Chapter 4: The Search
Deft fingers switched from one tab to the next as keen eyes scanned over each police officer's personnel record.
Touta Matsuda, Hirokazu Ukita, Kanzo Mogi, Shuichi Aizawa, and Soichiro Yagami.
Those were the names of the five NPA officers involved in the Kira investigation. They were led by Chief Yagami... And all five worked under L's direction.
Deputy Director Kitamura had given him access to as much information available on the Kira case as possible — as much as they had what with how secretive the entire case had become ever since the team was reduced to no more than five. After accepting the assignment, Lelouch was immediately put into contact with Officer Matsumoto — the NPA's detective-in-charge of Operation L. Matsumoto wasted no time and briefed Lelouch immediately on the current situation. Matsumoto's team of three other investigators (Officers Hiroki, Nakamura, and Ito) had their sights locked on tracking and following L's proxy after a majority of the detectives assigned to the Kira case had quit. They'd been able to follow Watari's car to parking lots or random commercial buildings, but the man always succeeded at giving them the slip.
So now that left the team back at Square 1 with no leads to show for when Marion Lamperouge stepped into the case at Director Kitamura's request. After the briefing, Lelouch advised them to keep tabs on the current members of the Kira task force. Because apart from Watari, Chief Soichiro Yagami and his team were the ones working closely with the shadow detective.
Spying on the Kira task force within the NPA's own building should have been easy. The National Public Safety Commission was a massive fortress in the heart of Tokyo, made of concrete and glass with security checkpoints set up at all its entrances. Law enforcement offices and government bureaus were always equipped with state-of-the-art security and that included surveillance cameras that recorded both visual and audio with at least 720 pixel-quality.
To say that Lelouch was disappointed with the disturbing lack of evidence on this current investigation would be an understatement.
It had only been two days since he came onboard as a consultant, and the investigation team the NPA put together to try and uncover L's identity was only four days old. Still, with the Kira investigation happening right under the NPA's noses, you'd think securing a lead to find L (or at least determine his location) would be less of a hassle.
He hadn't left the suite in close to a week on account of reviewing evidence. He had a backlog of Kira investigation headquarters camera footage to slog through. The other officers in on in this case reviewed the footage too, but Lelouch wanted to do it himself to make sure he didn't miss anything.
All that the previous footage and this current one managed to reveal was that the task force headquarters inside the NPA was mostly empty. Only one or two officers came in every day. Occasionally, there were three. But for the most part, their numbers didn't even reach past five.
That was...interesting.
Either they were out in the world looking for leads to Kira, or Chief Yagami and his colleagues were just using the supposed Kira task force HQ within the NPA as a decoy.
The latter seemed more likely to Lelouch — based on how he presumed L would prefer to conduct these affairs.
If that was the case, then was L here in Tokyo? Well, he supposed another way to look at it was that the Kira task force was avoiding police surveillance and were convening in a separate location.
But why would they feel the need to do that?
Wasn't the NPA and the Kira task force supposed to be on the same side?
From across the room, C.C. released a frustrated sigh. "We should have heard from her by now. Why isn't she answering her phone?"
Lelouch turned to see C.C. scowling at the screen display that had Naomi's name in bold letters. One more unanswered call and he knew C.C. well enough to know that she would head over to Naomi's apartment soon to ask for answers. When the somber dial tone dropped, the immortal woman abandoned her late afternoon view of the cityscape and walked over to Lelouch to stand behind his chair and stare at his computer screen.
Wait, that was it…
The last time she and Naomi saw each other, Raye's fiancée made her intentions clear: to visit the NPA personally and speak to someone from the Kira task force in the hopes of requesting an audience with L. In all this time that she'd known Naomi, C.C. never took her for a woman who would not follow through. She always did… And if Lelouch was busy reviewing security footage from the NPA right now—
"Lelouch, do you have access to every surveillance footage recorded at the NPA's building?"
