VI. Suspicion
He couldn't deny it; Hail Milles intrigued him.
He had checked her name right after she had left with Watari, and nothing came up onto the laptop screen. No birth certificate, medical, police or academic records, private account on a social network... Nothing. It seemed like she had shown up out of thin air. He heard the door opening. Through the corner of his eye, L spotted both Hail Milles and Watari, their hands busy carrying bags. "That was brief…" Surprisingly, no answer came to him.
After questioning her, L was able to tell more of the young woman, yet the number of questions unanswered still was abnormally large.
The first thought that came to his mind was how out of place she seemed. They had spoken in English. Her voice carried a distinctive American accent, nevertheless he was certain she must had former knowledge of Japanese; otherwise, it was very unlikely she would have been able to find him or understand so much about Kira. His guess concerning her age was between eighteen and twenty-five years old, personally he thought she was twenty-one. She proved him wrong that time.
She wasn't a Kira supporter; unless she was an exceptional actress, that much was obvious. But her determination wasn't something only driven by hunger of justice; very few people ever are so severe when it comes to deeming such a debatable concept as what is justice. No, it was something much more personal. Before he even asked Ms. Milles about it, he had already deducted Kira must have murdered someone close to her, consequently making her take such measures as to hunt him down herself. A close relative, as a sibling, or a lover perhaps were his surmises. Her late answer proved him right this time.
But then, a question came to the surface. Ms. Milles' loved one must have been killed between the 28th of November and the 3rd of December, since it's the day she was hosted in the Teito Hotel. The day he or she, supposedly in this case, the day they were killed must have been the day she also decided it would be more beneficial for her to have contact with him or the Japanese police. However, all of the knowledge she had showed off about him, the most important his true name, forced him to think that there was no possible way she had been able to investigate him and Kira at the same time, and have found out his identity and exact location within seven days. Ms. Milles was quite smart, yes, but not that much. Therefore, and increasing his suspicions, it was safe to assume that she had been investigating him before Kira's appearance. Also, she had purposely made her presence known while trying to hack into his system, so later L himself would track her back and send Watari after her, succesfully leaving him on his own. Hmm… Pretty witty, he had to give her that.
This led L to another question. Assuming he was right, which was more likely too, was it conceivable that Hail Milles was actually a P.I working for one of the many enemies his name had conceded him through the years and solved cases? She had avoided most of his questions, in a more or less subtle way each time.
It was a fifty-fifty chance. And due to this per centage, L hadn't hesitated to offer her a room and share his suite, so he could keep a closer eye on her.
And what had made him especially suspicious of Ms. Milles were two facts. Firstly, she didn't ask for any selfish reward, such as a lifetime income, or any kind of physical good as it could have been a great house. No, instead she had asked for a place by his side. She would have a great amount of compromised knowledge concerning him, so he needed to make sure that knowledge didn't leak to the wrong hands... Nor to the right ones, for that matter. And secondly, only two people in the world knew his true identity; Watari and himself. They had never met her up until less than an hour ago, and there was no record of any kind with his name, so how could she know it? He had to find out.
Now, on the other hand, she had proven herself too. Besides former Japanese knowledge, she also had a previous training in advanced computing. Her worked musculature told L that she could also be a good dancer or sportswoman, probably a good fighter due to the small bruises on her wrists, forearms and knuckles. As for any other abilities she claimed to have, he could only wait to see. L dared to affirm that Hail Milles was a much more passionate woman than she tried to let on.
But, during their confrontation, she had tried to sound emotionless. No matter how hard she tried to make her breaths so constant that they looked too controlled, her pupils had been dilated all the time due to her excitement and the rush of adrenaline. These small details made him wonder if she truly could be his ally. Only three times he had been able to tell that she was trying to openly lie. Yet, in its most she had done a fair decent job covering up her history. Not enough to convince him, though… She was a good liar, but he was better.
He'd also been a little surprised to see how eager she had looked while trying to make Watari believe she meant no harm to either of them. And that time L was sure of how truthful her words were. It settled him down a bit. Perhaps he would be able to manipulate her moral and emotions to take his side.
