Chapter 15: Investigation

Me and Ringo returned to the crime scene where almost everybody left. The few that remained wanted to know the truth as well. Jace seemed to wait for my arrival and noticed me. "Ah Dave, we have just finished so you can now start now, but I doubt you'll find anything that we haven't already uncovered. I'll take my leave and prepare for tomorrow with the evidence." I nod and he leaves, showing a depressed look. "I guess he's still recovering from Mari's death." I assumed. "Yeah, he did seem to care about her an awful lot…" Ringo agreed. I realized that Risukuma was still around, muttering words to himself. "Hey Ris, you're still looking around?" I asked. "Oh Dave, uh yes I am. So I'm to presume that you two are going to now investigate?" "Yeah we are." I replied. "Here's the thing Dave, Jace told me not to help out, but you two ARE my friends so… If you need any information, feel free to ask me. Just don't tell him that I helped you, I already know how pissed he can be when things don't go his way." He said. "That's fine, I just want to get to the truth. So, do you personally believe that Draco did it Ris?" "That… I'm not sure, much of the evidence does point to her, but… She just doesn't seem to be the type. Regardless though, if there aren't any other suspects, then she's the only one who could feasibly do this." He summed his thoughts. "I see, you want to doubt the evidence, but there's not much room to do so…" I reworded. "Not doubt it exactly Dave, I know that it leads somewhere, I just don't want it to point to the girl." He corrected me. "Additionally as can clearly you see over there by the body, there's a picture of currently our main suspect, drawn on paper in ink. She most likely dropped the paper when being struck from behind. Not to mentioned, there was a pen on her personage, in one of these pockets..." "*sigh* That's not good, it means the victim saw our killer, just before she was attacked." "And, last but not least, Draco's door has been left open, most likely ever since the time of the attack." Ringo breaks our current topic for something important. "Ris, what about an autopsy, do you have a copy for us?" She asked him. "OH! How could I forget? Jace told me that I was supposed to give this to you." He gave us the autopsy and we read through it.

Victim, Mari: Age 16

Time of Death: Approximately 1:00 A.M.

Cause of Death: A single stab wound to the back, instantaneous

Condition of the Body: No other signs of damage were visible on the body aside from blunt force trauma that is suggested to have been postmortem. This is shown as a bruise on the back of the victim's head. Remnants of a currently unknown drug were also found in the victim's bloodstream.

Ringo asked me something regarding the autopsy. "Dave you're good with English class, what does postmortem mean?" "It means after death when it comes to autopsies like this one Ringo. So in other words, that case of blunt force trauma is stated to have occurred after the killing blow." I told her. "Huh… but wait, that doesn't make sense, why bother banging someone on the head if they are already dead?" She questioned. "I'm not sure Ringo, maybe Ris has an explanation for us." I said. "Risukuma, let me ask you something, who made this autopsy?" I asked. "That… would be me, why do you ask?" "Well it's about the blunt force trauma part, why would the killer bother hitting the victim on the back of the head after... when she should have been already dead from the stab wound? There just doesn't seem to be a legitimate reason for doing such." I surmised. Risukuma's eyes widen from this, being incredibly surprised. "Well, that's certainly interesting, I... don't... know." He stumbled on his words for about a minute or two before giving up. "Maybe if we investigate together, we'll find the reason for this." I insisted. "Maybe… come over here you two, I think there are other things to see." Risukuma stated. "Any bits of evidence, Ris?" Ringo asked him. "There is, one piece of evidence to be precise… this key right here." I took one long and hard look at the key and came to a sudden realization. "Isn't this the master key of the resort? What is it doing in this hallway just lying about?" I saw that the handle of the key was bigger than the normal room keys, so I concluded that this had to be it. "The master key huh... the one that's able to open any door in the building?" Ringo assumed. "Yeah, a skeleton key of sorts, I believe that it's relevant to this case." I said.

