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A Curse Marked Fate

27: To Trace an Echo

Mouri Kogoro, Shinichi reflected, had many flaws when it came to being a detective. He had a tendency to latch onto the first plausible conclusion he came upon, and he could often be biased when it came to pretty women. He did, however, have several virtues as a detective as well, even if they weren't always obvious. One of those virtues was that he was brave when it counted. He was the kind of man who ran to help when he saw trouble instead of pretending he'd seen nothing or fleeing for his own protection. More importantly however, in Shinichi's opinion anyway, Kogoro cared. His head might not always be on straight, but his heart was generally in the right place.

It was that genuine desire to be helpful, Shinichi knew, that was driving Kogoro now as he led their way into the corner café where they were supposed to be meeting with Matsuhara Lita's sister-in-law. Kogoro had spent several hours listening as the still much lauded violinist poured her heart out about her husband and the actress he'd told her he would be marrying once their divorce was finalized. The woman's haunted eyes and obvious grief (and probably her lovely face as well) had struck a chord in the older detective, and he had promised to do what he could to help her understand how her life had run so terribly off track. Even Kogoro knew better than to promise that he would find out how the actress had ensnared her husband with some illegal or untested magic, but he had felt that, as a detective, he could at least offer her the full story. Once she had it, perhaps she would be able to begin reconciling herself to the truth and moving on.

"She's much too good for a man like that," Kogoro grumbled now as he flipped idly through the café's somewhat limited menu.

The waiter came over, and they placed two orders for the house special. The man had just returned with their drinks when a tall woman with a hint of gray in her short, dark hair entered the restaurant. Dressed in a slim, gray business suit, she cut an ever so slightly imposing figure in the doorway as she paused to scan the tables around the room.

"Uncle, I think that's her," Shinichi whispered, nudging the older detective in the side.

Kogoro looked up from stirring cream into his coffee just in time to see the newcomer start towards their table. He started slightly at the sight of her—most likely a touch intimidated by her clipped stride and set features. Shinichi couldn't blame him. The woman had Kiseki Eri's aura of confident professionalism. Combine that with the thin grim line of her mouth, and you could all but hear the dressing down about to begin.

As such, both cursed detectives were momentarily taken aback when that grim visage of hers broke into a genuine smile as she offered Kogoro her hand.

"You must be Mouri Kogoro. Lita told me about you. I'm glad you agreed to do this for her, even if it is a wild goose chase. I like Lita, so I will do whatever I can to help. You just have to ask. I am Matsuhara Anko. Please just call me Anko or this will probably get confusing very fast."

"Oh, uh, right, of course," Kogoro stammered, trying to catch his balance after being steamrolled by the woman's forwardness.

He was spared from having to figure out what to say next right away by the return of their waiter, who seemed to know Anko personally. They talked for a while about Anko's kids and the café's new and improved waffles. By the time they were done catching up, three large plates stacked with large, fluffy, golden waffles had been laid out before Anko and her guests. The piping hot pastries had real blueberries in them. Matching blueberry syrup had been drizzled over them and topped with a perfect swirl of whipped cream.

"Waffles are a specialty of the chef here," Anko told them, picking up her knife and fork and beginning to cut her waffles into quarters. "So tell me, how can I help you?"

"Well," Kogoro began then paused to collect his thoughts. "Could you tell me about your brother's relationship with his wife?"

"To the point, eh?" Anko flashed him a quick smile. Then her expression grew thoughtful. "Lita's always been wonderful. To be honest, I thought she could do better than Nii-san, but she loved him, and he was head over heels for her too. Or at least that was how they always seemed." Anko paused to take another bite of her waffle. She frowned as she chewed, clearly perturbed. "Every relationship has its ups and downs. There's no such thing as a perfect relationship. But back then, when Nii-san first brought Lita home and I saw the way they looked at each other—the way they laughed with each other… I would have said they were pretty damned near perfect together. Hell, I would have still said it, like, two months ago."

Kogoro looked nonplussed. "So…what happened?"

"I don't know," Anko said bluntly. "One night, my family and I were going with my idiot brother to one of Lita's concerts. He always loved listening to her play. He's never missed a concert since they started dating. And they were normal when we went to dinner afterward. But just three days later, I get a call out of the blue from Suzuki-san telling me that my brother and Lita were getting divorced. I called Nii-san to ask him what the hell was going on, and he just told me that he didn't love Lita. Weirder still, he claimed he'd realized that he never had, and he was going to marry Kurata Sumiko. I asked if this was the same crazy Kurata who used to scare him stiff and stalked him all through college, and he told me off. Actually told me off! For badmouthing her. I mean, seriously, I was literally repeating what he told me about her himself. How does that make any sense?"

