Kaede Shou

**Kaede Shou** was a suspect in the the murder investigations of three people in Hielo Pueblo, before she went on to murder her friend, Ignacio Rubio, in Happy Deathday (Case #28 of Zorro Island).

## Info

Kaede is a 38-year-old woman from Zorro Island. She has long black wavy hair, and pale skin, as well as blue eyes. She wears a pale green frilly dress and heels of the same colour, as well as light pink lipstick.

In her first suspect appearance, it is known that she speaks Japanese.

In her second suspect appearance, it is known that she wears crocs.

In her third suspect appearance, she wears a pastel pink apron over her dress, and it is known that she uses Klonopin and plays the piano.

In her fourth suspect appearance, she wears a pretty red dress with a flower on her dress, as it is known that she takes Prozac, listens to *Felicia Lee* and knows how to bake.

## Events of Zorro Island

### Is This What You Call Love?

Kaede was spoken to when Rhea and the player entered the victim's house, demanding to know who they were before she whacked them with bamboo sticks. Upon learning of her wife's murder, however, Kaede stopped her threats and began crying, reciting a poem in Japanese before telling the player that is was her wife's favourite. She then allowed the detectives to look around her home, but refused to let them disrupt her mourning.

Kaede was spoken to again when a 'fidelity agreement' was found on the couple's bulletin board, allowing Kagami to have as many affairs as Kaede had once had to 'even the score'. Kaede admitted to having many affairs while she was engaged to Kagami, telling her two weeks after their wedding day and causing Kagami to start the 'fidelity agreement', a system that Kaede was vehemently against, but reluctantly obliged to. She said that it often felt as if Kagami was having some flings that she did not tell her about just to spite her, and it hurt quite a lot. She then proceeded to leave for her flower shop.

Kaede was found to be innocent when Dario Di Monte was found guilty of the murder.

### The Last Laugh

Kaede was flagged as a suspect almost immediately due to her presence at the scene, as she seemed mildly amused due to the fact that Akira - who Kagami had attempted to sleep with - had died. She soon calmed, however, as Javier and the player asked her if she had anything to do with Akira's murder, as she said that she hadn't seen him at all that day, excusing herself to tend to her flowers.

Kaede was spoken to once again when security footage of a fierce argument between Kaede and Akira was caught on camera, as Kaede admitted that she *had* seen Akira, but she had avoided him since. She admitted that she discovered Akira and Kagami *did* sleep together, contrary to Akira saying he didn't in the case, as she couldn't help confronting him for lying directly to Rhea and the player. She then profusely denied any accusations that she killed him, leaving afterwards.

Kaede was eventually found to be innocent after Guthrie Zober was arrested for the murder, but she was spoken to again to get information about *Glacis*, the final festival. She led them to a blueprint for the festival, as she then told them that they had ordered gigantic ice letters for the festival, which had already been made, assuring Chief Mendes and the player that she wouldn't let a murder take place.

### Frozen Out

Kaede was flagged as a suspect once again following a bouquet of her flowers being found at the palace balcony, as Kaede seems extremely saddened to see a third person die, hardening, however, when she discovers that it is Kofi who has died. She informs the detectives that she was in her florist shop apart from a brief interval where she visited Kofi, but she did nothing to harm him. She then informs the team that she hopes they find the saboteur, because they're doing terribly for her business.

Kaede was spoken to once again after Bonita analysed the dossier Kofi dropped in the woods, finding it to be a folder full of Kofi's previous crimes, written Kaede stationary. Kaede admitted to looking into Kofi's background and discovering his abusive tendencies, sending a file to his employers which was quickly intercepted by Kofi himself. Kaede then said that after Kagami died, Kofi had offered to buy her business to "help her get some closure", which meant that Kaede was just evening the odds. Kaede then excused herself to water Kagami's memorial garden.

Kaede was found to be innocent after Rafaela Guzman was arrested for the murder.

### Happy Deathday

Kaede was flagged as a suspect after her name was found on a floral arrangement bought for Ignacio, as she informed them that she was very much devastated by Ignacio's death, as she had come all the way from Hielo Pueblo to celebrate her friend's birthday, only for him to die. She then said that she had barely seen Ignacio throughout the party, as he had seemed fine for a majority of the celebrations, and she had been with everyone else when Rhea and the player found Ignacio's body. She then left to call her therapist, sighing as she said that this was the fourth murder in three months, and it was getting too much.

Kaede was spoken to again after a note from Ignacio was found near the taco stand, saying "Mess this up and you're *dead*, Kaede". Upon being spoken to about it, Kaede admitted that Ignacio felt pressure to throw one of the best bashes of the year, considering the calibre of some of the guests and the sentimental value of some others. Kaede then said that she knew Ignacio did not mean the threat seriously, and was likely in his own head in regards to the entire procession, but she couldn't help but feel frightened of what would happen if something had gone wrong, as she swore blind that she wasn't the killer.

In the end, Kaede *did* turn out to be the killer. Despite initially denying the accusations, Kaede confessed to the murder, saying that she had been blackmailed by someone in prison to kill somebody close to the police department, as she had seen on Ignacio's Lookbook profile that he was in a relationship with the team's historian. Despite reluctance, she managed to get invited to his birthday party, where she actually told Ignacio about the plan, as he had gone quiet afterwards and gone to the balcony, attempting to jump off, which would ruin any chances of Ignacio eating the poisoned cake she had prepared. Desperate not to let the blackmailer find out she had failed, she pushed Ignacio from the balcony after pretending to talk him down, killing him. Shocked by Kaede's act, Judge Vargas sentenced Kaede to 10 years in prison, with the possibility of a sentence reduction if she could tell the police who the blackmailer was.

Kaede later told the detectives that she didn't know who the blackmailer was, but she aided Alita, Rhea, Chief Mendes and the player in deducing that the blackmailer was Cruz Alvarez, as her sentence was toned down to 7 years.