Chapter 16

Quick, Quit and Quarrel

Gumi's Point Of View

The next morning, Gakupo was gone. I lazily pushed myself up to a sitting position. I really didn't feel like getting up but I knew I had to. I had to solve Shou's case before midnight or I'm so screwed. I was about to get up when I saw a wheel chair sitting on next to the door. I smiled and ever so slowly made my way over to it. Just as I sat down Raiex walked into the room.

"Oh there you are." Raiex handed me a folder. "Aizo told me to give this to you. It's the official report of the case but it's pretty useless. There wasn't much of an investigation. The only thing of interest in there is a few people near the area when the murder occurred and the witnesses that saw Shou crying over Cul's body."

"Cul?" I asked.

"Cul was a fey who lived in this village with her father and mother. Her mother was a fey and her father was a werewolf. He's still around so you could probably question him. Cul was Shou's first friend around here when he came back after the killings of our women."

I looked at the folder. Inside were the pictures of the bodies of all the victims as well as pictures of the crime scene and some pictures of the victims before they were killed. Shou's picture was in there as well. There were even some pictures of Shou running away from the scene. Probably taken by a bystander.

"Thank you Raiex." I looked at the list of witnesses. Raiex was one of them. I looked up at him.

"Go ahead. Question me." he said leaning against the doorframe.

I blinked. "Ok." I took in a deep breath. "Tell me exactly what you saw. From what brought you to the scene to when you found Shou."

Raiex sighed. "I had been sleeping at girl friends house which was close by where the murder scene was. I heard someone crying so I got up and told my girl to go back to sleep. When I started towards the warehouse, I saw Hiyori, Taizo, Shoichiro and Sasayaki heading for the warehouse as well. When we all saw what happened we all went to see Kaen. He was the chief of police at the time. That's all I know."

"Was there anything strange about the witnesses?" I asked.

"Yeah. Sasayaki didn't seem to show any shock at all like the rest of us. He just stared at the bodies impassively. Like he didn't care. I thought that was a little odd."

I nodded. "Thanks Raiex. I might come back and question you again. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I always liked Shou." Raiex gave me a half smile then left the room. I slowly made my way down the hall. Wheel chairs aren't as easy to move around in as I thought they'd be. I think it might be easier for Rai to carry me around town then for me to roll around in a wheel chair.

When I got to the door, Tsubaki was sitting on the steps looking out at the little village. "I've gather our witnesses at my store." She looked so serious. I was expecting her to be very emotional but I guess she's very serious about work any stuff.

"Then let's get on it. Where's Youe and Rai?" I asked.

"There already at my office. I came here to get you." she held up her copy of the case file. "I've read through it a few times. We don't have much to work with. We'll have to catch people in lies to get any information at all."

"I'm sure we can prove Shou's innocence." I looked at the stairs. "Do you mind helping me down the stairs?"

"Of course." Tsubaki said climbing the stairs. I weakly rose from my chair and painfully made my way down the stairs as Tsubaki set my wheel chair down on the grass. I slid back into my chair. "How are you feeling?"

"I can't feel my legs." I moaned as I started towards Tsubaki's office. Apparently, Tsubaki's the doctor around here.

"I'll take another look at you when we're done with this case."

"Thank you Tsubaki." My eyes widened. "Did annoy one perform an autopsy or something on the dead bodies?"

"No but we have X-ray's of the bodies. I can take a look at them while you question everyone."

"Thank you. I think the X-rays might show something about what the victims might have been doing when they died. It might help us find the killer."

"That's a really good idea." Tsubaki looked down at me. "Are you sure you're not a F.B.I. agent or something?"

"No but my mom watched a lot of cop shows so I know a little about solving murders and stuff."

"That's helpful. I don't know much about cop stuff." Tsubaki sighed. "I guess the only use I'll be to you is my doctor abilities." Tsubaki sighed. "Now that I think about it. I'm not really that useful at all."

"You're plenty useful. The more help the better. I'm sure none of us know much about murder investigations." Seconds later we were outside Tsubaki's office. It was pretty big when I walked in. She had a little waiting area with a receptionist and three different hospital rooms. In the office were, and I'm just guessing, the witnesses to the murder.

"Tsubaki, how much longer must I be here? I have to get back to work." a guy with purple hair and an eye patch asked.

"Sorry Shoichiro. It'll be fast I promise." Tsubaki said. Tsubaki walked over to the receptionist. "Aoki, please pull the X-ray's of the victims please."