Her family was a riddle as well. L had been certain that he would've been able to find the court record of her parents, or at least some comp, but there was nothing. Not even in the well-known American company that she had indicated. The closest he came to find out something was some news concerning a scandal of fraud and said company.
The only plausible explanations he found were, either someone —most likely the own Hail Milles— had made sure all type of data about her and her past had been eliminated or, on the other hand, Hail Milles simply lied… Again. This last option seemed more likely for about an 89 %. But, in any of the cases, for what purpose? What is her ulterior motive?
L registered the footsteps of his loyal friend coming to stop behind the armchair he was crouching on.
"She was hosted in the hotel, Ryuzaki. As you suspected it… What should we do?"
"...Nothing. For the mean time we will just coexist with Ms. Milles and observe her. Make sure she is no threat and that she won't be a burden for the investigation. Once Kira has been caught, we'll deal with our new... acquaintance."
A sigh sounded at his back. "I trust your judgement, Ryuzaki." He heard Watari starting to walk back the way he had come. "Oh, by the way, during Ms. Milles questioning I installed all the cameras and bugs successfully, as you required."
"I know. Thank you, Watari." L responded while opening up again the images that the cameras showed of the young woman currently sleeping.
He bit his thumb harder, still gazing at the screen. The only thing that was for sure was that Hail Milles intrigued him. A lot. She had managed to get part of his attention. And that's also what made him suspect her more.
December 9th. It was already night time, pretty late actually. And here I was, sitting indian style on the cool floor, screen light paling my face, bloodshot eyes and with a second cup of coffee in my right hand. Crouched to my left was the most annoying person I'd ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. Yes, even more annoying than Near. And, of course, I mean the one I considered —and, why deny it, still consider— my role model, professionally speaking. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the one and only detective L, the young, sweet-toothed sleuth. Okay, okay, I'm done with mental sarcasm, but if you were in my shoes, you'd understand my bad mood. Leaving aside my complaints, I focused on the computer screen showing us the homicide headquarters of the NPA. At the very back of the image I spotted Mr. Yagami sitting behind a desk, with fingers criss-crossed below his chin and listening intently to the reports the officers were giving.
I was listening intently too, trying to learn as much Japanese and gain as much experience as possible. So, 14 people claiming to either know or have seen Kira and 21 claiming to be Kira. I had already determined the victims' report on my own, thanks to my tiny advantage… Okay, thanks to my huge advantage.
Through the corner of my eye, I watched L moving his right hand, which previously had been resting under his chin, towards the screen and pressing a finger onto the microphone. "That information is extremely relevant for us," He said. I looked at him, and as usual, he ignored me and continued to talk. "It suggests that given the times of death our suspect could very well be a student." The agents turned around, looking at the camera and fully listening now. "Given the fact that Kira is only killing criminals, I think it's safe to assume he's driven by a very idealistic notion of justice. It's hardly possible he may even be aspiring to be some sort of god like figure, which lead us to think the individual has a very childish concept of right and wrong." The men started to mutter quietly and frown.
"Of course, this is my speculation at this point," He added, "But still, I recommend you re-exam any assumption as, whoever our suspect is, could be a student. We must consider every possibility in order to finding and arresting Kira. Please, continue with the report." He lifted his finger from the button, making it rest now underneath his chin once more. I kept staring at him.
"Hmm… Oh, right." Mr. Yagami's voice snapped me out of my own day-dream. "Does anyone else have something they'd like to add?"
"Uh… Yes, sir." One of the youngest cops, probably only a couple of years older than myself, said while raising his hand and standing up in a rather sheepish way. Poor thing, thinking he was going to be eaten alive... Hmm, maybe he was right after all.
"What is it, Matsuda?" Asked Mr. Yagami.
"Well, I'm not saying this to support Kira or to condone the murders, but... in the last few days through the world, but especially here in Japan, we've observed a decrease in the number of violent crimes committed." His statement was completely true, and it was followed by another round of murmurs. I frowned too... No matter what he said, this Matsuda fellow still managed to sound as a Kira supporter. I narrowed my eyes while looking at him. I didn't want to judge him but, it was pretty difficult for me not to do so... For me, Kira was evil, nothing else. And to be honest, I doubt anything would ever make me change my extremist mind about the matter.
