Chapter 14: The Meeting of Minds
It was hours later, when the pain in her hands felt numb. As her eyes looked over the floor she noted, there were no bloody handprints there.
There was no trace of that other place here.
Surprisingly Rose managed to drag herself, onto the first train up, and running, and leaned against the window, the whole while. It was crowded but it didn't bother her, she barely noticed all the people around her, she just felt sleepy after all this, and she really needed her rest for tomorrow.
Much to her dismay, she had to find her way back to her hotel room first.
She'd left her bag there.
Rosemary spent a solid minute, glaring at the bed, that had caused all her suffering.
Before she quickly grabbed her bag, and left.
The bed hadn't even been that good, for all the pain it caused her.
Rose quickly found another Japanese one, with a WOODEN bed frame instead. The minute she was inside, she practically collapsed on top of it.
Not even the hotel search had exhausted her like this.
…
L was licking ice cream along with the rest of the task force, they still had four hours until they had to meet their anonymous messenger, so they were taking their time to look over some security footage.
"It's quite strange, don't you think?" He asked, after reviewing Penber's final moments, a third time.
"I'm sorry. What do you find strange?" Asked Mr Yagami, puzzled.
"Yeah. What is it? Did you notice something?" Asked Matsuda, curiously.
L took another lick of his ice cream. "We know that Raye Penber got on the train, and then an hour and a half later he got off and died on the platform."
"But" He paused. "The Yamanote line only takes an hour to complete its circuit."
"And more importantly there's the envelope."
"Didn't the letters mentions an envelope?" asked Aizawa.
"Yes you're correct. Whoever wrote those letters, knew exactly how this event was going to play out, right down to the agent that would be killed first." explained L, biting his cone.
He was very curious to find out what this person was like.
"Ryuzaki?" Asked Mr Yagami. "Do you have any clue who this person might be?"
L paused for a moment, taking the time to catch a loose melting drop of his treat.
"Hmm. Yes I have actually." He admitted. "With the level of detail in these notes, I don't think it's far-fetched to suggest that this person has a personal connection with Kira."
He turned to the Group.
"I have reason to suspect that this may be the same person, who prevented Kira from killing during his hiatus." Said L.
The group gasped.
"Wait so you're saying this person threatened Kira? That's amazing!" Said Matsuda.
"Matsuda take this seriously!" Berated the Chief. "Ryuzaki. How sure are you that they're the same person?"
He bit his thumb for a second, as he looked up.
"At the minute I'd say maybe 10%, hmm no more like 12%." He turned to them. "I'll admit, it would be an incredible chance, for them to be the same, wouldn't it?"
"Are you seriously telling us, that you think they're linked with a percentage that low?" Asked Mogi in disbelief.
L paused the video again, and elaborated on his thoughts.
"Kira was in someway kept from killing for over two weeks. Of that I have no doubt. But the question that remains a mystery is why? Kira had no remorse killing hundreds before that point, so why suddenly stop when the police were still scrambling for answers?"
The rest of the group were quiet, whilst L grabbed a pocky stick.
"If I were Kira, the only reason I would stop at this point, would be if my life were in absolute danger." He concluded.
"Someone close to Kira, found out who he was, and for whatever reason, Kira couldn't kill this person. Perhaps they were attached to them, or perhaps they were in some way immune. Either way he was unable to act." L frowned.
"But then he began to kill again. I assumed that Kira had found some way around this person, but now we have our anonymous tipper." He admitted, holding up one of the letters.
"As cautious as Kira must be, it's still not unbelievable that he'd miss one person finding out about him. But two? I don't believe that's possible. Kira would have taken every precaution, after the first one, he wouldn't dare risk letting someone put him in that position again, no." Decided L.
"They'd almost have to be the same person. Someone who was close enough to Kira, but wants to see justice done."
Everyone took in all he'd said.
"When you put it like that, it sounds like there's no way they couldn't be the same person. But at least there's someone with information on our side." Said Ide.
