(AUTHORS NOTE: There is no scientific evidence to back any of my murder scenes or theory therefore I apologise if the plots don't feel realistic or raise issues.)
Case Solved
A small red light switched on as the video camera started to roll. Yagari turned to Rima who seemed excited whilst she filmed, "I hope that film is for-"
Rima waved one of her hands to stop Yagari speaking, "It was intended to be recorded for the police, now don't interrupt anymore."
Yagari held his tongue. Zero stepped into the classroom or murder room so casually, it stunned him slightly. The others swiftly followed, standing near besides the door and far walls as asked by Zero.
"Will you hurry up or are you two clowns trying to buy time?" Sara questioned with a smirk, "what lame story did you two make up then?"
Seiren gave a light giggle in response to Sara's mockery, which died as quickly as it came, the grip on her own uniform collar almost tightening to suffocate her. Yuuki's voice was low and dangerous, directed towards Sara, than the prey she's holding in her grip, "I wonder what they'll name you if there's a scratch on your face, my Beautiful Queen."
Sara cringed a little, "let go of Seiren."
Yuuki did as Sara said but her face was full of victory. Sara was the first person in years to get on Yuuki's nerves like this, irritable and hated. She turned to face Zero, who stood waiting for her, realising the others had just silently witnessed that small quarrel as well. "Sorry," she softly said, knowing solving Moneko's death was more important.
Everyone fell completely silent as Zero finally began, "we'll start logically. I suppose a summary of Moneko is needed. Rima Touya."
Rima passed the video camera to Yagari and bounced to the front to face the others. She gave a cough for emphasis, "Moneko, currently 42 this year. She has been working as this academy's school nurse for over six years. Regarding her daily work, relationship with students and other members of staff, etcetera, it is all good. Her more personal life is pretty normal too. She once in a while goes out with her friends from college in the weekends; most of them are married women. She has no debt. There is also little evidence to show that she's dating or has a boyfriend, having said that, I don't deny whether she secretly has a crush on anyone."
"Basically, a very normal women in her early 40's…" Kaien said to himself.
"Where do you get this information from?" Yagari couldn't help but ask.
Rima smiled, "I respect and protect the origins of my sources and information."
For the first time in ages, Tatsu spoke up, "if Moneko had no debt or problems then why did she die? I mean, it's logical to think that such a normal person wouldn't want to die. But murder is also-"
As Tatsu struggled with confidence to continue Zero asked, "What are you trying to say Tatsu-sensei?"
Tatsu gulped, "According to Rima, Moneko had no enemies. I don't see why anyone would randomly kill her either."
Zero smiled, "that's why we're moving on to the evidence."
Kaien tensed up, "you have evidence to show this isn't a suicide but murder?"
"Look around this room. Nothing's been moved ever since the incident. I specifically asked the forensics to replace everything to their original places. Tell me what you see."
Both Kaien and Yagari with the camera looked around the room, taking in every single little detail as they possibly could. The first thing that caught there attention was the opened window, where Moneko fell off. Aside from that, the classroom appeared to be very normal, air conditioner, desks and chairs, until he spotted the objects scattered on the floor beside the window. There was a puddle of water on the floor, with bits of ice in it, which the contents seem to be coming from a bucket of melting ice with nine empty wine glasses beside it. Also soaked in that cold water was two bits of shiny object, that looked broken. Kaien pulled on some clear gloves, stepping closer towards the window passed Zero. He picked up the shiny object, "a silver string." He gave it a pull with strength, "it's very tough."
Yagari grabbed Rima by the shoulder and shoved the camera back into her hands, pulling on a pair of gloves himself; he went to examine the objects. "What do you suppose she was doing before her death? This set up is bizarre."
Sara flicked her long silky hair, "it has to be suicide. I mean, she drank a load of alcohol right. Nine full bottles of wine is a lot. She must've fallen either intentionally or subconsciously after getting drunk. That shows my theory is correct."
"But what about this silver string?" Kaien asked.
"It must be to tie the wines together," Tatsu offered.
A smile on his face, Zero took the piece of string from Kaien, "I'm not so certain. It may be hard to pull this apart by hand. But to tie all nine full bottles of wine together, it could snap from such heavy weight, which might explain why this string is in two pieces. That means it's impossible to use this string in such a-"
"It's definitely strong enough," Tatsu hurriedly opposed, "this type of string is made from special nylon. I've seen them in many shops before; they can hold heavy things very well, depending on the price; the more expensive the stronger. It is plausible to use a string like this to tie nine bottles of wine together."
"But I never heard that Moneko drank alcohol," Yuuki commented.
"She did," Tatsu said, "at staff parties she drank heavily. Her favourite is the syrah type red wine..."
"Funny how you know so much isn't it-" Zero taunted Tatsu.
There was minutes silence in the room as everyone turned their attention onto Tatsu, whose face began to flush a pale white. In that split second, every part of the mystery seemed to have fallen into place. His legs shaking, Tatsu made a dash towards the door, only to fall hard from Yuuki's kick. Kaien immediately twisted back Tatsu's arms, placing handcuffs to secure him down.
From the side, Sara gasped, "hold it. This makes no sense at all. We were together during the time Moneko died so-"
Zero knelt down to retrieve some ice, "in this particular set up, the culprit is supposed to be the innocent witness."