"Well, I suppose it makes sense. We suspected something like that would happen." Answered diplomatically Mr. Yagami while crossing again his fingers and resting them on his face. "Anything else?"
The young cop, Matsuda, sat down again. No one spoke up. "Then that's our report for today. L?"
The detective pressed again the mic's button. "Thank you everyone, I feel we're one step closer to finding Kira. Before I go I'm afraid I have one additional request to make. This is directed to the teams investigating the victims, TV news and internet. I would like you to go back and take a closer look to the exact ways the victims' identities were made public. In particular, I want to know if photos of the victims were made available to the public in Japan. Thank you." With that, the meeting came to an end. I looked at my watch. 23.36. Seeing I wasn't very tired yet, I didn't move from my spot. I focused my attention on L. He hadn't moved either, his thumb now resting on his bottom lip.
"So..." I said.
"Hmm... What is it now, Ms. Milles?" He asked, his finger still on his mouth. I controlled myself not to roll my eyes. He always does that.
"If I remember correctly L, we agreed that you would share with me every theory you may have concerning the case." I answered.
"Yes, we did. And we also agreed that you would refrain yourself from calling me by my real name. Is that what you wanted? To revise our contract?"
I scoffed, annoyed. "I still don't understand what the big deal is, we're alone so why can't I call you by your name?"
"The big deal, as you put it, is that I'm not disposed to risk any leaking about any kind of information regarding my person, Ms. Milles. Besides, you agreed to comply with my terms, so I would be quite disappointed if you wouldn't follow a stipulated clause of our contract." He rose to his feet and started to walk out of the room. I followed, annoyed as hell.
"First of all, you never wrote down or specified in the contract that I wasn't able to call you by your name if we were alone, it only said that everytime we weren't alone and, or in this suite, I'd have to name you by the alias you'd indicate me. And secondly, you told me not to call you L after I signed the contract, and you only did it verbally, so it doesn't have the same value!" I protested while following his hunched back through the corridors, until reaching the kitchen.
"Is that all, then?" He asked again while taking a small plate and a bowl filled with cherries.
I opened my mouth to answer, but I closed it again... What had I wanted to tell him before he distracted me? Ugh! That's why he's even more obnoxious than Near! The white-haired detective didn't try to mess with my mind for every single thing I wanted to talk about, while L did it everytime he wanted to change the subject or just was bored and decided to use me as his personal toy! That unsufferable dickhead! He went then to the living room, passing by my side as if I were a ghost. And, of course, being the stubborn fool I am, I followed. He crouched on an armchair in front of a pile of papers and began to eat. Meanwhile I was glaring holes in the side of his skull.
He was about to eat another cherry when his hand froze in mid-air. Only moving his head to look at me, he said. "If you're done with watching how I satisfy my hunger and are not going to give any beneficial suggestion to quicken up the case's pace, I'd prefer if you would stop standing there, Ms. Milles. It can be unnerving..." He then ate the cherry. Heat started to irradiate from my face, and I'm sure I had turned a lovely crimson color. You little...!
I took a few deep breathes before saying. "Why didn't you tell me before the meeting that you suspect Kira is a student?"
He swallowed another cherry before answering my question, not bothering to look at me again. "I didn't tell you anything about my suspicions simply because you would hear about them during the meeting, therefore I didn't think of it as something of importance."
I sighed while pinching the bridge of my nose. "Well, I don't care, L, you should have told me the moment you began to suspect it, if only to take me and my own opinion into consideration." I scoffed again, "Not to mention that we specified in the contract that you would do so..." I looked up again, to find that pair of huge eyes this time staring at my face. I sighed. "Look, I don't plan on us being co-workers, buddies or anything of the sort all of sudden, but the least I expect is that we can actually work together in this. Not... this; you doing all the work, I being a mere spectator. Even if I can't help much, I refuse to do nothing. No, just… no."
"... I'll have that in mind." He said rather softly. I wasn't so sure about it... I didn't say anything else. Shaking my head slightly, I went back to the kitchen. Seeing L eating reminded me that I hadn't had dinner yet.
