Writing is an outlet
For my pain, for my suffering
Writing is an outlet
For my dreams, for my ambitions
Writing is an outlet
For my love, for my happiness
Writing is an outlet
For my body, for my soul
Writing is an outlet
For my silence, for my screams
Writing is an outlet
For my truth, for my fiction
Writing is an outlet
For my eyes, for my ears
Writing is an outlet
For my past, present, and future
Writing is an outlet
For when there are no other outlets
Writing is an outlet
For my life
And writing is an outlet
For my death
4 Eda
“W-What’s going on? Where am I?”
Eda began to move violently in an attempt to free himself from the St. Andrew’s Cross. The figure in the red cloak just stood there silently. It was almost as if it was just a statue. Eda eventually became tired and stopped his futile attempt to get free. Breathing heavily, he turned his attention back to the figure.
“Answer me, damn it!”
Still no answer. The only sound that could be heard was Eda’s heavy breathing, but he wouldn’t be dissuaded.
“What? Are you mute? Or are you just a coward?” he continued. “You think you’ll get away with this? I’m a police officer! My coworkers… my friends… they’ll be breathing down your neck in no time! We’ll lock you—”
Eda stopped mid-sentence as the figure in the red cloak began to move slowly toward him. Despite his attempts to do so, he wasn’t able to get a clear look at the person’s face underneath the hood, even as they walked right past him. His anxiety climbed now that he was no longer able to see the person that had gone behind him. In an effort to understand what happened he began to quickly recall his memories.
He remembered going home after a day of work just like any other day. Nothing was unusual until he heard the doorbell ring. He went to answer it and then…? Who was at the door? He didn’t remember. Or rather, he couldn’t remember. He never saw anyone. All he could remember was being engulfed in darkness. He remembered struggling momentarily before being hit by something and being covered in another layer of darkness, this time of the unconscious variety. When he came to, he was here…
“Damn it…” he whispered.
How could he, a police officer, let himself be caught so off guard? And what the hell was going on? Where was he? Why had he been brought here? As more and more questions came to him, he started to feel more and more helpless. Realizing that, Eda pushed all of those questions to the side and focused on one thing… escaping.
Around the time he resolved to get out of his predicament, the figure in the red cloak came back into his view from behind him. However, it was now holding a large sledgehammer.
“Let me go,” Eda said firmly. “You don’t want to make things any worse for yourself. Let me go and turn yourself in. It’ll all go a lot easier for you that way.”
Eda watched for a reaction from the figure as he talked but saw none. Instead, the figure took a few steps toward him and held the sledgehammer out, putting the head gently against the side of his left knee.
“If you want to get out of this as painlessly as possible, you have to talk to me. What do you want? There’s only so much I can do if I don’t understand your goal. Depending on what you want, maybe we can work something out,” continued Eda. “Is this some kind of ransom situation? I don’t really make a lot of money so there wouldn’t be much—”
Eda stopped speaking when the figure began moving again. Not because it was moving, but because of what it was doing. He watched as the figure slowly pulled the sledgehammer away from his knee and brought it back up to it again over and over. It almost looked like the figure was lining him up. This made warning bells go off in Eda’s head.
“Wait, what are you—”
Before he could finish, the figure greatly raised the sledgehammer and swung it with force. It collided perfectly with Eda’s knee, making it buckle in a way a knee isn’t meant to buckle and even separating his upper and lower leg. Bone tore through skin and made itself visible to the outside world as Eda yelled in agony from the incredible amount of pain. He dropped his head and grimaced between heavy breaths as the figure in the red cloak walked to his right side and set the sledgehammer up again, this time on the inner part of his right knee. The figure casually began to line up that knee just as it had done the previous one.
“S-Stop!”
Seeing what was occurring, Eda desperately tried to break free of his restraints again, but accidentally moved his left leg sending a new surge of pain through his body that caused him to yell. The figure, seeming to have sufficiently lined up Eda’s right knee, swung the sledgehammer again, sending it directly into it. Just like the left, the right knee buckled horribly and a bone was sent piercing through his skin, giving Eda terrible pain in the process.
“Fuuuuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuck!”
Eda gritted his teeth after repeated obscenities. His eyes scoured his surroundings without him instructing them to. It was like his body was trying to find a way out of this desperate situation on its own. Nothing he saw was of any help though, and by the time he regained control of his wandering eyes, the figure in the red cloak had put away the sledgehammer, but was now holding something even more sinister.
A gas can?!
Eda saw the unmistakeable object in the figure’s hand and threw all the strength he could into his arms. Pulling with all his might, the rope binding his wrists cut into his skin as he tried to break free. He exhausted his strength eventually and was no closer to freeing himself. He could only watch in horror as the figure in red began to pour gasoline on his arms.
“So this is the kind of bastard you are? Someone that tortures a defenseless person? Someone that has to catch a person off guard at their home? Someone that has to wear a hood because they’re a fucking cow—”
Eda’s provocation was cut off when the figure splashed gasoline into his face. He sputtered as he tried to get the gas that flew into his mouth out. The figure walked away from him and over to a burning candle which it grabbed after putting down the gas can. It then turned back to its captive.
“You’re going to pay for this…” said Eda. “You’ll regret this day… just remember that…”
Despite the severity of his words, his voice had the tone of someone who had given up. The figure in the red cloak walked slowly over to him and held the candle up to his face.
So this is how it’s going to end? With me just being another victim of a crazed murderer? Damn it! I couldn’t even get anything out of them! If only I could get a look at their face, hear their voice… anything! If I could just do that, I could try and leave a clue! Something to make my death have purpose!
Eda looked firmly at the hooded person before him.
“Do your worst, coward. You won’t break me. I won’t give you the satisfaction!”
As if that was its signal, the figure raised the candle up to Eda’s left arm and used its flame to set it alight. The pain was excruciating as the flame gradually spread over Eda’s entire arm, but he didn’t scream. Grinding his teeth together with his eyes opened wide, he endured the pain. The figure raised the candle to Eda’s right arm and set it alight as well. Eda’s face grew more tense and his eyes began to water, but he still didn’t scream. A sickening aroma began to slowly fill the surrounding area.