"So, does the knife have any fingerprints Ris?" I questioned. "It does, but only the defendant's are on it. "What about the key?" "That's what we're about to find out…" He scanned the key. "They are not the defendant's… ah here it is! These are… the vice president's prints." He answered. "Wait, Kassandra's prints… why are they on this of all things?" "Beats me…" We couldn't wrap our heads around the mystery surrounding this key, so we decided to shift our focus somewhere else. "Anything else around?" "Not particularly, Dave." "I suppose we should look at other areas, it's not always just about the crime scene." Risukuma and Ringo nod to me and we left the scene. "I think we should start asking around for some witnesses, it would be helpful to have some testimony to go off from…" I stated. "I agree, there are so many holes in this case that questions are everywhere." Ringo said. I hear a familiar voice greeting me. "H-hello, Dave." It was Lidelle. "Oh hey there, Lidelle! Did you see anything at the time of the murder? It would really help us out in trying to figure out what really happened." I asked her nicely. "I-I'm sorry, I don't really know anything… but, Big Sister couldn't have done it." ""Big Sister"... you mean Draco?" "Yes…" I saw that her eyes were watering a bit. "Don't worry, I'll prove her innocent no matter what." Just when I was about to leave, Lidelle alerts me of something. "W-wait Dave, Ms. Accord might know something about what happened last night. If any would, she is most likely to have seen something. She's over by the garden at the back of the resort in case if you didn't know." She told me. "Say, that doesn't sound like a bad idea... thank you, Lidelle. You just take care of yourself now, okay?" "S-sure, good luck on your path in finding the truth." We paid Accord a little visit in this garden.

I heard slight humming of her voice as she viewed the flowers. "Uh, excuse me Miss..." Risukuma trailed. She turned around to face me. "Oh, it's Dave and his friends. Is there something you need, my pupil?" She wondered. "It's about the murder that occured last night, do you know anything that'll pinpoint the murderer?" I tossed the question.. "Oh dear… Well I'll be blunt, I witnessed the very moment of what you speak." She admitted. "What?! Did you see who?" "No, my apologies. It was too dark to make out who, but I do believe that they were of a similar physique to Ms. Centauros. I do not believe that she would do this, after all, she did save you. *giggle* And well, you should know the rest after I saw them approach Mari. They stabbed her in the back and I was afraid, so I left quickly. Also, about thirty minutes before the murder, I heard an argument of sorts from two people. I didn't know what it was about however, I heard Kassandra's voice. I assume that it was student council stuff, to which they weren't getting along." Accord recalled. "Interesting, thanks for the information Ms. Accord, that narrows our suspect list down. That argument that you heard, I believe that it's the same one that Draco mentioned." "I see, that is quite the coincidence..." I bow and we leave as she waves goodbye. "I don't get it, Dave... how does that help us? Je just now know that she witnesses the crime unfolding, and seemingly irrelevant squabbling." "It's all about context Ringo, remember what she said about our murderer having a "similar physique"? That means the real killer was female, so it rules out every single man in the building." "So what, now we have to find out which busty girl did it? Besides Draco of course..." "*sigh* You didn't have to put it like that Ringo… but yes, that does seem to be the case. First though, we should head back to Draco, so that we can tell her who was part of that argument." I said. "I agree, something tells me that there is more to this than meets the eye." Risukuma emphasized.

We came back to Draco, her head perked up in surprise. "Dave? I didn't expect you to return to me…" "It's about that argument you heard last night, did one of the voices happen to belong to Kassandra? Try to remember for me, this is crucial." I waited for her to make a response. "Hmm… Lemme see, Kassandra… Oh yeah, I remember her voice now, she was part of that. Why do ya ask?" "Because a witness caught wind of that in addition to the murder. "Did they know what it was about?" She asked me. "No, not exactly, but they assumed that it was student council stuff, to which they weren't getting along." I finished. "Dave, I'm starting to figure this out, wasn't Kassandra a bit "busty"?" "Yeah… but we can't know for sure yet. We'll ask questions, but we aren't going to be prematurely indicting her as the true culprit. Let's just play along with things as we go." "Okay-" *buzz* "Oh excuse me, I have a call from Jace, mind if I have some alone time?" "Sure Ris, go right ahead." Me and Ringo waited for him to finish his call. "Sorry, it looks like you two will have to go on without me. Jace needs my assistance, and he'll become suspicious of my actions if I don't go to him." He explained. "That's fine, I think that you more than helped us for the time being, see you!" I waved. "Should we go to Kassandra then? Wherever she is…" Ringo suggested. I nodded and we went on to find her.

