Free Web NovelChapter 480: Arc 6, Chapter 96: Deductive Reconstruction Part II
’How’d the door split into two?’ Fumeko looked outside. The police were starting to move out and the neighbouring public were gone; except three or so reporters who had brought umbrellas along who were still being barred by an officer.
A couple of worms sprouted from what little lawn the house had. She did not spot a frog in the grass, but could certainly hear a few nearby.
She turned over the bottom half of the door which only told her that it was broken from an impact. The top half however had a clear indent from a boot that tried to break it first.
’The peephole’s broken. And the door has a gash? ...’ Her eyes peered to the doorframe. She reached a finger up and traced it along another gash that was at an angle. ’... ...! Jotou’s sword. The door was pierced first before being busted down.
At some point, the door got busted into. So she stabbed the frame? ... ...! Did she throw it? That’d explain the weird mark; everyone else had a firearm. Someone must’ve been at the door.’
Red strings attached the slash in the frame as she scanned around the living room. ’It was thrown from somewhere in here.’
Asobi was still sat by Hotaru’s side, consoling her. Tiffany approached with a cup of tea, "I’m g-glad it’s to your taste, but I’m unsure of f-four cups of tea..."
"Thank you Tiffany," Hotaru whispered without looking up and took the hot cup and saucer.
"Y-you’ve returned. Did you find anything?" Tiffany glanced over at the brunette while Alicia walked down.
"Haven’t exactly found anything, but I’m piecing most of it together," Fumeko replied.
"S-sorry, I’m fairly sure that’s evidence I stepped on over there," she pointed at the blanket on the floor.
Fumeko blinked to the side of the sofa. "Eugh, it’s what Jotou used to blow her nose and curl up to rest in," her face scrunched.
"Huh? It’s still here?" Hotaru practically threw the tea to the elf and scrambled to the side of the sofa. "It’s definitely hers," she reached down and grabbed it.
"Don’t just pick it up!" Fumeko shouted.
Hotaru examined it. "I was supposed to throw it in on washing day."
Fortunately, the tea that nearly got spilled was caught by Asobi who now took a sip of it. "Oh yeah, there’s no sugar..." she pouted.
"She said she didn’t want any. I-I’ll get some," Tiffany tried not step on anything else on the way to the kitchen.
"No milk and sugar in tea? What kinda war crimes’re being committed here then?" Alicia looked away from the door she was taking a picture of.
"It’s jasmine, Aru doesn’t like anything in it," Asobi replied.
"I don’t care if the tea’s made outta pure fairy dust and pixie sprinkles, y’put milk and sugar in tea."
’I’m dealing with idiots.’
"I don’t remember this blanket having holes in it," Hotaru felt up the fabric.
Fumeko furrowed her brows and took a closer look. "It’s just a couple of small rips..." ’Can’t be a sword... ...!’ "Did Jotou use this to block bullets?"
"Does that mean Jotou was shot? She’s injured and got kidnapped, if I don’t heal them, she’s going to have permanent damage!"
"Hotaru," Fumeko voiced with a sigh. "I’m sure Jotou’ll be fine." ’At worst it’s gonna be a few scars...’ "Relatively fine," she corrected.
"She blocked them, so that’s good news right?" Asobi stated.
"Completely I’d say," Alicia picked up a couple of bullets. "More rifles. Wholesale price must be’good on them."
"How do they get their hands on so many firearms?" Fumeko asked.
Alicia shrugged, "Same way any gang gets them. Corruption in the army, homemade, international if it fits their fancy."
Fumeko continued searching around the dining area. ’Stab mark in the floor. It would match Jotou’s sword; something was pinned down or she used it as leverage to leap.’
Multiple red strings tried to connect all the potential sequences of events, however nothing concrete could be put together. ’Crack against the wall; it’s too big for a person. The shapeshifter?’
A line connected from the fracture she examined and the caved-in wall by the side of the door. ’It was thrashed around by Jotou. Which also explains the dining table.’
Fumeko noticed that there was a lighter pigment in the exact size and shape of the table leg on the floor, suggesting the table was shoved. ’Drawings?’ On the table were familiar doodles and scribbles. ’Kineko was downstairs when the ambush happened.’
Out of the corner of her eye, one more stray bullet sat nearly hidden at the kitchen’s entrance. Meanwhile, Tiffany walked out having found a pot of sugar.
’Tiffy seems way too content to run errands whenever we ask... Is she just complying so she can help us? ...! That’s not the usual Tiffany I know, she would’ve protested by now...’
The detective ruffled up her own bangs. ’Not important.’ She picked up the bullet. ’Rifle too. Did they fire from the kitchen?’ "Tiffy, d’you put a pot of soup on the stove?"
"N-no, that was already there."
Fumeko checked the sink, where there were two jars that had some oil stains within. ’Her friend gave her this soup and she was heating it up. There’s no bowl or spoon left to wash though.’
The brunette stirred the ladle around and lifted it up to her face. She dipped a finger and had a taste. Her eyes bubbled and she immediately stuck her tongue out as she felt all her pores open up.
’This is really really good, spicy too. More importantly cold. And the volume in here seems like two jars worth of it. Neither of them ate lunch, but Jotou wouldn’t’ve let the stove running... Unless she was actually downstairs first...’
Fumeko glanced up and rethought the situation as a whole. The large kitchen window at the back was not broken; rather it was pushed open. freёweɓnovel.com
A different order of events pieced together in her mind. ’Kineko was downstairs drawing while Jotou was heating up lunch. She must’ve heard something from upstairs and went to check.
The sound must be the one cultist who entered the second floor bathroom. After that, Jotou entered her room where she was ambushed by the one who broke into the window. That’s when she grabbed her sword, cause she wouldn’t’ve had it on her.
