CHAPTER 5 #2
“We’re thinking maybe surfaces they came in contact with,” Teruo said.
“The lab is still working on those. If they come out positive, then spreading toxins on surfaces suggests the criminal had prepared beforehand. They knew where the victims would be and which surfaces they’d touch.
Based on the prints the forensics found at the scene, the entire incident is focused on that makeshift living room. ”
Shinji pondered that information. Had the victims gathered there for some sort of secret meeting? What other reason would they have to go to a possibly abandoned house, and only sit around in the living room? None of them even lived in that area.
“I’d like to go to the Medical Examiner’s Office and check the victims’ bodies,” Shinji said.
“We can go.” Teruo grinned. “Everybody there just loves seeing me so much. Suzuki might kick my ass in joy.”
Shinji snorted, knowing it was a likely scenario since they’d be bothering her in the middle of four autopsies. But he needed to see the victims up close. If anything supernatural had been done to them, this was his last chance to find out before the energy dispersed—if it hadn’t already.
“All right.” Teruo rubbed his palms together. “Nakagawa, take a team of officers with you and speak with Wada’s and the Nishino couple’s families. Find out more about their relationships and enemies they might have in common.”
“Yes, sir.” Nakagawa grabbed her phone, then bowed, and left. Keiko followed her out too, saying she’d wait for the two of them at the car to give them a few moments alone.
Teruo turned to Shinji and smiled. “Ready, partner?”
“Always.” Shinji held on to Teruo’s necktie and pulled him in for a fast kiss. “I missed working with you. I mean, the other units are great,” he added quickly so he wouldn’t worry Teruo, “but you’re my favorite,” he whispered with a wink.
Teruo preened, looking terribly smug. “I’m everybody’s favorite. I have such a bubbly personality, how can I not be?”
“Of course, of course.” Shinji nodded sagely, then they both burst into laughter. He really had missed their partnership a lot. He didn’t feel comfortable around anyone else the way he felt around Teruo.
Teruo stood up. “Let’s pass by the briefing room first. I need Furuya to check out the victims’ phone records and financial transactions.”
Bitterness coursed through Shinji. “Furuya’s not on desk duty anymore?”
“He’s not. I’m sorry…”
“You don’t have to apologize. I guess I’m still not quite over it.”
“Things with him are awkward,” Teruo continued, “but it’s difficult to keep an inspector on desk duty when dealing with a quadruple homicide. There’s a lot of ground to cover.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Shinji struggled to be the bigger person and not be spiteful toward Furuya for remaining in homicide, while he had to switch between units, feeling like he belonged nowhere.
It had been easier when he didn’t see Furuya face to face, but now that he’d probably see the guy more often, a part of him loathed it.
But in was pointless to be resentful. What had been done couldn’t be undone, and both he and Teruo had enough on their plates already.
He sucked in a breath as they walked toward the briefing room, and he waited outside while Teruo gave Furuya instructions.
After Teruo finished, they went to the car, where Keiko waited, and Shinji climbed behind the wheel.
“Is everything okay?” Keiko asked. “You look pissed.”
“All good,” Shinji said. Teruo peeked at him, but didn’t inquire.
The road wasn’t too crowded, but the late morning sun shone brightly, the heat radiating up from the asphalt.
Shinji’s skin felt clammy and the suit jacket clung uncomfortably to his body, so he shed it at a stoplight.
He wasn’t fond of summer, but Keiko’s icy ghostly mist combined with the car’s air con made it bearable.
When they arrived at the medical center, Teruo pushed the doors open, strolling in like he owned the entire building.
The front desk clerk only glared—mostly at Teruo, who didn’t care—and it made Shinji feel a bit selfish for enjoying that the eyes weren’t on him for once, judging or pitying him for being in a relationship with his superior officer. It had gotten tiresome.
“I’m curious to find out what you think of the victims,” Keiko said breaking Shinji out of his thoughts. “Don’t you think it’s odd that I couldn’t find their ghosts?”
“Not necessarily,” Shinji said. “It’s possible they’ve been sent to the other side by the Shinigami who handles that area. I’ll ask the Onmyōryō and if they have been sent over, we’ll manage on our own.”
“What’s the usual window of time for sending ghosts over?” Keiko asked.
“Depends on the ghosts’ state of mind and cause of death.
The Shinigami will keep the ghosts around if they’re extremely confused, unwilling to cross over, or give off signs of unnatural death.
I keep murder victims’ ghosts longer than usual until I solve the cases.
Not every Shinigami cares about this, though.
They’ll report the situation, but if they deem the ghost fit to cross over, they’ll send them through. ”
“Why do they need to be deemed fit?” Teruo asked. “Does it actually matter when they reach the other side?”
“I can’t tell you a hundred percent if it does or not, but all Shinigami are taught to be mindful of it because a ghost with a heavy burden is said to have trouble in the other world.
Allegedly, they could attack the keepers minding the river banks, or attack the other ghosts—before they actually reach the river itself.
Among Shinigami, opinions are divided on the situation, and the info is in short supply since we can’t step in there and check it out for ourselves. ”
“But you have enough info to know there’s a river, and keepers, and a land of the dead,” Teruo said.
“Well, yes, generally from the spirits that have been summoned back. But it would’ve been useful to go there and see for ourselves, so that we can manage things properly on this side of the veil.”
