Final chapter.. more or less
I'm currently stuck... really badly in the chapter development.
I can only post half of the fic for the moment... hoping that the other half will be ready by June..
Here we go
Chapter 30
A year and a half goodbye (A)
Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave,
But not our hearts.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
The day was nice, not too warm or too cold and with that light wind that didn't make you shiver when it grazed you. Spring was definitely coming..
It was a little past noon but thankfully, the streets weren't full of cars. A dark blue motorcycle was making it's way through the streets of the eastern side of Tokyo. It came to a stop as the traffic light turned red. The driver took advantage of the stop to pull out a scrap of paper from his pocket.
-We should be there.- Shinichi said, through the transceiver in his helmet.
-Hmm.- was Shiho's reply.
-Sorry, I'd go faster but I've honestly never been in this part of the city that much.- He stuffed the paper back in his jacket pocket. -I know it generally speaking...-
-Don't worry..- she reassured him, tightening the grip on his waist as he started the motorcycle again. -We'll find it.-
And they sped off.
Rei was sitting in the studio, at her desk, absently fingering the keys of Shiho's laptop. Her stare wandered off to the room and she took in the sight of the many shelves full of books, the two desks with the computers -radar on Ryu's side- the chairs pushed in and the number of cardboard boxes that were neatly ordered by the wall, full of extra paper and notes.
It was all extraordinary neat.
When they were working night and day to work out all the material from the Organization's archives, this place would look like a battlefield: chairs askew, notebooks on and beside the desks, books crammed in every free angle and a glass or bottle of water at arm's length.
Rei found this order quite strange. As did the silence.
While the four of them were in here, it was never completely silent. There would be the swift tapping on the keyboards, the soft flipping through pages of books or notebooks but most of all, their voices.
The whispers when they needed to ask something to someone and didn't want to disturb everyone else. The little chats about random subjects when they agreed that a break would be good after so much work and when Hakase would bustle in the studio -often- to check on them, asking if they wanted a snack. The laughs when they would get up to get lunch or dinner ready and they would be all in the kitchen, each doing something because they all knew how to cook -though Shinichi had almost melted a frying pan one day and still hadn't told any of them how he managed that feat- and would suggest what they would do later in the night. Despite the fact that they all wanted to bring the Organization down as soon as possible, there were some days when they just couldn't work during the night and in those occasions, they would all be in the living room reading or watching something on television. It was rare but it had happened.
The talking.
The laughing.
The silent companionship.
The being together.
Rei hadn't realized just how much she had grown accustomed to it. Nor how she dreaded to loose it. She let out a sigh and laid back on her chair.
It was time to make decisions for her future.
She had quit FBI because she felt that being an agent was not something that she wanted to do for all her life. Her passion was computer science and, she had learned this during this year, cryptology. Working out sequences of numbers and letters and finding the hidden meaning of them challenged her. Code-cracking was getting more and more into her: she would like to know more about it...
And then, there was Shinichi's suggestion...
-:-
"A specialized-"
"-detective-"
"-agency?"
Shiho, Rei and Ryu repeated the words in surprise. Shinichi nodded, smiling enthusiastically.
The three young scientists shared a glance and remained silent. The detective lost some of his eagerness and deflated a bit as he sat down.
"What, you don't think it would be good?" he asked, "I know that it would take some time to plan it out -not to mention all the preparations- but.."
"Hang on." Rei raised her hand and stopped him. "What do you mean?"
"Huh?" Shinichi asked, looking at her.
"I got the detective agency part but whatever do you mean with specialized? I've never heard of anything like that before."
"I have never heard of it before either." Shiho stated from his other side.
Shinichi looked at both, perking up a bit when he saw that they were asking about his idea and not tossing it away. Ryu stared at him.
"Does it have to do with us?" he asked, pointing to himself and the girls. "With the fact that we've all got a scientific degree ?"
Shinichi nodded.
"It's all based on the fact that you three are scientists." he remarked, putting a great deal of effort on the last word. "Brilliant scientists."
