-.-

Just a Word

'for those that want to change'

Just a Word © Iland Girl

Death Note © Tsugumi Ohba

Chapter 4

'Play Dirty'

"Tell me again why you and Officer Loud were outside of Martha Pennytone's home late last night."

I narrowed my eyes into slits at the man across from me. He was making me wish I had a saw so I could work my way out of the handcuffs they locked me in. After trying (and failing) to escape several times they had handcuffed me in the interrogation room.

"Look we don't have time for this! Somebody killed Martha and they're still at large. If we don't get to that SUV I'll bet you it'll be gone." I said, yanking on the cuffs for good measure. There wasn't even an inkling in my head as to what was going on, but I wasn't going to let a bunch of whackos beat me to my only lead. The interrogator narrowed his eyes back at me, looking every bit as unimpressed and tired as I was feeling.

"Ms. Dolinsky, Martha committed suicide. Both her wrists were severed and the weapon used for it was a steak knife and it only has her finger prints on it." The officer said. I huffed, exhausted of trying to convince this guy he was wrong.

"But you don't get it! She didn't want to die!"

"Ms. Dolinsky, please understand the situation you've put yourself and Mr. Loud in." The officer stated. I paused, eyeing the officer before the rusty cogs in my head started to turn. What did he mean, situation? Did he think I was lying? Or maybe he believed my attitude was because I was caught?

"Ms. Dolinsky, you have been named a suspect of the murder of Martha Pennytone. Officer Loud is on suspension until further notice." The interrogator said. I froze, not able to understand his words completely.

"What kind of bullshit is this? He's an officer who stayed on protocol the entire time! He tried to save her! More than you sorry asses can say!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the table. The officer didn't even bat an eye at me.

"Trespassing, breaking and entering, yes these really do sound like sticking to protocol," the officer said in a lazy voice. I narrowed my eyes and bit my tongue to keep from digging my grave any deeper. "Now why don't we go over what happened one more time and then we can take a break, okay?"

I didn't move for a solid five minutes before he finally sighed and stood up. He dropped the file he'd been writing in down in front of me and gave me a look that said he too was done with this.

"I'm going for coffee, and when I get back we're having this discussion, or it's going to look real bad if you don't want to give your statement to the cops." He said in a low voice. I glared right back at him as he made his way to the door. It slammed shut, and I waited for the sound of a 'click', but none came. Looking over to the folder I saw a paper clip sticking out of it. They had confiscated my tool kit and so I had to make do with the malleable metal.

Five minutes later I slipped out the handcuffs and out the door. I walked down the hall and acted as natural as possible. The front door was within view but a certain officer caught my eye. I changed my course and started to speed walk up to the black haired man. My hand caught his shoulder and he stopped to see who was there. When he saw me his face went from curious to annoyance.

"Oh joy, it's you." Officer Loud said with all the happiness of a grinch.

"Something's going on and you know it," I said without hesitation. Loud raised a brow before turning to leave but I pulled him back. "I know we're not close but I really don't have anyone else to ask."

Stephen looked down the hall before pulling me to the side.

"Look, you're right, but I can't do anything right now. Okay? Chief's got me working double time to keep me preoccupied." Stephen said. I frowned up at him.

"Why? Didn't L give you the task of babysitting me?" I asked. Stephen shrugged.

"Didn't you know? L solved his case yesterday. He left, Watari's gone too." He said. I paused at that. They were gone? Dammit! They were the only reason I could work on this case. I scrunched up my nose and furrowed my brow. What was I going to do now? Just drop it? I was technically a suspect and now there was an investigation.

"Then I'll do it alone." I said before going to turn. This time Stephen grabbed my shoulder and turned me back.

"Look, I can't do much, but I'll keep an eye out over on this end, and if you need anything….." He pulled my cellphone out of his pocket and I grinned. Somebody knew I'd find him. "I put my cell number in there."

"Thanks Stephen, I'll keep you updated." I said before hearing what could only be described as a bull in a china shop running down the halls. Without a second word I ran out the door and took off down the street.

"When you said you were with a guy I thought you meant you were banging, not holed up at the police station." Casey muttered as she drove down the street. I had asked her to pick me up when I realized just how far we lived from it.