It didn't take too long and we found her sitting down in the resort lobby. "Hey Kassandra, mind if we have a chat?" I asked her. "Sure, about what exactly?" "Did you have an argument with another person last night before the murder?" She paused for a bit before speaking. "Why yes I did, but why do you know about that?" "A witness to the crime just so happened to overhear it somewhat and told us that she heard your voice. Let me just ask you a simple but important question... Who were you arguing with?" "Mari." She answered me. "Wait, you were talking to the victim before she died?!" I exclaimed. Ringo seemed to be just as shocked about it. "I believe that happened thirty minutes before the murder took place. So yes, I could have been the last person to make contact with Mari before her death. Just in case if you find that suspicious, I have an alibi during the time of the murder. Jace can vouch for me on that. You see, we were doing some late night work. Of course, he didn't realize that murder occurred at the time. He only started to really get angry during this morning upon finding out about it, and told me. If you don't think that it's true, you can ask him whether or not that's the case." I paused briefly before saying anything else as a response. "I… wasn't, but if you have an alibi… then that only helps us out. Thank you for telling us the truth, Kassandra, I appreciate it." "I am the vice president of student council, of course I wouldn't foolishly lie." "C'mon Ringo, let's go." I said. "Okay!" She cheerily worded.

When we were far enough away, we discussed. "You think she's telling the truth, Dave?" Ringo asked. "I'm not sure, it depends on what Jace says. We saw the guy talking to Risukuma, probably going over parts of the case. "Hey Jace, I needs words of confirmation." I told him. "What now, can't you see that I'm busy?" He questioned, irritated. I explained to him the whole thing with Kassandra whether it was true or not. "She speaks the truth, Dave. We were together at the time and neither of us left the special reserved room at any point that night, although…" He scratched his head a little. "Although what?" "She wore completely different perfume than the one kind that she always had. It was the kind of smell that I think she would normally HATE. I was confused and curious, so I asked her what it was, compared to the usual. She showed me the bottle, which I have here. It's blue and has the smell of hydrangeas, whilst the usual that I speak of is pink and has the smell of cherry blossoms." I looked at the two bottles closely. "Mind if I hold on to the blue perfume for the time being, Jace?" "I don't, she didn't seem to care too much about that one." I was wondering quite a bit about that perfume as we left him. "It makes me wonder, why the drastic change in perfume?" I asked. "Yeah, it just seems off." Ringo agreed. "There's something that Kassandra's not telling us Ringo… I have something in mind that I want you to do. Get the master key from the crime scene and enter in her room, do you know where it is?" I asked of her. "I do, but why, Dave?" "I need you to investigate that room for anything out of place and take pictures of those things with your phone. Meanwhile, I will keep her busy by asking her about this perfume. That should buy you enough time to see what she could be potentially hiding." "I dunno, are you sure about this? It'll be breaking an enter-" I stopped her. "No it won't, if it means discovering the truth, then it's justifiable. Just don't let anyone see you enter or leave the room. We won't have a lot of time to do this, I'll message you as soon as I approach Kassandra. That way, you can make the most of this time." She thought about it for a second. "Alright, I'll do it, just don't screw things up for me." "I won't, Ringo." At that point, we went on our separate ways.

