Ready for more? Here comes the first chapter .

AN EYE FOR A P. I.

CHAPTER ONE

DRESSING FOR SUCCESS

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino yelled from the den. "C'mon now. We're going to miss the lunch hour at this rate."

Wouldn't you believe it? Me, Haruka Suzushiro, the infamous dame that always thinks on her two feet was slowing around in her very room. Darn it all. I can't decide what footwear to go to lunch with. I've already dressed up in an orange cotton shirt and a long black skirt that you had to zip up at the back. Now I couldn't decide whether to wear a pair of sandals, tennis shoes or a pair of leather knee high boots. I was brooding over my decision longer than I expected. "Hey Yukino? Could you come here for a second?"

A few pitter-patter of her small feet resounded throughout the den and a moment later she was outside my room looking inside. "What is it?"

I took a hard gaze at the trio of footwear that was currently my dilemma. Yukino knew what was going on in my head. "What do you think?"

She prodded her chin in thought. That's how we were when it comes to fashion. "Hmm. If it was up to me... I'll have to go with the boots." She relayed. "It gives off a sense of class."

"The hell are you talking about, Yukino?" I demanded. Is she trying to tell me something? "I'm always classy." I may be a detective that's a little rough around the edges but I also took a lot of pride in my femininity. Even that Kuga girl took pride in hers every once in a while and she's as butch as they come. Jeez!

Yukino giggled. She was in a joking mood this afternoon. "Hey, it's your story. You decide."

I closed my eyes and nodded in meditation. "Okay. The boots it is then." I confirmed.

"Somehow I knew that you're going to say that." Yukino pointed out.

I blushed. I swear that girl has the divine gift of clairvoyance sometimes. "Whatever." I remarked as I slid my feet into the smooth boots. "Let's get going."

Right. I'm going to meet up with my informer and my college flame at the very same place today. Things are definitely going to be interesting for sure.

PRIVATE DETECTIVE SUZUSHIRO

The Taste of Mexico was an one hundred percent authentic Mexican restaurant. It wasn't one of those heavily commercialized imitations like Taco Bell, or worse-- Burrito Toll. This was the real thing So once you step inside this restaurant, you're literally going to get a taste of the delicacies of the said beautiful country. It is obvious that this place is highly successful since it started business here over fifteen years ago. It was still lunchtime... and the place was packed like a group of developed muscles.

"Wow..." Yukino uttered in awe. Her wide eyes were littered with stars and her mouth was agape. Her stomach growled loudly and it sounded like rolling thunder at a distance.

I waved my right hand over her face, "Hello?" I wondered. "Anyone in there?"

I couldn't even spot Chie nor Reito anywhere in this restaurant among the sea of people. This is just great! I've been stood up by both of them. Why would they tell me to meet them here if they know that they're not going to show up? Damn! And what's worse... I'm not exactly a patient person.

"Excuse me miss?" A young Hispanic male addressed me. He was impeccably multilingual. "Would you be dining in or would you like a carryout?"

"Uh... hold on a second would cha?" I assured him. I was trying my best to spot either Reito or Chie. This was like finding a needle in a haystack! There's still no sign of them. That is until...

My cell phone began vibrating. It's another text message from her.

I'm looking dead at you, ya know? It read.

What the hell? Where was she then? I didn't fell like playing games with her. I looked around frantically until I noticed that there was a strange glow of blue light underneath an oversized sombrero in the smoking section of the restaurant. Could it be? "That could be... you know who." Yukino guessed as she scratched her nose.

"You think?" I was growing ever more impatient. Another text message appeared.

Well? Aren't you're going to come over here or not?

I blushed in embarrassment and turned to face the waiter. "We will be dining in after all."

"What would you ladies like to drink?" The young man asked us as we went to sit at the table with Chie.

