Saki Konishi's father paced up and down the corridor as Shi walked towards them. Her mother sat on a chair, hugging herself and another child, a young boy most likely Saki's younger brother sat beside her, staring at the wall. All three of them looked up as she walked forward. "You can come see her now." She said before leading them to the autopsy room.
She stopped them near the fridge where she had stored their daughter. She faced them, watching each of them carefully. "Now, I will warn you that it is painful to see a family member in such a state. And whilst you will want to be strong, if you feel ill or faint, please let either myself or Detectives Dojima or Adachi know and we can escort you out." She said. They just waited. She sighed and opened the door before pulling the tray out to reveal their daughter. The mother started to sob again as she looked down at her daughter. Shi had pulled the cover up to her neck to hide the stitching, the ones around her head hidden by her hairline.
"What caused it?" Shi almost didn't register the question. The father looked up at her, his arm around his wife. Shi glanced at Dojima, wanting to know if she should tell them. Dojima stepped forward.
"Because Dr Tawakemono hasn't completed her analysis yet, she cannot reveal a cause of death as of this moment." He explained. They looked from him to her. "Once Dr Tawakemono has an official cause of death, you will be informed before anyone else." He said. They nodded slowly.
"We need to contact the school." His wife said. Her husband nodded. Shi stepped forward.
"If you'd rather not do this, either myself or one of the detectives will contact the school on your behalf." Shi said. They glanced at each other before nodding, granting their approval. As they left with Dojima, she sighed before sliding the tray back into its place and shutting the door.
"Do you often offer to contact others in place of the family?" Adachi asked her. She laughed softly.
"It's a rare occurrence. But no parent should have to bury their child." She turned to him. "I've never encountered a case like this before. And I don't want you to repeat this to anyone but this killer is brilliant." He tilted his head and frowned. She continued. "They have discovered a method of murder that leaves no trace. The ultimate forensic counter. I want to know where they discovered this method. And I want to know how to counter it." She said before turning and walking to her office. She picked up the phone and connected to the operator. Adachi followed and watched her silently.
"Good morning, this is Dr Tawakemono. I was wondering if you could connect me to Yasogami high school." She paused as she was put on hold whilst being connected. She twirled the phone cord in her fingers as she was connected to the school.
"Good Morning, Yasogami High School office, how may I help you?" A female voice said.
"Good Morning, my name is Dr Shi Tawakemono. I'm the resident pathologist for Inaba's police department. I need to speak with the principal over an issue regarding one of your students." She was told to wait a moment whilst she was transferred through to the principal. Eventually, an elderly male voice answered.
"It is unusual for us to receive a call from the police, Tawakemono-sensei." The man said. "To what do we owe this unique opportunity?"
"I'm afraid I'm calling on behalf of Miss Saki Konishi's family. I need you to inform the pupils that Miss Konishi has sadly passed away." She said. A deep sigh emerged from the other end.
"I understand. May I ask as to the cause?"
"I can't give you that information without the police and parent's permission." Shi said. "All I can say is that I ask you to merely repeat what I have said in that Miss Konishi has sadly passed away. I do not want any rumours flying around." She explained before bidding goodbye and hanging the phone up. She placed her head on her arms atop her desk.
"This is really bothering you isn't it?" Adachi asked her, moving closer to her.
"Like I said, a parent should never have to bury their child. But it works the other way. A young child should never have to bury their parents or older siblings." She sighed. "I'll start working on those samples I took for toxicological analysis, but I'm not confident." She slowly picked up the samples and walked towards her labs. She analysed her samples using the different techniques available to her. Unbeknownst, Adachi had followed and was watching her. She sat by a computer and programmed her chromatographs and spectrometers to analyse her samples. She leaned back in the seat and rubbed her eyes.
"Shi-san?" She jumped slightly and turned to face him. "I know this is rather unusual but whilst you're waiting for the analysis to complete, would you like to come with me for a bite to eat?" He asked her.
"I have to stay with these in case something goes wrong." He looked a little saddened by this. "But once I've got the results, I can go with you." She said with a small smile. He brightened up slightly. She glanced at the clock on her computer to see it was already slipping into the afternoon. Her stomach gave an angry grumble as she waited for her analyses to be complete.
"So, what exactly are you doing?" He asked her, moving closer to see the computer screen.
"Trying to avoid Dojima-san?" She asked. He didn't respond which made her chuckle. She turned back to the screen. "I'm looking to see if there are any toxins present in the samples I took. These could be organic or inorganic." She watched the spectras being produced. "But by the looks of it, I'm not going to find anything." She sighed. A beep sounded to indicate the end of her tests. She printed off the spectra. She read through them before frowning. "Nothing. She's clean." She got to her feet and headed off to the offices of the police. She dropped the results on Dojima's desk, which was empty at the moment. "I'll explain them to him when we come back." She said before walking out with Adachi.
As they left, some of the people in the reception and just outside the entrance watched. "They've been spending alot of time together." A housewife said, sensing a new source of gossip. Her friend nodded.
"I mean, if they are working on the case, I'd understand but apparently, Shi gave him a lift home the other day." She murmured. The two of them continued to gossip as they waited for their husbands. Shi had heard the first parts of the murmurs but she chose to ignore it. She was used to others gossiping behind her back. Instead, she got in the car with Adachi and waited as they drove off for something to eat.