Disclaimer: I don't own MTNN

Notes:Yes, the mystery is stolen. (-_-;) Try to ignore it. Neuro's POV. Notes to reviewers at end.


The air that wafted through the car windows reeked of gasoline and sweat.

Not too much different from Tokyo if you ignore the gibberish coming from the humans mouths.

It took me all of 10 minutes to understand what they were saying. Not even difficult enough to be classified as a puzzle.

The officers here were much more eager to talk to Yako than officers usually were in Tokyo. She was more of a novelty here-a celebrity instead of a hindrance.

The male officer who had met us at the airport was eager to show us the case files-and I was happy to accept them. Yako on the other hand wanted to go to sleep. How she could sleep anymore I don't know, the sloth had slept for half the plane ride. But she insisted that she was exhausted, and so bringing the files with me, we were dropped off at the hotel would be staying at.

The male officer didn't even bat an eyelash when I told him we wouldn't be needing two rooms. Yako didn't comment either, too tired to either argue or care.

Our room was on the top floor and when we got off the elevator and realized it wasn't a room but a penthouse suite.

"This has to be a mistake." Yako spoke with a mix awe and regret as she marveled at the splendor of the room.

A call to the desk however showed us that not only was it not a mistake, but that the room was complimentary of the hotel board. Room service was also free.

Exhaustion forgotten, Yako spend the next 40 minutes ordering at least three of everything on on the menu.

I glanced through the case files, knowing Yako would probably want to look through them as she ate.

We have never had a case of a "serial suicide" before, and the mystery promised to be a delicious one.

They were three victims so far.

None of them seem to have known each other, and yet they all died from the same poison-self administered.

They all died in places they had no business being at, and none had shown suicidal tendencies in the past, and no note was left.

I grinned.

A very tasty smelling puzzle indeed.

Yako walked out of the bathroom, hair damp and smelling of shampoo. "Is the food here yet?" She was already dirtying herself by not being able to hold back her drool.

"Not yet piggy. You only ordered it ten minutes ago, and with the quanity you ordered I doubt the staff would be able to carry it all up in that time, let alone cook it."

With a grumble Yako plopped down on the bed under where I was sitting. "You looking through the case files?"

I didn't even bother to give the obvious answer to that question.

"You know who did it yet?" I looked down from the papers in my hand.

"The police have far too little evidence, obviously the worms don't know what to look for. I'll need to see a crime scene for myself."

Yako's head shot up at that statement. "What? So we're supposed to wait around until this murder strikes again?" I sighed. Dramatic ground hog. "What would you suggest we do then? The police don't even have any suspects to question."

Yako bit her lip. "Maybe we could talk to the family? See what these people had in common?"

"Nothing." I dropped the papers on top of her head. "If they had any sort of relation to each other I would have found out by now. In fact I can't even find any reason the serial killer would chose these people in paticular. It must not be because of who they were, but something they did."

A knock came from the door, breaking the thoughtful silence that followed my comment. "Room Service!"

Yako bounded up from her seat. "Eating always helps me to think! Perhaps I'll have an idea after some dinner. I don't want to just wait around until another murder occures."

I watched as three waiters pushing full carts entered the room, Yako's eyes shining at the sight.

My poor niave piggy.

.

.

.

My eyes snapped open at the sound of bells.

The phone was ringing.

The sloth on the bed beneath me groaned and tried to reach the alarm clock which read 4:00 am, thinking it was the offender.

I grabbed the phone before the third ring, immediately noticing the voice on the other end sounded out of breath.

"He's done it again! It's fresh, and this one left a note!" The male officer from ealier. How easily he had accepted these were the working of a serial killer. I hoped the entire squad would be this coorperative.

"Where?" My voice came out scratcher then I had intended, still laced with sleep.

"221 Baker Street. An old abandoned house-you can't miss it."

I hung up the phone, my sleep already fading with excitement. Yako, on the other hand, looked as if she would sleep walk the whole way there.

"Come now little piggy." I grabbed the top of her head with my hand. "Time for you to use that snout of yours to forage out a murderer." I punctuated my sentence by throwing her into the wall.

.

.

.

The note was obvious as soon as we entered the room.

With once perfectly manicured pink fingernails the deceased had scrawled into the broken wood floor the letters R-A-C-H-E.

"Rache' means 'revenge' in German, but I doubt this woman would waste her time and manicure etching out a word in her non-native language."

Yako was speaking aloud, considering the body before her shrewdly. I grinned at the shine coming from her. She really was one of a kind.

"Any ideas detective?" The officer that had called us walked into the room, followed by the corner and another officer.

"Oh come on!" The human that smelled of death spoke, disgust in his eyes. "We're seriously going to turn this case into a walking circus? We already have the press breathing down our necks as it is."

"Be respectful. She's traveled a long way." The words were strongly spoken, and any further complaints that had been considered were silenced.

"Where's her suitcase?" I asked the question absentmindedly, my brain racing with far more information than the police had managed to scrounge up in their previous investigations.

"Suitcase?"

Yako and I both turned to look at the officer. I spoke. "Yes. Where is it?"

A puzzled look. "She didn't have a suitcase."

Yako tilted her head. "Of course she did-a small one. Probably a blindingly pink overnight bag. Haven't you found it yet?"

The corner and female officer both turned to Yako with pure surprise on their faces. The male officer's eyes didn't leave me though.

"Why do you think she had a suitcase?" "There are small mud spatters on her right leg. She must have been wheeling a suitcase-a small one judging from the size of the splatter." As I spoke I lightly touched the splatter. Still wet.

"And why pink?" The death smelling human asked with obvious annoyance.

"All you have to do is look at her outfit to get the answer to that one."

"She's also unhappily married, and a serial adulterer." Yako's clear voice cut through the chatter of the other humans. "Her wedding ring is dirty while the rest of her jewelry is clean. And the inside of the ring is cleaner than the outside-so it's regularly removed."

"A neat parlor trick, but hardly helpful with the case." The corner's voice had a hint of distain he couldn't quite hide.

I held back a growl. "And yet Sensai so easily deduced all this while you looked at the woman and saw nothing. And the suitcase is very important. LEt us know if it turns up."

I grabbed Yako's arm and pulled her towards the door.

"And check to see who Rachel is."

"Rachel?" The male officer looked away from me for the first time, turning his attention back to Yako.

"Obviously the woman died in the middle of scratching her name into the floor. I think we should find out who was so important to this woman-don't you?"

The man barely had time to nod before I pulled Yako out the door.


HiHelloIWeird: Thank you! And thank you so much for reading. (^_^) Uwah! Glad you're enjoying it! And thanks! I fixed it! THank you so much for your reading and reviewing!

mouse: AH! I feel so privileged to be the person who's story you were the first to review on! Thank you! I'm working on it! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

MilissaRukia: Neuro's getting more placid. Well, as long as Yako's in arm's reach at least. (^_^) But yeah, he's the type to act all nice and beat you twice as much later. (-_-;) Yako's working on him. O.O True, true. Perhaps I can work that in. Yeah, Kira and Neuro have alot of respect for each other-not that they'd admit it of course. Thanks. (^_^) I wasn't sure if I should add that in, but the story never does give me a choice. I thought it was a funny play on words too. One Kira would be sure to pick up on. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Neru-kun: Ahahaha. I think you meant good. I hope it was! Thank you for reading and reviewing!