Case Four: the meaning of farewells

  Chapter 13: farewell

  Two months passed since the case with Mizushima Village and Tomoyo Mizutani. Tomoyo had awakened after two days and confessed to the murders. Tomoyo went to a psychiatric prison for juveniles as she paid for her crimes. Her mother was devastated and tried to commit suicide right after hearing the sentence and ended up in the psychiatric hospital. Her father was beyond devastated having lost both his wife and his daughter.

  The Yamato High had ordained summer uniforms as it was May. But considering it was Sunday, Orion was sporting a blue tee shirt with dark blue jeans. He yawned just as the doorbell pealed. He wondered who that could be as he walked to the door. When he opened the door, it revealed Satoru and Kasumi.

  “Hey Orion!” Kasumi greeted Orion enthusiastically. She took the previous case hard and had taken a few days off school after feeling ill enough physically. But now she seemed to have returned to her usual self. “Let’s grab Mari!”

  “Where are we going?” Orion asked as both his hands were taken by Kasumi, pulling him along. “At least let me put my shoes on.” Kasumi obeyed to that and allowed Orion to put on his black sneakers. Then promptly grabbed his hands again and led him outside with Satoru following behind with an exasperated look on his face.

  “Kasumi, you really need to tell Orion what you’re planning,” Satoru tried to intervene. He loved his sister dearly but sometimes she got on his nerves like now. She got too excited and forgetful to explain details to the other party.

  “Oh, oh,” Kasumi said, still grabbing onto Orion’s hands. “We’re having a picnic! Here in Kashiwa! Well, Satoru’s place since dad’s treating everyone to lunch. So, I guess it’s not really a picnic…”

  By then, the group arrived at Mari’s door where there was apparently a commotion inside. Kasumi knocked on the door a few times before Mari came to the door. She was wearing a pink tank top with white shorts and white socks and pink sneakers.

  “Kasumi? Oh, Orion and Satoru…” Mari said a bit dejectedly. “Umm… what brings you guys over here?” She didn’t want to invite them inside because of the discussion her parents were having. They were arguing about her father’s relocation job to the States and what will happen to the rest of the family. Her mother would definitely go with him, but they weren’t sure if Mari and her brother, Kazuki should go with them or not.

  Orion noticed a puffiness around Mari’s eyes as though she had been crying. He felt a pang in his chest as he watched Mari try not to let them inside her house. He wanted to know why so he reached out a hand and said, “Mari, what’s wro—”

  “We’re having a luncheon at Satoru’s!” Kasumi said cheerfully, oblivious to the background. She grabbed Mari by the hand and pulled her outside the house. “Come on, your parents will be okay without you for a few hours.”

  “Umm, umm, I really should tell them first though,” Mari said softly. “Just give me a second.” Mari ran inside the house and after a few moments, she came back out with a renewed expression. “It’s all good now.”

  “Let’s go then!” Kasumi shouted excitedly, leading the group to Satoru’s house. She walked excitedly with her arms going up into the air. It was a rare occurrence that her mother allowed her to visit her father. Joy filled her heart as she was giddy.

  “Mari, are you okay?” Orion whispered to Mari, stepping behind to walk beside his childhood friend. Concern was seen on his face as he watched her expression.

  “Uh… um… yeah, I’m fine…” Mari said slowly, avoiding Orion’s eyes. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Part of Mari wished Orion didn’t care so much because it wouldn’t hurt as much to see him bonding with other girls. But another part of her was happy he is showing concern for her. ‘What happened to Orion that he’s showing concern outright…’ Mari thought to herself. ‘It must be Amane…’

  “Are you sure?” Orion asked. He reached out a hand and patted the other girl on the head. He knew she was crying, and he wanted to help her feel better.

  Mari nodded, blushing from the pat. “I’ll be fine…!” She tried to sound optimistic, and it seemed to have worked since Orion removed his hand and faced forward. She wanted to grab onto Orion’s hand and walked alongside him, but she couldn’t be selfish. Mari loved how intelligent and cool-headed Orion was. He was always wise and knew what to say. Maybe that was just how he garnered female attention.

