Killer Secret

Chapter 9

Kaito had felt burnt out in the last month. Haruka had been giving him a hard time about going after his imposter. Every time he tried digging deeper himself, he'd find one small hint and go out to stop the imposter from killing any more innocent victims.

The murdered victims all had one thing in common, all of them were connected to Asuka somehow. At this point, it looked like it was obvious Asuka was behind framing Kaito. And he didn't even want to acknowledge all the news reports about his name. He was now the most wanted fugitive in all of America.

Haruka tried to quiet the News station down, but it wasn't working. Hence, why Kaito felt so burnt out. He needed a break from all the missions. He barely had any time for himself. He always had to work during the day, and go out to investigate at night. At this point, he felt exhausted.

If he made one more cup of coffee, he felt like he was going to puke. Fortunately, there were no more customers after 3 pm. He wanted to close the shop early, but he decided to take one short nap before closing up.

As soon as his back hit the cushion, he heard the doorbell chime as a customer walked in. He moaned sternly and turned his head to the door. Then he quickly sat up when he recognized the customer as the journalist who kept writing news reports about him.

He wondered if she found out his identity. He hadn't seen her come to buy coffee in a while.

Samantha studied the room, and an eerie feeling crept up her spine. The Asian man who worked there sat up when she walked in as if she'd done something wrong. "Is this place closed?" Samantha glanced at her watch.

"Not yet," Kaito grunted in response.

"Okay." Samantha nodded. There was no one else in the barista, except for the two. "Can I make an order?"

"Go ahead." Kaito pushed himself off the couch and walked over to the counter. He decided not to pull out the notepad to write down her order and instead pulled out a coffee mug. Samantha leaned against the counter and twirled her fingers on the surface of it.

"I'd like a coffee with 3 creams and 3 sugars. Can I also get a chocolate chip cookie?" She straightened her shoulders as she ordered. The tiredness she was feeling was catching up to her. It was a good thing she was going out for coffee.

Kaito pulled out a cookie from the display case and tossed it on the service counter gently. He noticed that Samantha looked pressed about something. Her eyes were unfocused and they were fixed upon the ground.

"Tough day?" He pressed a button to turn on the kettle. It needed to be reheated. Samantha slouched forward and tapped her chin.

"It's been a rough month," Samantha answered. "Work has been stressing me out a lot."

"What do you do?" Kaito took out crushed coffee and a filter before placing it on a device over the mug.

"I am a journalist. I work for the CW News Station nearby." Samantha exhaled. "I'm sure you've heard about the Assassin on the loose?"

"I think so." Kaito shrugged.

"He's been giving me and my coworker a run for our money. My boss has been pressuring us to find out that crazy dastard's identity."

"Have you made any progress?" Kaito's voice darkened. He was hoping they hadn't, or else there was going to be some serious issues. Why else would she come to the barista other than to find out what he really looked like without the mask.

"Nope. I only saw his eyes. For sure, he is Asian... and I don't mean to be of any offense to you when I say that." Samantha chuckled nervously. She didn't want to sound rude.