Friday 04.11.2016 The shared flat, Oulof Palme, Athens

When I arrive home, I immediately feel the overwhelming tension.

Pisces is leaning against the sofa in our large living room with a look on his face as if he's caught the world's worst offender. 

Virgo sits at the counter on the kitchen side and surveys the situation with a thoughtful look. She works as a waitress in a restaurant, so she doesn't have to leave until tonight. Aquarius sits next to her and acts unimpressed, but his eyes keep glancing over the top of the magazine he is reading.

Tobias looks around carefully, he hasn't been here often.

I explained the situation to him on the way here, when I exceeded the speed limit and used the blue flashing light on the front of the car for a change. After Pisces saw the photo, he must have noticed that one figure, in Taurus possession, looked very similar to the ones we were looking for. 

However, it has also disappeared from its intended place. Tobias didn't like the fact that I had broken the official secret at first.

Nevertheless, this is of course no proof of anything. Still, the thought that these mysterious burglars might have broken in here sends a shiver down my spine, or my worst suspicions are confirmed and Taurus himself is one of them.

"I've actually got to get going again, Cancer.”, Pisces said. “I had a break and I thought I'd drive..."

"It's all right," I interrupt him. "You're off work because of the police interview." I turn to Taurus, who has been sitting on the couch without saying a word. 

"I don't want to press you, but I would like you to answer the questions in detail and honestly." I slowly sit down next to him. The sagging seat makes me sink deep down. 

I've never been able to figure out his motives and thoughts. It's difficult to read something like that in someone whose life consists of sleeping and chatting. Still, I can see remorse in his eyes, and I think even he would fight back tears.  

We were never close friends; in fact, I hardly know him at all. He's never talked much and since he's lived here, I've almost not cared about him. Suddenly I feel bad for never having dealt with him and now I'm sitting here suspecting him.

"You know, a few figurines were stolen on Wednesday night. According to Pisces, you have a very similar one and it's irrelevant where you got it from. What interests me, or us, is where is it now?"

Without thinking twice, he talks about his home country.

"I come from the east of Mali, where the Dogon tribe lives. We are known worldwide for our art, especially wood carvings and masks. My mother gave me a figurine to never forget my family. I knew that there were more of this kind, but they disappeared a long time ago. Then one of my brothers called me, he's not really my brother, but we grew up together, so he's kind of family. He asked me to give him my figurine because the others have reappeared, and he wants to reunite them."

Everyone in the room listens in silence. Despite the fact that it is not an emotional story, I am taken by the fact that this case brings us into my own four walls of all places. Strangely enough, many roads lead to the shared flat, as I learned early on. 

Leo, who lies on the doormat under the influence of drugs and eventually grows into an annoying good friend. Capricorn and Gemini, who seek refuge from their past and other stories that we have immortalized in our photo album. 

The photo album! We have tons of pictures of the premises, the figurine must have been photographed at some point. I order Tobias to record a description of Taurus’ brothers. The figures have reappeared, my ass. After the theft, they took the last piece of their collection. But why?, I think as I search the wooden shelf for the album. In the space of three years, one; two; three; four were created.

Pisces, Virgo and I have known each other since our school days, when we rented a small apartment in the Piraeus district. As luck would have it, Gemini, Capricorn, Aquarius and Taurus joined us. Virgo also wanted Sagittarius to move in with us, but unfortunately two of us were already sleeping on the floor, so we decided to move. 

The rent is high, but we couldn't imagine a nicer place to live. Eventually, three more flatmates joined us and as we were sharing the rent, that was no longer a big problem. 

"I'm going to have a lot of fun looking through every one of them and I'm not just saying that out of politeness," I smile to the group.

"But Cancer?" asks Virgo. "Are there any consequences to Taurus' actions now?"

I hand out the albums. Pisces, Aquarius, Virgo and me each get one. "He hasn't really done anything wrong, giving an heirloom back to his relative isn't a crime. He acted out of naivety. Unless he's hiding something from us and is in deeper." 

I give him a suspicious look, but Taurus doesn't see it because he's showing Toby family photos on his cell phone. If we have pictures now, they can easily be searched for all over the country and soon we'll be done with the case, I think, leafing through photo album number 4. The newest photos were from the Halloween party at Gemini's university. We had one of the silliest and most original ideas for a costume: horoscopes with a bad outlook.

"When did he come over?" I ask casually.

"I have no idea. I know I was asleep before he called me."

That doesn't get me anywhere, Taurus is always asleep. I was more concerned with how he got his phone number, because as far as I know, he lost contact with his family a long time ago.

"Taurus, how did your brother know he could reach you here?" It should make him flinch, but instead he continues to show no reaction. "I wrote a letter to the village with contact details if they want to reach me." Okay, sure who wouldn't do that? I'm slowly becoming convinced of his guiltlessness.

I wondered if anyone had ever taken a photo in Taurus' room. Sagittarius certainly took pictures of every room when we moved into this apartment, so Pisces might find something in the first album. It worried me that I didn't find the clue myself. We can hardly always count on Pisces for help.

And as if to confirm my thoughts, he hands me the book and points to a picture. Back then, the room was not yet a jungle in which Pisces had deposited his plants, but was sparsely furnished. I think Taurus recognized his new home in the living room as soon as we set up the couch.

It stands unobtrusively on a white shelf. The fine details are particularly easy to recognize here. The black figure, about 20 cm tall, has a lion's pelt around its shoulders, a spear that is just as big as it is, in its hand, war paint in blue and red that has peeled off and a brash look to the side. 

I carefully detach the picture from the page. Tobias has his notes. We printed out the family photos because some show Taurus other brothers, who potentially have something to do with this case.

However, I have the idea of simply leaving them having their property back, without any investigation and so on. The figures were certainly stolen from them a long time ago and they have an important meaning for Taurus family. 

Okay, his brothers didn't have to break into the Poliatos' house, of course, because they seem like a nice family who would have just left the figurines to them. So in the end we have to bring everything together and sort the situation out.

"Right, I think we're done. Are we Toby?" He looks at me.

"I don't know what else we can do apart from writing minutes." With that, we say goodbye to everyone and thank Pisces for his help.