"Let me get this straight.." Rei said, sitting up, "You want to open a detective agency -and I'm good with that- but you want to do all the work in question with a computer scientist, an engineer and a chemist as your collaborators?"
"It would be perfect!" the young detective replied.
"How exactly?"
Shinichi stood up and started to walk around the kitchen, spurred by his idea.
"Look, I really thought about this a lot." he said, looking at the three, "During my stay with the Mouris, I learned that a detective can't do everything on his own.. He's the one that puts all the clues together and, hopefully, solves the case. But... there's a problem.
He needs help.
He needs someone to collect the clues, analyze them and give him the results. It takes time and during that moments, anything could happen. The culprit could escape, strike again or destroy pieces of evidence.
I think that a detective agency should be so efficient that a criminal won't have time to even think of doing anything before getting caught."
And his words, the three scientists shared another glance.
"Shinichi, what you're thinking of is an enormous feat." Ryu remarked. "As much as we've got a good scientific background, I doubt it would be enough to do what you're asking for.."
"Ryu's right." Shiho spoke out, "Your ideal agency would need a team for examinations such as collection of evidences, documents and depositions as first thing.. then a forensic..." She stopped talking as she noticed the grin on Shinichi's face.
And suddenly, it all clicked in her head.
"You nailed it, Shiho." he said with a wide grin while the girl looked at him in surprise.
Rei and Ryu were not left behind and quickly pieced everything together.
"Shinichi, that's insane..." Rei remarked, looking at him as though he'd just claimed that his life's aspiration was to become the new Lupin.
"Either you have great, really great expectations on us..." Ryu added, looking just as flabbergasted, "Or your expectations for this agency are incredibly high.."
"Why?" the detective asked, sitting down. "I think that we could do this."
"How exactly?" Shiho asked, "You seem to forget that we're a chemist, an engineer and a computer scientist and not a whole forensic department.."
"That's not true.." Shinichi's eyes had turned serious. The other three realized that he truly did believe in his idea. "You're not just three scientists; three normal scientists wouldn't have brought the Organization down. You have a background that's uncommon and that makes you the perfect collaborators. This agency will be based on teamwork, not individuals; so it means the four of us as a core and then others from the outside.
But it all starts with us."
He looked at Ryu.
"Ryu, you're an engineer: electronics and mechanics are your element. You're an FBI agent.. well, you were... You know what to do during a crime scene, right?"
"Well, yes.." the blonde replied, recalling the scenes he had seen with Matt during his first years as agent in New York. "If it's up to collecting evidences.."
"And you're also a ballistic expert; that role is fundamental in many cases.."
"Shinichi, hold on.." Ryu interrupted him, "I worked with the bomb disposal squad, ok, but for a short period. I'm no ballistic expert."
"But you could learn, couldn't you?" the detective shot back.
Ryu, taken aback slightly, nodded. He remembered a ballistic course in FBI: he would have followed it but at the time, he had the Organization in his mind and that would have been useless for his needs.
Shinichi smiled and turned to Rei.
"Rei, you know everything about computers: softwares and programming are not a problem for you. You can find anything you want on Internet or browsing through data bases.."
"You make me look like a hacker.." Rei stated, arching a brow. Ryu and Shiho chuckled while Shinichi grinned.
"Well, you're our hacker." he remarked. "Anyway.. You know loads about decryption and encryption.. You were an FBI agent, so you know what to do during crime scenes, too..."
"Well... that's something that all of us can do.." Rei cut through his sentence, sitting straighter, "We all know how to behave during a crime: you don't have to be an FBI agent to do that. You and Shiho know how to collect evidences and depositions just like we could, surely. To put it simple..
What I'm asking is, if each one of us has a role and Ryu's the technician of the team, what's my job?"
Shinichi grinned. There was something in Rei's voice that caught his attention; it was a business-like tone, the one she had when she spoke of cryptology, of working the data of the Organization
'She's with me..' he thought and he shot a glance at Ryu, 'He too.. They don't realist it, but they're already accepting..'
