A: Sorry for the late update…. My pc crashed five times in all, all data was lost…. I had to do over from scratch and my USB drive died and I got sidetracked by precious Jrock… also a lot of things changed… I'm sorry for the looooooooooong wait… but believe me I don't abandon my stories
Anyways here's the next chapter
Thanks for the reviews & the guys who read but were too lazy to review: MiaHime: I don't think you'll be too surprised with the conclusion. Miki: meh… 33333Lynnia: Np… thanks… Nitrous oxide is an anesthetic; it's used as a knockout gas. Doctors use it to numb pain…also to sedate patients.
SPECIAL THANKS TO MACHIKO!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own DDS… and the name Joe Shimamura which is from Cyborg 009.
THE SECRET OF A PERFECT MURDER…
CHAPTER 6: The Discovery
"Kyu?" Ryuu stared at his best friend worried…an hour passed since they found Aliie in the women's bathroom… Kyu hadn't said anything since then, they'd figured out a major clue but everyone was too worried about Aliie for proper investigation. And the doctors had said it would take another hour to confirm that she was out of danger… so all four of them had stayed in the waiting room patiently waiting for any improvement in their friend…
"Excuse me?" a nurse came out of the ICU, Ryuu stood up and nodded at her
"How is Aliie Suchihira now?"
"She gave a small smile "She's out of danger but she'll be unconscious for a few hours"
"That's great…" Kuniko stood from her seat "When do you think we can meet her?"
"Not so soon" The nurse smiled again "Oh yes… Do anyone you know about Ms. Suchihira's relatives?"
Ryuu shook his head "she said she moved just a few weeks ago from Kyoto province… she didn't tell us anything about any relatives… we assumed she lived alone"
"I see…" she shrugged "Well can you guys hold on to this? Personal items are not allowed in the ICU ward" She handed Ryuu a small cell phone and left them alone.
"Lets go back to the –"
"Let me take that" Kyu snatched the phone from a startled Ryuu. The other two stared dumbfounded at Kyu.
"It's nothing… I just wanted to keep it if it's fine with you"
Ryuu sighed then shrugged "suit yourself… we're going back to the studio now… I need to check -?" Ryuu turned towards Kyu "what's wrong now?" he asked sighing….
"Nothing…lets solve this quickly" He sighed and walked towards elevator. The others followed him lost in their own thoughts…
"I'm sorry… Mr. Shimamura is busy at the moment" The secretary informed bowing her head a little in apology. He'll be about a ho-" but she was interrupted by Joe's voice
"Let them come in Mika… I can still talk you know" He sounded casual let breathless… They found out why when they walked into the room.
Joe was on a treadmill… quite breathless but his eyes smiled when the spotted them.
"Hello again young detectives" He smiled innocently, it was almost criminal of Kyu to accuse him of being a murderer. Joe looked inexplicably innocent…
"How are you Mr. Shimamura?" Kuniko burst out with a genuine smile on her face.
"I'm great…." He panted looking at the small electronic monitor, showing the stats of his pulse rate on the treadmill "Apparently very healthy too" He smiled crinkling his eyes like most Japanese people did when they smiled.
"Mr. Shimamura?" Ryuu started to talk when a young woman burst in breathlessly.
"I've finished it sir!" She declared her voice slightly hysterical; she waved a script in front of Joe. Ryuu was surprised when he didn't particularly look startled. He must have a lot of experiences with crazy fans to act like he was acting now. The woman had nearly assaulted him in her abruptness.
"I'll look at it when I finish Masaki" He smiled at her breathlessly "I'm sure it's all good, you are a very talented girl" He complimented genuinely. Ryuu looked at Kyu worriedly. He was still unsure why Kyu chose to accuse Joe. He could see no fault in his character… he seemed the last person to be the culprit. It was looking hopeless. Then there was the swish of the door opening… Ms. Koura walked in looking placid, yet hostile at the same time.
"Masaki! I told you not to disturb Mr. Shimamura like this"
Masaki paled "I… I just wanted to…"
"You are only an apprentice… go to your duties right away" She commanded pointing at the door "If I catch you disturbing him again, I will fire you got it? Leave now"
There was an unsettling silence as Masaki scrambled towards the door. The DDS members looked nervously at Koura and then at Joe. Joe burst into a grin "Ms. Koura is a bit strict… don't mind her… what did you want to ask me?" He slowed the treadmill and stepped off wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Yes… we had a few questions about your wife…" Ryuu said settling down on the couch with everyone else. Joe stayed where he was and answered the questions without any trouble for the next five minutes. Koura stood watching them from the door. Just as they were leaving, Joe casually dropped the script Masaki brought to the wastebin, Ryuu eyed him suspiciously… Kyu stopped too… Joe seemed to not notice but he smiled at them as they left.
"That was interesting" Ryuu muttered as they walked out of the studio. "How did you figure it out Kyu?"
"There were no more suspects… he had motive and everything to lose if they divorced." Kyu replied "we still can't prove it"
Ryuu nodded and then looked at the confused faces of the other two detectives "If he did it, he still had an impressive place to hide that kitchen knife… If he really did it, we'll find the knife at his house since he didn't leave the house alone after the murder… and we still can't forget the witnesses… the whole crowd of people gathered around his house. Also the explanation behind the scream"
Kuniko was frowning but Kyu had a smile on his face. Saburamarou just looked confused.
"Compared to our other difficult cases, I don't think that will be that hard" Kyu had the excitement in his voice for the first time since this case began "We still need to link the connection with Aliie to this case"
Ryuu nodded "Lets go to his house… we need to check the crime scene again" Kyu walked with his best friend and the other two followed, not completely clear on what just happened.
They arrived at the Shimamura house about half an hour later… they checked everything again… everything seemed to be in order… just like before… Walking into the garden, Ryuu stopped near the stone stab they had discovered the blood the otherday…
"Kuniko, did the reports come from the lab?"
She nodded lightly "the blood on the stab had been identified as Maya's blood… other then that nothing… the stone is too heavy to be moved by one person… its no use… I don't think he can move it and it's impossible for him to move it back within the limited time he had"
Kyu was inspecting the stone carefully near the doorway… Ryuu dropped to his knees beside him…
"I see…" he said quietly touching the thin horizontal ridge between the stone and the door "What if he didn't need to move the stone?" He looked at Kyu and from the look on his eyes… it was clear that he had come to the same conclusion.