Ringo's POV

I waited for him to message as I stood by the master key, with my back against the nearby wall. *buzz* "That must be him." I saw his message, messaged him back in acknowledgement and then he texted me good luck, as well as to be careful of myself. "It's go time…" I grabbed the key and rushed over to Kassandra's room. "So far, so good…" I opened the door's lock, while making sure there was no one around. I entered and closed the door quietly. "So, let's see what you can be hiding from us…" I looked around closely for anything that we considered odd. In the drawers, I found the same bottles of perfume, both pink and blue. I didn't think that was weird, but then I realized that there was a bunk bed. "Funny, I don't remember her ever mentioning that she had a roommate, otherwise she would've said that Mari was with her here." I just didn't make sense for her to have a room with a bed like that if she was the only one residing in it. A desk nearby had a single lone drawer leading to something crazy. "Hm, what is this picture? Spy Gal-atea *sigh*..." I thought that was a seriously bad pun of gal and Galatea. "...and Spy Queen." I didn't think much of this at first, pushing back the drawer. "Wait…" I opened the drawer once more and looked at the two female spies. "One of them looks like… Kassandra? And, what's this under here?" It looked like a diary entry of sorts. "This has gone on for too long, I hated her ever since she join that student council. She has been on to me being a criminal spy, that Meriweather…! She thinks that she can catch me and my partner, but she has another thing coming to her. Even if she hadn't revealed herself to me personally at this point in time, I know that it's her. She just calls herself Mari, but I recognize her voice. How could I forget? The bitch has thwarted me multiple times in the past. However this time, things are going to be different, I won't have her get the best of me again." I read as I raised an eyebrow. What the...?

I'll kill her, and no one else in INTERPUYO will be able to stop us. Spy Gal-atea had agreed to assist me, she'll be under the guise of "Kassandra" and keep that fool Jace occupied. At the same time, I want to pin this murder on that dragon girl who went to violate me and breasts. I despise her sex-driven nature and happy-go-lucky attitude. Let's see how she likes it when she's framed for something that she didn't do. I can get rid of two birds with one stone, and no one shall be the wiser. I'll also be able to finish the mission that I was asked to do on the Puyo Isles. The higher-ups were curious about Dave, they say that he came from a world of which not a single other person seems to know about. I don't know why they were curious of the boy, he didn't seem to be particularly interesting. I'm confident in my ability to do this, after all, I am a mostly successful criminal spy." I couldn't believe what I was reading, from line to line. "This… this proves everything…!" I saw another thing under the bunk bed, costumes matching from the image I saw earlier. "My God…!" Yet another object caught my eyes. It was picture of Mari, or now I know her as Meriweather. "So, this is how she actually looks like…" The picture came with a short description of what INTERPUYO was. "INTERPUYO is an international organization made up of undercover agents. This was constructed for the purpose of stopping big-time criminals on a huge scale and keeping people all over, safe from harm." I read it in shock, I didn't think that there was a group like that around. I found one final, incriminating piece of evidence by a mirror. It was a prescription box, filled with a single medical drug in the form of powder. The box stated that a dose of the prescription lasts for twenty-four hours. "Could this be the unknown drug noted in the autopsy? I'll bring some back with me, then Ris can analyze it. Good thing that I'm carrying an emergency glass vial." At that moment I decided to take pictures on my phone of everything that I found to be important. "Alright, with this kind of evidence, she won't be able to squirm out once we call her in as a witness tomorrow." I check to see if anyone was near the door as I jutted my head outside the room. The hallway was absolutely empty with no one around to speak of. I closed and locked the door back up and dashed back over to the crime, unseen, and place the key back down where it rough was before. "Alright, mission accomplished…" I said to myself, relaxed. I went ahead to text Dave that I was finished with my excursion.

