Free Web NovelChapter 479: Arc 6, Chapter 95: Deductive Reconstruction Part I
The skies began to grey over her; the police had yet to move out of the vicinity below. And now there were more reporters and cameras crowding the tape surrounding the area.
Fumeko watched them from the roof. The threat of an incoming drizzle sent some home. ’They let reporters into a private neighbourhood? Wouldn’t security know that the area’s under observation? Or did these ones sneak in...’
The detective turned her attention to the chimney. Before the rain would wash away the evidence, she assessed the footprints on the roof tiles. She hovered her own boot over it.
’It’s just mine. Still, no sign of impact or anything seemingly disturbed.’ She checked the gutters along the edges and blinked onto the neighbouring rooftops. Twenty minutes went by to no avail.
"Tck."
Petrichor—the scent was getting stronger. ’They landed directly on the roof of my house via teleportation; no other signs of approach.’
"Oh little detective~ ’Bout t’be pouring cats and dogs out there," Alicia popped her head out of the hatch.
Fumeko blinked back, "It’s not gonna rain that heavily. Did you come up here after you arrived?"
"Can’t say I got’a good look anywhere, I got t’the second floor before Dolpool’s flimsiest showed up. Feel like I would’ve been beaten, shot and dragged on the spot if I was on the first floor."
"The door to the roof was open with the ladder down. But I doubt Jotou went up here; so this was definitely a point of entry."
Alicia hummed and glanced down the yellow ladder, "Ladder seems standard f’most houses in Dolpool," she went down it.
Fumeko blinked down.
"But looks like someone wasn’t so light," Alicia placed a hand on a middle step to show that it had been bent inward by some degree.
"I can’t say for sure whether that’s new or it’s always been like that. Dad isn’t exactly light."
Alicia pushed her spectacles up and squinted as she got her face right up to it. "Seems fresh t’me, the colour’s off." "FLASH!"
"It doesn’t matter, we know it’s someone who came in," Fumeko crossed her arms and glared at her room’s door left ajar. Grumbling to herself, she entered while Alicia closed the trapdoor.
Glass shards laid scattered across the dark floorboards and the curtain’s pole had been ripped off of the wall. A cold breeze drifted in, lightly shuffling the shattered remnants.
Fallen from their soft arrangement on the windowsill, her cushions were stabbed with broken glass and the ones that remained up had a clear sign of a knee pressing down on them.
Looking around to her desk, the rabbit-eared clock on the wall, her dresser—nothing was amiss. Even the door was opened and not busted down.
Red string connected itself from the window to the door; it was just that simple. ’One cultist entered and exited. Window’s too small for more to ambush at once. But why didn’t they all just filter in from up top? They had to break my window!?
...! It’s a precaution. They couldn’t be certain where Jotou would’ve ended up after their presence was known.’
"Wowie, this your little realm huh? Can’t say I expected it t’look like this," Alicia strolled in.
"What were you expecting?"
"Oh y’know~ Never mind, doesn’t matter does’it?" "FLASH!" She took a shot of the broken in window before the two examined all of the third floor.
’Every room was broken into, including the bathroom. They all seem to just exit into the hall; Jotou nor Kineko were ever here. There’s no clear evidence of hair, fabric or anything... Did they clean up after? ...! Most likely not, but I’ll need to prove it.’
"Bullets," Fumeko picked up one as she descended. "And I assume that’s bits of gunpowder," she pointed to the little bits of black dust on the stairs.
"Has t’be, has t’be~" "FLASH!" "Rifle rounds, the lot of them," Alicia identified.
"But they’re not mage-piercers?"
"F’sure not." "FLASH!" "Maybe they ran outta the stuff; hard t’believe they would’ve run outta the budget though, innit?" she chuckled.
Fumeko rolled the bullet between her fingers and furrowed her brows. ’... ... ...! They knew. They knew Jotou was sick. Her armour’s already unusable and her magic isn’t impenetrable; even knowing that, I wouldn’t risk not using a mage-piercer if I had it. They’ve been watching.’
"It’s already been fired little detective, giving it the death glare isn’t gonna revive it."
The brunette glanced up to corners of the ceiling and the bullet holes in the walls... ’Casten Castle. ...! Ceridwen isn’t watching at all times, she has to actively choose to and it doesn’t mean she can detect everything.
This house isn’t protected by some enchantment. This is Ceridwen’s doing.’ Fumeko’s felt her chest rising higher than usual; her boiling blood rose up into a few words, "I hate them, so much..." Her fingers went red around the bullet she squeezed.
"...Well," Alicia patted the detective on the back. "Most of Burnetrout agrees with your sentiment."
...
"Come on, time’s not for wasting," Alicia said a little slower and softer.
...
Fumeko pocketed the bullet; the anger puffed past her lips before she continued to examine the second floor.
She began with an examination of Jotou and Hotaru’s room. The window being broken into was much like her own room. Right by the door, was a bullet hole punched into the wall.
A red thread connected the thread from the hole to where it would line up a straight shot; all lines pointed from the window or the bed. ’The bullet wasn’t fired through the glass, that’s for sure. It happened after they broke in.’
