Anime Murder 3
Day 7
An early morning starts with a knock on the front door at HQ and finds Neil Sanchez with news of a late night driving encounter.
"After I dropped of Yahiko back to headquarters last night. A white car with a broken headlight ran off my cab," said Neil, the car matches Sandra's missing car.
"The driver was Randy Silver. He drove off down the old fire road," said Neil.
A morning briefing that he has to have assigned his three teams.
Team 1 will include Conan, Ash and Sai Saici and their mission is to question Randy about his alibi and place a bug on him, and to stake him out to see if he leads them to Sandra's car.
Team 2 following up on the Randy Silver lead will be Team 2. They will stake out the fire road and look for Sandra's white car. They should be prepared to photograph anyone seen in the car. The night of the murders, the white car was stolen, so if the investigators can connect Randy with the car, they may have their killer. Team 2 will be assign to Li, Shute and Ulrich.
In the discussing the Killer clue brought back by Yahiko the night before, Andy informs the group that the severed fingers, a ring finger, and the pinky, definitely belong to Robert Smith. They were packed with mustard and oil, the old style way of preserving fish. The lab report on the finger reveal that they were treated with a chemical normally used in taxidermy.
As Erick Anderson the mayor of Moonlight is an expert in taxidermy. Team 3 will take the fingers to Erick Anderson to get his expert opinion. They are also to ask him about the Fishermen's logo on the sardine can the fingers were found in. This assignment will he handed to Yahiko and Jim. Andy must remind them that Erick Anderson is a suspect.
Team 1 finds Randy Silver at the hardware store.
"I haven't seen Sandra's car since the night of the murder," said Randy. He is still clearly devastated by the lost of his girlfriend. He explains how every weekend he and Sandra always went down and hug out at the pier. The night of the murders, he went to the Smith house to pick up Sandra. But upon arriving, he was confronted by an angry Robert Smith who said he had "a lot of nerve showing up there" and that he could never see Sandra again.
Randy's response was to tell Robert to let Sandra to make up her own mind. Sandra was disturbed by her father's outburst, especially when he pushed Randy away. When Randy tried to approach again, Robert picked up a tire iron and threatens him. Randy goes on to say that Robert told him that he was to old to date Sandra and that he was just using her.
Conan wonders away from the group and knocks down a stack of cans the far side of the isle. When Randy leave to counter for his help, Ash attaches a bug onto his jacket.
Team 3 arrives at the taxidermy shop, Yahiko and Jim shows to Anderson the finger. After giving Yahiko and Jim a tour, he agrees to examine the fingers.
"We aren't just dealing a murder, we are dealing a lunatic," said Erick.
Upon close examination of the fingers, the Mayor points out how the preservatives are evident on the outside of the fingers, but that there are no traces on the inside.
"Would you thus conclude that the entire body had been preserved rather than rather than the fingers?" ask Jim.
"If it's easy to get such preservatives?" ask Jim.
"You can get it over the Internet," said Erick.
"Can anyone else in the town does taxidermy?" ask Yahiko but the Erick's answer is 'no'.
6:14PM. Outside the hardware store, Ash, Conan, and Sai Saici hunker down a van and listens to Randy Sliver's movements. At the same time, Chief Timmy Ford picks arrives at HQ to pick up Li, Shute, and Ulrick and drives them out side fire road to look for Sandra's car. It's dark by the time they arrive and they set up camp on the side of the road, standing ready for the cameras. A while later, there is a movement in the woods and they don't know what it is.
Li, Ulrick and Shute explore and discover the "tuxedo men" walking around in the woods.
"Those tuxedo men always seem to be one step ahead of us," said Ulrich.
Back in town, Randy is on the move, leaving the hardware store and heading down the street to the Moonlight Cafe owned by Laura Powers and Calvin Brown which they are both suspects. Ash leaves the van to get a better look. Inside the restaurant, Jimmy is at the bar getting drunk, and Janet Mitchell is getting hanging all over him. The investigators are shocked that Sandra's best friend would be flirting with her boyfriend soon after she died.
