April 16th

[coquettishflame]

‘Tell Mick at the entrance you’re here to see Ryo-chan, and he’ll let you in.
I’ll be on the second level. ♥’

- Hiraga

That was the note Ryoko Hiraga of the Okachi City Police Department had left with Gregory yesterday. She’d met up with him briefly to arrange a more ‘formal’ meeting. The police would be in contact with him eventually… They’d said that at the scene of the crime on the 13th of April. It was now the 15th, and they’d been true to their word. The detective had asked Greg to meet her at ‘The White Lotus’, a club in the heart of Okachi known for it’s less than stellar reputation. While it looked rather classy, the patrons generally didn’t match the décor and it was the epicenter of some highly unpleasant things.

The club consisted of two levels. The main floor had a massive bar, and an even larger dance floor (a small stage for a DJ or live band was slightly north of that). This was where most people hung out, either on the floor or seated at small tables scattered through out the club. Then there was a flight of stairs leading up to the more lounge-y second floor. Private booths lined the walls, and there were several private rooms as well. The music wasn’t quite as loud up here, but the hum of it was decidedly still audible.

Ryoko was on the second level, tucked away in her own little booth. Her messy red hair was tied back into a short pony tail, and her work clothes were a tid bit ruffled. Rather than wearing the suit jacket that went with her dress pants, she chose a dark, dark blue leather jacket (it didn’t exactly match her tie and white button up, but hey).

“Mirror, mirror, huh…?” The detective remarked to herself quietly, inhaling deeply on her cigarette in thought. One hand lifted to adjust her glasses as she exhaled a puff of smoke. “What’s this city comin’ to?” Her ‘date’ would be there any second!

Comments

[americandiplomacy]

Wasn't it a little unprofessional to litter what looked like a business letter with little hearts? Greg turned the note over in his hands, looking as annoyed and/or bored as usual, while walking toward the bar that this detective had told him to meet her at. More of a club, but eh... Greg asked around and heard this place had a bad rep. Would they even let him in? Something told him no, even if he'd been given a code word or whatever this was. Either way he was there, so it was time to see! Why did it have to be him who was the only witness, again? Blugh.

"Uhh..." In front of the bar was a large man, one that looked like he could snap the boy in half on a whim, and that wasn't comforting in the slightest. Was this 'Mick'? Gregory hoped so, while he pulled at his tie and spoke. "I'm, uhm... I'm here to see Ryo-chan?" The boy was regarded with a stern gaze and no words; he was pretty sure they weren't going to let him in until the (terrifyingly silent) man stepped to the side and then gestured in. "Uh, thanks. Thank you..." He rushed in, not wanting to see or potentially delay the scary bouncer from whatever it is he did. Look scary, it seemed.

The inside seemed typical enough, though not particularly busy because it wasn't quite evening time yet. That made the stairway leading up easy to find, and Greg hurried on to his destination for fear of getting caught and yelled at for being inside a club at his age. Searching through the second level was a little annoying, if only because everything was private and walled off (what did people use these booths for, exactly?) but eventually he came upon an... Oddly dressed woman who matched the small description he'd been given.

Unfortunately, he didn't really know her name, past the note. It was odd calling someone that when he'd just met them, but eh. "Uhh... Ryo-chan?"

[coquettishflame]

“Ahh, you must be G-kun! Hey there, darlin',” Oh, jeez, talk about an informal personality. Was this person really a detective?! She took another long drag from her cigarette and then politely butt it out on a tray on the table. One long dress-pant clad leg folded over the other and then she smiled to Gregory. “Take a seat, take a seat. My partner should be here shortly, I gave him the same card I gave you.” With the heart and everything. “Ever been in the White Lotus? Probably not, huh?” The music from down below was a steady hum in their ears, laced with the occasional throb of the bass.

“I assume you know what we're going to be questionin' you about?” Ryoko cast a quick glance about the upper level of the club. Hopefully her partner would arrive soon!

[youngsleuth]

Why a grown woman would call a teenage boy to a club like this was beyond him. The man would look visibly annoyed if he could show any other sort of emotion on his face other than serious. The detective somehow maneuvered his way through the crowd - some being scantily clad women trying to get the foreigner to sit at their table - & found his partner along with the boy in a booth. It wasn't too hard to pick the woman out, not with that hair color anyway.

"I apologize for being late," he spoke in Japanese, sitting down next to Ryoko after removing his jacket. When his eyes settled on the American Gregory in front of him he switched languages, figuring it'd be easier for the boy. "You must be Gregory. I'm Detective Wallace, it is nice to meet you." Even during the introduction the man held a single, serious face.

[americandiplomacy]

"Uhhh, hi." Greg took a seat in the booth across from the female detective, taking another look at the card in his hands and then tucking it away with a quiet sigh. "No, uh, I've never been here before. I'm underage, so..." Oh, she had a partner. That was probably for the best, because the boy felt really awkward being in a private booth with a woman who looked considerably older than him. It just looked... Scandalous! Or something. Urrgh.

On that note, her fellow officer was quick to arrive and Greg's hunched shoulders came down just a bit with that. Whew. Did this 'Ryo-chan' know English? The teenage boy certainly hoped so while he responded in kind. "[Yeah, I'm Gregory Harman. I've never done anything like this before, so...]"

[coquettishflame]

“Oho, you made it, Detective! I was worried you'd get lost~.” She wiggled her fingers in a cheerful wave, then dropped her hand to the table to drum her fingers against the wood. She had a notepad out, and a pencil in her opposite hand which she was now twirling between her fingers – seemed like Ryoko had a hard time keeping still! The red-head peered between the two over the top of her glasses. “I hope you don't mind if I stick to Japanese? My accent in English is kinda laughable, ya'know?”

