A/N: So, who's an utter scumbag? I'm an utter scumbag! I'm so sorry about what's happened! I haven't updated in what feels like centuries, and I genuinely believe it's been over two weeks since I posted a chapter. I completely forgot to tell you guys that I was away for a week with my friend, and because the internet there is very shaky, I didn't have the chance to post whilst there, or let you guys know that I wasn't able to post the next chapter. Anyway, I got back, and I could've posted, but I missed my chance and got extremely ill for the past couple of days, so I couldn't post whilst in a state... I'm really sorry about what's happened, and in the future, I'll remember to put in my A/Ns if I'm away, just because I don't like to leave people hanging. Once again, I'm very sorry!

Without further ado, here's the next chapter of Investigasians! I really hope it's worth the two week wait, but something tells me that it probably won't be... I mean, two weeks is a long time by my books! Sorry again, and here's the next chapter!

Chapter 13

Elizabeta's car sped along the road, just within seeing distance. Mei was careful to keep a considerable gap between the two vehicles. She didn't want to run the risk of being spotted, nor did she want to lose the car. Technically, although Yao was a private investigator, the tactic of tailing someone without legal permission was frowned upon and could get them in trouble. However, Mei was determined to figure this out and wouldn't stop at any means.

After the days of surveillance she and Yong had dedicated to this, which had meant tired days at work, whilst Yao was content to wait for Lei to finish with the computers, she wasn't about to give up. Mei's eyelids felt heavy, but her desire to discover what Elizabeta Hédeváry was doing was stronger than her physical need to sleep. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Yong almost falling asleep; he'd even pulled the hood of his jacket up to keep his face warmer.

Mei almost missed it when Elizabeta swerved the car to the side, down a narrow road. However, she soon followed into a more isolated road, where cars were parked and remained stationary. They were the only cars moving. Mei glanced from side to side to see houses with all lights off. There wasn't a single sign of life in the entire neighbourhood, other than her car and Elizabeta's. Even Yong Soo had stopped moving.

The car in front drew to the side, disappearing from view. Cautious, Mei edged the Honda family's car round the corner and saw Elizabeta sliding into a parking spot. Hurriedly, she set the car in reverse and forced it back out of sight, preferring a place along the street. She couldn't afford to let herself get seen.

She glanced at Yong Soo, but he remained completely oblivious to what was happening. Mei stepped out into the cold night and chose to lock him in. If there were any problems, he would call her. She crept along the street, drawing her own hood up as she did so. She could see Elizabeta's car round the corner, and the woman herself was walking steadily up the road, back facing Mei. Rather than instantly racing after her, Mei kept a distance, taking her time to watch Elizabeta push open a fence into a public greenspace. She even pulled the hood of her coat up so that, if Elizabeta were to suddenly turn and spot her, then she wouldn't be recognised.

It was at the greenspace that Mei threw herself into action. She pulled her phone from her pocket, and dropped to a low crouch, moving quietly and stealthily towards the little park. Fortunately, there were thick bushes hiding her from Elizabeta, and she could just about see through the bushes when she wasn't peeking round. She leant out and watched Elizabeta standing in the park, idly hopping from one foot to the next.

Mei's heart hammered with terrified realisation. Elizabeta was waiting for someone.

Alert, she glanced around the street and saw another car turn into the corner. Mei remained as still as she could, praying to some higher power that she wouldn't be noticed in her dark attire. The car breezed on past, and she took the opportunity to crawl across the pavement and underneath a car closest to the park, where she could just about see Elizabeta's feet, still. Ideally, she would've liked to have Yong Soo awake and posted elsewhere as an emergency lookout, but it seemed she was capable of handling the undercover work alone.

Mei watched as someone walked up the road from where the second car had parked. From the angle she was at, she could only see their feet, but the hard footfalls and the sneakers they wore were definitely those of a male. Elizabeta was meeting a man, and Mei had to guess that Roderich didn't wear sneakers. She also wouldn't need to drive out to a secluded, unknown place to speak to her fiancé.

