InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Closing the Case ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: Hey everyone. I've gotten a few reviews asking about some of the terms that have been used in the story. Sodomized:1) To subject to an act of sodomy, especially forcibly. 2) Practice anal sex upon. … Umm, yeah. If that isn't clear enough, feel free to e-mail me and I'll be happy to explain it more in depth… not pun intented.

Closing the Case

Chapter 4

The two detectives walked down the hallway of the plush apartment building. The floor was covered in clean red carpet and the walls were a soft cream. Inuyasha could not help but snort at the extravagance, knowing his yearly salary probably would not cover even the first month's rent. A side-glance at his partner told him that the dark-haired detective was no happier about their surroundings.

One thing that they had learned on the job was that the more money people had, the more obnoxious they became. For some reason they felt they were more entitled to justice then their poorer counterparts and that their cases deserved more priority. More then once this tendency had lead to suits against the precinct and some of the officers for gross incompetence. Still, they had a job to do.

Miroku pushed the up button on the elevator and they waited. The doors binged open and out stepped Shippou and Max. The young detective raised his eyes from his dog to his superiors, a slight scowl on his face.

"I'm not helpless you know. I can talk to one lady about a couple of missing kids without you two looking over my shoulder."

"Feh! Like we have nothing better to do then harass you." Inuyasha snapped.

"We came to confirm the ID of a victim of our homicide case." Miroku replied calmly. Shippou scowled.

"Let me guess, his name is Tony Hillard." Shippou asked flatly.

"Yeah." Miroku replied. Shippou sighed and patted his dog on the head.

"Looks like we lose out to homicide, boy." Inuyasha took the file from his hand and rubbed the young redhead on the head like he too was a dog.

"Don't worry runt, we'll let you do the paperwork."

"Pardon me if I don't jump for joy." Shippou huffed indignantly, straightening his hair. Inuyasha chuckled as they passed him and stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and the lift moved up; the soft notes of the elevator music humming around them.

"I guess you'd like me to do the talking as per usual." Miroku stated calmly as he pulled the Polaroid of the unidentified victim from his coat pocket. Inuyasha grunted non-communicatively. "Something on your mind, Yash?" The white-haired detective shrugged.

"This case just feels funny, too many weird occurrences." Miroku nodded his agreement.

"We'll solve this, Yash. It'll come together in the end."

"I don't think I could live with myself if we didn't." Silence stretched between them for a long moment. "Miroku? What do you think the odds of Souta being a homicide victim are?" Miroku looked up towards the ceiling of the elevator, watching the slowly rising numbers as they climbed higher in the building.

"As good - or bad, as anyone else I guess. Why?" Inuyasha shrugged.

"Just a thought." The elevator binged and the doors slid open. Miroku stuffed the Polaroid back into his pocket as they stepped out into the brightly-lit hallway. They walked down the hall until they reached the door with the number 2469 in gold letters. Calmly, Miroku knocked. A moment later a slightly older woman answered. She looked like she had been crying.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Doris Hillard?"

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Miroku Priest and this is my partner Inuyasha West. We'd like a moment of your time, if we could?"

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I just gave my statement to the detective who was here a moment ago. Kitsunebi or something like that."

"Yes ma'am, we know. We met him getting off the elevator. But we're from homicide."

"Homicide?" She repeated, stepping back to allow them entrance. Mrs. Hillard closed the door behind them before leading them into a plush living room. They took the seats offered to them, but declined the drinks. Once they were settled, Miroku took the Polaroid from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

"Ma'am, is this your son?" With shaking hands the woman reached out and took the picture. She brought it close to her face as if she was misreading a word in a book and needed confirmation. Slowly, a tear rolled from her eye and she nodded. Miroku stood and moved to her side, carefully taking the picture from her hand and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Inuyasha stood and moved away from the scene. Miroku could handle the woman, but the whole thing made him uncomfortable. Calmly he took in the room, hoping to find something that might help the case. The apartment was decorated in cream and beige, with hints of gold. The furniture was all made of rich cherry wood and mahogany. The hardwood floor was covered in a beautiful Persian rug and a stylish display case filled with expensive porcelain dolls stood against the wall. Inuyasha could practically smell the money in the room. He heard Miroku offer the woman a card for the precinct's psychologist/grief councilor, Kagura Gale, and knew it was time to go. They exited the house and headed back to the elevator.

