***
“You two are lucky to not be in a hospital, these guys look like they meant business. So what were you doing here anyways?”
All the members of Tsuchiyama’s crew had been rounded up and were escorted to the parking lot of the school, with Noda and Eiichi being escorted along by officers as well, but not in zip ties. Police cruisers had been waiting at the front, already with flashing reds and blues reflecting off the building’s exterior. The only other two vehicles in the parking lot, a mini-van and a getaway car, had all of their doors open, with officers looking through them. On the pavement nearby there could be seen at least twenty well priced hard drives, and roughly a dozen LCD monitors.
Noda and Eiichi had been pulled aside for questioning by an officer.
Noda spoke up, “We were walking by when we heard some noises and thought we’d check it out. These guys were moving a bunch of stuff around when they noticed us and chased us down.”
Eiichi eyed Noda as she made her explanation, ‘Asako, you’re more devious than I took you for.’
The officer continued sternly, “You’re lucky your curiosity didn’t get you killed, you know trespassing on campus is against school policy…though you did aid in an investigation…” he had to nod admittedly to the pavement while adjusting his cap, “these guys have been going around doing this on multiple campuses.”
“What were they stealing?” Noda asked.
“Office equipment, chemicals, supplies. Probably just lookin’ to make a quick buck. Have to say, I’m impressed, they were pretty good at maintaining a low profile and even knew how to shut down the camera systems. They didn’t even wear masks and managed to obtain different uniforms for each school to pose as students.”
‘Tsuchiyama may be a coward, but he’s still a pretty good con man.’
“I swear, criminals these days are getting younger and younger. Well, if that’s all you two have for me, you can go. But I’m gonna’ let you off with a warning, next time be smart and walk the other way.”
“Thank you very much, it won’t happen again.”
The two bowed earnestly to the officer and turned to leave. On their way out, Eiichi noticed Tsuchiyama being escorted to a cruiser and decided to give him his best wishes.
“Hey Tsuchiyama, don’t drop the soap!”
They walked out of the school’s parking lot and on to a dark street, headed downtown. Both were trying to let the shock of the situation wear off. Eiichi walked at his usual smooth gait, hands in his jean pockets with the thumbs hooked out, while Noda walked calmly, hands in the pockets of her jacket.
“That was pretty smooth, playing the scared girlfriend role. You did most of the talking back there,” Eiichi said.
“Well I wasn’t about to tell them we were there to bust those guys, they might’ve slapped the cuffs on us.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, where was my text alerting me someone was coming?”
“After you left I decided against it and called the police as soon as I saw them sneaking up on you.”
“Uh-huh, and what exactly did you say to them?”
“Exactly what I told the officer, we were being chased.”
Eiichi gave this pause. “...You allowed yourself to get caught!?”
“That Tsuchiyama guy already had someone looking for me. And you needed me there as your vouch, or we wouldn’t be walking right now.”
“That’s what all that screaming was about? You faker!” he blurted.
Noda responded with a wink and sticking her tongue out.
That must have been why she was so nervous. She had a plan in case things didn’t go well.
Eiichi continued, “You’re lucky the cops answered so quickly. They must have been pretty excited about making that bust, even if it was just a bunch of teenagers.”
“No, you just stalled them long enough.” Then Noda was suddenly flooded with excitement again. “Which reminds me, that was amazing how you handled that situation! Getting Okanaya angry with Tsuchiyama, pitting them against each other, it messed up their whole arrangement! It was like something right out of a crime drama! How did you know all that about them?”
‘To be honest, I was mostly winging it.’
“Intuition...you pick up a lot from hanging around certain places, and word travels fast in some crowds.”
“Wow...you really are a delinquent,” Noda mused.
“Shut up, or I just might rob you.”
Noda stopped in the middle of her chuckling. “Ah man, I almost forgot!”
“What’s that?”
She brought her phone out and began pecking on it. “It’s a hidden camera I got a few months back, I thought it would be perfect for this. I went back to the spot during my club meetings and planted it in the dumpster nearby.”
‘When she said she stayed after because of her clubs, she was only half lying. She’s still nervous that something might happen to it.’
Eiichi frowned. “Going back to the same spot without someone wasn’t a very smart decision.”
“I did it in case things went horribly south, but I guess the footage is no good anymore.”
He couldn’t believe how simple she was being about all this. “They did! And what does a camera girl need a hidden camera for!?”
“I thought it might come in handy one day. Looks like I was right.”
Eiichi sighed. “Sheesh, you’re pretty into that surveillance stuff.”
“Come on, let’s check out the video,” Noda said, already stopping and holding the phone out.
“And you’re only proving me right with that.”
The video feed started with a close up of Noda’s palm as she turned on the device and adjusted it. Then it removed itself to reveal her analytical expression in the evening sunlight as she looked from the camera to her phone, probably checking the visibility. Then with a delighted smirk at her useful little gadget, she stood and left the view, and the only thing that could be seen was the back door to the computer science building.
Noda tapped the screen of her phone and pulled the toggle to fast forward.
In the image, dusk quickly turned to night and the outside fluorescent lights came on. Sure enough, a few minutes after, the group of thieves appeared at the back door. One of them proceeded by unlocking it and they all went inside. They probably carried the equipment out the front, because after some fast forwarding, they were not seen again for a while. The time on the screen read twenty minutes after eleven, and then Eiichi’s hooded figure appeared from the left and into the light. It was soon joined with other figures and the dialog picked up from there.
As the voices on the screen played out, Eiichi felt Noda teeming with absolute passion and excitement right next to him, as she stared with gaping mouth and eyes.
“Wow...our first bust...” she muttered.
“I don’t know where you were going with that, but I don’t like the sound of it.” Eiichi continued walking.
Noda rushed to catch up. “Come on, it’s okay to give yourself a pat on the back!”
“Let’s just go home.”
Eiichi P.I., Vol. 1 Page 9