The Four Leaf Murderer

Chapter 13

"Komaeda, tell me, did you know about Mikan Tsumiki?" I asked as I called him by his name to sound more confident.

"Oh, Mikan! yes, I know her." He said innocently.

"And how was your relationship with Miss. Tsumiki?"

"I guess you could say that she is a friend of mine, I know her from High school, even thought we stopped talking for a while, we have met again about a year ago.
I am quite beholden to her actually, she accepted to treat my broken leg. I was so happy she didn't let me down." He said smiling.

"Why would she let you down? It's her job to heal people." I winced, confused.

"Because she could obviously!" He said laughing hysterically, which made me accidentally take a step back.

"I don't think that is how it works," I murmured before I continued.

"So I can assume It means youre saying don't know about what happenned?" I stated in a questionning tone.

"Don't know about what?" He questioned back.

"Tsumiki had been found dead in her domicile yesterday, we have reasons to believe that her homicide has been orchestrated by a recidivist serial Killer."

"I see… and I can presume this means you are from the police." He sighed.

"Not exactly, I am a private detective, but you can say so if you wish to," I replied.

"How didn't you know about her murder?" Demanded Chiaki.

Komaeda didn't answer, he simply stared at her with a blank but questioning face, waiting for more explications from her, so she continued.

"Not even today every media and newpaper were talking about it, 'a new murder has been committed by a mysterious homicidal maniac' everyone knows about it." She claimed.

"Hmm…Now I see, it is quite embarassing, but I don't watch nor do I read the news for that exact same reason, it is so full of despair that I can't take reading the newspaper, that it is why I haven't been informed about her death, how hopeless." He said sighing in unhappiness before he continued.

"I wish you guys all my luck to find and arrest the awful murderer who is commiting these atrocities, as the symbols of hope you represent I am sure you will succeed." He said fabulating.

'I don't understand a word of what that man is saying.'

"Komaeda, I don't think you understand the reason for our presence here." started Chiaki.
He looked at her and she continued.

"If we are here, it is because YOU are the principal suspect of this murder." She affirmed.

"Me?" He gasped. "There is no way I could have ever killed Mikan."

"Well, for now, you are one of the last people who saw her when she was still alive." Argued Chiaki.

"Do you have any alibi for the morning of the murder?" I asked.

"Well, I was to work that day." He answered.

"I see," I simply replied, as I didn't try to tell him that we already knew he was not working that morning.

"And could you tell me when was the last time you saw her?"

He stopped a minute to think about it, then he answered. "2 days ago, it was so she could remove the plaster from my leg." He replied sincerely.

"And then what?" I continued.

"And then she told me to take a day off and not to go to work that day to let my leg re-adapt with walking." He said and continued. "But I still got back to work the day after."

"How did you got your leg broken?" Questioned Chiaki.

"I fell from my window." He answered with a completely straight face.

'What the hell?!" I yelled internally.

"You-..? How?" I cried.

"Hah..well, It's actually quite embarrassing, but I think I can explain it…

It was in the morning when I got up like usual, I got to do the first thing I do at each morning which is to water the plants who are hanging on my window sill. So I did it, and when I had to water the biggest and heaviest plant pot, it unhooked from the window sill and was about to fall, I managed to catch it on time, but I happened to end up falling with it… and that's how I got my leg broken, but the plant was going fine!"

We Chiaki and I simply stared at him in astonishment, wondering whether or not we should believe that something like this really happened.

"I am being really unlucky these days, I just cannot explain why." He said sighing.

"And you fell?" I repeated to be sure I understood it correctly.

"Yes," He replied, to which followed a moment of awkward silence before I decided to speak again.

"So… let's get back to your alibi if you want," I spoke.

"Is there anything else you need to know about?" Inquired Komaeda

"Yes,"
'Maybe I can catch him on his lie.'

"Can you tell me precisely what were you doing the morning of the murder?"

"Well, I got up, got to work, and I served a bunch of clients before I got home." He resumed.

I breathed in and out before I asked "aren't you forgetting about anything?" I spoke.

There is nothing so dangerous for someone who has something to hide as conversation.

"Well, when I came into the restaurant, I have found Miss, Ava kinda..nervous."

"Can you please, explain to us who is Miss, Ava?" I demanded.

"She is the responsible, and by that, she is also the one who owns the restaurant." He replied.

"She owns it?" I repeated.

"Yes, it's a family heritage, actually she got it from her grandfather." He answered.

"And how did she look nervous?" I continued asking.

"Well, she came pretty early this morning, as her usual, but this time, she seemed to be in a hurry." He replied.

"Were there anything else about her that you noticed?" I inquired.

"I don't think so… but maybe… yes, she left after about 1 hour, she said she had something really important to do."