CHAPTER THREE: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD.

Needless to say, there was quite a stir when Jed arrived in the arms of a Sailor Senshi at the scene of the crime. The Cops all gaped in amazement at Sailor Neptune and stood aside for Jed as he barged past the barrier tape. The Media had already arrived and they swarmed in, trying to get a word from either Tokiba or Neptune.

There again was Inspector Morimura. Jed met him in the middle of the sea of bodies. This wasn't just a multiple Homicide. This was a MASSACRE! There were probably more than 50 bodies laying about. Some of them were in pieces. Some were charred beyond recognition, as if burned alive. Many of them were already in body bags, ready for the transit to the Morgue.

"Any Eyewitnesses?" Jed approached and cut straight to the chase with Morimura.

"Several, but only very fragmented ones," said the Inspector, dragging on his cigarette. "Most of them just heard the explosions. The rest only saw a little bit and then ran away. We have one that has a most interesting testimony to give. He claims the people here were slaughtered brutally by a Senshi."

"Impossible!" Sailor Neptune exclaimed.

Morimura blinked in surprise. "Hello, lady," he said. "Didn't see you there. What authorization do you have to enter this crime scene?"

"She's with me," said Jed.

"You're not in charge of this investigation, Tokiba," Morimura bit back. "You argued a good fight this morning, but just because I was at a loss for words doesn't mean I've conceded control over to you. You still answer to me. You may be an expert in Senshi doings, but I have the final say in this matter. Your girlfriend will have to step outside the lines. That's NOT negotiable!"

"If a Witness fingers a Senshi as the perpetrator, then don't you think this makes it a Senshi matter? Or are you saying the Police Department has what it takes to arrest a Senshi?!" Jed snapped.

"It's alright, Jed," Neptune stepped back. "I'll step back. But I won't leave this place until I know for sure what happened. Mister Tokiba has a point, Inspector. If this turns out to be a Senshi, the Police will not be able to take her down without us. But I'll stay out until then."

"Now," Jed interjected before Morimura could retort, "if you could shelf your prejudice for just a second... What did all these victims have in common?"

Sailor Neptune turned and walked back toward the crowd. Once again the Media swarmed in, but Michelle ignored their questions. She stayed just outside the barrier with her arms across her chest.

Morimura glanced one more time at her, then came back to Jed. "According to some of our Officers there was a turf war going on between rival Gangs. There are forty-two in all. Some of them were obviously killed in the initial gun fighting judging from the wounds. The rest were killed by whoever. Witnesses all agree on one thing… A giant explosion preceded the massacre. The overpass has been severely compromised and shut down by city workers."

"An explosion," Jed nodded. "Just like the one in the Department Store no doubt. So this brings the death toll to…"

"About fifty including last night's killings," said Morimura. "This person has already placed himself among the most notorious murderers in Japan's History in just two days."

"No mortal did this, that's for sure," Jed agreed. "I see a pattern emerging here as well."

"What kind?"

"Just think about it, sir," Jed motioned at the bodies. "Burglars last night, Gang members today. All of the victims thus far have been criminals who were in the act of threatening people's lives at the time they died."

"So you think that justifies it?" asked Morimura. "Whether these people deserved to die or not is a matter of opinion. But according the law of Japan, it's still premeditated murder."

"I'm not saying I agree with this person," said Jed defensively. "But at least now we're starting to nail down a behavioral pattern. We can start piecing together an analysis of this person, can't we? The only way we'll catch this killer is to try and predict her next move."

"Why not 'his'?" asked Morimura with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"What makes you think it's a 'her' that's doing this?" The old Detective didn't miss much, that was for sure. Jed silently cursed his carelessness. He thought he'd been selecting his words carefully up until now to hide his suspicions from the old Goat. He'd slipped up big time!

"I'm speaking hypothetically," he said.

"Yeah, and I suppose you got a Tower in Tokyo to sell me, too," Morimura frowned. "You've been hiding something from me all along. I'll give you just one more chance to tell me what you're thinking and then you walk. Tomorrow you'll be unemployed. Don't push me, Jed!"

