"Murdered?!" Penny gasped, horrified.

"Yes indeed. You see, this case may look like a normal drug overdose, but I will find the true cause of death."

Naomi handed Penny a box of gloves. "I usually work alone, but you're an exception. You can help me examine the body. Be very careful."

Penny cringed. The very thought of touching a dead body, even though she had gloves on, was chilling. But somehow, Penny nodded, albeit hesitantly. She put on the gloves.

"Now, you examine the right side and I examine the left."

Penny slowly went over to look at the right side of the body. The body was discolored and clammy, as though it was a zombie.

There were small red bumps on his arms, signs of an overdose alright. But then Penny noticed something odd about his right hand. One of his fingers was in a odd position. It must've been fractured.

"Hey, Naomi! One of his fingers seems to be fractured!"

"Good observation. We'll add this to our evidence."

Penny kept examining the right side. It was there she found another anomaly. There was a scratch on his leg.

"There's a scratch on his leg."

"Tell me more."

"It's small, but it's not bleeding, nor its regenerating."

"Hmm...how could his now dead body have a scratch on it when he's dead from overdose? Considering there is No regeneration in the wound."

"That is strange..." Penny remarked. Why would a scratch mark be found on his leg when he's already dead. He couldn't have crawled there before dying, or the wound would've regenerated.

"We might need to write that down. Maybe Little Guy can help us solve this mystery."

"Little Guy?"

"Come." Naomi led Penny to an office. A computer sat on her desk. Naomi flipped a switch and it turned on.

"Ah, Dr Kimishima. How are you?I noticed you aren't alone as you usually are."

A man, looking similar to a Mii, popped on the screen.

"Of course. This intern stumbled into the morgue. Had no choice but to bring her along."

Little Guy reminded Penny of BISCUIT, considering they were both computers helping their doctors.

"We examined the body and found scratches on his leg, along with a fractured finger."

"We also found that he had blood on his mouth, a sign that maybe it wasn't just an overdose that killed him."

"We should gather more witnesses to our case. Mind searching up any close friends or anyone who encountered him on that fateful afternoon?"

"On it, Doctor Kimishima. I heard of someone named Stella Reid who was at a coffee shop before the incident occurred. We will conduct the interview shortly."

"Okay, Little Guy." The computer had cards on them. Each card had the evidence found on the body of the man. Naomi dragged one of the cards showing the man's bloody mouth to Little Guy.

"Huh. Blood from the mouth is a sign of being stabbed."

"Stabbed? The doctors at the scene determined the man had died of an overdose."

"Maybe the killer had stabbed Melvin before forcing him to take the pills, leading to his death by overdose!" Naomi turned to find Penny, still there. "Great theory, Mannette. But we need more evidence to prove your claim."

"Right."


"What happened that faithful day on September 18th?"

"Oh, I heard that Melvin died." Stella replied. Sniffles were heard, indicating she really cared for Melvin.

"Any history with Melvin Donroe?"

"Oh, my husband and Melvin were great friends. It's a shame he went out the same way my husband did."

"Any strange occurrences that happened that day?"

"I remember hearing a scream from Melvin's apartment at...I think, 4pm or 3. I ran to his door and attempted to get inside. But it was locked!"

"Locked, huh? What else happened?"

"I-I called 911. 2 hours later, the firemen came and knocked down the door, but by then...it was too late."

"Did you meet Melvin before the incident?"

"There was yesterday. He was very happy as he just got a huge paycheck from his mail job, and had talked to me and my daughter at our coffee shop."


"Huh. So it was locked from the inside."

"That meant someone had locked it!" Penny spoke. "This has to be a murder!"

"It might. This couldn't be ruled as a suicide. How could it be that Melvin had been happy before his death?"

Naomi put a hand to her chin, thinking. "The death happened at 5pm, presumably. But we might need more evidence. Let's investigate the crime scene."


The two women had driven to Melvin's apartment. It was a total mess, with newspapers and magazines covering one side of the room.

"Yeesh...he really needs to clean up." Penny said, feeling disgusted. She had kept her own apartment neat and tidy, with everything being where she wanted them.

"How could he clean up when he's already dead?" Naomi said, smiling only a little at her remark. But it faded as quick as it came. "Let's investigate the crime scene."

Naomi took out 2 magnifying glasses and handed one of them to Penny. "You investigate the left side. Find whatever is abnormal in this area."

Penny nodded and began her search. She examined each floorboard and found what looked to be specks of dirt. "Huh..."

Penny looked up and saw a vase. It had been knocked over by something...or someone.

"I may need to jot this down." She took out a camera and snapped a photograph of the vase and the dirt.

"Mannette, check this out." Naomi had spotted something important. Penny's head turned and she saw a glowing blue spot beneath Melvin's sofa. "What is that?"