Eda’s captor walked away as he watched with blurry eyes. The heat radiating from his arms was like nothing he had ever felt before, and that wasn’t even considering the outlandish pain he was going through because of it. At some point he began to feel the right side of his neck get hot and even that side of his face as the pain that was driving him to the brink spread to those places as well.
I can’t believe I’m really being burned alive!
His body continued to burn as his captor watched him. He still hadn’t made a sound since being lit on fire, but he was cursing over and over in his mind. He would do anything for someone to walk in and save him right now, but he knew that was unlikely. For some reason he thought of Hiura and Nia, and that’s when something dawned on him for the first time.
No… is this related to the case?!
Was this the same person that killed Akio Kido? It couldn’t be, could it? Why would that person target him? How would they even know who he was to begin with? If they knew who he was, did that mean they also knew about the others? He wished he could see his captor’s face more than ever, and his increased adrenaline from this new line of thought made his heart beat faster. That’s when he noticed it was getting harder for him to breathe. The fire had burned so far into his neck that it was beginning to destroy his airway.
Eda began to cough, making the first sounds he had made since being put ablaze. Tears began to flow out of his eyes, some of it hitting the flame burning his right cheek. Thinking he would probably die any moment now, Eda looked at his surroundings. His eyes fell on what was likely to soon be his killer, and he had no time to register what he was seeing before being hit with a cloud of gas.
Sent into an immediate daze, Eda almost passed out on the spot. He would have gladly welcomed the cold gas that was hitting him if it wasn’t for the fact that it just seemed to be making things worse. His already struggling breathing became almost nonexistent when he was hit in the face and he had to tightly close his eyes to keep from getting something unwelcome in them. As he was being hit with the gas his wrist restraints that were practically burnt through by the fire were snapped and his arms painfully fell to his sides in a limp state. Although he was finally free, there was no way he would be able to use his burned limbs. The pain alone was practically paralyzing him.
Finally the cold gas hitting him seemed to stop and he slowly opened his eyes. His vision swaying madly, he had trouble focusing, but he could make out the fire extinguisher in the figure’s hands. It made sense, or it would have if he could still form coherent thoughts. Apparently his captor had used it to extinguish the fire that was threatening to kill him. It made little difference to Eda though. He was still in constant pain from his legs and burnt body parts.
He watched with swaying vision as the figure put down the extinguisher and walked away into the darkness. He didn’t even consider the idea that they may have left because he couldn’t bring himself to consider anything at all. He felt like he was barely getting any oxygen with each breath. He hardly noticed the figure’s return, but he did manage to hone in on the familiar thing in its hand. The sudden dread he felt seemed to focus his remaining reason.
Is that what I think it is…?
Maybe he was just imagining it, but the object seemed to gleam even in this small amount of light. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was though since he had taken good care of it since he got it. As the figure in the red cloak stopped in front of him and raised the object slowly, he took a deep breath and used his remaining willpower to pull himself together as much as possible. His swaying vision became a bit more steady and looked down the barrel of the object pointed at him.
With my own gun, huh?
He had almost forgotten he had it on him when he was attacked. And now it was being pointed at him by his captor.
What a weird twist of fate…
As things stood, he was barely holding on to life. And considering the constant pain he was in, he welcomed the sight before him… almost.
I still can’t see their face!
Eda stared at the hooded figure. Just one glimpse. One tiny glimpse. That’s all he kept hoping for as the gun slowly approached his face. The figure in the red cloak pressed the muzzle of the gun against Eda’s forehead, but he only knitted his eyebrows into an angry expression. He expected a bullet to be going through his skull any second, but the figure pulled the gun away from his forehead, and then…
A smile?
Eda was able to see his captor’s face from the mouth down suddenly. Their lips were twisted into a clear smile. The figure’s free hand went up to its hood and, to Eda’s shock, removed it. Eda and his captor stared at each other for a split second before the person pulled the trigger.
3 The White Tiger
Two black cars pulled up outside of a building in the south district. Nia, Hiura, and Eda stepped out of the two cars and gathered in front of the building.
“This the place?” asked Nia.
“Yeah,” answered Eda.
“Doesn’t look as fancy as I imagined. There’s no giant white tiger in front of the place?” joked Nia.
It looked like your average building from the outside.
“So what’s the plan?” asked Eda.
Hiura held up his cellphone. A picture of the murder victim was on the screen.
“I asked the family if they could send me a recent photo on the way over. I’m going to send the picture to both of you as well since it may come in handy,” Hiura explained as he began to push buttons on his phone. “The first thing I think we should do is ask the people here if they recognize him, we may get lucky. Otherwise we’ll have to see if they have surveillance. If they do, hopefully they’ll be willing to let us have their tapes.”
“And if they refuse?” asked Nia.
“Then our hands are tied. We’d have to see if we can get a court order.”
Just as Hiura said that, a young woman walked out of the White Tiger. He walked over to her.
“Excuse me miss, but is the owner here?”
The woman looked at the three police detectives suspiciously before answering.
“Yeah, he’s in his office.”
“Thanks, and one more thing… have you seen this person before?”
Hiura held up his phone. The woman looked at for a bit before shrugging.
“Sorry, I’m a bartender. I see a lot of people every night and I can’t remember each and every one.”
Hiura nodded and lowered his phone.
“Is something going on?” the woman asked suddenly.
“There’s no need to worry, we just have a few questions for the owner,” said Hiura.
Despite Hiura telling her not to worry, the woman still seemed worried as she turned and left. Hiura turned back to Nia and Eda.
“Shall we go inside?”
Both nodded and the three of them walked into the White Tiger. Unlike the outside, the inside was far from average. High quality walls and flooring greeted them as they entered, as well as exotic paintings that lined the walls of the currently empty hallway. The detectives followed the hallway to the main area of the first floor and were greeted with countless tables, two bars, and a dance floor. The lighting was dim but there was still probably much more visibility than at night. Everything seemed to have a white theme to it, and in a few places, such as the tables, there were even black stripes. There were a few people going around cleaning the tables and floor as well as four people behind one of the bars talking. Nia and the others headed for the bar first.
“Did we really have to have performance reviews today?” they heard one man ask the group. “Last night was really crazy. I could’ve used the extra sleep.”