"You would be the one that verifies all the evidences. A forensic and evidence specialist just like Ryu." he said, "Though you would work digitally. It doesn't mean that you only have to recover data from.. I don't know... computers or other digital media. You could verify the depositions, control if the suspects are honest."
"You mean, checking phone calls, bank accounts, credit card movements and that stuff?"
"Yes but you would do also the facial composite. Police agencies use software for that.."
"Yes, FACES, E-FIT, PRO-fit."
Shinichi looked at her in surprise.
"You know how to use them?" he asked in astonishment but Rei shook her head.
"I heard of them.." she replied, "There was a course, when I getting in FBI, that taught you how to use them. I would have taken that but at the time..."
"It seemed a surplus." Ryu completed. Rei turned to him in surprise.
"Yes.." she said with astonishment.
"I thought the same of a ballistic course." he remarked, glancing at her. She nodded slowly.
"You could learn how to use those software, right?" Shinichi asked. Rei turned to him and nodded again. Trying to hide his smile, but failing miserably, the young detective turned to Shiho.
"As for you, Shiho.." he said with a light smile, "You would be the medical examiner and forensic expert as well; anything chemical or biological would be yours to work. And of course, DNA analysis would be yours too."
"You seem to forget that I am a chemist and not a biologist or a doctor." the reddish-blonde remarked airily, "By the way things are, I would be the one to examine the corpses, right?" Shinichi nodded. "I don't have a qualification to do that."
"But don't you know how to do it?" Shinichi asked, looking straight at her. "You must have done a biological analysis of a human body.. Surely, you would know how to discover the cause of death of a being.."
Shiho thought this over. She had studied dead bodies before but they were mice. Her own lab-testing mice after the assumption of her drug. She had done blood analysis and dissections to see how they had died.
A further study could allow her to do the same with human bodies...
"So..?" Shinichi pressed on, "Though I'm sure you know how to this, couldn't you learn what you think you can't do?"
Shiho looked at him and felt Rei and Ryu's eyes on her. The girl nodded. Shinichi grinned broadly.
"I'm not asking for an immediate answer." he stated, looking at the three, "I just wanted to talk to you about this idea and about your roles in it. Think about it.. We still have some time.."
"Some time?" Shiho asked, noticing the time limitation. "Why?"
"Er-" Shinichi scratched the back of his head, feeling uncomfortable. He suddenly realized that he should have talked to Shiho about this before...
"Well..." he said, "I told you that I'd like to study Crim..."
"Oh.. right." Shiho cut through his sentence. She looked perfectly unperturbed. "You'll be going abroad to study.."
"Y..yes..."
Both Rei and Ryu shot a furtive glance to the chemist, before looking at the detective and saving him from answering.
"You'll get an answer soon.."
-:-
Rei sighed softly, sitting back on her chair.
Shinichi's idea was tempting.. but there was so much to plan and many things to decide...
"Rei?"
The girl looked towards the door and saw Ryu getting into the studio.
"What are you doing?" he asked, stopping in front of her.
"Nothing.." she replied; seeing his arched brow, she said: "Thinking about Shinichi's idea..."
"I've been thinking about it too." he remarked, "The temptation to accept is great.."
"But?" Rei asked, sensing the doubt in his tone and she slowly stood up.
"..but how long would it take to do all of it?" Ryu ran a hand through his hair. "Each one of us will have a specific role in this agency. Each one of us will have to study and get the necessary preparation and instruments to do the assigned work."
"Why does time worry you so much? We have plenty of it.."
"That's not true."
Rei stared at him.
"What?" she asked.
"Well... think about it.." he stated, walking to the window, "We left FBI.. so we're currently unemployed.. but we're receiving job offers from every odd agency and company worldwide. We'll have to take a decision soon because, brilliant or not, they won't wait for us forever.."
"So..." Rei approached him to the window, "It's now or never.."
