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.