"Unfortunately, no. Kitamura and Matsumoto only provided the video data that is necessary to help us with Operation L."
"And that video data includes what, exactly?"
Lelouch considered her expression and though he was curious, kept himself from asking questions and answered hers instead. "Camera footage from the Kira task force HQ in the NPA, and public surveillance videos. I have access to footage taken in the hallways, exits, and ent—"
"Get me footage of the day Naomi went to the police station. Entrance and front desk."
"I see…"
Lelouch located the file and skipped forward several timestamps. He caught her just as C.C. grasped his shoulder and squeezed. In the surveillance footage, Naomi passed through the doors of the NPA after passing through a checkpoint and she promptly stopped at the reception desk. Lelouch eyed the timestamps and made a note of how long Naomi Misora had been in there. Not ten minutes later, another person walked through the entrance. He was tall with light brown hair, and he strode right up to the desk, alighting what looked like a shopping bag on the surface before signing what looked to be a visitor's form or a logbook.
"For a law enforcement building with supposedly heightened security, I'm surprised they don't have the building wiretapped."
"That would be illegal, C.C."
"Pity that the microphones are too far from the front desk then."
They let the footage play out until the moment Naomi left with the brunet. What followed was a sequence of uneventful footage. Not a single person of interest wandered back into the building except for Officer Shuichi Aizawa coming through the entrance twenty minutes after Naomi left with that other man.
"Naomi never returned." C.C. piped up from beside him, her voice quiet and concerned. "At the very least, she should have spoken to any member of the task force present in the HQ."
Switching tabs, Lelouch opened a video file taken the same day Naomi paid the NPA a visit. It was footage of the taskforce HQ inside the NPA. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary — just Officer Aizawa working at one of the computers in the HQ, picking up the phone now and then.
"She could have been forced to take a phone call and reveal the information through there."
C.C. denied the suggestion with a stubborn shake of her head. "She was serious about speaking to the task force members directly."
"She could have returned another day."
"Then it seems odd that she wouldn't tell me."
Lelouch knew his suggestions were nothing more than an added layer of speculation that he and C.C. didn't really need. He hated that twisty feeling in his gut that always preceded something awful. His partner was upset.
"No, you're right." Lelouch sighed and mumbled under his breath, recalling C.C.'s words when she told him Naomi's plans and explained how the woman was adamant about relaying the information directly to L — having worked under the anonymous detective during a serial murder case in Britannia. If what the young man in the video had signed was what Lelouch thought he signed, then— "The NPA keeps a record of every person who has visited the station. I don't think Naomi had the chance to write her name down in the visitor's records, but… We could cross-reference the time in the footage with the time in the logbook and figure out who Naomi left with that day."
Nodding in agreement and to show her appreciation, C.C. squeezed his shoulder one more time before she left his side. She was halfway across the suite, heading straight for the door with her wig in place and her bag hoisted across one shoulder. Lelouch had a general idea of where she would be heading, but he asked her anyway — if only for the sake of confirming.
"Where are you off to?"
"Naomi's apartment."
She wanted to be sure. For all she knew, Naomi could just be there, isolating herself for whatever reason (though that would be very out of character for her in all the time that C.C. had known her), but she couldn't quite shake the ominous gut-feeling that she would find nothing there but wisps of Naomi's and Raye's previous lives.
=OoOoO=
They'd spent the majority of the day reviewing what surveillance footage they had available. Five of the International Bureau's agents died in private and seven of them died of heart attacks in public places — in view of the city's surveillance cameras. Between the six of them, reviewing footage should have gone smoothly and quickly, if only L didn't insist on rewatching what the other officers had reviewed already.
L knew all too well how it must look. Each time he insisted on watching a specific video again, he could sense the rising frustration. Each time he asked to rewind the footage or fast-forward to a specific timestamp, L knew the men of the taskforce assumed that L did not trust their judgment and their capabilities: that nothing in these surveillance videos looked out of the ordinary (except the fact that these agents died of heart attacks, of course).