Ryu glanced at her.
"I.. honestly speaking..." he muttered, "I am tempted to accept the offers, Rei."
"You will?" she asked, looking at him, looking slightly surprised. "Then..?"
"Wait..." Ryu cut through her sentence, "I want to talk to Shinichi about this. I've thought about his offer and I'd like to work with him.. but I have to be up to my role and what he wants me to do. Working abroad with different companies can help me."
Rei stared at him, wondering how he always seemed to know what to do when a new situation occurred. She didn't have this ability: she needed more time to think and was less intuitive than he was. Intelligent and rational as she was, she lacked in instinct.
She looked out of the window, watching the tree leaved sway lightly for the breeze.
Ryu's reasoning was right. There were many things to do and they needed time.
But did they have it? They all had things to do..
Shinichi would be going abroad to study but, knowing him, he would probably do other things to be more qualified.
Shiho mentioned Hakase's offer of working for some projects with his colleagues but Rei was sure that she would receive many other offers too.
Ryu had to choose among dozens of offers and more and more seemed to come. And the same went for her.
It was all a question of time and they all had to take a decision.
Their future was waiting.
"Rei?"
The girl turned to her side and found herself gazing into Ryu's light blue eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked, looking concerned, "I didn't mean to make you worry with my rambling.."
Rei smiled and shook her head.
"No.." she replied, "I just realized that you are right. I think that we have all been avoiding to really take a decision till now because we knew that it would have separated us.
But Shinichi's idea.. well, it gives us a chance that we can't throw away. We just have to talk and decide together. The four of us."
"For the time span?" he asked.
"Yes. If we know how long it would take to really create this agency, we can decide what job offers to accept or decline."
"So.. you're agreeing with me in accepting some of the offers?"
Rei looked up at Ryu and smiled again and the boy felt a slight flutter in his chest.
"Yes.." she said, "You always seem to know what to do.. as usual.."
Ryu grinned slightly, noticing the teasing note in her tone.
"Of course." he stated. Rei grinned too.
"Well.. we just have to wait for Shinichi and Shiho to come back and then we'll know exactly what to do.."
"Hmm..."
They stayed silent for a while, the noise from outside reaching them softly.
"Do you think that they have already got there?" Rei asked, gaze fixed on the window.
Ryu glanced at her.
"They might have.." he said, "They left almost an hour ago."
"Shiho's brave." Rei stated, leaning against the window sill with her back, "I don't know if I would have gone.."
"It's a chance.." Ryu said, "A chance to know more and find things and memories.."
"Or to just hope uselessly and find nothing.."
He looked at the girl and found her staring at him.
"That's true.. I couldn't go back to my house because it had burnt down.. There was nothing left.."
"Well... mine was sold weeks after I left for Europe." Rei said, "I never wondered where all the things of the house went.. they were probably sold too.."
Another full blown silence fell between them, only to be shattered, moments later by the doorbell and the sound of the lock being opened.
Rei and Ryu looked at each other.
"It must Agase." Rei said, "He must have come to check on Shiho and Shinichi."
"Let's go.." Ryu remarked, "We'll have to tell him that they'll be gone till this evening."
And they went out of the room to meet the old doctor.
It was a rather modest neighborhood.
The buildings weren't very high and were made of dusty bricks and peeling whitewashed walls. Rusty iron terraces surfaced beneath old windows and the only touch of color came from the cloths' lines, littered with garments of all sizes.
Shinichi and Shiho had followed the directions to this road, hidden to many and yet so close to one of the main highways of Tokyo. They got down from the bike and walked among the buildings.
Shinichi looked around, feeling as though he had reached another city and was not in his own.
'It looks so different from the houses at Beika..' he thought.
He turned around to Shiho but she was already walking ahead of him, looking at the buildings' numbers, trying to find the one that interested them.
His gaze fell on her face and he saw how her eyes betrayed her calm demeanour: surprise, anxiety and a hint of fear.
