Page 16 of The Red Collar
“Those two witnesses,” Teruo said. “The man and the woman we spoke to. They strayed from the main jogging area and went to those shrubs for something intimate.”
“Yeah, can’t say I understand that guy’s thrill at whipping his dick out in freakin’ November for a quick screw.” Miyazaki delivered his speech with a straight face.
Teruo’s eyes widened at the sudden dirty language coming from Miyazaki who’d been the picture of politeness. Even Miyazaki himself seemed to realize what he just said and bit his lower lip, looking alarmed.
But Teruo couldn’t help it and burst into laughter. Seeming relieved that Teruo didn’t reprimand him, Miyazaki joined in, holding a hand on the bookcase for balance and another on his stomach. Teruo couldn’t remember a time when he’d actually laughed with one of his work partners. The air was always heavy, even during less stressful cases.
They both calmed, but Miyazaki still had a wide smile on his face and Teruo found himself staring at the way his eyes glinted with mirth and how his full lips curled up, revealing pearly teeth. Taking a step back, Teruo averted his gaze, putting some distance between them, not sure what to do with this sudden attraction for Miyazaki that had invaded his mind. He never cared about his coworkers; not in this way. Miyazaki was handsome man, but it wasn’t appropriate for Teruo to have such thoughts about his subordinate officer.
“Well,” Teruo said, trying to move the discussion back to the investigation, “what the witnesses did got me thinking. What if our victim intended to do the same?” Miyazaki looked at him with interest and Teruo continued, “What if he went there with a lover? I mean a cold, dark park wouldn’t be my first choice, but…”
Miyazaki took a breath. “He let his guard down because he didn’t think he’d end up dead, so it was easy for the criminal to inject him, then kill him with the wire.”
“Precisely,” Teruo said. He rubbed his fists together and cracked his knuckles. “Check missing persons reports. Start with those in the nearby area of Yoyogi Park and move to outer regions if you find nothing there.”
“Yes, sir.”
Each sat at his desk, searching databases and thumbing reports from the forensic team. The criminal had been careful and hadn’t left much evidence behind. From the position of the injection site, Teruo speculated the criminal might’ve been shorter in height than the jogger. When Miyazaki pretended to inject him—being the same height as Teruo—his hand hovered briefly at the shoulder, before lowering to Teruo’s bicep, where the victim was injected.
Forensics traced five pairs of footprints on the ground leading to the bushes where they found the body, but gave rough estimations due to the mud. Three pairs matched the jogger and the couple’s shoes. One was the first officer’s shoes. The fifth was the criminal’s, a mid-size pair.
He had to be patient and wait for the autopsy. Identifying the victim and finding out his personal relationships, even discovering any sort of DNA on his body and clothes, would narrow down their search significantly.
After a quick in-office lunch and another round at the crime scene for a last look, they returned to the office with more questions than answers.
As Teruo sat down, nursing his third coffee today, the shrill sound of the landline pierced the silence inside the room.
“Hayashi speaking.” His hand tightened on the receiver as he listened to the dispatcher on the other side. He slammed down the phone after jotting the address and looked at Miyazaki. “There’s been a second murder, same MO.”
“Wire and pet tag?”
“Yeah.” Teruo sighed running a palm over his face. He took a few gulps of coffee, then stood. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t like this at all. Another murder delivered in the same way meant this case could get complicated. According to the dispatcher, the victim was a woman and it made Teruo wonder whether this was some love affair gone terribly wrong.
He rubbed at his shoulder. The throbbing had lessened and all the caffeine and nicotine helped him focus. Teruo checked his watch. It was five thirty. The investigation would probably stretch well into the night.
They passed by the front desk and Megumi was there talking with the officer on duty. She stopped when she noticed Teruo and waved.
“Would love to chat,” Teruo said, “but we have a second murder to deal with.”
She nodded, looking concerned. “Text me after.”
“Will do,” Teruo said, heading to the elevator.
He pressed the button for the parking lot, then looked at Miyazaki who stood with his back against the wall by the control panel. His gaze trailed up toward the elevator’s ceiling, his dark brown eyes radiant under the LED lights.
Miyazaki’s gaze lowered and locked on Teruo’s. “Is she your—”
“Friend,” Teruo replied fast to avoid the usual misunderstanding surrounding his relationship with Megumi. His only friend, actually, but he’d never admit that out loud. “Koga Megumi is a robberies inspector. I’ll introduce you properly next time.”
“Where are we headed, sir?”
“Itabashi,” Teruo said.
It was a different municipality north of Shibuya. He wondered if these two murder locations had any meaning to the murderer or they just happened to be where the victims lived.
Teruo passed Miyazaki the keys to his Nissan as they walked through the underground parking lot. They climbed inside the car and Miyazaki drove out onto the busy road. Teruo rolled down the window then grabbed his pack of Mevius, pulling out a cigarette. Miyazaki drove fast, overtaking all the cars, making abrupt turns, causing Teruo to hold onto the handle above him a few times and they reached Itabashi and the crime scene fast.
