Chapter 4: A Time for Action!
"May I help you?" the Kochi police chief asked as a man younger than himself came into his office.
"I'm officer Yamaguchi from Shinjuku. I'm here with the DNA results from the hairs we found."
"Ah! Good. Good. Let me see it."
Officer Yamaguchi handed it to the older man.
"Is this some kind of joke?!"
"W-what do you mean."
"This doesn't say anything about whether it's hers or not."
"W-well first the DNA of the hairs you have need to be compared to the results of the ones we have, then against a DNA sample directly from her."
"Is that so?" The older man said. "All of our forensics guys have gone home for the night but I'll get someone on it right away."
"Alright then. My superiors will probably want to know your findings." Officer Yamaguchi said and left.
Midnight drew closer and Ruki grew more apprehensive.
"I hope whatever he has planed works," she said to herself as she paced around her cell.
She looked around to make sure that no one had heard her, but in the dim cell-block it was hard to see anything, and the setting sun only helped make it dimmer.
Ruki sat on the bed in her cell and pulled her knees to her chest.
"I hope he hurries." She whispered, then waited for the appointed hour.
Ryo on the other hand was busy on the computer back at Kai's house.
"Ha ha ha! You aren't as smart as you thought." Ryo laughed out loud as he successfully hacked into the police station's database.
He leaned back in the chair as he scanned though the various programs.
"Hmm. This is going to be more difficult than I thought." He said to himself as he started typing away on the keyboard.
Kai stood watching him work away from the doorway.
"It looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands." Kai smirked and walked away to his room.
It was just after midnight when Ryo reached the police station. He looked around for the guard that the schedule he'd hacked into said there'd be. He caught sight of him, quietly snuck up on him, knocked the him out.
"I'm sorry," Ryo said to the unconscious man as he dressed in his clothes, "but this is something I have to do."
Once dressed, Ryo entered the station.
"Hey, you!" A heavy set man bellowed as soon as he had. "Go check cell-block C."
Ryo nodded in response and went towards the cell-blocks. After passing through cell-blocks A and B he reached C. He knew that Ruki was in this cell-block somewhere.
He walked along the cells until he came across one that held a single teenage girl. He pulled out the keys that had been in the pants pocket and unlocked the door.
Ruki looked up and saw someone standing there. The man made a motion with his hand to come with him, which was a bit difficult to pick out at first. She reluctantly walked over to him. As soon as she was next to him they started forward across the cell-block.
"I-I didn't murder those people. Honest!" She pleaded.
"I know you didn't." He answered.
"Ryo!" She happily whispered.
"Yes, now hush." He hissed as they neared the entrance to the police station.
He poked his head through the door and saw the heavy-set officer yelling at another guy like an army sergeant.
Ryo pulled Ruki through the room quickly then outside.
"Hide while I change out of this." He harshly whispered.
Ruki ran off and he quickly threw off the uniform and pulled his own pants back on and grabbed his shirt.
"Ruki-chan! Ruki-chan!" He called after running in the direction he'd seen her go.
"Here." She answered and stepped out of her hiding place.
"Come on." He said and pulled her along.
"Hey where are we going?" Ruki asked when she realized that they weren't heading back to where he and Kai were staying.
"Your apartment."
"What!?"
"Kai's the one who called the cops on you."
"Why?"
"I've no idea. It'll only be a matter of time before they figure out you're gone. We need to find out who wants you framed for this."
"Ryo," Ruki said stopping, "Why are you helping me? What's your motive?"
Ryo stopped and looked back at Ruki.
"What do you mean? I want to help you...and I-I..." He said feeling himself blushing a little. He hoped she couldn't see it
"You...what?"
"I love you." He finally said.
"Don't--Don't help me anymore."
"Well I'm going to, no matter what. I'm the only one who believes you. You need me."
"I don't need anything from you. You just want sex when all of this is over." She said and started off on her own.
"Wait!" He said grabbing her arm, "I don't want that kind of thing from you. The only thing I would even ask you for would be for you to sing for me, even if it was just a verse. Please, let me help you."
She pulled her arm away from his grasp.
"Do whatever you want." She hissed and headed toward the building.
Ryo just smiled and followed her.
After the forensics people the police chief set on the DNA comparisons finished, and found them to be the same as the ones found in Shinjuku, an officer was sent to cell-block C to get a sample of blood from Ruki.
"Sir! Sir!" The officer called, "she's escaped somehow!"
"What?! How can that be?" The police chief asked in disbelief.
"I don't know, sir."
"Find her!" He barked at several officers standing nearby.
He turned to the man that brought the news.
"See if you can find anything in that cell to run DNA off of." The police chief said
The officer gave a quick bow and hurried off to see if he could.
The building had been evacuated since Takahashi-san had murdered a couple of days earlier, so it wasn't that hard to get into the building unnoticed.
"Which apartment is yours?" Ryo asked once they were inside.
"This one, number 21." Ruki said pushing the ajar door open the rest of the way.
"This place is a mess! Look at all the blood!"
"Whoever it was sure wasn't trying to hide trying anything."
"Why would they if they were trying to frame you?"
"True...Why don't you go check out those rooms, and I'll check this one."
"'Kay."
Ryo left to check for anything in the bedroom and the bathroom while Ruki looked around the living room/ kitchen area.
She didn't dare turn the lights on for fear that it would attract some unwanted attention. She pulled a flashlight from a kitchen drawer, and slowly scanned it's beam around the room.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. The light had found something the police had missed under the couch. She dropped to her knees and reached under to pull it out.
Just as she got it out from under the couch, a creaking floorboard caught her attention.
"Did you find something? I know I did." She said and turned around to find it wasn't Ryo she'd been talking to. "Y-you're not-"
"That's right." A voice from the doorway answered. "I'm the one that's been framing you, and now that you know, you're going to have to die now."
The murderer stepped into the lamplight that shone through the window.
"Y-you're the killer?!" She stuttered and backed up closer to the couch.
"That's right. And, by the way, thanks for fetching my knife for me. The police will have no reason not to think you committed suicide, now that your prints are all over it."
To be continued...
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What can I say? I love cliffhangers!