“I’d rather just get them over with now,” said a woman. “It’s about time I got my raise.”
“You really think he’s going to give you a raise?” the man asked.
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because he could just fire you and find one of the thousands of other chicks that would love to bartend here.”
The other people in the group laughed.
“We’ll see who’s laughing when I get my raise.”
The man looked like he was about to say something back but—
“Excuse me ladies and gentleman, but do you know where I can find the owner?” asked Hiura.
The four bartenders turned around.
“Who are you?” one of the men asked.
“We’re detectives with the Yuyusura Police Department,” explained Hiura as he showed his badge.
“Holy shit. Is the boss man in trouble or something?” asked the man.
“We just want to ask him a few questions, and you all too if you don’t mind. Do you know where I can find him?”
“Yeah he’s in his office on the second floor. Make a left when you go up the stairs and it’s the first door on the right.”
“Thanks.”
Hiura turned to his colleagues.
“Eda, do you mind asking them about the victim? Tatsumi and I will go see the owner.”
“I’m on it,” said Eda.
Nia and Hiura left Eda behind with the bartenders and headed up the stairs on the far side of the first floor’s main area. There were several more people cleaning on the second floor as well, but none of them seemed to pay much mind to the detectives as they walked to the owner’s office.
“I guess this is it,” Hiura said as they reached the first door on the right.
He immediately reached for the doorknob and walked right in with Nia close behind. Two individuals came into view as soon as they walked. One was a woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She was standing in the room in only a bra and skirt and quickly grabbed the blouse at her feet when she noticed someone come in. The other was a man in a blue suit sitting behind his desk.
“What the hell? I thought I said no one was to come in here? Just waltzing right in like you own the place. Have you completely lost your… who are you?” asked the man.
He was an older man as evidenced by his graying black hair. His skinny frame gave him a frail look, but his dark brown eyes were sharp and angry.
“That’s illegal you know,” said Nia as she motioned to the half naked girl.
“She said she’d do anything for a favorable review and a potential raise. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her? Besides, you think it’s legal to just go barging into wherever the hell you feel like? Don’t you have any manners at all? Haven’t you heard of knocking? Let me guess, you’re with the police? Get out,” said the White Tiger’s owner.
“Now wait just a—”
Hiura stopped Nia from saying anything else by holding out his hand.
“You’re right, that was completely rude of us. I take full responsibility as I’m the one that decided to do that and I apologize. We’re not here to start any trouble, we’d just like to ask you a few questions. We’ll be out of your hair immediately after.”
“So you’re really with the police? Show me your badges,” said the man.
Hiura showed his badge.
“And the woman?”
He stared at Nia who hadn’t moved.
“She’s also a detective,” said Hiura.
“I want to see for myself.”
Hiura looked pleadingly at an annoyed Nia. She gave an irritated huff and showed the man her badge.
“Fiesty, aren’t you?”
The man smiled creepily before turning to his half naked employee.
“Get out, woman. We’ll continue this later.”
The woman hurriedly put on her blouse and rushed out of the office. The owner pulled out a large cigar.
“Close my door, will you?” he said.
Hiura walked over to the open office door and closed it before walking back to his previous spot in the middle of the room.
“Now, what do you want with me?”
The man lit his cigar and began to smoke it. Hiura walked up to the man’s desk. Nia took a few steps forward as well but remained a considerable distance away.
“Have you seen this man before?” asked Hiura.
He showed him his phone with the victim’s picture on it.
“Never,” said the man after a quick glance. “Why? What’s this about?”
“This man was murdered a few days ago, and this is the last place he was seen alive,” explained Hiura.
The man’s face became one of surprise for a few moments before he regained his usual countenance.
“Well I’ve never seen him before, that’s all I can tell you,” he said.
“Does this building have surveillance? Mind if we get your tapes from a few days ago?” asked Hiura.
“For what purpose?”
“We think the victim met his killer here at this club and we’d like to see if we can find out who he left with that night.”
“That’s a lot of footage to look through,” said the man.
“It’s the only option we have right now.”
“Hmm…”
The man took another puff of his cigar as he thought.
“Fine.”
He pressed a button on his desk.
“We have some police detectives here. I’m sending them down to you, accommodate them with whatever they ask for.”
“Understood, sir,” said a male voice.
It seemed to come from an intercom on his desk.
“There you go. You can find the surveillance room on the first floor. It’s far in the back, past the bathrooms. If you get lost just ask someone.”
“Thank you, and sorry again for the intrusion,” said Hiura.
Hiura bowed slightly to the man before he and Nia turned for the door.
“You’re welcome here any time you like, Lady Detective,” said the man to their backs.
Nia didn’t answer and left the office with Hiura. The man sat there smoking his cigar for a few moments before hitting the button on his desk again.
“Make sure you get them out of here. Don’t give them a single thing.”
“Understood, sir,” said the same voice as earlier.
The man grinned as he leaned back in his chair.
###
“That went better than I expected,” Hiura said as he and Nia walked down the stairs to the first floor.
“Maybe for you,” said Nia.
“Well, he was a bit of a sleazebag, huh?”
“That’s an understatement.”
“But at least he agreed to give us the tapes,” said Hiura.
They walked over to Eda who was sitting at the bar drinking something.
“Look, Tatsumi, we leave him alone for fifteen minutes and this is what happens,” said Hiura.
Eda looked up in a panic.
“I-It’s not what you think! It’s just water!” he said quickly.
“I’m joking. Did you find out anything?”
Eda shook his head.
“None of them remembered ever seeing him before. How about you two? Any luck with the owner?”
“He said he hadn’t seen the victim before either, but he agreed to let us take the surveillance tapes from that night. We’re going to get them now,” explained Hiura.
“Hold on a sec!”
Eda quickly drank the rest of the water in his glass and thanked one of the bartenders before standing up.
“OK, let’s go,” he said.
The three detectives followed the White Tiger owner’s directions and made their way to the surveillance room. As they approached, they saw a very large man standing in front of the door. Not only was he tall, but he had to weigh over 250 pounds, and he was practically all muscle. He had a buzz cut and dark menacing eyes.