Dave's POV

I continued discussing about the perfume, although I wasn't getting much of anywhere with it. "It's one that I've gotten into more recently, that's all there is to it, Dave." "I see, what kind of student council work did you do with Jace, specifically at the time?" "I don't see why it matters, at the end of the day... it's trivial at best. We were planning a surprise for you guys for the last day of the resort, of course, Jace didn't want me to be telling anybody else what it is." *buzz* It was Ringo, she finished her insight of Kassandra's room and wanted me to rendezvous back to our room. "Well that's quite some timing… Anyway, that's all that I wanted to discuss, thank you for devoting your own time into this. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." I bowed. "Whatever." She responded. I came back to her, awaiting her findings. I closed to door behind us and sat down, relieved. "Quite of lot of shit here, Dave... these photos prove everything." I skimmed through them one by one. "What the…? Spies? International organization INTERPUYO? I won't deny that this is one hell of a development, Ringo. So in that diary entry... How do these higher-ups know who I am, and why do they care?" Ringo just shrugs at my questions. Then, she gave me a vial containing a powder of sorts. "What is this?" "It's some kinda medical drug, I don't know what kind it is though." I paused for a second. "Wait, could this be… the unknown drug that was found in the victim's bloodstream?" "That's something I guessed too, but we won't know for sure unless we have Ris look that this." Ringo called Risukuma and invited him into our room. "Alright, where is this stuff? Okay, let the testing commence." He pointlessly announced. It took him about ten minutes to do. When all was said and done, he obtained the final results. "My God, this stuff is the same as what was found in the victim…" He trailed. "Do you know the purpose of it, Ris?" I asked. "I do now, it's a powdery anesthetic, Dave. It's usually put into non-alcoholic drinks and applied near one's eyes to make falling asleep easier. Although it has potential side effects, such as the fact that a person's memory of the night of applying could become clouded." "*gasp* Draco mentioned that in her testimony of last night." "Wait, the defendant had been drugged with this too? Well, isn't this confusing…" He stumbled. " I might have to confirm this, by taking a sample of her blood." Risukuma pulled out small a needle and we left to go see her.

"Hey Draco, this maybe weird to request from you, but we need some of your blood." I said to her. "W-what? Why?" She asked me, panicked. "You said that you must have been drugged or something, right? We want to see if there is a trace of outside substances in your bloodstream. So Ris, if you would…" Risukuma waves the needle above Draco. "Uuuuh… I feel scared, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! *whimper*" She screamed, flailing around and crying. "Don't worry it'll be over before you know it…" He said, inserting the needle into her arm. "OW! *whimper* What did I do to deserve any of this? *sniff* *sob*" "It's okay, Draco... you pulled through just fine. I need you to be a brave girl moving forward, alright?" I comforted and hugged her. "Dave… *continued sobbing* *sniff*" "There, there… be at ease my friend…" I remained planted to that spot until she felt better. "Dave is just so sweet sometimes…" Ringo fluttered. "I find it to be rather heartwarming, his love and care for others seems to know no bounds." Risukuma replied. "So, what about Draco's blood, Ris?" She asked. "Well would you look at that... we have a match." I jumped back up to my feet upon hearing that. "I'm not too shocked by that… anyway, thank you for all your help, Ris." "Don't mention it, what are friends for?" He leaves us, probably heading back to Jace at that time. I feel a tug pull on my shirt. "Let's go back to our room, we need to review the rest of the evidence and get a good night's sleep." Ringo pressured me. "Very well... Draco, there's no need to worry. As I keep saying, I WILL get you out of this situation." I stated firmly. I smiled at her as a sign of reassurance, then she looked like she finally decided grow up. With her smiling back, I felt deep in my heart, that she learned to grow up and cope with stuff like this. Me and Ringo returned to our room for the rest of the night. I eagle-eyed the evidence meticulously while Ringo lighten up the silent mood every once in a while. We turn in and prepared ourselves mentally for whatever comes next.

Author's Notes: Dave and Ringo uncover many bits of evidence from their investigation (with the help of Risukuma). The mystery continuously evolved as time went on. The trial follows suit on the next day (AKA: occurs in the next chapter). For all my readers, the next chapter WILL be written in a different format. Why though? It'll complement the constant talking of several, to many characters much better than the standard novel style. You'll see how it'll work out soon enough. Next chapter, Chapter 16: Court in Session.