Chapter 11: The Case
Just as ĹŚgami YĹŤsuke was about to listen in on their conversation, the door to the neighboring room opened. Takada ShĹŤji had finished giving his statement, and the officer escorting him out noticed ĹŚgami YĹŤsuke and waved him over. "ĹŚgami-kun, don’t be nervous. We’re just conducting routine questioning. Just tell us what you know."
Reluctantly, ĹŚgami YĹŤsuke had to leave.
In room 216, Kishida Masayoshi approached the body. "What have you found?"
The forensic examiner pointed to the severed neck of the corpse. "The way the head was cut off is a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"If the killer had a reason to decapitate the victim, they would normally use just one knife, right?"
"That’s correct. From the killer’s perspective, if they used a knife to commit the murder, they would likely use the same weapon to dismember the body. If they didn’t use a knife but still wanted to dismember the body, they would usually look for tools nearby to do so."
"But the marks on the severed neck of this corpse clearly indicate the use of two knives—one large and one small."
"Huh?"
"The flesh and skin around the neck were cut open, not chopped. The cuts are short and precise, which suggests a small knife. The person wielding it was very skilled and steady, making each cut accurate and controlled. You can imagine the killer standing by the bed with a small knife, calmly and methodically cutting through the flesh and skin of the neck as if they were handling a piece of beef. They remained composed and unaffected by the gruesome scene."
"So, the killer could be someone with a profession like a butcher, chef, or doctor?"
"When I examined the severed cervical spine, I found chop marks. These marks clearly belong to a larger knife. The killer also made a few misaligned chops, leaving marks on the bones further down. This conflicts with the calm and skilled cutting of the flesh and skin."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Maybe there were two killers? They took turns dismembering the body."
"I’ve never heard of such a case. Even in cases of multiple perpetrators dismembering a body, there’s no instance of two people taking turns to work on the same part," Kishida Masayoshi frowned. If it were a case of two people working together, they would typically have a strong mutual trust, such as family members or spouses. In such cases, the bolder one would usually handle the dismemberment, while the other would clean up the scene.
In extreme cases of dismemberment, even if multiple people were involved, it would usually be one person handling the arms and another the legs, for example.
Moreover, simply decapitating someone shouldn’t require much physical effort—it’s more about the psychological impact of the gruesome scene. But the forensic examiner said the killer was calm and composed while cutting through the flesh, and their technique was skilled and precise. In such a case, it’s even less likely that they would switch roles midway due to fatigue.
"That’s strange. Why not use the larger knife from the start? A bigger knife would make cutting easier, and the misaligned chop marks on the bones are also concerning."
"Maybe... the killer wasn’t used to using a larger knife."
"Kishida, are you saying..."
"Because the larger knife was awkward to handle, they misaligned the chops when cutting through the cervical spine. Do you think the knife used to cut the flesh could have been a scalpel?"
"Unlikely. A scalpel would be sharper, and the cuts would be longer. Also, look at the markings here."
Kishida Masayoshi turned his gaze to the lower back of the corpse, where a portion of the skin had been cut away, leaving behind what appeared to be some kind of writing.
"The first one."
Could this be another serial murder case?
"The markings here can’t be used for handwriting analysis, but based on the cuts, they don’t seem to have been made with a scalpel."
Kishida Masayoshi furrowed his brow. "Why would they write here? Cutting the skin on the center of the back would have been easier. By the way, can you determine the cause of death?"
"Aside from the neck, there are no obvious external injuries on the body. Based on the vital reaction around the neck wound, it was inflicted postmortem. The livor mortis on the chest shows no abnormalities, and there’s no sign of poisoning. Tsk, the exact cause of death can only be determined after an autopsy."
"What about the time of death?"
"The livor mortis has started to merge, rigor mortis is evident in the arms and abdomen, and the muscle’s supravital reaction is weak. Based on these factors, the time of death is estimated to be between four to five hours ago."
After the forensic examiner finished speaking, he asked, "Do you suspect the killer is a doctor?"
"Well..." Kishida Masayoshi hesitated.
"Why are you so cautious with me? I’m not going to tell anyone," the forensic examiner sighed. "Besides, that incident was already a year ago. You shouldn’t dwell on it too much. The real fault lies with that journalist, not you."
The forensic examiner’s superficial attempt at reassurance didn’t have much effect, but out of respect for his colleague, Kishida Masayoshi replied, "It’s a bit too hasty to say the killer is a doctor. However, the killer has a strong tolerance for bloody scenes, which might be related to their profession. To be more precise, that’s the only way to think about it for now."
......
"Makoto, you handle the questioning for this Yomikawa girl. I’ll assist from the side."
"That’s the third-year club president, right? I’ll take care of it."
"Her parents are influential figures, so don’t be too harsh when questioning her, or we’ll have trouble on our hands."
"Huh? Is she the child of some prefectural assembly member?"
"No, they’re renowned scholars and consultants for several major corporations. In short, dealing with people like this is tricky..."
A male and female officer were whispering to each other when, the next second, the door in front of them suddenly opened.
A tall, elegant girl with a cold expression appeared before them. She scrutinized the two of them before stepping aside and saying, "Next time you gossip about someone, please don’t do it right outside their door."
"W-we’re very sorry..."
The two officers were startled at first, but after recovering, they quickly bowed deeply. Being caught gossiping about someone could easily lead to social ruin if word got out.
"You’re here to take my statement, right? Please come in."
Seeing that she wasn’t going to press the issue, both officers breathed a sigh of relief.
"You’re Yomikawa-san, right? I’m Officer Matsushita Makoto."
The girl nodded and invited the two officers into the room. They sat across from each other at the low table on the tatami mats, and she slightly bowed her head. "Well then, please take care of me."
"Huh? Ah... y-yes, please take care of me too," Matsushita Makoto hurriedly responded, thinking to herself that this must be the etiquette of a successful person’s child—truly impeccable.
After collecting herself and preparing her pen and paper, she asked, "Yomikawa-san, could you briefly describe what happened last night?"
"Of course," the girl nodded. However, before the officers could relax, she added, "But before that, have you confirmed Kagehara-kun’s situation? After I had ĹŚgami and the others call the police, I only checked on Takada. Kagehara-kun is missing from the inn. I was the one who brought them here for the trip, so please tell me about their safety."
Matsushita Makoto exchanged a glance with her partner, feeling a headache coming on. Who was the one being questioned here again?
"Well... ĹŚgami-kun and the others are all safe. It’s just that Kagehara Tetsuya is missing. We’ve already dispatched people to search for him. Please rest assured, Yomikawa-san."
Matsushita Makoto took another deep breath and adjusted her mindset. "Alright, let’s begin."
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