To Hold a Dove

For Memories Sake

Chapter Twenty-One:

For Memories Sake

SHINARA POV

Shinara was still worried about Kaito. It had been an hour since the attack and he had yet to even move. Still, she didn't let that stop her from searching the mansion from top to bottom. Hakuba decided to search outside and around the mansion. Harley took the downstairs and Shinara took it upon herself to begin searching the attic.

Pulling on the drawstring that brought down a staircase, she slowly began to climb, taking each step slowly as she shined her flashlight above her into the darkness. Down below, Toyama watched her with concern. He wasn't going very far from the office in case they needed him, but he was also worried about the detectives each going alone into different areas of the house. He had come for fun to ghost hunt, not to become a part of a hunt for a possible murderer.

Shinara looked around the stuffy attic. Cobwebs and dust covered every inch of the area and it made her want to sneeze. Knowing it was probably not a good idea to breathe in all that dust, she tore another strip from her skirt and tied it around her mouth and nose. Carefully stepping further inside, she noticed at the far back of the attic, past the old furniture that was carefully covered, there was a chest. Kneeling in front of it after making one more sweep of the room behind her with her flashlight, she opened it up. Inside were many different things. There was a dress with a small box of jewelry beside it along with a pair of shoes. On top of the clothes was another box which held a whole bunch of what looked to be family pictures. Blowing off the dust from the clear lid, she set them aside to look through later. Peering inside again, she noticed something that caught her eye. It was a stack of letters. She grabbed the bundle and placed them with the box of photos as she closed the lid and started back down the stairs. 'Perhaps' she thought to herself, 'this might hold a clue.'

HAKUBA POV

Hakuba looked around outside the mansion. He was standing in front of the area leading to the second story master bedroom window. He didn't see anything that immediately stood out to him, but he did notice that the flowers down below seemed more wilted than the rest of the flowers on the other sides of the house. Snapping a picture with his cell phone, he glanced up at the window. He was about to go back inside when he noticed the window of the library was cracked open. He stared at it, watching for any sign of movement, but he didn't see anything. Perhaps Kudo had opened it earlier? He wondered to himself. He snapped a picture with his cell phone again of the window and started back inside. He needed to check that out before anything else.

HARLEY POV

Harley looked around the first floor area. The kitchen was clean with no sign of entry since Kaito had gone to get water. The first floor bathroom and closet were also empty. The living room and dining room were creepier than she wanted to admit, with the pictures practically looking at her as she searched, but she couldn't find anything pointing to an intruder. She stopped however when she noticed the rug at the far end of the living room was folded over slightly. Getting down and lifting it, she noticed the dust had been recently disturbed as well. She was just about to turn and call the others when a shadow fell across her as she turned around and screamed.

TOYAMA POV

I checked over the head wound on Kuroba again. It was still bleeding, but not as badly as it had been. The gash was pretty deep and he honestly needed medical attention as soon as possible, but for the moment he knew there wasn't much more that could be done. He had already treated the boy's wrists and ankles that had been cut into by the ropes he was found bound in. As for his condition, the shock had yet to wear off. Toyama hoped it did soon. He knew for a fact that the longer one was in a state of shock, the harder and more improbable it was that one would come out of it. Toyama was just about to sit down for a bit when a scream caught his attention.