A/N: Still trying to figure out what kind of plot I should give my vampire love story. Writer's block is a pain in the ass.
Chapter 15: Death Dénouement
"She has marks all around her neck. Looks like someone must've strangled her from behind with a rope or perhaps even a wire," said the medical examiner.
Those words awakened a new shameful sense of responsibility in Hiyori as she stared at the unmoving figure, covered with a sheet. Bitter self-reproaches left her lips.
"It is not your fault, Hiyori-sama. You could not have foreseen this," Sergeant Tanaka said.
Slamming her fist against the wall, the ebony-haired girl cried, "And that is exactly what makes me sore. I should have known!"
She could feel Kanami's gentle palm placed on her shoulder. "Do not blame yourself, Hiyori-chan. Sergeant Tanaka is right. None of this is your fault."
Around them and throughout the many other rooms of Rui Qin's apartment, police were conducting a thorough search. There was no sign of the weapon, leading them to guess the murderer took it with him. The rest of the residential skyscraper was in a state of confusion and fear, as questions were asked to every tenant.
Strangely throughout this whole ordeal, Inspector Etou was unusually quiet—almost aloof. Every so often, he would murmur something under his breath, not loud enough to be heard by anyone. Superintendent Mizobata did not question his employee's abnormal behaviour. He had worked with the inspector long enough to know that the best thing to do was to not interrupt his thoughts.
"These have obviously been purposefully burnt," the superintendent said, as he crouched down in front of the fireplace.
They appeared to be the remains of some documents. Too burnt to be of any use.
"Someone didn't want Ueda-san to investigate Ms. Chen's apartment," Kanami said aloud. "Someone who was at that dinner table."
Speaking for the first time since arriving, Inspector Etou said slowly, "Ueda-san was only able to mention something about Vancouver..."
"Weren't Yanase Chisaki and her mother planning to go to Vancouver?" Hiyori asked. "Ueda Momoko did tell us that she and her daughter liked going to that city for vacations. Wait—I think I also remember Yanase Kentaro say during luncheon that he was moving to Canada. Do you think he was going to Vancouver?"
Nobody made an answer to this, too preoccupied with their own unanswered questions. Turning her gaze away from Momoko's body, Kanami asked, "Hiyori-chan, in what order did everyone leave the table?"
Exhaling and closing her eyes, Hiyori replayed the memories in her brain. "Um...first it was Ueda Momoko, then Mai and her parents, then Yanase Kentaro, Louis Moreau, and then the Yukimuras."
"Do you think this has something to do with Chen Rui Qin's money scam business?" Sergeant Tanaka asked. "Perhaps her providers or patrons?"
Inspector Etou turned to Superintendent Mizobata. "Has the station reviewed any of those yet?"
"Yes, in fact, I think I have the list with me now." The superintendent brought out a little notebook from the inside of his jacket. "Um, let's see here. We have The Cresent, Goldford Manor, Silver Gardens General Hospital, yadda yadda yadda..."
His eyes widened with sudden attention. "...and the Creek Stone Hotel."
Kanami, who had been pacing up and down, stopped in her tracks at the familiar name. "Isn't that the same hotel Ueda-san said she was scammed at?!"
Getting straight down to business like the quick-thinking girl she was, Hiyori was already searching up the hotel on her phone. The website seemed normal enough. An overview of the hotel, what kinds of rooms and suites one could reserve, dining options, facilities and—
Her body becoming cold, Hiyori read aloud, "Famed for its elegance and for being the Creek Stone Hotel's top attraction, the Fétique Casino was founded in 1998. It is now owned by Moreau Entertainment Industries."
"Louis Moreau..." Inspector Etou growled.
Unlike most of those at the luncheon, Louis Moreau had enjoyed himself thoroughly. He chuckled to himself as he made his way through the Haneda Airport. Already he got past customs. The Frenchman heard that when Rui Qin was arrested, she hadn't even made it to the check-in area. Pity that his former provider was now behind bars. There went one of his money providers. And then with that Momoko woman... Things were getting too close to a shave. Louis knew that was his signal to leave immediately. Unlike Rui Qin, he was confident. If the police ever found out, his plane would already be in the air.
Louis pulled his coat tighter around himself as he headed towards the gate where his plane was. He felt a bit bad for poor Yanase Touko; she was such a charming yet, ailing woman. It would've been nice to attend that tea party, but she would get over his absence.
Just as he was nearing his gate, the Frenchman heard running footsteps. Many of them. Whipping around, he saw the four investigators and a bunch of police sprinting at him full-speed through the crowd.
'Sacrament!' Louis swore, before dashing off in a different direction, abandoning his luggage.
Behind him, he could hear Superintendent Mizobata yelling, "Stop in the name of the law!"
The chase was officially on. Any attempts of fleeing the country had been thrown out the window. Now Louis's only hope was to outspeed his pursuers and find some other safe haven, despite how hopeless the situation was.
"Kanami! Go with Hiyori-sama up the escalators and see if you can flank him!" Inspector Etou ordered.
"On it!"
Activating their utsushi, the two Tojis sped forward, aided by their Jin'i. It was like the speed of lightning how they sprang in front of the culprit, who let out an alarmed yelp.
"Give it up, Monsieur," Hiyori warned, pointing her okatana at him.
