-~*~-
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After finding the pebble on the bathroom floor and bringing it to the makeshift evidence room, Kazuto's eyes caught sight onto a bunch of keys. One that he very well recognizes. Because he had given the exact same bunches to each nannies.
'Normal procedure for final lock is to leave the bathroom door open. But also, there is no trace of breaking in. Something just doesn't add up.'
Kazuto thought to himself before going back outside. He went outside towards the shed that had been built prior to the renovations of the manor.
In this shed, many tool boxes were stored. Each belongs to a different worker. This is to ensure that no items are being stolen and no lack of equipment during repair or construction.
Upon entering the shed, Kazuto sees no trace of breaking in. Everything is clean and pristine.
On the surface.
He knew that there's a chance that the murder weapon could be from this shed. So to finish his side of the quest, he would need to check each box. He hopes his theory is proven wrong.
He looked inside each tool box and so far all of the tools are there. None is missing. Only until he opens the third to last one.
A missing screw drill.
The murder weapon.
To make it far worse, unlike any other tool box that is not assigned to a specific individual this is. It was assigned to Niclas who is one of the three chief operators for the orphanage project.
A Ryuichi trusted person.
His worst fear for this case might come true.
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Irene walked to the front entrance of the manor in a dejected feeling. If what Kairene had said is true then from what she had found a person might be in compliance.
"You okay?" her head twisted up and saw Kazuto in front of her. She was silent before realizing that he had asked her a question. She hesitantly nodded her head. Though she isn't the only person who looks like a walking corpse.
"How about you? You look… confused." Kazuto immediately wiped whatever face on him and shook his head in denial. He then proposes for them to have a little chat before they continue with the next step.
She agreed.
Unlike the normal people in a strategic race that choose a secluded space to have a conversation, they both decide to have their discussion in an open and isolated area. If someone wanted to eavesdrop they would have to come really close to hear them.
Exposed and then caught.
Stealing information is not against the rule and they can hide in bushes or trees for all they know.
Regardless, they went to the middle of a large field before starting to tell each other about what they found. Irene starts first and relays all the information that she got from Kairene. She also mentions giving the testimony copy to one of the observers to ease Kairene.
Kazuto let it slide.
Though she didn't stop there. She explained about the odd mention of the timing between the rain and the mud as well as the odd patch of dirt that Kairene said.
"I was about to go there myself before I bumped into you." She ended her part with a bit of a reluctant voice. Perhaps it had somehow approved her theory on something.
"What about you? Did you find something?"
"A few actually."
He then started to explain what he and the other three had discovered early in the morning. Sprinkled with the extra embellishment from the forensic team after he went back to the crime scene.
"About that tree that you are standing at." He started with the crime scene. Putting emphasis on the tree that Irene had stood under.
He explained that the window lock in the bathroom is locked however the lock is titled inwards. Emphasizing that they had newly renovated the building and it takes months for a new lock to wear off even a little bit.
Irene — "To have it titled inwards… means something had forcefully worn it off. Accidental or not."
Kazuto — "And I'm afraid the next thing won't ease your worse theory."
Irene — "What is it?"
Kazuto — "The angle of where you stood. On the mud patch… it has the perfect trajectory to the window's lock when it is upright."
Irene — "... No way…"
Irene starts to heave heavy breathe. Her eyes start to feel dizzy. She had hoped that the mud patch was just a coincidence. That someone had just played in it in the rain.
But couple that with Kazuto's evidence it is clear beyond a doubt. This person is a compliance to the murder.
Even if she wants to disprove his theory she can't. He's the sniper. He knew more about long range physics than she does.
"There's a pebble in the crime scene as well…" Kazuto decided to just let everything loose.
Irene stumbled back but was thankfully caught by Kazuto before she completely lost her footing. She is hyperventilating. And he knew it.
He hugged her tight and patted her back. Soothing her heaving heart. He didn't like the panic streaking face of Irene's. He hated seeing it.
Kazuto — "Maybe the person didn't know what exactly they were doing it for. There's a chance that they are innocent by intention."
Irene — "But-!"
Kazuto — "A crime is only a crime if there's an intention or knowledge of what is being done. Without them, murder or compliance to murder is non-existent. Trust me, Irene."
The girl didn't respond. She stood in his embrace for a while. Even when her heart had settled down, she didn't pull away from him.
Kazuto takes this opportunity to reveal yet another devastating discovery. He explained that there exists a pattern of screw drill on the side of the hole in the victim's neck. He had gone to the shed before bumping into Irene to hopefully debunk his theory.
It didn't.
He discovered a missing automatic screw drill from Niclas's box. The rest are in their rightful place.
He can feel her grip tightening on his garments.
He tightens his hold.
He didn't end things on a sour note though. "However there is some good news." He hears a small "what" before continuing.
Kazuto — "The door to the shed is broken. Meaning it was breaked open. Niclas is one of the chief operators. It doesn't make sense for him to break the door."
Irene — "He has the key to the shed. He can just put the drill back in the box and lock the door to hide his trace. But the killer didn't."
Kazuto — "Meaning that whoever it is is trying to make Niclas as a scapegoat by stealing his drill. But they didn't have any way in because they don't have the key."
Irene — "What about the nannies key? If they can lock the door they can open the shed right?"
Kazuto — "Nope. That key is only given to the head nannies. Others only get the keys for the manor only."
Irene — "So the killer realized that there is no key for the shed. In desperation they break open the door and steal the drill."
Kazuto — "Possibly."
"Then we have to continue our investigation!" She pulled away and stared into Kazuto's eye. She is filled with determination.
He smiled.
