When I arrived at Umehito Sashiro's house in Seika, I was pleasantly surprised to be met by Kenichi. "Kenichi, what a surprise! It's been ages since I saw you!" I kidded.

As always, Kenichi didn't get the joke. He just rolled his eyes at me. "I saw you earlier, Gee."

"Well, it has been a long day," I grinned. "So did you volunteer to be my personal escort?"

"Of course not. Gibson asked me to meet you here," said Kenichi stiffly.

"And he just happened to choose you, of all people?" I teased, enjoying bothering him like I always did.

"It was either me or Priestley," Kenichi pointed out. "Me, him and Gibson are the only ones on the force that even know this case exists."

That made sense. They were trying to keep the whole serial killer thing a secret after all. The less people who knew, the better. I just hadn't realised it only extended to Gibson, Kenichi and Chad. But that aside, Kenichi was a total buzz-kill. He always liked to ruin my fun. Especially when it was aimed at him. I couldn't imagine why.

"Well, in that case, I'd definitely take you," I joked. Kenichi rolled his eyes again. "But in all seriousness, thanks for earlier. Going back to Gibs today was probably the best thing I could have done."

Kenichi shrugged like it was nothing. "Do you want these keys or not? I haven't got all day to be waiting for you."

"Course I do." I snagged the keys he was dangling in front of my face. "Keep your pants on."

Kenichi snorted. "I'll wait for you out here."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure? It's getting dark and it's kinda cold out. I'm probably gonna be a while in there."

"I'd rather risk the cold than be in there with you talking my ear off," said Kenichi.

I laughed. "Don't flatter yourself. I have work to do. I won't be wasting my time talking to you."

This was my usual kind of banter, so Kenichi knew better than to take offence to anything I said. "Well, that's what you're doing right now. So get in there before I shove you through the door."

I just laughed again. "Have fun out here with the owls," I called over my shoulder as I unlocked the front door and let myself in.

I could tell straightaway that the house hadn't been cared for in a while, even before the murder had happened. Though I guessed an unemployed, middle-aged man probably wouldn't be very interested in cleaning and tidying.

I happily fell back into my inspection routine. Now that I was on my own again, I had plenty of time to myself to mull things over. Of course there was one main thought on my mind – L... I was actually working with the world's greatest detective! Man, I sure was glad I'd stayed persistent and managed to claw my way onto this case.

I did wonder why L had taken up the job. You didn't hear his name much in the media. He only took on the real bigcases. This was hardly a big case right now – only a handful of people even knew about it. Was this really just a favour to Kenichi?

Well, regardless of why he'd taken up the case, I knew I had to try my hardest to make a good impression. I had to investigate these latest crime scenes as thoroughly as possible. Obviously I generally tried to do that anyway, but now, I was going to seriously work my ass off.

Looking at the lounge alone, I could tell that there had been a lot more disturbance here than at the previous crime scenes. All of the furniture had been moved around. There were multiple indents in the carpet, showing that the forensics team hadn't quite put the furniture back in the correct places. It was a pretty big lounge – it must have been one heck of an altercation to have affected so much of the room.

The front door was still intact, though the frame around it was starting to split. It was difficult to tell whether that was relevant to the night of the murder or if it had just happened over time from the door being slammed shut too much. There was a powerful smell of disinfectant in here. It was a lot stronger in certain parts of the room than in others. There were a total of six different spots that were particularly potent. Forensics had had to do a lot of cleaning in here.

Why was this scene so much more extravagant than the others? Our serial killer was getting messy. Was it intentional? Did he want us to notice? Or was he really just starting to go overboard?

Nearer to the door, there was a small wooden table. Next to it were four small round hollows in the carpet – most likely from a chair of some kind. It had probably gotten broken in the fight. Again, another sign of the killer becoming even more violent.

After combing over the rest of the house, I couldn't find anything else at all enlightening. No matter how closely I inspected everything. Sighing, I collected my stuff together. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. But I still couldn't help feeling just a little disappointed.

I'd completely forgotten about Kenichi waiting outside. I'd only just stepped outside when I saw the shadow loom over me. I whirled around, going for my gun, when I realised who it was. "Dammit, Ken," I grumbled, pulling my hand back from inside my jacket. "Make a bit more noise next time."

