A/N: Hello everyone! The time for Hallowe'en is coming, and I have my costume in the making. Bizarrely, I'm going as Puss In Boots, from Shrek, which isn't exactly scary... but I think it's all about the dressing up spirit on this one! My friend is going as Shrek! I recently got green contact lenses, as I'm preparing to cosplay as Nyotalia England in a con at the end of November- this'll be my first cosplay, so I really hope all the items arrive! I was a bit late ordering the dress... but it's been dispatched, so fingers crossed that it'll arrive on time! Anyway, if this cosplay goes right, Nyotalia England- I usually call her 'Rose'- will probably become my go-to cosplay. I'm really looking forwards to it! Anyway, I'll use a couple of green contact lenses for Puss In Boots, too!

I've recently started badminton again- I used to play at school. Three hours with 15 minute breaks here and there against some guys who are really good. I used to be one of the best at school, but compared to some people I feel like an absolute newbie... That's actually not off-putting, though. The badminton communities I've been involved with are always so lovey; I don't think I've ever met a horrible badminton player. Anyway, it's my exercise of the week- if you ignore the 20 minute walk from my flat to campus every day- so it's definitely very fun. Also, I think I'm improving. I've played for 7 years, but stopped for a year and I was very rusty when first starting again... For anyone who hasn't tried badminton, it's definitely the sport for you if you like racket sports but aren't such a huge fan of either tennis, table tennis or squash.

As for me, it's reading week now! That means I have no lectures/seminars for the next week, so I can be lazier than usual! I shall have to cram read anything I haven't done already, but that's not a problem to me. I'll be going home for most of the week, after Hallowe'en, so I'm really looking forwards to seeing my family and pets again. It's been about 3 weeks of total independence; I'm rather proud of myself.

Enough about me, and more about Yao: the next chapter of Investigasians is here!

Chapter 19

Roderich Edelstein didn't even attempt to conceal the obvious disdain in his face at the sight of Yao and Yong Soo in his house once again. He had opened the door, announced his arrival in a cheerful tone Yao could never associate with him, only to then wander into the sitting room and see his unexpected guests. The visible slump of his shoulders as he took in Yao, and the slight grimace that tugged at the corners of his mouth when his gaze travelled to Yong Soo, would've been comical had they been displayed in a reality TV show, or even a comedy programme. However, this was unrestrained dislike in the real world. Yao had never realised the relationship with his client had become so dire, but was worried now that it was presented right before him. He offered a weak smile that was not returned. Yao was going to have to work incredibly hard to recover a stable status with the client.

"Elizabeta?" that was all he said.

"They're coming as guests to the production," she beamed. "Isn't that wonderful? Detective Wang was happy to hear your music and I think it's the perfect way to thank him for all the hard work he's done so far."

Roderich's dark purple gaze bore into Yao's soul. He did not sit down, but instead remained, stiff and awkward in the doorway.

"Well, I think it's wonderful," Elizabeta added somewhat sullenly when she received no response.

"Ja," he dipped his head in disdain, and looked at his feet. "We ought to go. Otherwise we'll be late."

"We'll take our own cars," Mei interjected quickly.

Yao watched as Roderich seemed more pleased to hear that than anything else that had been flung around so far. Elizabeta nodded in pleasant agreement, and they all stood, ready to leave. Yao fell into step beside Mei.

"That's not even your car you're driving around, aru," he whispered harshly.

"I know," she said. "Which is why we're going to make a brief stop at the Honda Ramen Bar, where I can make a quick switch amongst the cars."

"Right, aru," he whipped his keys from his pocket when Roderich opened the door to let in an icy blast of air.

Since he hadn't bothered to lock the car, Yong Soo and he only had to dive into their seats. As they were taking up the drive, he reversed quickly out, angled himself, and crawled out on the road. He left the private lane and dipped into the main road on the way back to the city.

"That was weird," Yong Soo admitted.

"I know right," Yao grimaced. "And so, so awkward. Roderich hates me."

"You hadn't realised before, Aniki? That only made it worse," Yong continued, oblivious to Yao's glower. "On the bright side, though, he wasn't telling you to get out like last time."

"I suppose not, aru," Yao wasn't seeing any bright side.

"Hmm, but Elizabeta seemed eager to hold back information," Yong Soo admitted, becoming contemplative. "You'd think she'd want the case over and done with as soon as possible..."

