Chapter Three: The cleaner-girl
"So what do you make of it all? This murder business, I mean." She said cheerfully, tossing her head back a little.
Jin blinked.
"I think it's just awful," She continued, with more relish than anything else. "Don't you?"
For the sake of not appearing stupid, Jin muttered a rather inaudible something in reply, then walked off hurriedly down the cobble-stoned path, leaving the girl staring after him in bewilderment.
"What is the world coming to?" Jin said to himself, remembering the girl's cheerful manner in wake of the tragedy. "These girls! Embracing murder as some… some…" He faltered.
"Oh, hell!"
This sudden exclamation made Jin spin round. It was the morbid girl with the cheerful manner. He frowned upon her in disapproval. Girls had no business saying things like 'hell'.
"Damn these things!" The girl continued, furiously brushing a few ants off her legs.
Again, Jin thought, girls weren't supposed to say things like 'damn'.
After the ants had gone, the girl looked up at him rather sheepishly.
"They really are a bother, these insects." She said light-heartedly.
Jin pursed his lips, making apparent his disapproval of girls with shrewish tongues as such.
As if sensing his mounting dislike for her, she tried to break the growing tension between them.
"I know what you're thinking," She said. "You're thinking that I'm an impertinent young lass, don't you?"
Jin kept quiet.
"But really," she went on, her face stiffening and her voice lowering, "I'm actually a frightfully prim and proper girl!"
Jin stared, and after a few moments laughed in spite of himself. She, too, burst out laughing (Jin thought: What an uncultured laugh that is!).
"You are funny," Jin admitted. It was only right to be friendly. He had been brought up to have proper manners and etiquette.
"Oh well, you'd better be on your way! The inspectors just sent for you."
Jin let out a little groan.
"I really do hate all these police and inspectors swarming about the place," he lamented. "It's just so – so uncomfortable."
"Do you, now? I think it's all rather exciting. But when the inspector has his shrewd, suspicious eye on you," – she shuddered a little – "you just feel quite horrid."
"There's something worse than that." Jin said suddenly. "Someone here is a murderer. For all I know, you could be the murderer."
The cheeriness swept off her face almost immediately.
"For all I know, you could be, too." She said gravely.
Together, they set back up to Quinn's hostel.
** **
Inspector Tatsuya sighed. After a terribly insistent cleaner-girl ("Please, sir! This room hasn't been cleaned in hours. I promise not to hear anything I'm supposed to; I'll just go about doing my job. I solemnly swear!"), a muffin-head boy with no sense of direction at all ("I'm sorry, I must've walked into the wrong room. I'll just go out now, no harm done!"), and a cocky gangster that tried to eavesdrop ("Who said I was eavesdropping? Who wants to hear anything, anyway?!"), he finally had the room empty for the inquiry.
"Jin. Tell us, did you overhear anything that passed between Sakuragi and Uozumi that night?"
"I'm not in the habit of eavesdropping, sir." Jin replied rather stiffly.
"No, no, of course not." Inspector Tatsuya said hastily. "But perhaps you overheard something – some words, a sentence – without intending to, of course."
Jin considered.
"I think – I do think that I heard the word 'sleep'."
"Sleep?" Tatsuya frowned.
"Sleep…" Rei muttered.
** **
Rika the cleaner sighed heavily.
"It's no good, all our attempts to pry haven't worked. And if the police were to rat on Aunt Mizuno about this, I'm done for!"
Rika was the girl with the fresh, gipsy face. She wasn't blessed with the head-turning kind of beauty, but nevertheless her perpetual exuberance was quite attractive. If there were any one adjective to describe her, it would be alive. She was so alive, there's no other word for it. It was as though she possessed an immense zest for life and living like nobody else had. She loved life.
Being cooped up in a small hostel in the outskirts for the summer vacations didn't dampen her spirits one bit. She had come to be of service to her Aunt Mizuno, and had hoped to earn some extra pocket money for the upcoming school term. And now, what with all this exciting murder business going on, making this trip proved to be the best decision of her life so far. Oh, what thrill! Exactly like one read in those detective stories. Now if only she could solve it…
"Let's go through the facts we have so far." Mitsui suggested, and retrieved from his pocket a rather crumpled piece of paper.