"Of course Tsubaki." Aoki said. I thought it was kind of weird how tiny Aoki was. She wasn't any more then a foot tall. I guess she must be a pixie. Gakupo told me about some of the creatures that live in secret. She's either a pixie or a fairy. I think Pixie fits her better. I think fairies are smaller then pixies but I'm not sure.

"Go right on into this room Gumi." Tsubaki gestured at the first hospital room. I wheeled my way into the room. Youe and Rai were sitting there impatiently.

"Hey Gumi. You took forever to get here." Rai said.

"I was questioning one of our witnesses." I said as I tossed my case folder onto the table. "We have to work fast. We only have so much time to get enough information to clear Shou."

"You got it Chief." Youe saluted me.

I rolled my eyes. "Ok subordinate, bring in our first witness and Rai go get me some coffee."

"You wish." Rai chuckled.

"Yeah I figured you wouldn't get me coffee." I half smiled. "Thanks for helping."

"No problem. Shou's my little brother. I have to keep my brother safe even if he committed this crime." Rai ruffled my hair. "Besides, I can't have my sister in law doing this dangerous investigation alone."

I smiled. "Thank you."

A man with long white hair walked in with Youe. He sat down across from me. "Well, aren't you a beautiful little truffle." He took my hand and kissed it. "What can I do for you love?"

I pointed at my finger. "I'm engaged."

"Ah, marriage is such a lovely thing." He patted my hand. "But I'll wait for you my love."

"You werewolves are all horn dogs." I mumbled.

"What are horn dogs?" Rai asked.

"Horny dogs." I rolled my eyes. "And very slow I see." I chuckled. "Just kidding." I opened my case file. "Your Sasayaki yes?"

"That's correct my dear." Sasayaki winked at me flirtatiously.

"Please explain what happened on the evening Shou eledgely committed 8 counts of murder." I said.

Sasayaki laughed. "Honestly love, I can barely even remember that night. I was wasted out of my mind. I had had a drinking contest with a few of the guys that work on the guard. I only stumbled onto the scene. The most I can remember is making out with Hiyori after the cops finished with us."

"You made out with one of the other witnesses?" I asked.

"Have you seen Hiyori? She's cute little thing. I'd jump on her whether I'm drunk or sober. We have an on and off relationship. Were off right now since the investigation is going on."

"So you both felt no sadness over the 8 dead victims?"

"Course it was sad but I actually didn't know any of the victims so I couldn't really feel sadness towards them. I bet that sounds bad but you can't expect me to morn the lose of people I've never met." Sasayaki shrugged. "However, Hiyori was unsettled when she saw one of the victims. What was her name?" He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember. "Sonika. Yeah that's it. Sonika was Hiyori's third cousin. However Sonika had had a fight with her before she passed away. Sonika had destroyed all Hiyori's chances of getting Hiyori's father's house. Sonika somehow managed to take it out from under her. However, Hiyori couldn't kill anything if she tried."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Hiyori's very weak. She can barely lift a butter knife. Ever since she was born, she's been really weak. Her sister Ann takes care of her most of the time."

"Anything else you can recall from that night?"

"Everything's really fuzzy but if I remember anything, I'll let you know." Sasayaki answered.

"Thanks so much Sasayaki."

"No problem my little truffle." He kissed my hand again then left.

"That was incredibly helpful." Rai mumbled.

"It actually was. Just because Hiyori is weak, doesn't mean she couldn't have done this. Don't close your mind to anything ok?" I asked.

"Yeah ok." Rai said.

"Youe could you bring in the next witness?" I asked.

"Course." Youe left.

Shoichiro walked into the room with Youe moments later. "Gumi, this is Shoichiro. He owns the bakery."

I flinched. "Can I see Cul's profile please?"

"Course. I'll go find it." Rai walked out of the room.

I turned to Shoichiro. "Sorry for the inconvenience but can you relay what happened that night? Starting from where you were before you headed towards the warehouse were you saw the victims."

Shoichiro sighed. "You know what I was doing is in that report."

"I'm aware but I'd like to hear it first hand if you don't mind Shoichiro."

"Very well. I was at the Bakery tallying up the money the store had made that day. I do that every night so I can take the money down to the bank. Just as I was leaving the shop, I heard a yell so I went running. I ran into the other witnesses and we all went into the warehouse together. When we arrived, we saw Shou and all the dead bodies. Then we called the police. That's it."

"Anything out of the ordinary besides the murders of course. Anything off about any of the other witnesses or something strange in the area while you were making your way to the warehouse."