Fear not to find something but to find nothing. To have the last traces of her sister taken away once again by the Organization
He sighed softly and approached her. She had stopped in front of one of the middle buildings.
He called her.
-:-
"Shiho?"
They were all leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room. Their talk about Shinichi's offer was momentarily over.
"Yes?"
The girl turned around and looked at the blond engineer. Shinichi was halfway to the living room and had stopped, sensing, she thought, the strange hint that she had caught in Ryu's tone. Rei, standing next to him, looked rather solemn.
"What happened?" she asked, the alarm bells in her head ringing madly.
"Well..." Ryu weaved a hand through his hair: a trademark sign of his nervousness. "I have something for you and.. it's better if I give it to you immediately."
"What is it?" She looked at the boy. "Ryu?"
She felt Shinichi's presence at her side and Ryu and Rei shared a glance.
"FBI has been collecting all the information in the BO Headquarters." Ryu said, looking at her, "It's a lot of material and it will probably take a while to have it all analyzed and cataloged. Besides the information about their activities, there's also a large quantity of documents regarding their victims, collaborators and.. operatives."
He paused and Shiho's heart started to beat faster.
"My sister?" she whispered, "Did you find something that belonged to her?"
"There was a register of all her activities, Shiho." Rei replied, looking at her, "All the information regarding her: from schooling to.. minor works she did for the Organization"
Her heart lurched.
"Is she going to be classified as an active operative?" she asked, keeping her voice steady. She couldn't allow that: her sister couldn't be remembered as a member of the Organization
"No, don't worry." Ryu said, "Matt's taking care of the issue. Akemi-san helped us at the beginning of the plan: we will do everything to have her record cleared and let everyone know what she had done."
Shiho let out a relieved sigh and felt Shinichi's fingers curve around her own. She glanced at him and gently squeezed his hand.
"There was material about your parents but it's still far from being classified, so you'll have to wait to get to know more about it." Rei remarked.
"Same goes for the information about my family and Rei's parents." Ryu added, "However, Matt managed to work on Akemi-san's case before other ones and collected all the material regarding her. And, he found..." He put his hand in his jeans' pocket and withdrew a key. "..this."
"What..?" Shiho's heart started beating faster again.
"According to what we found.." Rei said slowly, "You sister had an apartment here in Tokyo. She lived there most of the time and it seemed that she had moved to another place only before.."
"The million yen robbery." Shinichi completed, "The police found the apartment where she lived as Masami Hirota during the case."
"So.." Shiho's voice trembled ever so lightly but it didn't go unnoticed to the others. "That's the key to her apartment?"
Ryu smiled slightly and approached; he took her free hand and gently put the key in her palm.
"Matt gave it to me secretly so that you could go there before FBI does.." he confessed, "We have to send it back to him before it's disappearance is noticed."
"Ryu.. thank you." she whispered, looking at the key in her hand and then at him but the boy shook his head.
"Thank Matt because he's the one that actually took the key." he said, "And Rei, who remembered that your sister had hidden those tapes for you without allowing the Organization to find them.." He smiled. "I'm just the deliverer."
Shiho smiled and looked at Rei.
"Thank you."
Rei shook her head looked at her.
"Shiho..." she said, "I think I have to warn you that the Organization has already been in the apartment after your sister's death." She glanced at Ryu. "We thought that it was right for you to go there before FBI searched the place but.. I honestly don't know what you can find.."
Shiho nodded, closing her fist and feeling the cold metal against her skin.
She had to keep her hopes down, she knew that.. but the lingering feeling that maybe there was still something that belonged to her sister in that apartment, couldn't leave her.
She turned to Shinichi.
"Do you think that we could go now?" she asked, "Would you mind taking..?"
"Of course." he replied, cutting through her phrase and smiled.
Shiho's lips curved too.
-:-
"Shiho?"
The girl turned around, reddish-blonde strands swaying in the movement. She saw Shinichi approach her with a slightly concerned look.
"This is the house." she said as soon as he was by her side. "We have to find apartment number 7."
