Important announcement: chapter 4 will be published on Friday 24th February instead of Sunday 26th. The rest of chapters will be published according to schedule, one per Sunday.
Chapter 3
'We need to make a phone call ourselves, don't we?'
Gin didn't answer. His gaze, Sherry knew, was fixed on the three strangers behind her – the two men and the woman staring at the motionless body on the ground.
'To tell we'll be late. We ought to phone before the police arrive. You know, they'll need our full attention.'
'Yes, yes. We should…'
'Everything will be okay.' At the sound of her voice, Gin seemed to come back to reality. 'Don't worry. May I phone myself?'
Gin nodded shyly and, searching in his coat for a moment, handed her his mobile phone. Sherry dialed the familiar number and waited.
An impersonal voice at the other side answered, 'Yes?'
'It's me.' She turned her back to Gin. The two men and the woman had approached the front desk and were speaking to a short hotel clerk in navy blue. 'We'll be late. Someone attending a wedding has fallen comatose and the police are coming to the hotel.'
'How exactly are you involved?'
'A shared elevator at the wrong moment. We'll need to stay.'
'You'd better keep quiet, or we'll make sure you do.'
The two men and the woman seemed to quarrel with the clerk.
'We'll keep quiet.'
'You'd better.'
Her interlocutor hung up.
'The usual advice,' Sherry sighed, returning the phone to its owner. 'Nothing new.'
'Do you think it's a murder?'
Gin's voice sounded so calm that Sherry couldn't help a face of surprise which, luckily, he didn't see. Maybe diverting his attention would help him relax. His silent façade could fool others, but not her – she knew fear shut him down. She strolled to the door of the elevator.
'Attempted murder. She is still not dead.' Still. She crouched to have a better view but took care not to even graze the body in the threshold. 'Either that or a suicide.' She studied the woman before her. What was her name? 'Not accidental, at least.'
'Why?'
'It would be too much of a coincidence. The human body is tougher than it seems – it's not that easy to fall into a coma.' She tilted her head to obtain a different angle. 'This is not the work of alcohol alone – it could, but only under very specific circumstances. Most likely, she's taken some sort of painkiller, or a sedative. I can't tell much more just by looking.' She stood up. 'But one thing is sure: this has been deliberate.'
No sooner than she had taken a single step away from the body, the sound of sirens sent a shiver down her spine. Out of the corner of the eye she noticed that Gin's figure had tensed up.
'Calm down,' she whispered. 'Everything will be okay.'
'I'm scared.'
The blue light that blazed into the hall of the hotel flashed onto Gin's face. Sherry held his hand. Despite the black glove, she could feel the warmth of his skin underneath.
'I'm scared.'
'Everything will be okay. Let's go.'
Sherry moved her arm around Gin's and the two walked out of the elevator. The noise of sirens flooded the hall. She could hardly hear her own agitated heartbeat.
A middle-aged woman was the first to enter the building, followed by a handful of younger police officers in pale-colored uniforms. She reached the front desk soon after Gin and Sherry. Meanwhile, a team of paramedics had rushed into the hall and followed a clerk towards the elevator.
'Police inspector Shiori Hayashi,' the woman introduced herself, showing her police badge and identification. 'Are you the ones who called?'
'I am,' the bearded man acknowledged.
'And your name, sir, is…?'
'Tora Tachibana. I'm an old friend of Aki's.'
'I assume that 'Aki' is the victim?'
'Aki Matsushita. She collapsed in the elevator.'
The inspector glanced around. Sherry focused on her own breath.
'You all were with her? Could you tell us your names and relationship to the victim?'
'My name's Kaori Matsuoka,' the long-haired woman spoke. 'I'm another friend of Aki's.'
'I'm Jun Wakahisa,' uttered the young man. 'A friend, too.'
'And you two?' the inspector inquired, staring directly at Sherry and Gin.
'We did not know her,' declared Sherry in a calm voice.
'They were already in the elevator when we took it,' Kaori added.
'It was this woman that told us to call the police and the ambulance,' Tora explained, gazing at Sherry. 'She gave Aki some first aid when she collapsed.'
'What exactly?' the inspector demanded, causing Sherry's pulse to speed up. Gin remained perfectly still at her side.
'Basic first aid. I checked her vital signs and put her in the recovery position.'
'You have medical knowledge?'
'Only some basics.'
The inspector nodded, apparently satisfied, and gestured to two police officers right behind her.
'Now, please follow officers Tsukuda and Ueno,' she requested. 'They'll find you all somewhere you can wait in while we work.'
'We too?' Sherry asked tentatively.
'Yes, please. You all will be asked some questions – any piece of information, as insignificant as it may seem, could be crucial.'
Sherry nodded and followed the two men and the long-haired woman, led by two young police officers, across the hall.
'See?' she murmured as quietly as she could. Gin peeped at her. 'That inspector believes the same as I.'
'Are you saying,' he lowered his voice, 'that one of them has tried to kill that woman?'
'Yes. The murderer followed her to check when and whether she died and to dose her further if needed.' Sherry scrutinized the three figures walking a few feet before her. 'The question is who, and how.'
