Luna noticed a change in her brother recently. He looked like he was having more fun while going to school and he talks about his new friends, happily. She really wants to meet Big Sister Lily from what her brother has said about her. She seems so cool!
If Luca hears what his adorable little sister was thinking, he is going to be madly jealous of Lily. But he is currently engaged in the battle of the pens with Ash as he forgot to complete the English assignment due today.
Lily and Hirokazu gazed at them with contempt as they waved their perfectly finished assignment on their faces.
The rest of the class looked at this new group with envy. Even though it hasn’t been long since they became friends, they have a lot of trust in each other.
Suddenly a teacher ran in, the rushed sounds of hiding incomplete homework were heard all around the classroom. But as old-time champions of completing work during class, Ash and Luca continue their debacle.
“Hirokazu, it’s usual! Want to go this time or not?” The way the teacher spoke for some looks from the students.
Hirokazu looked done but got an idea. He looked at his friends and grinned.
“Tell him he’s got company and a lot of it this time.”
Fast forward from the confused looks and being seated in a car headed towards the police station.
“Alright guys, this is the big secret I wanted to tell you. I am the Captain’s kid, so I was allowed to help out at the police station with their cases. I’m allowed to only because I have the talent for it and I won’t be humble when I say this, I would be the best detective there if I was older but sadly Father Time is very patient. I’ve proven my worth by showing how capable I am and they couldn’t deny I would only thrive once I’m done with my studies. It was hard gaining their approval, but it was worth it. The cases I handle are the ones they either were too busy to handle or it was a tough one. I’m basically an interning detective there for now.”
Luca looked intrigued before asking the most important question.
“So how do we fit in this picture?”
“You guys are going to be my team, to put it simply. I’ve called in a couple of favours and they’ve let me ease my burden by recruiting you guys.”
Luca, Lily and Ash looked thrilled, but doubt quickly entered their minds.
“Why us? Like I get we’re smart, but that’s nothing compared to what veteran detectives can give.”
“Exactly like I get we aren’t a simple bunch and are more than what we seem to be but why us?”
“Yeah, that, but can I get some coffee here? Like my head is killing me, please?”
That last one was from Ash, and Hirokazu complied by stopping by a coffee place for some and Luca gave him some aspirin for if it gets worse. Soon they were back on the topic.
“You guys can give me youth!”
This got a few weird looks.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ahem… I meant in the way that you guys are young like me and are used to being overlooked for the sole reason that we are young, even though we are very capable, much more than most adults. And I need people to help in solving cases by giving me fresh perspectives that won’t easily come to my straight track mind.”
Lily looked at him skeptically.
“What can we offer you individually? I get we are useful as a group, but alone?”
“Easy! Luca’s medical insight would be very useful and his grace is something we need. Lily, you have skills even if it may be basic, I believe and trust you that would be useful either way since I suck at using tech. Ash is a genius and his foundation is strong and he is physically and mentally fit, more than many people.”
Lily looked thoughtful as Ash smiled bashfully. Luca simply looked at him with an encouraging smile.
“I get the other two… But my skills could be crap for all you know compared to the professional tech team. Why me?”
“Simple, my intuition tells me you are better than you say and my intuition is never wrong. Plus, I hate the station’s tech team”
Lily gave him a huge smile at his blatant dislike and spoke.
“Wow! You really know how to pick people. I’m a national level hacker who is legally recognized due to certain misbehaviour in my youth, bet a lot of my kind aren’t there in that situation of yours and I’ll trust your instinct a lot more after this. But how cliche can this get tho, I’m a great hacker, Luca’s got great medical knowledge and we got Mr Prodigy Ash here, perfect for our team of weirdos.”
Ash gaped at her.
“Dude, but you’re so young?”
“Who am I? Phineas and Ferb? I’m Lillith Sorren Potter! I’ve gotten this title through blood, sweat and tears and a great amount of effort, which is nothing to be scoffed at. I’ve started young, but the quality of my work is impeccable. My iron will is something that would make most break down in tears.”
The boys felt nothing but respect for this Queen. She is amazing for her hard work and dedication that most can’t even muster a tenth of.
Soon they were close to the station, Hirokazu warned them before they got off.
“A heads up, my dad will be meeting us and the place is informed of the changes. You will be met with looks of disdain and contempt. This will be something you’ll soon get used to soon, but not to worry, we’ll smack those right off in due time.”
With grins, the four got off after thanking the driver for his time. They were met by a smart and handsome looking man in uniform, who had a striking resemblance to Hirokazu. You could even say that would be how Hirokazu would look in the future.
Lily was practically drooling over him and Ash was grumbling that he only looked good because of the uniform. Luca stood politely, offering a small smile to the imposing man.
“Guys, this is my dad, Ayame Ibata, Captain of our police force and a very useless guy who just recently came back here!” Hirokazu happily introduced him.
A smack to his head and a glare later, the captain had seated the kids in a briefing room and explained what was going on.
“Hirokazu is surprisingly good at solving things, which is obviously due to his good genes and has special permission to take leave to help out here on a couple of cases. Seeing that he took things into his own hands to bring you all here means you have the potential to be used here. I’ve got a pretty interesting case and I hope you can solve it for us. You would put down as volunteers here and in the official paperwork. Let it be well-spent.”
Hirokazu rolled his eyes and raised his arm to receive the file.
