Returner Fantasy-Chapter 174: Murder - Part 7
"I can’t believe we really did it outside..."
"So that’s how it feels..."
Mira and Mina came out of the side entrance of the cave feeling flustered and embarrassed, but at the same time, good and satisfied.
"Not technically outside since we were inside the cave."
"It’s no different from doing it inside a hut on a beach."
Jess and Jeff followed behind, feeling good and satisfied as well, though still excited and aroused.
Their foursome lasted past the hours the moon could illuminate the inside of the cave, even longer than Jess and Jeff’s intimacy the night before.
And just like last night, they were more than ready to continue once they got back to the hotel.
—"At least do it after the killer is caught!"—
Mira and Mina shouted, a bit annoyed at how much Jess and Jeff were acting true perverts despite the fact that they should be concerned about solving Cindy’s murder.
—Ding~!—
As they were about to leave the beach, Jeff received a message from Lena confirming most of his assumptions—not about Cindy’s murder case, but about the case of his missing jacket, which Jess managed to retrieve after proving it belonged to Jeff and not Cindy’s boyfriend.
How did Cindy manage to break into Jess’s room at the PoruMerc Women’s Division studio during their previous photoshoot when Jess, Mira, and Mina were touring Central City?
How did the camera footage at the studio black out, hiding evidence of Cindy entering Jess’s room to install a hidden camera and steal Jeff’s jacket in an attempt to mess with Jess?
The possible truth behind that incident led Jeff to find a connection between Cindy and the other suspects, while at the same time reminding Mira and Mina of the identity of the familiar-looking underwear thief.
"You punched him in the stomach so hard that he collapsed and puked on the floor."
"How come you don’t even remember him, Jess?"
"I’ll be sure to remember after I beat him half to death."
Even Jeff felt the same rage as Jess over someone stealing something as sacred as her undergarments. Still, beating the thief half to death was likely impossible now, given how events were unfolding—as Jeff assumed.
As for the identity of the thief, it turned out to be one of Cindy’s ex-boyfriends—or, to be exact, her ex-photographer.
"What was his name again?" Mira asked, and Mina wore the same blank expression, unable to answer.
"See? You two don’t remember that bastard either!"
—"Because we’re not the ones who punched him!"—
"His name was Rico," Jeff said, reading Lena’s message while following behind the three squabbling girls.
According to the information Lena had just confirmed, Cindy’s ex-photographer was banned after the incident involving Cindy and Jess.
When the PoruMerc staff inspected Cindy and Rico’s equipment, they found sneak shots of Jess taken during her debut photoshoot—an act that led Lena to ban other photographers as well for doing the same, not only to Jess but to other models.
"So that thief was your stalker after all. That’s why he went after your undergarments!"
"I’m really going to beat that bastard to death once we find him!"
While Mira handled Jess’s outburst, Mina asked Jeff to continue reading Lena’s message.
"If that bastard was banned from PoruMerc Fashion Company photoshoots, how did he get here for this event?"
"Ms. Lena said the ban was only effective in the Women’s Division. So he probably applied as a photographer for the Men’s Division and came to the island with the male models a week ago. Then he stayed hidden on the hotel rooftop, waiting and knowing Jess would be here for the next photoshoot."
Or so Jeff assumed, realizing they would only know the truth once the killer was caught.
—"And the killer?"—
Mira and Jess asked, turning back toward Mina and Jeff to rejoin the conversation.
"We’ll get to that part later."
Jeff then continued his explanation.
First was how Cindy broke into Jess’s room at the studio.
"You said there was no sign of forced entry, right?" he said, recalling Jess’s story from a few days ago.
"That means someone gave Cindy a copy of your room key. And the person capable of doing that was among the other suspects."
—"The creepy producer!"—
Listening to Jeff’s reasoning, Jess, Mira, and Mina all reached the same conclusion.
The creepy producer, Gary, would certainly have easy access to the studio room keys.
Cindy could have seduced him to gain such a favor. And if she had threatened to expose his involvement in the incident where he messed with Jess—something that could get him fired and ruin his career—that might have been enough motive to kill Cindy.
