Still don't own the Saint Tail characters...darn.
Case 7: Meiki's first REAL Case
Friday, October 19, 8:00AM
Meiki was going to school, like usual, when she receives a call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, my dear." iIt's the Mayor! Wow!/i
"Is there a problem, sir?"
"Something just came up. A car is waiting for you at your school. Do not worry about your attendance; I have already told your teacher."
"I'll be right there, sir!"
"All right then." They hang up and she goes running to the school. She sees a black car.
"Right this way, Detective Asuka," the chauffer said, opening the door for her.
"Um...thank you." She replied, stepping inside. The chauffer closes the door and they're off. Silence was heard in the limo, until...
"It is an honor being your driver today," The chauffer said.
"Thanks, I guess."
"So what's the mission, may I ask?"
"I don't know. The Mayor never told me; he just said that there was a problem."
"Oh. So, you go to St. Paulina's, huh?"
"Yeah."
"You know I have a son that goes there, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Do you know him?"
"What's his name?"
"Minoru."
"You're Minoru's father!"
"Yeah. So you do know him..."
"Yes. He's a cool guy."
"He gets that from me..."
"What else can you tell me about your son?"
"Huh?"
"I'm just curious, that's all. You don't have to tell me."
"Well..." She listened in on his every word, until they arrived at the Mayor's office. "Here you are. Good luck, Detective Asuka."
"Thanks, Maru." She said, getting out. She walks to the Mayor's door and knocks. An officer answers it.
"Show your badge," the officer said. She pulls it out. "You may enter!" She goes in, with the officer saluting her. Then...
"Sit down, Detective," The Mayor said, sitting comfortably at his desk. "Recently, there's has been reports of thefts all over the city."
"Is there any connection between the thefts?"
"No. All the thefts are just random things..." He shows her some things that were taken. "And because of that, there may be more thieves than one."
"Perhaps..." iLet's see, a painting, a pair of shoes? A television, a sink? How the heck did they do that?/i "Is this all of the papers?"
"No, there's many more of those." He goes to his file cabinet and hands her all the other papers.
"Whoa...and you said that this happened within two weeks?"
"Yes."
"If I may, sir, I would like to keep these and check for any special connections..."
"Usually, I wouldn't allow anyone to take the papers home from my cabinet, but seeing as you're Sr. Detective Asuka's daughter, I can make an exception."
"You knew?"
"Of course, my dear. It's my job to know. I do background checks on everyone I hire."
"Right. Thanks."
"Good luck...Oh! One more thing."
"Yes, sir?"
"You can't let anyone else see the papers..."
"Understood, sir." She leaves and goes home.
She opens her door and is met by her mother.
"Hey, honey. What're you doing here so early?"
"Detective business, mom. I've got my first REAL case!"
"That's great! Need any help?"
"Sorry, mom, the Mayor said I couldn't show anyone else the papers..."
"Oh...well, don't be on those papers too long. Come down for dinner when I tell you."
"Sure thing, mom." She runs up the stairs to her room and goes to her desk. She sorts all the papers out. Then, she classified them in groups. iHmm...there are no two same items...and a lot odf strange things taken. A record player? Who uses those anymore? A washing machine? A dryer? A couch, A lamp, A refrigerator, A water hose...hmmm...sounds like they want to make a house or something.../i After noticing a pattern, she sorts them out differently. iOk...these things go in the living room, these items go in the bathroom and these items in the kitchen...now, all this other stuff...A pair of shoes, linens, underwear? That is disgusting...A few pairs of shorts and shirts...but no skirts, so it might not be a woman...But only one pair of shoes were taken, so it has to be one person...they're stealing these things...to make themselves a life! That's it!/i Figuring something out, she calls the Mayor.
"Well done, Detective. Your escort will be at your house momentarily."
"Understood, sir." She hangs up.
"Meiki! Dinner!" Her mother shouted.
"Coming, mom!" She starts to run downstairs, then heard the doorbell ring. She gets to the table. Meimi's at the door.
"Yes? How may I help you?"
"I am here to escort Detective Asuka to the Mayor, ma'am."
"Which one?"
"The female Asuka, ma'am."
"Well, she's eating right now, so why don't you join us?"
"I don't want to intrude..."
"It's no problem. C'mon in." He goes in and sees the two Detectives eating. "Pull up a chair. Meiki, your ride is here."
"Hey, Maru. That's my mother, and you probably already know my father..."
"Sr. Detective Asuka...nice to finally meet you. The Mayor has spoken very highly of you. I aslo would personally like to thank you for rescuing my daughter."
"Mmm plemmsumm (My pleasure)." They all sat down and ate.