The rest of the group nodded in agreement. A lot of them, had been unsure about meeting this person, but if they'd managed to stand up to Kira, they could definitely use their help.
L was feeling less welcoming however.
He'd already lost the battle against Kira, but he wouldn't lose the war. Kira's missing pawn could be the key to L solving this case, and he was curious to find out how they'd survived an encounter.
But.
If this person proved to be on Kira's side, he wouldn't hesitate to get rid of them.
He would do whatever it took to take down Kira.
…
Rose woke up feeling groggy.
She briefly glanced at her hands, that were no longer bloody but still tacky.
'I should do something about that.' She realised.
Rosemary pulled herself up, and made her way to the shower. She peeled off her clothes, and relaxed, in the soothing, warm water, as she washed the dirt, and grime from her hands.
She came out in a towel, and looked around for something to wrap her hands. She didn't find anything in the cupboards, so she took a spare pillow case from her wardrobe, and tore it into makeshift bandages.
There was a part of her that felt bad for the people working her, but hopefully they wouldn't miss one pillow case.
She sat down on the bed, and wrapped her wounds. They were bulky, but she could flex her fingers enough to write, and they'd keep her hands from hurting in the meantime.
Rose smiled.
She felt refreshed, and positive that morning. She knew more about her abilities than before, and she finally had the opportunity to make a real difference, since she'd get to meet the Taskforce.
Rosemary even had to admit, there was a small part of her, that was feeling a little giddy at the thought of meeting L.
She got dressed in her Jeans, and blue shirt, and jacket, before tying her hair, in a high ponytail.
Rose began to pack a few items back in her bag, when her notebook, accidentally slipped out.
Picking it up, she flicked through.
She couldn't risk L getting this.
For someone like him, it was enough evidence to Kill Light.
Rose frowned.
She didn't believe in killing, and she wasn't going to let L use her too.
She had bought a lighter for when, well if…
'If only.' She mused.
Rosemary tore out the pages from both her books, and burned them to ashes. Leaving a wet, ashy mess in the sink, as the fire alarm went off.
She calmly picked up her bag, and walked out the door.
She wasn't the same person she was yesterday, she was stronger, and she was determined to do her best.
…
What?
L was not a man who was often stunned. Even with a case as unusual as this one, he was in his own opinion, more level headed than most would be.
But even he couldn't wrap his head around this.
They'd replayed the footage over, and over, but it never changed.
The bag of letters appeared out of thin air.
They'd rechecked the footage for sign of tampering, but they found nothing.
"How is that possible?" Asked a bewildered Mr Yagami.
L bit his thumb in concentration. His owl like eyes were even wider, as he stood motionless, looking for anything, anything at all, that showed the person leaving the bag.
And there!
"Pause it." He demanded.
Ukita grabbed the remote, and did just that.
"What is it Ryuzaki? What did you see?" Wondered Mr Yagami.
"Look at the bag handle, at the very corner." Said L. "There's a hand."
And indeed there was in fact, a faint ghostly hand letting go of the bag.
L grabbed the remote, and moved backwards, and forwards from the scene, but this was the only frame, with a hint of a person in it.
Perhaps L had underestimated their intelligence, if they were able to tamper with evidence to this degree.
"L, are you sure it's safe to meet this person, after finding this?" Asked Aizawa.
L left his thoughts for a moment.
"We've taken every precaution to ensure the location is secure." He confirmed. "Besides at this point, we need to consider every possibility. Mogi?"
Mogi turned to him.
"Are you still certain you wish to be the point of contact?" He asked.
"I'm devoted to the investigation. I don't see why this person would be dangerous, but even if it were Kira himself, I'm confident in our ability to survive." Admitted Mogi.
L nodded.
"I appreciate your cooperation, Mogi-san." Said L.
It seemed that things were going well until Watari came in, telling them someone was on the line with information about the case.
"Naomi Misora is missing?" Confirmed L.
…
Light had been carefully thinking since he took down Naomi Misora. That had been close, but it may be the last chance he could do something like that.
Because of her.