"Relax, Gee. You're almost as edgy as I am." Kenichi looked almost amused. Almost. "And I thought I told you not to call me Ken."

I ignored his comments. "So did you have fun out here in the dark?"

"Of course. I had a one-man party," said Kenichi dryly. I opened my mouth to say something to that, but he cut me off. "Did you not check your phone?"

"Why? Did you send me an invite?" I half joked, a little confused. Nevertheless, I fumbled my phone out of my pocket.

"Gibson tried calling you," said Kenichi shortly. "He called me when you didn't answer."

"Is everything okay?" I asked, checking my phone. I'd forgotten to turn it on. Oops. I woke it up quickly and saw that there was indeed a missed call from the police station.

"Everything's fine. He just wanted an update," Kenichi explained.

Jeez. Gibson hadn't even given me time to finish up before calling. "Did you tell him I was still working?"

Kenichi nodded. "He said to call back when you can."

"And what if I've not really got anything to update?" I said pointedly.

Kenichi shrugged. "He's the boss. Find out for yourself."

I sighed. "Fine." I handed Sashiro's keys back to him. "You can go home now, soldier. I'm heading back to my car. Guess I'll be seeing you around though."

"Guess you will," agreed Kenichi. "Good night, Gee."

"Night," I called back over my shoulder as I left him on the doorstep.

I found my car keys out as I walked. I didn't call Gibson back until I was in my car and I'd locked the doors. Hey, being paranoid doesn't hurt.

"Hey, boss," I greeted when he answered. "Kenichi told me you wanted some enlightenment. I'm sorry, but I haven't really got that much of an update to give you."

"It doesn't matter. I probably should have told you before that you-know-who wants regular feedback, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem," explained Gibson.

"I didn't realise Voldemort was part of this case," I jested lightly. I've said it before – I really am a dork.

"Very funny." Gibson obviously didn't appreciate my lame sense of humour. "He'd appreciate it if, in any public or phone conversations, you referred to him as Ryuzaki."

"Ryuzaki. Got it." To be honest, I kinda preferred Voldemort.

"So whatever you do or don't find, you need to report back to me whenever you can," Gibson continued. "Which I'll then pass onto him."

It seemed like a long-winded train to me. "Doesn't he have a number I can call him on myself? That'd sure save a lot of time."

"Come on, Gee, you know better than that," Gibson tutted. "Do you really think it's as simple as just calling him?"

It had been a long shot, I admit. Gibson was right. I'd had to wait a bitch of a time for L to get in touch with him earlier today. But could we really afford to keep wasting time with whatever this long-ass method of getting hold of him was?

I decided not to press the issue for now. "Yeah, okay," I agreed reluctantly. "You can play messenger."

Gibson grunted, obviously not happy with the idea himself. "Back to what you've been doing... Tell me everything you can."

"Well, like I said, there's not much to tell," I said. "I went to Shou Tanaka's first, like you told me. And I know the guy's been through a lot, but man... he sure is weird."

"Yeah, Kenichi was the one who interviewed him before. He said something along the same lines," said Gibson. "Did you get any information from him at all?"

"Nothing particularly useful," I replied. "I ran the idea past him of Elizabeth having an affair and he disregarded it straight off."

"Wait... I thought you said Carter was the one having an affair? Not Elizabeth," Gibson pointed out.

"It was just an idea I had," I said. "Picture this scenario... Carter and Elizabeth were the ones having the affair. Shou Tanaka found out, giving him motive to murder both of them."

"Ah, I see where you're coming from," said Gibson. "But somehow I don't think this case will be that easy to tie up. Plus it wouldn't explain the other murders."

"Yeah, I know; it was just a long-shot," I agreed. "I wanna cover every possibility, no matter how small. This was only a tiny chance. And whoever Carter was having an affair with signs herself as 'S' anyway."

"So we're back to square one there," sighed Gibson. "Did you find anything at Sashiro's?"

"Nothing new," I reported. "I could tell straightaway from the signs forensics left behind that the murder scene was a lot more brutal than the previous ones. Just like Ryuzaki said."

"Do you think the house was broken into?" asked Gibson. "We were unable to confirm it due to lack of evidence."