"Ok." he said.
They walked through the front door and into a small hallway. Shinichi eyed the line of mail boxes and he soon found the one marked 7.
The name tag had been ripped off but the first letters of the name were still visible.
'Mi..' he thought, reading it, 'As Miyano..'
Shiho noticed it too. They shared a glance and went to the staircase: it seemed that the building didn't have an elevator.
After two floors, they found the apartment.
Shiho saw that there wasn't a name tag anywhere, not even under the doorbell; moreover, the door looked completely normal and undamaged.
Shinichi crouched down to check the lock.
"They must have used the key to get in." he stated, standing up, "There aren't any signs of scratches by the lock."
Shiho reached for the key in her jacket pocket. She held it in her hand, observing it.
Shinichi looked at her.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded.
"Yes."
The key was inserted and for a heart stopping moment, Shiho thought that it wasn't the right one: it didn't turn instantly.
"Turn it harder." Shinichi said softly, "It must have been a while since someone went in."
Shiho tried again and the lock clicked open; the door moved with a squeaking sound and they went inside.
Shinichi gently closed the door behind him while Shiho walked into the apartment, looking around and barely breathing as she took in the first sight of her sister's house.
Maybe... this was the place where Akemi had hoped that they would have both lived together once they left the Organization
Shinichi walked to the windows and opened them, letting some fresh air and sunlight fill the room. Shiho just kept looking around in silence.
It was a small apartment. The living room with kitchen in a room and a small corridor that lead to the bathroom next to the bedroom. Even thought it wasn't very big and didn't have a lot of furniture, it was cozy. The decor was very simple and yet, it conveyed a homely sense despite the evident state of abandon of the house.
A small, dusty, couch draped with a blue throw faced a small table with a television and a DVD and videotape recorder. Another table, longer and made of heavy wood, was next to the kitchen area with four chairs pulled in; a blue glass vase with withered flowers was in the middle of it.
Shinichi looked through the kitchenette. A small cupboard with a few plates, glasses and utensils; another vase with dried flowers was on top of it; a stove with oven next to a small fridge. He opened it and found it working but empty. Arching a brow, Shinichi looked around the room: despite the dust, the house was extremely in order.. but...
Frowning slightly, he turned to look at Shiho but didn't see her. He walked down the corridor, glanced into the bathroom -that was small, tidy and quite empty- and found her in the bedroom: she had opened the window and was standing against the sill, staring at the room.
The bed occupied most of the room while a wardrobe and a bedside table were on the sides. A small cupboard with mirror was opposite the window. A withered plant in a plastic pot was next to the table. And like the other rooms, the bedroom was dusty but extremely in order and tidy.
"What do you think?"
Shinichi turned to Shiho as she spoke out of the blue but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were staring the room vacantly.
"They searched the house thoroughly.." he said, approaching her. "..and made it seem as though Akemi-san had left the house on her own will... As though she had moved or gone for a holiday .."
"They took everything.." she whispered, "The cupboards and desks... there isn't anything belonging to Akemi here.."
Shinichi sighed softly, sensing Shiho's disappointment. He had noticed that the house lacked of items such as photographs, personal accessories and clothing.
"Shiho..." he started but she stopped him, shaking her head.
"Rei warned me. Ryu warned me." Shiho turned to look at him. "You warned me... and I just kept hoping... stupidly.."
"You had every right to hope." he retorted kindly, "I think that... it's not over yet..."
Shiho looked at him.
"What?" she exclaimed, "Shinichi, there isn't anything left here!"
The boy looked at her with a smile.
"We can still check around and see if the BO operatives didn't find something..." he said in a matter of fact tone, "Besides.. don't forget that Akemi-san had already fooled the Organization, hiding the cassettes your mother left for you."
"I doubt that she would have used the same trick twice.." Shiho replied. "If one hideout was found, the other would be easily found too.."
"But it's worth a try.." Shinichi remarked and headed to the bathroom. Shiho watched him for a moment and followed him slowly.
