NABC Page 25
Page 25
Chapter 29: No Clues
"Cherry blossoms are a symbol of courage! Every police officer wears one; they represent strength, gentleness, and dashing justice!"
Shiratori recalled the words he had heard as a child, which was why he gave up being a lawyer and ultimately chose to become a police officer.
After a long pause, Shiratori finally lowered her hand weakly: "I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."
"If you've thought it through, stop sitting there and get to work!"
……
Matsuda reappeared at the scene of the body disposal with Shiratori, though the others probably didn't notice.
Hoshino Terumi immediately noticed the red mark on Shiratori's face.
"Were you hit?" Hoshino Terumi looked at Matsuda.
She knew Shiratori; he was the one investigating the neighbor's daughter's case, but without any results.
Looking at Matsuda now, Hoshino Terumi recalled Okino Yoko's evaluation of Matsuda, and a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in her heart.
"This guy might not be as incompetent as other police officers."
"What did you say? Huimei?"
Yoko Okino paused for a moment, not quite understanding.
"No, I didn't say anything."
Hoshino Terumi was startled by her own words. She took out her wallet, inside which was a picture of Shinichi Kudo.
"If you were here, the case might have been solved long ago."
……
"The girl's name is Fujiwara Kumiko. She went missing the day before yesterday afternoon, and her parents reported her missing to the police yesterday at noon."
Shiratori explained the basic information about the deceased girl to Matsuda.
"Yesterday at noon?" Matsuda asked, "Why didn't you call the police immediately after they went missing?"
"The family was worried that their daughter would be harmed by the kidnappers, so they wanted to wait and see what the kidnappers wanted,"
Shiratori explained, "As a result, the kidnappers did not contact them until the next day, and the family panicked and went to the Metropolitan Police Department to report the case."
"The kidnappers haven't contacted the girl's family?" Matsuda asked, puzzled.
“No,” Shiratori shook his head. “Not only Fujiwara Kumiko, but also the victims of the first kidnapping and death case, Oborokawa Yumi, and the second kidnapping and death case, Ueki Ayatsuki, the kidnappers never contacted the victims’ families.”
Matsuda glanced at Hoshino Terumi beside him, and suddenly thought of the first victim, Oborokawa Yumi, the little girl next door who Yoko had mentioned making a promise with Hoshino Terumi.
If someone you know becomes like this girl in front of you, and the police are still unable to find the murderer, then her previous attitude towards the police becomes understandable.
"By the way, are there any similarities among the three cases?" Matsuda asked. "For example, the schools the victims attended, their home addresses, their parents' jobs, and so on?"
“No,” Shiratori said helplessly, “We’ve investigated all of this. Apart from the victims being the same age and gender, the three cases have nothing else in common.”
"So it's indiscriminate, random crime?" Matsuda was also a bit of a headache upon hearing this.
These kinds of cases are often the most difficult to solve and resolve.
No wonder Shiratori worked hard for a week without any results.
Matsuda asked, "Aside from these three recent cases, have there been any similar incidents before?"
"I'm not entirely sure about that either; I'll need to check the records at the Metropolitan Police Department." Shiratori shook his head.
Hearing Matsuda's words, Denmi, who was performing the autopsy nearby, thought for a moment and said, "Officer Matsuda, I do remember a similar case a year ago. Because the little girl died so tragically, the murderer was never brought to justice. I still remember it to this day."
"What are the details?" Matsuda asked, frowning.
Denmi recalled, "I remember it was a very young thug who kidnapped a nine-year-old girl, but he accidentally messed up and caused the girl's death."
"What happened to that prisoner afterward?" Matsuda pressed. "And his name, do you still remember any of that?"
"That criminal was apparently released on the spot by the court due to insufficient evidence," Denmi scratched his head. "His name... I think it was something like Tetsuji."
Matsuda pondered for a moment and said, "Shiratori, go back and find the case file from a year ago, then investigate where the culprit from back then is now?"
"You think he did it?" Shiratori questioned. "That was a case from a year ago, and the little girl's death was an accident back then."
"Even if it was an accident, he still committed murder, and once people cross certain lines, they gradually become indifferent."
Matsuda countered, "Like these three cases this week, there's still not a single clue. Do you think a novice could handle that?"
"This..." Shiratori was speechless when asked the question, so he could only nod. "I will look into it when I get back."
……
The incident has occurred, so my date with Yoko Okino today is obviously off.
After saying hello to her, Matsuda returned to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Shiratori immediately went to find the case file of the kidnapping case from a year ago, while Matsuda himself followed Tomi to the forensic department.