"It's a blood stain. By using this luminol spray, we can now see the blood that had been spilled."

"Wow..." Penny said, awed by the glowing spot. Naomi sprayed more of the luminol spray on the floor, showing a trail of blood leading from the sofa to the murder spot.

"Oh my..."

I believe that Melvin was resting on the couch before his murderer had attacked him. But we must identify the murder weapon used."

Penny snapped a few photos of the blood stains.

"I noticed something." Penny said. "You said that Melvin's right hand held the pill bottle, right?"

Naomi silently nodded. "If so, then how was he able to hold the pill bottle if it had been fractured?!"

"Good point, Mannette. You might be clumsy, but you're smart. You might be a good asset to our team."

"What team?"

"That's a question we'll answer later. First we must solve this mystery. I think we need to re-examine the body. There must be something we missed."


"Doctor! I found something!"

Penny shrieked. There was a mysterious wound behind the body's neck, having been covered by his coat. It looked like a perfect circle.

"Hmm..." Naomi looked at the wound, thinking.

"Could this be the stab wound?" Penny asked. "Maybe so. Look, there seemed to be dried blood from the wound. This might be what we need to identify the murder weapon."

"Doctor Kimishima, we have another witness. She's the daughter of Stella."


"So you're saying that the man at our coffee shop died recently?" The teenager asked.

"Yes, Helen. Do you know anything about him?"

"He visits Reid and Co. Cafe a lot, especially when my dad was alive."

"Was there anyone that came with him the day before his death? On September 17th?"

"Oh, he was with someone. A woman, I guess. She was really beautiful, but gave me a cold stare."

"Uh huh. Do you know the woman by any chance?"

"Umm...mommy told me she had been with the man for quite some time now. Want a cookie?"

"Um, not right now."


"So...Melvin had a girlfriend?" Penny asked. "Wow, I didn't know a 30 year old man would be dating."

"we may need to find who this woman is. Little Guy, can you conduct the interview?"

"Of course, Dr Kimishima."

Penny downloaded what she found onto the computer, and a two cards with the pictures showed up.

"Hmm...what could've knocked over that vase?" Naomi commented. "Another detail is that whoever presumably killed him was let into his house beforehand. Someone close to him, probably."

"To the crime scene!" Penny exclaimed. Naomi facepalmed. "This isn't a game it's real life."


Back at the crime scene, Naomi and Penny were searching for more evidence to prove how Melvin really died.

Penny had noticed something suspicious in the fireplace. It had been put out after the firemen found the body.

Something metallic and long was sticking out.

Penny pulled it out using her gloves, not wanting to get her fingerprints on it.

It looked like a dilapidated and burnt, but Penny identified the object as a corkscrew, a tool used to open wine bottles. The tool is in a shape of a spring, with a pointed tip used to puncture a hole in the cork. The handle on the cork screw had been burned into ashes, but the tool itself was intact, made out of metal.

"Naomi...why is there a corkscrew in the fireplace?"

Naomi cocked her head, examining the corkscrew. "Why would there be a corkscrew in the fireplace. Perhaps the killer tried to get rid of the murder weapon."

"This has to be it! The murder weapon is the corkscrew!" Penny placed the corkscrew into a bag. "Too bad the handle has turned into ashes."

"We don't need the handle. We just need to figure out whoever came in with Melvin before his death." Naomi assured Penny.


"Hmph. Melvin deserved it." Madeline Rey, aka Melvin's ex-girlfriend, spoke in a angry tone.

"Mrs Rey, we need to figure out what happened on that faithful day. Where were you when he died?"

"Oh, me? I remember taking a nap at my apartment. I had an argument with Melvin the night before, leading to our breakup. Perhaps he killed himself out of shame."

"What were you arguing about?"

"Well, here's a newsflash for you...he NEVER loved me. He was effing gay! GAY I TELL YOU!"

"You can't just assume-"

"I don't know who is his lover, but whoever it is, I will find you. I will kill-I mean...have a nice chat with him."


"Wait...Melvin was gay?" Penny gasped in shock.

"Turns out the victim was homosexual. People can be unpredictable." Naomi commented.

"Doctor, could this be a clue?"

"She could be a suspect. But we might need more information to prove if she's innocent or not."

"Doctor, I examined the corkscrew that came from the fireplace. It has Melvin's blood on it."

"Perfect!" Penny exclaimed, but Naomi shushed her. "Oh sorry. We need to be quiet."

"I also found these photos in a shoebox Melvin kept in his apartment."

Naomi showed the photos. It had pictures of Melvin and a man, happy. "That man next to Melvin has been identified as Stanley Reid, the husband of Stella."

