The Archives 
Episode 3: Family Circle
Written by: Apeman (zeni316@y...)
Genre: psychological thriller/mystery
Apeman's Comment: ……
Yk2's Comment: UWAH! Shin-chan's a girl!!! O_o! But I really like 
this episode! It's real good =)My favorite. A must read!!!!!1

"I hate snow,"
The weather keeps getting worse and worse in this city.  The soft 
snow was accumulating all over the ground and all over me.  My shades 
were getting soaked, and I was freezing my butt off.  I took a breath 
from my cigarette.
"Remember how yellow snow was disgusting when we were little kids?" 
my best friend, Kohta asked.  "Red snow's worse."
"Looks like suicide," I muttered.  "Took the easy way out."
"I don't know, Takeo.  It looks like she got beat up before pulling 
the trigger,"
"Hh." I took another puff from my cigarette and flicked some of the 
ash off.  "Let's head back."
The victim was identified as Shinya, a young college girl who is 
reported to have been living alone, but it seems that someone had 
been with her during the final moments of her life.  I hate cases 
like this.  What are we supposed to solve for and how?
"She looked cute," Kohta said, staring at Shinya's school 
picture.  "I wonder why she did it,"
"Hh.  Something's up here." I mumbled.  "She got very high grades in 
school and had many friends.  She was also in a relationship with a 
boy named Kaoru."
"I'll check on him,"
"Go for it, Kohta." I lit another cigarette.  "I'll inform the 
family."
+++++
The house was nothing less than a mansion.  It was amazing, the 
structure and size.  It looked beautiful in the snow.
"Hh."
I knocked on the door, and an elderly house cleaner answered.  She 
led me to the lounge, where Shinya's parents were having an intense 
argument.  The father seemed very drunk.
"Excuse me," I muttered.  "But your daughter is dead."
They stopped for a moment, and my ears began to burn with 
embarrassment.  That had to be the worst way to break the news.
+++++
"Jelly- filled,"
Kohta told me that the boyfriend, Kaoru, was devastated to hear the 
news and put all of the blame on the family.  Kohta also said that 
the boy was clean; he was studying to become a doctor.
"By the way," Kohta said while chewing.  "The gun used is registered 
to Shinya's father."
+++++
I went back to the mansion to console the family.  I also informed 
them that the gun used was registered to Shinya's father, who was 
drunk the whole time I was there.  The mother began to cry, while the 
father belched.  Shinya's brother, Die, looked very nervous.
Outside, I kept looking at the size of the house.  I lit another 
cigarette and began to smoke.  Another snowfall began.  I threw my 
cigarette on the ground, as Die came out of the house, looking 
frightened.  I smiled and grabbed him.
"You know something, don't you?" I asked, clutching his jacket.  "You 
better tell me `cause this is your own sister we're talking about, 
and we want to know what happened.  Why would she kill herself?"
I frightened him.  I was surprised because he was the athletic type 
who could have taken me down easily.
"She…she…was pregnant!" he whimpered, and I let go.
"Who's the father?"
"D-d-Daddy," he muttered, as I looked back at the massive building 
Shinya once called home.
+++++
"It's cold,"
Months had passed, and the case was closed.  Weeks after Die told me 
what had happened, the trial took place, and both Kaoru and Die 
testified against Shinya's father.  Both claimed that Shinya's father 
was an abusive drunk, who sometimes beat and molested his own 
children.  Die told a sickening story that I will never forget about 
the time he was forced to have sex with Shinya under the orders and 
supervision of his father.  Die would have been brutally murdered if 
he did not follow orders.
I shook my head and took a breath from my cigarette.  I began to talk 
to Kohta, and we both walked under the police lines to head back to 
the precinct.  I hate my job.
~OWARI~