"Yeah well I wasn't expecting having to be at the station, y'know?" I said as I inclined the seat more.

"Well whatever, you're missing classes Miss 'I'm too good for studying'." Said the brunette with a tone that held slight envy. I rolled my eyes though and ignored the comment. I did study, very hard actually. And because I studied so hard throughout the entire semester I was able to not throw myself into a panic now. However I also noticed her lack of mentioning Marv. Instead of saying anything though I let myself settle back until we arrived home.

When we did I went straight to my room to think. I bit my lip and thumb so hard I started to pull skin off of it as I sat on my bed and tried to organize my thoughts. However that didn't seem to be working and all I manage to do was accidentally bite my tongue and wish I could keep moving.

So I got up and grabbed a bunch of flashcards I hadn't used yet, as well as a pen, and wrote down all the names of the victims that I could remember. I wrote down Yan's Automotive on another, and Motif on another with a huge question mark. My last few were SUV, suicide, and money.

I had a huge cork board with photos in the room, mementos, and other knickknacks attached to it. I yanked all of them down just for the pins. I put Yan's Automotive in the centre of my now spacious white wall. I spread out all the other things and then found string and attached it to all the objects that correlated.

Yan's Automotive rented out an SUV and that individual later died. Right before their death they wired transferred all their funds to an unknown account. Each death appeared like a suicide though at least one I was very suspicious of.

So what connection was I missing? Let's say that Yan's automotive was taking their money and these people were pre-selected to be murdered. Why? What was so impressive about them? If they were in fact doing this then was there a criteria?

Even if they were choosing these people, why the SUV? Was it just whoever used the SUV? Was it really that random? It wouldn't be too strange I suppose, considering the logic some serial killers used to kill.

"Sky! Come grab some pizza!" Casey called. I grumbled a little, but after not being able to recall the last proper meal I had eaten I decided food wasn't such a bad idea. So I looked away from my destruction of my wall and left the room.

As soon as I made it to the hall the smell off food wafted to my nostrils. My mouth watered and I began to imagine to pungent aroma to be the gates of heaven as I made my way into the living room. Casey sat with a glass of white wine in an ice glass and deluxe pizza splayed out in front of her.

I couldn't even be embarrassed at the salivation coming from my mouth as I marched right up to the pizza and stole three slices before annihilating all of them. It was only five minutes before all three were gone and I reached for a fourth. At this point I usually had to fight with Marv for that piece, but noted he wasn't currently around.

"Hey, where's Marv?" I asked. Casey's mood instantly soured.

"We had a fight." Was all she said.

"Oh…" I reached for that fourth slice and started devouring. It was quiet for a moment before Casey spoke.

"He was talking all about how I need to get a better job and if we're going to live here together we need to start spending nights over and not acting like we're teenagers. Which I get y'know? But it's getting so real so fast and I mean we've dated for a long time but this is real intense you know? Like what would you do?"

I grumbled and gulped down the rest of my pizza.

"Don't get me involved, I'm staying out of this one." I said before leaning back to relax. Casey made a noise indicating she was about to whine.

"Skyyyyyy!"

"Nope! I'm Switzerland! I'm not going to take on any conflict between the t-" I paused.

Switzerland…

"Holy shit, that was it!" I shouted before jumping up. Casey looked shocked at me before I turned and grinned at her. "Casey I've got it now!"

"Uh, sure….. Nice talk." Was all I heard before I had slammed my bedroom door and dived for my cellphone. I rung the dial for the police department quickly before holding it to my ear in expectation. A gulp slid down my throat a few times before finally hearing the other line come off of hold.

"Calirfornia State Police. Is this an emergency or can you please h-"

"This is an emergency! I need to speak with Chief Marks immediately!" I ushered. The woman on the other end didn't sound very impressed with me but asked me to hold. I started chewing my thumb nail in anticipation until finally I heard the Chief pick up.

"Chief Marks-"

"Chief sir, I have something very important to tell you pertaining to the-"

"Is this Dolinsky? Dammit you have a lot of nerve to call here."