  The group reached Satoru’s house where his father was cooking. They sat on the settee waiting for the food as they chatted about miscellaneous topics, though avoiding the topic of the Tomoyo case. The food arrived at the table and the group gathered around the table.

  “This looks so good, dad!” Kasumi exclaimed. She took her chopsticks and picked up some of the ramen. Placing the noodles in her mouth, Kasumi smiled widely. “Delicious! Daddy, you’re still this good!”

  Takuya Nakamura, Satoru and Kasumi’s father, smiled at his daughter. He felt a swelling pride rise inside him. He missed his daughter a lot and was appreciative of his ex-wife letting her visit him. In fact, he was taken aback to learn she was allowed to. “I’m glad you like it, Kasumi.”

  “You bet!” Kasumi cried out in joy. She felt elated, her mood and thoughts were on none other than eating at her father’s place. She hadn’t been in the right mindset for a while after the Tomoyo case. Maybe her mother saw the depression and pushed past her own difficulties to let Kasumi be happy.

  Orion and the others began eating as well while Kasumi continually made exclamations on how delicious the ramen was. Orion agreed with Kasumi and made a remark on it to Satoru’s father. As they finished their ramen, Satoru’s father brought out ice cream popsicles for everyone.

  “This is even better!” Kasumi exclaimed, taking the wrapper out of the popsicle. “Thanks, dad!” She beamed at her father as she licked the popsicle. She felt like she was on top of the world right now, something that she hadn’t felt in the past two months.

  “I was worried about her, but I guess it was for nothing,” Satoru whispered to Orion, breathing in relief. Satoru and Kasumi’s mother had confided in him that she hadn’t been feeling the best lately.

  “No, it wasn’t for nothing,” Orion replied in a whisper. “I think she was genuinely upset. I’m just glad she’s feeling better now.” Orion sighed in relief as he watched the middle school girl eat her popsicle. He then took up his popsicle and took the plastic wrapper out, then started eating it.

  “What are you two whispering about?” Mari asked, also in a whisper. A pang of jealousy hit her heart, knowing something happened with the other three but she was left out. It depressed her quite a bit.

  “Oh, umm…” Satoru fidgeted in his seat. ‘How can I tell Mari what happened at the last case when she wasn’t involved? While Amane was… And then there was the embrace between Orion and Amane in the car.’

  “It was just a case a few months ago,” Orion replied nonchalantly. “Schoolmate of hers happened to be the culprit but it was a tragic case… where she tried to kill herself in an attempt to escape arrest.”

  “Oh…” Mari said, feeling left out at first and then when she heard the last part, she was flabbergasted. She didn’t know what to say to that. Mari stared at Kasumi who was acting freely and happily that she was unable to tell she was once depressed. “I-I’m sorry…”

  “Speaking of that case,” Satoru brought up casually. “How’s Amane?” He knew he shouldn’t bring up Amane to Orion in front of Mari, but he was curious, nonetheless. He also wanted Mari to know it seemed someone else got to Orion. Maybe then he’d stand a chance.

  “Amane? She’s fine now,” Orion answered. “She was a bit out of it for a week or so, but she’s fine now. Although I did have to go out to see her for her to feel better sooner.”

  A pang of jealousy struck Mari’s heart with those words. Her world felt like it was destroyed. Everything collapsed in front of her. She felt a heavy sinking feeling in her gut. ‘Why did Satoru do this? Doesn’t he know how I feel about Orion? Why is Amane and Orion so close already? What did I miss? What do I do now?’ Mari’s thoughts started to spiral out of control when Orion spoke up.

  “Are you okay, Mari?” Orion asked out of concern. “You’re looking a little pale.” He had his hand outstretched to Mari, hoping to reach out to her that he was there.

  “I…um…yeah, I’m…fine…” Mari said, staring down at her bowl of ramen soup. She shook her head rapidly to try to shake off the negative thoughts swirling in her head. Her heart was still aching from the news. “I’ll be fine… heh.”