"Nothing I can remember." Shoichiro sighed. "Look Gumi. I don't want to put Shou to death but I can't see who would have done this. Sorry I'm not much help to you."

"Shoichiro, when did you receive that injury to your eye?" I asked.

"Gumi, that's a little rude isn't it?" Youe whispered to me.

"Straight forward aren't you?" Shoichiro touched his eye patch. "I had actually received the injury the day before the murders. I had been baking one of the sparks from the oven flew into my eye. Literally burned my eye down to the bone. Tsubaki gave me a glass eye but I still can't see a thing. I wear the eye patch so I don't have to look at the burns." Shoichiro looked at Youe. "Can I go; I've got to get back to work."

"But you went back to work that next day? I'd think Tsubaki would have made you rest more then a day."

"Yes well, I couldn't just let my shop be unsupervised. I felt fine so I decided to work. Is that a problem?"

"No, thank you for your time Shoichiro. You can go now." Youe said.

"Thank you." Shoichiro got up.

"Shoichiro, can I see your eye please. I just want to make sure you didn't sustain that injury in the way you say. Protocol and stuff. You understand."

Shoichiro looked at Youe for help but Youe shrugged. "Just let her see. Gumi's just being thorough."

Shoichiro sighed and lifted his eyes patch. It's true there were burn marks but there was also a thin gash on his eye lid.

"How'd you get that gash on your eye?" I asked.

"Tsubaki accidently scratched me while she was treating my burn. It's no big deal. I don't blame her for it. No one sees my eye anyways." Shoichiro put his eye patch back on and left.

I looked at Youe. "There's no way that gash is from Tsubaki's medical tools. If it were medical tools, it would have been more pierce but the gash was jagged. He's lying."

"How the heck do you know that?" Youe asked.

I smiled. "I watch cop shows." I picked up Shoichiro's picture. "Keep that in the back of your mind. People often screw up when you ask the same questions and they give different answers. Shoichiro is obviously hiding something. In this report, he said that he sustained a cooking accident with a knife that caused the jagged gash on his eye but that wouldn't have happened either. The knife would have stabbed all the way through or scratched another part of his face. He's lying."

"Wow, you really do watch cop shows…so you think Shoichiro did this?"

"It's entirely possible. He doesn't have a real alibi unless he has security cameras in his shops which I doubt. This place is very behind in electronics." I said.

"We prefer not to use T.V.'s or stereos but we do use security cameras. Not many shops have them. Shoichiro's bakery is one of the only shops allowed to have them."

"Do you think you could pull the tapes for that night?"

"I'll go check in with the chief of police. He's probably got it. To make Rai happy, the chief pulled the tapes for all the shops on that day. I'll look it over and get back to you." Youe got up. "Good luck with the witnesses."

"Thanks." I said. Youe left and in came Rai. "Here are all the profiles for the witnesses. I figured you wanted them all."

I grabbed Cul's folder and scanned for something about a job. When I finally found the job spot, it read bakery. I looked up at Rai. "Did Cul work for Shoichiro?"

"Now that you mention it she did until a few days before the murders. He fired her for not locking up the shop when she left. Some Nymph stole money out of the cash register. That's why Shoichiro is so careful with his money."

I looked down at Cul's picture. "Do you think he killed her because of that?"

"Shoichiro is a very powerful man. He could have easily done this but if you look at it like that, any werewolf in this town could have done this. Even me."

I handed him the profiles. "Try to find all connections between the victims and Shoichiro. If every single one had a some kind of disagreement with him, we've got motive and since his alibi hasn't checked out yet, that means that he could have done this." I looked up at him. "Can you send in the next witness?"

"You've got it chief." Rai collected all the files and left the room. Seconds later, a girl with a brown pony tail walked in and sat down. She looked very frail for someone of her age.

"Good morning Mrs. Gumi." She said.

"You must be Hiyori." I said.

"Yes I am." She looked down at the table. "I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be a lot of help for you. My memory isn't too good. Tsubaki says I'm starting to show signs of long term memory loss."

"I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask what is causing your long term memory loss?" I asked.

"I don't mind if it can help you solve Sonika's murder." Hiyori pushed some of her hair back revealing a very long scar on her hair. "About 40 years before Sonika's murder, I was trying to help some Water Nymphs fight off some Siren. One of them cut me with a sword. I was hospitalized for a full year before I was able to leave. Ever since a few months ago, I've been losing my memory. Tsubaki says that cut is the cause of it. It might also be my age. I'm just about to turn 1,000 years old." Hiyori let her hair fall back into place. "I bet it sounds weird that I am just starting to show signs but Nymphs bodies take a long time to develop disease. That's why Nymphs die more often by disease then violence."