She did seem to understand them, though, so that was a good sign! “It's no big deal, Gregory~. Detective Wallace and I are just gonna be askin' some questions. You're the only witness, and you were in Endo-san's class. Hehehe, I thought maybe you'd leave town before we'd get to question you!” Yep, what a formal woman.

[youngsleuth]

Sometimes having a partner like Ryoko was a bit frustrating & Testament wondered how he ended up getting assigned with the woman, but as a professional he decided to make the best of it. Even if that meant going to a place like this. He will definitely have to talk to her about it later though.

Having no qualms with the switch of language, he began speaking Japanese once more. "It's not a problem Hiiraga-san." It was probably for the best anyway. He sat straight in his seat & observed Greg for a moment before speaking again. "As my partner has said, we're going to be asking you some questions about that day so just try to answer them as best as you can." From his vest's pocket he produced a small, worn notepad. Within the spiral binding was a pencil that he pulled out, ready to take notes.

[americandiplomacy]

"Why would I leave town..?" Was he a suspect, now? Well, Greg had figured he was one from the start, but to come right out and say it like that was... Weird, to say the least. He immediately felt a hundred times more uncomfortable, though, and shifted in his seat with an awkward and slight frown. "Sure, I guess. I really just walked in and... There it was, I don't know what kind of questions you could have." Now he wanted to be anywhere but here! Ugh.

[coquettishflame]

Ryoko just kept right on smiling. She looked like the type that never really dropped the lazy grin, honestly! “just makin' sure, you know, G-kun.” On this particular case, she'd been asked to leave the majority of the questioning to her partner (something about him being her senior, knowing more about homicide and this sort of... thing. Ryoko was a rookie, after all), but she figured something simple to start them off couldn't be so bad! “How well did you know Hikari Endo?” She glanced to Testament for approval, raising her brows.

((let's play good cop bad cop YEAAAA))

[youngsleuth]

The other detective gave her an approving nod as he started to write some things in his notepad. He decided to let Greg answer Ryoko's starting question before he made any comments himself so he decided to just watch the boy quietly, making sure to study his behavior & such as he spoke. As a detective for a good amount of years he knew that paying attention to body language was a huge key to interrogating people.

[americandiplomacy]

Greg still looked a little uneasy, no doubt thanks to the strange introduction. He tried to compose himself for the first question, though, and sat up a little straighter. Hadn't the cop at school asked him this..? They were probably looking for discrepancies, or something. "Well, I really... Didn't. She was in my classroom, but I only just arrived in Japan a month or two ago. I don't really know anyone too well, except one or two people." It was nice to talk in English, mostly because it meant less 'um' and 'uh' while he tried to figure words out. "So I'd seen her before, maybe a few times? That's all, never talked to her."

[coquettishflame]

Ryoko, at least, seemed to be taking the questioning part seriously. While she was a very casual person, she was also a detective, after all! A rookie, sure, but still a detective! “Mm, okay, darlin', sure.” Her partner seemed to be keeping an eye on the boy, and taking notes, so she went ahead and hit Gregory with another question. “You had an awful lot of blood on you, reportedly. Her blood, ya'know? Why'ssat?” Blink blink. “Would y'all mind if I ordered a drink..” Okay so that was a little unprofessional...

[youngsleuth]

He let Ryoko take the lead with the questions for now, since rookies had to learn somehow. Though if they weren't going anywhere, he'd take over. When she asked if she could drink though...

"No," Testament answered sternly in Japanese. "You are on duty. You can drink afterwards." This was why he didn't want the interview to occur here, of all places. The detective rubbed his forehead, slightly annoyed that his partner would even ask. He slid a glass of water that one of the waitresses brought over in front of her.

[americandiplomacy]

"Oh, well..." Greg actually had some trouble explaining this one when the lady at the scene had asked him the same. Changing his story would obviously be a terrible idea, so he just said the same thing he had then... Even if it was a flimsy excuse and a little weird. "I almost fainted. I was really surprised, so... I've never seen a dead body before." Telling them that he had climbed up onto the sink for apparently no reason would've sounded worse than that, he figured. The boy cocked an eyebrow at her request for a drink, though it dropped back down with the other man's denial. Eeek... Now there was some tension. "Uhmmm..."

[coquettishflame]

During Greg’s little explanation Testament had to leave – it appeared he was being called away… A more important case, perhaps? That left the rookie Ryoko to work on this one until she heard otherwise! That also meant Ryoko was alone with Gregory right now, scrambling to finish her notes on what he’d said. “Right. I’m gonna order that drink now, y’mind? Want one- No, wait, you’re.. heh. Ahh, forget I said that, huh?” The woman ordered herself a whiskey on the rocks, and then lit another cigarette.

“Didjya take any photos or anythin’? We can’t have you uploadin’ shit to the internet, and I know kids these days…”

[americandiplomacy]

Greg might've been worse than her partner, honestly, if only because despite a slight nervous look to him he remained line-faced and not very reactive to her sort-of joking. "Uh..." He switched back to Japanese, now that Testament was gone, feeling it might be rude if he didn't. "No, I don't mind. And... I will." He scratched at his cheek, still not sure what to think of this woman, and ordered himself a cherry soda while she was getting her alcohol.

"People.. Take pictures?" He wasn't an incredibly convincing liar, but the boy was hoping his face would help with that. "I, uh... Wasn't thinking about anything like that at the time, that'd be crazy."