  Satoru suddenly felt like the worst. He brought this upon himself, but to see Mari’s reaction devastated him. He wished he never asked about Amane, at least not in front of Mari. He slumped in his seat as he watched the devastated Mari stare into her bowl.

  Suddenly Orion’s phone vibrated. Orion picked up and swiped to the home screen and checked his message. It was from Kana with an urgent message:

  Orion!! I…I think I found another crime for you… My dad and I were coming back from dinner yesterday when we saw a neighbor’s door was slightly ajar and when we opened the door, there was a body on the floor. With blood all around her. She was dressed all nicely, too. I think you’ll want to come by, probably with the TMPD.

  Orion’s eyes widened in shock. Another murder found by Kana. Her first report involved her family directly and her own mother was arrested and jailed for attempted assault. Now it’s a neighbor. But of course, he needs her address. He texted her for the address before he called Fujioka or Himura.

  “What’s going on?” Satoru asked, lifting his head up again. He finally decided he wouldn’t hurt Mari anymore and would try to get her on his own terms than using Orion and his girl entourage. He glanced over at Mari who had also brought up her head to listen to the conversation.

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  “There’s a new case, brought in Kana,” Orion reported to his two childhood friends. He was curious why a victim would be dressed nicely, and just how nicely at that. And the fact that there was apparently a pool of blood around the victim, the culprit couldn’t have gotten away cleanly.

  “Kana?” Mari asked suspiciously. “Who’s she?” A new female friend brought another pang of jealousy to Mari’s heart. She felt weak again, but she persevered to not show it. Instead, Mari took a sip of the orange juice that came with the food.

  “Oh, just a friend from school,” Orion said nonchalantly. “I also helped her out with a murder case involving her direct family.” He remembered the case clearly. Kana’s father was one of the children of the Maruyama household and the head of the household Maruyama had been murdered brutally, leaving the family without a written Will. It turned out to be the youngest sibling’s spouse who murdered the head and Kana’s mother tried to assault her in-laws as an attempt to decrease the division the family number will have on the Will’s beneficiary.

  “I…see…” Mari said hesitantly. She had no reason to doubt him, but she still felt jealous that she was not part of the case. “Um…was Amane…?” She trailed off because she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

  “Huh? Was Amane what?” Orion asked confusedly. He looked at Mari who was squirming in her seat. He wasn’t sure what Amane had to do with anything, so he was clueless on what Mari wanted to ask.

  “It’s nothing!” Mari suddenly slammed her fist down, making Kasumi and Takuya look at her. She flushed beet red as she hung her head low. “It’s…nothing… Sorry for the commotion,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Hey hey!” Kasumi chirped. “How’s Amane? Is she still grieving over her grandparents?” Kasumi wore an expression of worry for the older girl. She finished her popsicle and had laid the stick on the table by her bowl.

  “She’s fine now,” Orion answered softly. “It took a bit but it’s fine now. I made sure of it.” Orion remembered going out to her place to comfort her though that created a misunderstanding with her parents. Orion flushed lightly remembering when he first went to her place.

  It had been two weeks following the Mizushima case. Orion was at home resting and texting Amane when she started crying, or so she messaged him, and wanted to see him in person. He was concerned so he agreed to go to her. She told him she’ll send her chauffeur to pick him up since it was quite a way from his place. The chauffeur arrived in about an hour and drove him to the Mizushima estate.

  The house was large in comparison to Kashiwa’s residential area. There was a guard at the entrance who allowed the chauffeur passed as he had been Amane’s personal chauffeur. Inside, the garden had various roses from tulips to roses to hydrangeas with gardeners taking care of the flowers. The mansion itself had four floors and approximately twenty rooms on each floor though that depended on which room since the sizes differ.

  Once the chauffeur stopped at the entrance, Orion hopped off the car and looked up at the mansion at its whole. He stepped into the mansion carefully, uncertain what would approach him in this huge estate. When he stepped in the mansion, a group of maids showed up.

