Chapter Thirty-One – A Case of Murder
"God, I'm sorry!" Takigawa apologised as he ducked out of the bathroom. We've been living together for three months, you'd think we'd be over these mistakes by now. He thought as he covered his face with one hand. He tried not to think about Ayako's perfectly sculpted body standing naked in the bathroom as she towelled off. He'd only seen her from the back, so it was a little less embarrassing he supposed.
"Getting your own back, eh?" Ayako teased lightly as she stepped out of the steamy room, wrapped securely in a large fluffy towel. Takigawa groaned as he remembered earlier in the week when his towel had slipped on the way to his bedroom. He'd felt mortified, especially when Ayako had eyed him like some kind of prize. She's teased him more when the sultry look on her face had cause his member to twitch to life.
"Don't remind me." He cringed, his skin slightly flushed. "Really, I'm sorry. The shower was off, so I just assumed you were finished." He added apologetically. Why she hadn't locked the door he had no idea. This had happened a couple of times. When Ayako had walked in on him he had been in his underwear brushing his teeth, and the first time he'd walked in on her she'd been putting on makeup. This time he hadn't been so lucky.
"These things happen." She excused mercifully as she padded down the hall to her room. "If you don't hurry you'll be late." She added, leaving Takigawa to rush his shower. Ayako had made him some toast and a coffee for the road once he got downstairs. He was wearing a grey suit today, with a simple black turtleneck beneath. He looked smart but casual, which was his new look for the station. He'd been there long enough to loosen up just a little.
"You're an angel." Takigawa sighed as he bit into the toast, enjoying the thin layer of strawberry jam with a small hum. Ayako laughed at his words as she tidied the living room a little, mostly stacking a few magazines and clearing up glasses from the night before. Takigawa watched her quietly, as he often did. It was amazing how neatly she fitted into his life. "What are your plans for today?" He asked curiously.
"I'll tidy up here and buy a few things from the supermarket…I'm thinking of trying your grandmother's stroganoff recipe today." She added, smiling at the way Takigawa hummed appreciatively. She had slowly been working her way through the small book, and had picked up on a few of Takigawa's favourites. This dish would take a few hours to prepare, so she'd set aside the day for it.
"You know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? If you're not careful I'll marry you." Takigawa teased, watching Ayako pause. Her cheeks flushed as she looked across at him, and his own skin heated in response. He remained firm though, his expression both teasing and flirtatious. Ayako smiled as she returned to tidying up.
"Are you sure you could handle me, Hou?" The redhead retorted as she passed by into the kitchen and started running the sink. Something jarred in his stomach at the pet name she used. The taller man leaned on the breakfast bar and watched, trying to stop his eyes roving over her figure. It was like she'd been sculpted from marble, like one of those Greek statues, all curves and gentle angles.
"Oh come on, look at these bad boys. You don't think I could?" He asked teasingly as he flexed his arms jokingly. Ayako looked over her shoulder and laughed, the sound making his stomach flip. Her voice was so rich, and when she laughed her shoulders would twitch with each jump of her diaphragm. His smile softened as he went back to leaning and took another bite of his toast.
"I've seen more muscle on a YK700." She teased, watching Takigawa touch his heart as if he'd been hurt. YK700 was the new child model out on the market, a pretty girl with brunette hair. Personally, Takigawa couldn't get into the idea of child models. They'd never grow or change like a regular child, so if you got one you'd have it for life. Children growing up was a little sad, but a child remaining a child forever just seemed wrong. Guess the idea is that you get rid of it when you get bored, but that's not what being a parent is supposed to be…
"Thanks for taking care of things, I'm heading out." Takigawa reported with a salute as he took his travel mug. Ayako called out to tell him to drive carefully, the long haired man shouting a response as he stepped out into the cold, winter day. It was December now, the weather making him shiver as he hurried into his car. We already sound like an old married couple. He thought as he started up the car. He was already looking forward to coming home to Ayako's cooking and cheerful 'How was your day?' He was smiling at the thought already, and still had his good mood when he entered the station.
