The Diner

"Yeah, sure, whatever." The man gestures at him nonchalantly.

The waitress comes over and places the hot cup of coffee in front of the man and begins picking up all the dirty dishes.

"Thanks." The man says to her.

She just sighs. "You need anything else?"

"Uh, yeah, actually can I get a-"

"No!" Thomas interrupts him. "Not until we have some questions answered!"

The man sulks and says, "Okay."

The woman leaves and it is just the two of them, now with a clean table. Thomas begins to relax.

"What is your name?" Thomas asks him.

"Shoelace." The man replies without skipping a beat.

You got to be joking. "Sir, this is a witness report. We need facts to this crime scene. This is the law and you shouldn't be joking around."

"Alright, alright." The man says and reaches for his back pocket. "And don't call me 'sir'. It makes me feel...uncomfortable."

Thomas just sighs and sits back.

The man takes out an old, flakey wallet that has nothing in it put folded up pieces of paper. He takes some out and begins looking through them. He eventually finds what he wants and sighs with content. "It's Cameron. But I guess that you can call me Cam. I never have been called that in years, though. It's always been Shoelace."

"And your surname?" Thomas begins writing down notes.

"You expect me to know that too?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't know it was gonna be such a big deal. People usually know what their name is."

"Ah, I don't bother with crap like that. I don't know what it is. And I'm sure it's not that important."

Thomas just sighs because he isn't going to get his point across that it really is important and that he shouldn't be joking like this. He looks at him strangely. "You alright up here?" He points to his skull.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Got my head banged pretty well a few times but I'm still livin'. Might forget simple things but it's alright."

"Ever been to a doctor to at least check it out?"

"Nah doctors ain't for me."

He sighs. "Alright, Cam, let's get some facts straight. You witnessed a crime scene on Fourth Street, correct?"

"Ahhhh Fourth Street. My brothers and I used to hang out on that street all day till the streetlights came on. I miss those guys. Wonder where they are..."

"You had brothers?" Maybe if he engages in conversation, he'll get some real answers here...

"Oh yeah, like a hundred or so."

"A hundred?!"

"Yeah, it was an orphanage. I got sent there when one of your guys came to my house and decided to hand me over."

"What happened?"

He shrugs. "My parents weren't good people. I hated them, they hated me..."

"Okay, back on Fourth Street."

"Wait, wait, wait." He becomes silent and the music from the radio can be heard clearly. He begins humming and then singing, "Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head...Come on Tom, sing with me. Mama-"

Thomas covers his ears. Cameron can't carry out a tune to save his life. "No. I hate this song."

He immediately stops singing and looks at him directly in the eye. He leans in on the table. "What."