{A week after Stan's death}

Dark, grey clouds filled the sky and cast a gloomy shadow over the city.

Gabriel wrapped a wooly, brown scarf around his neck as he fought against the icy breeze that stung his face. He dug his thick mittens into the pockets of his gray trench coat and strolled down the sidewalk, looking for a dark-skinned man with a scar on his left eyebrow.

"Where is he..?", Gabriel muttered as he stepped inside the café where they were supposed to meet ten minutes ago.

"Over here pretty boy", a deep, orotund voice spoke out from the back and caught Gabriel's attention.

The lean brunette made his way toward the table and and extended his hand politely, "Thanks for coming." The dark-skinned man nodded his head and shook his hand, "Anything for my partner's son", he smiled.

Gabriel returned the jester with a smile of his own as he sat down across from him.

"I heard from a friend of mine that you visited the woman a few days ago... Heh, how'd that go?", the man mused as he drunk from his black coffee.

"It was... Interesting."

The bulky Officer burst out laughing and slammed his palm against the table. Gabriel shrunk in embarrassment as the other customers looked in their direction.

"Easy, Jamal..! It's damn quiet in here..", Gabriel hissed.

"Aha..! Gabriel, you're just as stiff as your old man!", he jibed as he let out a few chuckles. Gabriel shook his head and frowned at the man, "How did you know about that? Don't tell me you're spying on me", he pressed.

Jamal smirked and drunk the last ounces of coffee left in his cup, "No, we weren't spying on you", he corrected. Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows and leaned back in his seat, "I thought the police gave up on the investigation", he asked frankly.

Jamal shook his head and flagged down a waitress for more black coffee. "Gabriel, you think I liked seeing your father like that?", the dark-skinned officer retorted, "We're still hanging onto the woman to see if something happens, anything really."

Gabriel nodded his head understandingly and sipped a little from his iced tea.

"I wasn't fond of the pictures they took of my dad either", he grumbled after setting down his cup, "but, without my dad's knowledge of the case we can't do anything about it", Gabriel solemnly finished.

"You're father ain't here, but I still remember what he was after", Jamal interjected as he leaned in closer, "He wasn't just after the woman... he wanted her music box."

Gabriel's eyes widened and he furrowed his eyebrows, "A... Music box..?", he muttered. Jamal nodded his head and stared straight into the brunette's eyes.

"I trusted your father with my life... But, I knew him well too. And sometimes he would lose his judgment and act on instinct..", the officer scratched the eyebrow with the scar and sighed, "I'm sure that's what got em' killed... But, if you're willing to take this case with caution and patience, then I'll tell you everything."

Gabriel stayed quiet and peered into the man's dark eyes for any signs of deceit. "You have my word", Gabriel nodded his head as he spoke.

Jamal smiled and motioned for him to come closer, "Stan told me once that, the music box the woman keeps with her at all times, belongs to the killer. Take the box, and you got yourself a murderer under cuffs."

For a brief moment, Gabriel said nothing. He only gawked at the man with his eyes wide open.

"He can't just show up if someone takes his box... Can he?", Gabriel blurted out suspiciously.

Jamal merely shrugged his shoulders and drunk more of his black coffee, "I dunno know. At that point I knew Stan was desperate... But maybe he was onto something, maybe he was just losing it, who knows", he uttered as Gabriel gazed at his ice tea in deep thought.

"God I hope he wasn't... Then the woman could just be a dead end", Gabriel muttered sadly as he gripped the glass of ice tea. Jamal nodded his head and gazed out the window, "It's starting to snow, it'd be best if we leave now before it gets ugly."

Gabriel let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head. He politely shook the man's hand again and forced a smile, "Thanks again", he mumbled. Jamal shook his head as they left their tip for the waitress, "Don't mention it", he replied.

Both men left the Café and went their separate ways through the small flakes of snow on the ground.

Gabriel was absentmindedly strolling down the sidewalk and brooding over the conversation he had with the officer.

Things weren't making any sense to him.

He knew his father and understood that sometimes he could get carried away, but he always thought logically about everything. To Gabriel accepting that his father had gone crazy over this particular case was like him accepting a lie. His father just wasn't the type of person to lose their cool over some criminal...

Gabriel was aware of his father's old habits and simultaneous behavior. He knew that Jamal couldn't understand him like his own son could.

