.Quartus.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, shooting Ryou Shirogane a glare that should have skewered him to the wall he was leaning against. He didn't bat an eyelash, but Mint shrank back a little. I don't think she was expecting ferocity from me.

She quickly regained her composure. "He left a suicide note. It was found on his bed when the staff came in to clean up, but Ichigo-chan didn't want to keep it. Ichigo-chan…"

I nodded, well able to imagine what Ichigo's reaction to all this. Murder didn't happen in her world. Hell, death didn't happen in her world. Having it come so suddenly and violently to the love of her life must have been like a sack of bricks to the head.

"Dammit. Shirogane, did you know about this?" I rounded on the blond, who was sitting cool as you please, leaned against the elegant marble wall of the foyer. "What the hell kind of investigation is this?" I had switched to English again; I've always felt the rougher language was more adequate for expressing anger. "It's closed already. You didn't need me."

"Look at the note, Lettuce-san," Ryou advised. "Before you tell me I hauled you here for nothing."

"May we see the note, Mint-san?" I asked politely.

My friend folded her fingers together. "Certainly. I'm sure the police want it for evidence, but I have it now if you're careful not to damage it."

"I'll treat it like a glass butterfly," I assured her.

The note looked rather unprepossessing, written in dark ink on slightly off-white paper. The neat kanji were probably in Masaya's handwriting, at least from what I remembered; bold and solid, without a wasted stroke. "Has the handwriting been authenticated? Wait, silly question, the police haven't gotten their hands on this yet. Hold on…" I held the paper up to the light; there was a watermark just visible. I laughed. "Never mind. It's probably a good forgery, but Aoyama-san never wrote this."

"What do you mean?" asked Mint, eyes big.

"This paper is from PressWorld, inc. They've dumped chemicals in every stream they can get access to and completely deforested enough mountains to relocate New York. Aoyama actively campaigns against them. He'd never use their paper."

"Are you sure?" Mint questioned. "I thought he'd never kill himself either."

"Maybe it was a final ironic touch," Ryou pointed out.

"I doubt he's that clever," I muttered. "But if he said anything about the sorry state of our planet I might believe it…" I skimmed the note, really reading it for the first time. "Nope. Just some stuff about life not being worth it, and an apology to his beloved Ichigo. Besides, that doesn't explain… other things. I don't believe it for a minute. Mint!" I rounded on the well-coiffed girl. "Where were you at the time of Masaya's death?"

She sat calmly in one of the benches against the wall. "I was giving a speech in the main hall. I had over a hundred people in the audience."

I had to admit that was a pretty rock-solid alibi. But I hadn't suspected Mint in the first place. She's rational, you see, and this was an irrational killing – so far. Furthermore, there was no motive; and now, no opportunity.

"Who else did you see in the audience?" I asked. It would be nice to be able to rule some more suspects out.

"I think Pudding-chan was there for the entire speech," said Mint cautiously. "She had to keep chasing her kids up to the stage and stop them from climbing it. I can't promise anyone else."

I nodded solemnly. "And what can you tell me about Aoyama? Maybe – it's a long shot, but just maybe – he knew someone was after him. Was he acting at all oddly at the party?"

"Not that I can recall," answered Mint.

"Did you see him beforehand?" I asked. "While he was here in the States?"

Mint's porcelain brow furrowed in though. "I ran into him about a week ago at a diner. He was having breakfast."

"Was Ichigo there?"

"No, she wasn't. I sat with him for a while. I guess he did seem a little…less upbeat than usual. I'm not sure."

I nodded. "Was that all?"

"Oh, I ran into him again at the law firm I use – I wanted to make sure my fireworks permit was up to date."

"You do that at a law firm?" I wondered aloud.

Mint shrugged. "Sorry, what was he up to?" I continued.

"Dropping off some papers. He didn't really say…" Mint paused, then added, "No Ichigo."

I frowned, feeling things in my brain go 'click'. "Okay. I think I have an idea as to what happened. But I'll need to check some things first. Ryou, can you call Pudding-san and Zakuro-san to see if they're willing to see me? In the meantime, I could use some food. And a shower."

"Sure thing," said Ryou. "Aizawa-sama," he added to Mint, giving a little half-bow, which she returned, murmuring, "Shirogane-sama," in her politest tones. She hugged me again. "Come visit more, Lettuce-chan. Please."

"Maybe I will, when this is over," I told her, but I knew it for a lie, and Mint's pretty canny. I'll wager she knew too.