And it was true…
As much as he trusted them enough to show them his face, he did not wholly rely on the fact that they did not miss anything. As keen-eyed and as efficient as they were at their jobs, they weren't perfect. Neither was he… But between him and the five of them, L knew that he had the much better chance of spotting something out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, Aizawa, Mogi, Ukita, Matsuda, and Chief Yagami, did not always know what to look for.
The overtimes he required of them did not help either.
Exhaustion settled in heavily after they passed the ten o'clock mark. Obviously not used to pulling a long all-nighter, the other investigators had given up and submitted themselves to the motions of following L's orders.
"That was footage from surveillance cameras at the station. The death of one of the IBI agents is captured on here." A bleary-eyed Aizawa groused and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, L caught him hastily looking away. The man had every right to complain, but the need to appear professional held him back. It was commendable, but nevertheless—
"Let's see the following scenes again. Raye Penber passing the ticket gate on his way in, then him boarding the train, and finally the part where he dies on the platform."
They did their best to suppress a heavy groan. Matsuda made no such effort, but he scrambled to do as L asked anyway. The head investigator ignored him and continued happily licking and eating his matcha ice cream cone. As the video played out all over again, Matsuda fought back a yawn and focused on the notes they'd taken earlier in the day instead. It was better to keep slogging through than to give in to the sleep deprivation that L was immune from.
"Umm… So based on the records I have here, Raye Penber comes through the west entrance of Shinjuku Station at 3:11 PM. Then at 3:13, he boards a train on the Yamanote line, but even if he was following someone at the time, I think it's going to be very difficult for us to draw any real conclusions from this blurry video. Then at exactly 4:42 PM, he exits the train at Tokyo Station and dies on the platform—" Matsuda trailed off.
"That's quite strange, don't you think?"
"I'm sorry, what did you find strange?" Chief Soichiro Yagami asked, peering at L over the rim of his glasses.
"Yeah, did you notice something?" The hope that L did notice something bled through Matsuda's question, because otherwise, this would have been for nothing.
"We know that Raye Penber got on the train and then an hour and a half later, he got off and died on the platform. But the Yamanote line only takes an hour to complete its circuit. And more importantly, there's the envelope."
"What do you mean?"
L leaned forward, teetering at the very edge of the couch to hold the mouse and use the cursor to drag the slider to the timestamp that he wanted. "He's holding what looks like an envelope when he passes through the ticket gate."
"You're right! It's there under his arm." Aizawa looked back and forth between the four monitors they'd set up for this. "But in the footage right before his death, it's gone. I can't believe you actually caught that."
"Well I don't see an envelope on this list of his personal effects." Soichiro Yagami commented.
"Which means, it was left on the train. And if you watch closely at the very end here." L dragged the slider again. "It seems like he's straining to look inside the train just before the doors close. You can see right here."
L was right… For a moment, Matsuda wondered how this tiny detail slipped their notice, but perhaps this was just more proof that L's level of focus was more than a cut above the rest. The grainy footage displayed the upsetting sight of Raye Penber sprawled across the platform, straining with all his might to look back at… at what?
"If that's the case, do you think it could mean something?"
"Wouldn't it be interesting if Kira was on that train?" L muttered, thumb pressed to the corner of his mouth.
"That's impossible!" Chief Yagami exclaimed.
"I admit, I find it hard to believe as well. There's no reason for Kira to come to the scene of his own crime when he can kill from a distance." But on the other hand— "Well, maybe he's counting on us to make that assumption, and figured he could get away with such a bold move."
=OoOoO=
Sick of feeling trapped between the four walls of their hotel suite, Lelouch left the premises dressed in winter clothes that kept him incognito enough amongst the sea of busy faces. The hotel's café served his purposes well enough, and the Britannian was only all too happy to claim a booth, order an espresso and look over the records Officer Hiroki sent his way.
