Thanks for reviewing, Kaitou, desamontello12, and D C JoKeR H S!
Kaitou and D C JoKeR H S: It might not happen now, but it's coming!
desamontello12: I was thinking something along the lines of that idea! I was going to write something like that, but the layers may not be as thick as usual…but thanks for the compliment. You too, Kaitou and D C JoKeR H S!
To my readers: Please read and review! I'd like to hear your thoughts, and I appreciate any feedback. Be warned: Ace from Oda Eiichiro's One Piece will use any of your own flames against you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective School Q. Amagi Seimaru, Sato Fumiya, and Animax do.
As they arrived at the local gym, Class Q took a moment to observe their surroundings. The structure was fairly large, a two-story building, covered by bricks stacked strategically to make the place more pleasing to the eye. While it did not look like a country club for the rich, it certainly gave off the vibe that a substantial amount of money had been put into its construction.
Standing in front of the doors, to the left was the pool, visible through the glass windows covering almost every inch of the walls. There were policemen, coroners, and crime scene investigators milling about in an area of the pool enclosed by yellow tape. To the right, treadmills and other standard gym machinery were visible through the glass door leading to the large room, although no one was there at the moment. That didn't surprise Class Q, who had been told that the owners and managers of the gym were cooperating with the police and decided to close down the entire place. No need for nosy outsiders to contaminate the crime scene.
As they walked in, the manager at the front desk gave them a questioning look. What were these high-schoolers doing here? Before he could kick them out, the detective in charge of the case rushed out, and pumped Kyuu's hand rigorously.
"Ah, DDS. I'm glad you're here!"
Kyuu took the sudden handshake in stride, choosing to go along with it. Looking at the man's face, he recognized it as the detective who had first worked with them at Ichinose Kaoru's séance case. "Odajima, wasn't it? We would be glad to assist you in any way we can. DDS has already filled us in on the case. Please lead the way." He said as Odajima released his hand.
The man's face lit up (a complete change in attitude since that case in Kaoru's house, Kyuu mused) and he led the five DDS members on the long hallway to the crime scene. Kyuu matched the inspector's pace, followed by Kinta and Kazuma. Megu trailed after them, lost in thought. Kyuu had handled that boisterous inspector's greeting well. Surprisingly well, in fact. Before the kidnapping, Kyuu would have panicked, his social awkwardness leaving him tongue-tied. And yet, just now, he had exchanged greetings with the man professionally. Her mind spun as it tried to comprehend the change in social skills.
Behind her, Ryuu was thinking the same thing, as well as something else that had been on his mind since Kyuu's return.
Kyuu may have had the others fooled, but Ryuu knew-and had seen firsthand-how much he had suffered since the incident. On that first night Kyuu had come home from the hospital, he had skillfully redirected the conversation each time Renjo-san or Ryuu tried to ask him about his time missing. He had also gone to bed before Ryuu, and was already asleep when the blue-haired boy entered.
Kyuu seemed okay at first, but Ryuu had woken up later that night-he was a light sleeper, any slight disturbance would wake him-to Kyuu shaking and muffling his screams with the pillow. He had concluded that Kyuu was having nightmares (thanks to Pluto, his mind snarled) and then debated waking him up, but decided that that wasn't the best idea, because a) shaking him awake (from well-deserved rest, no less) could make things worse, and b) Kyuu could withdraw even further into himself. (Kyuu's fake smiles at the hospital had fooled everyone but Ryuu and Renjo-san.) Ryuu wondered if he should talk to him, but decided not to just yet, since Kyuu was determined to figure things out himself, and should have a chance to do so.
Before he could think any more about it, Megu called back to him. "Ryuu! Are you coming?"
"Hai!" he called back, as he moved quickly to catch up to the others. Right now, they had a mystery to solve.
At the pool, Odajima and Class Q stepped under the tape and into the crime scene. Ryuu noticed that the body had been removed, and the police, crime scene investigators, and coroners had cleared the area, leaving the inspector and the members of DDS alone on the scene. Odajima turned to Class Q and explained the details of the case. "Our victim was Yamaguchi Misao, age 18, a professional swimmer. She was found by the lifeguard this morning, floating on the pool. Due to the water in her lungs, the coroners believe she was drowned in the pool last night, around this gym's closing time."
"Do we have any suspects?" asked Kazuma. He was typing the details of the case into his laptop, keeping it far away from dying a watery death as he sat in the bleachers next to the pool.
"Yes. Only three people were here, in the gym, that late at night."
"Only three people?! Why do you need DDS' help with this case? You seem to have a good grasp on the case," Kinta commented. The police should be able to solve it in no time.
The inspector gave them a sheepish grin. "Well, the thing is…they all seem to have alibis, as well as reasons for wanting Yamaguchi Misao dead. We have very little evidence so far, so we can't arrest anyone yet. We thought bringing you guys in would make things easier."
Each member of Class Q gave the police officer a flat look. Well, at least this time, he knew when to admit defeat and let them into the case…
"So, who were the suspects?" Megu asked politely.
The inspector consulted his notepad, which he had pulled out of his pocket. "One was the lifeguard who discovered the body, Kanegawa Mayumi. The second was Sugase Takeo, a personal trainer, also employed at this gym. The last one was Minabuchi Teruyo, Yamaguchi-san's boyfriend. Apparently, he's a marine biologist, who was waiting for her to finish swim practice so they could go to a late night movie together. We called all three of them in, and they are waiting in a nearby lounge and ready for questioning."
To be continued…