I think I thought up a pretty interesting case this time. The trick's pretty cool, anyways. Plus, the two girls solve it like it's nothing, even lampshading on the sheer absurdity of it. It's a tribute to the ridiculousness of modern AO episodes. The entire case is solved this chapter, so don't worry about cliffhangers or anything.

Chapter Eight

"Takagi-kun, pick up your jaw," said Sato sternly. Takagi jumped and looked embarrassed. Sakura rolled her eyes. They were inside a small office on the fourth floor. The company president lay dead on the floor. A gun equipped with a silencer had been found in his hand.

"It was a murder," said Sakura and Sera unanimously.

"There aren't any burn marks on his head," said Sakura, "so it was clearly a homicide."

"Who found the body?" asked Sera.

Takagi and Sato looked between them in complete shock. "Who are you?" Sato asked Sakura.

"Kudo Sakura-desu," said Sakura, bowing slightly. "I'm a detective."

"Friend of yours?" Takagi asked Sera.

"In a way," Sera shrugged. "Now, who found the body?"

"His secretary," said Takagi, pulling out his notebook. "She grew worried when after all the employees left she couldn't contact him on the phone, so she let herself in with a spare key. She found this and alerted the police."

"Then we should try to talk with her," said Sakura, bending over to examine the corpse. She reached out to check the time of death, but realized that she wouldn't be able to conduct a thorough examination without being able to physically touch the body. "Masumi-chan, what would you say the estimated time of death is?"

"About two hours ago," said Sera, examining the body.

"What time did the employees leave?" asked Sakura.

"About three hours ago," said Sato. "The secretary was the last one out and is the only one with the key to this office other than the president."

"You're well-informed," said Sera, examining the room.

"We just got back from interrogating the suspects," said Takagi.

"You left the body alone?" Sakura asked.

"We can't move the body out until forensics is done checking for signs of forced entry."

Sakura and Sera looked at each other, as if mentally communicating. Sakura then went to the window behind the president's desk and opened the curtains. She opened the window and poked her head out, looking up and then down. Then she examined the windowsill. Meanwhile, Sera was examining the main part of the room. She went out into the hallway, took a look around, and came back. "Does the secretary have an alibi?" Sera asked.

"Yes; she was with her boyfriend, who has never even met her boss."

"Do any of the suspects have a license to operate a Cessna?" Sakura asked, closing the window.

"There was one…" said Sato thoughtfully. Sakura and Sera looked at each other and a mutual understanding passed between them. They both grinned in understanding.

"Then bring all the suspects here," said Sera. "Sakura-san, are you into dumpster diving?"

"Why me?" asked Sakura at once.

"Because you're the one that looked outside!" said Sera, grinning.

Sakura, mumbling to herself irritably, headed for the door. Then she turned around and looked at Sera. "If I have to retrieve the evidence, then you're demonstrating the trick." She walked out grinning, fully aware of the look of dawning horror on Sera's face.

Thirty minutes later, the four suspects stood before Sakura and the two officers. There were three men, one thin, one fat, and one buff, along with one woman, the secretary. "Are you sure about this, Sakura-san?" asked Takagi.

"Definitely," she said at once.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked the buff man irritably.

"That's right!" exclaimed the fat man. "We've told the cops all we know!"

"Oh, I seriously doubt that," said Sakura, leaning casually against a table. "This crime is actually pretty simple. The culprit, instead of coming in through the front door, came in through the window. The culprit both entered and exited via the window. According to your own testimonies, the window in this office is never locked because there would normally be no way to get in or out. The culprit used this to their advantage."

"How did they do it, then?" asked the buff man.

"They jumped from the top of the building, landed on the window ledge, and came in that way. Then they jumped out and landed in the dumpster."

"Impossible!" exclaimed the thin man. "How could you possibly do that?"

"How about we demonstrate, then?" Sakura pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and said, "We're ready." There was some unintelligible muttering from the other end before Sakura hung up. "You all should probably stay away from the window," she told the suspects. They took the hint and walked to the other side of the desk.

They stood there for a few seconds before a shape dropped down outside the window. It clung to the ledge before swinging itself up and opening the sliding window. There were gasps of shock as Sera stepped inside. She mimed firing a pistol before saying, "There's the proof that the trick works."

"Sera-san, what are you wearing?" asked Sato.

"The culprit's own flight suit," said Sera, holding up her arms to show the plastic 'membranes' under her arms that provided the air resistance. Pointing to her waist, she continued, "We also used the culprit's own rope."

"Rope?" asked the fat man.

"Right," said Sera, untying it and showing him. "The method was simple. First you attach the rope to the roof's guardrail with a slipknot before wrapping the rope around and around the bar. Once the rope is secured, you tie the other end to yourself, after donning the suit of course. Then you jump off, using the suit to glide down and the rope so you won't fly away. After committing the crime, you jumped back out and used the dumpster as a cushion. A slight tug on the rope made it come down. You then hid both the rope and the suit under some of the trash in the dumpster before leaving."