"Where should we go first then?" He asked. Putting her in charge so that she can have a sense of hope from the chance of solving this case in the right way.
"We need to be fast first. The soldiers is investigating the nannies and are about to be done. They would then go to the crime scene which would take time. Some of them would try to get to Kairene but would be stopped by the observer. After they read them which would roughly take about 30 minutes of understanding they would go around the premise. They would either find the patc-!"
"Let's go to the children's room. That is the closest thing we have that they don't."
"Ouh. Okay!"
They make their way to the manor and up to the third floor. Standing before the door that Kairene had mentioned is just not going well for Irene. She saw the dirt patch and a string is tugging at her heart.
Kazuto put his hand over her shoulder and reassured her with, "Let's investigate before speculation. Facts hold stronger than presumption."
Upon entering they went over to the shoe racks and checked each and every single one of them. It takes some time but they manage to do it. "Found it." Kazuto shouted from the farthest side of the room.
Each child has their respective shoe rack and it has their own name at the side of the wall. The name in this one read, "Lazar… A 14 year old boy who is outgoing and adventurous." Irene recounts the information of the child from memory.
"Bed number 21." She said before each of them searched for a different part of that bed number. Irene checked the laundry basket while Kazuto checked in his personal drawer. A place where children put away their personal belongings.
His hand then found a slingshot. The moment he holds onto the handle he can feel the dampness from the rain water seeping in. "Found the mini sniper."
On Irene's side, she had to dig through the entire laundry on this boy and eventually reach the bottom. She felt the dampness of the clothing increasing as she slowly reached it. The moment her hand touched the clump of very obviously wet clothes, she pulled them out.
"Found the wet clothes."
"It's him then."
"..."
"Let's speak to him."
"...Right…"
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As they are solving the case, the children are so invested in their own little world. Playing around the open field. Taking the camping feeling to the max.
Girls are playing, cooking and making jewelry from plants.
Boys are playing with sticks that they found across the ground. Acting like they are a brave warrior.
Irene and Kazuto approach them and casually start asking what they are doing. Trying to find a way to speak to Lazar without any of the others becomes suspicious.
After explaining their game, Kazuto got an idea and started to have a rather boastful speech. "A warrior nowadays doesn't only play with a sword. They need to know how to shoot too."
"No they don't!"
"Oh really? I am one of the warriors of Volenix and I don't wield a sword at all."
"That's a lie! All warriors can wield a sword!"
"Nope. I can't. My only weapon is a sniper!" He proceeds to open his signia right before their very eyes. Truly mesmerizing their little mind. A flood of "Woaah!" echoes through the open field.
"A real warrior needs courage and amazing hand to eye coordination. Snipers can do that too. Do you want to test?"
"YES!!" are the only words spoken through the field.
Kazuto sets up a simple slingshot game and each boy steps up for the challenge. Even the ones that are older. This is when they both keep a close attention to Lazar in particular.
The moment all of the targets fell on his turn, Kazuto gave an applause to him. "That was amazing, Lazar. Really a talent for a warrior. Say, do you want to have some… early interviews for the spot?" He didn't hesitate for a second.
The rest of the children watch him being whisk away with envy but determination as well. They continue with this little game until Kazuto and Irene return. Hoping to also impress them
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The moment they entered an empty tent, Kazuto dropped the act and pulled out the slingshot he had found. "Is this yours?" Lazar nodded. Confused as to why Kazuto has his slingshot.
He then pointed to the other pile of things in the corner of the tent. "Those clothes and shoes. Are they yours?" He nodded but was a bit reluctant after he saw that it was his dirty shoes and wet clothes.
The man before Lazar didn't speak anymore and instead turned his head away from the teenage boys before heaving a big defeated sigh. The teenager in the tent is confused about what is happening.
Irene then calls his name and stares directly into his eyes. "Lazar. Please be honest with us okay? You won't get in trouble." He nodded, not knowing what was being asked for. "Where were you yesterday night after bedtime?"
He was stunned for a moment.
His mouth moves but no words come out. He looks like a fish right now.
Seeing the green emerald eyes before him that had saved all of them from a terrible life, a guilty conscience is tugging at his heart. He can't lie to her face. Not when they both have provided everything for them.
Literally everything.
With a stuttering voice he spoke the truth. "I-I was outside… by the tree on the left wing of the manor…"
"Urgh…" The sound that comes out of Kazuto's mouth is nothing pleasant. He then turns to the boy and stares him down. "What did you do last night?"
"Uhm…"
"Lazar!"
"Kazuto! He's a child. Speak to him gently and we have our answer."
"*sigh…* Go on…"
"I-I met with a person when we went clothes shopping. They said that they lost something in the manor and wanted to take it back. He said he didn't want to cause other people trouble and said, "Is it okay if I-if I can help him."
"And?'
"And I said yes… He said that he could hook me up to live in a far better place. A place where I don't have to worry about money or food with other people."
"And you said yes?"
"Mhm…"
"What did you do exactly?"
"Well…" Lazar started explaining everything that he had done that very night. The same thing that Kazuto and Irene had discovered about the route for escape.
Lazar is an accomplice.
"Lazar. Do you know what that person has done?" He shook his head. He had genuinely thought that he was helping him. Just like how Irene and Kazuto had helped them.
"Lazar you have-!"
"You have assisted his escape from murder."
"KAZUTO!"
Instead of arguing the tent stays silent. Irene stared down the man that had somehow lost his temper. "Mur…" Her head turned to the boy in the tent.
He is shaking.
In fear.
In guilt.
"Murder…"
Fuck.
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-~*~-