"It still doesn't-"
"Moneko was long dead before she fell out the window," Zero continued to explain, "if you tie those two pieces of string in a certain way to hold up the corpse; which Tatsu-sensei has kindly informed that it is strong enough to hold certain things, then the murder scene can be created that Moneko fell on her own from the window. The most obvious thing for the murderer to do next is-
"That's it," Yagari chipped in, "make himself an alibi. Finding him two other people to be with him, walking directly below the window where the corpse will fall. It is certain that everyone would believe he is innocent as he can't have pushed her off. Very clever."
This time Seiren couldn't hold back her confusion, "if she was tied then she won't fall."
"That's right. There is no way the corpse could untie the string and make itself fall," Sara challenged.
Yuuki grabbed the pieces of ice from Zero's hand and lightly threw them at Sara and Seiren. "Position the corpse in front of the already opened window. Freeze the two pieces of broken string together with the ice supporting the body. Adjust the air conditioner. Time how long the ice melts."
Kaien smiled, "knowing exactly how long the ice melts, the culprit can make his perfect alibi. When the ice melts, there is nothing supporting the body since the two strings aren't in the first place, meaning it'll naturally fall. The wine and bucket of ice are props to mislead the situation." Kaien applied some force to Tatsu's grip, "are you going to confess?"
Tatsu didn't move, he didn't look at anyone either, "your proof detective?"
"They don't need any," Zero answered, "Rima Touya has been recording everything since we entered the room. The fact that you knew the properties of that string so well is suspicious. The fact that you insisted and told about how Moneko was a alcoholic shows you knew her quite a bit. The fact that you ran also shows your guilty or at least there are problems with you."
"In the end, the police will check up on you and your relationship with Moneko will be revealed," Yuuki finished.
Yagari yanked Tatsu from the ground, pulling a chair from nearby, he thrust him into it. He pointed a finger at Rima, gesturing her to place the video camera on the table to face Tatsu. "Now, the story."
Tears streamed from his eyes, "I'm sorry. I used a pillow and suffocated her. She wanted to leave me and- I really did love her..."
--- --- ---
Leaning against the car, Yagari stomped on the end of his cigarette. Another typical case, he thought, snorting at the flashy car Sara and Seiren disappeared into, watching as Tatsu was taken away by another police car and the deputy headmaster, Keito driving away too. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a DVD that Rima Touya gave to him. He spun it around once, "was Moneko expecting to be killed by her lover Tatsu? She went to such an extent to film their interaction and give it to the most money seeking girl. It's a good job there are no more copies of this though." He stopped talking to himself, looking up, lips twisting as he saw Kaien and Yuuki walk over. "What is she doing here?"
"Coming home with us," Kaien replied bluntly.
"With us?"
"Is there a problem?" Kaien asked.
"Of course, she's a fraud."
"Fraud?" both Yuuki and Kaien said raising their eyebrows.
"You and that weird guy and Rima previously watched this DVD of Moneko and Tatsu therefoer know the culprit beforehand," Yagari began, "basically I don't see why we should-"
"Nice to meet you, Uncle Yagari," Yuuki said stretching her hands out in a shaking gesture, "I'm Yuuki Cross, Kaien Cross's daughter."
Yagari felt his jaw drop off. He stared from his new working partner to the famous delinquent girl before him. Briskly, he took her hand, though he felt his body turn to stone from the shock. How could he have missed such an important clue, their surnames were the same? Without another word, he got into the car, trying to process this new twist. A police, an honourable detective has a delinquent daughter...
"Yuuki," Kaien said, knowing Yagari would stay silent for awhile from shock, "who is he? The guy that had silver hair and wore black glasses."
Yuuki turned to look at her father, "Zero Kiryuu. I only met him today. Why do you ask?"
"Does he always cover his eyes?"
"That's what I've heard. Kaien, why do you ask?"
Kaien sighed, "Yuuki, it's daddy, dad or father, please remember. I just thought he was very sensitive in knowing how everything happened."
Yuuki nodded, "he is very strange. I have to admit, I was attracted to him because he gave me a different feeling to any other people I've met. However, you can't discriminate him for covering his eyes. I'm always covering half of my face."
"But that's different, your face is-"
"Kaien, I've decided to stick around that guy for a bit until I get bored of him. I'm also going to make my blessing to Moneko tomorrow. Don't worry about me, I'll be going with Zero, are you going?"
"It's daddy, dad or father," Kaien sighed again, "I won't be able to go."
--- --- ---
It was the second day, Yuuki entered into Vamrose Academy and the first place she goes to isn't the main building but her newly found abandoned dormitory and club room. The door creaked open as she slid in, dumping her bags in the hallway. All she could think of is whether Zero had arrived yet, after specifically telling him to meet her here yesterday. She had little patients. Glancing around, she felt an odd presence within the building or at least there was something that made her feel uneasy. She opened a nearby door and stepped into the wooden barren rooms. Walking over to the window, she squinted, examining it, "so this is a normal window." Yuuki moved her face slightly away from the glass. Her eyes widened at the reflection of a shadowed figure behind her, as it ascended upon her. A battering sound followed by fresh blood splattering the windows, marked the sinful colour red, that soaked into the wooden panes.