I told him that I'd like green tea and Yukino went with a caffeine free lemon lime soda. Chie tilted her head up a little with a confident smirk and took a sip of that salty ass margarita in front of her. The informant was a tomboyish but an attractive woman. Chie was the inquisitive but calculative. I've known her since junior high and even back then that I thought that she was some kind of secret agent. She pressed her neat little glasses up her small nose-- a gesture that she knew something juicy and she's just itching to share it with someone.

"Hello there, guys." She handed Yukino and I a menu. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" Her voice was femininely deep, like a singer. She always had such a voice. She sounded like a butch pre-adolescent boy but the pitch was far more dulcet.

"What's up? What business do you have for us this time?" I had my arms crossed over my chest. The waiter returned with a basket of tortilla chips and salsa dip along with the drinks Yukino and I ordered. I told him I would like a Tortoise (Haruka, you mean Tortas). Yukino ordered a Mexican salad with extra tomatoes and Chie ordered a steak Chimichanga with nacho rice as a side.

Chie's expression calcified and her eyes became shifty just like those gangsters in the old American movies from the forties she enjoys watching. She snaked her right hand underneath the sombrero on her head to retrieve a photo and slid it across the table towards me. The person in the photo... I'm afraid I haven't seen him before. "So, what is this guy's story?"

"You certainly know the celebrities Satoshi Nagai and his wife, Kaoru Nagai don't you?" She asked us. Their names were familiar. I knew I heard of them before.

"Hmm, the couple are famous clothing designers if I'm not mistaken," Yukino snatched the words straight out of my mouth. "Their designs has always been the rage among high school students."

Chie nodded, which confirmed that Yukino was right but I had to know what they had to do with the guy in the photo. "What they have to do with this guy then? Tell a fool something."

"Ah, the man that you're looking at is their nephew, Yoshio Kimura," the oldest of us revealed. "Although he isn't exactly what you would call a celebrity, he is incredibly rich however. He's a real ladies man and he is also a big time criminal in disguise."

Did she say, 'big time criminal?' My friend Chie had business for me after all. I can feel a smile forming on my lips. "You don't say?"

"It's always the cutest ones being the bad guys," Yukino commented while she was admiring Yoshio on the photo.

Something about this bugged me though. "Does anyone know that this guy is a full fledge criminal?" My voice was low. Although I should have known better. His aunt and uncle are celebrities and he has done well in keeping himself hidden in their shadows. A criminal couldn't get any craftier than that. "I mean, the law is aware of this right?"

Chie considered the question thoughtfully before answering. "There... is a slim chance that they are but it is unlikely. You know how the law works. You're going to need concrete evidence."

"And that's exactly what they're going to get," I finished. "I'm going to investigate this."

"That's the Haruka that I know!" Chie chuckled, then she took on a somber expression. "I just hope that you haven't gotten rusty, Haruka. I'm counting on you."

I sensed something in Chie's eyes but I didn't know what it was exactly. I wonder if this was personal. "Of course not. I haven't pampered in the least." I said confidently. "I'm always at the peak of my form."

Yukino sipped all her soda a little too fast, "It's 'I haven't hampered in the least'." The literary Nazi corrected.

"Ugh! Stop that, Yukino!"

She could only laugh at my annoyance.

"Here," said Chie as she fished in her purse. She handed me a thick wad of bills. "Twenty-five thousand for you." This was a first for me. Chie was my informant but she only tells me clues of criminal activities and whereabouts but she never paid me before. Right now, whatever business it was with Yoshio I knew it was personal.

"So, you're my client in this case." I commented instead of asking.

Chie nodded seriously, gazing at both Yukino and I. "Because of him, a friend of mine has been missing for nearly two weeks now."

All I could say was, "Whoa..." I was surprised that my voice lilted considerably when I said it too.

"Gosh," said Yukino. "Nothing is as what it seems."

At that moment, the waiter returned to the table with our lunch. "Here you go ladies. Enjoy your meal."

Chie relished the scent of her meal. "It's high time that we dig in," she said. I could tell that she was waiting to eat for a long time. "I'll give you details after lunch, alright?"