"No sir you don't understand! I figured it out-"

"Dolinsky if I see you anywhere near Yan's or this station I'll have you arrested." The Chief said before slamming the phone on me. I growled out in frustration before dialing Loud's number. He opened his phone to say hello but I beat him to the punch.

"Stephen I need your help! I figured out the case and I know why they've been killing everyone! It's not random! It's all preplanned and-"

"Whoa whoa slow down there! Okay I take it you've got some good news but you'll have to come down to the station and tell me. I can't leave and Chief is glaring at me." Stephen said with a slightly nervous tone at the end. Dammit, if I couldn't get Stephen and I also couldn't get the police. If I went down to the police station, or called again, I would likely be locked up or found.

Found...

"Alright, but I need you to stay next to the Chief and keep your phone on." I said before hanging up. I searched around my room, pulling my bed out of the way before reaching into the vent that was hidden below it. Inside was a tiny slim orange cellphone that I flipped open and turned on. A gulp slipped down my throat again before I turned to the door.

"Welcome to Yan's Automotive, how may I help you?" The man behind the reception asked without stopping his typing on the computer in front of him. I stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights before nodding to myself and leaning against the counter.

"I was looking to rent a vehicle, and I was told this was the best place." I said in a softer tone. The man raised a brow at me but otherwise said nothing.

"Alright... Were you after any sort of vehicle in particular?" He asked. I gulped before teasing my bottom lip.

"Y-Yeah, an SUV... In fact th-there's one I heard about from a friend that was great." I said like a small mouse. The man slowed in his typing to give me a weird look.

"Oh? Has your friend been here before?" He asked. I shook my head.

"N-No, but her boyfriend was. They said an SUV would suit me well." I said in a sort of nervous, squeaky voice. The man smiled politely at me then.

"Alright, which vehicle style were you interested in? We can start the paperwork once you know." He said. I bit my lip again before nodding almost to myself.

"Th-The SUV. I-I think this was the license plate." I said, pulling out a small ripped corner of paper from my pocket. The man eyed it before looking to me with a different expression.

"Come with me." He said before standing and walking briskly to the back. I had to almost jog to keep up with the tall man. My hand instinctively went to my pocket to be sure my phone was still there. Was I actually getting in? We walked for a short while before he stopped in front of a door that looked like it lead to the furnace room. I hesitated and looked up to him like a scared doe.

"The Boss will meet with you inside."

I hesitantly made my way in there, jumping like a scared mouse when the door slammed behind me. The room really was the furnace room and was ridiculously hot. The further I walked in, however, the more I could see that the place was quite large. There was another door close to the back, and as I got closer I noticed someone sitting inside.

Gently, I knocked on the door. The woman looked up and smiled at me before saying something. A man appeared and opened the door for me. I nodded nervously to him before looking to the older woman. She motioned for me to sit across from her, which I did.

"Hello my dear, what brings you in today?" She asked in an almost motherly tone. I took in a shaky breath before looking at her then quickly to the paper in front of her.

"I-I w-was looking for a r-rental... A-and I was told this was the place to-"

She cut me off.

"Come now dear, you're safe to speak the truth here." She said. I gulped nervously before nodding. My eyes started to well up and I rapidly wiped at them.

"I'm done. I-I don't... C-Can you help me?" I asked in a near hopeful tone. The woman smiled, and had I been the terrified rabbit I wouldn't have notice to the twist in her otherwise charming smile.

"Don't you worry, I'll help you just fine," she said in a tone that said otherwise. "But first there is something you should see." Confused, I watched as she turned her computer screen to face me and felt my blood turn cold.

There was video of me and Loud breaking into the SUV. I turned to try and play it off, but a heavy object hit the back of my head and I hit the table a second later.

I woke with the most unimaginable headache.

It'd been a while since I had physically been attacked and while you definitely don't get used to to it, there was definitely a mental tolerance that once stood there. Now, however, I felt like a weak pansy girl, which was exactly what I had been going for earlier. When my eyes finally decided to look around and focus on the room I was quite happy to note that I was not chained to a wall, but I was handcuffed. I was, however, locked in a room. It was the main furnace room and was ridiculously hot. Already I was caked in sweat and soot from being in the filthy place. There was only one door and no windows from what I could see.

