The Memory of Murder
By E.M. Megs
Chapter 12 - Connection
Haruhi nearly didn't believe it when she discovered the connection between her former fiancé and the murdered couple that he had been accused of killing. Suddenly everything made a bit more sense. Why he had looked so happy when he'd found out that it was the Takahashis.
In her hand she held an old court file. She shouldn't have even had access to it but Kyoya's eldest brother had used his decided influence to get it sent to her. She swallowed as she took in the details of a trial that had taken place 23 years in the past.
And at the very top the names listed made her feel sick to her stomach as she came to the realization that the proof of Kyoya's murder motive was sitting in her hands.
Defendant: Takahashi Ray defended by Takahashi Chiyoko
Prosecution: Tokyo PD on behalf of Ohtori Yoshio
Offense in question: 1st degree murder - victim Ohtori Mayumi
Haruhi closed her eyes and dropped the file, unable to read any further. "Stupid," she whispered, rubbing her eyes angrily. "You stupid, stupid man." However, she repeated to herself again that Kyoya Ohtori had never been a murderer, nor was he a man who acted on petty revenge notions. There was something else here. She glanced over the list of witnesses that had been called for both sides.
Crown, Victor - Defense
Takahashi, Chiyoko - Defense
Che, Raine - Defense
Che, Kitsu - Defense
Karter, Valence - Offense
Tachibana, Seizaburo- Offense
Ohtori, Kyoya - Offense
Ohtori, Fuyumi - Offense
She swallowed as she came across Kyoya and Fuyumi's names on the witness lists. And then, at the very back of the file, there was a small card. Her heart stopped for a brief moment at its familiarity. Her hands shook as she took hold of it and popped open the faded black seal.
Your son is rather intuitive, Yoshio. Much like you. Though that is not getting you anywhere that you want to go, nor will it ever.
-K
The realization took hold of her all at once. Kyoya was not responsible for this. His father had been receiving the same threats he'd been getting in the weeks before the Takahashis were murdered. Her breath got caught on the lump in her throat as she picked up her phone and dialed a number that she had never actually needed to call herself.
It was answered on the third ring. "Ohtori Yoshio's office. Mai speaking."
She swallowed. "I need to speak with Yoshio immediately. It's regarding his son's death."
~o~
Yoshio, much like his son would have, didn't react at all to the file she placed on his desk. "Fujioka-san, you said this was urgent."
"You made no mention of the threats you were receiving in the trial for your wife's murder."
The Ohtori froze, staring at her. "How… did you come across that information?"
She flipped through the file until she found the faded note. "I found this. About a month ago, I found similar ones in Kyoya's scrapbook. They'd apparently been coming in for months before he supposedly murdered two people and killed himself." She swallowed, feeling the emotions of the situation grip her. "I think he was framed. He was framed and murdered himself or forced to fire the gun that killed him. Something forced him. I need to know who wrote these notes."
"Kyoya approached me when he started getting them. I'll tell you the same as I told him. I don't know who it is. Just that they are an enemy of the Ohtori family and they are not to be trifled with."
"Give me a list of your enemies then."
Yoshio let out a sharp bark of laughter. "My dear child," he stated, "Do you have any idea how long of a list that would be?"
"I don't care. I'm not going to rest until I find out who did this and prove that Kyoya was innocent all along. I can't live with the accusation being held over my head that I was engaged to marry a murderer."
Yoshio contemplated her in silence for a while then nodded his head. "I shall compile a list for you though I'm not sure where it will get you."
"Thank you."
The man was quiet again and she almost thought she'd been silently dismissed already. She was turning to leave his office when he spoke again, "There's only one thing I can think of that anyone could say to make my son kill himself."
"What?"
"A threat on your life."
Haruhi's brown eyes bore into the eyes of Yoshio Ohtori, the very eyes that Kyoya had inherited. Then she closed them and drew in a deep breath, not wanting to think about the implications of what had just been said. "Thank you, sir. Have a good day," she muttered stiffly, letting herself out abruptly.
As she sat down in her car, a sob fell unwillingly from her lips.
~o~
Haruhi had always known that the Ohtoris were not always a well-liked family due to the nature of their business and how easily they monopolized it. She also knew that on occasion the patriarch had taken part in what seemed to be shadier business ventures. However, nothing could have prepared her for the length of the list that was emailed to her a week later.
She let out a breath of frustration as she scanned over some of the names.
Several known yakuza members stood out among the high class families whom the Ohtoris had been feuding with for decades. Finally, there was a single name that popped out at her. A person known only as Karashi. She stared at it, feeling certain that this was it.
She pulled the files of Mayumi Ohtori's murder without bothering to cover up her tracks. The bare minimum was in the files but still, she looked. It had been concluded that Mayumi had killed herself and that no one was at fault, but still Haruhi looked, staring at the records of Ray and Chiyoko's financials over the weeks surrounding Mayumi's death.
She found it odd to realize that they had been receiving weekly payments of 26,725 yen from two different accounts on the same day every week for four months beginning two months before the death and ending two months after it.