“Is this the surveillance room?” Hiura asked the man.
“It is.”
“We’re the detectives from the Yuyusura Police Department. We came here for the surveillance tapes.”
Hiura showed the man his badge as he spoke.
“Right this way,” said the man.
He motioned back toward the main area that they had come from with one of his huge arms that were visible thanks to his sleeveless black shirt.
“I don’t understand,” said Hiura.
“It’s not your place to understand. Just be quiet and let’s go.”
“Hey! Watch your tone!” said Eda.
“Relax, Eda. Look, we just want the tapes and we’ll gladly be on our way. Your boss specifically said to allow us to have what we wanted, correct?”
“And that same boss said not to give you a damn thing right after that, so we’re leaving,” said the large man.
“What?” asked Hiura in astonishment.
“Figures…” mumbled Nia.
The large man reached for Hiura but Eda smacked his hand away.
“You better watch what you’re doing, little man,” said the large man.
He stepped up into Eda’s face and Eda stepped forward as well even though the large man easily dwarfed him. Hiura slid his hands between the two men right as their bodies were about to touch and held them away from one another.
“Hey, hey, hold on now! There’s no need for tempers to fly!” said Hiura.
“Tell that to this idiot! He was about to put his hands on a police detective!” said Eda.
“Idiot?! I’ll break you apart, little man!”
“And you’ll be locked away for the rest of your life!”
“Enough! Come on, Eda, let’s get out of here,” said Hiura.
He began to push Eda away from the large man and back toward the main area. Nia raised her phone up to the large man.
“Ever seen this man before?” she asked.
The picture of the victim that Hiura sent her was on the screen.
“No, now get that thing out of my face.”
Nia lowered her phone and followed after Hiura and Eda. The three detectives were escorted out of the White Tiger by the large man and gathered near their cars in front of the building.
“Well, perhaps it went as I expected after all,” said Hiura once they were there.
“We should’ve known we couldn’t trust that old man,” said Nia.
“You didn’t have to break us up, Hiura,” said Eda.
“Are you an idiot? That man was three times your size. You should be thanking me,” said Hiura.
Eda didn’t respond.
“But now what? That was probably our best chance at finding something related to the case. It could take days to get a proper warrant,” said Hiura.
“Yeah, but I’m almost convinced they’re hiding something big,” said Nia. “The whole place just seems pretty shady.”
Hiura nodded.
“We should get back to the station and plan our next move for now.”
Nia nodded and the three detectives got into their cars and drove off.
###
Later that night Eda walked into his home. It was a modest size, but it had a lot of expensive things in it that he had saved up for over the years. He gave a big sigh as he tossed his suit jacket onto his couch and went into the kitchen. Just as he opened his refrigerator and looked inside, his doorbell rang. He looked around strangely as if he couldn’t believe it but the doorbell rang again a few moments later leaving no doubt.
Who could that be at this hour? he wondered.
It was only ten, but Eda didn’t usually have visitors this late. Completely confused, he lazily walked to his front door and opened it. A black material immediately covered him. Then… darkness.
###
Eda slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurry, he struggled take in his surroundings. He tried to move but couldn’t. His body was strapped to a St. Andrew’s Cross and he was only his underwear. A few candles brought a dim light to the immediate area, and there, standing a few feet away, Eda could see a figure in a red cloak.
2 Misunderstandings
Blue women’s flats and a long white dress covered in blue flowers… yup, that was definitely the target. She was casually walking through a clothing store looking at various things. Despite how much she was looking, she didn’t seem to have any intention on buying anything. Still, she was awfully carefree wasn’t she? If he wanted to, he could grab her right now.
He followed the woman out of the clothing store that was in the middle of a mall. She ignored the rest of the stores and headed for the exit. Once outside the mall she headed down the street, her long straight black hair swaying back and forth as she walked. He hid in a side alley as the woman stopped in front of a building and looked back. Had she noticed him? She looked around for a bit before going into the building she was standing in front of. The man waited for a moment before coming out of hiding and walking down to the building his target had gone in.
A cafe?
It was lunch time, but this still didn’t bode well.
Is she meeting someone here? he thought.
Pushing away his thoughts for now, the man entered the cafe with his head down. Looking up momentarily to find his target, he put his head down again after locating her and walked over to the side of the cafe she was in. The man sat down at a table that was behind her and observed her. She was alone but seemed to be waiting for someone.
Five minutes passed, then ten. Maybe she wasn’t meeting someone after all? Just as he thought that, a man walked up to his target’s table. He greeted the woman before sitting across from her at the table.
A man?
It wasn’t someone he recognized. He felt his heart speed up for some reason. This was really bad. The man began to regret coming here, but it was already too late now. He was here, so he would do what he came here to do. He continued to watch as his target interacted with her companion. They were having a conversation about something but he couldn’t hear what they were saying from where he was. Things continued on in that way for roughly half an hour. During that time both individuals ordered food and drinks and seemed to be merrily enjoying each other’s company. Neither realized they were being watched.
Just as he was preparing himself for another half hour of watching the two, the man with his target stood up. They seemed to be saying their goodbyes as they smiled at one another. Did the man offer to see her home? He watched as his target shook her head. Well that was one good thing at least. Things may have gotten even more complicated if she had accepted. His target was finally alone once more in the cafe. She finished her drink and then stood to leave as well.
The man blocked his face by holding up an opened newspaper as she turned to walk out the cafe. Feeling he had let her get far enough ahead, he put the newspaper down and got up to follow her. As he casually strolled out of the cafe while considering how he should proceed, he heard it.
“It’s not nice to follow people around you know.”
The man was caught completely off guard. The familiar woman’s voice paralyzed him for a few seconds before he turned to see his target staring at him. She had waited for him off to the right side of the cafe’s exit so he hadn’t noticed her at all.
“When did you notice?” he asked.
“From the very start,” she answered.
He found that hard to believe, and it must have shown on his face.
“Why the skeptical look? I am the sister of the great detective Toshiya Sokuchi after all,” she said while grabbing a hold of the man’s arm.
The two of them began walking toward the nearby train station.
“I don’t recall anyone ever calling me great,” said Toshiya.
“Well I just did, so there,” said his sister.