The Murder of Jun UozumiNear 10pm: Akira Sendoh brings up coffee.
10pm: Everyone goes down to watch TV except Akina. Rukawa whereabouts unknown. Sato Sensei's whereabouts unknown. Coffee has not been drunk, and is left unattended.
10.30pm: Everyone goes back up and resumes the game of Bridge. Everyone drinks coffee. Rukawa and Sato Sensei are not present.
12pm: Everyone goes back to their rooms except Miyagi and Sendoh. Both stay up to watch television
1am: Uozumi last seen alive by Sakuragi. Jin witnesses.
2-3am: The murderer (X) goes into Uozumi's room and gives him something to eat/drink.
4-5am: Uozumi dies of strychnine poisoning.
9.20am: Body found.
"Agree with the facts so far?" Mitsui asked.
His other two companions, Rika and Miyagi, murmured in assent.
"And now for our next step."
"Next step?"
"Yes," Mitsui said with a little nod. "Listen."
** **
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Mizuno. We've got pretty much all we want from here."
The competent Mrs. Mizuno nodded briskly.
"There will be an inquest three days from now. You will be required to give evidence."
"I understand."
"Well then, we're off. Mrs. Mizuno?"
"Inspector Tatsuya." Mrs. Mizuno bowed.
And finally, away went the police from the cursed hostel.
** **
The next morning, everyone roused at 9am as usual, and went down for breakfast. There was an air of false cheer at the table.
Akina was off to town, as usual. Sato Sensei was missing, too. So, when you put 9 young men together, what do you think will be their object of discussion?
"Yes, I think the female inspector's rather good-looking."
"Oh my god! No! She looks like a bullfrog; her eyes look like they're going to devour you."
"But Miss Shidou is very attractive – you agree?"
"Very!" Rika interjected, sounding very envious. "I think she's the loveliest, most elegant woman I've ever met."
A few of the boys at the table thought of Angelina Jolie, and disagreed with Rika's statement inwardly.
"Oh, that – of course. Too bad she's ancient!"
"26 is ancient?"
"Well, sort of, if you consider the fact that we're only 18! Except for Maki, of course."
Maki gave a sort of dry cough, clearly annoyed.
"Joking, joking."
This false cheer soon died away, almost inevitably, into a deafening silence. The air of death and gloom had re-established itself at the hostel.
** **
"What the devil are you doing here?" A man's voice floated to Jin, putting him in a very awkward position indeed. Eavesdropping wasn't exactly his favourite hobby.
Jin thought irritably: "Even while taking an innocent walk in the woods, I can be so unfortunate as to stumble upon a private conversation!"
Someone – a female voice – uttered a reply, which he couldn't hear.
"You'd better get out of here fast, I tell you! Before they get you!" The man's booming voice came again.
Jin twitched uncomfortably.
Again, that female's reply he couldn't hear.
"Now, now," the man's tone had changed into a soothing one now. "What good will it do, my girl? If you go to the police, we'll both get hauled in for it. So don't you do anything silly."
What she replied he could not hear.
"To hell with you!" The man cursed.
Footsteps told Jin that one of the persons – probably the man – was setting back up the cobble-stoned path. Not wanting to be seen, Jin hid behind a tree, and held his breath as the person swept past him.
When he was quite sure the person had passed, he looked to see who had been the man involved.
Sato Sensei.
"It's – it's you!" A girl exclaimed behind him. Jin whirled around. It was Rika, his morbid girl with the cheerful manner. Rika the cleaner-girl.
What had she and Sato Sensei been talking about? He then remembered Sato Sensei's words, if you go to the police, we'll both get hauled in for it…
Could it be that…?
"I – I…" He stammered.
"You!" She cried in disbelief, then tore wildly up the path, leaving him as though he had been turned to stone.
** **
Author's note:
Yeah, there'll be a Jin x OC thing. But it'll only be very, very slight romance. Too much of it gives me goosebumps =P
An outline of the inquest will be in the next chapter.
Please R&R!
xoxo,
qianhui
PS: thanks white meteor, eliar and Dinette for reviewing =D
Eliar – yes! I'd like to read your fic :)