"I understand where she's coming from," Yao said. "It is an important night for the family, aru, and if one of them is convicted of murder, the concert will be ruined. Besides, she was willing to talk tomorrow morning, and for that, I'm grateful."

"Do you think she's the killer, Aniki?" Yong asked.

"I don't know, aru, but I've been jumping to too much conclusions recently," he heaved out a sigh. "It's Mei. She's driving me nuts with her reckless behaviour, aru. She needs to back down a little."

"Yeah?"

"Yep, aru," he glanced in the rear view mirror to see Kiku's family car behind theirs. "But I know she means well."

"What are you going to do about the parking ticket?" Yong Soo asked.

"Wait for it to come and pay it when it does," Yao replied. "I have two weeks to pay it. I'll be fine."

"If Aniki says so," Yong Soo glanced out the window and didn't strike up conversation again.

It was one of those rare moments when Yao reached forwards and turned on the radio.

As promised, they stopped off at the Honda Ramen Bar, quickly followed by Mei, who returned the keys to an extremely bewildered Kiku. For once, Mei was in the back of the car. The smirk that formed on Yong's face was almost enough for Yao to instruct him to give up his seat for her, but there was no time for petty arguments, and he liked to act the adult. They had a concert to get to. He could act like a child another day.

Once Mei was strapped in, he started the Old Civic and bumbled along the road. Entering the main body of the city, they were surrounded by tall buildings on either side. The roads were illuminated by streetlights and flashing signs; red, amber and green traffic lights and the twin beams that shot out from each car. The snow that descended from the sky melted on the window, and the wipers clumsily whisked them away from sight. Bored, Yao battled through the heaps of traffic, eyes glazing over as the Old Civic trundled along.

When they finally reached the theatre, it was lit up along the walls, lights shining brightly in a salute to the sky. Cars filled the parking space, people filing in one by one towards the musical building in their excitement to see the show. Yao couldn't help but notice their formal attire, compared to the casual clothes he and Yong wore – Mei had dressed nicely for her afternoon tea with Elizabeta. The vibrancy of the theatre had returned after its morbid ten day period of mourning for its previous owner. After a struggle to find a parking space, Yao managed to wedge the Old Civic into the disabled parking spot.

He glanced at Yong. "Have you texted your mother about this?"

"Nope," Yong admitted, getting his phone out. "She won't mind. There'll be a lot of important people present, especially in the VIP section Miss Hédeváry is letting us sit in. My mother supports networking, so she might be thankful for once. Also... she loves music. She'll be happy I'm here."

Yao highly doubted just how "thankful" she would be, but was glad Mrs Im would be composed about her son's late outing.

Once inside, he felt his body warm up. The heating of the music theatre was a relief. There was no sight of Roderich or Elizabeta, so he had to assume they were already inside, already prepared for the concert.

"Let's get in quickly before we make fools of ourselves," he hastily pushed past the crowds of the rich couples who had made time in their evening to spend it watching what was to be expected to be one of the most impacting performances of the year. There was something comical about it: those who looked dressed to the millions lacked the VIP attendance that he and Yong Soo, who looked paupers in comparison, had been gifted.

This concert announced the return of the Edelstein family into music, mourned the loss of Niklas Edelstein, yet also acted as the official start of Roderich Edelstein's independent career. The three of them shuffled into the grand audience, where thousands of people had arrived to watch this performance. The orchestra were in place, tuning their instruments beneath the general chatter as people located their seats.

Yao was minding his own business when someone suddenly clasped his hand. Turning his head in alarm, he met Elizabeta's bright green eyes and her wide smile coated in pearly pink gloss.

"Just this way," she said, patting his hand, then guiding him by the arm through the people.

He had to trust the other two were following closely behind. He also had to trust Elizabeta wasn't a murderer.

"He may not appear it, but Roderich will truly be glad for you to have come along," she enthused. "He takes such pride in his music, so it's always a joy when new people are introduced to his circle. Honestly, you should see him once he begins; it's magnificent."

He nodded, just deciding to base his opinion on her words and her words alone. Sitting down beside her, he glanced towards the stage and noticed Roderich meandering amongst the orchestra, speaking with each member, his countenance rigid and tense. He had been acting unfriendly the entire evening. Elizabeta had refused questioning. Something wasn't adding up.

