Adventure in the World of Crimes

3.21 Discoveries and Chaos in a Funeral

"No, I mean, yes! Jeremy deserves a high portion of the wealth, you've been with Mr. Koto for a long time, had taken care of him, and had been his hands and feet so you deserve everything. That's what we are talking about."

Reign followed her speech, or might as well call, an excuse, with an awkward, nervous laugh. She felt a kick on her leg coming from the manager who was smiling, or frowning, she couldn't tell, at her.

"Stop it, hehe, it's not funny." She whispered without opening her mouth further than a smile.

The bodyguard raised his brows and stared at them for a while before shrugging it off and proceeding to walk towards the long, brown wooden table and put the brown envelope on it.

"If you may excuse us for a moment, Miss Williams, I have to talk to your manager privately regarding our shares." He said in a low voice, Reign didn't know but she felt like something had changed to this man.

"Yes, of course." She replied, stepping down the stool and took her bag on the bar counter. She glanced at the manager who seemed to be alarmed to be left alone with the man they were talking about who possibly murdered the old man or the suspect for the whole Mafia fiasco, but Reign looked at her meaningly, "I'll just be outside if you'll look for me, or if anything happens."

"Nothing will happen, Miss Flora, but please do assist Karen and Geoff to come here directly once they arrived," Jeremy spoke again, now looking at her and done taking out five papers on the table. "You may go out."

Reign glanced at her manager once more and saw her nodded. She walked out of the room without saying anything more, she saw from her peripheral vision the intent look Jeremy was giving her but she didn't meet it, she just knew something had changed on him, and she didn't understand why the1y had to discuss about this sharing of wealth now in Mr. Koto's funeral when they had all the days at least after his burial to do that thing.

Now that she was kicked out of the place, she had nothing else to go and was once again back at the prying, lustful eyes of these old men who were still enjoying their time, possibly reunion too, at the dead man's house. She messaged Martin, though still a little hesitant from what she had known from the manager, and remembering now that she was right because the familiar scent that she smelled upon entering the old man's room, was his perfume. It was indeed odd that his perfume was already spread inside the room when it was only his first time entering the room.

She told her about what Jeremy had said to make him go straight to the kitchen and also tell Photographer Geoff about it. After sending the message, she went upstairs by the Grand Staircase, clutching her dress close to herself to make sure she was safe. Since she had nothing to do and certainly did not want to socialize, might as well see what she could have discovered in the wide house of the man, she just hoped he wouldn't choose to show to her and tell her who killed him, might as well find it out herself than that.

She took first the left hallway, there were a lot of photos hanging on the wall like she was in some sort of museum since it was all arts and painting from different painters, she inferred that the old man was a fan of arts especially Japanese arts. There were also doors that she was tempted to check, but upon turning the knob, it was locked. She tried every door, which when she counted were five decoratively carved wooden doors, but she was unfortunate that no one there was open.

She gave up on that side and walked to the other hallway, where she felt like she would know more about Mr. Koto and his family upon seeing the chain of frames but not with paintings anymore but their family picture, starting from the very beginning where Mr. Koto and his wife were married to being pregnant where one picture was Mr. Koto was seen holding his wife's baby bump, and as Reign walked forward, it was like the pictures were also moving forward to present.

Sana Koto was indeed a beauty, with her pointed nose, thin lips, bright, alluring eyes, fair skin, and bubbly personality basing on how the picture depicted her huge smile and funny poses with her father, she was certainly beautiful, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen so far though the pictures were a little too old and of lower quality compared to now. Her heart ached when the next picture she was in front of was the picture of Mr. Koto with a coffin, and he was holding his daughter's picture which was hanging on the last before the only door, a different one from the other as it was a patio sliding door which looked like those of Japanese house, on that side of the hallway.

As much as she didn't want to try again to check if the door was open because she was sure the door was closed, however, she couldn't keep her eyes off of the door as if it felt like there was a force pulling her to open it, which she did, twirling the handle slowly and surprisingly moved and eventually opened.

