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Two weeks had passed since the first two murders. The police had been all over it, but there was still no clues. Worse of worse, the bullet that killed Tsukino-san was missing. And during the panic of Aino-san's death, the poisonous teaball had disappeared. They had very little evidence to work on.
And so they'd called in the big guns, they'd contacted American authorities for help and they were sending a pair of partners who might prove useful. One officer remained at the headquarters at all times while the other did undercover digging. The homebound cop's name was Miharu Reinhart, and she was only twenty-six years old.
"The girls have no enemies, but they're being picked off. Doesn't that seem odd to anyone?" The young officer asked, staring at the murder scene pictures. Her Japanese was fluent and perfect, but then, she could have easily passed as a Japanese citizen.The customs and traditions were all there, they'd been told, Miharu's mother had been Japanese. "We've looked into that. Right now we think it's the boyfriend, Chiba-san. I think he had a thing for the blondes." A helpful officer informed her and she pushed aside the scene pictures to reveal the files underneath it.
"Chiba, Chiba... Aha." With a winning smile, she yanked the folder from the mess of them, and flipped it open while kicking backwards in her chair towards the filing cabinets. "Orphan, twenty-three years old... no obvious job. How's he getting money, anyone know?" Reinhart called out, and the sargent gave her a look, replying, "The Chiba kid? I don't know, we never looked into it." She met his inquistive gaze head on with her coolly pleased one, "Look into now."
"Hey Reinhart-san, you've got an admirer."
The catcalls started, and she glanced over the counter behind the cabinets to see a taller woman standing there, looking unsure. Her teal colored hair was brushed and pulled back in a classic French twist. With her hawk's eye, Reinhart noticed that her nails were freshly manicured and that her outfit was more than casual. With a quirk to her brow, the officer took control of the situation, having already recognized the individual.
"Kaiou-san, what can I do for you?"
The woman looked at her, clearly startled, and opened her mouth.
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Ami had cried the entire night after Minako fell dead, and the following three nights and days as well. Amazingly enough, she had been reduced to sniffles and red eyes for the next week, unable to logically think and deduce the problems laid before her. Rei, that morning, had put her hand on the genius' shoulder and kindly suggested she take some time to herself. 'Thanks Rei-chan,' Ami thought to herself as she looked into the mirror, 'I need it.'
The Priestess and her Grandfather had moved in with Ami until the temple was released again to them, it being the place of Mina-chan's death. Her eyes watered again, how she could cry even now was beyond her. By practiced routine alone, Ami managed to slip into her bathing suit and grab her towel.
Her favorite public pool was empty, as it was late at night, and she sighed, dropping her head. She liked the idea of being alone, if only for a little. Slowly, she slid into the water and started her laps as a warm-up, and when she felt more in tune with the water, she rose to the high dive.
She should have seen it coming.
One minute she was diving, elegantly, from her board, and the next, she was hitting the water at thirty miles per hour in an awkward angle. The water slowly began to turn red from the two bleeding holes on the now dead swimmer. A pair of bullets, one through her heart, the other through her forehead, had ensured she never need cry again.
The police would look over it later and puzzle over it until their wizkid showed up to reveal how it most likely happened.
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The police were back again, and this time, they were taking all of the remaining group into custody for questioning. Rei noticed one officer who stood out, a rather plain looking young woman who was giving all the orders. 'She's very young to be in charge,' the Priestess thought randomly to herself, and as if she'd heard the private thought, the officer trained her gaze on Rei.
"Hino-san, you're next." She was told, and she reacted impulsively, her eyes growing large, "Next? I can't die yet!" Setsuna and Haruka gently restrained the struggling Rei and it was Setsuna who told her the news, "Ami-chan's been murdered... and they're looking at us as the suspects. All of us." The fight went out of Rei and she stared at Setsuna, slack-jawed, and wide eyed. "A- A- Ami-chan?"
The young officer crossed the void between them, brushing past others before the sharp brown eyes locked on Rei Hino. Rei shivered and curled deeper between Haruka and Setsuna, seeking some security from the older Senshi. "Hino-san, I'd like to do this in private. Do you feel capable?" Her jaw still hanging from the revelation, Rei could do nothing more than stare at her, and realizing the situation, the officer tried to smile. The effort made her much prettier, dimples should be a weapon.