"FLASH!" Alicia would simply follow the brunette’s eyeline and take a picture of it right after. She glanced down from the bullet hole and picked up the round from the floor. "Not a rifle; pistol or a flintlock maybe."
"With the bed there, they probably did have something smaller. The only reason there’d be shots fired in this room was cause the attack must’ve started here. If they wanted to get one over Jotou that quickly, they’d have to fire immediately," Fumeko reasoned.
"This look like one of your friend’s?" Alicia picked up some long strands of black hair off the floor.
"It’s not Asobi’s, it’s Jotou’s."
Alicia cocked her head to one side, "Don’t know if you’re colourblind little detective, but last I checked, her hair’s golder than gold."
"Her hair turns black when its not growing from her. Never noticed the ends of her hair’s all black?" Fumeko crouched down to the ground.
"Must be some curse," Alicia brushed aside.
Fumeko picked up flecks of dried, blood? ’It’s flaky. It didn’t soak into the wood. It was cauterized by her.’ She faced the side of the mattress, where there were clear folds in the bedsheets. ’Someone fell here and got taken away with the cult.’
Red string connected the scene in her mind; someone broke into the room and rolled onto the bed with a pistol aimed at Jotou present in the room. She dodged the shot and grabbed the cultist to electrocute. ’...That doesn’t explain the blood.’
Alicia picked up an unfinished painting that was leaned against the table, "Pretty piece. Couldn’t say what it’s meant t’be though. Oh? What’s this?" she picked up a semi-damp cloth with specks of goldish-platinum stuck to it.
Fumeko walked to the reporter’s side. "She was probably cleaning her brushes up. But... that’s not paint." She got her face right up to it, "...Gold?" Her eyes scanned the table for anything similar that would leave such spots.
’Why would gold be... ...! Unless its armite. It’s not as vibrant as gold. Jotou was wiping down her sword?’ "But that thing’s indestructible."
"Come onnn detective, don’t leave me in’the dark!"
"Her sword," Fumeko said with mild annoyance. "It has to be her sword, but there’s no chance it could be chipped away like this..." ’... ... ... ...!’ "Frost... Is this what Beauregard did to her sword?"
"If I had t’take a wild swing, I’d say the big acid blob she kept jumping into probably would’ve done something."
"Its how her adventuring gear got frayed to bits." ’Beauregard’s slime must’ve overpowered the enchantment on the sword; it’s the only logical conclusion.’ Red strings connected a better picture, "She used her sword to stab the cultist and electrocute him, explaining the initial blood."
And like that, the evidence was put together. The rest was out of the room. Upon checking the open bathroom door, she noticed that this was one of the windows left unbroken. Instead it seemed to be slid open.
’Whoever got into the bathroom snuck in before the initial onslaught. They were possibly the first cultist in the house.’ "I’d say they had a clear shot if Jotou was running for the stairs to get Kineko."
"FLASH!" "Anything else catch your eye?"
"I don’t think anything else happened on this floor. The shapeshifter wasn’t here, or if it was, was definitely something unnoticeable," she walked into Kineko’s room.
Pretty typical room for a child of that age. A bed in the corner with large soft pillows and several ragdolls lined up at the side. Her clothes were all over the room and not neatly kept in the wardrobe; the dresser was filled with pins, charms and hair accessories by the hundreds. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
’Definitely might’ve spoiled her too much... ...Have I been spoiled? ... ...’ "Seems like they just broke in, nothing’s immediately popping at me. You?"
"Other than scribbles and doodles?" Alicia noted all the papers filled with Kineko’s artwork. "Nope! Time f’the detective’s room, riiight?"
"Can you be more serious, there’s people missing," Fumeko grumbled and walked out.
"Nope! Someone’s gotta keep up the spirits ’round here. Situation’s worse than the winter blues, and not anyone can even confirm what happened, but here we are, falling apart like a’bad apple pie."
The door to Kazuo’s room shut out Alicia’s voice who then started turning the knob. Fumeko promptly locked the door.
"Detectiveeeeee!!!" the knocks on the door were insistent for at least a minute before she gave up.
The drizzle outside was giving way into rain by the second. With the window broken, much of Kazuo’s desk, documents and papers were under threat. ’Hopefully there’s some cardboard lying around.’
What was surprising was that his work was still there. While the wind and ambush certainly knocked things around, everything was still there.
’Or at least I think... ... ...How in the world would I even know if they took anything. It could take days to sort through things here. There’s no obvious signs at least.’ "Woosh." She blinked out the window and onto the fire escape.
Her headband was assaulted by the drizzle as she took a look around the back of the building. There was an alley between the houses and the walls of the houses behind, but nothing screamed out to her as evidence.
She blinked around the house and through the front door, up the stairs, back outside Kazuo’s room. She narrowed her gaze at the reporter who was using one of the charms on her bracelet to fiddle with the keyhole.
Alicia turned her head and retracted her hands, "I was doing nothing, just gotta passive interest in knobs~" she chirped.
"I figured a lock wouldn’t stop you. There’s nothing significant in there; downstairs is all that’s left," Fumeko descended.
"The door’s still locked little detective."
"Yeah." frёewebηovel.cѳm
...
...
Alicia wilted on the spot and sighed, "Alright, alright," she followed behind.
