Chapter 48: A Brief Message
A year ago, Kishida Masayoshi, while investigating the Tanaka Erika case, had noted down Kagehara Tetsuya’s contact information.
For him, it was merely filing away information for future reference, never imagining he would actually receive a call from Kagehara one day.
In that instant, a flurry of thoughts raced through his mind.
What could Kagehara’s purpose be?
Was he calling to confess?
Or was he seeking help, perhaps even in danger and calling for rescue?
But why choose to contact him of all people?
Picking up his phone and pressing the answer button, Kishida’s breathing quickened. “Hello? Kagehara Tetsuya?”
The call connected. After asking the question, Kishida waited for a few seconds, but there was no reply from the other end, not even a sound.
“Hello? Is this Kagehara? Why aren’t you speaking?”
Could he have been attacked? Was the person using his phone someone else?
“Kagehara, where are you? Can we meet and talk?”
“You know Yomikawa Tsuko, right? She’s very worried about you.”
“You were only an accomplice in the onsen inn case. The situation isn’t as serious as you think. Don’t associate with Hasebe Koichi anymore. You might be being used!”
“Also, you didn’t kill Tanaka Erika, did you? If you want to clear your name, I can help you. If you’re willing to cooperate, I’ll definitely arrest the Makeup Hunter.”
Unable to ascertain Kagehara’s intentions, Kishida tried his best to persuade him.
Unfortunately, his words had no effect. Just as he was about to try appealing to him through Yomikawa again, the call ended.
“Damn it. He calls me himself, and then says nothing,” Kishida muttered, frustrated. He tried calling back, only to be met with the cold, mechanical tone of a blocked number. Kagehara had blacklisted him.
Lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag, he frowned. He was about to contact the technical division to see if they could trace the call’s origin when his phone rang again.
This time, it wasn’t a call, but a text message.
The message was simple: “My house.”
Reading it, Kishida didn’t hesitate for a second. He grabbed a jacket and rushed downstairs.
He knew Kagehara’s address. He had visited it a year ago.
Now that Kagehara had sent him this message, his first thought was that it was a meeting place.
Perhaps Kagehara wanted to see him, or had something to give him!
That was why he had made the initial call, to check if he was awake.
As for why Kagehara had chosen him, Kishida speculated it might be because of what had happened a year ago. Or perhaps it was because of Yomikawa. Maybe she had mentioned him in her communications with Kagehara, saying something positive, thereby earning him a sliver of trust.
Of course, that was the optimistic view. The pessimistic one…
Was that Kagehara might have been attacked.
“Damn…” Kishida clenched his jaw, unconsciously pressing harder on the accelerator. He muttered under his breath, Please, no, please, no.
The information from Yomikawa suggested that Kagehara was likely not the culprit in Tanaka Erika’s murder. He was probably innocent.
But due to his own arrogance and rashness, Kagehara had been forced to endure undeserved accusations and stigma for a year, facing ostracism and isolation at every turn.
In this situation, he would have no reason to trust the police, whom he already looked down upon. Therefore, to clear his name, he had been forced to investigate the Makeup Hunter case himself, at great risk.
“If Kagehara dies because of this, I’m the indirect cause.”
“First, I drove Kagehara Kenta to suicide, and now if Kagehara Tetsuya also…”
The thought made Kishida feel as if a giant hand was squeezing his heart. A wave of guilt nearly suffocated him.
He was a police officer, supposed to uphold justice for the deceased.
But due to his rash and arrogant actions, innocent people had been dragged into this. If—if Kagehara was innocent, and both he and his father died because of him, what right did he have to be a police officer?
So please, he pleaded silently, please don’t let that happen.
Yet, in the midst of his prayer, a sudden thought surfaced in his mind.
If Tanaka Erika was killed by Kagehara, that would be better. If he wasn’t innocent, then Kagehara Kenta’s suicide wouldn’t be my fault.
This thought, which offered a perverse kind of relief, filled Kishida with an inexplicable dread.
Merely thinking it gave him the sensation of having committed a terrible deed and being caught in the act.
Shaking his head, he sternly rebuked himself.
No, I absolutely cannot consider this so irresponsibly.
I cannot deliberately steer the investigation in that direction.
He forced himself to push the thought away, accelerating. A few minutes later, Kagehara’s house came into view.
It was just past five in the morning. The sky was still dark, the nearby residents hadn’t woken up yet, and no lights were on. The streets, shrouded in darkness, seemed desolate.
Getting out of his car, Kishida stared at the solitary Kagehara residence, his heart pounding.
He wondered what awaited him inside.
The person hiding there likely didn’t want to attract attention. Like the surrounding houses, Kagehara’s house was dark. He stepped into the yard, remembering that after the onsen inn incident, the police had obtained a search warrant and searched both Kagehara’s and ĹŚshima Masaki’s houses. But after the searches, these places wouldn't be under special surveillance.
Therefore, it was entirely possible that Kagehara and Hasebe Koichi were hiding in Kagehara's home.
The yard was a mess, probably due to the strong winds and heavy rain of the past few days. Debris was scattered everywhere—some were household items, some were tools, and some were clearly items blown over from neighboring properties.
For example, there were a few pieces of adult women’s lingerie. He couldn’t imagine those belonging to Kagehara.
To the far right of the yard was a garage, containing a dusty car. Kishida recalled that the search report from a few days ago mentioned the car was broken and hadn’t been moved in a long time.
After a quick sweep of the yard, finding nothing, he opened the damaged front door, the lock clearly forced, and entered the genkan.
In the darkness, a thick, metallic scent of blood assaulted his nostrils.
The intense odor almost certainly indicated a murder had taken place. The presence of a rusty smell, without any stench of decay, suggested it hadn't been long.
Who was the victim? Kagehara? Hasebe? Or someone else they had killed?
Kishida’s senses sharpened. He drew his pistol, chambering a round, and switched on his phone’s flashlight, slowly moving towards the light switch.
If anyone was inside, they would have heard him open the door. There was no need to hide. Facing them directly was the safest and most advantageous approach.
Click!
The lights flickered on, banishing the darkness. Kishida’s eyes immediately fell upon a headless corpse lying in the living room.
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