Feeling around, I realized that my coat, shoes, and purse were all gone. I was left in my jeans, a baggy T-shirt, and my socks. Making sure I didn't see any cameras, I discreetly felt along my bra for my second phone. I curled in on myself and flipped it open, happy to know they hadn't found it. I discreetly put Stephen on speed dial before tucking it into my waist line under my baggy shirt.

The door slammed open a moment later and I actually did jump from the sudden intrusion. The man and woman from earlier stood in front of me. The woman smiling a wicked smile that was definitely not discreet anymore. I abandoned my charade when I noticed the Driver's License in her hand. She definitely knew who I was now.

"Of all the people who have figured out what we were doing none of them had been stupid enough to actually walk in our front doors." The woman said. I shrugged, scratching my belly and pressing call on my phone. It was a bold move, but considering they probably thought I was thoroughly searched I doubt they would think too hard on it, which they didn't.

"What can I say? I'm pretty straight forward." I said before shifting to get more comfortable. The woman narrowed her dark eyes at me and I felt slightly intimidated; though I didn't show it.

"What did you think was going to happen? We would gladly offer you a suicide tag and send you off? Do you have any idea of the level of screening required in this job? We don't just take anyone." The woman said.

"Right, you just prey on the depressed and outcast. You offer them a way out and all you take as payment is their entire savings," I said with an eye roll. "What I don't understand is where you came up with such an ludicrous idea."

The woman gave me a greasy smile that sent a shiver up my spine. She adjusted her glasses before straightening her back a little further.

"So you solved it. That's right, we do…. Help people pass on. Many people who would be rejected by suicide clinics often choose us as assisted suicide experts. You see I once worked at Dignitas, and as I stood in that clinic I realized all the unsifted potential such a line of work could have. Of course we don't do it for a small price." She finished coyly. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"For such a shady line of work I'm sure you've done a lot to cover up the murders of the people who wished to decline their order too." I said slowly. The woman chuckled lightly and nodded to the larger man. He nodded back before leaving. My brow furrowed, but my eyes stayed locked onto the woman.

"Ah, you must be talking about that fellow from a few days ago. Yes he declined our services but never gave full payment and, well…" She turned to see the man return, this time with a gun in his hand. My heart skipped a beat but I never moved a muscle. She loaded it in front of me with a single bullet before smiling. A dark and sickly aura spewing from her. "In this line of work, you need to cut all your loose threads."

Damn, I needed to stall. Think Sky think!

"Killing me isn't the answer. They'll look for a body." I said quickly. The woman paused for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing her eyes, before smiling.

"Darling, you forget, we are the people who have been framing suicides for years." She said in a sickly soothing voice. My eyes widened at this as she cocked the gun. My heart was pounding in my ears and I tried my damnedest not to start screaming. The gravity of the situation catching up to me.

All I could see was the barrel of the gun, not five feet from my face. All I could think was that I fucked up big time and this was the dumbest choice I had ever made. Yet in the tiniest crevice of my mind, past all the fear and terror, past the shiver of death that seemed to be coaxing me, a itsy bitsy voice called out with pride.

I was right.

She began to pull down on the trigger before quickly lifting it and scratching her chin.

"I don't know dear, you don't seem like the type to shoot yourself." She said, more to herself I assumed. All I could focus on was the fact that the metal death contraption was no longer pointed at me.

"If she commits suicide it may raise suspicion of the cops." The man said, the first words he'd said at all. I looked between the two of them as they sized me up. The woman smirked before disappearing. I didn't feel any safer as the man glared down at me. Not a hint of sympathy in his gaze. Meanwhile I was trying to figure out how many minutes it had been since the cops were called. The fact that I was staring down the barrel of a gun had made me forget time itself.

It would take them twenty minutes to get here….. Surely we were almost there…

The woman came back with a large syringe and needle, but it was empty. What on earth was she planning to do with that? The look on her face told me nothing good.

"You definitely aren't the type I'd peg as a suicide, so we'll just have to let you die of… Natural, causes."

I began to try and struggle to my feet when the man walked towards me, but there was nowhere to go in the tiny room.