"Possibly. The door frame was starting to splinter, but I couldn't tell if it was from a break-in or just from age." I shrugged, even though Gibson couldn't see me.

"What about the rest of the house? Find anything incriminating?" Gibson continued his questioning.

"Nothing at all," I replied. "I really can't see who'd have had a motive to murder this guy."

"That's what we concluded too." Gibson sighed again. "Well, I'll let you go now. I'll pass this all onto Ryuzaki regardless."

I frowned. Gibson sounded tired and fed up. I reckoned he needed a good night's sleep more than I did. "Can't that wait until morning? You sound like you need a damn good rest."

Gibson chuckled. "You're lecturing me? I thought I was the older one here."

"Which is exactly why you need to rest," I teased. "Isn't there anyone else who can get in touch with Ryuzaki for you? I'll come down to the station if you need me to."

"Nice try, Gee," said Gibson. "I'll be fine. It shouldn't take that long."

I couldn't help laughing. "And I wasn't even trying to be sneaky that time." I ignored his barefaced lie about it not taking long. "So do I get the key to the Hirano couple's house tomorrow?"

"Yeah, just give me a call in the morning when you're up and ready," said Gibson. "I'll either send Kenichi out again or you can come down to the station and I'll give you the keys myself."

"Roger that. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

After I hung up, I drove straight home. I had nothing else to do for tonight. I could have quite happily investigated another crime scene, but I figured I should do what Gibson told me, at least for now.

Of course, Kyo was there to attack my boots when I got back. Sure, he wasn't there when I wanted him, but he was happy to wait around for me when all I wanted to do was go up to my apartment. Stupid freeloader.

"Sorry, Kyo, no playtime tonight," I told him.

He meowed and turned his best sad face on me. Think Puss in Boots from Shrek. Best way to make someone feel guilty. If you're a cat, that is. Somehow I don't think it'd work as well coming from a person.

He tried following me towards the door that led up to the apartment. "You can't come upstairs, little buddy. Not after what you did last time."

Kyo was the only reason I'd ever learnt to sew – and not very well, I might add – after he'd mauled Blue, one of my cuddly wolf toys. Poor Blue had already been falling apart as it was.

I quickly shut the door behind me. Okay, that was kinda mean and he'd probably be sulking in the morning, but the damn cat had to learn.

I was still a little too keyed up to actually sleep. My brain tended to run on irregular bursts of energy. So I wasted some more time by cooking up some instant noodles, then having a long hot shower after I'd eaten.

I felt a little sleepier after that. I pulled on an old man-sized t-shirt that I usually sleep in (I rarely bother with bottoms during the night) and shoved a Psych DVD on whilst I snuggled up in bed. Yeah, I know, I'm totally greedy for having a TV in my bedroom as well as in my lounge... So sue me.

After a couple of episodes, I could finally feel myself drifting off – my head all jumbled up with a mess of random thoughts. Sure, this case was probably going to be my most difficult yet... But man, was I happy to be working again.

XXX

The next morning, I was awake fairly early, as usual. I got up straightaway – I'm not really one for having lie-ins. It makes me feel far too lazy. I hate lying around and not doing anything.

I wondered if it was too early to call Gibson yet. I figured I'd give it at least half an hour, just to be sure. I didn't want to just sit around and wait, so I decided to have some breakfast for a change. I had a beaten up old toaster that I rarely used and I was sure I had a pack of Scotch pancakes somewhere.

After I'd finished eating, I checked the time. Damn. That had only taken me ten minutes. I rocked back and forth on my chair. At times, I can be an absolute master of patience. Other times, that just goes right out the window. This was one of those times.

About fifteen minutes later, I found myself down at the police station. Waiting around at home would have just driven me crazy. I felt that little bit more productive being here, even though I'd basically just be waiting in a different place. I approached the receptionist on duty. "Hey. Gibson isn't here yet by any chance, is he?"

"Yeah, he is," replied the receptionist. "He came in about half an hour ago."

Well, damn. I'd been worrying about disturbing him for nothing. "Okay, thanks."

I carried on round to Gibson's office and knocked on the door. I waited for his usual 'come on in' before going through.

"Morning, Gee," Gibson greeted, looking surprised. "I didn't expect to see you down here yet."