And now, "Afternoon, ladies." A devil disguised in human flesh greeted. "You're having lunch without me?" He asked, mostly directed towards me.

Chie blushed and made sitting space for him. "Howdy partner." She was quite adept at analyzing men with a mere glance and discovering their worth. Reito, however, was a different story. Chie tried many, many times to figure out the man that I used to date back in college. Like Shrek said, he's an onion. He has several layers. He can be a knight in shining armor, a player, and a hauntingly formidable fighter all at the same time. "What brings you down here in this neck of the woods?"

Reito chuckled with good humor. He looked good in his black slacks and red casual button down shirt. "What else I would come to a restaurant for? I'm hungry."

The police lieutenant sat next to Chie. "Eh? That's not the only thing that you came here for?" Chie quipped, enjoying to be in the demi-god's presence. "That's a pretty nice fragrance you're wearing? What is that? Body oil or something?"

"It's called Conviction." He replied. "You like the fragrance huh?"

"It's really pleasant. too." Yukino added. "You used only a little of it instead of defeating the purpose by applied too much of it on your body."

Chie sipped her margarita and a mischievous laugh escaped her lips. "You're right about that, Yukino. And the fragrance has a tendency to linger too. Why, I could have swore that Haruka had that fragrance on her clothes one night."

Yukino snorted. Reito seemed surprised for the first time in his life and my face burned as red as a beet. "Chie!" I practically barked out over the crowd of voices in the restaurant. "Don't say a thing like that!"

Okay, okay... it's true that I've dated Reito in the past but not once have we ever had-- "You guys are still full of jokes," Reito said with a grin, "as usual."

Reito and I never did 'anything' together but I'm not going to let Chie know that. If anything, our relationship was mostly platonic... even if... I did resisted the countless urges to jump his bones with the many opportunities I had. Damn. I still have them even to this day. "Uh... enough talking Chie. We're doing more of that than we are eating." I snatched the huge sandwich from my plate and took a big bite out of it. Reito called the waiter and told him that he will be joining us for lunch.

Chie was possibly drunk. She was smothering him with affection.

I'm definitely going to have a word with Chie later today.

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SUZUSHIRO

"Ah, home sweet home!" I exclaimed with a full stomach. I parked the blue Navigator in front of the garage to our apartment. Chie followed us from the restaurant in her Nissan and parked at the driveway. Hmm... she wasn't drunk at all. Reito said that he will swing by later. He's now aware of the case that we're working on and he wants something to do in his spare time.

"You sounded like you've been away from home for a long time." Yukino joked. She popped a sugar free gum in her maw. "I wonder if I've put on some weight from that big salad."

Chie unintentionally slammed her car door and locked it. "Right now, we need to get to the drawing board. You know, to come up with a game plan on how to apprehend our dear Yoshio."

Yukino hopped out the passenger seat and shut the door. "He's having a party tonight, right?" She wondered. "He lives the life for it too. His parties are known to be highly lavish."

"Yeah. And it no mystery to us that he's going to be slinging major dope." Said Chie with a hand cupping her chin in thought. "The hard part is getting the tangible evidence as I said before. For all we know he could have a closet full of that stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, he's a big drug pusher under wraps." I shrugged. "Now what about this missing person you've mentioned? That is... if this person is still alive."

Chie stiffened and a long uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment. I've pressed a button. Whoever this person was must be very important to her. I never known Chie to be so... so... somber. "I guess we'll find out in the meantime."

"Oh..." My voice was lilted and childish once again.

"Come on, now. Let's get inside so we can decide what you're going to wear to that part as a disguise." That infamous grin returned to her face.

I wondered if I heard her right. "Huh? Say what now?"

"Yeah Haruka-chan," Yukino supported, taking on an European accent that I couldn't exactly pinpoint. "You're going to be the lady of the evening."

