A/N: Waiting for test results to see if I'm negative now for COVID-19. They should come in about a week. Temperature is back to normal and I seem fine...so, fingers crossed! Here's Chapter 10!
Chapter 10: The Conundrum Of The Letters
Kanami couldn't describe the relief she felt, knowing that Yukari's body had already been removed for inspection. To the Minoseki Toji, nothing was more nerve-tingling than having to be in the same room with a dead person. A lifeless, unbreathing figure with cold skin, already in the state of decomposition... Having solved a few murder crimes with her father, Kanami was no stranger to seeing corpses. However, she could never get used to encountering such sights. Some bloody and broken, as though someone went on a rampage, and others carefully arranged like a morbid piece of art. Kanami didn't know how her father could stand it.
They had both entered the crime scene, not knowing what to expect. Yukari's sleeping quarters didn't look any different from the average bedroom. A bed with a nightstand; a dressing table and gilt mirror; plenty of bookshelves; a writing desk with paper ranged in a stack on it... In the middle of the room were two armchairs beside a table with Yukari's shogi board on top.
Kanami noted how neat and orderly everything looked, a far outcry from her own untidy dorm room. She and her father moved purposefully, opening and shutting drawers and closets. Inspector Etou raised an eyebrow at the vast array of clothes Yukari possessed.
'Never took her as a devoted follower of haute couture.'
His daughter, however, was distracted by something. She was suspicious of this room—something was not right. And yet, everything looked so well organized. So, what was giving her this notion? Perplexed, the Minoseki Toji knelt down to open a bottom drawer in the nightstand when almost at once, her eyes quickly caught the problem. The floorboard! It jutted out slightly upwards, not correctly aligned with the others.
'And Hiyori-chan probably wouldn't be able to abide such a thing either,' Kanami thought.
She meant to push the floorboard back in to straighten it but hesitated. Her instincts taking control, Kanami instead yanked the whole thing up to find a secret compartment underneath.
"Father, come look at this!" she called.
The inspector's eyebrows rose, as he murmured under his breath, "So, the police search was not so thorough after all..."
There was nothing inside the hidden storage space, except for a small lacquer box with the Origami Family crest emblazoned on it. Inside were a collection of letters—love letters by the looks of them. Kanami's light-brown eyes couldn't help herself from reading the cursive handwriting.
Yukari, my love: My heart aches for you. Kissing your lips with passion. I am yours always.
"Haiku," Kanami muttered before she turned to another of the mysterious lover's poems.
Yukari, my angel and goddess: This torment kills me. I yearn for your sweet embrace. Save me, I beg you.
The letters were short but so intense with feeling. In her mind, Kanami vividly imagined herself writing amorous suggestive poems to Hiyori. She wondered how the Heijou Toji would react to that. An almost lewd smile crossed Kanami's face as she tried to think up some poetic ideas.
'My midnight angel...that's what I'd called her,' the Minoseki Toji thought, jestingly, before it hit her. 'Stop it, Kanami! Why are you thinking about such things?!'
Inspector Etou was oblivious to his daughter's provocative thoughts but was just as intrigued in the box's contents. He went through them, not bothering to read any until he came to a few papers that were not letters at all. They were newspaper clippings...and the headlines and photographs immediately caught his attention. His suspicious eyes landed on a distracted Kanami for a few moments. Then, he quickly folded the cut-out articles and put them in his jacket pocket, before she could notice.
"Take a look at this," Kanami said. Another letter was in her hands, not written by the anonymous person but by Origami Yukari herself.
Forgive me for my weakness. You know I love you. Not a day passes by when I don't think about your smiling face—so much that it pierces my soul. Don't say that I've casually done this out of spite and lack of interest. Why do you think I took these drastic measures? Only for you, of course. Do you not see? My heart is broken as much as yours, maybe even more. I have loved none but you. You alone are the reason why I live. If you are hardened against me, I do not blame you. I can only simply wish you well.
Do not be afraid to fall in love again. I am undeserving of your affection anyway.
-Origami Yukari-
Inspector Etou was focused on the date written in the top-right corner. "Yukari-sama must've written this the day before yesterday. It's a shame she didn't get to send it to her little sweetheart."
"It was maybe for the best anyway," Kanami glumly remarked. "Clearly the relationship did not survive."