He was certain that Rosemary was only at the scene, because she knew he was going to kill her, which meant, he had to try thinking a step ahead of himself.
Light chuckled.
She'd been smart.
She never told him specific details, about what he did, so it was hard to tell, what his original plans were.
But Light was smarter.
He could guess that it was unlikely anyone had discovered the desk set up, so he probably never had a reason to hide the book.
So hiding it somewhere new would be key.
He'd already found a solution to that.
The wooden backing on his desk, was loose on the left side. There was space under the bottom of the drawers, for him to slide in the notebook, and have it completely unnoticed. It was less secure than his original plan, but if Rosemary told people it was in the desk, it was unlikely they'd check it twice.
He would have to dismantle it soon, once he got the proper equipment together.
The other thing to consider was the paper he'd had on him, and his security checks.
If she told them that he wrote in the book, Light knew he'd be alright. He'd written for days in advance, and there was no way to prove it without the actual book in question.
Which would destroy her credibility.
But if they found out he had bits of paper in his wallet, that could cause problems. If they saw Ryuk, it would end badly for sure, he couldn't trust him to be loyal.
He found a simple enough solution to that too though.
Light cut holes in the fabric of one of his notebooks. The cover was thick enough, that a few pieces of extra paper wouldn't bulge. It was something he could carry with him often, and he could easily transfer pieces back, and forth for when he couldn't carry it around with him.
Last to consider was the door.
He currently had two security checks, but it was likely he would now need a third.
And he already had one in mind.
The way his drawers worked, there was a small gap between them. Meaning if one of them was filled to the top, anything at the back, would be pushed over, into the drawer below.
He found a small stick of chalk, and by removing the second drawer below, was able to reach up, and place it so that the drawer with the trap, was keeping it pushed up against the desk.
If someone were to open the drawer it would fall into the drawer below, and he'd know someone had been here, without them finding out.
He decided to lock the drawer, now that there was nothing in there to hide. Meaning if the chalk had somehow fallen, then someone had gone to the trouble of picking the lock.
Light knew his family would never go that far.
"This has been easier than expected." He mused.
It was a shame he'd lost such a valuable ally, but he would not lose the war.
If it ever came down to it, he would do whatever it took to eliminate Rosemary, for good.
…
It was 11:55 when Rosemary arrived at the café.
She didn't know what she expected, but it was a lot less secure, than she thought it'd be.
It was a nice little place, that she'd found during her three day adventure through the city.
'I guess they're not here yet.' She thought, sitting down at a random table.
Rose had no doubt that there were probably cameras, or wires even if she couldn't see them.
'Can I even be caught on Camera?' Wondered Rose. It wasn't something she'd really thought about, it had never really come up, as a problem.
She supposed she'd find out though.
Rose grabbed a juice drink from one of the refrigerated shelves, before sitting back down.
She didn't have to wait long, as almost on the dot, a member of the police force came through the door.
Rosemary felt bad, but she was having trouble remembering his name.
'Ukita? Mogli?' She tried to remember.
Whoever he was, he scanned the room, no doubt looking for her, before he took a seat.
He ordered a coffee, but continued to look around.
There were only two people here besides them.
Meanwhile behind the cameras, the entire task force was carefully watching.
There didn't appear to be anyone approaching Mogi, but there was still time for them to show up.
A lot of them were wondering, how they'd even know he was with the police.
L looked at all the guests, but didn't see anyone who looked suspicious.
But he was calm, if anything went wrong they'd be prepared.
Or so he thought.
There was a spike in sound, as Mogi suddenly jumped on screen, and the image began to flicker.
The equipment was failing.
Back in the café, Mogi was surprised. Had he zoned out for a second? He never even saw this person enter.
"Um hello, Can I help you?" He asked in English in case this was the right person.
The girl nodded, before writing in an notebook.
'Yes. I am the person who gave you those letters, I'm sorry I didn't give you more help.'
So this was her.
Mogi was surprised.
Maybe he was sexist, but in his head he'd just kind of automatically assumed that this person was a guy.
