Beryl stepped off her private jet at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Once she was in the reception area, her high heels clicked as she strode over the polished wood flooring.
She breezed past the lackey that was waiting for her and kept walking. Once she passed him, he quickly followed after her, saying, "Your car is waiting for you to take you to the harbor in Tokyo Bay, where your yacht is waiting for you per your specifications."
She stopped abruptly and glared at him. "Why the hell do you feel the need to inform me of something I demanded done for me?! Of course, it's ready!" She then resumed her brisk pace. "All you need to tell me is if there has been any progress in locating Endymion." Beryl wasn't surprised when the man disappeared from her side. No one enjoyed delivering the news of their failures to her.
Once she arrived and slid into her waiting car, she rubbed her temples and sighed in frustration. Nothing had been going to plan for her, and that was a significant nuisance. After all, she wanted to know how hard it was to locate one man in Japan. She didn't think that was too much to ask.
Frowning down at the dead body on the slab in front of him, Yamato yelled, "Enter!" He was confused as to why anyone would be knocking since Artemis was at a doctor's appointment with Luna, and Hatori was at a section meeting regarding increased yakuza activity since the incident involving Balm.
The door cracked open, and one of the younger detectives peaked his head in. "Am I disturbing you?"
"Come on in, Itsuki. You're always welcome," Yamato said, covering up the body in front of him.
Itsuki frowned at the sheet and sighed, "Why does it feel different here?"
"I don't understand."
"Sorry. That's not what I came to ask, but it always bugs me. Why does seeing the dead here seem to feel different than seeing them in the field? I mean, come on, they don't have gore all over them. It should be better."
"We're the police. Seeing them cleaned up and arranged in a clinical setting seems less natural," Yamato replied. "It's my theory that it's less offensive in appearance, and that unsettles the police and detectives."
"Now I don't understand."
"In a way, murder should look violent. After all, it's against the natural order, and seeing it all tidied up feels wrong to people." Looking down at the man and thinking of the stab wound that punctured his lung, he added, "But I don't deal with murder here."
"What?" The detective asked, perplexed.
"The way I look at it, I process the body and then remove the blood and debris so that they can talk to me. Everything about them helps provide you with details as to their murder. I simply translate them and give you the facts to do your job properly." Yamato then flashed a big smile. "That and it smells vile down here. And to answer your next question, no, you don't ever get used to the smell. I haven't."
"How do you handle that part?"
"Me? I shower when I get home. That, and remember, you're the one with the beautiful wife at home, and I'm single."
Itsuki laughed and blushed a bit, "We're having our first child."
"Congratulations!"
"Thanks, but I did come down for a different reason," Itsuki said. "I don't mean to sound abrupt."
"I'm not offended."
"Sora, the one with the stab wound to his chest who came in today…"
Yamato pointed at the body under the sheet. "He's right here, and I'm processing him now."
Itsuki handed Yamato a file. "My Captain thought this would help narrow down some possibilities. Even I can see the stab wound killed him, but he looked like he was strung out on drugs, too." He hadn't opened it; he had just done as he was told.
Flipping open the file, Yamato scanned the file and froze when he came to the description of what was found near the body. It wasn't what Itsuki was trying to point him to, but a photo of a ring was on top. In the photo, it was clear the ring was set near the dead man's head, placed so it was easy to see the emblem. It was a ring of The Order of Van Helsing.
He forced himself to ignore that fact in front of the detective for now, but it was too late. "You see something?" Itsuki then worked to try and look at the file to see what had caught Yamato's attention.
Taking a calculated risk, Yamato flipped the photo so the detective could see it. "I understand the significance of leaving the ring displayed like that. Someone wanted it found. And since the corpse didn't seem to have any indent from a ring or tan line, I assume it belonged to the killer or someone associated with him."
"Him?"
"It's a man's ring."
Itsuki asked, "What makes you think that it would be a ring that someone would wear all the time?"
"It has an insignia on it. Those usually hold special significance and are worn daily."
The detective looked over the photo and nodded. "True."
"I understand that generalizations need to be verified, and they only help to postulate theories."
Itsuki took the photo and examined it carefully. "This shouldn't exist."
"Why?" Yamato asked, looking at the young detective with curiosity.
"My grandmother used to draw this design and tell me to stay away from any man that wears a ring like this. But I never listened. She was an alcoholic who claimed that the mice living in her kitchen were aliens and that she was a witch. Why is this a real thing? I thought she was a crazy drunk."
Diplomatically, Yamato said, "We aren't to question the evidence. We are to look into the questions it poses."
"You sound like my Captain."
Chuckling, he responded, "I was quoting him. It holds true, though."
"But it stood out to you, too. Why?"
"It has all the hallmarks of a calling card. We don't have to understand the significance to know it's significant."
Itsuki said, "You think it has to do with her alien conspiracies? Maybe an alien faction? She once told me they abducted her and took away her alcohol." He smirked and added, "Dad said she had actually been arrested for public intoxication." Yamato laughed along with Itsuki at that statement.
"I'll be curious as to what you discover as the investigation proceeds." He then flipped to the report on the drugs found in the dead man's home after the search was executed. "He had a lot of prescription drugs on him. Is there a list of who they were prescribed to?"
"They weren't prescribed to anyone. They were stolen."
"How!?" Yamato asked, looking up at the detective.
"He's a fired pharmacist."
"I'll run tox screens on all these medications. Thanks."
As Itsuki left the morgue, Yamato jumped on the newly created group text for the humans who were friends with Usagi and Mamoru. Along with himself, it included Artemis, Luna, Hatori, Satoru, Yuki, Saeko, Motoki, Grandpa Hino, and Reika. He detailed to them all the particulars of the murdered man with the ring next to him, and he requested they meet as soon as they could.
Lucy flopped down on the couch next to Dracula. "You're in trouble, Mister."
He let out a long sigh and rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. "I can guess what this is about, and I keep telling you I don't feel like this is fair. He tried to kill you! Isn't that alone enough of a reason for me to want to retain some distance between you and his creepy legacy?"
She leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "I didn't say you were in big trouble," she amended.
Dracula pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple. "I watched him try to drive a wooden stake through your heart. All because John Seward wouldn't leave you alone and convinced Van Helsing I was acting against your will."
"He didn't like me choosing you. But I maintain it all worked out in the end."
He chuckled, "I got the girl in the end. And I became the most unlikely hero in this particular romance. After all, four of us were in love with you."
"And I only had eyes for you."
He nodded, smiling, and then the present circumstances made him frown. "I told Usagi. And before you say anything, they are after her right now."
"Something else is up," she said, knowing his moods well.
"Luna texted me. Sora, Daiki Kubo's son, was stabbed and killed, and the perpetrator left an Order of Van Helsing insignia ring next to him."
"What are they doing-?"
He interrupted her, saying, "She had sent a picture of the crime scene. I identified the body and gave them a positive ID."
Lucy furrowed her brow and asked, "Why kill him? He's on their side." She was fully aware he was the son of the Order of Van Helsing leader for the Tohoku region of Japan.
"They are guarding Satoru since he occupies the same position in the Kanto region. His mother was… miffed that he was in danger."
"Putting that very lightly, I'm sure. I know I wouldn't want to cross the strongest witch in existence. I assume he will be safe."
Dracula lamented, "Yes. But the question remains as to why the group would kill one of their own and take credit for it."
Lucy asked, "Unless The Order of Van Helsing is being framed. It would force the police to look into them, and the previous president of the Kanto region is in jail for killing his mother. It might launch a larger investigation."
He kissed her nose and praised her, "You're beautiful and smart. I still don't know why you picked me over the other three."