Shinichi stepped on top of the toilet seat and looked into the box above. He didn't find anything. Frowning slightly, he stepped back down.
"Nothing..." he whispered.
"What did I tell you?" Shiho said from behind him. Shinichi turned around, hearing the disappointment in her tone again, and took his chin with his hand.
"Let's check the rest of the house." he said after a while. "There's something... that I don't understand.."
"Wha-?" Shiho attempted to say but Shinichi just walked past her and into the living room. He started to check every piece of furniture, opening the cupboards' doors and drawers.
"Shinichi, what are you looking for?" she asked but he didn't reply, too lost in his thoughts as he searched the house.
Slightly irritated by his attitude and her growing sense of disappointment, she approached him and grabbed his wrist, stopping his search.
"Eh?" he asked with confusion.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"I think that your sister must have left you something."
"What?" Shiho left his hand and stared at him. "Shinichi, the Organization took everything from the house! There isn't anything left.. If Nee-san had left me something, it's been obviously taken away."
Shinichi stared back at her and Shiho felt as though she was being x-rayed by his sharp, detective eyes.
"I don't think so." he stated and looked around the house. "I think that Akemi-san expected a raid from the Organization"
"That's impossible.. She left this house thinking that she would be back after the-" Shiho stopped talking and looked at Shinichi with wide eyes. "Unless... she knew..?"
Shinichi looked at her with sad eyes. An old wound, that had never healed fully, suddenly opened again in Shiho's heart: pain and guilt washed through her being.
'Nee-san...' she thought, struggling to keep the emotions in order, 'Did you sacrifice yourself to this point... for me?'
Shinichi watched her in silence, without knowing what to say to comfort her. Shiho was shaken: he could see it in her rigid stance and in her clouded eyes, partially hidden by her bangs.
He swallowed uneasily and took a deep breath.
"I think that she suspected that something would have happened to her after the robbery.." he said softly, "I noticed a couple of things, looking around the house.." He glanced at the girl and saw that she was listening, though her eyes were still covered.
"Nobody has lived here for the past year.. but don't you find it strange that..." He opened the fridge. "..there's still electricity but no water?" He opened the sink's faucet and nothing but a low rumbling noise came out.
Shiho stared at him.
"When I checked the toilet box, I noticed that it was completely dry: there wasn't a drop of water in it." Shinichi explained. "It's normal that, since no one has lived here for months and none of the bills have been paid, the water has been cut out."
"But not the light..." Shiho stated.
"Exactly. The gas is not here either. The only thing that works perfectly is the light. Akemi-san must have paid all the electric bills for the entire year..."
"What could it mean?"
"I think Akemi-san left you something.. to see or hear.." Shinichi remarked, pointing towards the TV table. "The only thing that uses electricity in here besides the kitchen accessories is the television set..."
"A tape?" Shiho asked uncertainly. Shinichi shrugged.
"It's only a guess.." he admitted. "The only conclusion I came to.."
"Shinichi, there isn't anything in the house. They took everything away.."
"That's the point." the detective approached her and put his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Shiho, there's something hidden in here but you -you- are the one that can find it. Akemi-san must have thought that the house would have been searched and, if she left you something, it's hidden in a place that no one else but you know."
The girl just stared back, unsure on what to do. Shinichi squeezed her shoulders lightly.
"I'm sure that you can find it." he whispered, "Just... remember your sister. Something that she could have told you.. her habits.. the clue could be there.."
Shiho nodded and the boy stepped back, releasing her from his grip. The young chemist looked around the living room, taking in every detail, hoping that it would trigger a memory.
Ignoring the dull ache in her heart, she recalled moments spent with Akemi.
Conversations had during their always-so-short meetings. Her sister's warm hugs. Her smiles. Shiho suddenly found herself in a trip through her memories as she slowly went back in time to the years before she was Sherry. The days before she went to study abroad and saw Akemi rarely: she found herself recalling the vague memories of her childhood.