But they looked nothing like he expected. She looked pale, fragile. He noted the bandages on her hands.
Had she been in an accident?
"Well it's nice to meet you, for the sake of this encounter, my name is Maki. I'm sure you understand."
She nodded again.
Why wasn't she speaking?
'Of course Maki. My name is Rosemary Green, I prefer Rose personally.' She wrote again.
"Watari! Check the equipment!" Demanded L, back in the hotel room.
Could this person be interfering with their equipment?
"Should we send someone in?" Asked Matsuda.
"Ryuzaki, there is a faint signal, on the IDM recorders." Interrupted Watari, before he could respond.
L moved over to the receiver, and turned up the volume.
"I see, thank you for being cooperative Rose."
It was Mogi.
But he couldn't hear the other person, at all.
"Is there no way of hearing the other person?" Asked L.
"All the other equipment is acting up." Said Aizawa. "It's only these old magnetic tape recorders, that are picking up any signal."
L bit his thumb.
Electronic interference?
He would have to consider reliance on more analogue forms, of recording in future.
"L should we send someone down to fix it?" Asked Ukita.
"No." Decided L. "I think it's obvious, that they're somehow interfering with our equipment. They're only going to be more suspicious if we send in more people. Mogi-san is being recorded, we'll know how the conversation goes from his reactions."
Meanwhile Mogi, was studying the girl in front of him. She looked harmless, but looks could be deceiving
"If you don't mind me asking Rose, why aren't you speaking?"
'Yes.' Wondered L. 'I'm curious about that too.'
'I'm mute unfortunately, I can't speak at all.' She admitted.
"I see so you can't talk?" confirmed Mogi.
The taskforce was quiet as they listened.
That was a very convenient excuse, one they'd have to test out if they could.
Mogi himself was unsure, but her injuries gave him doubt that she was lying.
"If you don't mind Rose. I'd like to ask you to confirm something for me, to prove you are the person I'm looking for." Said Mogi.
Rosemary nodded. She had expected this.
"We received some anonymous information regarding the recent FBI murders." He said. "The public are unaware as to how we recieved it, and the exact details of what happened, could you tell us?"
It was a simple test. If she was the right person this would be easy.
The task force tried listening, but heard no sign of writing, or typing or anything.
It wasn't out of the question for the technology not to pick up such a small sound but, it was still frustrating for the group to be so in the dark.
Rosie meanwhile handed Mogi a sheet, explaining that she left it in a black handbag, and that Raye Pember had an envelope on him before he died, after encountering Kira.
Mogi's eyes widened.
"You're telling me Kira was on that train?"
Rosemary nodded, oblivious to the task force's off screen shock.
L's eyes widened. He'd suspected it, but this combined with Naomi Misora's disappearance, confirmed his suspicions. Whoever was being investigated by Pember, was almost certainly Kira.
He told the group as such.
"He was investigating Deputy Director Kitamura, along with Detective Superintendent Yagami and their families. At this stage, I'd like to place wiretaps and surveillance cameras in both households."
"Chief you can't be okay with that! Think of your daughter!" Pointed out Aizawa.
"Don't you think I know that! But in all our time investigating, this is the closest lead we've gotten. Though L, I must insist I watch alongside you, if only so I can free my conscious of the idea that anyone, in my family might be guilty." Requested the Chief.
L nodded.
"I was actually going to suggest that myself, Yagami-san. It would be better if you were present to look over the footage."
Meanwhile with Rose, Mogi continued to question her.
"The information you gave us was extremely useful, though we failed to act on it. Do you have any more information for us?"
Rose replied.
'Yes I do. However I think it would be best to discuss that with the other members of the taskforce. I recommend that L talks to me first to clear me with the group. I can't call him, so maybe you want to?' Suggested Rosemary, in no uncertain terms stating, that she wasn't going to provide any more insight unless she met with the detective.
Mogi paused.
He didn't think it'd be a risk to take her, but ultimately he could put the group at risk if he acted rashly.
She looked honest, but scared perhaps? Something had happened to her recently she was shook by.