Lelouch had investigated Kira's methods of killing long enough to know that they needed a name and a face, and to some extent, they could also control the time of death. But there was so much information missing. Without that to fill in the gaps, Kira was free to continue killing as he pleased.
Officer Matsumoto and Nakamura previously worked on the Kira case together with Chief Soichiro Yagami. Nakamura had resigned early on, but Matsumoto had remained long enough to be aware of the International Bureau spying on the Japanese police. He resigned from the case shortly after that. He told Marion Lamperouge that while he trusted L's ability to find their suspect, he didn't trust the shadowy detective enough to put his life on the line just to solve one case. A fair conclusion, Lelouch supposed, if he looked at it from Matsumoto's perspective.
Small wonder he was leading the operation to uncover L's identity now, with Marion Lamperouge as consultant.
Both Matsumoto and Nakamura confirmed that Kira found a way to obtain classified information from the police. So Lelouch wanted to know specifically who the International Bureau agents had been following prior to their deaths, because their Kira suspect had to be among that group.
Lelouch would never bring up his musings regarding the Kira case with his current colleagues. They wouldn't want to hear it. Their objective was finding L. They did not care or did not care to know that Lelouch was simply in on this as a means to an end.
For the first time, he could truly say that he did not regret taking the assignment. Access to official records and information from the NPA, a weekly paycheck, and men diligently waiting for instructions. It was not enough to close in on L, but for figuring out where Naomi could have disappeared to, it was efficient. The NPA's visitor logbook was divided into four columns, requiring civilians to write down their name, time of arrival, purpose of visit, and finally a signature. According to the footage he'd reviewed earlier today, Naomi was at the NPA at 1:30 PM… The visitor who came in at 1:40 PM based on the record Hiroki sent him was—
"Light Yagami." Lelouch muttered to himself, a finger to his lips as he continued to scan over the soft copy that had been sent to him via email.
The purpose of this person's visit was to deliver a change of clothes for one of the officers. It didn't say who, but you didn't need a genius to put two and two together. The boy shared the same last name as one of the detectives involved in the Kira case. In the footage he'd reviewed, Light Yagami struck up a conversation with Naomi. Video footage for one of the exits also caught the two of them still conversing with each other, up until they moved out of frame. Naomi Misora never made a reappearance at the NPA again. The only other event that piqued his interest from that same day was Officer Aizawa arriving and working on the Kira case all by himself in the task force headquarters.
The chances of Light Yagami having anything to do with Naomi's disappearance was slim, but at the very least, he could provide them with additional information. The one other fact he needed to know was exactly where they had both gone their separate ways. Perhaps that bit could reveal a trail or some clue. He was aware of C.C.'s hesitance to consider Naomi's demise, but Lelouch wasn't above ruling it to be a suicide. But if he really took Naomi's strength of character into account, suicide just wasn't something he could see her doing. After Raye's death at the hands of Kira, she eagerly investigated the busjacking as well as her own fiancé's death with the limited information she had and with C.C. as her soundboard. She had managed to concoct a theory as to who Kira could be, based off of her fiancé's actions and the possibility that Kira could kill in other ways.
But then again, what did he know of Naomi's personal demons and emotional turmoils?
A dark-haired petite woman with sunglasses perched on her pretty nose sidled into his side of the booth and claimed the spot next to him. Without saying a word or asking for his permission, she picked up the menu, flagged down a waiter to order her own afternoon snacks, and ignored Lelouch. She let him continue reading whatever it was he was reading on his tablet until the waiter was out of earshot.
"She's not in her apartment." C.C. sighed, removing her sunglasses. "The concierge hadn't seen her for days now as well."
Lelouch relaxed, locked his tablet, and folded his hands on top of the table. "Have they filed a missing person report?"