His eyes full of rage and defiance, Louis glared at the two Tojis before looking back at the approaching police. He, Louis Moreau, was an honourable man. Never would he die the death of a criminal!
"Au revoir, Mademoiselle Hiyori," he sighed, before running towards the balcony beside the escalator.
"Monsieur, no!"
But it was too late. Just as Hiyori's fingers desperately reached to grab him, Louis was already in a freefall. Down, down, down he plummeted...before crashing heavily to the ground, dead.
After Kanami had finished her homework that night, she sat with Sanae and Hiyori in the latter's bedroom. Pulling her bathrobe tighter around her, the Origami Head said, "I think you should start the story first, Kanami."
"If that's what you wish, Hiyori-chan."
Unable to hide the interest in her face, Sanae brushed out her apron and black dress, making sure she was seated comfortably. "I am always fascinated about how you two get to bottom of things such as this. I mean, how did you both figure it out?"
"When they were all onboard The Royal Diana, Chisaki-sama approached Louis-sama and told him that she recalled seeing him before when she was on vacation with her mother. This happened at the Creek Stone Hotel, the resort she and Ueda-san used to frequent for the holidays. I am guessing that perhaps Louis-sama was indeed there to check up on his casino to see how his illegal scams were working out.
"You see there was indeed a money fraud scandal. Ms. Chen would give Louis-sama's casinos dirty money and they, in turn, would scam their patrons with it. Ueda-san even mentioned one time how she herself was scammed at the Creek Stone Hotel.
"Well, right when Chisaki-sama told him she recognized him, an alarm bell rang in his mind. Here was a cheery girl, who might be pretending to be oblivious about his illegal acts. To Louis-sama, he couldn't take any chances. She was an immediate threat to him. However, I believe that Chisaki-sama indeed did not realize what she was saying—she was a poor stupid girl who only cared about money. She didn't realize that the mention of her mother being scammed would not be as much of a harmless remark as she thought.
"So, what does he do? When he talks with his wife and Ms. Chen in the lounge, he puts a sleeping drug in Ichika-sama's wine. It slowly takes effect and the two retire to their room. However, right when he is certain about his wife being in a deep slumber, Louis-sama leaves to commit his deed. Just one strong whack across the head and a push into the sea...and that is the end of the beautiful Yanase Chisaki. And as for Ueda-san, just like her daughter, a slip of the tongue was enough to make Louis-sama on edge again. So he follows her to Ms. Chen's apartment, does her in, and also burns some papers in the fireplace. I assume they were related to the scam business he and Ms. Chen collaborated in."
"But what about the clues? Surely there were some?" Sanae questioned.
"Oh yes, there were. But ones so subtle, I almost didn't notice them myself," Hiyori said.
"But you did notice, Hiyori-chan," Kanami added, with a smile.
"It was mostly during my interview that he showed strange irregularities. He claimed to be from France, but no. He was actually from Canada. When I first spoke French with Louis Moreau, I noticed he had a strange accent and dialect—this was because he was speaking in Québécois French.
"And when I asked where he lived, he replied, 'Some small village up North.' Desperate to come up with an idea, Louis Moreau still has the country of Canada in his mind and clutches at another location quickly. So, he says 'the North' as a location because it is the first one that comes to mind since he is still worried about being pointed out as a Canadian. However, I will say, when you're a businessman, normally you would not live in a village not very well-known. I can only guess that perhaps he lived in Quebec City since he had a painting of Château Frontenac in his house."
"And was there anything else?" Sanae asked.
Hiyori nodded. "I noticed near the end of our interview how he held up his fingers for the number three. Normally, in France, they hold up their thumb, index finger, and middle finger. However, Louis Moreau held up his index, middle, and ring finger—the North American way.
"Also, when I was at the luncheon, Louis Moreau said that July 14th was like any other day for him and nothing special. But if he was a real Frenchman from France, he would've known that July 14th is one of the most important holidays to the country—Bastille Day!"
"So, Louis Moreau killed Chisaki-sama only because he was afraid of the possibility of her revealing his scam?" Sanae asked. "A rich man like him would've danced his way around it with a good lawyer. I doubt he would've been given the death sentence for that. What would they give him? A few years?"
"Ah, but there was something else. This was his real motive. Louis-sama knew that if Chisaki-sama exposed the fraud, the police would get involved. And once they were on his tracks, they would link him to the murder of Ueda-san's colleague, Shimoda Hikari—a private detective who tried to ferret him out for the same scam business," Kanami explained. "And he couldn't risk being identified as the murderer of her. Ueda-san mentioned that they did find a fingerprint at the scene of Shimoda-san's death, but none that matched with the database. Well, forensics have now done their work. It matches with his."
"And so, Louis Moreau killed Yanase Chisaki, Ueda Momoko, and Shimoda Hikari," Hiyori finished.
Sanae leaned back in her chair, unable to utter a syllable. She leaned forward and sat up straighter as if moved by some purpose but could only lean back again. Then, a light laugh escaped her mouth.
"My goodness. You two really are the best detectives in Japan!"
A/N: Any of you expecting it to be Louis? I guess the clues were harder to find in this one, but I enjoyed writing this fanfic. The next chapter will be the final one and then I will begin the sixth fanfic, "Homicide for the Holidays".