Unknowingly, she started to walk and went down the corridor to the bedroom.
Shinichi stayed still, not wanting to disturb her while she was so deep in thought. He waited, leaning against the table. After a couple of minutes, Shiho appeared again in the living room, absorbed look on her face as her stare wandered through the furniture in the living room.
He watched her as her stare fell on him. Her eyes passed from absent to disappointed and his heart ached. He suddenly doubted his own theories.
'Nothing...' he thought, 'Then wh- Huh?'
He saw that Shiho's eyes changed again. They were focused on something behind him.
"What, Shiho?" he asked, straightening up, "What did you remember?"
She didn't answer but just kept staring. Following her gaze, Shinichi turned around and saw that she was looking at the flower vase. Confused, he turned back just to find Shiho standing in front of him.
'What, Shiho?" he repeated.
"She hated flowers like this..." the girl replied in a monotone.
"What?" Shinichi was downright confused now.
Shiho seemed to snap out of her trance. She looked at him, azure eyes filled with slight confusion.
"One-san never liked cut flowers." she explained slowly, slanting a glance at the vase on the table, "She thought that cutting a flower from a plant was equal to killing it. She used to say that a flower was an ephemeral beauty, destined to die shortly afterward and so different from a plant that could follow it's natural cycle.."
"Ah..." Shinichi remarked, taking in her words, "Then... why are there flowers here if she didn't like them?"
"There are two vases in this room." Shiho remarked, "And the plant in the-"
She stopped and Shinichi whipped around to look at her. His trademark smile appeared on his face.
"A plant in the bedroom." he said, "Not flowers.."
He dashed down the corridor and was back a few moments later with the plastic potted plant. He put it on the table while Shiho looked at it.
"Shinichi, it's too small to hide a tape." she said, keeping her disappointment beneath her calm tone.
The detective had been thinking on the same lines but, sensing her dejection, he kept a light tone.
"Well, let's see what's in here anyway..." he said, "There has to be something..."
He turned the pot upside down, spilling soil and dried leaves on the table. Gently, he shook the pot, allowing the last bits of dry earth to fall out.
"Well.." he whispered, "Let's see what's in here.."
He took the block of earth that held the plant and it's roots. As the soil crumbled beneath his fingers, a brown paper, trapped in the roots, caught his attention.
Shiho, who was watching his every single move from behind him, gasped softly.
"It's a package!" she exclaimed.
"Yes.." he replied, just as surprised.
'It's too small to be a tape.. though..' he though.
Shinichi took the package out the plant's roots, shaking all the earth off, and looked at it.
It was a square made of brown package paper and was very light and thin.
Without thinking too much, he handed the package to Shiho.
The girl managed to crack a smile as she took it from him. She slowly opened the package and found a small CD-Rom covered with a plastic bag.
She stared at the circular object in her hand, wondering what it could contain.
"We should have brought a laptop..It could be full of information of your family." Shinichi mused as he dusted his hands, "Or maybe an audio message or-"
He looked up since the girl didn't answer and saw that Shiho was standing in front of the DVD. She had already inserted the disk inside the player and was turning on the television. Understanding her state, he shook his head and smiled slightly.
"I saw a remote controller before.." he stated, "It was here in one of these drawers.."
Shiho stood in front of the television and watched as the screen came to life. Shinichi approached the cupboard and rummaged through the drawers to find the remote.
What neither had expected was that the CD would have played on its own. The TV screen suddenly passed from a white background to the specular image of the living room where they were standing.
They heard a rustling sound in the background as the camera's objective was focused on the couch.
And then...
"Hi, Shiho."
Shinichi's eyes widened and the newly found remote control fell on the floor while Shiho felt her legs give away and dropped on the couch.
On screen, sitting on the the same couch where Shiho was seated, calm and smiling and looking straight at them, was Akemi Miyano.
"One-san..." Shiho whispered, staring at the screen with wide eyes.
Whatever she had expected from the CD, wasn't this.