The Observation of Trifles
Rated M for some adult language and situations.
The Adventure of the Creeping Antagonist
Presbury PLC Campus, Camford, England, United Kingdom
The police constable locked the door to the victim's flat. He gave them an indifferent nod and set about his way. Kirigiri and Naegi headed back to the elevator. They waited in silence as the venerable device lumbered into place.
As soon as the elevator doors slid shut behind them, Naegi immediately pulled the emergency stop and turned to her. "Those were bleach stains on the carpet, right?" he asked. "Not paint?"
"Indeed," Kirigiri said grimly. "And the oven?"
Naegi nodded. "Grooves in the floor. Air draft coming in from behind. Gotta be some kind of gap or tunnel in the wall back there."
She tilted her head. "The hidden page of numbers?"
"Book code. Probably using that medical dictionary in the study."
"Meaning?"
"Lowenstein was talking to someone on the outside," Naegi said. "They killed him here, then snuck the body out to make it look like it happened off-site. And with all the cameras around, there's no way someone could've pulled that off without corporate security being in on it."
She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him into a lengthy kiss. By the time she let him go, Makoto could see stars flickering at the edge of his vision. "Wow," he breathed.
"I genuinely lack the words to describe how hot that was," Kyoko whispered.
He grinned and put his hands on her waist. "So what's our next move? The morgue?"
"Hmm... eventually." She put her arms over his shoulders. "I doubt the good doctor is likely to be going anywhere in the near future. I suspect our time might be better spent examining, say... the third floor hall closet?"
Makoto felt his blood rush to his face. Well, to that and to a certain other place, to be honest. He coughed. "Guess it couldn't hurt to be thorough, right?"
"Well," Kyoko said seriously, her poker face as immaculate as ever, "we do have our reputations as professionals to consider, Naegi."
They kissed again as she pushed the stop back in place. The elevator rumbled back to life.