Officer Ken Nakamura walked up to the shrine to offer his prayers and to seek guidance. He was in civilian clothing, this time; he was technically off-duty, and should be meeting Miyuki in a half-hour, but this was more important. He needed clarity, and he knew he could find it here.
It was not a good time to be a Saotome, it seemed. Ranma and Akane Saotome had apparently divorced five days ago; others had said he was in a fight later on, had walked away on his own power, then disappeared. No charges had been filed; however, his mother was planning on filing a missing person's report once other arrangements were finished.
Three days later, his father, Genma, died of poisoning. A Ms. Kodachi Kunou had been taken in for questioning after the evidence pointed to her; the alibi, however, was secure. To make matters worse, the whole thing smacked of a frame; Kodachi was clearly disturbed, but clever; he doubted that she would have been stupid enough to leave a calling card at a murder.
Considering Kodachi's background and the relationships involved, this left three prime suspects: Akane Tendo, Shan Pu and Ukyou Kuonji. If any one alone had been in this case without the others, they'd be detained for questioning: all saw the world in their own way, all had a penchant for violence - and all had method, motive and opportunity.
Akane Tendo seemed genuinely concerned about Genma's death; however, her view regarding Ranma's disappearance raised alarms in his head. He simply didn't care that he was gone. She expected him to be camping out somewhere, then going to one of the 'other' girls within a week. Kasumi and Nabiki's testimony, as well as the testimony of the other women, told more in regard to Ranma's relationship with the four women; it seemed that Ranma was remarkably faithful, but Nabiki was clearly hiding something.
As for Ranma's curse... he'd believe it when he saw it.
Shan Pu was a curious story. She and her great-grandmother... their answers to questions would have sent him running for backup, if it weren't for their candidness about their abilities and the nuances of their 'laws'. Like Akane, they were similarly confident that Ranma was alive, and would return soon enough. As for Genma's death, they admitted being capable of it, but that they had no motive to murder. When he mentioned about a possible movement by Genma to block Ranma's possible coupling with Shampoo, Khu Lon scoffed; she said that such an order would have ordered Nodoka's death, not Genma's, as a man's opinion didn't matter.
Ukyou, however, raised the most hackles on his neck, because her reactions didn't match the others. She was genuinely charming, for one. For another, she was genuinely concerned about Ranma's disappearance. She said she didn't feel sorry upon hearing of Genma's death, because of their history - but was it motive enough to kill a person?
So, he had three suspects, all of whom should probably be locked up - but only one (or maybe two) had killed. And he had to find out which one.
Which was why he was here. He'd come here in his youth, and had come to know the people who currently resided here. He needed spiritual guidance in this case, and Belldandy's presence alone could bring clarity to this cloud. Moreover, it seemed that Nabiki Tendo also knew of this place; he'd spotted her walking away from the dojo, and followed her here.
Swallowing, he walked to the door of the main building. By instinct, he stopped before knocking, then heard a familiar name. Even stranger was hearing a soft feminine voice reply to the name.
Ranma.
He knocked on the door in a heartbeat. It seemed that the truth was about to get stranger.
See other episodes by Nightelf
(Posted Tue, 24 Dec 2002 07:06)
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