Cases Uncovered

17 | Who's Who

"Courage is a word that gives you the strength to do what's right, you should not use it as an excuse to murder someone."

- Ran Mouri 

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Chapter 17:
Who's Who?

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ZANE

Whenever someone passes by, I can do nothing but feign a casual hangout in front of the unit, with no other apparent intentions.

Before long, the sky darkened gradually. The air grew hotter, a probable sign that heavy rain was imminent.

"Raine, where are you?" I whispered to myself, forcing a smile as I noticed the curious gazes of those around me.

"Sorry. Had a little trouble," I heard Raine's voice in my right ear through the earpiece she gave me. I detected a note of urgency in her tone, as if she were catching her breath.

"Where did you go now? What are you thinking?"

"Never mind, just had a little issue," she replied. "Have you gone inside yet? The person here hasn't left the telenovela yet. I can still hear the TV on."

"Not yet. I'm waiting for you," I replied, though truthfully, I didn't really feel like going out right now.

"You've been there all this time?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Just come in. Knock."

"Fine!" I sighed. With no other option, I approached the door.

I'll definitely sleep later after this!

I approached the front of the flat I had been observing earlier and knocked once. There was no response.

"Call out if there's anyone," she instructed me. "And just repeat what I say to keep everything smooth."

"Anyone home?" I knocked again and finally a voice from inside responded.

"Hello? Who's there?" Opening the van buren painted door in front of me was a woman probably of the same age as Raine.

Her slanted eyes stood out against her red fitted t-shirt and wide-legged black trousers. The black beret she wore before was nowhere to be seen.

"Raine de Verra," Raine spoke through my earpiece.

Was she sure? Really?

"What are you doing here?" the woman repeated.

I was about to respond when suddenly, a drop of water from the sky caught my attention, accompanied by the sound of rain gathering momentum.

"Uh, R-Raine de Verra," I replied hesitantly. "Can I... Can I come in?"

"Yeah! It's going to rain," she said softly.

Before the rain fully descended, I finally entered the flat, noticing its slight differences from ours — both in arrangement and wall colours.

"Take a seat first," she gestured towards her square-shaped sofa on the left side of the living room. I complied and sat down on the long sofa adjacent to where she had seated herself.

"So, Raine, what brings you here?" she asked me, taking the remote and switching off the television.

"Raine?" I whispered to my companion whom I couldn't locate. "What should I say?"