Please Remember Me

Chapter 37

America P.O.V

I had spent the rest of the day trying to figure out who out of the twelve suspects could be the killer. It couldn't be any of them. My first suspect would be North Korea since he was the only one with a possible motive but it can't be him since he didn't have the hoodie.

Actually, now that I mention it, none of them had the hoodie. They didn't have any metal bat, the weapon that the killer used, either. UN and his team had checked each of their houses and those items was nowhere to be found. They most likely had an accomplice who they gave the items to for hiding.

The problem is thinking of who. The killer, I can narrow it down to twelve people. Their accomplice could be anybody on this entire planet. It could be someone I like, it could be someone I hate, it could be someone I don't know. I could even be a suspect in someone else's eyes.

Dinner is usually a time where I just chit-chat with my family, eat good food and overall just have a good time. Today was just quiet. I can't have casual conversations when one of my friends could be dead by now. I think I heard Maple telling mom and dad about our investigation but I wasn't really paying attention.

When I finished eating, I went straight back to my room. I drew out so many mind maps and lists. Practically a quarter of the pages in my notebook were filled with messy cancellations of my ideas on who the killer could be.

I thought and thought. It could be that person, yet it can't be that person. Nothing seemed to add up. It can't be North Korea, I've already explained why countless times. But at the same time, it can't be the others either because although they could've been the one who took the hoodie, they have no motive.

But that can't be right. It has to be one of them, that's a fact.

My eyelids were closing on me but I can't fall asleep. I need to figure this out as soon as I can-

I opened my eyes. I was resting my head on my desk, sunlight coming through the window. Damn it, I fell asleep after all. All those precious hours wasted...

Oh, whatever. At least my brain has energy to think now.

I looked at the notes I had written last night. Thankfully, I hadn't drooled on it and ruined everything I worked on. I read it and it didn't take me long to realise it didn't make sense. Again.

I sighed. I am probably going down the same road that UN did. I would find that everything didn't add up and there would be contradictions everywhere and then, I would give up. Except now, giving up is not an option. It never was. The truth can be dug up, no matter how deep the killer and their accomplice buried it.

Come on, America, think. At this rate, you'll end up with the same conclusion as UN, that it can't be solved. You know it's not true. You can't come to the same conclusion as him.

Speaking of 'same', I suddenly recall what South Korea told me. 'If you want to figure out who this killer is, you need to find something UN didn't'.

Something UN didn't know? All the suspects have already told me everything they know or at least claim to know. I've found everything I can find, I know everything that UN knows. How am I supposed to find something new when there's nothing left to be discovered?

Maybe there's something I already know that UN doesn't?

But that can't be true. I didn't know anything about any of the suspects before this except Japan. Japan was an extrovert so everybody knew everything about her. Almost everything. The only thing I know about her which nobody else does is that she used to have a crush on me. She told me not to tell anyone since she felt embarrassed so I didn't. Besides, it's not like her having a crush on me had anything with do with this case. It's not like it gives her a motiv-