Or so they assumed.
Second was how the camera footage at the studio blacked out when Cindy broke into Jess’s room.
"So who among the other suspects was capable of tampering with the camera footage?"
—"The security guard?"—
Though they had doubts, Jess, Mira, and Mina understood what Jeff was getting at.
"That man was married, after all," Jeff added.
The security guard, Jaxon, had double the motive to kill Cindy. If Cindy had indeed seduced him into helping her, she could have threatened him not only with losing his job but also with ruining his marriage.
"Ms. Lena confirmed that he usually works in the control room of the PoruMerc studio, so he was probably skilled enough to access the computer system and erase the footage—just like what happened with the hotel’s security cameras."
"So it’s either the creepy producer or the security guard?" Jess said, clenching her fists as she imagined who she needed to beat up once they arrived back at the hotel.
"You’re not doing that!"
"Why not?!"
As Mira and Jess resumed their squabbling, Mina continued the conversation with Jeff.
"What about the other suspects? Don’t they have any motives?"
The remaining suspects were Cindy’s new photographer, her assistant model, and the two male models from PoruMerc’s Men’s Division.
"Rather than focusing on their motives, it would be easier to prove their innocence and reduce the number of suspects."
—"Huh?"—
Even Mira and Jess stopped arguing, confused by Jeff’s remark.
"What do you mean, reduce the number of suspects?" Mira asked, though she already understood what Jeff meant, which Mina clarified.
"You’re saying that even if Mr. Gary and Mr. Jaxon both have clear motives, we still don’t have any evidence proving who actually killed Cindy?"
"That’s where Luke-senpai comes in," Jeff said with a smug grin, reassuring Mira and Mina that they didn’t need to worry about the killer escaping—or Jess getting arrested.
Jess, on the other hand, was only concerned about who she needed to beat up for framing her.
"Don’t act smug if you don’t actually know who the killer is, idiot!"
She lunged at Jeff, aiming to tackle him—not to hurt him, but as an excuse to touch him. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Jeff easily caught her and slung Jess over his shoulder, continuing to walk along the dimly lit path toward the hotel.
"Let’s save the intimacy for later and hurry back to the hotel."
"Put me down, perv! I can walk on my own!"
You’re clearly enjoying being carried and touched, pervert, Mira and Mina thought as they watched Jess make no real attempt to resist despite her harsh words.
---
Upon arriving at the hotel garden, Jeff finally put Jess down.
As they approached the hotel entrance, someone burst out through the front door.
"Wait, why is he the one running away?" Mira said, watching Cindy’s new photographer, Keny, sprint past them.
"He won’t make it far," Mina added, noticing how the overweight photographer quickly slowed down and ran out of breath.
Police officers and staff, along with some models and their crews, followed in pursuit—but it was unnecessary. Jess was already moving to stop Keny, even without fully understanding what was happening.
Jess quickly grabbed a plastic bottle filled with water from the tote bag she was carrying and, before Mira and Mina could stop her, hurled it with perfect aim, striking the back of Keny’s head and sending him stumbling to the ground.
"Did you really have to do that?!"
"It wasn’t a glass bottle, so it should be fine!"
"That’s not the point, Jess!"
Leaving Mira, Jess, and Mina squabbling yet again, Jeff turned to Luke, who had approached him.
"Your group was late, Jeff. The interrogation already started."
"We’re just spectators. We don’t exactly need to be there, right?"
"You and Jess are still the main suspects, idiot."
The police dragged Keny back inside the hotel even though he was acting severely injured.
Mira and Mina thought the police would complain about what Jess did, yet somehow they didn’t say anything.
What was even more surprising was the reaction of the staff, models, and crew who had come out chasing Keny.
Even Jess and Jeff thought they would be scared of Jess’s violent tendencies, but instead they thanked her for stopping Keny.
"Why am I getting praised?" Jess whispered, hiding behind Jeff while feeling flustered.
"We’ll know once we get inside. Let’s go, Jess."