About twenty minutes later I was sitting at the table, ready to enjoy my delicious steak, when the sound of soft knocking reached my ears. Looking at my side, I found that Watari had arrived from the police station, and was standing at the doorway. I smiled. "What's up, old man?"
The ghost of a smile appeared underneath his white-greyish moustache. He sat opposite me. "Mind some company?"
"Please, sir." A gentle twinkle in his eye told me he was remembering too the first time we talked after I confronted L. You could say that our relationship now was on pretty good terms. We were not like, super close or anything, but we definitely were comfortable enough to keep each other company and even joke a bit. The last few days, after being cast aside several times by L, I found myself with literally nothing productive to do, so I spent half of the time doing research on my own and the other half with Mr. Wammy, helping him out a bit with certain chores, like cleaning or cooking. After two days ignoring his objections, he gave up and allowed me to spend my… free time, to put it in someway, with him.
Once I managed to convince him of sharing my dinner, seeing that he hadn't eaten either yet, we made a bit of small talk.
"… I understand why you're reluctanct to trust me, but even so…" I said all of sudden after a couple of minutes in silence, making him look up from his plate. I sighed. "It's just… I wish I could do something to show you that I'm only interested in helping with the case because, in all honesty, the whole paranoid thing is getting old. I understand it, but it's... tiring…" I looked up to him, giving a little smirk. "Sorry… I guess I needed to say it aloud."
Mr. Wammy held my gaze, without giving me a reply. After I set our now empty plates in the sink beside the frying pan, he spoke. "If you really are trustworthy, Ms. Milles, then time itself will prove it. Try to think nothing of it." Mr. Wammy's voice was soft, neutral, almost assuring. I looked back at him, spotting his poker face. I nodded slowly. "Or maybe time will finally show why I'm here."
For the third time, I almost hit the table with my head. I shifted a yawn and rubbed my eyes tiredly. Last night I didn't sleep much. You see, L came into my room at 3.00 in the morning, telling me that I had to collect my things so we could move to another hotel. Naturally, I ignored him and continued to sleep, or rather try to. Upon seeing that Watari's attempts to get me out of bed were futile as well, L decided it would be a good idea to splash cold water in my face, the jerk. Oh, how would I have loved to give him payback… He told me that, since I had been able to locate him quite easily, from now on we would switch hotels every few days.
And if priving me from sleeping more than three and a half hours wasn't enough, he asked me to join him for breakfast at 7.00… I didn't know if L actually had something important to tell me, or if he was only messing with me. Nevertheless, curiosity got —once again— the best of me, so I joined him. And he was late, it was already 7.02.
"Patience is a virtue Faith, patience is a virtue..."
"Yeah, one I'm about to lose with this man."
"It's only two minutes past the time."
"Oh, shut up."
Well, the voice inside my head is a royal pain in the butt. Fifteen minutes passed until I decided to get up from the kitchen table; time to go back to dreamland! I was in the process of trying to yawn while keeping my balance from reaching a "walking dead" level as I placed one foot in front of the other when a voice, his voice, startled me. "Ms. Milles,"
I jumped a little, opening my eyes and closing my mouth as quickly as I could. Nevermind, my moment was ruined when while turning around my right shoulder hit the wall, making me wince. "She's got style, she's got grace, she's Miss United States..." That inner voice kept chanting... Ugh.
"L..." I growled. There he was, with his baggy clothes and dark eyes. Surely my grey leggings and black sweater made a good contrast with him.
"Where are you going?"
"To bed."
"Unless you suffer loss of short term memory, you'd remember I asked you to join me for breakfast."
"I do remember."
"Then why haven't you met me?"
"Because you didn't show up."
"I did-"
"You didn't."
"Ms. Milles, I did wait for you-"
"No."
"If you'd let me-"
"Goodbye." With that, I turned around and started to walk down the corridor; I wanted to be the one with the last word, and a dramatic exit was just the perfect way to get back my pride.
"You are the one who didn't show up." I stopped dead in my tracks; I could almost see my right lower eyelid twitching. I turned around.