As Ash watches from across the street, Kelly Baker the town reporter and a suspect, exits the Moonlight Cafe. He walks up the street where Laura Powers. Laura is clearly upset and pushes Kelly away when he tries to talk to her.
As Kelly watches Laura, Kelly notices a white van and walks right up to it. Opening the door and he tells Conan and Sai Saici that he doesn't appreciate being spied on but Conan tells them that they aren't spying on him. He says he'll save them some time and legwork and offers up his alibi for night of the murder.
"I have to put my daughter to bed around 8:30PM, then had a little fight with his wife and left home to his boathouse at 11:30PM. I'd stayed there until 5:30AM when he came back home and started his day," said Kelly then leaves the van and storms off.
11:02PM Randy Silver and Janet Mitchell leave the cafe and walk couple of blocks to Janet Mitchell's house. Ash follows by foot, staying in touch with Conan and Sai Saici via radio. Once inside, Randy and Janet appears in an upstairs window and things start to get steamy.
At 2:56AM, an unidentified person in a black jacket with a hood pulled up and exits Janet Mitchell's house. Ash can still sees Randy inside, so they assume it is Janet Mitchell who as left, she gets in her car and left.
At 4:07AM, dawn is beginning to break. Li sees a car coming towards them fast so Shute and Ulrich gets ready. They take the picture while the car speeds up but unable to identify the driver but they can identify it was Sandra Smith's car. They report this to HQ.
Day 8
At 7:30AM Chief Timmy Ford picks up Li, Shute and Ulrich. He reports a little while ago, someone saw Sandra's car a half a mile off the end of the pier, stuck in mud flats. They are going to go get the car. At the mud flats, Ford says the investigators will have to check the car out fast. There is a 23 foot variant in the tied and that the car will soon be underwater again. Team 2 trudges their way through the thick mud, find the car, gather evidence, take pictures and head out as the tide starts to come in again.
10:34AM Teams 2 and 3 are back at HQ while Team 1 is still out there. Jim reports that when they questioned Erick Anderson about the sardine logo, he informed them that it was from the Fishermen's Cannery back in 1940's when it was own by Eric Rose, Daniel McKay and Arnold Smith, he says, sold his share of the business to be run by Arnold Smith.
"Ford had said that he'd seen the logo from the can before on the back of Paul Dixon's jacket. Dixon was a partner with Arnold Smith and his son, Robert Smith, when Robert was murdered. Dixon is well known to the town and wants to develop the waterfront area of Moonlight, and his plan has polarized the community," said Andy.
At 3:00PM a town hall meeting where Paul will officially unveil his plans to the town council. Andy suggests the investigators attend to see what unfolds. At the meeting, Dixon tells the audience that he has petitioned Carmen Rose to sell him a parcel of the land she owns which is next to the airport. The airport expansion is a key part of his development plans.
As Dixon speaks, however one of the tuxedo men in attendance inserts videotape into a VCR and General Daniel McKay's face appears on the TV screen. Just as he had done at the funeral, he done to the town if Dixon is to allow continuing with is development of the old Fishermen's Cannery. He suggests instead, what the town needs is a maritime museum to preserve the heritage of Moonlight.
While Dixon is mad, Carmen Rose is clearly affected by seeing McKay, even on a TV screen. She says that she not yet decided whether to sell her land to Dixon.
At 4:13PM, Tina Dixon drives a flatbed truck with Sandra's car on it, into the parking lot next to the Fishermen statue in the center of town. When Randy sees Sandra's car he gets upset and begins to cry. Janet hugs him, but rather than accept her comfort, he pushes her away.
Janet ask Randy what's wrong Randy freaks out and says "What do you mean, what's wrong. Sandra's dead," said Randy.
"What about last night?" ask Janet.
"There was no last night," said Randy then Janet starts to get upset.
Janet tries again to sooth Randy saying "See me as Sandra," said Janet.