"Yeah, well, I figured I could just come and get the keys myself. Save you bothering Kenichi again." No need to mention that I'd just been dallying at home, worrying whether or not to call.

"Oh, okay then." Gibson took up a brown envelope off his desk and shook a set of keys out into his hand. He passed them over to me. "Here you go. You know the drill – call me as soon as you're done."

"You got it." I swung the keys round once on my finger before pocketing them. "I'll catch you later."

It was a nice change being able to get into the Hiranos' house without having to depend on meeting an officer there or, worse, having to break in. I felt I had a bit more freedom this way. Not more time though, of course. Gibson would no doubt be calling to harass me if I didn't do so first within a decent amount of time. The faster I worked, the less chance there was of that happening.

"Hi ho. Hi ho. It's off to work we go," I muttered sarcastically to myself.

I started off in the lounge, where Jun Hirano had been killed. They had laminate flooring. Boo. I prefer carpet. It's easier to see the movement of the furniture with carpet.

No matter. I could see that large squares of the flooring were just a few shades darker than the rest, not having been exposed to the light. Not only that; this room was very empty. There was only one sofa and a coffee table. Not even a TV. My guess was that this room was missing a fair bit of furniture that had likely gotten broken on the night of the break-in.

There was no sign of any blood. but the room reeked of disinfectant. Forensics had obviously had to douse the whole room with it. It must have been pretty horrific in here. Besides the lock on the front door – brilliantly shiny and most definitely brand new, much like at Carter Burnham's house – there wasn't anything else enlightening in this room. The kitchen and the downstairs toilet weren't much use either. I moved on upstairs.

It was only a small house. The upstairs consisted of just two small bedrooms, an extra bathroom and a large laundry cupboard. I hit the laundry cupboard first, since it was where Miho Hirano's body had been found. The first thing that was glaringly obvious was that it was completely empty. No towels, no sheets, nothing. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. Forensics would have gotten rid of them. I could only imagine the mess this cupboard must have been in.

There were no clues left for me to find. The cupboard had been completely scrubbed clean. I didn't have any luck with the other rooms upstairs either.

Sighing, I left the house and locked up after me. The only thing I could really establish was that this scene was very similar to the last murder in Seika, rather than the first two in Kasagi. I sent Gibson a quick text message, telling him that I was on my way back to the station and that he should get hold of L.

When I got there, I went straight through to Gibson's office. He hadn't heard back from L yet. What a surprise.

"It shouldn't be too long," said Gibson uncertainly. "Why don't you go wait in the staff lounge?"

"Yeah, okay," I agreed. He was obviously trying to get me out of the way again, but I decided to just let him. The man looked like hell. "You want me to bring you anything?"

"If you could grab me a cup of coffee, that would be great," said Gibson, massaging his temples. "And I wouldn't say no to a couple of painkillers if you have any on you."

I happen to suffer from migraines fairly often so, luckily for Gibson, I always carry a variety of painkillers with me. "Sure thing." I pulled a strip out of my wallet and popped a few pills out onto the desk. "I'll go get you some coffee. Be back in a sec."

I went through into the staff lounge and started up the drinks machine. Poor Gibson. I'd never seen him look so worn out before. He'd probably stayed up for hours last night, waiting for L to get in touch.

That idea really pissed me off. I'd always had a very high respect for L as a detective, but just over the last twenty-four hours, that opinion had dropped considerably. Sure, every detective has their own way of doing things, but L's methods just seemed to be wasting a hell of a lot of time. Plus it was obviously taking a toll on Gibson, having to get back to him so often.

The drinks machine finally rattled out a cup of coffee. I carried it back through to Gibson. "Here you go, boss."

"Thanks, Gee," said Gibson gratefully. "I'll get the receptionist to call you in as soon as we have life." He nodded at his redundant laptop.

That was my cue to return to the staff lounge. I made myself some hot chocolate, then settled down in the chair facing Gibson's office so that I could watch through the window. I ignored my Dracula book this time. I wanted to watch Gibson's office on the off-chance that I might see something happen from outside.

I waited for a long while. I had no clue how much time had passed – I'd been watching Gibson's door, not the clock. Not much had happened. Several officers had walked past, but none of them had stopped. My mind started wandering as I tapped my foot to a lazy beat. Today really wasn't a good day for patience. My attention kept slipping.