Rummaging through her pocket, Mei extracted her phone and angled it on the pathway. She switched to camera mode, and got a straight on view of Elizabeta standing at the park, her mystery man approaching. There was no delight on her face as she turned towards whoever it was she was meeting; Mei could just about make out the hard lines of her frown, her stiff jaw and the way she remained rigid with her hands in her coat pockets.

As for the other person… Mei could see blonde hair, but as they were faced away, she couldn't tell for sure. Their hands also remained in their pockets. This wasn't a friendly meeting, she could conclude.

Unfortunately, her location meant she was too far to hear, and she couldn't lip read either. From what she could see, Elizabeta looked anxious; she kept glancing around as if she'd be spotted. Her companion was more relaxed by a considerable amount; his hands remained stationary and he didn't even fidget. This was clearly a meeting Elizabeta wanted to escape from or keep short.

Their conversation continued at an even flow for a while, until the other person lifted a hand to Elizabeta's shoulder, saying something. Vehemently, she threw his touch away with a shake of her head.

Mei thought she heard her say, "Get off of me."

What happened next caught Mei off guard. Whoever Elizabeta was with raised a palm to her cheek and held her face for a moment. Roderich's fiancée had a glazed expression in her eyes that immediately hardened. She pushed the tender hand away once more and started storming away from the park. Hurriedly, Mei scooted further under the car, hiding her phone with her.

No longer able to see Elizabeta, she only heard her footsteps scuffle closer, until she stood right before the car Mei was under. She could see her shoes; her heart beat wildly in her chest for fear of being caught, just as the sneakers drew a little closer.

"I told you we had ended years ago and I'm sticking firm to my word," Elizabeta's tone held a hint of warning to it. "Don't ruin what I have with Roderich."

"If you love him so much, why don't you express your concerns about this?" the voice was unfamiliar to Mei. "Why come to me before your own fiancé?"

"Because Roderich doesn't need to know about what I've done," she snapped. "Besides, I only came here to confirm what I needed to know."

There came no answer.

"Oh, and before you jump to your delusions, I love Roderich with all my heart," Elizabeta added hurriedly. "I love him more than I ever loved you."

"You're the one who called me here," he replied. "Besides, you can't possibly have forgotten what we had all those months ago…"

Mei tensed when she saw Elizabeta's shoes come an abrupt halt.

"We're over. We were over a long time ago."

"Keep telling yourself that," the man replied. "But even you can't deny that I brought you a lot more excitement than Roderich ever does or will. It's still not too late to change your mind?"

The hope in his voice implied this was a relationship that had not met a satisfying end. She heard a sharp intake of breath from where Elizabeta stood.

"You were just a mistake," she hissed. "A spur on the moment decision I made when I was upset. Nothing more. Don't delude yourself."

"Spur on the moment?" his tone became incredulous. "A moment must be very long for you…"

"Don't call me, and don't hope to get another meeting like this," Elizabeta said. "I intend to never see you again after tonight. I've got what I wanted."

"What if I were to show up at your door?" Mei couldn't tell if she was witnessing blackmail – she held her tongue, never the less.

"If you want to get sued for stalking me, go ahead," Elizabeta barked out a laugh.

She walked away after that.

Mei bowed her head against the concrete as the other person gave up and their footsteps receded into the night.

"You did what, aru?" Yao stared at the pair of them, aghast.

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and Yao had called the gang together to hear what Lei had to summarise about the computers and tracking of Gilbert Beilschmidt. It was only then that Yong and Mei burst out with a confession they must've been holding the entire day. Yao had listened to their story in silent horror, the nights they spent watching Elizabeta, and that eventual night where Mei traced her to an unknown park.

"We were hardly going to wait around," Mei complained. "You're meant to be a private investigator. If one lead goes stationary, you're supposed to pick away at all the others until the answers are presented at your feet."

"I am a private investigator, aru," he folded his arms.

"Not a very good one," she muttered.

"What you did was illegal, aru," Yao snapped. "You could've jeopardised the entire mission just because you couldn't sit tight and wait for a few days."