  “Welcome, Master Orion!” The maids said in unison. They all bowed simultaneously.

  “Please come this way,” a differently dressed maid showed up in front of Orion. She had on a black kimono with a few white on the front. She led Orion through a few rooms and finally to an extra-large room with closed doors. “This is Lady Amane’s room.”

  “Um… thank you,” Orion said embarrassedly, blushing lightly.

  The maid simply bowed and left the area. Orion turned to face the closed doors, unable to bring himself to knock. He stared at the doors as though they would open on their own. Then he finally mustered up his courage and knocked on the door.

  “Yes?” Amane’s voice came from inside.

  “It’s…Orion,” Orion said hesitantly, though not sure why he was hesitating. It was Amane who wanted him to come over, so he obliged. He took a deep breath and calmed himself a little.

  “Oh, Orion… Um… Yes, please come in.”

  Orion pushed the doors in and took a step inside the room. The décor was in pink and so were the sheets and pillowcases. The desk was made of oak with a pink coloured chair tucked in its spot. Amane had been sitting on her bed with two adults by her side.

  “Oh? Is this your boyfriend, Amane dear?” the woman teased jokingly.

  “Mooom, please,” Amane said with a flustered face. She squirmed in her spot on her bed at her mother’s teasing. She was texting Orion alone in her room when she started crying and her parents must have heard her, so they walked into her room to try to console her. But she had already invited Orion over before they came in.

  “Your mother’s right, you were so downtrodden until you were instructing your chauffeur to bring this boy over,” Amane’s father, Takato said.

  “Uh… I’m here,” Orion announced weakly. He wasn’t sure what to take out of this exchange between Amane and her parents. It seemed like his presence was creating a misunderstanding between them.

  “Ahaha, I’m sorry, Orion…” Amane said, looking downcast to which her parents took the hint to leave the room. They bade her well and not to do anything reckless with Orion. “Moooom!!”

  Her mother laughed before she departed with her husband Takato. Amane climbed out of bed and walked over to Orion. She gave him a warm embrace to which he reciprocated, holding her for a while.

  “I’m glad you were able to come,” Amane said softly, resting her face on his chest. She felt at ease now, compared to earlier when she broke down about her grandparents again.

  “It’s no problem, Amane,” Orion said, smiling and patting her on the head. “If it helps you, I’ll always do it.”

  “Hehe,” Amane giggled. “You shouldn’t say something like that so easily, you know. And to just anyone. It could create issues for you!”

  “Earth to Orion,” Satoru said loudly to Orion. “What are you blushing for? What are you even thinking about?” Satoru was grilling Orion for spacing out in the middle of conversation. He had never done that before, so Satoru was curious for Orion’s first.

  “Huh? Oh, uh, sorry about that,” Orion muttered. “I…didn’t get much sleep, yeah, let’s put it to that.” He picked up his phone and swiped it to check if Kana responded. She had given her address. “Well, I got the address so let me call Fujioka.” He dialled Fujioka’s number and got through to her. He reported the case and got that Himura would meet him at the victim’s apartment complex. He sent a quick text to Kana that they were heading over right now with the TMPD. “Let’s get to Tokyo now. Man, I wish we had Amane’s car.”

  Mari raised an eyebrow at Orion, feeling a surge of jealousy rise inside her. “Amane’s…car?” Mari asked incredulously, unable to help feeling bitter and showing it. But knowing Orion, he wasn’t going to catch that bitter tone.

  “Oh, uh, she’s been driving us around for the last two months,” Orion explained awkwardly. He didn’t really want to elaborate the details to Mari because he knew she’d get upset for one reason or another. Instead, Orion stood up and led the group out of the house.

  “I actually have some work to do, so I’m skipping out,” Satoru said as he stood up. “Sorry, Orion. Text me if you need anything looked up though, I’ll try to get that much done.” It wasn’t a lie, but he also didn’t want to tag along Mari and Orion. Satoru sighed depressed as he looked away.