“It’s interesting that Shinigami are essentially created on the other side,” Teruo added, “but you’re not allowed to go there.”
Shinji smiled at Teruo’s observation. “While we have more in common with ghosts than any other supernaturals, we are still living humans. That’s why we can’t just waltz over to the other side.”
Teruo stopped at the door behind which was Suzuki.
He remained quiet for a few moments, frowning, and Shinji wondered what was on his mind, if he was concerned about the ghosts, or if it went deeper and he was worried about himself.
Shinji’s chest constricted, knowing that the clock was ticking for Teruo.
He tried to bury that thought for now because he knew it would make him spiral down a dangerous road.
Then Teruo cleared his throat and strolled in. “Room for two more?”
Inside, four stainless steel tables were lined, three of the victims covered, while one was uncovered to his chest. Suzuki sat on a small, round chair, hunched at her laptop, still in scrubs, one hand ungloved and typing something down.
She raised her head and smiled widely. “There’s the power couple of the Metropolitan Police.”
“Wow, the gossip spread all the way here,” Keiko said.
It was exactly what Shinji thought too, and had intended to be annoyed about it, but Suzuki’s words managed to lift his spirits. He appreciated her positive perspective about the situation.
She took off the remaining glove, and threw it in the bin. “I knew one of these days you’d make an appearance,” she told Teruo.
“And I don’t disappoint,” Teruo stated. “I’m here in all my nagging glory.”
“You certainly are!” Suzuki turned to Shinji. “Back in homicide?”
“Temporarily to help with this case.”
“I see. Well, if you’re here for the full report, it’s not done yet. But the toxicology examination is.”
“What can you tell us?” Teruo asked.
Suzuki let out a long, tired sigh. “Only bad news.”
Shinji exchanged a look with Teruo and a discreet one with Keiko too.
They all waited until Suzuki picked up a few files from beside her laptop and returned, positioning herself at the head of the uncovered victim.
Shinji recognized him as Wada Toshio, so judging by the height, the one next to him was Morimoto Hiroyuki.
“Drugs and poison can break down in a decomposed body,” Suzuki started.
“The warm weather didn’t help much either, though the building preserved them well enough.
I took this into account when I started the tox screen, but I still had the vomit and stomach contents, which I’d hoped would give me good results. ”
“Let me guess,” Teruo said. “No poison.”
“None. Or drugs, or any sort of substance that would explain the symptoms similar to poisoning. I tested for possible allergens too, but that was a negative as well, which makes the cause of death right now unknown.”
“Well, that’s problematic,” Keiko said, mirroring Shinji’s opinion.
“There’s more,” Suzuki continued. “I have found inexplicable marks on their bodies.” She took a hold of the sheets that covered Wada and Morimoto, then pulled them down to their waists at the same time.
Teruo gave a short, though audible gasp, while Shinji felt bile coming up his throat.
A ridged scar traversed diagonally on Wada Toshio’s body, from the center of his left pectoral toward his right one, stopping just below the collarbone.
Morimoto had a similar one, his starting from his abdomen, going diagonally toward his right pectoral.
It was like Shinji’s scar, the one on his back that Ueda had given him in a moment of pure madness when he brought out his reiryoku and slashed Shinji with it.
“I have no idea what could cause such a scar,” Suzuki said.
“Not surprising…” Keiko muttered.
“I still have to analyze it,” Suzuki continued, “but it reminds me of lightning scars, except these are white instead of reddish-pink. The problem is that it’s definitely not a lightning scar and I have no idea what sort of weapon could even leave such marks.”
“Right,” Teruo breathed, almost choking on the word.
Shinji couldn’t say anything, only stare in horror.
“And if you look closely,” Suzuki added, “it’s almost as if Morimoto’s scar continues on Wada’s.” She linked the two tables together. “See? It’s like both of them were struck in one go.” Then she walked toward Nishino Shigeharu and Yumi. “But, these two have no scars.”
Now Shinji understood how the perpetrator managed to kill the four victims. They quickly slapped Wada and Morimoto with a whip of spiritual energy, and handled the Nishino couple before returning to the other two.
It was a strategic attack as Wada and Morimoto were the most likely to put up a fight.
Keiko threw him a worried look and Shinji stared back, his stomach clenching in a mix of panic and horrible memories.
Fuck… focus, Shinji told himself.
He held his breath for a moment before exhaling slowly. Taking advantage of Suzuki’s distraction as Teruo asked her to show him something in the files, Shinji carefully pressed his fingers against Wada’s wrist, then against Morimoto’s.
A shiver ran down his spine. A faint, almost imperceptible remnant of spiritual energy coursed through his fingertips.
He recognized it, the type of lethal reiryoku he’d only witnessed at full power once, and that was out of duty and not willingness.
Its power was suffocating, heavy, going inside the body and extending its poison slowly and painfully, sucking every bit of reiryoku the host had until what was left was a shell of a human with no powers and no soul.
The pressure it exerted was so strong it caused internal bleeding, vomit and a greenish tint on the skin—strong enough for even non-supernaturals to see.
Shinji didn’t need to check out the Nishino couple to know how these four people died. One of the Onmyōryō’s reiryoku extractors killed them.
They had been executed.