"Of course," said Sakura, "the only person capable of committing the crime is you!" she pointed at the thin man.

"Now see here!" he burst out. "Why are you implicating me for this atrocious crime? You have no proof!"

"This flight suit is the perfect proof. Traces of gunpowder were found on it. There is also DNA evidence remaining of the last person to have worn it. Guess whose DNA it matched?"

Then thin man looked down as if planning something. Sato's phone rang, breaking up the awkward standoff. "Is that so? And you double-checked? Thank you." She hung up and turned to the girls. "You two were right," she admitted. "The lab results came back positive, just like you said. Chiba even found an eyewitness."

"What proof is that?" asked Takagi.

"The DNA and gunpowder evidence in the flight suit," said Sato.

The man collapsed to the ground. "How did you know?"

"It was simple," said Sakura. "There's a security camera at the firm's entrance, so we knew it wasn't likely the criminal would come from there. When I realized that the window wasn't locked, I re-examined the layout of the crime scene and determined that the culprit had come from the window."

"However, none of you owns any rooms above here," said Sera. "That meant you had to have come from the roof. You obviously couldn't retreat back to the roof using a rope due to the sheer strength required, so you must have dropped to the ground."

The thin man stayed quiet for a moment before finally saying, "That man…killed my girlfriend. It was eight months ago. My girl had just been laid off and was drinking in a bar when that man walked in. He flirted with her and got her so drunk she couldn't even stand. Then he paid the bartender to look the other way as she got in her car to go home. The rest you can guess. I found out about this when another patron of the bar came clean at the funeral. I was so mad I decided to join the instigator's company to take revenge and today, I finally carried it out!" He began laughing maniacally, and it only stopped when Takagi and Sato led him away in cuffs.

XXX

"You're good," Sera remarked as they left the building.

"It was a simple case," Sakura shrugged. "Who skydives off the top of a building to get in a window anyways?"

"You're telling me. It wouldn't be worth the risk. You easily won the contest."

"You told me about the security cameras and the fact there was no evidence of a trick in the room."

"But you put the evidence together. You didn't even have to look at the security camera. You're good, Sakura-chan."

"Thank you. So what did you want to talk about before we got interrupted?"

"I think all my other questions got answered," Sera admitted. "I guess we'll meet again soon, huh?"

"Sure!" said Sakura. She was still wary of the tomboy, but knew that having Sera on her side was much better than the alternative. She waved after Sera as she walked away.

XXX

Sera was just as good an actress as Sakura. The case, rather than answering her questions, had simply added more. She knew there was something up with Sakura. It was something in the way she held herself, almost as if she was hiding something.

'Maybe it's not my business, but Sakura-san's secret just may relate to the true reason I'm here,' Sera thought, following Sakura at a safe distance. She knew that successfully tailing Sakura would be a major challenge. After all, Sakura was about at her level in regards to detective work. She still didn't understand why Sakura couldn't perform an examination of the body, either.

As they walked, Sakura made a phone call, one that Sera couldn't hear. Twice she had to dive out of sight when Sakura whirled around suspiciously. Then Sakura turned into a yard and went into a house. 'Agasa-hakase's house,' Sera noted. 'Maybe she's bunking there or something.'

"You shouldn't eavesdrop, you know," said a voice beside her, making her jump out of her skin.

"Haibara-san!" she exclaimed. "I was just looking for Minami-chan!"

"Is that so?" she said shortly, tucking a strand of hair into her baseball cap.

"You went shopping, then?" Sera asked, noticing she was carrying a plastic bag.

"Is that illegal?" asked Haibara, heading for the gate. "Now go away before the neighbors mistake you for a prowler."

'Rude…' thought Sera irritably. "How about I come inside with you, then?" she asked, pretending to not take the hint.

Haibara was spared from answering by the front door opening and Minami coming out. "You're leaving?" Haibara asked.

"Yep! Ran-neesan wants me to head home. She said something about an argument with occhan."

'I know what that's about,' Sera thought to herself.

"All of you go, then," said Haibara, waving them away and shutting the door with a snap.

"Maybe you can come with me and play peacemaker," said Minami, shutting the gate behind her and walking down the road.

As interested as Sera was in both Minami and now Sakura, she had no intention of getting into any fights. "I think I'll let you take care of it, Minami-chan," Sera told her. "See you later!"

'Why couldn't she have done that the first time?' Minami thought irritably as Sera rounded the corner. Luckily for her, Sera actually did go home this time.

I've got some ideas about how to keep this half of the story going. I don't know if I'll send her to school or not, but I have the perfect scenario for the finale.

It's getting closer to the end of term, so I'm finding less and less time to update. Anybody who's ever been to college should understand.

Finally, I would appreciate some feedback. Anything other than trolls are OK. Just let me know you guys are still reading, OK? :D