Dispatching the cultist, she left the room to go get Kineko and that’s when all the cultists broke into the house from every angle. I can’t be sure whether or not Jotou was hit, but she made her way downstairs. Any of her own blood would’ve been cauterized.
With the neighbours’ account, cultists appeared and were bashing at the door, which Jotou probably noticed and stabbed through, at least hindering their entrance at the stairs outside. Kineko would’ve ran up to her at this point.
There wasn’t a scuffle in the middle of the living room, meaning it’s most likely that while Jotou was upstairs, there was at least one or two cultists and the shapeshifter who came in through the kitchen, which would’ve been Jotou’s best escape route.
Whatever form it took was big, but small enough to fit in a house and Jotou to shove around. She used the blanket to cover herself from the bullets and made a strike forward at them.
In the fray, Jotou was probably knocked around a lot considering her affinity was dealing with the fever too. But she also managed to throw the new god against the wall under the stairs and pin it to the ground.
She also had to combat the cultists in the kitchen and by that time the front door would’ve busted open and she threw her sword to further impede them, which might’ve only worked for a couple of seconds.
She then bashed into the shapeshifter and somehow managed to shove it into the wall by the door. She does have a spell to buffet things away with a shoulder.
With the time she had left, she rushed to the telephone and dialled up the number she most likely remembered and gave key words so that Alicia could pass it on, before she was knocked out and kidnapped alongside Kineko, which is when the telephone cord was also cut.
That’s the full sequence of events.’ It all played out in red threads in her mind, piecing together all the possibilities.
’Police’s account, disappearing without a trace, ambush from abnormal angles. ...! No doubt about it, has to be some form of teleportation. There was someone with a mobility affinity present at the murder in Dolpool Academy.
But Ceridwen has a whole host of affinities to do whatever she wants. It lines up with the pillar and the cult’s sudden appearance in Palais Celneir. And it explains the ambush in the courthouse; the only difference being they wanted to make a show of that day, not be covert.
Untraceable teleportation—how? ...Ceridwen. Is she really the answer to everything? It’s too easy of a thread to connect. ...! Doesn’t matter how; it could be Ceridwen or others helping cover her stolen magic.
It’s not something I need to fixate on right now. If there’s a way to backtrack their magic to its source, the Department of Arcana would’ve done it by now and I’m not gonna be the one to figure that out; not until I get something to start with.’
Two knocks came from the doorframe. Fumeko blinked into the living room and saw the police commissioner at her door.
"Commissioner Coates," Hotaru stood up alert. freewebnovel.cσ๓
He leaned an arm on the frame and sighed as he surveyed the interior of the home. "Evening." He then narrowed his gaze on the reporter, "What are you doing here Ms Langstirk?"
"Oh don’t getcha knickers in’a twist commissioner, I was invited," Alicia brushed some of her hair back.
"You’re lucky it’s already looking like a long night," he looked to the rest of the party present. "I’m going to have to ask everyone to leave, I know you weren’t here during whatever the hell happened.
But calling a transmutationist repairman to clean up the scene, is something I don’t even need to explain why is suspicious," the commissioner replied.
"We can’t call anyone, the phone doesn’t work," Asobi told.
"That was my handywork; good t’know y’got ears even in’a private neighbourhood like this," Alicia chirped.
"What’re you playing at Alicia..." Fumeko glared.
"What? Y’wanna sleep in’a house with every window broken? It’ll get chilly, I’ll tell y’that much."
"Okay, everyone out," he ordered.
"Where are we gonna stay?" Asobi queried.
Hotaru rubbed her temple, "I can book a hotel."
"I-I can stay at the orphanage..." Tiffany peered away.
"It’s fine, you should stay with us," the wolf-woman replied.
"Do you have your money on you?" the commissioner asked to which the redhead gave a nod. "Alright, clear the area. Don’t take any belongings from the scene. Did any of you tamper with evidence?"
"No..." Fumeko replied.
"We just made some tea and were resting, we came from the Investigations Cooperated fiasco," Asobi stated.
"Very well. Again, out," his words became stricter.
Eventually everyone left the house and were moved aside till the police secured the building. The rain came back to a drizzle as they were handed cheap umbrellas.
Asobi pulled her hat’s brim to open up which Tiffany took cover under. Hotaru walked in a daze in the direction of a public telephone.
Fumeko stared at her house that was being barred by tape.
"Don’t worry, if something’s gone missing, I’ll know," Alicia patted her camera.
"I’m not worried about the police."
The reporter sighed, "The sooner we get him back, the better. They don’t call him the greatest for nothing. I’m sure the Thundering Blade and littlest Namora’ll be fine too."
’...I know.’ "Let’s hope."
...
...
"Well~!" Alicia stretched her arms out. "News never sleeps~ To Investigations Cooperated I go."
"Alicia," Fumeko called.
The reporter who had only taken a few steps turned around.
"Are you gonna put everything on the papers?"
"Kinda my job to. Besides, feel like this’s something people should know."
"My dad and Jotou are gone. You realize that’s gonna cause a lot of panic."
"Panic? Panic’s already going ’round little detective. If I don’t put my name on it, it’s just gonna be some other reporter and I can’t let that happen. Don’t y’want your favourite, honest, hardworking journalist t’get the scoop?" she pouted.
’...’ "You are my favourite reporter," Fumeko turned around.
"Oh~!? How sweet!" she beamed brightly.
"Also my least favourite cause you’re the only one I know," she continued walking away. ’I’ll have to send a letter to Jotou’s friend before it’s too late.’
Alicia snapped her fingers, "I’ll still take it as a win in my book~!"