"I see. I am sorry to hear that Hiyori." I leaned forward. "Is there anything you remember from that night?"

"Not much." She blushed. "I remember making out with Sasayaki…and I remember seeing Sonika dead on the warehouse floor…that's it…I'm sorry." Hiyori shook her head viciously. "I just can't remember anything. It's so bother some. I hate it!"

"Not remembering is difficult." I patted her hand. "If you remember anything let me know."

"I will." Hiyori's eyes widened. "Shoichiro…he had a stain on his shirt…it didn't look like a baking stain. Something red." Hiyori sighed. "That's all I remember."

Red. I'm gonna say that's blood. There are too many things saying this crime is pointing to Shoichiro. His connection to Cul. His eye. The lies in his profile. Plus what ever we find on those security cameras and the blood stain. Course I can't really prove the stain unless I can find the clothes he was wearing.

"Thank you Hiyori. You can go now." I gestured at the door.

"Please solve this murder. I need to know who killed Sonika. Deep down in my heart I know this isn't Shou. It couldn't have been Shou. He would have never killed Sonika or Cul. He loved Cul more then anything in the world and Sonika was always visiting him. Shou would tell me all the time how much he appreciated Sonika's visits. He couldn't have killed them." Hiyori rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Shou's a good person. I don't want to see him die."

"Neither do I. I promise we'll find out who did this." I touched her arm. "Get some rest. We'll present our findings tonight."

"Thank you Gumi." She walked out of the room. Looking at Hiyori now, I can understand why Sasayaki feels she didn't do this. I can't see an evil bone in her body. I know I have to remain objective but I just can't see her doing this.

I rolled over to the door and peeked out of the room. There were three people still there. "Can I see Taizo please?"

A short blond haired guy stood. He didn't look to strong. Kind of like a child. I find it hard to believe he's old enough to have seen that murder. That happened a while ago. This guy looks no older then 12.

Taizo walked into the room and sat down. "Good morning Gumi. It's nice to meet you. I don't believe we've officially met. I'm Taizo." He held out his hand.

I shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet anyone who could defeat the leader of our town so easily." Taizo chuckled. "Aizo has been telling me how much he hates being beaten by a little girl."

I chuckled. "Yes well, if I'm going to become a Half-Breed, I needed to be accepted her so everyone won't kill me when I turn 18."

"But why Aizo. You could have fought anyone but why Aizo?"

"Because Aizo's the leader. He was the one I was trying to impress. If I just beat any werewolf, he wouldn't be as impressed as he is now. The only way he'd be even more impressed is if I beat Gakupo and I know Gakupo would have refused to fight me anyways." I opened my folder again. "Now about the case."

"Yes, sorry I got off topic." Taizo sat up straight. "I suppose you want me to relay what happened." Taizo took in a deep breath. "That night I had gone for a walk. I couldn't sleep that night. I somehow knew something was gonna happen and I couldn't sleep knowing that. So I went for a walk and then I heard a scream coming from the warehouse. So I turned to go see and I ran smack into Raiex. He said he had heard something bang in the warehouse and so he had come running moments before. Raiex has the best hearing in the whole town. So we went running to the warehouse and met up with Sasayaki and Hiyori. Then Shoichiro showed up. He didn't look to hot for some reason. He looked like he had run a mile. Sasayaki opened the doors and there it was. The whole bloody scene. When I saw Lui lying there on top of Ceoil, I just couldn't believe it. I knew that Lui must have been trying to protect her but I guess that wasn't anywhere possible." Taizo shook his head. "Even now I can't believe Ceoil and Lui are dead. Lui and Ceoil had been such a happy couple. They always seemed to brighten up a room when they were around. Everyone loved them. I just can't believe someone would have killed them." Taizo looked down at the table. "Shou liked Lui a whole bunch. Lui had always been nice to him. Ceoil use to go up to his house every now and again and bake him some cookies. Ceoil always loved to bake and she always insisted that Shou was her taste tester. When she would make a new desert or something, she'd run up to that house and make him try it. Shou always appreciated that."

"You and Shou were close?"