“Yeah, yeah, old man! Leave already and let me have the file. And I’m good at solving because of MOM’s genes, after all, she was the one who topped the Police Academy, unlike a certain someone. The only reason your captain is that Mom wanted to stay a detective.”
After handing over the file to his son, the captain grumbled about his ungrateful brat and how unfilial his stupid son was.
“Okay, guys lets get down to the chase. Basic facts of the case are as follows,” Hirokazu stood by the whiteboard with practised ease and began marking points, “This is a murder case with a single victim. Facts on the victim: Rick Rogers, 54 years old, the owner of SuperFun video games, apparently he used to be the kingpin of video games back in the day. He left a daughter behind, his wife passed early on.”
He then proceeded to show us the photos of the crime scene. A middle-aged man faces down on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding him was shown. In his hand, he held a card, the king of diamonds. On his desk was a queen of hearts.
Ash was puking in a nearby trash can as Lily held his back as he did. Well, it was his first time seeing a dead body after all, even if it is just a photo. I have to see them since I was in a doctor’s family who were very progressive and Hirokazu’s done this plenty of times. Lily is just weird, so there’s that.
“I have a couple of suspects here and just take a look at the files I’ll pass,” He got up and passed around a few files, ” Here are the details of the suspects.”
They were the right-hand man, the secretary and a partner. All of them have a motive, but something always comes up like the alibi that makes them seem innocent.
The right-hand man, a young guy who doesn’t look half bad on interrogation tells he was dating the boss’ daughter and was the reason for their fight. If he gains the victim’s approval, he would inherit everything as the daughter’s husband. He seemed honest at first glance and seemed very willing to help with the investigation. His alibi seems airtight and he was the first to discover the body. He was the last person to search for him, but he had an alibi during the time of death.
The secretary was alone for long periods and the boss was known to be a person who often harasses her. She complained plenty times, but no action was taken against him. However, she had no strong means and the depth of the wound on the body seems deep, so quite a lot of force only possible by men. So she’s eliminated for sure. But the chances of her doing it by accident or spontaneously still stands if the evidence comes up, as humans are capable of great feats if threatened.
Lastly the partner, he was in a tricky situation as the boss wanted to call off their partnership and do they go separate ways. This foreshadowed a huge loss for him if it proceeds and he was most likely to replace him as boss as well if the partnership continued. He sounds like the victim so there’s the chance of him impersonating him and making it seem like he’s alive even if he wasn’t to solidify his alibi.
The dead guy was a card addict and a well-known nerd about it and loved to gamble. His bloodstream had a slight presence of sedatives and that seems suspicious. Further information would be given by the coroner, who they need to meet for more details as the autopsy wasn’t completed.
After a while, Hirokazu spoke up.
” I have a feeling that it’s the– “
“Secretary right? She had a lot of opportunities to commit the crime!” Ash interjected.
Hirokazu shook his head.
“While she did have the opportunity, she had a pretty strong alibi with the camera’s on her 24/7 and the camera footage was not tampered with.”
Luca looked up from the files to continue what Hirokazu was about to say.
“You were gonna say the right-hand dude, right? He’s got a lot on the line and he has admitted to dating that guy’s kid too. This could be a reason for committing the crime. Is there any message between the father-daughter duo that can incriminate him? Like how he threatened her or anything or if he tried to force the victim to accept it with despicable means? Plus that guy died holding that card which was based on the history of Julius Caesar and as a card addict, he was bound to know the history and we all know how that happened. Plus, he had the best opportunity of being the first to discover the body… He could’ve just stabbed the probably unconscious guy while everyone went out?”
Everyone just stared at Luca with astonishment at his reasoning.
“Um… Yeah, exactly what I was going to say, but the stuff after the card thing never came to me… Wow, you’re good! Nah, I have to ask the tech team for help on the message thing.”
Hirokazu was impressed and he just found Luca more and more amazing. Looks like he made the perfect decision to make this team.
“Okay, so I’ll collect some damning evidence on him by going through his and everyone’s computer, phone and anything electronic! I am a hundred times better than your puny tech team.”
Lily was pumped and she had a look that made me never make her mad ever. I feel bad for the poor soul who does.
“I’ll talk to all the employees and the family of the deceased and see if there’s anything that seems fishy!”
Ash looks much livelier now that he’s done puking his guts out. This sort of job does suit him since he has a glib tongue.
“Then Luca and I will go take a look at the crime scene and body once. Hey, Luca you good with dead bodies?”
Hirokazu stood up straighter and headed towards Luca as he spoke.
“Dude, I’m going to be a future doctor and I have seen autopsies before because of that. So duh, I’m okay!”
Luca smiled at him and stood up. He was excited for the first time in a long time and the last time he felt like this… It was a really long time ago.
The four friends looked more excited than ever and Ash had the bright idea of doing a group thing like a fist bump or something and promptly got laughed at by Lily.
“Oh my goodness! You are so cute for trying to do that! Okay, fine, I’ll stop laughing so stop glaring at me. We can do your silly fist bump.”
Cue an awkward fist bump that ended up with all four of them laughing.
“Okay, we have gotta make a better group thing than this lame fist bump. But first this case! Bye guys and see y’all at 6!”
Hirokazu yelled at the two and dragged Luca away to the crime scene.
Interesting! 4 young detectives, like the scooby squad xD
Thanks for the chapter <3