This is also an Immortal Moon S chapter, Yamoto and Saeko.
Yamato knocked on the penthouse door, and not long later, Saeko answered. As she let him in her place, his eyes drifted over her body. From the moment he met her, he was physically attracted to her. She was so sexy. Then he heard her speak and got to know her brilliant mind, and he was desperate for her. Still, he had held himself back. He thought he was too bright to date within the inner circle that had been created around Mamoru and Usagi. After all, if something went wrong, he couldn't ignore her for the rest of his life.
The problem for him was that he didn't really care to be smart around her.
He brought himself to the present and forced himself to talk about the reason she had called him over. As he slipped off his shoes and changed into slippers, he asked, "You said she noticed something?"
Saeko had called him over to discuss drug interactions off of the list he had given her and asked to have her nurse friend review it. "Yes. All these drugs were in his system? I know you tested him. I just wasn't clear if they were the drugs in the prescription bottles or in his blood."
"No bottles. He stole them from his place of employment. All those drugs were in his bloodwork."
She frowned, looked down, and nodded slowly. "You're sure he stole them?"
"No. But the pharmacy he worked at was sure that he did and fired him."
"Have you contacted them?"
"Not yet. Why?"
"Pharmacists stealing drugs and getting addicted isn't exactly new. Narcotics have a huge pull, and there are rehab programs specifically for that very situation."
Yamato thought about that as he sat down on her couch. She had offered him a seat. She sat too, and he said, "Yet court-ordered rehab wasn't part of his court sentence."
She leaned back and said, "She thought the list not only looked strange but that it also sounded familiar. She took it home and then called me at two this morning. She woke up remembering where she had seen that list." Saeko held up a mystery novel with a bookmark in it. She handed it to him, and as he opened the book, she added, "Every drug in his system is listed on page seventy-two."
"Who's the killer?" he asked, looking over the underlined portion.
"Cult members killed him to hide their identities."
He looked over at her in shock. "Subtle," he scoffed. "The more I find out, the more I hope it's not them. If it is, they're massively stupid."
"You feel like a cult that has existed for centuries shouldn't be so cliche?"
"Yeah. Although it's one branch of a global cult."
"Maybe they think they're clever?" Saeko commented.
"Or maybe someone is being very heavy-handed in framing them. Although, who would think to look into a murder mystery book?"
"It's currently on the best-seller list."
He looked down at the book in his hands and asked, "Currently? When did it come out?"
She smiled at him in response and said, "It's different being able to talk to a man who can keep up mentally."
"Because I'm not a fetus," he teased.
"They weren't that young," she replied as she laughed. "It came out four months ago. So either the author wrote a book on how she killed someone in real life or…" She trailed off, letting him finish.
"Or he wasn't fired for stealing this particular list of drugs, which would make sense because then we could assume the narcotics in his system weren't on the list of fireable offenses."
She agreed. "Hence, no rehab. Which means…"
He pulled out his cell and texted Detective Itsuki. He could use police resources and channels on this since it pointed to the central part of the investigation, not the cult. Once he finished his text, he said, "I'm having them request the full file on the theft. The list of drugs he is convicted of stealing will be in there." He chucked, "a crime he might have actually committed. It seems like they may have taken advantage of that fact."
"I'm guessing the cancer drug will be on that list," Saeko stated.
"Why?"
"I speed-read the book. The red herring in the book was the cancer drug. It had been assumed that a ticked-off victim's family member had killed the murdered man."
Recognition dawned on Yamato, "You think he was fired for diluting the chemo medication and selling it on the black market?!"
She smiled and said, "In the book, the cult killed him, and the police had thought it was one of the victim's family members. Wouldn't it be interesting if, in real life, we believe the cult did it and it was a member of one of the victim's family?"
He gave her a long, thoughtful look and said, "So you think we need to discover if there is a list of people who were being given watered-down chemo? That wasn't in the court's findings."
"What if the pharmacy hid that they were watered down, and that hasn't come to light in the media?"
"But then why would someone have killed him for it?"
Saeko said, "Someone could have discovered it but not alerted anyone and taken justice into their own hands."