"The concierge said they did." C.C. chewed on the inside of her cheek in consideration, stopping briefly to smile at the waiter and thank him when he brought over a plate of croissants baked to flaky perfection, alongside her cup of macchiato. "In all the time that we've known her, Naomi never struck me as a person who would disappear for no reason. What worries me is that she was at the NPA probably making it clear that she had information about the case before she…"
C.C. trailed off inaudibly. If Lelouch hadn't been sitting so close to her, he wouldn't have heard.
"If we entertain the assumption that Kira could be responsible for this, then—"
"—Could Light Yagami be Kira?" He finished for her. "It's possible. But the chance is too slim unless we have more information available."
"But he could also just be the last person Naomi interacted with and he might not know anything. Who knows?" C.C. pointed out.
"Regardless, I want to meet with him. He could provide valuable information. Besides, he's the only person who's connected to Naomi before she disappeared."
C.C. cocked a curious eyebrow as she took a sip of her drink. "Aren't you juggling too many things at this point?"
"Not really." Lelouch flashed her a smirk, inching closer to speak even more quietly than he already was. "Both Officer Matsumoto and Nakamura have confirmed that Chief Soichiro Yagami led the Kira investigation before, and Kitamura's own list of names have affirmed that. If Naomi's plan had worked, we would be in contact with the Kira investigation team by now."
"So what would you have me do?"
To anyone else who happened to see them from afar, they were two people engaged in what appeared to be a very intimate conversation — what with how close Lelouch's face was to the side of hers. But in truth—
"Call the tip line to the NPA and tell them we have crucial information about the Kira case. Tell them we require a direct line to their head investigator."
"Over a video call, I presume?"
"Yes, say that, but I know they will never allow it. And when they refuse, tell them Marion Lamperouge wishes to speak with L. If not L, then Watari. If it works, we have established a line of communication with them. It's a good start."
There was no assurance that it would pan out as smoothly as he'd imagined it. For all he knew, they could hit a wall and the five men of the NPA would lead them around in circles and they would never get to speak with L or Watari at all. It was a gamble… But Lelouch had gambled plenty of times over the past decades now — more than enough to know where to place a winning bet.
Lelouch smiled into her wig and left a lingering kiss on her cheek. When he pulled back and let her reclaim her personal space, C.C. shrugged and took a bite out of her croissant. A waitress passed by carrying drinks and they let the clattering of busy cutlery and afternoon conversation from patrons fill the silence between them. After a moment, Lelouch cupped a hand over his mouth and kept talking.
"If it works out well, Watari will probably answer since he is the only known person who can contact L."
"What sort of information will you be baiting them with?"
"That we know who Kira is."
From the corner of his eye, he caught C.C. staring at him as if were crazy. "You know, the chances of this boy being Kira is slim given what information we have. You said so yourself."
"Regardless, the small lead would be attractive enough to catch L's attention. At least I hope so…" Lelouch muttered, words muffled behind the rim of his own coffee cup.
"What if L already has narrowed down his list of suspects?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he had. Still, it will get us the audience we need."
She had always been adept at pointing out the flaws in his plan or the weaknesses that could be prodded for an opportunity, and Lelouch would be forever grateful for that. But this time, even she knew that he had it all worked out…for now.
=OoOoO=
"Everyone, at this point, I'd like to focus our investigation on only those people who Raye Penber was tailing. In particular, he was assigned to two police officers and those closest to them: Deputy Director Kitamura along with Detective Superintendent Yagami and their families. At this stage, I'd like to place wiretaps and surveillance cameras in both households."
"Surveillance cameras? Ryuzaki—"
"I don't see how you could even consider this. If this got out, we'd have a civil rights scandal on our hands. We'd all lose our jobs!"
"You told me you'd be willing to risk your lives for this investigation, but you wouldn't risk your jobs?"
The task force was not happy with him…
But it did not matter. Their happiness wasn't his priority. He was more concerned about bringing this case to a close.
