Gray storm clouds crowded the sky. The rain that had fallen earlier that morning caused the earthy scent of wet soil to partially mask the stench of decay lingering in the air, but the mixture of the two smells… was hardly any better.
The gloomy weather also left the officers working the crime scene carrying varying degrees of resentment in their hearts. Some directed it toward the killer, believing the murderer to be excessively cruel. Others directed it toward themselves, embarrassed that they had vomited after seeing the bodies.
Ritsu observed the five corpses before him. Two of the bodies had already decayed severely. Even if their heads hadn't been removed, their faces would have been impossible to identify.
"Hm?"
While inspecting the second corpse, Ritsu noticed the victim's fists were clenched tightly shut. He pried one open and discovered a crumpled piece of paper inside.
After smoothing it out, he realized it was a business card.
"Rose & White Tea… a nightclub in Roppongi."
Ritsu examined the female victim's clothing. She didn't look like a waitress, but more like a hostess who entertained customers by drinking and chatting with them.
Looking at the information on the card, although no full name was written on it, at least they now had the club's address. Figuring out the victim's identity would be much easier.
There were no bullet holes in the clothing, which meant the killer had shot her while she was naked. After confirming the victim's death, the murderer had dressed the body again.
Why would the killer go through the trouble of removing the victim's clothes only to put them back on afterward?
What was the point?
"Inspector, is there anything I can help with?"
Having already emptied his stomach of breakfast, Takagi walked over while holding his abdomen. After seeing the five headless corpses, his stomach no longer had any reaction left to give.
The first time seeing something like this was unbearable. But after seeing enough of it… people simply became numb.
Right now, Takagi only wanted to catch the heartless bastard responsible. What kind of person could commit something this cruel?
"Go to Toto University and investigate students who've recently gone missing. I want confirmation of the identities of the two victims. Also—"
Ritsu stuffed the business card into an evidence bag and handed it over to Takagi.
"Investigate this nightclub and identify the owner of this corpse. Height around 165 centimeters, shoe size 36, and she was wearing a leopard-print bodycon dress before disappearing."
"Yes, sir! I'll get on it immediately!"
Ritsu shifted his attention toward the only male corpse among them.
Judging from the condition of the body, the estimated time of death was around three to five days ago. In other words… if arranged by order of death, he was likely the fifth victim.
The previous four victims were all women. Why had the killer suddenly switched targets to a man? And he was also the only corpse whose clothing remained completely intact.
"Inspector Onizawa."
Hearing Hayasaka's voice, Ritsu covered the corpse with a white sheet before standing up.
"What is it?"
"I already questioned the first witnesses. They were just urban explorers and unrelated to the case. Also, Himeka's teacher is outside. Should we bring her in to identify the body?"
"Forget the body identification. Let's just confirm the details surrounding her disappearance. I'll come with you."
Ritsu removed the filthy gloves from his hands and deliberately put on a clean pair before walking with Hayasaka beyond the police line, where a young woman filled with anxiety stood waiting.
"You're Mizusawa Himeka's teacher, correct?"
"Yes. And you are?"
"I'm Takashi Onizawa, the lead investigator on this case. May I ask your name?"
"My name is Kanon Kiriyama."
Kiriyama anxiously asked, "Inspector Onizawa, what exactly happened to Mizusawa? Actually, our school trip already ended. I stayed behind in Tokyo because neither Mizusawa nor Aizawa could be contacted."
Successfully catching the clue hidden in her words, Ritsu immediately asked, "You mean another student named Aizawa also disappeared?"
"Yes. He's the class athletic committee member, and his relationship with Mizusawa was… well, you know how high school students are. Young romance is pretty common. But their families are close friends, and it never affected their studies, so we teachers didn't really interfere."
That explained why a killer who focused on female victims would murder a male victim as well.
Moreover, Aizawa's body had numerous defensive wounds and struggle marks. He likely fought directly with the killer.
"Kiriyama-san… I'm afraid I have some bad news."
"Inspector… you mean…"
"Both of your students have been murdered. I'm sorry."
Kiriyama's face instantly turned pale. Her body staggered as though she might collapse to the ground.
She had imagined the worst-case scenario before. But actually hearing it was still impossible to accept.
"How could this happen…? They were such good children. Why were they killed?"
Grabbing tightly onto Ritsu's sleeve, she raised her voice. "Inspector Onizawa, did they… die in some kind of accident? Can I see their bodies?"
Ritsu didn't know how to answer.
Would telling her the truth be too cruel? But as their teacher, she certainly had the right to know.
"Kiriyama-san… are you sure you want to see them?"
"Yes… I was the supervising teacher for this school trip. I have the right to know the truth."
"Then please follow me."
Kiriyama followed behind Ritsu to the location where the bodies had been discovered.
When she saw the white sheet covering the body's face, only for the shape beneath it to be sunken inward, her eyes widened in shock.
"Inspector Onizawa… don't tell me Aizawa is the same too?"
She didn't even dare imagine it. Scenes like this belonged in horror movies. How could something like this happen in real life?
No… how could it happen so close to her?
"Yes. I think you should contact their families and have them come to Tokyo to claim the bodies."
After a long silence, Kiriyama let out a heavy sigh. She never imagined a perfectly normal school trip would end like this.
Just who could commit something so cruel?
"Inspector Onizawa, may I ask you for one thing?"
"Go ahead."
"Please solve this case. I don't want my students to die without justice."
What a genuinely responsible teacher.
Ritsu nodded and assured her, "It's my duty as a police officer. I'll solve this vicious case as quickly as possible and prevent another victim from appearing."
"Thank you very much. Then I'll take my leave."
After watching Kiriyama depart, Ritsu pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. So far, they still had no leads whatsoever.
The killer was simply too cunning. Dumping the bodies in such a remote place meant that with the passage of time, very few traces remained.
For now, all they could do was wait for Takagi's investigation results.
If they could fully identify every victim, perhaps they could determine the killer's motive and the pattern behind the victim selection.
"Onizawa."
"What?" Ritsu turned toward Hayasaka and asked, "Do you have a theory?"
Hayasaka nodded seriously.
"I think the killer knew the victims personally. The reason he removed their heads was to prevent the police from identifying them, which would delay the investigation."
"Your deduction is half right."
"??"
Ritsu pointed toward Himeka's belongings on the nearby table and explained,
"If the killer truly wanted to prevent the police from identifying the victims, he would've disposed of all these personal items as well. Cutting off the heads must serve another purpose."
"Another purpose?" Disgust appeared across Hayasaka's face.
"Don't tell me he's treating the victims' heads as collectibles? That's revolting."
"Collectibles?" Ritsu froze for a moment.
His gaze suddenly dropped toward Himeka's feet. Realizing something, he hurried toward the other five corpses and crouched down to inspect their feet as well.
Finally, he found it.
The third common trait among the bodies.
As expected, Aizawa had never been the killer's intended target. Clenching his fists as he stood back up, Ritsu let out a cold laugh.
"What an utterly twisted bastard…"
"What are you muttering about?"
Hayasaka looked confused. All she had done was casually mention the word "collectibles," yet Ritsu suddenly acted as though he'd experienced a revelation and rushed over to inspect the bodies.
"Hayasaka, thanks for the hint. I almost missed a critical piece of evidence."
"Huh?"
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bonus chap every 20 PS
read ahead on my pa reon @Siamus404