The Girl With No Name

Chapter Twenty-Two

Days had passed since we'd gained intel on Higuchi and, in that time, headquarters had become a hive full of busy bees. Plans had changed and evolved, the investigation accelerating at an unprecedented pace, due to mine and Misa's initiative (L called it interference, salty as he was). Previously, the detective had concocted a grand scheme to deduce who amongst the Yotsuba executives was most likely to be Kira, involving a lot of break-ins and illegal installations on Wedy's part. That idea had now been scrapped since we now had a verbal admission from Higuchi. Of course, anyone could simply say they were Kira, so his guilt wasn't explicitly proven just yet. But, if mine and Misa's plan went ahead as intended, then Higuchi would cease the killings entirely. As helpful as that would be, however, it also meant that we'd likely never find out just what he used to commit the murders unless he confessed. L didn't really like that approach.

His plan was to book a three hour slot on Demegawa's shady "Kira Special" on Sakura TV and trick Higuchi into thinking Matsuda would reveal Kira's identity live on air. Higuchi had Matsuda's false identity and would likely remember his face. If we could convince the Yotsuba executive that Matsuda posed a threat to him, then we could trick him into searching for Matsuda's true identity and therefore show us how he kills.

Following L's instruction, Wedy, the legend that she was, had placed cameras and wiretaps in his car to monitor him. On the same day, we called Namikawa - the executive whose innocence we'd already confirmed against other members of the group. He was the one who'd ensure Higuchi watched the show segment and essentially serve as a catalyst in the whole situation.

With all our ducks in a row, all that was left was to organise ourselves and, after a lengthy debriefing, we were ready to roll. We'd been separated into two major groups - one to ambush Higuchi in the Yoshida Productions building, and one to serve as a buffer at Sakura TV station, just in case the first ambush failed. Light and L would remain at headquarters to oversee the whole operation and everyone's movements. Wedy would conduct a stake-out outside Higuchi's home. Chris, Soichioro, and Aiber made up the Sakura TV team. Matsuda, of course, would also be there to sit with the emcee and be 'interviewed'.

Having the strongest builds of the group and the most experience handling suspects, myself and Mogi were drafted onto the Yoshida team. An exchange of awkward smiles upon hearing that told me Mogi hadn't quite forgiven me for the panic I'd instilled in him when he thought he'd lost Misa. Poor guy had grey hairs because of that event.

Armed with small *USPs, we began our vigil inside the Yoshida office. When seven o'clock drew near, I kept my eyes pinned to my watch, counting down the minutes until, at last, Demegawa's segment began. From then on, it was just a waiting game - and god, was it a boring one. After ten or so minutes of contemplative silence and gentle foot tapping, Mogi decided the tiles on the opposite wall were no longer of interest, pinning his attention on me instead.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, voice containing no trace of condescension.

Humming, I debated the question for a moment but eventually shook my head.

"Not really. More anxious to see the case closed. You?"

"The same. Excited for it to all be over."

"It's been a good run, but it's gone on way too long," I offered with a sigh. "Personally, I am sick of hearing Kira's name being spoken on repeat like a broken record."

The man chuckled and laid his head back against the wall, craning his neck to look across at me.

"I've had nightmares about him, y'know," he confessed sheepishly, and I couldn't help but snort at the utter sincerity in his face.