"I'm Officer Reinhart, Hino-san, and all I want to do is talk and see if I can't get to the bottom of this before one of your friends is killed next." Rei gulped when Reinhart's vision narrowed to scrutinize her, and turned ashen when she said, "It might just be you next, Hino-san. Let's try to prevent this."
"Miharu-chan, hey Miharu-chan!" The officer swung her hawk gaze off Rei, and Rei finally found the moment to breath, and then lost it as a redheaded young woman came sprinting down the way towards Officer Reinhart. "Naru-chan, I thought you were covering elsewhere?" Reinhart said with a blink, her body still facing the group of confused suspects while her head turned, eyes looking over her shoulder. Naru Osaka didn't even look at the suspects, she just stopped beside Miharu Reinhart and giddily started talking.
"I figured out how they killed her, Miharu-chan, and you won't believe it! It's virtually impossible for us to trace them, but Kami-sama, these murderers have skill and imagination! You have to have some respect for the detail they..." Naru trailed off as Miharu jerked her head to the side, and the excited partner followed the head jerk to the group of furious women. "Oh, I didn't see you. Please excuse my rush of adrenaline, but the precision and skill level displayed demands respect."
Haruka's fingers curled and uncurled, clenching into fists while her teeth gritted. "I can't believe you can even say that," she spouted angrily, and Naru looked at her disdainfully, "Excuse me? I ought to be getting back to the murder scene, Miharu-chan, if you'll stop by in half an hour I can demonstrate how they did it. It's really amazing!" Miharu Reinhart looked to Naru's back as she walked away, and then at the gathered group on enraged women. "I'll be back to question you later, right now is important we understand how your friend was murdered." She told them, watching the twitching eyes on Rei and Haruka.
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"How did they do it, Naru?"
The simple question set her long term partner off on another adrenaline pumping lap that Miharu could hardly keep up with if she hadn't adapted to it. The redhead was swimming in the pool's heated water, a thing that the brunette wasn't sure she should be doing, but had joined in anyways. A few minutes passed before Miharu turned over on her back, stroking the water while eyeing Naru's long red hair spread silkily in the depths of liquid.
"Go up to the high dive, Miharu-chan." Naru instructed as she came to finishing a lap, haulling herself up against the edge of the pool beneath the diving boards. Curious as to her motives for the order, Miharu pulled herself out of the warm water and shivered at the sudden cool air. Nonetheless, she climbed the ladder up to the high dive and stared twenty feet down, fingers gripping the side rails.
She mused to herself outloud as she spotted the viewing room directly parallel to the high board, "They shot her and then pushed her in?" Naru's voice rang out from far beneath her, "Nope, try again! Actually, go to the end of the board and look down."
Thoughtfully, and carefully, Miharu made her way towards the edge of the diving board, her slight fear setting in as she looked down. Naru's hair slowly came into view as she swam on her back out from beneath the board, her arm pointed up at Miharu as if she had a gun.
"Bang. Bang." Naru cheerfully exclaimed to put emphasize her point, and her partner's eyes went huge in her head. Quietly, she said, "They swam beneath her as she was diving, and shot her? She never saw it coming, poor girl." The redhead shrugged, and swam back towards the edge where she reached for a towel.
It was silent for a few minutes as Miharu came down and Naru towelled off. "So, the bullets should be in the ceiling." Miharu commented, and Naru thought about it carefully before she gave a quick nod. "You're right, they should be." Silence reigned again, and the brunette looked up suddenly as a thought occured to her, "Naru-chan, how do you know that's how the victim was murdered?"
Naru slid into her pants and zipped them up over her bathing suit, saying, "The way she fell, the bruising on her body from falling and the entry/exit levels in the body. Both shots were extremely straight." As Naru slid on her tanktop and then buttoned her vest over it, Miharu commented quietly, "That's some detective work."
"Isn't it though?" Naru replied cheerfully, looking up at her partner with a wide grin.
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Duo relaxed onto Heero's lap, his grin covering the whole lower half of his face. Together, with an oddly silent Quatre, they were occupying the living room of their 'house'. The blonde was reading through his emails, stopping every so often to reply to one. Finally, he stopped and looked up, his jaw clenching in a rage that was unusual for the timid and meek one.
"What's up, Q-chan?" Duo quieried, and Quatre turned the death glare on him, "The client says to be more creative. We've just lost money for using a gun twice." Heero cursed.
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AT: I'm mixing it up a little. Review please.
