A/N: Sorry for a slight delay here…. Harry Potter distracted me!! ;) Anywhos… thanks for the reviews! I'm glad some of you appreciate the way I'm writing this. Many of you sympathized with Miroku in the last chapter; rest assured, Sango doesn't try to attack him anymore.

Now as for this chapter, bit more forensics and a bit of phone interaction between our favorite couple. Sango must now do something she doesn't want to… prove Miroku's story right. Now… let's begin!!

Chapter 4: Smile For The Camera!

The next morning, Sango walked into her office, coffee in hand. She took a sip as she took off her jacket and sat down, glancing at a report on her desk. Her hair hung down brushing the waistband of her dress slacks. She wore a white, button-up shirt leaving the top three buttons undone, unknowingly exposing a bit of cleavage. She frowned at the report in hand; it was Rin's complete report on the DNA and blood samples. So far, things were proving Miroku's story right.

Sango put the report down and sighed. 'Everything's just as Miroku said, proving him innocent. If he didn't do it, then who could have committed the murder without anyone realizing it? Someone who isn't very sociable I'm sure. You can't just disappear for awhile if you're a fixture to everyone. It's gotta be someone who no one really knows or notices… that's the only way someone could commit this murder and no one would notice for a few hours.' Her phone suddenly rang on her hip and she answered. "Minamoto."

"Sango, it's Kagura," the voice of the ME replied. "Look… I've got something weird for you to see."

"Weird how?" Sango asked, leaning forward in her chair. "What is it?"

"It's something you have to see," Kagura said.

"Alright. Be there in a few," Sango said, hanging up the phone. She took the final sip of her coffee and threw the cup in the trash. One long elevator ride later, she stood at the door of the morgue. Walking in, she found Kagura in her office. "Okay, let's see this amazingly odd discovery," Sango teased.

"Don't laugh. It's the oddest thing I've seen so far," Kagura replied.

"As long as it's a new lead," Sango sighed. "The story Miroku told is holding up, so I'm at a dead end."

"Ahh… got to talk to the fiancé again, did we?" Kagura smirked.

"Don't even start with me," Sango warned. The two arrived at the freezer where the bodies were kept. "Reveal all, oh master of the dead!" Sango said.

"Hmmm… I like that name…" Kagura teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make a memo," Sango said. Kagura opened the door and slid the young heiress' body out, lying on the slab. Sango did a quick scan of the body. "What am I looking for?"

"This." Kagura pointed at the purple marks marring their deceased victim's throat.

"Post mortem bruising," Sango mused.

"Exactly," Kagura said. "I was looking for the victim in the day shift's case and opened up this freezer instead. I found the bruising here on the neck, as well as these…" She lifted the blanket from the body and showed more bruising on the deceased's left side. "I don't understand why this bruising hadn't shown up though."

"Well, this bruising," Sango explained, pointing at the bruises on Koharu's left side. "Confirms Miroku's story. He claims that he found Koharu right after time of death, then tried to do the Heimlich maneuver. The bruising hadn't had time to show, because the body hadn't gone into rigor yet."

"What about the neck?" Kagura asked.

"Confirms cause of death," Sango said. "These are ligature marks; Miss Anadori was strangled. I don't know why they hadn't showed up beforehand though."

"Wait…" Kagura said. "I read that if a victim is strangled with a soft weapon, then bruising won't appear until later. Miss Anadori was my top priority, so the bruising hadn't had time to show up before autopsy."

"If you hadn't reopened that freezer, we wouldn't have seen this," Sango replied. "Thank you Kagura. Now we actually have something to go on in this case." Her phone began to ring again. "I'll see you later," she said, walking out of the morgue. "Minamoto."

"Sis! Hey!" Kohaku replied. "I got all the time stamps corrected on the video footage. I went to your office to tell you, but you weren't there."

"I was in the morgue, I'm in the elevator now. I'll be there in a bit," she said.

"Why were you in the morgue?"

"New developments," she replied. "Post mortem bruising that Kagura found."

"Why are we finding out about this now?" he asked.

"There was bruising on Koharu's left side, where Miroku applied the Heimlich maneuver on her. Also around her neck, there were ligature marks," Sango explained.

"What?! Why didn't she see them before?" Kohaku exclaimed.

"According to Kagura, if a victim is strangled with a soft weapon, then ligature marks take longer to set in," Sango said. "The other bruises weren't apparent because they occurred after death. If Kagura hadn't seen the body again, we never would have seen these bruises."