"You want to see Sandra? You want to see Sandra? She's gone you psycho bitch," yelled Randy then he attacks Janet while a crowd tries to strangle Randy. Inside the van, the investigators cannot believe what they are seeing then they went back to HQ.
Day 9
At the morning briefing, the group discusses their findings. The come to Janet Mitchell, they determine seems to want take a place of Sandra, not in Randy's life, but also in the eyes of the town. They will continue to keep an eye on her.
Kelly Baker, it seems, definitely seems had it out for Robert Smith as he was writing an article revealing that Fishermen's Aquaculture was on the verge of bankruptcy. Robert Smith filed two libel lawsuits; one against the Moonlight Sky Newspaper and one against Kelly Baker's personally. Kelly also informs the investigators that he has an stronger dislike for Paul Dixon, stating the Dixon is "a crook as Robert Smith was stupid."
As for the evidence collected from Sandra's car, the investigators found a purse containing fourteen $2 bills, each tamped in red ink with the name "City of Williamsburg," Andy tells them it's a city next door to Moonlight across the bay.
Also, at the Town Hall meeting, Shute talked with Dixon who confirmed that the logo on his jacket was the Fishermen's logo. The same, Andy points out, as the logo on the sardine can containing Robert Smith's fingers.
The group finds another red and blue envelope tied to the Fishermen's statue. The Killer's game is close at hand. Andy opens the red envelope and reads the killer's question: "What is the tidal variation in Moonlight?"
Li immediately put his hands to his eyes in deep thought. The rest of the group is stumped and have no idea.
"Ford was telling me it was 23 feet," said Li.
Then the group just goes with 23 and he's correct and the killer clears Carmen Rose off the suspect list.
That evening, the tuxedo men station around HQ. The investigators have to vote again and send to people out tonight.
"The investigators have chosen Sai Saici and Yahiko," said Andy then he gives two smaller blue envelopes and Sai Saici is heading for the Moonlight Garden on 3rd Ave and Yahiko is heading the Moonlight Opera Theater.
Ash, Conan and Li are mad that Yahiko has go for the 2nd time in a row.
Yahiko enters the booth for his last will and testament in case he doesn't come back.
"So this my second time going out to find the killers clue or find the killer him or herself. This was a fun life for me and I would never thought it would end soon but everyone must die as some point, just some sooner than others. If I'm dead I won't able to admit my feelings for my girl named Tsubame and I hope you tell her in case I'm dead. Tell my friends back home and Tsubame that I'll always be there for them. See all you in heaven," said Yahiko then leaves then Sai Saici enters the booth.
"This means that I'm going to find the clue or find my death. This going to be scary for the Moonlight Garden on 3rd Ave and me sounds like I'm going to die there. If that the case then tell Cecil Holgar that I will always love her even that I'm dead and tell her brother that he can take my place as the Ace of Clubs. Well that's all I can say," said Sai Saici then left.
Late at night, Yahiko (barefoot) is being taken to the drop-off at the old gazebo across the street of the old Moonlight Opera Theater. Sai Saici arrives at the Moonlight Garden on 3rd Ave. Back at HQ the team is wondering how much luck that Yahiko walking back here again.
In the theater, Yahiko winds his way from room to until reaching the auditorium, where a projector is flashing away in the giant, smoke filled room. Meanwhile, Sai Saici is left off in the street barefooted where he winds then he enters the Garden gates and starts searching. Then he enters a greenhouse and starts searching there.
Yahiko makes his way across a stage and past roes of chairs where he finds a small room behind the curtains. On the far side of the room is the trademark of the giant X. At the Garden the Sai Saici sees the same giant X. Then they both approach their X one of them yells for help then a flash and a loud bang.
Back at HQ footsteps can be heard from the staircase and Yahiko appears in their sights with the X with the bloody flowers and a new killer clue. That means Sai Saici is dead.
Ash, Conan, and Li congratulate Yahiko's return and seem to be there's two sides in the group.