“The girl had sixteen bruises, six cuts that bled, four burns, and two bone fractures…” The more Denmi examined her, the darker her face became. “This girl was tortured to death.”
"Well, I see it."
Matsuda looked at the girl's disfigured face, and his anger was boiling.
To inflict such severe harm on a girl who is only ten years old is beyond what can be described as mere scum.
By this time, it was completely dark outside.
During the forensic examination, Denmi was still conducting a detailed examination of the girl's body, completely unaware that a faint human figure was emerging from the corpse.
Matsuda looked at the little girl floating in mid-air, her face contorted with rage and her expression fierce, and sighed inwardly.
It had only been five hours since it died, and its soul had already left its body. It must have been filled with resentment.
At that moment, the little girl's vengeful spirit, which had just emerged from the body, seemed to sense Matsuda's gaze, and its bloodthirsty eyes immediately turned towards him.
do not move!
Matsuda ordered the restless Ghost Knight to stay put, worried that if the Ghost Knight held back the hatred, what would happen if the girl's evil spirit didn't go after the murderer?
So he had no choice but to continue pretending to observe the ceiling through the girl's soul.
The girl's malevolent spirit drifted to Matsuda's side, her pale face, covered in bulging veins, close to his eyes.
The whites of his eyes had long since disappeared, and his dark eyes were constantly observing Matsuda's face.
Matsuda's lips twitched, but he had no choice but to continue acting.
Suddenly, the evil spirit raised its arm, its two bluish claws reaching for Matsuda's neck. Had its resentment become so intense that it wanted to harm someone unrelated?
Matsuda thought to himself, and stopped trying to stop the Ghost Knight.
In an instant, the unrestrained Ghost Knight emerged from the shadows behind Matsuda, accompanied by gusts of black wind.
Chapter 30 The Vengeful Spirit
The sudden appearance of this knight, completely clad in black armor, clearly frightened the little girl's evil spirit.
She bared her teeth and yelled at the Ghost Knight before quickly passing through the wall and escaping.
Matsuda lets the Ghost Knight follow the little girl's evil spirit.
After saying goodbye to Denmi, he immediately chased after her.
After escaping from the Metropolitan Police Department, the little girl's vengeful spirit slowly drifted northwest.
During this time, she tried to attack strangers several times, but was stopped by the Ghost Knight each time.
Matsuda was actually a little worried that the Ghost Knight's obstruction might affect the little girl's evil spirit from going to find the real culprit.
Fortunately, the little girl's vengeful spirit clearly hadn't forgotten the murderer who killed her.
It kept drifting forward until it came to a high-rise apartment building, where it stopped and stared blankly into a room.
here……
Matsuda looked around. The apartment was less than a kilometer away from Beika Park, where the girl's body had been found.
They're really bold to choose such a close distance to dump the body.
As Matsuda was pondering this, the little girl's evil spirit, after a moment of stunned silence, immediately flew to a room on the third floor and slipped inside through the balcony.
Third floor...
Matsuda memorized the approximate location of the room, then went to the apartment entrance, showed the manager his police handbook, and inquired about the tenant of the room on the third floor.
"That's 302. A man who recently moved in lives there, Makita Tetsuji. He seems quite aloof and doesn't usually greet people."
The old man at the management office thought for a moment,
"Moreover, his neighbors often complain to us that they hear him screaming in agony late at night."
“We specifically talked to him about this, and he said it was because he often had nightmares at night.”
"In fact, because he often disturbs other neighbors, our apartment building is already planning to terminate his contract and have him move out."
Tetsuji Makita... Tetsuji, isn't this the prisoner that Tomi mentioned a year ago?
After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic doorman, Matsuda arrived at room 302. As soon as he got close, he heard a man's terrified scream coming from inside.
"What's this guy up to now!"
A middle-aged woman came out of room 301 next door, cursing and swearing, and was about to knock on the door of room 302.
"I'm a police officer, don't knock."
Matsuda stopped her and showed her his police handbook.
"Officer Matsuda? It's you!" the middle-aged woman exclaimed in surprise.
Upon closer inspection, Matsuda realized that the woman was the same old lady who had grabbed his sleeve in Beika Park earlier, saying that she lived nearby and that she wouldn't be able to live in peace until the murderer who disposed of the body was caught.
"Officer Matsuda, now that you're here, you really have to keep an eye on this guy. He keeps yelling like that every day, how are we supposed to get any rest!" The middle-aged woman complained, tugging at Matsuda's sleeve.
Matsuda offered a few words of comfort and finally managed to get the middle-aged woman back to her room.
Then he just stood at the door of 302 without making any move.
Matsuda wanted to wait until the prisoner was killed by the evil spirit before opening the door and going in.