impossibility | discontinued

[4.1]

I anxiously waited for Megure-keibu by the front door of the crime scene, not letting anyone in. I could have gone in earlier but then, there might be some people who would just enter because they're too nosy for their own good. I asked Hakase, Ran and Shinichi to take care of the woman, Kurahashi Mae, Kanae-san's friend.

Samekawa-san was with them, still in shock about what happened.

A hand patted me on the head and when I looked up, it was only Ouji-kun with the rest of the police force and Megure-keibu. "Keibu-san!" His dark beady eyes widened when he saw me, maybe a bit surprised by my sparkling eyes. Yes, I question my morals sometimes. "Shinobu-kun?!" I lowered my upper body by forty five degrees and said, "Allow us to assist you, Keibu-san."

Much to my relief, he let us. I nodded at Ouji-kun as we entered the crime scene. "Shinobu-kun, do you know the victim? Does she have any companies?" I nodded and told him that her friends are with my family. He ordered an officer to get them while I informed him of what I know about the victim. "Miyamura Kanae-san, she's about in her early twenties. She's a swimmer and captain of her team in her university. Around three-fifteen in the afternoon, she left the beach to get her swim gear."

I stopped and knelt down beside the corpse. "After that, we never saw her come back. Her relationship with her, possibly, boyfriend, Samekawa-san, seemed a bit strained as they were fighting when we got here. And then, their other friend was acting suspicious in the nearest restaurant from the hotel. She looked as if she was paranoid or something. Looking at the corpse, I suspect she's killed by drinking chlorine."

I heard him gasp while Ouji-kun knelt down beside me. "How can you say that she was killed by chlorine, Shino-chan?" I smirked, this was far too easy. (Identifying the murder weapon, of course) I still haven't figured out why she would drink it when she could have smelled it easily. As a swimmer, she must be familiar with the smell of chlorine after all.

"Chlorine poisoning can occur by either swallowing or inhaling, right? In this case, it would be obvious to say that she swallowed it. The container near the corpse is concrete evidence. Then, there's the swelling of her throat and that wet — almost green in color — spot over there, vomit. Her skin and eyes had turned red. These are symptoms pointing at Chlorine poisoning. Besides, if you smell the air, there's still some kind of pungent odour, right?"

Ouji-kun, Keibu-san and the officers smelled the air and indeed, find it unpleasant for the nose. I wore plastic gloves I hid in my pockets (it became a habit) and touched the dead body's muscles. "Rigor Mortis had already settled in. She left the beach around three in the afternoon. So, we could say that she's been dead since she left to get her swim gear." I kept mumbling things, ignoring the forensic team's awed look.

While I was talking, I noticed that the hand was clutching onto something. I snatched it out of its grasp and noticed that it was her swimwear. Hm, isn't this that swimwear that just recently came out? What was it called again? Fast-blahblah or something, I can't remember. (A/n: Just pretend it's already been invented in Shinobu's time.) Well, she did say she was going to get her swimwear and gears.

But something's nagging me at the back of my mind and I couldn't point out what it is. I'm just wondering if she knew she won't make it and made that swimwear her dying message.

•°•°

According to their invalid alibis, Kurahashi-san had been wandering around the beach and right now, most of the visitors would have retired or had done home already. Samekawa-san, who got bored at the Beach, went to the nearest Arcade but no one was there right now to be his witness. These two are our prime suspects since obviously, they're the only one's who knows which room she's in and the only ones who she could have let in her room.

I caressed my chin. How could we prove their alibis if all possible witnesses are gone? The staffs asked us not to disturb their visitors, after all. And how did the culprit managed to kill Kanae-san with chlorine, a person who's basically a captain of a sport involved in water with chlorine. Kanae-san would had identified it as soon as she opened that container.

So, why did she drink it and how did the culprit managed to snag in chlorine into her water bottle? A tap on my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts as I look at Ouji-kun. "Shino-chan, the corpse's finger." My eyes instantly went over the corpse once more and only noticed now how her pointer finger is stretched while the rest were half curled.

Following the direction where her finger is pointing, my eyes landed on a fur carpet. Well, more like animal skin turned into carpet. Hm, so what's the connection between her swimwear and the carpet? ... Ugh! I can't think of anything. "Excuse me, can I... can I use the bathroom for a minute?" My ears perked up at the sound of Kurahashi-san's voice. Come to think of it, it slipped my mind about her suspicious actions this earlier dinner.

While an officer escorts her out, something caught my eyes as they left. White dusts fell from her shorts pocket and dusted the ground. Keibu-san was about to step on it when I screamed, "Keibu-san! Stop!!" Everyone looked at me as Megure-keibu freezes, his feet a few centimeters away from the dust. I quickly approached the object and used my gloved finger to scrape it up and place it near my nose.

Chlorine.

I frowned. Were these dusts came from a chlorine tablet? Why would she even carry one with her unless..? "C-Can I move now, Shinobu-kun?" I nodded as I caressed my cheek once more. If her alibi was false, then there's a possibility that she could have done it. Then again, she looked quite close with the victim. I approached Samekawa-san. He looked down at me with a scowl and rudely asked, "What do you want, brat?" He suddenly blanched but I ignored it.

I'm quite used to that kind of expression on people who looks down on me, especially when I could feel Ouji-kun behind me. He must be glaring or something at Samekawa-san for being rude. Honestly, I think Ouji-kun doesn't think I can take care of myself sometimes. What's the point of learning Aikido then?

BU-BUMP

Wh-What was that?!

BU-BUMP

I frantically looked around the hall but only saw officers, my family, Ouji-kun, the suspects and... that staff member? "If you're just wasting my time, then scram, girlie." I snapped out of my thoughts and calmed down when I felt a familiar hand pat me on the head. "Um, does Kanae-san have anything unique about her? Any phobias?" He scoffed before answering but blanched again when he did. "Sh-She doesn't have any sense of smell nor taste."

Eh? So, that early afternoon when she was eating sour grapes, she couldn't taste it at all? Was that why she ate the fruit like a normal grape? Then, if she has no sense of taste nor smell, it must have been terribly sad how she can't taste foo— I'm getting off topic. Well, this only means that she wasn't really aware of the dissolved chlorine tablet in her tumbler.

BU-BUMP

I felt a drop of sweat slid down my cheek. I discreetly looked around and inwardly flinched when I saw the same staff member smiling at me. He looked as if he's the same age as Ouji-kun, maybe he's a part-timer? Why is it the strands of hair on my nape, arms and legs stood up when we made eye contact?

BU-BUMP

Could he be the source of this... unnerving feeling?

In any case, I still haven't figured out who the murderer is.

Uwah, the adrenaline in my veins just keeps me distracted from unnecessary things!

... I'm off topic again, aren't I?