"Takigawa." Charlie called as soon as he saw him enter. Takigawa's smile dropped. Charlie never called him as soon as he walked in like that. He walked a little faster, eyes already on the file the android held up. He took the file and flicked his eyes over it.
"Shit." He cursed. A human was dead. "Alright, let's go. Tell me the details on the way." Takigawa said as he turned around and headed towards the parking lot. He didn't need to look and see if Charlie was following, he definitely was. He handed the file to the android and buckled up, barely needing to wait before the android launched into an explanation.
"The case came through thirty minutes ago. A man returned home to find his wife dead and their family android was nowhere to be found. From the looks of things the responding officers have determined the android is the likely killer." Charlie stated as he watched the road ahead. He didn't need to check the file. He'd already recorded the contents. Takigawa nodded that he'd heard. He, personally, wouldn't level the blame on the android until he'd looked the scene over himself. People were always so quick to point the finger at an android when it could easily have been staged to look that way by a human.
"We'll look things over and determine that ourselves, right Charlie?" He replied, the android stating his agreement. He was pleased. Over the past few months Charlie had regained a lot of his missing personality, or at least he'd redeveloped it. He was quicker to follow Takigawa's trail of thought, thinking outside his programmed responses. It had distressed him for the first month, but he'd slowly gotten used to it. Poor guy was never built to be a detective. He's just supposed to drive a cruiser, chase down bag guys and slap on cuffs! "What do we know about the family?" Takigawa asked as he joined the flow of traffic. They were in no real hurry, so he didn't bother putting his light on top of the car.
"Husband, Andrew Rivers, thirty four years old, works site security at the local harbour. He was working a shift last night and didn't return home until this morning. The time of his call is about right for the travel distance and finding the body." Charlie began, having already checked in with his employers to make sure he had gotten to work on time, and remained throughout his shift before clocking out at the regular time.
"So you're saying it's unlikely he's our guy." Takigawa cut in as he wove his way through the stream of cars.
"Indeed. The deceased is Emily Rivers, formerly Carter. Thirty years old. Private accountant. Her time of death has not been determined yet. They have no children." The android added, which Takigawa supposed was for the best. It was always tougher when kids were involved in these sorts of things. The human fell silent, unable to really formulate a scenario without more details and evidence. They pulled up at the small apartment. It was in a nice area, but the block was old enough that it didn't have security cameras everywhere. There was one in the lift and that was about it.
"Can you get the camera footage?" He asked as they took the lift up. Charlie nodded his obedience as he interfaced with the camera. Takigawa watched the numbers scroll by quietly, hands in his trouser pockets. It was cold. He should have grabbed his coat that morning. As they stepped out the corridor was fairly normal besides the officer at the door and tape blocking entry. So, whatever happened it only took place inside…"Hey, Officer Takigawa, and this is Charlie. What have we got?" He asked the uniformed man at the door.
"Not much Sir. We asked around, but no one up or down heard a thing. The walls and floors are surprisingly thick in these old buildings. No one noticed the android leave, but it's pretty normal for people to come and go, so they're not too sure." The young man reported. Takigawa nodded assuringly. The uniformed man was new, he could tell. He had those bright puppy eyes that kids generally had for the first few months on the job. His voice was a little unsteady as he addressed a superior officer. This was probably his first homicide.
"You're doing good kid, anything else?" Takigawa asked as he ducked under the tape, Charlie following behind him. The uniformed man didn't leave the doorway, but he did turn to watch the detectives walk around the dishevelled apartment.
"Um…well, there was clearly a struggle as you can see…Oh! Her fingernails, you should check her fingernails." He added quickly, the detective nodding as he walked over to the body. She was lying on the living room floor, on her side, as if she'd fallen. He tugged on some gloves as he looked her over, though he didn't want to actually move her until the scene had been looked over by forensics.