Following an interesting tip from a concerned citizen to the NPA, L snagged the strongest lead they had in weeks. The members of the task force immediately linked Naomi Misora's disappearance to suicide following the death of her fiancé, but that wasn't likely… Not to L, at least. He never met her face-to-face, but she worked under him and functioned as his proxy during the Los Angeles BB Murder Case in Britannia. She had been an excellent International Bureau agent and she was by no means feeble. Going off of what he knew of her, it was more likely that she would be after Kira. It was possible that she could have found a lead, but was it too far-fetched to assume that Kira might have gotten to her first?
L figured 'no.'
So when he made the decision to blatantly violate their suspects' basic human right to privacy, he did so knowing that there were consequences to his actions, but only if he was caught. And since this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, the risk was nothing more than a trivial nuisance.
Chief Yagami's face had betrayed his mortification and his shock. Aizawa was incensed and Matsuda was very concerned. Mogi and Ukita who had been at the NPA when L made the decision, would likely sport reactions similar to that of their colleagues'. But while the rest of the men present had protested heavily (not that it would make much difference because L would plant surveillance devices in those houses with or without their permission), Soichiro Yagami had cast his lot with L — in spite of his own anger and frustration.
To some extent, L understood why the men felt that way. It seemed they all had no qualms being subjected to an interrogation by L in the beginning, but once their loved ones came into the fray, the hackles were raised, and emotions swiftly got in the way.
As a courtesy to the Chief and his family, L had decided that only he and Superintendent Yagami himself would conduct surveillance of the Yagami household. The rest will take turns conducting surveillance on Deputy Director Kitamura's family.
Two days had passed since then, and it had been two long days of grueling all-nighters. Not for L, but for the rest of the taskforce.
Beside L, Chief Yagami watched his own family closely as they gathered together for dinner and enjoyed evening television. Keeping a stern focus on the family of three consuming their meals in companionable comfort, L brought the phone he had pinched between his fingertips to his face.
"Hello, Mr. Aizawa, are the Kitamuras watching television now?"
Through the phone speakers, Mr. Aizawa answered, "Yes. He's not home, but the other four are watching while they eat dinner. It's channel 4."
L hung up without a word, put the phone down, and addressed his ever present butler. "Watari, please contact the broadcasters and tell them to play our message."
Through the live feed, both L and Soichiro Yagami watched as Sayu read Interpol's message aloud and reacted with genuine awe that divulged her innocence. "Fifteen-hundred investigators? Woah…"
"The ICPO sure is stupid. I mean, there's no point in making this announcement. If they're going to send all these people here to investigate, shouldn't they keep it a secret? Even the IBI agents who were secretly investigating were killed by Kira. Why would this be any different? If you ask me this is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shock Kira in the hopes that he'll reveal himself somehow. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Kira sees right through this."
Soichiro Yagami's son, Light Yagami, piped up with an underlying smugness in his tone that didn't escape L's notice. He sounded confident to the point of arrogance — a trait L easily recognized as something he himself also possessed. But the fact that Light Yagami felt the need to comment and to make assumptions on how Kira would perceive this… Perhaps it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and was no different from how other people aired out their opinions whenever politicians made speeches on television. But still…
"Your son's clever, isn't he?"
"Huh? Well, yes." Chief Yagami replied just as Light stood up and announced his intentions to study before going to bed.
"And after dinner, your son just goes back to studying without turning on the TV or his computer?"
"It's because the entrance exams are only three days away."
Their surveillance lapsed into silence after that. The monotony of watching Sayu sprawl on the sofa with a book between her hands, Chief Yagami's wife tidying up the house for the night, and Light just studying was broken three hours later when Watari approached them to report the deaths of two criminals after their crimes were reported on the news.
Invigorated by the flash report, Soichiro Yagami shot to his feet. "It's him again."