"Um hmm. Since you're such a well known private eye in these parts, you're going to that party and flush the bad guys out." Chie was laughing now. "You're going to have a lot of fun!"

I nodded rebelliously against their idea. This little plan of theirs had definitely caught me off guard. "I am not going to socialize with criminals!" I reasoned-- at least, tried to.

"It's your job. You have to." Chie countered. "Wow. Maybe you have gotten a little rusty, Haruka."

I stammered. "But, but--"

Chie was behind me, examining my butt and whistling with sarcasm. "You have a lot of it too. Girl, you have the bone structure of a French woman."

"That's nonsense!" I retorted with my nose in the air like a high school preppie. "I'm part Greek!"

"You don't have to necessarily socialize with them, Haruka-chan." Yukino explained. "You have to feign like you are communicating with them. Why else would you call it going undercover? Besides, you're the right person for busting Kimura's party tonight."

"What is this?" I wondered aloud while unlocking the apartment door. "You're saying that I go in there disguised as... as a... bimbo?"

"Bingo!" Chie exclaimed and sat on the couch.

"You have to do what you must do," Yukino followed. I swear! These two geeks must enjoying sensing my discomfort in all of this. Yukino headed to her room in snickers and Chie took out a cigarette and lit it, violating rule number one in my side of the apartment.

"Hey! No smoking in my house!" I told her.

Chie feigned innocence, "What? It's only a Winston. Now if I was about to smoke some weed in here then that would be a different story." She went on and took a chief on it anyway. "Wouldn't you think? I've been smoking since eighth grade."

"I know that," I retold in annoyance. "You used to hit one everyday after lunchtime and you've threatened to beat up any of the would be 'snitches' that told on you."

"Yeah," Chie sighed. "Those were the days." She continues to puff smoke in my room and I had just about enough of it! I quickly strode over to her and snatched the cigarette from her fingers. "Hey! Cigarettes are not exactly cheap you know."

"Chie, respect my house," I told her in a voice that brooded no sort of argument. "Besides, these things would kill me before it would you. Second hand smoke is a bitch."

"Humph! Whatever..." Chie pouted.

Yukino returned to the scene. "Guys, I found the hard dye!"

I stared at Yukino in disbelief. "What are you're going to do with that, Yukino?"

"Wow! You really are a quick thinker, Yukino." Chie applauded.

"Yeah, but... what's up with the hair dye?" I wondered in pure befuddlement.

"We're going to apply it on you, silly!" Chie confirmed in a surprisingly giddy voice. Imagine... Yukari Tanazaki on E. Yeah, that kind of giddy.

"Bullshit..." Just great, they're planning on dying my beautiful golden locks. They'll never take me alive.

"First, we're going to find out what outfit that you're going to wear for tonight's activities." Yukino informed me while failing miserably to suppress her mirth. "In this case it's going to be something preferably for a woman that enjoys the life of the party."

"Um hmm," Chie was making an hourglass gesture with her hands. "You're gonna let it all hang out."

My friends... Chie Harada and Yukino Kikukawa were grinning like devils on the verge of feasting on a lost soul. At times like these I have to curse my naturally good looks. "Someone put me out of my misery," I sighed. "Now."

END OF CHAPTER ONE

NEXT TIME:

After all the torment I've been through I finally set out to investigate Yoshio Kimura's party at a Western-styled mansion in the south of the city. Of course, his party seems like every other ordinary parties with rich people, partygoers... and possibly underage girls. Attending the party undercover as a 'woman that enjoys the life of the party', I found a startling discovery. Whoa, this guy is just as bad as Chie said. And that's not all folks: I also found the body of Chie's missing friend. She's the daughter of a high ranking Marine officer, Aoi Senou. I really got my work cut out ahead of me. Plus, being a brunette is really growing on to me. Will I survive the night in one piece? So much for enjoying a challenge. Jeez!

AN EYE FOR A P. I.

CHAPTER TWO

BRUNETTE OR BUST