Gabriel even considered that their was a piece of the puzzle that was missing from Jamal's knowledge.

But what was? Where could he find it?

Abruptly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, the young brunette stared down at the concrete pavement and furrowed his eyebrows. Frustration overwhelmed him and he couldn't control his anger anymore... He needed answers, and he needed them NOW.

"You like fruit don't you? Mangos, apples, and bananas, right?"

A soft, gentle voice spoke from far away and stunned Gabriel. His eyes shot open and he immediately looked up to find the owner of the familiar voice.

"Or do you just like sweets? We could always go to the bakery or candy store instead."

There, in a cute, white trench coat, stood the woman he visited a few days ago, (Y/N) (L/N).

Her big, (E/C) eyes gazed over the market stand as she scanned over all the fruits they were selling. The woman held a dazzling smile as she beamed at whomever that was standing beside her.

Gabriel tensed up and froze where he stood as he peered at the woman. Jamal's deep voice echoed in his head, "Take the box, and you got yourself a murderer under cuffs."

His hands began trembling in the cold as the snowflakes lightly grazed his body. His head was spinning and his heart began pounding in his chest.

Gabriel suddenly turned his attention to the woman's purse and wondered if the music box was in there.

Even if what Jamal has said about the box seemed ludicrous, he still had to give it a shot... Maybe he could find that missing puzzle piece he's been stressing over all this time.

With light, cautious steps, he slowly crept toward the woman as she enthusiastically started picking the fruits and placing them in a bag.

His almond eyes were pinned on her purse and he paid no attention to who she was cheerfully talking to. All that mattered was that puzzle piece.

On the verge of pouncing on the woman, she suddenly turned and revealed who was standing beside her the entire time.

And to Gabriel's confusion, nobody was there.

His body automatically flinched and he peered at the empty spot next to the woman in shock. She held the most cutest smile and happiest expression but, there was nobody there to see it. What was she doing? Was she on the phone or something?

By the time Gabriel recollected himself and dismissed the odd scene, the woman had already paid for the fruit and left. She was now at least four feet away.

Gabriel's instincts suddenly flared up and he hurriedly chased after the woman. He caught a glimpse of the woman taking out her keys and quickly raced faster towards her.

However, she notably tensed up and stopped where she stood. Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows and unconsciously started to slow down. The woman then composed herself and unexpectedly turned to walk into an alleyway.

Gabriel sensed that something was wrong, but as the wind blew harder and fiercer in the air, he knew this might be the only chance he would get.

The weather would make things more complicated, but not entirely impossible, but this seemed like a more suitable option to strike now.

However, before he could continue chasing after the woman, she quickly walked out of the alleyway. Much to his surprise, Gabriel clumsily hid behind a corner and suspiciously watched the woman.

"Are you sure I dropped it on the way to the market stand? Maybe I just left it in the car.... You're right... But I already checked the alleyway we had passed an hour ago, so maybe it's in the market stand!", she snapped her fingers and hurriedly jogged toward the fruit stand she had been earlier.

Gabriel frowned and stared at the woman dumbstruck, he just couldn't understand why the hell she was talking to herself in public! Like a crazy person!

Gabriel shook his head and grumbled as he once again began following the woman. But then, as he took a step foward, his foot stomped over something hard.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked down and noticed a toy box under his foot. He furrowed his eyebrows and bent down to pick it up, but he only managed to graze over it as he heard the woman's voice approaching.

Anxiety taking over, Gabriel sprinted away from the box and took cover to avoid the woman noticing him.

He watched as the woman's eyes lit up as she picked  up the toy box and smiled in relief. Gabriel's attention then shifted to her left side and he choked back on his breath.

His heart raced in his chest and his blood ran cold. Gabriel slammed his hands over his mouth to muffle the screams of horror he was urgently trying to hold back.

There, standing next to (Y/N), was a monochrome clown. His face pale as paper, dark, messy hair, animalistic claws and teeth, and the most disturbing thing about him was his inhuman height.

He appeared like a skyscraper next to the beautiful woman.

Gabriel trembled in absolute terror as his eyes scanned over the monster that smiled back at the woman. He was appalled and speechless, but the only thought that echoed in his head, that managed to keep him somewhat calm and logistical, was, "This is it! My missing puzzle piece!"