"Hmm...perhaps Melvin had been in love with Stanley, but never told him?" Penny assumed.

"We can't assume everything, Mannette. She may be wrong."


"Clearly she was right..." Penny looked at the flag hanging on the wall. It had the colors of the rainbow. A gay flag.

Naomi sprayed the luminol spray on the flag, but found no signs of blood. "Hmm...could we investigate the lock?"

Naomi examined the lock. "It seems to be working. But how could the killer get out of a locked room?"

Penny wondered as she walked around, before bumping into Melvin's closet. It was open. "Hey..." Penny went inside the mysterious closet, finding there was nothing inside...except a door. "Naomi! I think I found something!"

Penny opened the mysterious door, making sure not to leave any fingerprints. She found herself outside the apartment on a different side. "I think I know how the killer escaped..."


"Did you say that Melvin died?" Nero Pomwell, aka Melvin's friend and coworker exclaimed.

"Did you ever see Melvin before he died on September 18?"

"I guess I had been hanging out with him before his girlfriend came and dragged him away. She looked a little clingy. Didn't see him after that. He was a heavy sleeper."

"Interesting. Did you have any scuffles with Melvin?"

"I had a few, but they didn't escalate too quickly. I was jealous but I would never kill him, especially if he's my coworker..."


"Clingy huh?" Naomi spoke after they heard Nero's interview. "We may have found the main suspect."

"Nero could be lying, though..." Penny said with doubt. "But I guess we know how exactly Melvin died..."


"Melvin Donroe, a mailmen of Raygun Co and friend of the Reid Family, was a good man. He had been close with Stanley Reid, the husband of Stella and the father of Helen."

"Little did anyone know that Melvin had been homosexual, having loved Stanley even as he had grown a family. To hide his true self, Melvin gained himself a girlfriend named Madeline Rey. When Stanley died from an accidental overdose thanks to his alcoholism, Melvin's love still persisted."

"On September 17, 2021, Melvin visited his friend, Nero Pomwell. He had a good chat before Melvin went with his girlfriend. At 5pm, they visited Reid and Co Cafe. Melvin had a chat with Stella, talking about the big paycheck he got that day."

"After leaving the cafe, Melvin went home and slept, unaware that he had brought an impending doom upon himself, having brought his killer home with him."

"With Melvin being a heavy sleeper, the killer awoke at 2pm and started to prepare. They put on gloves, locked the front door and waited for the perfect opportunity. At 3pm, Melvin was still sleeping on his couch when the killer lunged at him with a corkscrew and stabbed his neck. Blood spilled out of his wound and he tried to escape the scene. The killer managed to grab Melvin and put him against a wall, knocking over a flower vase and letting dirt fall on the floor. As Melvin was about to be force fed pills from a prescription bottle, these are his last words-

"No! Someone! HELP!"

"With Melvin overdosing and dying on the spot, the killer then dragged his body to the ground, accidentally scratching his heel on one of the sofa legs, and cleaned up the blood. They then disposed of the evidence in the fireplace, unaware that the corkscrew would survive, albeit burnt. The killer put the prescription bottle in Melvin's hands to frame it as a suicide, fracturing one of his fingers. The killer then found his closet, having known it since Melvin had taken them many times to his apartment. Using the secret passage, the killer escaped undetected."

"That is the true fate of Melvin Donroe."


Penny stared at the body. She had always been afraid of seeing dead bodies again, having missed a few funerals after she was released from the army. But now that she understood what happened to this poor man, Penny stopped being afraid.

"Melvin Donroe...I hope you find peace in your death..."

She prayed in silence. However, she heard footsteps coming toward her. Penny turned around and saw a woman, dressed in red and having long, lavender hair.

"Who are you?" The woman asked, surprised, though Penny knew she was lying.

"Penny Mannette. Clinical Pharmacist."

"I'm just here to see Melvin before he is buried 6 feet in the ground. We had so much fun together."

The woman walked over to the body, her boots making a loud noise. Penny glared at her.

"...It was you, wasn't it?"

"Excuse me?" The woman spoke in a serious tone of voice.

"I've seen many anime. Anime involving girls. Girls killing others just so they could be able to get the boy. Sometimes, they kill their own senpai so nobody could have them. They're called yandere."

"Yandere? You can't expect little old me to be a yandere, do you?" The woman said in a mocking tone of voice.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you...Madeline Rey."

Penny turned around. Madeline pulled out a knife from her purse. She charged toward the pharmacist with bloodshed eyes.

Penny, knowing exactly what Madeline was going to do, dodged the attack and swept her legs, causing Madeline to fall to the floor. After a struggle, Penny managed to steal the knife and pin Madeline to the floor. With a smile, Penny said a line from one of her favorite anime...

"Caught you."