  “Oh, alright then, Satoru,” Orion nodded. “Take care and don’t overwork yourself.” Orion wondered why Satoru was suddenly withdrawing from a case, but it was not his business, so he stepped back.

  Orion led the group to the train station where he bumped into Amane right before he tapped his Rail Pass. She was wearing a light-yellow dress with floral designs on it and a green ribbon on the back of her hair.

  “Orion?” Amane asked as she walked up to Orion. She hadn’t expected to bump into Orion at the train station. She had been wanting to visit Orion suddenly but her designated car was out for maintenance, so she took the train herself.

  “Wait, what are you doing here, Amane?” Orion asked, surprised. He never thought Amane would be in Kashiwa and especially by train. “What about your chauffeur?”

  “Ah, the car’s in maintenance right now,” Amane replied. She was mindful that Kasumi and Mari were also present, so she felt a bit uneasy to explain her reasons for being here. Nonetheless, she said truthfully, “Um…I was going to…visit you.”

  “Ah, well we’re actually headed to a case Kana found,” Orion explained. “Come along now that you’re here.” He was relieved to see Amane again and really wanted her to tag along to the case. He’d actually missed her though it hasn’t been long since he saw her. Like yesterday at school.

  “Are you sure?” Amane asked, uncertainty in her voice. She fidgeted in place as she avoided looking at Orion. A shaky feeling was felt in her abdomen as she worried that she was getting into too many cases with Orion. But she liked that he invited her in. It made her feel welcomed and wanted.

  “Yeah, of course,” Orion nodded. “Let’s get going now before Himura will break me. Too bad your chauffeur and car aren’t here.” Orion sighed as he took out his Rail Pass. He tapped it as the other girls did the same following him.

  “Um, I could try to get another car out here,” Amane said as she walked beside Orion. Her heart was beating rapidly due being close to Orion. She felt like she got a lot closer to Orion after the Mizushima case with Tomoyo and her grieving.

  “No, it’ll take too much time,” Orion shook his head. “We might as well travel by rail.” Orion would have loved to have a car out here, but the time to wait for the car and then travel to the location was going to take about the same time as taking the train.

  The group rode the train into Tokyo and in about an hour or so, they disembarked the train and walked over to Kana’s apartment complex. Keshiki Himura was already there with a group of officers and forensics team.

  “You’re here, Minamoto,” Himura said stoically. He didn’t understand why he was assigned to investigate this case with the boy again. But orders were orders, and he wasn’t about to get into trouble with Fujioka for his personal opinions.

  “Sorry for the delay, had to take the train over,” Orion apologised with a small bow. He glanced around the white apartment complex that was four stories tall. Kana’s apartment was 2G on the second floor.

  Orion and Himura led their group into the apartment complex and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Himura went to Kana’s apartment first and rang the doorbell. After a few moments, Kana opened the door. She was wearing a pink dress with floral designs and a pink beret along with matching pink sandals with straps that wrapped around her ankle.

  “Oh, Orion! And the Tokyo MPD!” Kana beamed brightly at the group. “I’m SO glad you came.” Kana felt warmth from her chest as she saw Orion though she was a bit disappointed that he was surrounded by other girls. “Let me show you to the apartment in question. It’s right across from me.”

  Kana stepped out of the apartment and walked across to 2J, opening the door slightly. She stepped to the side to allow the police into the building and then followed Orion into the apartment.

  The forensics team started taking precautions and photographs of the corpse while the officers were investigating the apartment itself. Himura looked around and then spotted Kana and approached her.

  “Tell me the details of your discovery of the body,” Himura commanded Kana. He was concerned that a high school girl found a body in this state.

  “Umm, well, my dad and I went out to eat last night around 6 PM,” Kana began her retelling. “We came back around 8 PM or so and I noticed this apartment door was slightly ajar. I was a bit concerned so I knocked on the door, but no one answered. After a bit, my dad and I pushed open the door and we saw the body like that.” Kana shivered as she remembered the scenes from last night.

  “Why didn’t you call the police last night?” Himura grilled Kana. It irked him that a body discovery wasn’t reported first thing, and the police were only notified via a high school kid.

