Mari Aikawa (藍川真理, Aikawa Mari) is the step-mother of Rena Aikawa. When her daughter disappears, she takes the case to a private detective rather than the police out of fear that the police will discover her abusive habits.
Characteristics[]
Personality[]
Mari is a cruel woman who abuses her step-daughter Rena Aikawa and dotes on her biological daughter, Arisu. She views Arisu as her real child and Rena only as the child of her husband's annoying ex-wife. When Rena goes missing, Mari secretly hopes the girl is never found so that she can put the money spent on Rena toward her own daughter.
Background[]
Mari remarried three years prior to the start of the story and had Arisu, a child of her own with her new husband. At some point during their marriage, a neighbor, hearing yelling and crying, reported the family to Child and Family Welfare Services, who found Rena's face bruised and took Mari into custody. Rena refused to tell the agency the truth, so they had to let Mari go.
Synopsis[]
Avengers Arc[]
Mari visits the Banba Detective Agency for help locating her step-daughter, Rena Aikawa. When asked why she has not gone to the police, she lies and tells Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin that she received threats from Rena's kidnapper. Banba and Lin see through her story and realize that she is hiding something from the police.
That afternoon, Mari is waiting at home for her daughter Arisu to return from kindergarten when the door opens and Méqué enters instead. Mari is seized by fear at the sight of the clown invading her home and grabs a kitchen knife as he approaches. Méqué easily dodges the knife, laughing as he strikes her in the head with his metal clubs, and he beats her until her head splits open. Her body is found hanging upside down by Arisu and her death is reported in the news the following morning.
Etymology[]
- The name Mari means "truth," with the characters meaning "true, real, genuine" (真, ma) and "reason, principle" (理, ri).
- Mari's surname Aikawa means "indigo" (藍, ai) and "river, stream" (川, kawa).