A/N: So sorry for the mega long hold up!!! . I've neglected this story for too long! It is time to move on!!! XD Much thanks to Mimz and everyone who faved, alerted, reviewed and blah blah =P
Disclaimer: I do not own the Death Note series or characters.
She Remembered
Chapter 4
A few days passed after the death of Interpol investigator Raye Penber. In that time, there was not much progress within the Task Force. The days were mainly occupied with reports, note-taking, more videos and so forth. Even Matsuda, who was normally semi-hyper and proactive, was feeling rather bored on the fourth day after Raye Penber was killed.
He groaned on the hotel couch and shuffled the pieces of paper in front of him in frustration. "This is so boring...do we have any leads yet?" he added as Chief Yagami strolled over to him.
The chief shook his head slowly. "No, not yet."
"Not yet?" Ukita asked, who was also sitting by the coffee table.
"I'm just hoping Ryuzaki is on to something, that's all." Chief Yagami shrugged and walked away again.
"I sure hope you're right, Chief," said Jasmine, tapping a few words onto the laptop set before her.
Ever since the ice cream incident, Jasmine was careful not to be alone with L. Why? She wasn't exactly sure herself. But every time L directed his words at her, or happened to face her, she had a sudden urge to hide behind something massive or sink through the ground and vanish. Perhaps it was because of the voice, nagging at the back of her mind, that told her she was never going to be as good as L, and that she would not be able to outsmart him. Then again, why would she want to do that? They were on the same side, striving for the same objective: to catch and arrest Kira.
Watari said something to L, and L told Matsuda to turn on his mobile phone. Of course, Matsuda hadn't dared to switch on his mobile because of L's command in their first meeting. Typical, thought Jasmine.
"Oh, right, sure," replied Matsuda hastily, fumbling with his phone. The moment he switched it on it began to ring.
"I'll take that," muttered L, and he took the phone away from a bewildered Matsuda. He held the phone to his ear and said, "Hello? Yes, please speak..."
Jasmine caught Matsuda's eye and grinned, saying quietly, "Don't worry, he always does that."
L covered the mobile phone and retorted, "No, I don't," before returning to the person on the other end of the line.
Rolling her eyes, Jasmine shook her head and crossed her legs under the table, a habit of hers whenever she was cross or unsettled.
"Raye Penber's fiance? Naomi Misora..." L glanced at Watari, who was on a computor. The older man typed up the name and found the woman's profile. Jasmine could tell that she meant something to him: a light flickered through his dead eyes. Finally, the detective hung up and returned the phone.
"Hmmm...this is interesting..." he said to himself.
"What is interesting? What have you found out, Ryuzaki?" demanded Aizawa.
"Naomi Misora, Raye Penber's wife-to-be, committed suicide just yesterday," replied L.
Matsuda scratched his chin. "Well, after Penber died I'd expect her to be depressed or something like that-"
"No," L interrupted him. "No, Naomi Misora was a strong woman. Instead of committing suicide, she would have been determined to catch his killer, Kira."
"How do you know all this?" questioned Jasmine. "When did you meet this woman?"
L turned towards her. Jasmine immediately regretted what she had said. His face was totally serious, and looked almost threatening. L's black hair covered his eyes, giving him a haunting, mysterious appearance. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then L opened his mouth to speak, "Do I hear jealousy in your voice, Ms. Tasaki? Do you not remember what I told you just a week ago?"
The image of her and Matsuda by the window rushed before her eyes. She pushed it away and replied heatedly, "Yes, I do remember. What do you take me for?"
L cocked his head to one side and continued to speak as if she had not replied to his question, "To add onto what I said earlier, please do not let your ego get into the way of this investigation."
"Look who's talking," snarled Jasmine, her hand clenching a ball point pen so hard her knuckles were white against her skin.
Chief Yagami gave Jasmine a stern look. "Jasmine, control yourself." He directed his speech to L. "Ryuzaki, what do you make of Ms. Misora's death."
With his eyes still on Jasmine, L spoke slowly, "Since it is unlikely that Ms. Misora would commit suicide on her own accord, I think it is wise to conclude that this is another work done by Kira."
"What? Again?" cried out Matsuda, alarmed.
"Yes, again. You must remember, Matsuda, that Kira is a mass killer. He wouldn't care who he would have to kill as long as he reaches his goals. And, Ms. Misora was an investigator herself, so Kira must have killed her to make sure nobody else dwells upon Penber's death. Therefore," L tore his gaze away from Jasmine and strolled across the room, "I would like to place cameras and wiretaps in the Yagami household, as Raye Penber was investigating Light Yagami himself."
Seizing another chance to have a go at L, Jasmine piped up, "You can't do that! What about the innocent people of that household?"
"But can we be sure of that?" questioned L, his face giving nothing away.
"Ryuzaki's right, we have to do this," stated Chief Yagami, his expression unpleasant.
"But Chief! You can't seriously let him proceed!" argued Matsuda.
"That's right! You have a wife and daughter-" placed in Aizawa, but Chief Yagami cut them both off. He rounded on the younger men and shouted, "We have to be thorough in this case, or else we will not be able to catch Kira!"
"S-sorry Chief," apologized Matsuda quickly, backing away slightly. Coward, mused Jasmine.
Chief Yagami sighed and rubbed his temple. "No, I'm sorry. I-I've just been too caught up in the case." Once more, he turned to L. "I cannot tell you how insulted I am, Ryuzaki, for my family to be suspected of housing Kira. But I will allow you to proceed with the cameras and wiretaps."
L nodded his appreciation, then continued, "Due to respect for Chief Yagami's family, he and I will be the only ones who will watch and listen to the footage and recording."
