Author's note: It's been a while since I have updated this story. A part of me was just going to scrap it since it didn't seem to spark too much interest from anyone. But, my friend encouraged me to continue with it regardless of whatever else. So here it is. I introduced a new character into the story and another familiar name will pop up as well. For the few of you that have been reading... enjoy
Chapter 4
One o'clock had arrived swiftly. The meeting, now adjourned, wasted half of my day. Tasuki couldn't quit rambling. His arrogance surprised me. His company was enlightening though; he kept my thoughts from straying.
He was a redhead with bangs draping at the side of his forehead. The back neatly tapered touched a little below the neck. His face was slender, handsome, and somewhat feminine. His incisors, peculiar, were partially protruding.
It was obvious that he was a ladies man even though he swore he never indulged in it. He shamelessly lamented on his poor encounters with women. Currently a bachelor, he expressed his skepticism about marriage.
He had a great sense of humor, a trait that already kept me distracted. His smile, deeply intoxicating, shadowed any hint of discomfort. His mind so carefree didn't seem to encompass the traits of an officer. His reasons for joining the police force sparked an intense interest from me.
"So Tasuki," I interrupted his relentless chatter. "Tell me, what were your reasons for joining the police force?"
He shifted his posture to adjust his attention, abruptly responding as if to a serious matter. "To be respected and become a better person than my father."
Silence surrounded us intensely, uneasiness overcoming me for pursuing such a topic. Nevertheless, he continued his response momentarily, his words drenched in deep emotion although sealed from his face.
"I was always the loner in my family, the only brother and probably the man of the house as well. Being the only guy amongst five female siblings was often very challenging. My father wasn't the best role model. Unmotivated, he hustled to make a living while my mom did the housewife routine at home. Typical family you may propose, but not the happiest one I'm disappointed to tell."
"I'll admit I wasn't always this level headed. My hands have been soiled and my heart sorely tarnished. But that's where I draw my determination from. To change the path of my future generation and to become a better man, my choice was this profession. Also, I hoped that touching people's lives and soothing others' hearts may in some way crumble the wall that has been surrounding my heart all these years."
There was that awkward silence again. We looked at each other and snickered amongst ourselves softly. "You surely do know how to break the ice, you know." I commented. And he just smirked furtively.
"Want to go for a drive?" I suggested. I walked over to my desk and knocked a stack of my reports into a neat square pile. "We've got four more hours until our shift is over," I continued. "Maybe I can get you acquainted with the newest case file."
Staring at his watch questioningly, my suggestion seemed to peak his attention. A smile gradually formed unto his lips as he nodded in agreement. "Sure, why the heck not."
"Okay, wait here for me a second. Let me just go hand this in to the chief. I owed him these reports for about a week now." I patted the stack that was now within my grasp.
I left his presence with a feeling of contentment. I was a bit surprised that we were hitting it off so well. A feeling of relief fell over me as I made my way into the Mitsukake's office. "Here are the some of the reports you requested Chief. All were completed as requested."
The Chief pulled down the rim of his glasses and gave me a surprised and questioning glance. I knew what he was thinking. But, I decided to leave him wondering. I know my mood had changed from since that morning. I surprised even myself with the way I seemed to quickly adapt to the change. Yet, deep down inside I refused to be completely submissive. I felt like I would be betraying the friendship I built with Hikou. It was a step forward that I was not quite ready to make.
I ended the staring contest between the Chief and me and dismissed myself through the door. I heard him utter something inaudible as I made my way back to where Tasuki stood.
"You okay man?" Tasuki questioned me a bit puzzled. I shrugged off his inquiry and gestured our departure as I grabbed my coat from the rack near the door. "Let's go," I stated.
He followed me out the exit and welcomed himself into the passenger seat of my ride. Like a kid, he became engrossed with the components, distracting himself with everything around him.
"It's a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire. It cost me an arm and a leg to get it. But very much worth it though." I answered his inquiries without him even asking a question. He tried to hide his expression of awe to no avail. I started up the engine and drove us down the street.
"So where to?" he asked dismissing his temporary moment of distraction.
"Since I'm gonna keep you abreast of the newest case file, I might as well take you to the scene of the crime," I replied. "There's potential murder involved so if you don't mind, I'd like us to get cracking on this case right away. To tell you the honest truth, I'm already about two weeks behind."
"All the better for me man," Tasuki simply responded with a look of eagerness on his face.
I don't know what it was about the guy, but he seemed to inflict a moment of nostalgia within me. He was so totally different from Hikou but yet very much similar in traits to him as well. It was a bit scary, the way he seemed to suck me into his personality.
"Is this the place?"
I had found myself back on Okina Road where the crime scene was located. I nodded my head in response to his question and parked the car at the curb. While on our way over here, I had briefed him on the basics of the case so as not to have him confused. Two heads work better than one has always been my life long motto.
"Let's take the elevator," I suggested as we entered the building. "We'll be looking for door B when we arrive at the ninth floor."
We rode up in silence and surprisingly he took the initiative once we exited the elevator to rap the first knock upon the door.
"Hasty are we?" I asked teasingly.
"Procrastination gets you nowhere," he simply responded. He patted me on the shoulder as we waited for someone to approach the door. We both had matching expressions after standing face to face with the woman who greeted us.
She was young and elegantly beautiful with a myriad of brown curls cascading beyond her shoulders. She was short, stood at five foot one for the most, dressed in a fitted tank and sweat pants. Her skin, a pearly white, glistened as the sunlight touched her and her cheeks looked flushed from the make up on her face. My eyes stared into russet as a questioning frown came across her forehead.