"How'd she take it?" Inuyasha asked disinterestedly.

"As well as can be expected." Miroku answered with the same enthusiasm, "Sad really. A few minutes before we arrived her son was missing, now she knows that he's been dead for almost 24 hours."

"But a missing person has to be missing for 24 hours before it can be reported. Maybe that should be changed; it is the most critical period of a kidnapping."

"Maybe, but then every time a teenager misses curfew we'd have to search the city. Besides, it wouldn't have changed things this time." Miroku answered, Inuyasha snorted.

"Miroku, did you catch the décor of that place?"

"What about it?"

"Any piece in there could have covered both our monthly salaries several times over." Inuyasha huffed in distaste.

"Sucks, don't it." Miroku chuckled, "Some people have more money then necessary while the rest of us scrounge for scraps. You thinking ransom?"

"No, and that's what bothers me. It's like this Tony kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the… damage was done to Souta's body."

"Killer ran out of steam." Miroku suggested with a shrug.

"Then why clean the bodies afterward?"

"I don't know." The dark-haired detective looked at his watch, "Look, it's getting late, I need to get home to Kanna and you to Kagome. Let's go file things away and call it a night." The elevator binged and they got off.

"How is your niece doing anyway?"

"Better. Not great, but better. It's not easy for a four-year-old go through what she did. But I think getting back into a normal life with school and all is helping."

"I told you that psychologist was cracked. Keep her home and have her home-schooled my ass."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are all-knowing and I should always submit to your superior intellect."

"I knew you would catch on eventually."

"Fuck you, Yash."

&&&

Sango yawned as she walked into her apartment. It was small and sparsely furnished, but it was the best she could afford on her salary and still provide her brother with all he needed. Both their parents had jobs that were always taking them to different places, around the country and the world. Sango had never attended the same school twice, and usually two or three in the same year. She had volunteered to take in her little brother in order to keep him from the same turbulent childhood.

"Kohaku, I'm home." She called into the house, but got no answer. Shrugging, she walked back towards his room, figuring he was engrossed in a video game. At the end of the hallway she knocked lightly before pushing the door open slightly. The room was dark, not even the TV was on. Sango pushed the door the rest of the way and flipped on the lights. "Kohaku?"

The room was empty. Blinking in surprise she went to check the rest of the house. He was not in the living room, the bathroom, or her room. She was just starting to get worried when she found a note on the kitchen counter.

Hey San,

We need some milk and bread. Ran down to the corner store to get them. Be back in a few.

Kohaku.

She turned the note over to see if there was a time written anywhere. Finding none, she sighed and made a mental note to remind him about his note writing skills. For all she knew this note could be a week old. With a shake of her head she turned to the refrigerator, then changed her mind and picked up the phone to order pizza.

Miroku had ordered a full autopsy and then some on both bodies. The work had kept her up all last night, but under the special circumstances she understood. Now all she wanted to do was kick back, have dinner with her younger brother, and get a good night's sleep.

Sango hung up the phone and crashed in the living room to wait. Picking up the remote, she flipped on the TV and searched for something good to watch.

&&&

Inuyasha stuck his key in the lock and opened his front door. It was already pretty late, the sun had set over an hour ago and his stomach was demanding food. He did not bother to turn on any lights, expecting Kagome was already asleep. He was greeted however with the soft glow and hum of the TV in the dark apartment.

Following the light and noise he found Kagome curled up on the couch with a TV dinner on the coffee table in front of her. Her eyes were glazed as she watched some cheap sci-fi movie with a giant crocodile. The large afghan his mother had given him was tucked around her and pulled up to her chin. As he entered she turned to look at him.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No. Every time I closed my eyes I could see him lying there." Inuyasha moved to the couch and sat down near her feet. Kagome turned around without getting up and placed her head on his leg. Calmly, he ran his hand through her hair and listened to her soft sigh of contentment.

"You need sleep. Let me get some dinner, then we'll go to bed."

"Ok… Stay like this a little longer?"

"I can do that."