The crowd's chatter diminished once everyone had found their seats and the lighting dimmed, save for the lights above the orchestra. Roderich climbed the stage, stood before the crowd, bowed, a simple presentation, before he sat at the grand piano standing proudly on the stage. There was a pause, his features expressionless, as he gazed at the sheet music on the piano in front of him.

Elizabeta's eyes shone with anticipation, and she leant a little closer to whisper: "He told me he had written a new song for this occasion."

Yao tried not to let the little alarm bells begin to ring in his head, but new sheet music? Convenient timing, considering the father had been composing something, and the sheet music had disappeared… Silence filled the room. And then…

Roderich's fingers began chiming out a melody of solemn grace. Yao was swept into the music, as if it were a powerful river dragging him along until he no longer had control of his own body. It was beautifully played, sounds of melancholy drifting into one. He was captivated. He had heard of the young Edelstein's prodigy, but he had never expected him to have a hold over the entire audience. Glancing to the side, he saw Elizabeta was completely captivated by her fiancé's musical talent. Her eyes were alight with wonder and awe; this was probably the first time she was hearing the song.

But who started it? Roderich? Or Niklas?

When the tune dipped into something fast paced and urgent, Yao could only wonder if that was the point where Roderich had taken over from Niklas. He had jumped to too many conclusions so far; it was difficult to accuse someone of murder, and the tranquil expression Roderich wore once he'd lapsed into his element certainly wasn't the face of a killer.

"Isn't he incredible?" Mei whispered from his other side, and he found himself slowly nodding.

He was awed when the piece ended, when Roderich stood after his show and bowed, silent and accepting the applause almost stoically. He stepped down from the stage, but as he did so, his purple eyes somehow found Yao's from the darkness of the crowd. It was difficult to say whether he actually saw him sitting beside his fiancée, but there was obscurity in his eyes, something that looked both angry and regretful at the same time. Yao couldn't tell what the emotion was, but then their gazes, intentional or not, broke, and Roderich took his stand as conductor. His introduction on the piano had promised a beautiful performance, and that was what the concert turned out to be.

The quality of music was excellent. Each individual in the orchestra acted as a piece of the body, perfectly timed and working together to function properly. This was Roderich Edelstein's entrance into a career that would not be associated with his father. This was his and his alone. He was magnificent, incredible, just as Mei had said. There was no denying it; Yao was witnessing true, passionate talent. But was it Roderich's passionate talent, or Niklas'?

"You must come to the celebratory dinner," Elizabeta pleaded in a quiet voice. "All the VIP guests will be there, and there's so many people I'd love to introduce you to."

"We would love to, but Yong's mother really wanted him to be home at a certain time, aru, and myself and Mei need to be well-rested for work tomorrow," Yao replied, regretting that Yong's need to be home would impact his networking opportunity.

"That's truly a pity," she seemed forlorn. "I'll just have to tell Roderich you couldn't make it. Thank you very much for working on his father's case, Mr Wang. We really do appreciate it. Also, thank you for coming to the concert. Although unplanned, I'm sure Roderich is just as grateful as I am. He would talk to you, but I'll bet Mr Bonnefoy has him locked in conversation."

"Understandable, aru," he nodded. "Thanks for the invitation, but we really must be off."

She nodded and breezed off into the crowd with a quick farewell. Yao turned to his team and saw they both wore glowers on their faces.

"What?" he asked.

"I would have loved to go to that party," Mei complained bitterly. "I heard Mr Bonnefoy is single at the moment; he's rich and would possibly like a girl like me."

"Is personality not important to you?" Yao shook his head. "Come on, both of you, aru. We can't be hanging around a party of potential murder suspects. I like to think we've got a limited number of people who killed Niklas Edelstein, but we just can't know for sure. This could turn out to be anything. The landed are so difficult to deal with, aru."

"You can't just say things like that," Mei rolled her eyes, following him out of the theatre and into night.

The bitter cold crept along his skin. He would've loved to have invested in a good pair of warm gloves and a thick, woollen scarf. Approaching his car, he was relieved to find no one had bothered him or awaited him. It would've put a damp mood on the night to be criticized over his wrongdoings. The three Investigasians piled into the Old Civic and he rumbled the old engine into life. Reversing steadily, Yao managed to avoid any passers-by heading to their own cars, and rolled away from the parking lot.

"What did you think of the performance, aru?" Yao asked casually, drifting into the line of cars that formed the city traffic of the night.