"Good evening gentleman. How can I help you?"
Tasuki and I both bowed and introduced ourselves courteously.
"I'm Officer Iwata Chichiri."
"And I am Officer Mizuta Tasuki," Tasuki followed in response.
"We're both from the Southern District Police Department here on an investigation. Are you - -?"
As if she read my mind she responded before I could complete my sentence. "Yes, I am the wife of Mr. Tanaka Tamahome. I'm Miaka Yuuki-Tanaka."
"Well. If you don't mind," I continued and I flipped open a sheet of paper in line of her sight. "Can we please take a look around?" I searched her expression for any hint of defiance as I continued to hold the warrant in front her face. Surprisingly she was pleasant and she warmly welcomed us in.
"This way Officers," She directed us to her living room where she invited us to have a seat. "Would you like some water?"
"I'll have some, thank you," Tasuki quickly responded.
I nudged him as she excused herself to assist him throwing to him a side glance questioning what he did that for.
"Sorry, man," he apologized speaking quietly. "I'm thirsty, what do you want me to do? And besides, we got rid of her for a few, didn't we? Because I'm telling you right now, there's some shit you really need to start clearing up for me that you had not brought to my attention."
"Like what?" I asked knowing fully well where the conversation was heading.
"Like, didn't you tell me the dude they found hanging on the rods was fifty five years old?"
"Yeah, so…?" Even though I could have read between the lines perfectly, a part of me just wanted to push his buttons to see how far his inquiries would go.
"Don't yeah so me. That chick doesn't look any older than twenty-two."
"Well I had no idea either, you know?" I responded defensively. "But, you can't really be surprised by these sorts of things nowadays."
"Man, please…"
I shushed him before he could complete his sentence. She was making her entrance back into the room and we needed to be behaving in a civilized manner.
"Here you go sir," She handed Tasuki the water and took a seat directly in front of us. She surprisingly initiated a conversation with us as she sat there nervously twiddling her thumbs between her laps.
"So what's the problem Officers?" She looked directly at Tasuki even though she threw the question out to both of us. So Tasuki responded.
"I'll get right to the point. My partner and I believe that there's more to your husband's death than a suicide," He cleared his throat roughly as the words escaped his lips. "We're in the process of getting a second opinion with regards to the autopsy and forensics report, but the first analysis already showed that there was some form of a struggle."
I could tell Tasuki was trying to keep the young woman calm as he continued to elaborate the details to her. "You're one of the people he was closest to so after we've complete our search, you will have to accompany us to the Police Department for questioning." He unfolded the sheet of paper that was secured within his grasp and showed her what we had initially kept from her.
Her eyes had already begun to turn glassy as a sign of oncoming tears. "So let me see if I have this correctly," she asked shakily. "You guys think I murdered my husband." The tears finally began to explode as the words escaped her lips.
"That's not what we're saying Miss," Tasuki answered comfortingly. "Well, not exactly - -" I could tell he was struggling with his words as he tried to make some sense of the situation to her.
"What he's simply trying to say," I took over the conversation for him. "Is that we just need to ask you a few questions to help clear up the matter."
She continued wailing uncontrollably, her body shaking as she tried to calm herself down. I made eye contact with Tasuki for him to ease her and decided to excuse myself to do a quick search of the apartment.
I made my way into the bathroom where I could still here Tasuki comforting her beyond the door. I felt a hollow pang within my stomach as I tried my hardest to drown them out with my thoughts and concentrate on what was in front of me. Either the young lady was truly oblivious to what was going on or she was putting on a good show, but something about her, the way she reacted, my gut feeling told me that she had nothing to do with her husband's misfortune.
I searched through the cabinets above the sink. I checked the showers down to even the corner of the wall. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I was making an exit. A container, though not peculiar, still caught my attention from the corner of my eye. 'Lumbista lubricants' the title read. I pondered for a moment then placed the container back where I found it. I searched the other rooms of the apartment, all which seemed considerably huge and then I made my way back to the others.
Tasuki left the young lady's side and approached me once I made my appearance.
"Found anything?" he whispered.
"A few things here and there, but nothing more than just circumstantial evidence," I replied.
I was about to gesture for us to leave when my phone rang and grabbed my attention. "Excuse me a minute," I dismissed myself and walked to the apartment door.
"Hello, this is Chichiri speaking."
"Hi Iwata," A shaky voice came over the phone and my heart skipped a beat as I recognized the voice on the other end. "It's me – Kouran."
"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked calmly but inside I was nervous, more nervous than I had ever been in a while.
"I need you to come to the hospital - -" Her voice became unsteady as she continued to speak. "It's Hikou."
I felt my breath become trapped in my lungs as I expected the worst of what she wanted to say. And soon I heard the sobs, which turned into hysterical tears as she could no longer keep her composure on the line.
"I'm on my way," I gave the calmest response I could and closed the phone disconnecting the call. I leaned my back against the wall releasing my head against the edge. Tasuki and the young woman heard the soft thud and came running, both with genuine looks of concern.
"Everything ok man?" Tasuki asked worriedly.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," I fibbed as I tousled my blue hair backwards through my fingers. "Let's head out. I'll drop you guys off at the station and then I'll have to leave you guys because I'll have an errand to run." I could tell that Tasuki wasn't buying the story from the way he looked at me while we were grabbing our coats near the door. And once in the car we rode in silence with not a word being said until we arrived back at headquarters.
A/N: This was a long chapter. Was a bit longer too, but I did not want to overdo it so I removed a few parts till the next chapter. Review please.