She looked to her left to see if someone was there, when there was none, she walked in the dark, smelled old room, and closed the door on her back as silently as she could. She opened her flashlight, looking for the switch of the light which she found on the wall just beside the door. When she switched it on, she had to cover her eyes using her arm by the sudden bright light and had to adjust for a moment before finally looking around the well-cleaned, violet walled, and pretty, or too girly for her own liking, good room.

By the polaroids still intact on the threads on the wall above her bed's headboard which was made as a design, it was Sana Koto's room.

She walked towards them, noticing that there were notes written by a pentel pen under each polaroid. It was all about herself and her memories with her family and friends,

'My siblings by heart!' one polaroid captioned with the four vloggers. They all have their face close to each other.

'Sister with a high dream.' another one captioned with Freya's face smiling in the picture while holding a camera.

'Taking a photo of each other.' it was a photo of a young Photographer Geoff, smiling while his eyes were covered with the camera because they were taking a picture of each other.

What complicated her was the last picture with Jeremy who was then too young in the picture but Sana was still younger, but the caption was not written in English but which seemed like a Nihongo, and a red pentel pen.

She took a picture of it and planned to make Dale translate it as she went over her room more, to her study table specifically where there were a lot of books and notebooks displayed there. She took one of her diaries, a violet-designed notebook with her name prettily written on it in a large font.

"I'm sorry, Miss Koto, this is for all of the victim's peace and justice." She mumbled as she skimmed the diary. She was once again impressed at her writing, seemed like this woman was indeed an angel for being perfect in all aspect that her penmanship was impressive.

She looked at the second to the last entry she had made, dated at the 29th of December of thirteen years ago. It was about her excitement of receiving the invitation telling her about the winning of the Rising Star Award, the narration of her moving to the hotel with her father sending him, and the fights with him about her relationship with Geoff.

She flipped the last page, and it made her gravely confused, as it was once again short writing written in the Japanese language. She huffed, "Why do you have to make this hard, Sana?"

She took a picture of it again and send them instantly to Dale, deciding that was enough knowledge for the night. She was about to turn off her phone when it suddenly showed Martin's number, and her ringtone of 'Hello', echoed in the whole room.

"Hello?"

"Where are you, Flora?" Martin asked hastily, his voice sounded panicked.

Reign raised her brow upon hearing the noise in the background, it was only murmured but was loud because almost everyone was whispering, she flinched and even heard Martin cursed when they heard glasses broke, she started walking towards the switch to turn it off then silently went out of the room, curious at the noise

"What's happening, Martin? I'm upstairs."

"Get down here fast, the four were starting to kill each other." He said before he ended the call, and that was enough for Reign to dash down the stairs where she saw the visitors looking at one side instead of the main reason why they were there which was Mr. Koto who looked lonely on the other side.

"Excuse me." She said as she got past every person who was obstructing the way.

She saw Martin and the other three vloggers smacking the door to let them in and stop whatever was happening there but it was locked and no one was making them in. They heard another glass breaking and screams coming from what they think was Geoff, and Reign knew she had to step in.

"Flora, you're here-"

"Give me your clip, Syndey." She demanded, not paying attention to Martin and pushing the three to the side of the door as she took the confused Syndey's hairclip on her hair.

She crouched down in front of the knob, slipping the clip on the hole, and tried pressing something, she saw Sean practicing lockpicking with Laura before, the woman as his timer, she tried it once with them but Sean's record of thirty seconds was so impossibly for anyone to break, but she still succeeded on opening the lock though, like five minutes after.

She heard a click after not stopping on poking, she stood up and twirled the knob, and successfully, it opened. Reign looked at the four,

"I'll try to knock some senses to these disrespectful older people, go send the visitors home first." She said before she slipped inside and closed the door.

But what welcomed her was the flying knife flying towards her.

"Flora!"