Why hadn't anyone caught this the first time?
Of course, it could have been a mere coincidence of Chiyoko's and Ray's paydays lining up but the fact that the salary was exactly the same - consistent - for both of them every single week bothered her.
She got on her computer and traced the account numbers, finding that they lead to dead ends as they weren't open anymore. Nonetheless she took down the names that had been previously attached to them and closed out the window.
Che Kitsu.
Che Raine.
She stared at the name. They had been a witness, hadn't they? She rechecked the witness list and blinked several times. Che Kitsu was indeed on the witness list for the murder of Mayumi Ohtori. For the defense. And Ray's employer was listed as Che Kitsu and Che Raine. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and concentration.
But the Ches weren't on the list of Ohtori enemies.
"Fujioka."
She jumped at the angry voice that came from her office door. In strode Sheriff Takikara, looking at her like she'd done something horribly wrong. "Sheriff," Haruhi acknowledged lightly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Pulling the files for the Ohtori cases. Both of them. Mayumi Ohtori was a suicide and Kyoya Ohtori was a murderer who committed suicide, Fujioka. There isn't anything else. I don't know what you think you're doing but-"
"They weren't suicides."
"Excuse me?"
"Both of them. They weren't suicides." When Takikara merely snorted and started shaking her head, Haruhi plowed on. "Ohtori Yoshio was receiving threats in the form of white cards sealed with circular black stickers from an unknown family enemy for nearly a year before Mayumi's death. I found the same kinds of threats among Kyoya's things a little more than a month ago. He'd been getting them for months before the Takahashis were murdered."
"And you know this because…?"
"We lived together," she stated plainly.
"Against regulations."
"Does it matter now? He's dead for heaven's sake. I didn't even find out about them until after he died in our apartment I might add. Do you know the nightmares I have staying in that place and knowing that it's where he died?" She shook her head at her own tangent and got back to the matter at hand. "I was looking at the files of the trial for Mayumi's murder. Ray Takahashi is the defendant with his wife as his lawyer."
"Gives your boy motive then."
"But it isn't a motive. Even if he went free. Kyoya became a cop because his mother's murderer was never brought to justice and he didn't want that to ever happen to someone else's family. He wouldn't have murdered someone as revenge 24 years later when knowing full well that it wouldn't feel like proper justice. The notes are the key here, Takikara. It's not a coincidence that the same notes from Kyoya's childhood started showing up in his own home before he is framed for murder."
"He wasn't framed."
"Will you just listen to me? I'm explaining to you exactly why he's innocent!" She took a deep breath and didn't give her superior a chance to refute her. "The notes are all signed with a simple K. Around the time of Ohtori Mayumi's murder Takahashi Ray was receiving payments of 53,450 yen split between two accounts at an even half from each. This occurred consistently every Tuesday for four months. The accounts trace back to Che Kitsu and Che Raine."
"I believe it was determined that those were the payments of his salary from his employers, Che Kitsu and Che Raine."
"No," Haruhi said softly. "No. They're the same family. If they were simply paying him, they wouldn't have needed to pay him from two different accounts. And the pay period would have been longer than four months. I believe he's listed as being employed by them for two years? Yet he's only paid for two four month periods that entire time. And what was his job exactly?"
Takikara, though not exactly convinced yet did seem skeptical now of what was occurring.
"It brings up a shadow of doubt in Ohtori Mayumi's case, you have to admit that. Doubt that it was a suicide between the threats and the payments to the accused murderer."
"Yes, but it doesn't prove anything for your boy."
Haruhi took a deep breath and let it out slowly before making her next argument. "There is only one thing that would make Kyoya kill himself instead of letting himself be arrested."
"Oh?"
"A direct threat to my life. If, for some reason, he thought it would keep me safe if he died, then he'd do it."
"You think that Ohtori killed himself… To protect you? From what?"
"The sender of the notes. I asked his father about the threats and asked him to send me a list of family enemies that could have sent them."
"And?"
"I have yet to find anything connected to it, but I'm sure, I'm positive that if you let me keep searching then I will be able to prove that Kyoya did not murder the Takahashis."
Takikara's lips pursed for a single instant before she sighed and muttered, "Fine. You have a week. One week, Fujioka. Not an hour more. And if you don't find anything after that, I'm pulling the plug. I need you focused elsewhere."
"Thank you."
The sheriff merely shook her head and stalked out of the room.
~o~
A/N: Heeeeeeeyooooooo! Been a while hasn't it? But happy new year anyway! To make up for the absence as well as to celebrate, you get an extra-long chapter! Yay! It's twice as long as normal! Just 6 or 7 chapters left now.
Kudos to: AnimeApprentice and xXSimplyMagicalXx.
For those of you waiting on LD, never fear. I haven't been sitting on my bum all this time. In fact, I wrote this chapter completely today AND finished off the next chapter for LD. So you shall be getting your Christmas/New Years' presents. Don't you fret. Also, yes. Next chapter you will get all the nitty-gritty details of Ray Takahashi's trial. Just wait. Patience is virtue my friends.