So it began. Day by day, Chief Yagami and L watched and listened to happenings within the Yagami family. To Jasmine, it was absolutely boring and seemingly pointless. What could L decipher from all these footage and voice recordings? Besides, what was the rest of the Task Force supposed to do? Just stand around and do nothing? After just three days, Jasmine was fed up with it. Her temper was running short and she desperately needed something to do. Now I know why, Jasmine told herself, why L was better than me. Look at how patient he is, just sitting there...it drives me insane.
And yet, despite everything, Jasmine found herself longing to see L again; he and Chief Yagami had a private room where the television was set up. Of course, she got peeks of him when he came out to eat or when Watari entered the room to talk to L. Jasmine even began recounting that night when L offered her his ice cream, and secretly wished he would soon do it again. She had definitely felt something when the skin of his hand brushed her back, of course at the time she was too shocked to realize.
Jasmine eventually got the chance to talk to L.
She was in the sitting room typing up the day's events. Watari was donning a coat, obviously preparing to go outside. "Watari, where are you going?" she asked him.
Watari smiled. "I am going to the bakery shop nearby."
"Why?"
"Cakes for Ryuzaki," he replied simply.
An idea formed in Jasmine's well trained mind. She stood up. "Why don't you take a break, Watari? I'll go buy those cakes."
Watari obliged. "Thank you, Jasmine." He took off the coat.
Jasmine picked up her jacket and headed for the door. "Does Ryuzaki have any special requests?"
The older man laughed lightly. "Anything sweet will do him good." Jasmine smiled and twisted the doorknob.
"Wait!" someone cried from the room. "Let me come too! I'm bored like heck in here!"
Of course, it was Matsuda. The young rookie just couldn't stand prisoned in the hotel room with nothing to do but write reports and research on Kira's killings. It just wasn't his style. Matsuda hurried out the door with Jasmine, and together, they set off for the bakery. They have passed it before, but haven't stepped inside yet. Jasmine remembered looking inside the window and seeing cakes all shapes and sizes with different flavours and decorations. She smiled at the thought of selecting pastries for L. It was going to be a lot of fun, especially with Matsuda with her. She had to admit, he wasn't that bad of a person, it was just that his clumsiness and foolishness got into the way much too frequently.
Exiting the grand doors of the hotel building, they turned left on the side-walk and continued strolling forward. They didn't see a lot of people, only a few couples and children playing around. It was early in the morning, and nobody was really bothered to leave their warm, comfortable homes. The two turned another corner and arrived at the bakery. The door was made of glass, and Jasmine could see that the shop was empty except for the shopkeeper behind the counter. It was a young girl with black hair that was tied up in a tight bun.
Strangely, Matsuda hadn't spoken a word since they left. He must have been enjoying the freedom. Jasmine gestured. "Shall we?"
Matsuda opened the door and grinned, "After you."
"I'm surprised! You've changed," laughed Jasmine as she entered the bakery. Rows and rows of pastries were lined on shelves. It gave one a fuzzy and welcoming feeling inside. Jasmine and Matsuda shared a few laughs deciding which kind of cakes they should buy for L. In the end, they settled on a small chocolate cake, a stack of homemade cookies and two moderately large pieces of strawberry shortcake. After paying, they went back to the hotel, their spirits feeling much lighter than before.
All too soon, Jasmine found herself before the door of the private room in the hotel. She had requested to bring in the cakes on her own, explaining that she wanted to personally apologize to L. Luck was on her side, for Chief Yagami was tending to some business with his daughter's schooling. Words and phrases swirled inside Jasmine's muddled head, making it hard to concentrate on what she really needed to say. Perhaps she would be able to express her emotions to him if she spoke carefully. She must be prepared for the worst. Taking a deep breath, Jasmine knocked on the door twice, and entered.
L was sitting on a two seater sofa. Well, it was more like squatting. He always did that. Seeing Jasmine enter, he switched off the television, which was flickering images, and set the remote control down again. Jasmine closed the door behind her and placed the piece of shortcake she was carrying on a plate into L's hands. Suddenly, the instinct to run away crossed Jasmine's mind. Hastily, she withdrew her own hands and straightened up. "Here, I hope you like it."
The detective studied her face. "You have something else to tell me." It was a statement, not a question.
Squaring her shoulders, Jasmine replied, "Yes, in fact, I do. I wanted to-"
"Apologize?"
"Well, yes."
"Ah. I see." L stuck his thumb into the corner of his mouth, another one of his habits that Jasmine loved and hated at the same time.
She continued, "I didn't mean to be rash about Naomi Misora. I see now that she was working under you in another case. Please forgive me." Jasmine was horribly aware of how corny and cheesy the conversation was.
"I forgive you, Jasmine, there is not need to worry about it," L said. He smiled gently at her.
Jasmine returned the smile. "I'm glad to hear that. Very."
The hotel room bell rang. L sighed, momentarily distracted. "Mr. Yagami has returned. I'm afraid our little discussion must come to an end now."
"That's quite alright. I hope you'll be able to catch Kira soon." Jasmine made for the door.
"By the way, thank you for the cake."
Jasmine hid her face from L's view. "Your welcome." She was grinning.
The next day, L announced that he could not identify Kira amongst any of the two households he was watching under surveillance. However, he also said that he was going to continue investigating the Yagami household, because he was highly suspicious of his son, Light Yagami, being Kira. Of course, everyone was surprised by his decision, but he was L, and what he says counts. Jasmine just hoped that the criminal would be stopped. Then, she would be happy.
A/N: Thank you all for being oh so patient! * hugs * Please review and tell me what you think of the story!!! ^_^
