Shi sighed as she read through the results of her toxicology analysis. All the spectra had come back clear, no toxins, no sign of anything that could have led to the announcer's death. She rubbed her forehead and put it on her desk. She had spent all night working on her report. She got up and walked over to the corpse. "What happened to you?" She asked it. It was then something caught her attention. Her eyes widened as she saw bruises on the corpses upper arms. She quickly grabbed a camera and photographed them. Immediately, she set about developing them. It was an important find. She grabbed the photos and ran out of her office. Dojima was sat at his desk; Adachi was beside him cradling his head.

"Shi-san, what is it?" Dojima asked. Shi threw the photographs onto his desk. He picked them up and examined them. "What am I looking at?"

"Bruises." She said with a grin. Dojima looked at them. "She had bruising on her upper arms this morning, despite none being visible yesterday. Which means they've only just developed fully." She saw their looks of confusion. "Bruises can only be formed antemortem." A look of realisation took over.

"Which means they were made before death right?" Adachi asked.

"Correct. And this particular pattern is consistent of one that would form if someone gripped her arms too tight." Shi explained.

"Which means she was killed by someone?" Dojima said. Shi nodded.

"We've got a homicide. She was killed by someone." Shi said. She suddenly looked sheepish. "Unfortunately, I have no idea how they did it. Tox came back negative." She said. Dojima slumped back in his seat. Shi sank into a nearby seat and ran a hand through her white streaked hair, a black strand falling over her eye. "I've never seen a case like this." She said.

"What about the analysis of her clothing?" Adachi asked. Shi leant back in the chair.

"We did find a couple of dark hairs on her blouse on the upper arm." She said. "Similar in colour to yours Adachi. But I went onto the DNA Database and there was no match. So, I'm led to assume these hairs came from you when you were looking at the body." She said. "It's all in my statement." She sighed, her arms hanging down the side of her chair.

"Did you sleep at all yesterday?" Dojima asked.

"Did you?" She replied before getting to her feet. "Are you gonna call that Konishi girl in again?" She asked. Dojima nodded. "Ok, well I'm gonna go back to the scene, see if there's anything we missed yesterday. Mind if I borrow your partner to help me?" She asked. Dojima raised an eyebrow. "I ain't gonna steal him away. I need him to help me question the residents, build my own picture. They'll be more likely to talk to me if he's there." She said.

"Sure. Just remember that if he causes trouble, punch him in the head." He said. He picked up the photographs. "I'll go let the chief know of your find." He said. Shi nodded and beckoned Adachi. Together, the two of them left the station and headed back to the scene.

A few hours later, she sighed as she got to her feet and walked back to her car. Adachi glanced up at her, her reports in his hands. She nodded towards them. "Did you understand everything?" She asked him. He nodded. "One of the things I have to do when writing my reports is make sure the layman can understand it. So I can't use my medical jargon, as my lecturer once told me." She smiled as she got into the car.

"Did you find anything?" He asked her, closing the file and looking at her. She shook her head, leaning back in her seat.

"Nothing. No fibres, no DNA, no footwear marks." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Like Dojima-san said, our killer is like a ghost." She sighed again. Her head was starting to hurt and her body cried out for sleep. "Who has the most effective way of killing people I've ever encountered." It was at that moment, a strange gurgling noise echoed through her car. She glanced at him.

"Sorry." He said. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast." He admitted. She had to admit she was rather hungry as well. "Shall we grab a bite to eat before heading back?" He asked. She nodded, stretching to try and ease her muscles. He quickly drove them to the central shopping district where they grabbed some steak skewers. "So, what made you go into forensics?" He asked, trying to make some conversation. She glanced at him before returning her attention to the high-school students that walked past.

"You're gonna find out soon enough anyway. My parents were killed when I was seven years old." She said. She spotted Adachi about to offer sympathies. "Don't. It was fate. The two of them killed several people together, I think the count ended at ten known victims, and were being hunted by the police. They would have continued if not for me." She picked her steak skewer up and took a bite. "They wore kitsune masks to hide their identities when killing. The masks were common except for one small detail. The mask my mother wore had a blue oval in the centre of the forehead. One day, a police officer spotted me playing with it and asked me where I got it from. I told him, "it's my mummy's." And next thing I know, my parents are coming back in that night, with blood on their shirts. But they sit with me on the sofa, all night." She paused as she thought back to that night.

"The next morning, they don't wake up. I go outside, see all those police officers outside and I say "Mummy and daddy won't wake up." The next few months are blurs. I remember cameras flashing in my face, reporters demanding interviews with me and my paternal grandmother blaming me. My paternal grandfather did his best to comfort and raise me. He was a forensic pathologist and would take me into work with him. That's where I got my interest in it from. But, eventually he died as well. And I was left with snide remarks and sour looks from my grandmother." A dark laugh came from her. "She favoured my cousin over me always asking why I couldn't be like her. So I left, moved back into my home after I turned 18 and studied. Got my degree and became the pathologist of Inaba. Both forensically and generally." She smiled sadly before looking at him. "But what about you?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Grew up in Tokyo, joined the police. Got transferred out here to the boonies." He said. She raised an eyebrow. "The transfer wasn't my choice. I was taking part in a hostage situation and my finger slipped. I never meant to but I fired the weapon and shot an innocent civilian. Of course, the public went mad, the top brass needed someone to blame. So my chief pointed the finger at me and next thing I know, I'm driving out to the middle of nowhere." He sighed and ate the remainder of his steak skewer.

"Well, at least something interesting is happening now." She admitted. "Most of the autopsies I perform are hospital autopsies. I'm sick of seeing heart attack victims. Not to mention I only ever examine robbery crime scenes and those are few and far between. So this is a welcome breath of fresh air." She got to her feet. "Though I will say, getting to work with you is even better." She said softly. He glanced at her. "All the other detectives and such are much older than me and always talking about their wives or children. It's so boring. But you're my age right?" He nodded. "Then we can talk about other things, not just work or families and that's much better." She said, blushing slightly as she headed back to her car. He stared at her retreating back before climbing into the car with her.

"Well, I suppose I can agree. Meeting you was something good that came from being out here." He said. She glanced at him before smiling and heading back to the station. As they walked back in, Dojima walked forward.

"Adachi, you can go talk to the Konishi girl. Shi-san, I'd like you to walk me through your report with the body." He asked. She nodded and walked with Dojima to the autopsy suite. As she did, a chill ran up her spine and she froze. "Are you ok?" He asked her.

"It felt like death just walked past me." She said.