Jed looked around furtively, then led Morimura off from the crowd a bit more. "Okay… I'll tell you what I truthfully think. Yes, I suspect the killer is a Sailor Senshi. Yes, I know what that weapon is she used last night, or at least what it's supposed to be. And yes, I believe I know exactly who it is. Now I'm going to be frank with you, Inspector. These Senshi are my friends. In no way was I going to willingly cast them into suspicion by voicing my suspicions to you or any other Cop. Especially given your obvious distaste for their very existence, which I still don't understand. I will tell you everything I suspect, but I want you to keep it a secret until I know for SURE!"

"My only interest is to bring this killer to justice, Jed," Morimura stiffly replied. "I will have you up on charges for Obstruction of the Law if you don't spill the beans and I mean now!"

Jed was cornered and he knew it. He took a deep breath. "Very well… I suspect the killer is a Senshi who at one time called herself Sailor Saturn. The weapon she is using is called the Silence Glaive. It is a tremendously powerful weapon whose limits are unknown to anyone. With this weapon she could kill fifty people… level a City… or destroy the entire Planet! Now if my suspicions are correct, and I'm still not sure they are, I believe you are going to need every Sailor Senshi you can get your hands on to help us with this because there is no way the Police can handle it alone! Is that clear enough? Now if you don't want a panic on your hands… I suggest you keep your mouth closed about this until we've got this woman behind bars."

"If she's as powerful as you say, how do propose we put her behind bars?" asked Morimura.

"From what little I know, she's not much without that Glaive," said Jed. "But let's not assume anything until we know for sure. Now I have some friends… Senshi friends mind you… Who knew this girl very well and can help us. The question is are you willing to open your mind a bit and let them help?"

Morimura motioned for an Officer to allow Sailor Neptune back into the barrier. Neptune ducked under the tape and walked over. "Have we reached some kind of understanding, gentlemen?" her voice was clipped. It was obvious she didn't like Morimura much.

"Do you have Doctor Suichi Tomoe's phone number?" Jed asked her.

Neptune nodded slowly as her eyes began to understand what he was getting at. "Please, don't…" she said. "This will be too painful for him."

"I understand, believe me, I do." said Jed. "But he knows his daughter. And as a Scientist I know he did some studying of her while she was alive. No Scientist could ever resist a specimen like that, even their own daughters. He may be the key to solving this case quickly and it needs to be quick! Before any more people are killed!"

Sailor Neptune nodded again. "His number is 874-3323."

Jed took out his Cell Phone and dialed up the number. He held the phone to his ear for a moment in silence. Finally someone answered on the other end. "Hello, Professor Tomoe… This is Officer Jed Tokiba of Tokyo PD… Yes, that Jed… I was wondering if I could pick your brain about something…?"

They were in the lab beneath Doctor Tomoe's house. It was a vast Laboratory, whose ceiling couldn't even be seen in the close darkness. The dim lighting was provided only by a yellow lamp on the center table and several machines in the back of the room.

Sailor Neptune, Jed, and Detective Morimura had stopped by here because Tomoe had agreed to help them in their case. Jed had judiciously left out the information that this Senshi Vigilante was Sailor Saturn. Something Michelle was grateful for. Tomoe cheerfully cooperated thinking they were simply looking for some nameless Senshi.

"I never did any experiments on my daughter since she was reborn after Pharaoh 90," said Tomoe. "But apparently when I was under the influence of evil I did quite a bit of them. When I came to my senses I was left with a lot of research. Wicked research, most of which I threw away, some of which I retained. One of those experiments was a study I once did on Senshi energy."

Tomoe typed at length on his computer and motioned the three of them around to look. On the monitor appeared three different charts with multicolored lines dancing up and down in a wave-like pattern. Jed had to keep blinking his eyes to keep from getting lost in the movement. It was almost hypnotic.

"This first one," Tomoe pointed to the top chart, "is ambient energy given off by a normal Human. The Human body generates heavy amounts of energy and bioelectricity, more so than any other creature on Earth. The second chart you see is the ambient energy given off by an animal, a Chimpanzee to be exact. As you can see it's starkly similar in wavelength, but its power is considerably less. The third chart," he pointed to the bottom one, and the squiggly lines were nearly jumping off the screen, "is the ambient energy of a Senshi's body. The numbers are nearly unimaginable! These readings were taken from my daughter, Sailor Saturn. Now each Senshi has her own unique power and abilities, this is true, but all Senshi, just like all Humans, radiate similar wavelengths of body energy. In this way I have found a way to detect a Senshi, even in disguise."