"Charlie." He said, nodding to the body. The android crouched and looked at her closely. He wasn't like that fancy new android in Detroit, but he still had better eyes than Takigawa for small details. He looked closely at her hands and her head. Her head was at a funny angle. Even Takigawa could tell that much.
"She has skin fragments and thirium beneath her fingernails. Her neck is broken, possibly from the fall. It seems she caught her head on the edge of the table…" The android reported, Takigawa nodding his agreement. Does that make her death an accident? Were they having an argument? But you can't argue with an android…Well, you can…sort of…Takigawa got to his feet and looked around the apartment more. The bathroom was spotless, as was the android's room. The humans' room however…
"Charlie…What do you think?" Takigawa asked as he nodded to the messed up bed. Charlie looked closely at the bed and the objects around it. He lifted a tablet, flicking through the open internet tabs. His LED glowed yellow in the dimness of the room. The heavy curtains were pulled shut.
"There is evidence of intercourse." Charlie said simply. "Android and human." He added before Takigawa could ask, handing the tablet to the human officer as he stepped closer. So, she was sleeping with their android…Did her husband know? He frowned as he looked at the various tabs. There were items to enhance your android's sexual prowess, as well as ads for a couple newer models.
"Was she going to enhance him or replace him?" Takigawa wondered. Either way could be what started the argument…It wouldn't be the first time a deviant has flipped over being replaced…He thought, looking up as forensics arrived in all their plastic covered glory. "Yo. She scratched the thing." He called, watching one of the medics nod as they leaned down and began taking pictures.
"I hope you didn't touch anything…and what is this doing in here?" The head analyst asked gruffly as she approached, covered head to toe in a white plastic suit with a blue face mask. Takigawa clapped Charlie on the shoulder as he gave her a cheerful smile.
"Just this, and this is my partner, Charlie." He added as he handed the pad over to the doctor, who chided him about touching evidence before it had been photographed and catalogued. She wasn't too angry since he'd at least worn gloves and steered clear of the actual body.
"An android detective, what next? We're going to be unemployed by next year at this rate." The woman sighed, giving Charlie a half glare of disapproval. Takigawa let out a small chuckle, somewhere between amusement and agreement. It was happening more and more, humans being replaced by android counterparts. You already saw it in stores, offices, construction, and now even the medical field. I guess it's already started in the police what with that RK-whatever it is running around…
"Let me know when you have something, alright?" Takigawa said as he handed the woman his card. She nodded and returned to her work, while Takigawa and Charlie returned to the station. They interviewed the husband. He was unaware of his wife's infidelity, though he didn't seem too upset by it. They had been discussing an upgrade. It was his wife's idea. The model they had was an AP600 and they'd had it around three years now. The AP700 had good reviews, and his wife had recently been promoted. He didn't blame her for wanting to treat herself. The AP600, named Jack, was really his wife's android. He'd interacted with it well enough, but he hadn't been attached to the thing.
"What are your thoughts Sir?" Charlie asked as Takigawa left the interview room.
"My gut says this guy's clean…He seemed genuinely surprised that his wife was sleeping with Jack, but not really upset by it…" He replied, the android nodding his understanding. He could confirm the human's surprise, having been watching his vitals. He was distressed, but he was obviously suffering shock and grief from the loss of his wife. "We need to track down Jack. What did the cameras show?" The Asian asked as he sat at his desk.
"The android did take the lift down, but where it went next is uncertain. I have already requested local camera footage, bus routes and taxi reports for the area." Charlie replied as he stood dutifully behind Takigawa's chair. Takigawa turned so that he could look up at his partner. They spent the next few hours bouncing ideas off each other, mostly Takigawa making suggestions while Charlie knocked them down. They both viewed camera footage, tracing the android to the central park area, but then it disappeared. This is going to be a long day…