He honestly didn't know if the detective would have the tact to talk to her properly if his suspicions were correct.
But was he really in a position to refuse her? They weren't about to torture her for information, and she seemed willing to cooperate.
Matsuda's phone rang briefly before L snatched it, despite his protests.
"Mogi? Is something wrong with the situation? The Cameras have failed, give no indication that this is the case if you can." He asked, quickly.
Mogi was quiet for a moment.
They were down. He hadn't seen her do anything.
Was she not alone?
"She has more information, but would like to talk to the taskforce. She recommended that she be screened by L." Said Mogi.
L told the group, the idea.
The group paused.
It would be beneficial since they couldn't currently hear the conversation, and they did have officers standing by to take her in securely.
"Do you believe she can speak?" Asked L.
"No." admitted Mogi.
L considered this.
"Mogi-san can you put me on speaker? I wish to speak to Rose, but I may need you to answer for her."
The groups was shocked, he was just going to talk to her like that?
Mogi nodded, and told Rose what he was doing.
Her eyes widened.
She was actually going to get to talk to him.
Well kind of.
She smiled slightly, which Mogi studied.
Was she happy they trusted her?
The voice that came through wasn't garbled, but was clearly not L's real voice, but an exaggeration instead.
"Good evening Rose I understand that you wish to talk with the police force directly, may I ask why you can't tell our officer here what you know?"
She wrote.
'There is a likely chance that the police will act rashly with the information I have to hand. There are several elements that should be explained in a more secure location, once I can trust the Police.'
"You don't trust the police, even though you wish to catch Kira?" asked L after Mogi's repeat.
'I don't trust you to keep him from being executed.' She replied.
'Ah.' Thought L. 'They don't believe in capital punishment.'
It should have been expected from someone opposed to Kira, though he himself could not count himself among them.
"You're asking a great deal of us, by refusing to cooperate like this." Pointed out L.
"Who is to say that your information is worth the risk?" Goaded L, trying to get them to reveal something more useful.
There was a pause, as she wrote, and he thought he'd succeeded, when he heard a confused sound from Mogi.
"What is it? What did she write?" He asked.
"Um sorry it's, she wrote Lawliet sir." L's eyes widened. "I must be out of practice I don't really know what that word means."
L dropped the phone. He was shaking.
'Who was this person?' He wondered.
L was clawing through his mind, trying to think of any reason, someone would know who he was.
"Ryuzaki! Are you alright?" Asked Mr Yagami.
L pulled himself together.
"Yes. I've just been alerted to some important information."
He grabbed the phone and spoke again.
"Rose I think it would be best if we continued this conversation in person. Mogi don't let anyone else see that word, as soon as she gets here she will be required to destroy it." He said as seriously as possible.
Mogi nodded, and placed his money for the coffee on the table, though he never did receive it. He then began to lead Rose out of the door to the undercover guards.
As soon as the two left, the technology started working, and video returned to the TV in the hotel room.
The others were distracted by this so they didn't notice how slightly shook L was.
This had increased his opinion that this was not Kira himself, but it did increase the chance that this person was an enemy of L's.
He had too many to count, and now that he had revealed himself, he may have to outmaneuver an even more dangerous opponent.
"Watari. Prepare the interrogation room." He said after a moment, he would have to inform Watari what the girl had told him later.
Meanwhile Mogi was getting suspicious.
It took him talking to the two guys outside for them to finally notice them, even when they were right in front of them. When L had told him about the Video, he'd thought that it was just hacking, but this was something different.
Both him, and the other men hadn't noticed this girl until she'd talked to them.
Something about her made detection not possible.
Right now she was handcuffed, and blindfolded, her backpack was right next to her. No doubt L would look through it.
As soon as she arrived, she was screened, and put into a secure room, with no exit.
L meanwhile was talking to Mogi.
"L there's something I think you should consider."
"What's that Mogi-san?" He asked as he looked through her bag. An extra top, some pajamas, toothpaste, and a brush, a small plush toy, and two notebooks.