Thankfully, I had something bring my attention crashing back down to earth before I could slip into a full-on zombie trance. A man in a black suit and hat had just gone into Gibson's office. It was the strange man I'd nearly crashed into yesterday.

Was it just a coincidence that he'd been around when Gibson had gotten in touch with L the last time I was here? I frowned. I'd learnt to always be suspicious of coincidences.

He was in Gibson's office for about five minutes before he came out. He stepped neatly around the corner and stopped – out of the way and almost out of sight. I could just about see the brim of his hat from here. Had he been waiting there yesterday too? I could have just not noticed him last time. I'd been too eager to talk to the famous L then. I could have easily missed him.

The receptionist came in whilst I was spying and damn well scared the crap out of me. "Gibson says you can go through now." She gave me a strange look when I nearly jumped a mile out of my seat, but she didn't say anything else.

I returned a second time to Gibson's office, resisting the urge to peek around the corner at the man with the hat. I decided I wouldn't mention him just yet. I was sure he had something to do with L... I just didn't know what exactly.

Once I'd shut the door, Gibson motioned for me to take a seat. He'd pushed his laptop back down to the end of the desk so that I could see the screen too. I wasn't really sure why that was necessary – all we were looking at was a fancy letter 'L' again. I sat down and folded my arms. I may have only been on the case for little over a day, but I was already getting fed up of not being let in on the loop. There was my impatience setting in again.

"We meet again, Gee," said the voice from the laptop, still heavy with voice filters.

"I think meet is a poor choice of wording," I commented lightly. Gibson glared at me like I was being a very insolent child. He could damn well suck it.

Unfortunately, L didn't seem bothered by my remark. "I stand corrected." Annoyingly, he just carried on. "Now... Mr. Gibson has been passing all of your feedback onto me regarding your visits to both Shou Tanaka and to Umehito Sashiro's house."

"Right," I said, unsure where he was going with this. Was he going to deride me for not coming up with any new information?

"I am also aware that this morning you have been investigating the house of Jun and Miho Hirano," L continued. Okay, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he just liked to recap. Or maybe he simply liked the sound of his own freaky voice filters. "I would very much like to hear all that you have discovered."

I dragged my train of thought back to what was important. "Well, if we are still dealing with the same killer, then he's getting more reckless and a lot more brutal."

I explained everything I'd found – about the replacement door latch, the missing furniture, the mess the laundry cupboard must have been in... It was information he'd already know from the police and from forensics, but hey, that was all I'd managed to find. I didn't see him doing any better anyway. So far, he'd been working this case from behind his computer screen. How exactly was he contributing by doing that?

"Yes. That's pretty much what we've been able to establish too," agreed L.

I made a face at the screen. What was all this 'we' stuff? Okay, I know I hadn't been on the team from the beginning like he had, but at least I was actually pulling my weight. As far as I could see, all L was doing was just overseeing things. He wasn't really doing anything to help.

Gibson noticed the look on my face. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not very comfortable with the way this case is being run," I said outright.

Gibson shifted awkwardly in his seat. He looked like he wished he hadn't said anything. "Play nice, Gee," he warned. "Remember, I can take you back off this case just as easily as I put you on it."

"Well, it wasn't exactly easy to get on this case," I pointed out with a sarcastic tone.

"Don't be a smart-ass," said Gibson.

"That's easier said than done. Smart-ass is my middle name," I said lightly.

"Tell me about it," Gibson grumbled.

I'd almost forgotten that L was still listening. "If I may interject..." he said courteously, interrupting mine and Gibson's tiff. "If you have a point you'd like to make, Gee, then please go ahead."

Gibson gave me a warning look. One that clearly said I should keep my mouth shut. I didn't know why he was bothering – he should have known that was one thing I always had difficulty doing.

"I just don't think it's very fair that the trust only seems to be going one way here," I confessed quickly before Gibson could stop me. When I was met by silence, I carried on. "As a detective, I can understand your need for privacy. After all, I never use my real name in work... There are only a handful of people here who even know what my real name is."

That seemed to loosen L's tongue. "Actually, I do know your real name... Georgia Shidou."

