A/N: Things are starting to advance in the mystery now, as our detectives find more clues. And it appears there are more plot twists to come... Here's Chapter 13!

Chapter 13: Overheard Voices And Sounds

With a sigh of contentment, Kanami lowered herself slowly into the bathtub, relaxing in the warm water. A thin sheen of perspiration had broken out on her forehead. The only sounds to be heard were the droplets of moisture dripping from the walls of the room. What Kanami loved was that right next to the bathtub was a window that looked out into one of the estate's beautiful gardens. A bushy thicket outside provided privacy, but from inside, the Minoseki Toji could easily enjoy the flowers' pretty colours without being seen. It was little laps of luxury like these that Kanami secretly envied over the Origami Family having.

'This would be even better if some petals from those roses outside were floating in the bathwater,' Kanami thought. 'Maybe a few scented candles too and it would be the perfect setting for me and Hiyori-chan...wait, what am I thinking?! Stop it, Kanami!'

Her cheeks burned, as she tried to rid her mind of the sexually arousing picture she just envisioned. After several minutes of just sitting in the bathtub, Kanami's fingers were starting to prune. She was about to get out of the water when the sounds of voices from the garden stopped her halfway. Kanami's good conscience reprimanded her, saying that it was bad to eavesdrop.

'But it isn't as if I haven't listened in on conversations before,' she thought to herself.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Kanami kept her ears open and peered out of the window. She could see the two figures of Ema and Yuzuki sit down on one of the garden's stone benches. Ema had her head in her hands and was visibly shaking. Her companion, less distressed, was trying to comfort her.

Choking on tears, the Minoseki president sobbed, "He said if I don't give the money before next week, I'll regret it! He means to make me suffer!"

"Not so loud!" Yuzuki hissed. "Listen, you need to put all of this behind you. If you keep giving him the cash, he'll only see you as a vulnerable pawn that he can continue manipulating."

"I already feel terrible for what I did to Yukari-sama. I've lost everything," Ema vented. "Now with Yukari-sama dead, he'll jump at the chance! He has the law on his side and if I don't do anything, he'll turn against me and I'll be ruined, if not thrown in prison!"

She covered her face with her hands again and burst into fresh waves of passionate sobbing. Yuzuki, uneasy at the violent display of emotion Ema was showing, awkwardly rubbed her back to try to comfort her.

"I'll help you in any way I can, but take heed of my words, Ema. Don't listen to him. Don't you dare listen to him. And above all, hold your tongue!"

She caught Ema's arm with a warning-like grip, her face white as salt. "I won't let him hurt you. But, remember: be careful, Ema!"

The Minoseki president whimpered before yanking herself from Yuzuki's grasp and scurrying away. Yuzuki was left to stare after her in stony silence, unaware of the young Toji watching her, whose heart was beating just as fast.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Tanaka and Inspector Etou had split off, the latter having mentioned something about testing a theory. The sergeant didn't question this. He was familiar with his colleague enough to know that he sometimes did strange things out of the blue. Instead, Sergeant Tanaka took the time to sit in a chair and pore over the basic points of the notes he took.

He didn't get to review as much as he would've liked because not long after, he heard the familiar clicking of hard heels marching towards him. Presently, Yukina stood before him looking as crisp as ever and with what was supposed to be an apologetic smile. However, it only looked haughty and smug in the sergeant's eyes.

"I do apologize," she began. "It was stupid of me to forget in the first place—I normally don't ever fail to remember things, mind you. However, I was just so angry about you and Inspector Etou accusing me of a crime so ridiculous."

Sergeant Tanaka didn't bother to reason that they weren't accusing her in the first place. "That's quite alright, ma'am. What would you like to tell me?"

"Anyway, as I've told you before, I went to bed at nine o'clock," the purple-haired woman explained. "However, what I forgot to mention is that I'm a terribly light sleeper and the sliding doors of the guest bedrooms make awful noises. Honestly, if I was in control of this household, I'd make one of the servants replace them at once!"

Trying to get Yukina's attention back on the subject, the sergeant asked, "So then you'd wake up whenever someone would open her door?"

"Exactly," the Renpu president confirmed. "I was awoken only ten minutes after I retired to bed."

'At 9:10...' Sergeant Tanaka thought, looking through his notebook. 'That would've been when President Hashima returned to her room.'

"Did you wake up at any other times?" he asked.

"Yes, at around ten o'clock, I heard two doors sliding open and closed."

'Director Maniwa and President Souraku...'

"And two more times after that—once at 10:45 and another fifteen minutes later," Yukina added.

Her last sentence made Sergeant Tanaka stop dead. He checked his notes just to make sure.

'None of the suspects mentioned getting up at those times. Did the murderer leave her bedroom around then?'

Twirling his moustache with a delicate finger, Sergeant Tanaka asked, "Do you know who it was that you heard at either 10:45 or 11:00?"

Yukina looked indignant. "Of course not!"

Not wanting to push her any further, the sergeant humbly thanked Yukina for her important piece of information. He made sure to be as flattering as possible, commissioning himself to give many compliments, in order to appease the Renpu president's stuffy ego.

During the time Sergeant Tanaka was talking with Yukina, Inspector Etou casually revisited each of the five guest bedrooms. This time, he was more interested in the cosmetics that were on their dressing tables. The inspector examined them carefully, sometimes picking one up to look at the label. Yukina, in particular, owned a lot of makeup, creams, and perfume bottles. Clearly, she wanted to make an impression everywhere she went even just for one meeting.

"Women!" the inspector murmured, humorously.

He entered Iroha's bedroom last of all to find the occupant inside, reading a novel. A bow of apology was done quickly by the gentleman.

"May I help you with something, sir?" Iroha asked, putting her book down.

"Is it alright if I come in?" the inspector asked, hesitantly.

It was evident he was afraid that Iroha would think he was taking great liberties and wouldn't let him enter. However, the Heijou president graciously gave permission at once. Inspector Etou immediately strode over to the dressing table, quickly glancing at the items on top. Foundation with BB cream, mascara, a nude eyeshadow palette, a small vial of perfume... The inspector couldn't help letting a smirk cross his face.

He sniffed a little, before saying, "There's a question I'd like to ask, President Gojou. You...wouldn't have happened to be in anyone else's bedroom last night, were you?"

Iroha's mood turned crusty. "If you're talking about Yukari-chan—"

"I'm not," came the interruption. "I'm asking if you've been in anyone else's—any of the other bedrooms that are in this house."

"No. Why would I have wanted to go into anyone else's room?"

"I don't know either, ma'am. But you may have answered one of the questions I've been asking myself for a while now..."

A/N: What is Inspector Etou up to? He is certainly on to something...but what? What theory was it that he wanted to test? And who was it that Yukina heard at 10:45 and 11:00? Stay tuned to find out...