"It doesn't," Kogoro hastened to agree with her when she leveled him with a look.

"Exactly!" Anko nodded in satisfaction. "It's no wonder Lita's convinced herself it's magic."

"But you don't think so," said Kogoro.

Anko snorted. "Everyone knows love potions only work in stories. It's just one of those things people will keep trying to make despite ample evidence that it's impossible like the elixir of life."

Shinichi started in his seat, but neither adult noticed.

"So then what do you think might have happened?" the older detective asked. "You must have theories."

Anko sat back in her seat, expression growing thoughtful. "I've been asking myself that since I heard about the divorce. My first thought was that Kurata must have found something to blackmail Nii-san with. They have known each other since college after all. They were both in their college drama club, but my brother dropped out of the club halfway through sophomore year to get away from her. Maybe something happened between them while they were still in the club together that she's holding over his head. Except, if she had something like that up her sleeve, I'm not sure why she'd wait this long to use it."

"So you don't think your brother might have secretly been seeing Kurata all this time?" asked Kogoro.

Anko made a face. "I don't think so, but, considering current events, maybe I'm wrong. It's just I don't see when he would have had the time. Nii-san had to take over the family business before he'd even graduated college because our father fell ill. Dad was able to give him advice from home, but he still had to figure out a lot of the details on his own and get to know the employees. And the business was in a bit of a mess at the time since we were expanding. Fortunately, Nii-san has a pretty good head for business, but it still took a lot of hard work from everyone to pull us through without Dad and get everything running smoothly again, expansion and all. What time he didn't spend working, he spent with Lita. He once told me that hearing her music and seeing her smile made all the exhaustion of his day just fade away. I know it sounds cheesy," she added. "But I think he meant it. And that's why I can't see him keeping a mistress on the side."

"Well, if they haven't been in contact, is it possible that they met again more recently somewhere and he discovered that the girl he used to think was crazy is actually attractive to him now?"

"I…guess it's not impossible," Anko conceded, though her tone made it obvious what she thought of the likelihood of that story. "But I don't know…"

"It happens all the time," Kogoro insisted. "They probably met by chance at a restaurant or a party or something, and they got to talking the way you do with old classmates. And while they were reminiscing, your brother realized that the reason he rejected her advances back in school was because he was afraid of the commitment. But deep down, he really had wanted to be with her, and he would have felt sorry for putting her through the pain of being spurned all those years."

Warming to his theory, Kogoro went on to paint a very vivid picture of a dramatic reunion worthy of any soap opera.

Seated next to the man, Shinichi made an effort to pick his jaw up off the floor and began studiously cutting his waffles into small, bite-sized pieces.

It often amazed him just how vivid an imagination Kogoro could have. The man could spin very elaborate tales out of nothing very much, and, stranger still, people often liked to listen to what he had to say. It was odd but perhaps it was a talent too.

Shinichi snuck a peek at Anko's face out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be giving Kogoro's story some serious consideration. Shinichi wasn't sure whether to be amused, perturbed, or amazed.

Then again, he supposed the scenario that Kogoro was putting together wasn't completely impossible. Just…highly improbable and definitely unfounded.

Kogoro went on to ask Anko for a list of her brother's favorite haunts and hobbies and whatever she could remember about any trips he might have taken unaccompanied by his wife. He followed that with an exploration of any events the man might have attended either locally or otherwise. Anko answered to the best of her abilities while the older detective took notes.

Shinichi listened to the discussion with only half an ear as his own thoughts were racing off in quite a different direction. What Anko had said about love potions and the elixir of life had struck a chord in him. After all, she was right. Eternal life wasn't the only thing humans throughout the ages had once and still pursued. And while it was true that no normal magic could make a person fall in love, was there perhaps a curse or blessing that might, when applied in just the right way, emulate the effects of a love potion? Shinichi had never heard of such a Mark, but that meant nothing. There were plenty of curses and blessings out there that he had never heard of—many too that probably had never even been identified, let alone documented.

But he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, he reminded himself. He needed to talk to Shiho and learn more about Kurata Sumiko.

Finishing the last of his waffles, Shinichi sat back and nodded to himself, blue eyes bright with renewed purpose. A plan was slowly beginning to take shape in his mind. It was as yet a vague and none too substantial thing, but it was a beginning.

TBC