They put the lacquer box back underneath the floorboard where it belonged, before continuing their search for more clues. And once again, Kanami made a new discovery quite accidentally. She had only meant to sit leaning against one of the walls for a break when she started. One of the large wall panels had moved. Just to make sure, the Minoseki Toji rapped her knuckles against it. A hollow boom-boom sound could be heard from the other side.
"Found something?" Inspector Etou asked.
Kanami did not reply but instead tried pushing the panel. No luck. She then tried sliding it, but to no avail as well.
"Maybe I was mistaken," she said until her eyes focused on a wooden wall lamp. With a clever twist of it, the wall panel swung open revealing a dusty secret passageway.
'Gosh, wonder what other hidden places this mansion has got,' Inspector Etou internally exclaimed.
"It's an underground chamber used in bad times," Akane explained when she had been asked. "My great-grandparents themselves used it during the Second World War air raids. I'm surprised you two were able to discover it though—it's kept a great secret amongst the Origami Family."
"Give the credit to my clever daughter," Inspector Etou said, with a proud smirk.
Sweatdropping, Kanami coloured a little, before asking, "Where does this passageway lead to?"
"To the West Wing of the mansion," was the reply. "Although it hasn't been used in decades."
Kanami, however, was not so sure, as she continued peering down into the secret tunnel. The thick dust was evident and wouldn't make the average person unconvinced. However, despite her airhead personality, Kanami was in fact very observant and had a meticulous eye for detail. And just from looking closely, she could see that the layers of dust had been disturbed. Someone had definitely walked through the passageway recently.
The Minoseki Toji covertly told this to her father when Akane wasn't listening, but he answered, "Let's not disturb it for now and wait till Tanaka and Juujou-san get back. I'll need to question the Elite Guards about something later."
When they questioned Akane about the love letters, she was not as surprised as they thought she would be. Apparently, the younger Origami sister was completely aware that Yukari had a lover—though she wasn't sure who it was.
"He or she suggested the idea of elopement, but Nee-sama quickly decided to cut ties completely," Akane said.
"For whatever reason?" Inspector Etou asked.
Akane paused, before saying, "I can only tell you what I know, which I'm afraid is very little. Nee-sama hardly ever revealed much to me about her love life. But, apparently, Nee-sama didn't want to set a bad example for choosing the new heiress. With the choosing of a new Origami Head, her relationship would've caused scandal if brought into the light."
"A scandal? Why is that?"
The Origami woman shook her head. "I don't know. I'm as much in the dark about it as you."
Her aqua-blue eyes sunk pityingly with sorrow. "But whoever Nee-sama's lover was, both of their hearts were broken when Nee-sama called it off."
When Akane left to return back to the drawing-room, Kanami and her father began searching the rest of the bedrooms. In her mind, the Minoseki Toji couldn't help thinking over what they just learned. She wondered over who Yukari's mysterious lover could be, what they were like, and what their reaction was to the sudden separation. Judging from the cheesy poems, it was clear there was much adoration for Yukari—perhaps even idolization. Biting her lip, Kanami pushed all of her thoughts aside for the moment.
They went into Akane's room next, which was only a few steps away from her sister's. It looked almost the same. No secret compartments or passageways, however. She had plenty of clothes like her elder sister though. Especially frilly lingerie, which Inspector Etou accidentally stumbled upon when he opened a drawer. He shut it immediately with reddened cheeks.
The guest bedrooms of the five presidents were also carefully gone through. They were all identical in every respect, but simpler than the Origami sisters' private quarters. Each contained a bed, two closets, a dressing table, and a comfortable seating area. A beautiful view of the inner estate garden was shared between the five rooms.
Inspector Etou's nose was having a horrible time when they had to search Sana, Yukina, and Yuzuki's rooms. They smelled horrible, like the cigarettes they'd use.
'Do they always smoke like chimneys?' he thought.
Next were the rooms of the Elite Guards, along with Hiyori's. None of them interested Kanami or her father though. However, it was a different story once Inspector Etou stepped foot into his daughter's bedroom. The inspector sniffed the air delicately for a few seconds letting the elusive scent fill his nostrils gently. He knew only two people who used that certain familiar perfume.
'But if it was indeed one of them, why would she be in this room?' he thought.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hm...just what newspaper clippings did Inspector Etou find? And what about the love letters and secret passageway? In the next chapter, Hiyori and Sergeant Tanaka will be doing their own investigation at the bureau. (Also, yeah, I suck at writing poetry. I tried. Lol. XD)