s voice came from the phone, sounding delighted to talk to the detective again. 

“Wha-” The Heron was startled by the therapist’s voice at first, but when he realized who it was, he let out a groan of frustration. Lyam didn’t like being interrupted when he was highly focused on a task; in this case, his job. “Red, can we please save the chit-chat for later? I’m in the middle of something here.” 

“Are you sure? You seem quite troubled… Is there anything you want to talk about?” Red asked, wanting to make sure all was well.

Lyam sighed, feeling defeated, knowing that nothing he says will get Red to leave him alone. “I’m working, and I need to call a person right now to make sure the facts I have are correct.” He looked down at his papers while he explained, being mindful of how much was said about the case itself. He still wasn’t comfortable with sharing details about his work. 

“You sound like you have a lot on your hands, do you think it is about time to take a break?” The doctor asked, despite the heron saying he was working.

The detective wanted to object, though he realized soon enough that there wasn’t much of a choice. Accepting the fact he needed to use this forceful opportunity to take a break and clear his mind. He let out a heavy groan once more and stood up from his seat, stretching his arms and cracking his neck. Just because he took the time to rest, it didn’t mean he was happy about it. 

“In all honesty, Red…” Lyam made one last attempt to get back to this case “I’d rather be working right now…” 

“What about work do you enjoy so much?” Red asked, “What part of it makes you happy?”

The detective looked up at the ceiling, wondering what exactly about the case he could talk about. After all, these are private matters, most folk may refer to as ‘confidential’. “I enjoy the thrill of finding the puzzle pieces. Putting clues and leads all together.” He started, though he mentioned nothing of the current task he was working on. In his head, the heron started to visualize what might’ve happened that night when the wife left. As he spoke, he readjusting his talons in his chair to make himself more comfortable. Recalling what the neighbors had said, what the friends thought of the marriage, what the family was concerned about… “It’s fun for me, when I get to play with logic. To see things from other people’s perspective and make sense of their world.” 

He sat back up, after realizing what he had just said and didn’t want Red to misunderstand him. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not all that interested in people in general.” He quickly explained. “But everyone is shaped a little bit differently, their minds are like a fresh tangram that I can play with. And through their troubles, I get to pick at their brains, see what makes them tick.” 

The detective then stood up, while still having the phone near his mouth as he rambled. “Take the wife and husband for example.” He began saying, not even realizing that he was directly talking about the case at hand. “This couple is having a conflict about how they should spend their free time. The husband wants more one-on-one time, while the wife just wants him to hang out with their friends.”

Lyam paused for a moment to adjust the phone in his hand, starting to carry the receiver with him as he moved to look out the window. “Neither one can reach a  middle ground. The husband hires me, thinking that something else is going on. Now, knowing from the neighbors and friends that the wife likes to drink, if you ask me-”   

Lyam couldn’t finish the sentence before the client he spoke of bursted into his office. ‘Speak of them and they shall appear. I wish that worked for the main case.’ He thought about it as the client spoke up. He didn’t hang up the phone, but instead just set it down on the desk.

“I-I found my wife.” The client sputtered out. “She’s out and about at the nightclub, you know the “Ruffled Feathers”?

“Isn’t that the one Maggie Berrybush sings at?” The heron began to question, dismissing an answer as he asked another. “Well, tell me what did you see? Seems as if you got yourself into some altercation by your looks.” Gesturing to the husband’s roughed-up appearance.

“Well, I followed her and her group of friends, and they were just approached by this group of guys. She didn’t even try to stop them. I just got stricken with jealousy, and… m-may have… started a fight that led to myself and my wife being banned from the premises.” 

The detective then clapped his hands together, giving the client a semi-sarcastic response. “Well, that settles that! Case solved, and there wasn’t much that needed to be done.” He rounded his desk to walk the client out of the office. “For this as well, no charge. Now be on your way.” He took a moment to help the gentlebird get home, escorting them outside and waving down a cab. 

After a little bit of time, he returned to his office, picking back up the phone as if nothing happened. “You see what I mean? The wife went out with her girlfriends on her own, not wanting to waste any more time waiting around. She just wanted to have her fun.” He laughed aloud a bit thinking about the topic some more.

“Impressive, Lyam. You seemed to figure that one out quickly.” Red complimented, sounding happy to hear such progress. 

Lyam cleared his throat to hide his panic, having the realization of what he did. “Well, that’s where my job ends. I just hope the bird sits his wife down for a good, long, heart to heart talk to sort everything out. Or to file for a divorce.” 

  This wasn’t the first time that he had spoken up about something as private for cases. The conversation with Red made him feel comfortable. Unconsciously speaking freely, not worrying about any consequences, even when it’s controversial topics like race and sex. Things just seemed to slip out as there was not a care in the world.

The heron lost count how many times he overshared, and although he was a bit paranoid about the therapist yapping the details of the case to another person, there was also a calming feeling of safety and trust. This was a strange conflict that sat rather uncomfortably with Lyam in the last few days. He didn’t expect to go against his own rules of keeping other people uninvolved with his work; and yet, here he is, revealing information every few sentences. Sometimes he questioned if his strict regulations were slipping, if he was getting lazy to keep up with his standards as a former officer. 

Despite all that concern, he still allowed himself to speak his mind around the doctor. “If I ever hear gossip about Mrs. Herefern’s affair all over the streets, I’ll know who to blame.” He said, half jokingly during one of his talks with Red, they were already knee deep into the conversation about the case he was currently tackling. 

“And you will know where to call.” Red gave a small chuckle, brightening up the Heron’s face for a moment.

“It’s just that-” Lyam let out a deep sigh to vent his frustration. He always gets exasperated whenever he speaks about the problems of the city. Perhaps talking about the case wasn’t his focus all along. The cases themselves were a reflection of the troubles of the citizens and how they are dealing with the troubles of their everyday lives. “I just wish that people- and not just the citizens of New Twine city, just everyone in general…” The detective tried to collect his thoughts, wanting to make sure to express them in an organized manner. “I wish that they could see the more important things. Instead, they waste time serving their own silly little desires, insisting in their own ways, and not willing to understand and work with others…” 

He then placed the red phone down, leaping out of his chair onto his feet. He spoke rather loudly, as if he was giving a lecture in the classroom. “Take my work, for example.” The heron gestured to himself. “Yes, I am a detective, I solve mysteries. Someone gives me a broken toy with a missing piece, my job is to find it and put it all back together. But way too often, I find myself returning the toy to them, only for them to break the poor thing all over again. The problem isn’t the toy, it’s the person, you see. The incorrect mindset that people have when dealing with a situation.”