  “Ummm…” Kana said nervously. “I’m not sure. I guess I was in shock…” Kana twisted her hands in anxiety. She wasn’t used to being interrogated as she looked over to Orion for help. She had a pleading look on her face.

  “What’s done is done, and we know now,” Orion said, quickly coming to Kana’s rescue. He knew Himura was right, but Kana was too upset upon discovering a body, anyone would be in her shoes.

  “All right, all right, it has already happened,” Himura shrugged as he resumed examining the apartment. “Next time, report directly to the police, please.”

  “U-Understood,” Kana said nervously, hiding behind Orion that you could barely see her own person. “I-I’m so sorry…” She hung her head low apologetically. Her hands were wrung together in great anxiety.

  “Quit bullying her, Himura,” Orion said vexedly. He turned around and gave Kana a quick, reassuring embrace. He felt daggers being stared into him as he did that, but he couldn’t leave Kana alone.

  “I-It’s fine, Orion,” Kana sniffled, grabbing a hold of Orion’s sleeve with her hand. She loved the embrace Orion gave her, though she was a tad disappointed it didn’t last long. She loved the warmth that emanated from Orion and his timing with words and actions. Kana felt her face redden.

  Himura had already moved to another room, where the forensics were taking samples and photos of the corpse. Himura was speaking with the coroner on the details of the death when Orion and his entourage approached Himura, though the Kana girl was still hiding behind Orion.

  “What are the details?” Orion inquired. He looked down on the body. It was a woman in her thirties, her face obviously had makeup applied on. She had on a chicken strapped thin white nightgown, with the nightgown soaking in the blood, and she was barefoot. Orion didn’t notice any external injuries from where he was.

  “Cause of death was a clean slice at the aorta, death instantaneous,” Himura answered. “Coroner thinks the culprit has medical experience as well as funeral practises. But what I’m curious about is how he got away without dirtying the rest of the apartment after the kill.”

  “That is very curious…” Orion muttered. His eyes went over the apartment in a slow manner. He went around the pool of blood and went into the kitchen. It was spotless, too. Orion exited the kitchen and went to the dining room, but everything was spotless as well. He started walking back to Himura and the group with a confused expression on his face.

  “Are you okay, Orion…?” Kasumi asked with concern in her voice. She walked toward Orion who gestured for her to stop because of the police presence. Kasumi wrung her hands together as she waited.

  “I’m fine,” Orion said reassuringly. “I’m not sure how the culprit got away without getting blood on himself. Wait. Himura.” He suddenly had a spark of inspiration as to how the culprit got away.

  “What is it?” Himura asked. It seemed Orion had an idea how the culprit got away without leaving any evidence. He didn’t like kids interfering with the interrogation, but Himura had to admit Orion was good. At times. That was it.

  “Was the body made up the way it is now before or after death?” Orion asked. He had a feeling the victim was dressed the way she was by the culprit than her own choice. Then he realized something… “Wait. Was the victim even conscious?”

  Himura looked startled at the revelation of the possibility the victim wasn’t awake. He turned to the coroner who had been standing there. The coroner scratched his chin as he looked down on the body. The boy had the right idea.

  “I did detect faint chloroform in the victim’s system,” the coroner replied. “As for the earlier question, my guess would be that she was dressed prior to death.”

  ‘Bingo,’ Orion thought to himself. He figured the culprit drugged the victim with chloroform and then changed her clothes then killed her by puncturing her aorta. Then he put her down and escaped before the blood started flowing freely. ‘But if that was so, how would they catch the guy?’ Orion thought. He balled up his fists knowing that.

  “Orion? Are you okay?” Amane asked softly, pulling on his wrist. She was worried about the silence from Orion. She didn’t completely understand but the key to the case seemed to be on the time of death and when the body was let go. “Don’t overwork yourself.”

  “Don’t worry, Amane,” Orion reassured the girl. He then told the details he figured out to Himura who only looked slightly impressed. But the capture was going to be difficult as they didn’t have any clues.