That’s right. His name was Toshiya Sokuchi. He was a private detective here in Yuyusura. The woman he had been following for the last few hours was his little sister, Jiniza Yamaguchi.
“So, why were you following me? Don’t tell me you just wanted to watch your cute little sister all day,” said Jiniza.
“Who was that guy you were with?” Toshiya asked.
“Oh, him? That was one of Shinta’s friends.”
Jiniza said it casually, but that didn’t make Toshiya feel any better.
“Why are you meeting your husband’s friend while he’s at work, Jini?”
Jiniza looked up at her older brother as they walked. His short, perfectly groomed hair was the same color as hers, but his eyes were black unlike her hazel ones that she inherited from their grandmother.
“You’re not jealous are you? I’ll always be your little sister.”
Toshiya ignored her joke.
“Are you going to answer the question or not?” he asked.
“If you must know, we were making plans for Shinta’s birthday. Two weeks go by fast you know.”
Toshiya looked at Jiniza with surprise.
“That’s it? Really?”
Jiniza looked back at him equally surprised.
“What did you think it was about?”
“Ah… er…”
Toshiya hesitated. Of course he couldn’t tell her why he had been following her.
###
Earlier that same day. Toshiya had woken up, showered, and put on a black suit that he didn’t wear a tie with before going to his detective agency in the north district. He had barely managed to go inside and begin preparing a light breakfast when someone came bursting through the front door.
“Toshiya, I need your help!!”
It was his brother-in-law, Shinta Yamaguchi. He was wearing a button up white shirt and black slacks. His short black hair was well kept like Toshiya’s and his dark brown eyes were covered by his glasses. He looked like he was greatly distressed.
“What’s wrong?” asked Toshiya.
“It’s Jiniza, something’s going on with Jiniza!!”
Toshiya’s eyes widened a bit.
“What? What’s wrong with Jini? Is she hurt?!”
Shinta momentarily looked confused.
“No, no! It’s nothing like that!”
Toshiya regained his usual composed look.
“OK, I think you should calm down and explain things from the beginning, you had me worried there,” Toshiya said while motioning to his desk.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that… that…”
Shinta sat in one of the chairs in front of Toshiya’s desk without finishing. Toshiya, coffee cup in hand, sat down in his chair behind the desk before noticing something.
“Sorry, can I get you some coffee?” he asked.
Shinta shook his head weakly and Toshiya noticed he had tears in his eyes.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look like you’re about to cry, man. Is this about Jini? Tell me what’s going on.”
“W-Well… she’s been acting really strange lately…”
“How so?” Toshiya asked before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Well, like, the other day I came home from work and noticed a receipt for a cafe near our house on the kitchen counter. I got curious and asked her about it but she started acting really secretive. It was weird, but I shrugged it off as nothing serious.”
“Then?”
“Then yesterday I saw one of my friends I haven’t seen in a while and he said he saw me and Jiniza at a cafe the other day. He said he wanted to come say hello, but he was in a hurry.”
“So?”
“So… me and Jiniza haven’t been to a cafe together in over a month…”
Toshiya’s eyes widened slightly.
“So it wasn’t you?”
Shinta shook his head with a sad expression on his face.
“Did you ask her about it?”
“Yeah, but when I did she got all secretive again. She wouldn’t even tell me who she was there with.”
Toshiya rubbed his hairless chin as he began to think.
“Toshiya… I think… I think Jiniza is cheating on me!!”
Shinta’s voice cracked as he said so and he put his head into his hands.
“Wait, what?! Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?! I mean, Jini loves you!”
“But what if I’m not? What if she’s really…?”
Toshiya shook his head.
“No way. I’ve known Jini all her life, she wouldn’t do something like that. If she was cheating on you, you’d know, because she would tell you herself.”
Jiniza was straightforward like that, or was it simply her lack of tact? Either way, she wouldn’t have the wherewithal to participate in a secret affair. That being said, that made her actions all the more unusual. What was she hiding?
“M-Maybe you’re right… but I have to know! And that’s where you come in!” said Shinta.
“Huh?”
“You’re going to follow Jiniza while I’m at work today and see what she does!”
“I am?”
“You’re a private detective, right? Isn’t that the kind of stuff you guys do? Please, Toshiya! I’ll pay whatever you want!”
Toshiya sighed. Shinta wasn’t wrong. He had tailed more than one person before but… this was different. This was his sister. He didn’t believe she was doing anything underhanded, but what if he was wrong? Would he betray his sister for a check?
“Will you do it?” asked Shinta.
Toshiya thought for a moment.
“I’ll do it.”
Shinta’s eyes lit up.
“But I’m not going to charge you. I’m only doing this to prove to you that Jini isn’t cheating on you,” he explained.
“Thank you, Toshiya!”
###
“You’re being weird, Toshi,” said Jiniza.
“Sorry,” said Toshiya.
Toshiya didn’t like withholding things from his sister, but he also couldn’t betray his client’s trust. He decided to stay quiet about everything that was going on.
“Hey,” whispered Jiniza.
“What is it?” asked Toshiya.
“Do you see the looks we’re getting? They’re probably thinking we’re such a cute couple.”
Jiniza giggled. Toshiya hadn’t noticed until she said something, but a few people here and there did give them looks.
“Don’t say that, it’s weird,” said Toshiya. “Besides, whose fault would it be if they did assume that?”
Jiniza was still firmly holding Toshiya’s arm as they walked. It was an innocent gesture, but it couldn’t be helped that some might interpret it a different way.
“You’re not happy to be the envy of the guys around here?” asked Jiniza.
“Am I invited to the party?” Toshiya asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Why wouldn’t you be? It’s going to be great!!”
“How so?”
“I can’t say yet, but we have something AMAZING planned!!”
“Sounds fun.”
“Doesn’t it?!”
“I hope whatever it is isn’t physical in nature. Don’t forget you have my niece or nephew in that stomach of yours.”
“Yeah, yeah, Uncle Toshiya,” said Jiniza with feigned annoyance.
Jiniza was three months pregnant, but you wouldn’t notice it from looking at her because she wasn’t showing yet. They continued walking and soon the brother and sister arrived at the train station.