Tomoe picked up a small, hand-held computer, probably of his own design. "Use this if you want to find this Vigilante of yours. If she is indeed a Senshi you can pinpoint her movements. In fact we can test it right now…" He pointed the machine at Sailor Neptune. After a second or two, he showed them the results. "This is what Neptune's energy looks like on a waveform scale."

"Can you detect all Senshi on that thing?" asked Jed.

"Well unfortunately only the ones we know of right now," Tomoe was apologetic. "I only have eleven profiles in here at the moment based on past encounters and our current team setup. Nine of the current and I even have two of the deceased, my daughter and your Sailor Mars, uploaded on the data. If you find a new Senshi the computer will note it as such, but you won't get an identification until you know who this Senshi you're looking for is personally."

Jed took the computer. "So if we get an unknown reading it's someone new. That's all we need to know for now." He looked at the other two and nodded. "It's a good place to start. We'll go back to the crime scene and scan for ambient energy she left behind. Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course. Anything for friends of the Senshi. Good luck finding this woman."

The grounds crew was already cleaning up the scene when they got back. All the bodies had been removed, but the pavement was still cracked, splintered, and stained with blood. At least the smell wasn't so stark anymore.

The Media was still there, but they had calmed down considerably and a few crews were even packing their things up. One Reporter spotted Sailor Neptune and ran over. She boldly shoved the microphone in the Senshi's face.

"You're Sailor Neptune, right? Tammy Toshiba of WTKO News! Can you give us a word on what's happened here this afternoon? There's speculation running around that a Senshi was involved. Can you answer to claims that Sailor Moon and her team are at least partly responsible for this devastation today?"

Jed spun and grabbed the microphone. "That assumption is ridiculous!" he snapped loudly. "And we are under official investigation of the crime here! We would appreciate it if you let us proceed with the case so we can answer your questions with better certainty! So get out of her face, and get out of her way!!" he threw the mike down and stalked away.

Neptune tried to suppress her grin as she apologized to the flustered news woman and caught up with the two Cops. Morimura grinned devilishly and seemed pleased with Jed. "That was some snap you gave her back there. How old are you, really? You handle the Media better than most Veterans I know on the force."

"Ninety-nine percent of the time they annoy me," Jed retorted as they passed through the safety of the cordon. "The other percent of the time I speak my mind and if they don't like it they can kiss my ass."

"In other words, Inspector, he doesn't care," Neptune laughed. "Thank you, Jed. You certainly have a way with people. I would have taken half the day trying to politely get her off my back. You saved me a lot of trouble."

"All I did was save us a lot of valuable time," said Jed. "The longer this investigation takes, the more people will die. It's as simple as Mathematics." They came to the center of the supposed attack. There was a concrete barricade erected to keep people away from the overpass. Some of the bridge's concrete supports were badly cracked or crumbling. There was a sizeable crater near there as well.

"This looks like as good a place as any to start scanning," Jed muttered.

"Look at this mess! I hope no innocents were harmed," Neptune put a hand over her mouth.

"That's the only good news thus far," Morimura told her. "Some on the overpass were injured in the initial blast, but no collateral fatalities from either incident thus far. Just lots of damaged Real Estate."

The two of them appeared to be getting along for now. Jed was glad he didn't have to play Referee for them. Morimura's apparent prejudice against Senshi was most likely borne from ignorance. He would learn to trust them. Just as he did.

After a moment or two, the computer bleeped. It detected an energy source near the crater's center. There was some ambient energy still collected there. Jed ignored the warning signs and clambered over the concrete barricade until he was standing in the crater itself. Finally he got his results… and the data made his heart turn to ice!

Sailor Neptune must have read his expression. "What does it say?" she asked, though she likely knew the answer already.

Jed looked back at her in mute horror. "It's… her," he croaked out. "It's Sailor Saturn!"

TO BE CONTINUED.........

NEXT CHAPTER: ENCOUNTER WITH THE EXECUTIONER!