"I was getting the ball rolling," Mei answered indignantly. "As a matter of fact, I-"

"I'm so sorry, Aniki!" Yong Soo outburst. "In no way did I mean for you to get upset or offended by what we did; I honestly thought we'd be helping you with our own little independent research, but I never realised how potentially damaging this could've been to your career."

Yao leant away, mildly unsettled by his sidekick, as usual. "Right. Well. Let's just put it in the past."

"Seriously?" Mei was staring at him in disbelief.

"What now?" Yao sighed impatiently.

"You're just going to ignore this blatantly suspicious nature?" she gaped.

"I don't know if you've realised, aru, but Gilbert Beilschmidt is our prime suspect, and is acting far more suspicious, what with his having fled the city," Yao sneered. "If it comes to light that Beilschmidt is actually innocent, which is unlikely, then we can turn back to-"

"Forget it," Mei stood and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Yao asked.

"I'm out," she replied.

"What?" he stared at her.

"You heard me," she stopped in the doorway to glare at him. "Count me out of this bullshit, because it's going nowhere. Good luck chasing circles."

"Whatever," Yao huffed as she left.

He didn't want to, but he couldn't help but feel slightly bothered by her quitting her role in the case. He didn't want to, but he watched her leave the room without so much as a glance over her shoulder, and that only bothered him all the more. However, he said nothing and forced himself to look back amongst the others rather than follow after her and demand what was really wrong. All eyes were on him.

"Something seemed to be bothering her," Kasam mumbled, averting his gaze hastily.

"Oh, really?" Yao scowled. "Honestly, aru, I want to forget about Mei. She was only going to hinder us in the long run with unplanned actions like that, anyway."

"I'm sorry, Aniki," Yong Soo mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, aru," he slumped down into a chair and folded his arms. "She tried to misguide you, too. What did you find, Lei?"

"Right," Lei spun on his chair and opened several tabs on his computer, acting as if nothing had happened. "Gilbert Beilschmidt seems to have been rather careful with his cards and details. Before his abrupt disappearance on Saturday, he extracted a considerable amount of cash from his bank account."

"Any further activity on any of his cards?" Yao pressed.

"No," Lei shook his head. "That's what I mean by careful. His phone details remain stationary – he hasn't used his phone since his disappearance when he was on call to a number I couldn't trace, no matter how hard I tried. It was probably one of those disposable things, if you know what I mean."

"Right," Yao frowned. "What does that mean we have on him?"

"Not much, other than some loose guesses," Lei replied. "There's been no passport activity. He remains within the country. The amount he took out was almost his entire life's worth of savings. Enough for a cheap shack or something, but also enough to rent a vehicle. Get me the details from the local car shop, and I can use the security road cameras to find the number plate. After that, Yao, Beilschmidt's fair game."

"Thanks, Lei," Yao patted him on the shoulder. "Good job. Myself and Yong Soo will investigate that."

He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that they'd been reduced to a two person team. All Yao knew was that this trail wasn't as dead as Mei seemed to think. She was acting very childish in this matter, because there remained a large chance that Beilschmidt truly was the murderer, and that Elizabeta was merely having an affair. They were detectives, though, not marriage counselors.

He didn't set off until the next day. Although this marked the ninth day of the case, he wanted to be alert before they went to investigate. Now that Yong was currently out of school, they had more free time during the day to get down to business. He picked his sidekick up from the Im household, and drove straight into the city centre, following the instructions Lei had provided for them to get to the garage.

Yao couldn't afford one of those clever GPS systems, or have a car which had one inbuilt in, so a quick search and print off of instructions given by Google Maps would have to suffice. Even though he lived locally, Beilschmidt didn't, so it could've been any of the car rental places. The Old Civic idly slipped amongst the traffic, with Yong Soo excitedly telling Yao what he hoped to get for Christmas. He desperately hoped Yong didn't expect a gift from him, because that would be asking Yao for too much. He had never received one in the past, and he would never get one in the future, what with the way Yao liked to selfishly spend any money he managed to get on himself.