Yamato nodded and said, "So we would be looking at someone with a medical background who could test the strength of the drug. The problem is that we would need a list of victims, and if there weren't any charges, there wouldn't be a list. We can't get a list of who's on the drug at that pharmacy back then. There are laws against it."
Smirking, Saeko said, "It would be handy if we had a hacker who was willing to break the law to find a murderer." And faking like she just had an idea, she said, "Oh! Luna might do that! She can then look into their relatives and search for anyone with a medical background."
Yamato raked his eyes over her body and said, "I shouldn't find it so hot that you're willing to break the law, should I?"
"Why? Because you work for the police? Artemis doesn't seem to mind, either. Or maybe you just both get turned on by smart women," she flirted.
He shrugged, "I have my reasons."
"You're saying that's not it?"
"I'm saying you've oversimplified it and left a bunch out."
Giving him a smoldering look, she said, "I've missed that much?"
Yamato noticed his mouth was dry, but that didn't surprise him. "Hitting the highlights, you're smart, successful, fascinating, and you know you're sexy as hell."
"I'm sexy?" She asked, feigning innocence.
He didn't mind playing along. "You're saying you didn't realize what that tight skirt does for your ass? I definitely noticed walking in. Or did you miss how perky your boobs look in that low-cut top?" Eyes dilated with desire, he added, "I'm trying to be a good boy and behave myself. I told you how I feel the other day."
"You're trying to get me to chase you?" she taunted.
He snorted and shook his head. "I'm not too proud to admit that it only takes a word from you, and I am at your mercy." Yamato then stood up, holding the closed book, ready to head home and look into the matter. "I will look into the leads you suggested. It seems to be that how the drugs interact isn't important in this case."
Saeko stood slowly, ensuring that his eyes would be locked on her body as she did. "I have a kink," she said quietly.
Taking a step back, Yamato said, "And?"
She looked at him in confusion. "You stepped away from me?"
"I don't have permission to touch you, and I am discovering my willpower to behave is eroding embarrassingly fast."
"Back to my kink," she said seductively. "I discovered that a smart man around my age and a stimulating topic turns me on."
He blinked comically slowly, then swallowed hard. "We know the same people. We can't have a one-time thing. It could get awkward."
She exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. "It seems my reputation precedes me."
"I didn't mean-"
She cut him off. "You're incredibly faithful, and by all indications, you haven't had a one-night stand."
"How would you know?"
She smirked, "I refer back to the previously stated fact that Luna doesn't mind breaking the law to help someone out."
"And that means?"
"That I can trust you. I thought about what you said about living in the past with my ex. It made me focus on what's going on right now. Turns out he's still a philandering asshole." With vulnerability in her eyes, she said, "It wasn't about me."
He reached up and cupped her cheek, "I'm glad that you can now see that."
Saeko searched his eyes and asked, "Why are you like this?"
"I don't understand the question," he replied softly.
"You're so kind to me."
"I'm not a twenty-something with an Oedipus complex," he sassed lightly. "And I'm not a man-child looking to boost my ego with another notch on my bedpost. You're someone worth knowing even if you only allow us to be friends."
She blushed lightly and asked, "And what if I allow more?"
"How much more?" He pressed. "I can't do casual."
She shook her head. "For the first time in a very long time, I don't want a casual fling."
"Not to sound childish, but you'd be my girlfriend?"
She looked him in the eyes and nodded. She then quipped, "We can even hold hands and make out in the back of the theater."
Yamato chucked and stepped into her personal space, not dropping eye contact but seemingly changing the temperature in the room for her. With smoldering eyes, he said, "Why go out in public when you have a very private penthouse here?" He then lightly traced his fingers down her arm.
She shivered at his words and said, "You want me?"
He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I want you. Your sexy outfit and your hot body have been tempting me from the moment you opened the door. I'm aching with desire for you, Saeko."
"Do you know what to do with a living body?" she taunted.
He kissed her neck and then whispered, "Are you interested in finding out the answer to your question? Just give consent and let me loose to find out."
Breathing hard, she said, "You have it."
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