She was hardly prepared for a long travel, so she must have more things somewhere else.
He flicked through the notebooks. They had tons of ripped pages.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I think we should consider that Rosemary herself is the reason for the disturbances in video."
"Oh?" Asked L. "What makes you say that?"
"I don't know what happened with the video, but I didn't see Rose until she was right in front of me. I was looking everywhere, my eyes were peeled, but somehow she managed to just appear right in front of me, it gave me a shock to say the least, but I ignored it. But when I went to the other officers to detain her, they didn't notice us, even as we stood right in front of them. It wasn't until I spoke that they approached us." He explained.
L listened.
A person that is able to keep attention off of them?
"Thank you for telling me Mogi. If you're right this could be useful information."
"So you think it's possible?" He asked.
"I think this case is highly unusual, and that the key to solving it may be as well. We may need to open up to possibilities that seem very unlikely." Admitted L.
"Regardless, I think I'm ready to see her now."
Rose had been sat quietly.
She wasn't scared, if anything L was. She may have played her cards too early with that one, but there were way too many questions about her existence she couldn't answer.
Where was she from?
Why didn't she have records?
Honesty was the only thing she could give, and L was probably the only member likely to believe her.
She soon felt someone remove her cuffs, and her hood. This hotel room was blank. It was filled only with a table, two chairs, and a notebook, and pen, though not the one she brought in.
The person left, but she wasn't left waiting long.
He opened the door, with a determined look in his eye. She didn't know what it was, the panda eyes, or the fact that he didn't want her dead, but in that moment she thought he was kind of cute.
Her feelings must have been obvious because a pink tint coated L's cheeks, as he made his way over to the other chair. Being careful to sit in his usual style.
L was used to many reactions to his appearance. Disgust, confusion, annoyance, anger, and occasionally even, awe.
However.
He'd never been looked at with adoration before. It was similar to Watari's amusement, but warmer. It was a look that stripped him of his title, and his namesake.
It didn't look like this girl even cared. Whatever was the motive, behind her warm, and happy smile, it unnerved him.
He was good at seeing through masks, he could break down people into simple blocks with ease.
But he had come here expecting a villain, and all her face told him, was that she was a friend.
A friend who knew the one thing that could let Kira kill him.
"Good evening Rosemary, I am L."
She nodded. L studied her reaction, not a hint of surprise.
She already knew that.
"I'm curious to know what you know about Kira. However more urgently I'd like to know how you came across information about myself." He admitted.
Rose wrote down on the piece of paper.
'I need you to trust me, and I need you to tell me if this room is secure.'
"Yes it is. No one can get in or out. If you require me to trust you, I am willing to give you a chance." Admitted L.
Rose nodded.
She hadn't tested this out yet, but this was probably the easiest way to try this.
'Stay focussed on me.' She wrote before putting the pen down.
L's eyes were locked on her.
'I'm dead.' She thought. 'I'm a corpse, I'm dead, I'm not alive.'
'I'm dead.'
L couldn't believe his eyes.
He could feel himself struggle to keep his eyes on her, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
She was fading.
As soon as she was gone, his mouth hung open.
He was stunned.
Rose meanwhile was trying to act fast.
She was glad that she was here, but she didn't know which world she'd ended up in, so she'd have to leave soon.
Rosemary walked to where she would be right in front of L.
It would probably give him a spook, but it would be difficult to deny such physical evidence.
'I'm alive.' She thought, trying to pull herself back, before she started to feel a pain in her neck.
L screamed, as she was suddenly in front of him, with her hand on his chest.
He lay still for a second like a wounded animal, small and scared.
What was she? How was this possible?
'Oh fuck.' Thought Rose, she'd really taken this too far.
She knelt down by his side, and gently tapped him.
He turned to her with frightened eyes, as she made a heart with both her hands.
Was she trying to tell him she was friendly?
He took a gulp.
"What are you?" He asked, stunned.
She calmly grabbed her paper, as though she were scared of startling him, and wrote her answer.
'A Ghost.'
L fainted.