VI: The Analysis
VI: The Analysis
Light was waiting for me when I left the Chief’s office. To most people, it looked like he was focused on a girl (who would have been pretty if she weren’t crying) but he obviously was keeping one eye on the Chief’s door. He smoothly extricated himself from the tearful girl, who gave him a heartbreaking smile as he left.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“Her name’s Yuri. She’s the nurse who was on duty last night. The poor girl is so upset about the whole thing, and it looks like she’ll lose her job as well.”
I grunted and mentally added her to my “must question” list. A shame. I never was good at dealing with crying women.
He opened his mouth to ask me a question, then cast a quick suspicious glance around the station. “Would you like some coffee before you go, Mr. L?” he asked a little too loudly. One of the older officers looked at Light’s fawning expression and chuckled in a fatherly manner. I allowed myself to be guided to the privacy of the break room.
Once there, Light was all business again. He had the advantage of being on the cusp of adulthood, and could freely switch between maturity and childishness, depending on the situation. He fixed us both a cup of coffee and, pretense fulfilled, asked me what I had learned about Kira.
I started out with the basic facts-Kira’s supposed abilities, history, rumors, etc. Light looked slightly annoyed, as if he had already known all this information. I took a sip of my coffee; it was terrible. Maybe I was just tired of bitter things.
“Kira killed Otaharada,” I said, and took satisfaction in the way Light’s eyes widened. “Or rather, Kira predicted his death.” There was a long pause in the conversation, while Light decided on a way to respond. I added two sugar cubes to my coffee and watched them dissolve. I took another sip. Still terrible.
“What do you think about it?” Light finally asked. His voice was surprisingly soft.
I ‘hm’ed as I thought for a moment and amused myself by seeing how many sugar cubes would dissolve in my coffee. “I think that Kira believes he is acting for the greater good. I believe he is trying to scare criminals straight, but hasn’t planned anything more than a short-term strategy. I believe that Kira’s idealism and wish for recognition indicate that he is a young adult. His choice of targets indicates that he has access to a wide base of criminal information, either through contacts in the underworld or leaks in the police office. The succinct writing and use of a typewriter imply that his way of speech and handwriting might be recognized by a letter’s recipient.”
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts for the next part of my speech. I had seen the demise of seven sugar cubes and was about to start my eighth. “Speaking from a supernatural standpoint, Kira is either not as powerful as he likes to imply or is ineffective at using those powers. The causes of death are too varied to draw any natural connection between them without the use of Kira’s letters. Kira is either taking credit for deaths he didn’t commit, is extremely limited in the circumstances he can kill someone, or is hoping that the authorities will not see him as a true threat.”
Even after all these years, I still loved playing exposition master. Light took a moment to process everything I’d said. I poked at my thirteenth sugar cube, but it stubbornly refused to dissolve. Saturation. Finally, he asked, “What do you think about Kira?” He had an odd look in his eyes, one I couldn’t quite place.
I puzzled over the question for a moment before realizing that Light was asking for an opinion, not more speculation. “I don’t like him,” I said frankly. “I don’t like what he’s doing, and I especially don’t like what he’s claiming to do.”
“But what about the BB Serial Killer?” Light protested. “Don’t you think that, after all this time, justice has prevailed?”
That was a phrase I was all too familiar with. “You’ve been reading my old case files. ‘Justice will prevail’ and all of that?” I accused, my voice bitter as the coffee. He had the good grace to look sheepish. “I believed that once.
“Otaharada was lobotomized two years ago. Whoever the BB Serial Killer was, he died then. All Kira did was get rid of a shell. There’s no justice in that.” I sighed and folded my hands around my drink, leeching its warmth. I suddenly felt very cold.
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