"It was amazing," Mei said. "Roderich really does have some amazing musical skills."

"I played the piano for a while," Yong Soo said.

And? Yao wondered, traffic lights switching to green and letting a torrent of cars stream past. He had never witnessed Yong play any form of music, although he had heard he played recorder.

"Gilbert will probably be wondering where I am," Mei switched her phone on, waiting for it to load. "I forgot to tell him I was going to the concert."

Yao had forgotten Beilschmidt was camping at Mei's place. It still bothered him a little how willing she was to harbour a stranger in her house. However, if he was being truthful about all he'd said, Gilbert was a wanted man and could possibly end up dead. Yao didn't want to face responsibility for a murder. Mei's house was an unlikely place for the murderer to look if they suspected Gilbert of having returned from Germany.

"It's Friday tomorrow," Yong sighed. "I'm so glad."

"Why, aru?" Yao asked. "School already finished?"

"Yeah, but it's Friday," Yong Soo said. "There's just something nice about completing a week."

"Not really," Yao grimaced. "The longer we take on this case, the worse. We need to get this done before things grow stale, aru. I haven't had a long case like this in a while."

"Have you ever had a long case?" Mei's lip curled in ridicule.

"Of course," he glowered to the side – for Yong Soo had, once again, been usurped. "I've had plenty of long cases, aru. However, as I value the privacy of my clients, they're all confidential; I can't disclose any information, even if you are on my team."

She looked sceptical, but said nothing.

"So, Aniki," Yong Soo leant forwards, in between them, asserting his presence within the car. "Mei's working tomorrow; what should we do?"

"We'll be going back to the Edelstein estate, aru," Yao replied. "We need to ask Miss Hédeváry the necessary questions."

"Don't go too hard on her," Mei warned. "I think she handled the pair of you well enough tonight. Try not to seem so accusative like you did with Roderich."

"I know, aru, but we do need all the information we can get," Yao scowled. "Why people are so secretive about their own cases mystifies me… Do they not realise we need to know things to proceed?"

"Secrets aren't easy to just give away," Mei rolled her eyes. "They're what constructs our private lives."

Yao didn't have a private life; it was always intruded in on by Yong Soo, and if not him, some other wretched being that decided he couldn't have a moment's peace of his own.

Both his sidekicks seemed to live on either side of the city. He chose to drop Yong Soo off first, because of his mother's demands to have him back home as soon as possible. That seemed to bother Yong for reasons Yao couldn't identify, and most of that journey saw Mei religiously texting on her phone.

"Who are you texting, aru?" he asked, once Yong Soo was gone and had been brought inside his house.

"Gilbert, of course," she said.

Yao had never seen or heard about other friends Mei had. She always seemed to be in the café, working, or focused on a case alongside him and Yong Soo. He had never seen or heard her mention other company. Either she lacked it, which would be unusual, considering something about her screamed of "socialite", or she had the magnificent skill of separating her public life from her personal one. If that was so, Yao needed some serious advice from her.

"And you're fine with him living in your house, aru?" he asked.

She sighed and shook her head. "For the last time, Yao: I believe Gilbert's innocent. His story made sense to me. Why does it bother you so much?"

"As a member of the team, I'm responsible if anything happens to you regarding the case," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Besides, I always believed you were so secretive about your house…"

"Secretive?" she sounded quizzical.

Yao knew he was stepping into cautious territory. "Yeah. Like, you used to never let me drive you home until you finally asked me to come round. Now, you're letting me drive you back."

"Is that a problem?" she asked. "Would you rather me take the train tonight?"

"No, it doesn't bother me in the slightest," he pursed his lips together. "But Kiku knew your address."

"Because I told him," her tone became guarded.

As curious as he was, he needed to step away. She hadn't answered his question, but it was evident her house was a touchy subject. He couldn't say why. He lacked the important details. The rest of the journey was spent in quiet. Yao turned on the radio.

A/N: Thank you for your patience... and the question remains: who is the killer? I mean, I know what happens... but none of you do, haha! I actually particularly enjoyed writing this chapter. I felt description came easier to me this week... Feel free to leave a review, because I really enjoy seeing what people think of the story/my writing; honestly, feedback is welcome. Also, I love replying to what people have to say; it interests me to have different perspectives on the case, because Yao (me) thinks very differently in some areas to how the readers do! I like mentally comparing! So, please, leave a review/comment if you have one, and until next time!