“Heading home?” asked Toshiya.
“No way! I’m going back to the agency with you!”
“What?”
“You’ve been following me around all day, it’s time I returned the favor!” explained Jiniza.
Toshiya put his head into his right hand.
Why did I agree to tail her again? he wondered.
###
Around the same time at the Yuyusura police department in the central district. Nia was at her desk looking over papers from her previous case. It wasn’t anything serious, just a burglary attempt at a home. The intruder was caught by the home’s occupant and turned over to the police. Nia just had to verify all of the information on the report. As she was doing so, Hiura walked over to her desk.
“Got a second, Tatsumi?”
Nia put down the paper and looked up at him.
“Sure, what is it?”
“It’s about our current case.”
Nia’s face became serious. She had been assigned to the mysterious murder at the run down building along with Hiura and Eda. Since she didn’t have a partner, she was regularly asked to help out others with their cases if there wasn’t one she could handle alone currently available.
“A few things have come to light,” continued Hiura. “First, the victim’s name is Akio Kido.”
“That was fast, it hasn’t even been a day yet,” said Nia.
“We checked to see if any people had been reported missing recently, and his name came up. After that it was just a matter of contacting his family for verification,” explained Hiura. “They were pretty devastated as can be imagined.”
Nia nodded. It couldn’t have been easy for them to see him in that state.
“Apparently he was a university student. The last time they heard from him, he said he was going to be going out with some friends. We got the name of one of the friends and Eda is currently following up on that lead.”
“Wow, you two are really on this. I need to start carrying my own weight.”
Hiura smiled.
“It’s fine. I know you’re still in the process of finalizing your last case. Besides, it was just leg work, no need to bother you with it.”
“What you really mean is that you’d rather let Eda handle it to get some firsthand experience, right?”
Hiura’s smile got even bigger.
“So you saw through me?” he asked. “At any rate, that’s where we stand currently, but I also have some other stuff to share with you.”
“What is it?”
“Forensics and the medical examiner worked throughout the night and got us some interesting information. First, we found nothing of significance at the scene. No prints, no blood other than the victim’s, nothing.”
“So they were careful,” said Nia.
“Very. But we did manage to glean something from the body itself.”
“Oh?”
“Apparently the victim’s head and limbs were cut off with a power saw.”
Nia made a strange face.
“I know what you’re thinking. We don’t understand it either. The building had no power, so the best we could come up with was that the perpetrator had to have used a portable generator of some sort.”
“Seems like it was a carefully planned murder.”
Hiura nodded.
“And that’s not all. The medical examiner surmises that the first cut was likely the wound to the abdomen. The reason for this being that a local anesthesia was used in that area of the body. No other part of the body had it, and naturally there would be no point in having it if you were just going to cut off one of the limbs first,” explained Hiura.
“But…”
“Why? That’s the million dollar question,” said Hiura.
“But this is good right? Wouldn’t that mean it’s someone with access to something like that? Someone in the medical field maybe? Couldn’t that help narrow the suspects?” asked Nia.
“Not necessarily. In this day and age you’d be surprised the things people can get ahold of if they want to bad enough. It’s definitely something to keep in mind though.”
Nia nodded.
“Lastly, it’s probably not surprising, but the victim died of blood loss. It likely didn’t take too long, but his last moments couldn’t have been very pleasant. By the time the head was severed, he was already dead.”
As Nia took in all of Hiura’s information, Eda walked in through the front door.
“Sir, I talked to the victim’s friends!”
“Just Hiura is fine. What did you find out?”
Eda walked over to Nia’s desk.
“They confirmed that they were all together a few nights ago at a night club. Apparently they lost track of the victim at some point during the night but didn’t think too much of it. They figured he probably just met a girl or something. When closing time came and they still hadn’t heard from him, they got a bit more concerned, but after calling him several times and having the call go immediately to voicemail they just decided to go home. They said they were worried something might have happened, but didn’t want to jump to any conclusions unnecessarily. It wasn’t until the next day when the family contacted them that they knew something was wrong.”
“Hmm… and how did they come across to you?” asked Hiura.
“They seemed genuine to me. I didn’t feel like they were hiding anything.”
Hiura thought a moment.
“Assuming they were telling the truth, it’s likely that the victim first came into contact with the killer at that night club,” he said.
“That’s a lot of potential suspects. And there’s not going to be an easy way to track them down,” said Nia.
“Did they say what night club it was?” asked Hiura.
“The White Tiger in the south district,” said Eda.
“Sounds fancy,” said Nia.
“Do you have an address?” Hiura asked Eda.
“I do.”
“Great. I think we should pay them a visit.”
Hiura turned to Nia.
“Coming?”
“I can’t let you do all the work, right?” answered Nia.
She grabbed her black suit jacket and left the police station together with Hiura and Eda.
1 The Beginning
Darkness as far as the eye could see. Silence as far as the ear could hear. That’s what awaited the man when he awoke. It wasn’t a familiar place. A chill assaulted his entire body, likely from the cold steel he was lying on. Or was it simply from his growing anxiety?
A spark that seemed abnormally bright in the surrounding darkness. That spark turned into a flame and brought constant light to what had before been only darkness. As his eyes adjusted to this new light source, the man noticed a hooded figure was holding the burning candle that was producing the light. The figure reminded him completely of the Grim Reaper except for one detail, the cloak covering it from head to toe was blood red, not black. This small detail didn’t keep the man’s already rising anxiety from rising to a whole new level.
“Wh-What’s going on? Where am I?! Who are you?!”
Silence. A small movement as the figure’s free right arm, or what the man had thought was its free right arm, was raised. He soon learned how wrong he was when he saw that the figure was holding the largest butcher knife he had ever seen in its right hand. If what the man had been feeling up to this point could be called anxiety, then what he was feeling now was complete panic. His first thought was to run away, but that’s when he first noticed an important fact.
I can’t move my body?!
In his confusion he hadn’t noticed it earlier, but he was bound around his wrists and ankles in a spread-eagle position. While struggling to break free of his restraints, he watched as the hooded figure raised the large butcher knife high into the air.
“No… NO! Stop! What are you doing?!”
