Dark Kingdom 39

The air was stuffy in the huge open plan office.

Men and women scurried excitedly between the many desks and didn't seem to notice Usagi at all.

On the way to her father's office, she had to avoid several people with incredibly high stacks of files or coffee cups full to the brim.

"Hello dad.", she exhaled with relief when she finally entered the small room. "I brought something to eat for you."

Before she sat down, her first grip was on the window. There was an unpleasant smell in here of cigarettes and old books. Didn't her father even notice that anymore?

It wasn't the first time she had visited him, and again and again she found that he would probably never change. His desk was like a battlefield and he didn't look too fresh either.

If he behaved like a good, orderly head of the family at home, here, in his personal little realm, he was more like chaos in person. Well, she must have inherited it from someone.

"Thank you, my darling. My stomach is already hanging in the back of my knees."

He immediately attacked the two cans.

"You have a lot of stress ?!"

It was more of a statement than a question, but her father answered her anyway: "Quite. Half the editorial staff is sick or on vacation. I even have to help out in the daily press. It's crazy there, I tell you. And the reports first. This city is sick."

"Who are you telling that ... ", Usagi whispered casually and leafed through the individual folders on her father's table. How could he keep track of things here?

"Just the pile there are only reports from the police about the murders of the past week."

He pointed with his chopsticks at the window sill, which was covered with individual sheets of paper and notes.

Usagi's interest was suddenly piqued. She went to the window and scanned one sheet of paper after the other. Most of them were capital crimes or something under the influence of drugs.

"Are you sure you want to see this? Some of them have really disgusting photos."

It's okay.", she replied with a wave and gave her father to understand that he should just go on eating in peace.

She found something. Exactly what she was looking for.

There was no photo, but she knew immediately what was meant. The date was right, as was the location. Only the time was different and was estimated at some point in the night.

"Male victim, 38 years old, bank clerk, married, two children. Found Shinjuku Subway Station, ladies room. Death from a broken neck. Premortal coitus. No evidence of robbery. Perpetrator unknown. Profiler analysis concludes on woman, possibly motive for jealousy. No connection to the Rosenkavalier."

"What is a Rosenkavalier?" , Usagi asked suddenly.

Her father had already completely emptied the two plastic cans, another trait she must have inherited from him, and he was just fishing a cigarette out of his pack.

"Oh, that's some kind of serial killer who's haunted Tokyo for years. He kills his victims with a targeted shot in the head and always leaves a red rose at the scene."

Usagi felt an ice cold chill down her spine, but she tried not to let it show. The last thing she wanted now was to be accountable to her father. That he was so open about all of these things was already a really big step forward. Usually he never said anything about his work. But she usually didn't ask him about it either. Was it something to do with the fact that she had recently assisted him on one of his assignments?

She hoped that he would never find out her real motives for doing so.

"A red rose?" , she repeated questioningly.

Her father nodded and lit his cigarette. They were just so close that Usagi thought he was going to offer her one right away.

"Most people think it's some kind of weirdo."

He took a thick folder out of his drawer, Usagi had a queasy feeling when he leafed through it. "

But I am of the opinion that there is much more to it. Look."

He pointed his finger to get closer and finally tapped a page with several passport photos.

"So far, his victims have all been figures from the red light district or the economy. And they were all people who had been the police's target for a long time anyway. You could just never prove anything to them." , he explained while Usagi looked at the individual figures in the photos. A little more than two dozen, all with unsympathetic expressions, and only men.

"This Rosenkavalier is kind of a kind of avenger."

Her father lit another cigarette, although he had put the last one out in the overflowing ashtray just a minute ago. "Some say he even works for the police. Just with unconventional means."

"So many.", Usagi ran her fingertips over the photos.

:Yes, but spread over several years. That's about two years." , he explained excitedly. "He's been doing this for about five or six years. At least since then he has left the rose as a sign."

"Why do you bother with it?", she watched him as he paused restlessly through the folder. She had never seen him like this before. It made her visibly uncomfortable that he apparently collected everything about this killer. And it made her even more uncomfortable that she knew that person. It was clear to her the moment she heard about the rose. She wasn't sure why. She had thought of Mamoru's tattoo. The black dragon that wrapped around a red rose. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"In the beginning it was just interest. But gradually I became fascinated by his approach. I would like to know who he is."

Usagi's insides tightened painfully.

"I .." she began. No, she couldn't tell. She didn't want it. What should she have told him? That she was in a relationship with a hit man?

"What did you say?", her father turned to her with a curious look.

"Nothing. I mean ..."

She swallowed the big loo in her throat. "Maybe he worked for the yakuza."

What was that supposed to mean? Now she even gave her father hints. What was she up to? Did she want to betray Mamoru to the press? That would be his death sentence.

"An interesting thesis.", her father pointed out. "I'll make a note of that. But why should the mafia hunt in their own ranks?"

Usagi shrugged. She had to get out of the affair very quickly.

"The greater the power, the more enemies." , she remembered Diamond's words. Diamond. What would her father say to that if he knew who she was with recently?

"That is a clever argument." He nodded approvingly. "Usagi, when are you so committed to these topics? Did you get interested when you supported me?"

"Yes, probably."

She smiled carefully.

"I'll probably leave you alone again then. You seem to have a lot of work ahead of you."

"Unfortunately. But it was nice that you came."

Usagi nodded goodbye, but he had already turned back to his many stacks of paper.

Her gaze fell again on the murder report from the subway. After double checking that her father didn't see it, she decided to pocket it.

She had to talk to Mamoru about it. Not just about his seedy girlfriend or affair - that word hurt so much. Also about the research her father did about him. And she had to admit that she too had become curious.

What did her father say? The murders started six years ago? That would mean Mamoru had started his work when he was her age. A creepy idea.

She hit an obstacle, looked up in surprise.

"Great."

A young blond man stared at his white shirt soaked with coffee, the empty mug still in his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" , Usagi apologized, glancing briefly at the man's visitor badge.

"Well, it's okay.", he tried to save something with a handkerchief, but the shirt was already completely soaked. "I hope you are friendlier to your colleagues."

Usagi stopped short. Did he take her for an employee of this editorial office?

"Yes, mostly.", she stuttered.

"Can you tell me where the editor-in-chief's office is?" The stranger asked gently.

"Down the aisle. Standing at the door."

"Thank you. And keep your eyes open."

He raised his hand in greeting and ran away, still rubbing his shirt.

A strange guy. But he had passed her. That meant he thought she was grown up, a great feeling.

Yes, she wasn't a child anymore either. And that's exactly what she would tell Mamoru now. She was definitely no longer the little girl he always thought she was and often called her that.

She would throw all of this on his head. Just like the fact that this unknown girl just killed poor family men in the toilets.

Usagi walked confidently out the revolving door.

And almost fell backwards when she spotted a well-known black car across the street.

It was getting really scary.