Previous Post The Murder of Marvellous Marv, Part 6     The Psychic Samurai knocked patiently on the doorway of Hatman’s office, though the door was open.  Though her default expression, vaguely contented yet serious, betrayed little of her feelings, someone who had been as close to her as Hatman noticed that she seemed more disturbed than usual.     Though he didn’t look up for more than a second, she could tell that he was giving her some of his attention.  She closed the office door for privacy.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Have you spoken to the Detectives since they completed their interviews?”  she asked.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Hatman replied plainly.  He then looked up from the paperwork he was reading.  “Why?”     Chiaki sighed, and paced the room in a small circle.  That concerned Jay, as he hadn’t seen her do that since the day they decided to break up.  Something weighed heavily on her mind.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...need to ask them to drop the investigation.”  she whispered, once she stopped walking.     Hatman bit his lip.  He held out an arm, and like she always did, she moved within its range.  He was always secretly amused at how a strong Samurai warrior had such a needy and vulnerable side.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know you like to have your secrets.”  Jay whispered to her as he put one arm around her waist.  “But I need a little more than that if I’m going to convince them.”     Chiaki stood back against his arm and looked right into his eyes.  “I know how Marv died.”       She gently sat partially on the arm of his desk chair, placing the other foot on the floor for balance, and leaned closer to him to whisper, “It was by his own arrogance.  But...there were two of our own indirectly involved.  Though they didn’t even touch Marv, there is bound to be something of a witch hunt if anyone finds out.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“And you can’t tell me who?”  he asked.     The Samurai frowned.  She looked down and whispered, “I would do anything rather than tell you.  It’s not that I don’t trust you, Jay.  I know you’re so honest and trusting, even when it’s dangerous to be.”     Jay nearly gave in to anger and frustration, but those soft brown Asian eyes had their usual calming effect on him, and he couldn’t bear to lose his temper with her.  Plus, as he thought about it...she was probably right.  If he knew, he would be tempted to tell the Detectives and put his faith in their fairness.  He would be torn over it.     Chiaki tried changing the subject.  “I heard about you and Yuki.”  she said.  “Was it breathlessly exciting?”     He turned a little red as he smiled.  Those words prompted a shared secret between the two.  He didn’t reply except to shrug.  “You’re not jealous, are you?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“A little.”  She shrugged too, and gently rubbed the back of his head.  “You really deserve it, though.  Yuki may seem over the top sometimes, but it’s all show.  She really is very sweet, and loyal, and very stable.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Jay replied quietly.  “I guess that’s why I’m not as upset as I should be.  I really thought about it, and of all the women Marv could have used to mess with me, I probably trust her the most.  I’d trust her with my life.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“So what do I tell the Detectives?”  Jay asked, trying to change the subject back.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tell them--”  Chiaki looked upward and thought for a moment.  Then she fixed her gaze on Jay, and said, “Tell them that Marv was killed with stolen magic.  That he opened something he never should have.  The condition of the body will allow them to agree with that much.  Once it’s settled and your mind is freed I’ll tell you the whole story.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  Jay agreed as she stood and returned to her own feet.  “I’m going to trust you.  Please, don’t let me down.”     That was the first time Chiaki smiled fully.  “I never have.”  she promised.     Jay smiled too, and nodded.  There was something about a promise from Chiaki that was reassuring.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you going to spend time with Yuki this evening?”  Chiaki asked.     He shook his head but explained no further.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Watch a DVD with me then?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sure.”  He said with a nod.     Chiaki smiled at him again briefly and then strolled out of the office, happier than when she entered, leaving the door open as it was when she arrived. ---     Baroness Elizabeth Zemo leaned back in a lounger in her home, only half paying attention as Jack Burns and Don Graham attempted to speak to her.  Her left hand was on a tray to the side, and her nails were being carefully manicured by a servant working next to her.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“So you maintain you had nothing to do with Marv’s death?”  Don Graham asked her.     She raised an eyebrow and looked at him impatiently.  “You sure repeat yourselves a lot.”  she said.  “I admit, I took advantage of an unfortunate situation.  I broke no laws, though.  I have a signed contract, and my lawyer says it’s iron clad.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Did you intimidate City Council?”  Jack asked.     Beth Zemo laughed.  “Why don’t you ask them, after they’ve returned from their free all expenses paid vacations to the Caribbean.”     Don Graham frowned.  He already checked that fact out, they were indeed on vacation.  They apparently took the offer to avoid dealing with the fallout of Marv’s death.     Jack then asked, “Do you know who did it?”          Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t really care.”  Beth dismissed his question.  “But if it will get you out of my lounge, I could take a guess.  He’s an idiot, and he has an ego that dwarfs Dark Thugos.  Tell him not to do something, and...voila, instant suicide.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“It sounds like you know an awful lot.”  Jack guessed.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Perhaps.”  Beth agreed with a shrug.  “Maybe it’s just a guess.  Maybe I’ve had surveillance set up at the Mayor’s Mansion for months, and I’m keeping the information secret because there’s nothing to gain.  Or not.  I could just be talking while Franz sneaks up behind you to escort you out.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Right this way, gentlemen.”  Franz said, waving a gloved hand over the heads of the two seated men.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good day.”  Beth bade them, before she laid back and her servant placed a cucumber wrap over her eyes.     A few minutes later, Jack Burns and Don Graham were sitting in their car outside, wondering just how they were railroaded out of of Beth’s palatial home.     But things looked up when Vicky called Jack’s cell phone.  “I think I solved the case.”  Vicky said. ---     Vincent De Soth’s new apartment wasn’t very large, but even as a one-room studio it was many orders bigger than his last home.  Normally it would have been priced out of his range, but there was something to be said for rent control.     The new Occult Bookstore was downstairs.  Same owner, same inventory, same employees.  The only big difference this time, and the one that made Vinnie happier to work there, was that the owner could threaten only his job now, not his home.       And even that was unlikely, because of who the building’s landlord was.  A local Japanese businesswoman named Chiaki Bushido.     While the building itself was clean, it wasn’t luxurious.  And it wasn’t in the best part of town.  But it was secure, it was home, and it was work.     Liu Xi Xian walked into the bookstore and approached Vinnie, who was at his same old desk at the back of the store.  At least he wasn’t under a staircase anymore, and he actually had a small window back there...though it looked into a fenced-in alley.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hi.”  she greeted him quietly.  “Do you still have the Lightning Storm packets?”     Vinnie shuffled around a few things on his desk, and dug through his file drawer.  He looked perplexed as he looked.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good question!”  another female voice blurted out from across the bookstore.     Vicky Cameron stopped at Vinnie’s desk and placed both hands on its edge.  “I wouldn’t have figured it out if I hadn’t seen your magic packets before.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Figured what out?”  Vinnie asked.     The blonde grabbed a few packets out of a jar on Vinnie’s desk.  “They look like condoms.”  she said.  “I took a guess, before we started the Lair Legion interviews...that maybe Marv brought someone into the Mayor’s Mansion.  Or maybe someone who worked for him did.  Someone brought in a girl...and what’s more exciting than getting laid in a forbidden place like that?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t accuse him--”  Liu Xi started to say.     Vicky held up a hand and stopped her.  “Someone you know took a few from you.  Maybe for self-protection, maybe someone who also thought they were condoms.  But that someone stopped to read the packets.  Marv, however, is an arrogant ass who doesn’t read instructions.”     She then looked at Vinnie, and at Liu Xi, to see if the two could figure out where she was headed with this.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Vinnie didn’t do anything.”  Liu Xi supplied.  “I know that for a fact.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  The usual edge in Vicky’s voice was gone, and she spoke softly to sound sympathetic.  “But they are his packets.  And you, Liu Xi, you’re a friend of his.  You have a reason to harass Marv...or at the very least, you know something.  I can tell, because you’re so defensive.”      “Liu Xi didn’t do anything either.”  Vinnie added.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“You don’t sound as sure as Liu Xi.”  Vicky pointed out.     Vinnie started to look a little pale as he glanced at Liu Xi briefly and asked, “Do you have a lawyer I can borrow?”     The blonde detective crossed her arms and paced a little.  “Maybe you should ask why Chiaki isn’t here.”  she said.  “Your Samurai friend wasn’t so worried about my theory.  If she thought I was going to bust you she probably would be here to stop me.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re...not here to bust us?”  Liu Xi asked.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Vicky said with a shake of her head and a smile.  “See, I think Marv’s death was his own fault.  But I can’t just say so and have everyone take my word for it.  I need physical evidence, and a story to go with it.”     The Chinese elementalist looked at Vinnie’s jar of packets.  There were no Lightning Storms.  She looked sheepish as she dug into her jacket pocket, knowing it looked a little incriminating as he produced the two that Kerry returned to her.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re supposed to throw those when you open them.”  Vinnie instructed.  He then turned red as he realized he gave way too much information.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“And that’s the story I needed.”  Vicky said, as she accepted the packets from Liu Xi.  “Except...I’m still not sure why he turned to ash.”     Liu Xi looked at Vinnie, who shrugged.  She shrugged too.  Then she smiled as she realized why Vicky came to visit without her partner or the Commissioner.  “Your partner and Don Graham don’t agree with your theory, do they?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“They aren’t convinced.”  Vicky admitted with a roll of her eyes.  “I’m always right though.  Their loss.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Maybe it’s some deal Marv made for more power.”  Vinnie suggested.  “The turning to ash thing, I mean.  Of course, there’s no way to prove it now.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yah, it happened while he was in the morgue.”  Vicky noted, “So it’s not really part of the investigation.  I was just curious.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Am I...going to be asked a lot more questions?”  Liu Xi asked.     Vicky shook her head slowly.  “No.  No, I think I know why you’re keeping the rest to yourself,”  she said.  “You’ve got a naughty friend who doesn’t want to get in trouble.  Naughty, but not dangerous.”     The Chinese girl said nothing, but her silence was answer enough.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well--”  Vicky gently slapped the plastic bag with the two packets against her palm as she looked down at them.  “I have a story to pitch to my boss.”  With a quick smile, she turned and left the bookstore.  The wind chime attached to the door clanged noisily as she went.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m speechless.”  Liu Xi whispered as she watched the blonde leave.  “I didn’t think we could trust her.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Vinnie replied.  “Me neither.”     She then turned her attention to Vinnie again.  “So tell me about you and Kerry.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.  Umm--”  he began. ---     Ã¢â‚¬Å“You think Vicky really solved the case?”  Don Graham asked Jack Burns as they drove to pick up Vicky outside Vinnie De Soth’s occult bookstore.  They were driving quickly, since it wasn’t the kind of neighborhood to leave Vicky standing around outside for long.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Probably.”  Jack asked in a borderline sarcastic manner.     Graham was driving.  He glanced at Jack sideways for a moment as he asked, “How is it going, having a young female partner?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“What does that mean?”  Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at Don suspiciously.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nothing.”  Don quickly retracted.  But then he added, “It’s just that I had a mid-life crisis thing once.  I know what it’s like.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Ah, that’s what you mean.”  Jack leaned back in his seat and chuckled.  “Even if I do have a mid-life crisis thing, Vicky’s not the type I’d be attracted to.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh?”  Don asked, clearly curious by now.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Honestly, she’s a little too...smart for my tastes.  Don’t get me wrong, I married a woman as smart as I am, maybe a bit more.  But Vicky...she’s so smart.  I don’t think I can handle a girl who’s always right about everything.”     Don shook his head and laughed.  “Sounds like my daughter,”  he said.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Besides, I’m more into Asians now anyhow.”  Jack pointed out.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Asians?”  Don asked him.  “That way too young Chinese girl?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, no!”  Jack denied quickly.  “Not her, I mean Chiaki.  She’s smart, but not excessively like Vicky.  She also has...a style about her, she creates an atmosphere around herself.  Being around her is like entering another world.”     He looked at Don then and asked, “What about you?  Haven’t you been lonely for a long time?”     Don shrugged.  “I took myself off the market a long time ago.  That blonde who visits the Lair Legion is kind of interesting, though.  To talk to, I mean.  Seems like she always has a good story to tell.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“There she is.”  Jack pointed out Vicky waiting in front of the bookstore.     Graham pulled over next to the curb, and Vicky climbed into the back.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Looks like we need something else to do tomorrow.”  Vicky said quickly.  “We should have dinner to celebrate.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nah, I gotta get home.”  Jack said.  “I promised the wife I’d be home at a decent time tonight.  I hoped this case wouldn’t be so difficult.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“So I saved your butt tonight, didn’t I?”  Vicky excitedly claimed.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, I guess you did.”  he replied.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“How about you, Commish?”  Vicky asked.     Don smiled cryptically.  “I’ve been wanting to have a drink with an old friend.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh well.”  Vicky shrugged.  “I guess I still have lunch with Hatman to look forward to.” TO BE CONTINUED? -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2009 by Jason Froikin, and may not be  --    reprinted without permission.   -- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow --  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin --  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

Nobody in this story is really an agent of the truth, are they?  They all seem content to know it probably wasn't intentional, and don't want to know the details beyond that.  Less problems, certainly, but I'm not sure it's the most admirable traits in a police force.

Still, all's well that ends well, and it was an entertaining ride.  I'll be curious to see where everything goes from here, both with the romantic entanglements and political repercussions.