"How the hell..." I turned to glare at Gibson.

"Hey, I didn't tell him," Gibson defended, raising his hands.

"Actually, I found out on my own accord," L clarified. "You used to be a police officer. It wasn't exactly difficult to find out. There's still plenty of information about you on record."

"That's an invasion of my privacy," I grumbled. "And that is so not fair! This is exactly what I mean! You know everything about us, but we don't know anything about you. I don't care what your real name is or who you really are, but we're on the same team; we should be working together! Gibson's having to waste a lot of time trying to get hold of you so often. And I'm tired of talking to a damn laptop!"

Wow. It'd been a while since I'd had a rant like that. It felt quite good... Even if I was about to get kicked off the case for it. Gibson looked torn between annoyance and sympathy. I knew he agreed with me, but he wouldn't allow members of his team to be fighting. And he wouldn't risk giving up on the world's greatest detective. That left me to get the boot.

"I understand your frustration," said L. I snorted. Yeah, right. If he came out with a smart-ass comment now, I was going to smash Gibson's laptop. "And you're right; as a detective yourself, you do understand my predicament more than a lot of people would."

"I'd hardly call it a predicament," I said dryly. Gibson kicked my shin underneath the desk. I shot him an angry look.

Why was L bothering to appeal to me? Considering I was the one that apparently understood him the most, I'd still just had a real go at him. I wouldn't want to reason with me if I was him.

"Regardless of what you want to call it, I am prepared to make a deal with you," L continued. "If you truly believe that my methods are wasting time, then I'd like to remedy that."

I looked over at Gibson, who shrugged. He looked as confused as I was. "So what are you proposing?" I asked L warily.

"I will agree to work with you in person," said L. "On one condition..."

"And what's that?" I said sarcastically, reluctantly playing along. Man, he was dragging this out like a real bitch.

"I will only work alongside you on the condition that you pass my test," L replied.

I raised my eyebrows at the screen. Test? What the hell? I glanced at Gibson again – he now looked more amused than anything else. The bastard. I resisted the urge to kick him back. I sighed. "So what's the test?"

"You'll have to wait and see. I can't make it that easy for you," said L, almost sounding like he was enjoying himself. "Mr. Gibson, please continue to give me regular reports using the usual method to get in touch with me."

With that, the laptop screen went black. I stared at it with a blank look on my face. What had just happened? What damn test was he talking about? Stupid, alien detective!

I turned back to Gibson and folded my arms again. I probably looked like a sulky child. At least that's what I felt like. "I guess I'm in trouble now."

"Actually, no. You're not in trouble," said Gibson, trying not to smile.

Huh? He was letting me off? "Why not? You don't normally allow fighting amongst your team."

"I know I don't. But I'd hardly call that fighting," Gibson chortled. "That was just you going off on a rant and somehow managing to win."

"You think I won?" I said, feeling lost. "Then what about this stupid test thing I'm meant to pass? I don't even know what it's going to be! How is that winning?"

"Because you've still managed to get more than I have!" Gibson started laughing. "Oh, the look on your face... It was priceless! Don't worry, Gee, you're still on the team. I could do with the amusement."

I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or annoyed about that. I settled for grumbling, "Thanks, boss." I got to my feet. "So what's the next step?"

Gibson shrugged. "Well, right now, we don't have anymore leads to follow. And you've already retraced all of our steps..." He grinned. "So I suggest you go home and study for your test."

I scowled at him and patted the stapler that was sat on his desk. "You do know I'm not above using this to staple you in the head, right?"

Gibson just laughed. "Go home, Gee! You've actually got the rest of the day off. You may wanna make the most of it."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," I said. He made it sound like it was a good thing. Though having some free time might not be so bad. I could see if Johnny fancied having some girl time... Yes. Girl time is exactly what I meant. "Let me know when you've got something for me to do."

When I left the office, I peeped around the corner. I hadn't forgotten about the man with the hat. Just as I'd thought, he was still there. He gave me a brief nod when he saw me looking.

"I don't envy your job," I told him over my shoulder as I turned away. "I've only spoken to that damned detective twice and he's already pissing me off."

He didn't say anything, but I swear I heard him chuckling behind me as I stalked off and made my way out of the police station.