L remained where he was, eyes still trained on the different scenarios splayed out before them as pixels on a screen. "While all that was happening, at your home, your wife and daughter were watching television. When that was over, they turned the TV off and didn't watch anything afterwards. From just past 7:30 until now, 11:00, your son has done nothing but study. Kira needs a name and a face. Without those, he can't kill. So I suppose anyone who didn't watch the news can't be Kira, right?"
"You said it yourself." Chief Yagami exclaimed — so desperate to prove his family's innocence. "That means my family has been cleared!"
"It doesn't make sense that Kira would kill two petty criminals right after their identities were broadcast. I know it's only been two days since the cameras were installed, but so far, the Yagami household seems almost too innocent to me."
Although, L had to admit that he wouldn't have come to that conclusion if Light hadn't so hastily flaunted his ability to see through the hoax they'd broadcasted on TV.
Body language and psychology had a part to play when it came to uncovering a suspect — not just in interrogation. The task force ought to learn that…
=OoOoO=
Watari slept as minimally as L did. But while the Englishman gave himself at least two hours of rest everyday, L didn't shackle himself to such a notion. It couldn't be good for Watari to stay up so late, but L knew better than to try and police another person's habits when his own were clearly out of control.
The surveillance monitors were shut off for the night and Chief Yagami had gone home to his family two hours ago. L knew he would review the overnight footage in the morning. For now, he cast the idea of 24/7 surveillance aside in favor of thinking in silence, shrouded in darkness in the suite's master bedroom yet again.
As far as the Kira case went, they were making great progress. L wouldn't hastily make his assumptions concerning their suspect's identity just yet, but he already had a plan in mind where their next steps were concerned.
There was also the matter of that private investigator who'd contacted Deneuve.
When L asked Watari to find as much information as he could about Marion Lamperouge, the Englishman had done it and then some. They still lacked a public picture and L seriously doubted that Marion Lamperouge was this person's real name, but he had news reports and case files that involved the elusive detective all the same. If Marion Lamperouge had not gone out of his way to try and reach Deneuve, L wouldn't be looking into this person's identity in the first place.
Marion had an impressive track record on top of previously working with the International Bureau of Investigation, the Black Knights' Criminal Investigation Division, and he appeared to have some sort of connection with the UFN — if these news articles could be believed. The name of a current employer had yet to surface. He had to dig a bit more to thoroughly sift the facts from the fakes. Marion also apparently did most of his business through the help of an assistant. She went by the name Cera. L knew better than to trust the name to be genuine too.
Based on the information Watari had diligently gathered, both Marion and Cera had grown in popularity the last four years within the international policing community (notably all over Britannia, Europia, and a select region of Asia).
L's insatiable curiosity drove him to this point, despite the fact that the Kira investigation held his full attention. Marion had become too intriguing to ignore. He still didn't have an answer to either of the suspicions he'd held for this other detective.
What did the man want?
It was just fifteen minutes past two in the morning when L's personal serenity was interrupted with the rare notification from his highly encrypted email inbox that only Watari knew about. It was a daily report from one of the officers of the task force — Ukita's to be exact. Most of it was nothing out of the ordinary, but Watari being Watari had taken the liberty of highlighting the information of interest for L to focus on.
5:45 PM
Received a call from the tipline with the ff: message.
Marion Lamperouge wishes to speak with the head of the Kira task force.
Sensitive information on the identity of Kira.
Call: +81 70-9314-7183
They were occupied with surveillance during these hours. That explained why Watari was busy fielding reports now. And as if his musings summoned Watari himself, the Englishman's call sign appeared at the corner of L's laptop screen.
"What do you make of Ukita's report?"
"Call the given number in the morning, Watari. Then have them call the number for Line 2. It will be much safer that way."
He and Marion Lamperouge were after the same thing, after all.
A/N: They're all coming together~
Thank you for the reviews, the follows, and the faves :D They always make my day!
Also feel free to leave reviews if you want too :D It's fun and appreciated.