"Shou is my fourth cousin. I'd go up to his house with Lui and Kaen every now and again and we'd talk about what went on. I'd sometimes go up to the house with Ceoil and watch her bake for him. Shou always seemed so happy when he ate her deserts…well until Rei would come charging in insisting Shou eat one of his new creations. Rei's cooking was awful but Shou would always eat it the whole thing and tell Rei how good it was." Taizo shook his head again. "I miss that. Going up to that house and seeing everyone. Shou always use to say he didn't have too many friends but everyone always seemed to be up at his house. It was like a little meeting place. Everyone would always leave with a smile on there face. Especially Cul." Taizo looked at me. "Solve this case so Cul, Lui and Ceoil can finally rest peacefully."

"I'll do what I can." I patted his hand. "I wish I had known them. Cul, Lui, Ceoil, Sonika. They sounded like so great people."

"They were…but I can't say much about Neko. She was such a nuisance sometimes. She'd always be trying to ruin the relationships around time. She even separated Shoichiro and his wife for a few years. It was actually around the time of the murder."

"Really? Neko did that?" I asked.

"Yeah. She really wasn't a great person. Not many were sad that she was dead. It's not nice to say but it's true. She ruined a lot of lives here. Sonika was a sweet girl but she'd always make the worst decisions. She told Shoichiro's wife to leave him. It was nice to see them back together when his wife finally came around."

"Why'd Sonika do that?" I asked.

"She never liked Shoichiro to much. In high school, Shoichiro dated all over her friends except her. I guess it bothered her or something. I don't know. Sonika was a strange person. You never really knew what went on inside her head."

"What about Oliver?"

"Oliver was a good guy. I can't even think of a bad thing that kid did. He wasn't much older then 16 when he died. So sad. He was always such a happy kid. I use to babysit him when his father Karasu went out on the town. I wasn't much of a drinker then. I was sad to see both of them go. Karasu was such a kind man but he was pretty strict. I remember when he'd go stomping through town to the shops complaining that the shops didn't pay there rents. I remember seeing Shoichiro's face when Karasu bounded in there and complained about the rent. He'd always get all flustered. Everyone's always running late on rent because Karasu collected on Friday instead of Saturday. It would always tick everyone off but they always thought it was funny when it happened to other people."

"What about Leon? Did Shoichiro have a problem with him?" I asked.

"Not that I remember. He did on that warehouse though. I remember going in there and seeing Leon directing all his workers around. It's sad the old warehouse is closed now. I use to love playing in there as a kid. Leon would always yell at me and then drag me home to my mom who would apologize time and time again and then take away my desert for the evening."

"And Ceoil and Lui? Did they have a problem with Shoichiro?"

"Ceoil did. Well I guess it's more of a high school romance thing. They had been together for a few years before Ceoil met Lui. Ceoil dumped Shoichiro for Lui. Shoichiro was really angry about that."

"Taizo, you've been super helpful." I said.

"Anything to solve the murders. I've always been close to everyone here. It's always sad to see them go. Please solve this case." He rose from the table and left.

Now I'm starting to see the links between everything. Cul accidently helped a Nymph steal from Shoichiro's store, Neko separated him and his wife, Karasu would always pester him about the rent and I'm assuming Oliver was killed because he was with his father at the time, Ceoil dumped Shoichiro for Lui, Sonika influenced Shoichiro's divorce of his wife, Leon was probably there when the murder was going on and was thrown into the mix by accident. All the pieces are coming together. I know Shoichiro did this. This is no coincidence.

Now that we have motive, we need evidence. Things that tie him to the murders. Things that pull him to the scene. We do that and this case will be air tight. I know Shoichiro did this. I know he killed those people…but we can't let him know were on to him. We can't have him destroying evidence. If we find proof on the tapes or the X-rays, we'll be able to prove he's the murderer and Shou will be free before sun down…but if we come up dry…Shou will die tonight.

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Thanks so much for reading. Sorry this took so long but putting together a murder case is hard! I felt like I had to do something like this because I'm an extreme Bones fan. If you don't know what Bones is, it's a totally awesome murder show that involves a Forensic Anthropologist and an FBI agent working together to solve murder cases. It's super good and super funny. I learned all of this cool stuff from Bones. Did you know that you can still pick up blood with a black light even after you soak a floor in bleach? I think that's pretty cool.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you learned something about murder investigation. Sorry I've been so busy guys. I'm totally failing at writing chapters right now so I probably won't finish a chapter for Cat's eye for a while. I just started a new story called Oniyuri, which everyone should check out, and I want to get a couple more chapters for that before I continue Cat's eye. I promise if you like Kyousei, you'll love Oniyuri.

Thanks so much for reading guys and please review. I love getting reviews. Also, if you have an idea for the next part of this story, shoot me a message. I'll try my best to put in exactly what you want. Thanks so much guys! Love ya!