"Mrs. Asuka, if I may..."
"Yes?"
"How does it feel having your husband and daughter as detectives?"
"It's great to see my family doing what they love to do...but..." Silence. No chewing, No swallowing, just silence. The two detectives stare at their family member. "Meiki, I will be honest. The thought of you going out there, putting your life on the line...it scares me, like it scares me with you, Daiki. It's like we're not much of a family anymore..."
"Meimi...why didn't you tell me you felt like this?"
"You're always excited when you have a new case...I don't want to ruin that...I love seeing you happy like that."
"I love seeing you happy, too. If you really feel that way, I'll take a vacation from my work...just to be with you."
"No, you shouldn't do-" He places his finger to her lip.
"Shh. Without you, Meimi, I wouldn't be who I am now...I think about you every mission I get. Just the thought of you waiting for me hurts...I don't want to see you waiting for me...I want to be here with you."
"Daiki..."
"Ok?"
"...Yes. Ok." He scoots his chair to his wife and consoles her.
"Mom, I don't want to sound selfish, but I love doing this..."
"I know. I won't stop you..."
"Still, you're right. I have all this skill from dad, but I don't really have much skill from you. I want to learn what you have to give me, mom. That move you showed me came in real handy..."
"Meiki..." She starts to cry again.
"I'm finished, mom. May I be excused?"
"You may." She gets up.
"C'mon, Maru, let's roll." He drives him back to the Mayor. She explains to the Mayor what she's discovered. He's impressed.
"Well, that is interesting..."
"Are there any abandoned houses in our city? Most likely, that's where the stolen items will be. And some of them will be bon/b our little thief."
"Most impressive, Detective. Let's see..." He pulls out the papers of all the houses and streets in the city. "There is a few abandoned houses..."
"If I may, I will have officers search them all."
"Are you sure about this? This may be dangerous..."
"It goes along with the badge, sir."
"Just like your father. If you insist..." Meiki has recruited several officers to go with her.
"When any of you notice anything suspicious, report to me immediately, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said.
"Good. Let's go!" The limo drives around to every abandoned house as officers knock down the wooden baords used to cover up the entrances. It wasn't until they got to the last house in the city that they found what they were looking for...iThis is the house...but there's no one here./i "I only need 3 of you with me. The rest of you can go. Thank you for your ccooperation."
"Yes, ma'am!" They said. When the culprit turned on, officers came and cuffed them.
"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't just go around stealing things from people's houses." It was an old man. iWeird.../i
"I didn't steal anything! I swear!" The old man said, holding his hands up. iWhy do I believe him?/i
"How did you get this stuff?"
"I honestly don't know..."
"Does anyone live here with you?"
"No. It's just me."
"Was this house always like this?"
"No...a few weeks ago, there was nothing here, then...voila! The place is packed..."
"Ma'am!" An officer said. She turns around. "You might want to take a look at this..." She follows him to the kitchen and notices that the refrigerator has a message on it. "I think it's in blood, ma'am..."
"'We payed our part, now you WILL pay yours...or else. The Bloodboys?' Who are the bloodboys?"
"They are a notorious group of thieves. We've tried to find them for years, but nothing. They cover their tracks really well."
"I see...well, I love a challenge." She walks back to the old man. "You made a deal with the Bloodboys?"
"Bloodboys? No...I didn't...not those boys..."
"Apparently you did. And if you don't tell me the truth, you will be going to jail."
"...About a month ago, I ran into this guy..."
"Did he tell you his name?"
"No."
"How did he look?"
"He had all red. Just red. Red Suit, Red Tie, Red Pants, Red Rose, Red Hat, even had a RedBull."
"Ok..."
"And we were here, at this house..."
Flashback
'Is this the house?' The red-suited man asked.
'Yeah...but there's nothing in it. I don't have any money, any clothes...nothing.'
'You know, I could give you all that...'
'You could?'
'Sure, and in return, you sign this paper here and I'll get right on the job.'
'Really?'
'Yep.' The old man signs the paper. 'Excellent. Nice doing business with you. In a matter of weeks, you'll have your dream home. So long. We'll be in touch.' He leaves.
End Flashback
"So you signed the paper without reading it?"
"Heh heh..."
"(sigh) So did he call you?"
"Many times. Demanding my life insurance papers. I got rid of the phone as soon as I heard that..."
"I think I understand now. These Bloodboys stole all this items to make your house, and in return, they'd get paid."
"Hmm..."
"I hate to do this, sir, but we must keep you in custody until we can find and capture these Bloodboys."
"Oh..." They cuff him and sent him to the jail. iBloodboys, huh? I'll catch you all.../i
End of Case 7