The man closed his eyes the moment the butcher knife started to come down. He expected to feel pain but instead felt nothing. His curiosity getting the best of him, he slowly opened his eyes once more and couldn’t believe what he saw. His shirt, as well as the side of his stomach, had been cleaved open so far that he could see his insides falling out. As he stared as this unbelievable scene, his mouth simply opened and closed over and over. Probably even more unbelievable than his current state was the fact that he hadn’t felt it. A light switch finally turning on in his head, the man let out a horrifying scream that reverberated throughout the near darkness.
While breathing heavily to refill his now empty lungs, the man heard a small chuckle. He looked up at the figure he had almost forgot about and realized he could now see the bottom of a face underneath the hood. A twisted smile was all he could make out, but that was all that was needed to know that this person was clearly amused. The figure raised its head and its whole face came into view.
“Y-You…”
It was all the man could get out. He knew this person, but he had only barely processed this fact before the hooded person raised what looked like a power saw out of the darkness. A grating hum filled the area as it was turned on, and the man watched in horror as it was brought closer and closer to his right arm.
“What the hell are you doing?! Stop this!! Stop damn it!”
More of the man’s entrails fell out as he began to hastily squirm around to get away from the approaching saw, but his efforts were in vain as he couldn’t move very far. It was only moments before the saw began to cut into his arm. Unlike the wound to his stomach, he felt all of the pain associated with the saw cutting into his arm flesh. He began to scream over and over as blood was sent flying everywhere. His voice was so loud that it even overpowered the noise of the saw until darkness took him and everything went quiet.
###
A man stood outside a building in disrepair two days later. The flashing red lights coming from two cars nearby periodically illuminated his face on this dark night. A woman in all black formal wear walked up.
“How does it look?” she asked.
Her straightened short black hair barely touched her shoulders and her usual bright eyes, if they could be called that considering they were black, were surprisingly dull and serious.
“Not good,” the man responded. “You’ll have to see this one for yourself.”
The man motioned toward a side entrance into the building.
“Take a left as soon as you enter, you shouldn’t miss it.”
The woman nodded and headed for the building. She didn’t like her colleague’s words at all. Preparing herself for the worst, she went inside the building. Immediately she smelled it.
Blood, she thought.
Her heartbeat speeding up, she walked down the dimly lit corridor. The smell grew stronger along the way until she came to an open door. Just as she was about to look inside a man stepped into the threshold causing her to jump.
“Oh, so you they sent you, Tatsumi?” the man asked.
“You almost got a kick to the groin, Hiura.”
“Huh? Oh, did I scare you? Sorry about that.”
She shook her head.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Pull yourself together, Nia, she thought.
“So is it really bad?” asked Nia.
“Worse. I’ve never seen anything like it. Take a look for yourself.”
Hiura stepped out of the threshold and into the hallway so that Nia could enter. She hesitated momentarily before going inside the room. There was even less light inside than there was in the hallway and the stench of blood was stronger than ever. Only a few candles spread throughout the room provided light. Even so, she was immediately able to make out the various blood splatter all around her. Nia continued deeper into the room until her foot kicked something. She bent down to see what it was and what came into view almost made her heart stop. Hiura had followed her into the room, and when she bent down he spoke.
“Did you find something?”
“A… head…” whispered Nia.
“Oh, you found it? I’ve been looking for that.”
Nia would have said something about his nonchalant tone but she was too preoccupied with staring at the severed human head that was staring back at her with lifeless eyes. It seemed to be a male, and he looked pretty young.
“Now if we could find the arms, we’d have ourselves a complete human body,” said Hiura.
“Th-The arms were cut off too?” asked Nia.
“Among other things. Come check it out. Bring the head with you,” Hiura said as he walked past her.
“You’re joking, right? What about preserving the scene?”
It was a valid excuse, but it was just that, an excuse. Nia really just didn’t want to pick up the head.
“It’ll have to be collected sooner or later. Besides, I doubt the placement of the victim’s limbs will hold a clue we can use, whereas putting the body together again just might.”
“OK, but remember, it was your decision.”
While making a ‘yuck’ face that she was grateful Hiura likely couldn’t see due to the darkness, Nia picked up the man’s head. Dry blood clung to the hair creating a rough yet weirdly sticky feeling. Nia took the head over to where Hiura was waiting. As she got closer, she realized he was standing next to what looked like a large steel medical table. On it was a body that was missing its head and arms, and the two legs that were there were both cut off. Nia handed the head to Hiura and looked more closely at the body on the table as he put the head in its correct position above the torso. One side of the torso was cut open and the insides seemed like they had fallen out. There was so much blood everywhere that Nia couldn’t believe it all came out of one person.
“Who could do such a thing…?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same thing since I got here,” said Hiura. “This goes way beyond just killing someone.”
Hiura walked back over to Nia’s side after placing the head on the table.
“How did we find out about the body?” asked Nia.
“Apparently the building was sold not too long ago after not being used for years. The new owners came to inspect the place yesterday in order to see what needed to be done to get it back in usable shape. They came across the body while in the middle of that inspection,” explained Hiura.
“Yesterday? Then why are we just now coming here?”
“Because we didn’t learn about it until an hour ago. Apparently the owners freaked out and decided not to say anything about it. Their reasoning was that they were worried they would be the primarily suspects. It took until tonight for one of them to start feeling guilty.”
“And are they now the primary suspects?”
“It’s too early to rule anyone out, but if I had to be honest, they don’t seem like murderers from what I heard. Stupid maybe, but not murderers,” said Hiura.
Nia looked at the victim’s discolored skin. Besides the obvious cut wounds it didn’t seem to have been disturbed by the murderer.
“But if they’re not the murderers, then that brings up an obvious question,” Hiura continued.
“Why this place?”
“Exactly.”
“I take it you have an idea?” asked Nia.
“It’s just a guess, but I think it was fairly random. The murderer wanted a secluded place, sure, but any building not actively being used would have sufficed. They just so happened to choose this one.”
“But then do you think—”
“Wait,” interrupted Hiura.
The two stood in silence and Nia heard quick footsteps that seemed to be getting louder.
“You guys cased this place, right?” whispered Nia.
“Of course,” answered Hiura.