"I didn't show up?" My bare feet began to move, striding towards him, who seemed unfazed by both my whole presence and the effect his words had on me. "I waited for you fifteen minutes in the kitchen, and not once did you come. I've had less than the average hours of sleep required for any human body to properly function, so don't you tell me this is my fault!" My back was tense, as was my jaw. I was in a very bad mood, so he better watch his next words.
"I was in the lounge." My brows lowered themselves in confussion. "I assumed that you'd deduct as much, since I rarely go into the kitchen. Seems like I should have specified it." I closed my eyes while taking a very deep breath; I didn't want to find out the insult that surely was there somewhere. I mean, can you blame me? The kitchen is where most of the world's population eat! Alright, just calm down and focus on the case. Best detective in the world, catch Kira... Got it. I opened my eyes and almost took a step back; during my tantrum I hadn't realized how close I had walked to L. He was practically breathing down my nose. Hunched he was a little taller than me, almost the same height, but I was sure that if he would just stand straight, he'd gain a couple of inches. I swallowed, staring into his eyes.
"Yes, you should have." I was so not backing down.
"I apologize then." He answered unconcerned, looking straight back to me. Liar. "Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and walked back to the lounge; restraining a sigh, I followed. This better be worth it... At least I hadn't blushed.
He sat down on a crimson wing chair while I settled down indian-style on the white three-seat sofa in front of him. Separating us was a low coffee table, supporting a wide range of dishes with any kind of sweet fruits and biscuits imaginable; before I could help it, my stomach roared in anticipation at the sight of the food. "Feel free to eat as much as you want."
I looked once at him, twice at the fruit, and finally bent my body to reach for an apple. Its appealing red skin reminded me of Snow White and the poison within it. I took a bite; L watched me, unmoving and with his arms crossed lazily as they rested on his knees. "So," I paused, swallowing. "What did you want to talk about?"
L then put his thumb into his mouth, and I tried not to stare. Did he realize how uncomfortable he made people, or just didn't care? "What would you do at this point if you were Kira?"
I coughed as a small piece of apple nearly went down my larynx. "Beg your pardon?"
"What would be your next step if you were Kira?" He asked, running his thumb over his bottom lip. I frowned, momentarily forgetting my food. What would I do...? I looked back to L, who was waiting for an answer. One thing was for sure; everything the detective in front of me did or said was for a reason. Gazing back to my legs, I started to think over his question. The investigation was at a dead end; the police was following L's orders, searching for all the victims whose name and face were shown to the public, yet that was all. No one had made any advances. On the other hand, Light wouldn't wait for L to catch him. He must be planning something... Perhaps, a way to find L and kill him, but how...?
Eventually, I asnwered him. "I would try to find you and kill you."
He leaned a little forward. "How?" That's what I asked myself. I inhaled. Kira needs a name and a face, but had L already deducted that much...? I could only assume so; at the very least he must suspect it. Anyway, I had to play my part.
"You wanted to know if images of the victims were released to the public, didn't you?" I didn't wait for an answer, "Given that and the circumstances of Lind L. Taylor's death, who was showing his face, I guess that —if I were Kira— I'd try to see your face so I'd be able to kill you."
"But how would you know it is me?"
I deepened my frown while bitting my bottom lip. I couldn't tell him about the shinigami eyes... And saying "lucky guess" was out of question. Wait... The answer was literally in front of me! I got it. "I'd try to make you take a misleading step, just like you did during the TV broadcast. Perhaps make you do or say something only L would do... or know." Whoo, point for Miss United States!
L made a "hmm" noise, playing with his thumb again as he made his toes wiggle too... Okay, that was new. Well. "That sounds logical." Yes it does! I couldn't help but smile; I hadn't made an idiot of myself. "However," ...Darn it. "You didn't tell me how would you find me. A shame." My smile disappeared. Silence fell upon us, and not knowing what else to do or say, I continued to eat my forgotten apple.
Would he suspect me because of my answer? I wondered while taking the last bite. But what was more important, why was he asking me to think like Kira? What was his point? ...I had no clue. Carefully, I left the core inside an almost empty bowl, which lodged some pits.
"Well, nevermind. Ms. Milles, changing the subject, could you please read this?" L asked, holding out for me some paper sheets. I reached across the table and set them down onto my lap. I frowned again.