Somehow, the initial cash Roderich Edelstein had paid had dwindled to a mere twenty-seven pounds and five pence. Yao wasn't sure himself how he'd managed to blow nearly two hundred quid; about of third of it must've gone towards the rent he'd owed Mr Honda. The rest? Yao could only assume ramen.

With Yong Soo nattering as well as giving him instructions, Yao almost missed the right turning and scolded Yong for not concentrating. The Old Civic bumbled into a rundown shed that had old cars dotted around. Some were rusting, and others in maintenance. None of them looked like new, well-functioning cars. Whatever Gilbert Beilschmidt had paid for with the rest of his money was beyond Yao. He desperately hoped it wasn't a plane ticket, otherwise there was very little time left to act.

He parked the car and the pair of them got out.

"Watch your pockets," Yao warned Yong, unfamiliar with the types of characters that would appear in a miserable little place like this.

Cautiously, he approached the entrance, which had been left open, invitingly. Too inviting, in Yao's opinion, but he walked straight through with Yong in tow never the less. This was definitely one of those missions that would never get mentioned to Mrs Im…

He knocked lightly on the side of the wall, a tin rattling sound that reverberated around the entire hall. There were old cars currently in the manufacturing process. They received no answer, but Yao still took that as an invitation inside. He wandered across the length of the garage, searching for an office, when suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere from within the cars.

Yao flinched, momentarily startled, but was pleased to see the young man wore overalls and held the spanner of an employee. He had several oil stains on his clothes, but his smile was bright enough.

"Hey, hey," he walked right up and shook one of Yao's hands in his own. "Really good to have another customer here so soon – how can I help you?"

"I'm actually an official investigator," Yao held up his ID and watched the friendly expression drop from the employee's face. "May I speak with you?"

"I haven't done anything, Mr Investigator Man," the young man glanced around the workshop, as if checking for any crimes. "You won't catch anything suspicious here, you better believe it…"

"I'm not here concerning you or your business, more your customers," Yao said, uncomfortably wrenching his hand from the young man's grasp.

"Anything they do is nothing to do with me," he assured him indignantly. "Whatever someone has done, you won't find my name connected with them; only in business do I know my customers."

"Mr… um?"

"Esteves."

"Mr Esteves, I'm not here to convict anyone of a crime," Yao said, deciding to hide his true intentions. "I just want to know if you served a man of the surname Beilschmidt recently?"

"Bellsmit… Bellsmit…" Esteves glanced anxiously around until his eyes fell on a dusty worktop that was also stained with oil, but had a messy pile of papers and folders strewn across it. "One moment. Bellsmit…"

Yao watched patiently as Esteves rummaged around his files, pure concentration in his eyes. He seemed desperate to clear his name of any potential crimes. Perhaps this place was worse than Yao had initially thought?

"Bellsmit…" Esteves opened a folder with 'Clients' scrawled on top and flicked through an organised stack of papers that sat within the yellow paper folder. "Bell…smit. Here."

Esteves stared at the paper for some time before raising his eyes to glance at Yao. "Can I ask why you're looking for this man?"

"We need to ask him a few questions relating to a recent event," Yao answered vaguely.

"If this man ends up in court, he won't be able to lift my name up from the blue," Esteves closed the folder, the single sheet in hand. "If he does happen to mention me, allow me to firmly close any suspicions and clarify that I have nothing to do with whatever he's done."

Yao had a feeling that refusal would mean he wouldn't be allowed to see the sheet of paper Esteves held.

"I believe you, Mr Esteves," he said politely. "I don't doubt that you're not connected to whatever Mr Beilschmidt is involved in."

Relief flooded the employee's eyes, and he wandered over, offering the paper towards Yao. "Take as long as you like, Mr Investigator Man."

A/N: From now on, I just need to get back on track! Thank you for your patience! For anyone who may be wondering, Fausto Esteves is the name I've selected for Portugal, since he doesn't have an official one. Until next time!