Nia still couldn’t stop herself from becoming tense. The footsteps became louder until two men came through the door.
“Sorry we’re late, detectives,” said one of the men.
“No problem, gentlemen. I hope you don’t mind us taking a look at things without you,” said Hiura.
Nia’s tension disappeared in an instant. It was only the forensics team.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stick around while you guys do your thing. As sad as it may sound, I don’t have anyone to rush home to,” said Hiura.
“As long as you give us ample space. And can we get some real light in here?”
“I’ll see what I can do, but you may have to make due with flashlights until morning,” Hiura said before turning to Nia. “You’re heading back, right?”
“I can stay longer,” said Nia.
Like Hiura, she had no one to rush home to, and to be completely honest, this case was interesting to her despite, or maybe because of, the weird circumstances surrounding it. She wanted to see what might be found.
“Hmm… I’m not sure if they’ll be fine with more than one of us here. Besides, I need to ask you for a favor,” said Hiura.
“What is it?”
“Do you mind driving my partner home? This whole situation seems to have really shaken him up. I wouldn’t want to make him stay here any longer than he has to.”
Nia was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to stay, but she nodded as she remembered the man outside. He really did seem a bit distressed when she first walked up.
“You owe me, Hiura,” she said.
“How about I make it up to you with a romantic dinner?”
“Ugh…”
“I’m joking. We both know Sokuchi would kill me.”
“Did I really agree to do you a favor?”
“OK, OK, I’ll stop,” Hiura said quickly.
Nia playfully rolled her eyes though she doubted Hiura would see it.
“Keep me up to date on what happens,” Nia said before heading for the hallway.
“Of course. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
Back in the hallway, Nia left the crime scene behind and headed for the exit. When she walked out the side entrance she looked around for the man from earlier. She spotted him sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette and walked over to him.
“You OK?” she asked when she got close to him.
The man seemed a bit surprised and quickly looked up.
“Huh? Oh… yeah, I’m fine.”
He looked back down.
“Hiura seemed worried about you. He asked me to give you a ride home since he’ll be staying a while longer.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can wait until he’s ready.”
“Sorry, can’t do that. I already promised him I would.”
The man sat in silence for a few moments before putting out his cigarette and stuffing it into a small metal case. He stood up and faced Nia.
“I’ll take you up on your offer then.”
Nia smiled slightly and nodded. She then headed to her car while Hiura’s partner returned to their car to turn off the lights and grab his things out of it. Within minutes he had walked over to Nia’s running car and entered.
“All set?” asked Nia.
“Yeah.”
“Where do you live?”
“It’s pretty far. I live in the east district.”
“No problem.”
Nia drove away from the building and headed for the east district. Along the way she spoke to the man beside her.
“You’re Eda, right? If I’m not mistaken, you’re still pretty new.”
“Yeah, I just joined last week.”
“I thought so. It’s nice to officially meet you then. I’m—”
“Nia Tatsumi,” finished Eda.
Nia glanced at Eda momentarily as she continued driving.
“Hiura told you?” she asked.
“Yeah, but he didn’t have to. I recognized you as soon as I saw you.”
“Do we know each other?”
“No, but you were involved with that case three years ago, right? I followed that case, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that did. You’re pretty famous among police circles.”
Eda’s words surprised Nia. Of course she knew exactly what case he was talking about, there’s no way she couldn’t. But that case was three years ago. Sure, it was a really high profile case, and for a while afterwards she would even be recognized by common citizens when she walked down the street, but that stopped a while ago as the city moved on and practically forgot about what happened. So even if her fellow officers would remember such a thing longer than the average person, hearing it brought up again now threw her off a bit to say the least.
“Famous for being useless?” asked Nia.
It was Eda’s turn to be surprised. She could feel his widened eyes staring at her without even looking at him.
“N-No, not at all!” he quickly stammered. “You were an integral part of the case’s resolution!”
Nia smiled slightly.
“That’s what everyone tells me. I have a hard time believing it myself though. Was tonight your first time at an actual murder scene?”
“Was it that obvious?” asked Eda.
He let out a depressed sigh.
“I tried to hold it together as much as I could but… seeing that…”
“Well, in your defense, it was a pretty bad scene. Even I’ve never come across something that bad,” said Nia.
“I’d hate to be a hindrance to Hiura though.”
“He’s a pretty understanding guy. As long as you give it your best you two will get along fine.”
Eda didn’t immediately respond and Nia continued to drive in silence until he spoke again a little while later.
“Um…”
“Hm?”
“I heard you don’t have a partner, is that true?” asked Eda.
“It is.”
“Why?”
Nia didn’t answer.
“Sorry, that was rude of me,” Eda said after a few moments.
“No, it’s fine. To be honest, I’m not really sure either. When my last partner resigned I wasn’t open to having a new partner so the department allowed me to work alone. But that was years ago.”
“So you’re open to a new partner now?”
Nia thought for a moment. It’s something she hadn’t really considered for years now.
“I’m not sure,” she said.
The two went quiet again. They were getting close to the east district.
“I live near the train station,” said Eda.
Their remaining conversation consisted of Eda directing Nia to his home. It wasn’t long before Nia pulled the car over outside of where he lived.
“Well, we made it,” said Nia.
“Yeah. Thanks a lot for the ride, and even more for the encouragement,” said Eda.
“Anytime. Try not to get too down on yourself.”
“It was really nice meeting you.”
“Likewise.”
Eda left the car with his things and Nia watched as he went into his home. When he did, she drove off. She lazily walked into her own home a short time later and sighed.
I can’t stop thinking about it.
The case three years ago. Eda had put it into her head and now she couldn’t get it out. The case with all of those murders, and the case where she…
Nia walked through her apartment. Most would probably call it simple, but it had everything she needed as far as she was concerned. And right now, the thing she needed was her bed. She walked into her room and flopped down on it without even bothering to change. It was impossible for her to think about the case from three years ago without thinking about her former partner.
I wonder what he’s doing right now…
It was late. Maybe he was already asleep? Nia closed her eyes while trying to stop her mind from wandering. It didn’t work of course, and it was a while before she finally managed to fall asleep.
Occupation: Drifter #1 is here!
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