Return Of The Dragon

Chapter 21

Once Daichi and Hiro had taken care of Justin's body, the team of four rendezvoused at a different safehouse. Kei didn't think the old one was safe anymore for Belle.

"Thank you for keeping this out of the public eye, Hiro. If the public knew Justin was murdered, our case might become compromised."

"Yes," said Hiro. "It was the least I could do. I'm so sorry you had to see that, Suzu."

Bele looked up at Daichi, who was offering her a cup of tea.

Kei frowned. He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Take that away and bring her a beer."

Belle looked at him gratefully.

"Normally I have a rule about no alcohol on a case, but . . . "

Belle interrupted Kei. "Beer-Brewski me," she said.

 Kei tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

Hiro sighed. "You may as well 'Beer-Brewski' me, too."

Daichi brought out some cold Asahi beers.

"Do you want one too?" asked Kei.

"No, I will stick to no alcohol while on the job."

"Suit yourself," said Belle, taking a long, drawn-out swig.

Kei watched her. Her lips, embracing the bottleneck stirred . . . feelings  in him.

Belle removed the bottle from between her lips with a pop. "Aaah, that was . . . refreshing."

Yes, it was, thought Kei. He cleared his throat. "Anyway."

Suzu blinked innocently.

So cute !!!  he thought. He said, "Your report."

Daichi looked at Hiro. "Will you do the honors?"

"Gladly." She rolled up to a whiteboard she had set up.

"Do you own a whiteboard factory?" said Kei.

"Ooh, aren't you snarky. I have a stack of them in the police van, actually."

Kei smirked as if to say, Of course you do.

Everyone looked at the whiteboard. Hiro explained that she and Daichi had investigated every child molester Suzu had helped put behind bars. Some were still in prison, and Hiro explained that she used informers to make sure they weren't using criminal connections outside. No one, not even the families of those men, had any ties to anything related to the case: except one.

"We thought we had him," said Hiro. "He worked for Tsujikura in Kyoto. They make umbrellas – Japanese umbrellas. I thought we cracked the case. But when we showed up at their business, all they did was talk Daichi into buying umbrellas. We dropped a pretty penny, but Daichi thought it would bring us good luck."

"You are on a first-name basis, Hiro-chan?" asked Suzu.

Daichi cleared his throat. "Anyway. These are Bangasa, meaning they are waterproof." He passed out colorful umbrellas. A black one for Kei. A pink one for Suzu. Hiro's was blue.

"This is coming out of your paycheck," said Kei.

"Oof. Let's make a deal," said Daichi, admiring his umbrella, which was white rimmed with bright red all the way around. "If we crack the case, you pay. If we don't - I will."

Kei finished his beer. "I feel like we are missing a crucial piece of information. It's almost like we are back to square one, even after all this investigating."

A look of something that looked like pain flashed across Belle's face, but not before Kei saw it. He thought about asking if she was okay, but knew he needed to pretend he never saw it. Instead, he asked, "Did we notify Justin's family?"

"We tried but he didn't have any," said Daichi.

Brrrrrr

Belle leapt up. "It's . . . it's my work." She ran into the other room.

Kei noticed that her phone was still in her purse. He saw it sticking out. No one else noticed.

It was her headphones that had rang. Her U headphones, which were not wired for calls. He opened his mouth to tell the others, but quickly closed it.

"Daichi, get us some dinner."

"Right away."

TO BE CONTINUED 

Author's note: "Beer-Brewski me" is a line from the Barbie movie. I thought it was too funny not to incorporate somehow! And here is the link to the Tsujikura umbrella website. Most of them are NOT waterproof and don't even really keep the sun off that well. But who cares? They are stunning.

https://www.kyoto-tsujikura.com/en/