"No!" I shouted as he grabbed my forearm. With handcuffs on I couldn't punch him like this, and when I tried to knee him in the gut he barely flinched. With the last straw I slammed my head into his and he dropped me. I saw stars and tried my hardest to get back up but the woman slammed her heel into my shoulder. I cried out as the man came from the other side to get me. She stepped on my hair to hold me down as she grabbed my arm. The man stood next to her, hold my arms still for her to find a vein.

An injection to the bloodstream. Filled with air, it would mimic a heart attack. My heartbeat quickened drastically as my thoughts settled in. The woman had her hand on the back of the plunger to slam the air into my vein quickly, but right as she went to do it I moved. I lifted my legs and kicked her syringe. It knocked her hand instead but it still moved the syringe to the side.

Right into the man's neck.

He stiffened before starting to gurgle. It wouldn't be enough damage to kill, but it would slow him down.

Get away get away get away…!

The shock of the attack was enough to make the woman step away and off my hair. I wasted no time in leaping up and towards the door. My massive headache didn't let me get very far very fast though. I barely stumbled out the door before the woman kicked me and I fell out.

"You little bitch!" She shouted. I spun around just in time to see that very same loaded gun in her hand. At the same time I had hit the ground did my phone slide out of my pants. It slid across the floor and made a very obvious sound. The woman saw it and stared with wide eyes. She looked back to me and I knew, I knew she had no reason to keep me alive anymore. She raised the gun to my head.

One shot.

One bullet.

Miss miss miss!

"Die!"

BANG!

Well, that was a long one...

Hello all. I finally figured out how this story was going to end. Like perfected it. So I don't see any MAJOR loopholes or plotholes, but I am going to take a bit of a creative license to this story so... Yeah.

I kind of felt that this arc needed to end. I mean it wasn't really going to be much else other than Sky SLOWLY solving the case. And it's not the main case of the story so I didn't want to linger, though I do think this was quite fast and I know it was. It's intentional.

So yeah, Sky's a crazy bitch. She's definitely willing to do anything to be right. I kind of compare her to Near in that sense, barely sticking within the law most of the time...

So I was looking through all the DN fanfiction and... What the FUCK is with all these characters with ridiculous (and impossible) talents, all these crazy plotlines that don't actually capture Death Note's message, and everybody trying to outdo each other with cliches? Like don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of cheesy moments, but there's gotta be more to a story than cheesy moments.

Like every story I read in this part of FF is either:

A) OC has incredible power (Can communicate with the dead, read minds, jumps world, jump time, is a Shinigami AND looks human/hot (ARE YOU F*CKING SERIOUS) is... Ahem... Smarter than L... Just no), which saves Love Interest/ helps them solve the case.

B) Is supposed to be a 'normal' character caught up in the case but either comes off as super stupid or the characters are soo OOC to the point that they enjoy the character's antics despite most of it making me want to scream at them.

C) Is supposed to be a brilliant character/ knows Light is Kira, yet despite this does nothing to forward the plot and the entire story is just the original storyline with an added character adding in her two cents but ultimately getting ignored despite her intellect and getting a lot of things right.

D) Have a brilliant take on all the canon characters to the point that I can nod and agree with that authors choice of wording and then they have the shittiest main character that makes me hate it and quit.

I cannot stress how many times I have picked up a story and tossed it aside in the last five days. It was actually the original reason I started writing fanfiction. I couldn't find the stories I wanted to read so I wrote them. Now also don't get me wrong, I am by no means a perfect author and have a lot of shortcomings myself (Just read 'If I Catch You, had me cringing at 2012 me), but there's gotta be more good stories out there!

So far the BEST story I have ever read in DN was actually 'Chasing the Greatest'. It literally captured everything I wanted in a fanfiction, and if the author ever continued I would really love it if they wrote a cute little side story of her and Near. There's no actual pairing as the character is VERY young, but the author wrote the character as a genius and boy did she fit the bill. All the feels in it... I actually posted this story immediately after finishing CTG...

I could go on and on, but I want to know 2 things.

1) What's your fav story of DN on here?

2) What's your deal breakers when it comes to DN stories?

That's all guys! Thank you so much for reading and leave me a review with your answers!

Iland Girl