THE PERFECT CRIME: A GHOST HUNT DRABBLE COLLECTION PRESENTS:

The Perfect Crime

Prompt: The perfect crime –and what could go wrong.
Fandom: Ghost Hunt; Mai x Naru x Gene

Earl Grey Tea. A black tea blend flavored with the oil of bergamot has been used in England since the 1820s. Since its creation it has been the drink of choice for the upper class –a status that still follows today.

But as Naru spits out into the sink a drink that even dares to call itself by the name of Earl Grey, he wonders to himself what the hell is this? Rather than a mouthful of a calm taste with a bitter edge at a respectable temperature the drink is… pickle-like and tastes of orange perfume.

"MAI!"

"Yes!" Mai calls out, exiting the apartment's lone bathroom, her hair still wet from a fresh shower. "What's wrong, Naru?"

"What is this?" he holds up the unsuspecting cup of tea.

"…Uh… your morning tea." She walks over to him. "Why? Is something wrong with it?"

"Are you sure it is Earl Grey Black?"

"Yeah, Gene and I picked it up from the store, here," walking over to the upper cabinet by the window Mai pulls out a brand new box of tea. "It's brand new, from the TWININGS brand –just like usual. Why? Does it taste stale?"

Looking over the box of tea with its combination of English and Japanese writing Naru comes across several fine print sentences written in English on the back. Before he can finish reading the information *input horror scream effect here* a scream cries out from the single bedroom of the apartment.

"Mai!" Gene calls out running towards them, cradling his cup of tea like a wounded baby. "Something is wrong with the tea!" Gene exclaims his hair wild with bedhead. It is clear to Naru his twin has just awoken –if the lack of any clothing at all was an indicator.

"Gene!" Mai exclaims blushing, "the windows are open!" she rushes to close the blinds in the open living room/kitchen area.

"Forget the windows! Something is wrong with the tea! I think it might be the water! We must inform the city that the water supply is poisoned! At once!"

'Idiot.' Naru thinks, with a sign he grabs his twins arm to stop the panic attack before Gene breaks another tea cup.

"It is not the water." Naru answers calmly, taking the tea cup from his brother's arms. He then hands Gene the box pointing to the fine print. "Read."

Mai returns, apparently having taken a trip to the shared room, "Here" she hands Gene a bath robe to cover himself with.

"Thank you Mai," Gene never looks up from the box.

"The fuck!" Gene exclaims after finishing.

"What?" Mai asks the two tea addicts still confused.

"They reformulated the tea blend!" Gene shouts as Naru calmly answers.

"No wonder it tastes like perfume shit!" Still not being weighed down by the reality of the situation Gene shouts, "This is a crime!"

Naru nods in agreement.

"Okay…" Mai looks around the kitchen, "so we need to use a different companies blend is what you're saying?"

The identical twins nod, their arms crossed.

"Just great." Mai mumbles, turning from them she walks over to the bedroom. "I'll go get dressed then." 'So much for a Sunday off' she thinks.

The next day when Monk, Yasu, Father Brown, Masako, and Ayako come to visit the office they notice something odd. First, the sign on the door reads as closed –even with all of the lights on. Second, the silence emitting from the door is unnerving to say the least. Third, when Monk turns the doorknob, the door opens –it's unlocked.

"What the…" All words die out at the sight of what can only be described as a crime scene. Caution tape surrounds the visitor's couch, which is littered with opened boxes of tea. The small kitchenette has spilt out over onto Mai's desk and even across the wall leading to the front door where tea cup boilers are plugged into every outlet possible. Lin works quietly from his office space, the door closed, unaffected by the chaos that is currently occupying the rest of the office. Sitting in the back is Naru and Gene, with a table buried under tea cups, coffee mugs, and even bowls all filled with various steaming liquids –is that tea?

"Hi guys!" Mai calls out walking from the kitchenette to the twins with two bowls of fresh tea. "Sorry for the mess!"

"What in the world is going on here?" Ayako asks.

"The perfect crime." The twins answer at the same time along with Mai. All have bags under their eyes, they sigh in sink and return to doing what they've been doing from the last twenty-four hours.

Find the perfect Earl Grey Tea blend.

The Perfect Crime –Poison Tea

AN: To some of you who might notice (or get told there has been an update) I was just checking around at some of my stories becuase I noticed some of the formatting, underlining, spacing, and scene dividers get changed or vanished and I wanted to try and put them back in. See you guys for the next update on 2/28! And remember I take requests!