"A soft weapon huh?" Kohaku mused. "Like what?"

Sango thought to herself, 'What could that weapon be?…. Something soft… like a…' Suddenly it struck her. 'A tie to a robe.' Her eyes widened. "The robe!"

"The what?"

"The tie to the robe!" Sango exclaimed. "Remember how Rin said she found unknown male DNA on the tie of the robe? It's the killer's! That's our murder weapon!"

"The tie to a robe? Where do they come up with these things?" he mused.

"Don't know… hey, I'm just around the corner. Be there in a few." With that, she hung up her phone. Walking into the AV lab, she plopped into the chair next to him. "So what do we have?"

"Alright," Kohaku said, rewinding the footage to show the front entrance. "Party guests start filling in at about seven, seven thirty, so that's when I assume the party started. At eight twenty though, look who finally appears."

Sango glanced at the familiar figure onscreen. "Miroku. Late to his own wedding party."

"Doesn't look happy to be there either," Kohaku remarked. "Anyway, we fast forward to eleven thirty."

Sango watches as Miroku walks out of the house. "There's a definite discoloration on his shirt. He said he spilled wine, so he left to go change." She reached for a folder next to her brother and glanced inside. "Autopsy confirms that Koharu died around midnight."

"Miroku does come back though," Kohaku said, fast forwarding the footage. "At 12:07, he comes back into the house, stays for five minutes, then leaves again, but look at his face."

Sango looks at the image. "He looks freaked. That'll happen to someone who's just seen their fiancé dead." She studied the monitor in front of her. Sitting up, she points to a lit window on the second story of the house. "That's Koharu's bedroom. Can you zoom in on it?"

"Yep," he replied, clicking on the area in question.

"Go back to midnight and let it play out," Sango instructed. He pressed play and they watched as a shadow appeared in the bedroom. "That's Koharu," Sango pointed out.

Another shadow, taller than the first appeared and the two shadows merged. "Must have been the killer," Kohaku said. "He grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed."

Sango noted the time. "12:03 is when he comes after her." They watched as the two shadows stayed merged, then one get up and leave. "And 12:05 is when Miss Anadori takes her last breath. We've just seen her die."

"The killer's shadow had long hair," Kohaku pointed out. "Are we sure the killer's not a women?"

"DNA on the weapon is male," Sango pointed out. "But the hair is too long to be Miroku's, so his story is confirmed. How did no one hear her thrash around? I mean, she'd lose the ability to scream after the first 30 seconds, but still… why didn't anyone hear her?"

"Loud music maybe," Kohaku said. "That and, maybe people thought someone was getting laid."

"True," Sango said. "We need to know who was at that party. Someone, an employee of one of the companies killed her." Sango glanced at her phone. "I need to make a call. Good job little bro." She walked out of the lab, then quickly ducked into a deserted corridor. She dialed and thought to herself, 'Can't believe I've resorted to this….'

"Hello?"

"Miroku? I need your help," she said, dreading the way her stomach fluttered at his voice.

"Miss Sango… I thought you'd come to your senses soon!"

Sango flushed. "Not that kind of help you pervert!"

"Oh, well then… what do you need?" he asked, his voice not losing it's humorous tone.

"Guest list from the party," she explained. "That's basically our suspect list."

"Love to help, but I can't," he said.

"What?!"

"That party was organized by Koharu and her mother. I don't have the list. You need to talk to her about it," he said.

"Fine," she fumed. "Also, does your company have DNA profiles on it's employees?"

"I think so," he answered. "Why?"

"Our lab needs them," she replied. "Can you bring them down to the station?"

"It won't be until later today," he said.

"That's fine. Call me when you're on your way," Sango replied.

"What joy! An open invitation to call you! You've made my day Sango!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever… see you later." With that, she hung up the phone and sighed. 'The case is taking a turn for the better and I should be happy for it, right?' she thought. 'Then why do I feel crappy?' Clipping the phone to her belt, she walked back to her office. In her mind she could see the answer clear as day.

She was actually anticipating Miroku calling her.

End of Chapter 4!!

A/N: For some reason, I don't like the ending. Doesn't feel right to me…. Anyway, hope you all like the rest of it!! Answers a few questions I'm sure. Next chapter's fun, because Sango gets to blow up at someone. Can't wait for that!!

Anyways, leave a review on the way out!

Luv and hugs! Kaoli water goddess