"This is the report of yestarday's meeting."
"Very observant, although I was hoping for something more accurate." I glared at him, my eyebrow raised. Focusing back on the report, I read it again.
"It states the information gathered about the 23 criminals murdered yesterday; one each hour evenly. It supposes a sudden change in the pattern." I said.
"Precisely, Ms. Milles." I looked back at him curiously, my head a little crooked to the side. No matter how much we kept our gaze contest, L refused to elaborate. I'd have to figure out whatever he wanted me to on my own. Stealing another glance at the report, I didn't find anything outstanding; the criminals' names, age, list of charges and sentence. The first one died at 10.00 am, and from then on the rest of convicts kept dying at one hour timing. Light has specified the time of each death, obviously, so? I began to read again the file. Then something got my interest. "12/10/2006" ...Today was 11th, and the day before yesterday was December 9th... When L announced his first hypothesis concerning the profile of the culprit... Goddammit.
I looked up. "The pattern," L kept an iron gaze on me, fully listening. "It changed right after you announced your suspicions about Kira being a student. Almost like..."
"A direct challenge to me." He finished for me. "And what can you deduct from that information?"
"Kira has access to the police."
"Exactly." L murmured, sounding genuinely pleased. I gaped; I had done it! Near's reports never specified any of this events, I had deducted this all by myself! I couldn't help but grin. I stole one last glance at the file on my lap before looking back to L.
"Are you going to tell the NPA?"
"Of course not." L then stood up on the wig chair, placing his left foot on the table while reaching for some chocolates. "If I'd do that, they would lose any trust they may have in me, no matter how small it is. Besides, it would mean giving Kira a personal satisfaction; he'd know we are powerless despite our new finding, and I'm not willing to let that happen." He left the small, dark wrapper on the table. "Not to mention that so far, is just my suspicion." He ate the chocolate, "I need to see if the pattern repeats today to confirm it." He added talking with his mouth full. I nodded.
"So you haven't rejected the possibility of Kira being a student?"
"That's right."
"Then... It's less likely that he's an officer, isn't it?"
"Correct, Ms. Milles." I took a deep breath, feeling content. This was good, very good. In three days time, the FBI agents would arrive; maybe then there would be a chance to try to catch Light... I gazed back at L.
"Is that all?" I asked him.
"Yes." I nodded once more, then untangled my legs and stood up. I left the report on the table.
"Then I'm going to sleep. Wake me up if anything happens." My voice wasn't tired in the least, but I'd better catch on my beauty sleep before midday; otherwise I wouldn't last a second awake during the rest of the day. Not to mention I'd rather not have rings so dark that competed with those of a raccoon. I didn't wait for his answer, nor did L seemed concerned about giving me one. Once inside my dorm, I crawled underneath the warm eiderdown, feeling content. I blinked a couple of times, then got onto my right side, looking towards the window. A silly smile appeared on my face; I was just so proud of myself. If I kept working like this... Who knows... I guess this morning talk filled me with hope.
Nevermind, the whole 'what-if-you-were-Kira' questions still had me puzzled. As I said before, everything L does has a purpose. Always. Which was that one? Was he trying to make me nervous? Nah, he had a million other ways to do that... I blinked twice more; I needed to figure it out before falling asleep. I'm not sure how much time I spent in the dark, wondering. It felt like just seconds. "How would you find him...?" How... Could it be...? Had he been trying to... wormed the way I first found him at Teito Hotel out of me? ..."L, you bastard."
It sounds so paranoid... And so true. Sad thing I hadn't realized sooner.
"Sad? You mean lucky thing."
"Shut-up." Arguing with myself was stupidly annoying; I had to pity whoever I ever debated with. Closing my eyes, I stretched up, throwing my arms above my head.
"Ouch!" I took back both of my arms, nursing the spot in my right wrist where I had hit the wooden headboard.
"She's got style, she's got grace, she's Miss United States..."
A.N/: ...Sorry; finally here it is! Not sure when I'll update again, life is being a bitch, just like writer's block. Anyway, hope you like this new chapter! Thank you everyone who has read, favorited and reviewed.
~Se acerca el invierno
