Anayo Y. Ichi: Police Report
May 23, 2003; 12:43 A.M.- Authorities received an anonymous phone call Friday morning in which the caller reported seeing some suspicious activity at a motel on Suna Ave. Police discovered the body of wanted killer, Anayo Ichi sprawled out on the floor as well as nineteen year old, Akiko Sato passed out and bound to a chair by chains. An autopsy on Ichi showed that he died suddenly of a heart attack. His victim was unharmed aside from some minor bruising and small cuts along her thigh. Sato was released from the hospital the next morning, despite showing symptoms of mild depression and shock.
Livid, listless eyes skimmed across the first paragraph of the police report on his lap for a second time that afternoon. The detective brought a coffee mug to his lips and allowed the overbearingly sweet liquid to slide down his throat. Then, he turned his head to the left, observing the large apartment complex outside the vehicle's tinted window. To his right, a man shrouded with layers of thick black jackets leaned forward just enough so that he too could gawk at the sight of the building.
"Here?" The cloaked figure inquired with the response of an affirming nod from the other seated individual in the back seat of the car. The cloaked man unbuckled himself, adjusted his headpiece, and then opened the car door. Several by passers whispered fervently to one another upon observing this blanketed marvel ascending the stairs of the complex in eighty degree weather; however, he was clearly quite keen on ignoring the bewildered onlookers. Upon locating apartment number 506 on the third floor, he rapped his knuckles against the polished wooden door. Akiko Sato responded to the knock and despite being unpleasantly surprised by her guest's unnatural appearance, she felt obligated to let him into her home upon the presentation of an FBI identification card.
"You want something to drink?" Her gruff voice and tearstained, flush face indicated that she had probably been crying. Her hair was tangled in a loose bun on top of her head and she currently was dressed in pajamas, although it was already early in the afternoon. The coated man muttered a soft "No thank you." before advancing to the living room decorated with mounds of used tissues. Akiko joined him after retrieving herself a glass of orange juice from the kitchen.
"So are you just here to question me like the other detectives?" Innocently, she batted her lashes at the man.
"I'm not just another detective." He quickly assured. Akiko rolled her eyes behind the man's back, evidentially disinterested in his motives. None the less, after removing a copy of the Anayo Ichi Police Report from his briefcase, he proceeded.
"I understand, according to this document that you've already been questioned by several other detectives?"
"I have."
"We'll then I can assume that you wouldn't mind answering some more questions?" her guest spoke clearly into the microphone on his headpiece. Akiko noticed, but said nothing to object.
"I suppose not."
Observing this conversation from the other end of the microphone, Detective L Lawliet remained at the back of the automobile, his legs curled against his chest in what appeared to be an agonizingly uncomfortable position. As usual, his hair was worn as a wild mess; attire unprofessional and probably soiled, at that. The dark bags under his black eyes expressed a concerning history of sleepless nights. Despite this, he remained focused and attentive to every word spoken.
Just as she had done before, L's associate, Watari, requested that she recall the events of May 23; before and after her kidnapping. She complied. When asked to describe what she knew of the killer's death; she complied. And the mysterious phone call? Again, she complied. Neither L nor Watari had learned anything new from questioning her. All of this information was already in the police report. Then, the questions changed their pace.
"What do you know about Kira, Ms. Sato?"
Surprised, Akiko perked up attentively. She was plagued with the realization that their conversation had taken an interesting new route.
"He kills criminals." She purposely left her explanation vague.
"That's true. Anything else?"
Akiko shook her head. A disappointed sigh sounded from the older gentleman as he realized the necessity of explaining.
"As you may or may not know, Kira is a criminal who has surfaced just recently. Other than the fact that he targets notorious criminals whom all appear to die by means of a heart attack, we don't know much. Ring any bells?"
It was not only true that Ichi had quite an unclean record; having raped and killed numerous women in every corner of Japan, but coincidentally he had also died of a heart attack according to what the authorities had revealed to her at the hospital. Akiko was not oblivious to this striking resemblance, nor did she ignore the growing interest the media exposed toward Kira. Simply it was the idea that this unknown entity had preserved her life at just the right moment. Either she had been unreasonably fortunate, or this Kira had somehow saved her life. The other men working on her case failed to bring these circumstances into the light for whatever reason (she supposed that fear could have driven this, as the similarity between what Kira does and her case came across as noticeably uncanny), nevertheless from the moment she learned what had happened she always suspected that the case could be Kira related. When she tried to verbalize these internal concerns to her parents they always pushed the idea into the back of their minds-the cowards.
"Yes, of course it does." She lacked the surprise that Watari initially might have assumed she would have conjured.
"Allow me to explain. I work not on your particular case, but on the Kira Case. I believe that Anayo Ichi was murdered by Kira just before he attempted to have his way with you. We understand that Kira kills in a fashion that physical evidence is nearly impossible to come across. Your case doesn't appear to be anything special off the bat, but then my associates and I considered the phone call authorities received regarding your location at the hotel." Watari suddenly gestured toward the police report in his hands. "You confirmed in this report that you could remember nothing before waking up in the hotel other than that you were leaving work around 11:00pm on May 22, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Let's assume that Kira was the one who made this phone call. Ultimately there was no caller ID and no immediate way to track the location of this call. Because of our resources; however, we did find a way to track the location. The call was made at 12:43am on May 23 at a gas station right next to your work. The problem with this information is that the hotel you were taken to takes just over four hours to get to from there. What we don't understand is how this caller could have possibly known your whereabouts when the kidnapping had been committed about an hour after the call to police was made and the killer hadn't even arrived at the hotel yet. Furthermore, our mysterious caller specifically instructed police that Ayano Ichi would be at the Tokai hotel in room 366. What my associates and I would like to know is how you believe this could be possible, Ms. Sato.
Akiko's jaw fell. This information dumbfounded the high school student. Her head was telling her to answer the question ten different ways and almost all of the answers made no sense or provided no additional information.
"They could have been working together." She spat this hypothesis out without actually thinking it through. Watari shook his head.
"Let's remember though, this is Kira. He fights criminals."
He was right, of course. It wouldn't make any sense for Kira to help a criminal and report it afterwards when all he had to do was snap his fingers for the killer to die. Based on what they had already seen, both Watari and Akiko knew Kira wasn't that type of killer. He was a more organized, sufficient man. Akiko's eyes fell to the ground as she contemplated these additional details.
"Kira has the ability to kill people. He could have other talents as well. What's not to say that he couldn't have seen it coming?"
A faint smile trailed along the corners of the aging detective's dry lips; an act in which Akiko subtlety assumed meant Watari had acquiesced with the idea. Without any further reaction or indication that her answer satisfied his agenda, he rose to his feet with document and briefcase in hand. Before leaving the baffled young woman alone again to ponder these events; however, Watari stood before her and, for what was the first time since his primary arrival into her doorway, made eye contact with Akiko.
"I have one last question, Ms. Sato."
"Yes, sir?"
"Are you familiar with Light Yagami?"
With brows docked over her eyes and teeth grinding uncertainly at her lip, Akiko was forced to reply with a delayed nod. The abrupt nature of such a question gave her no time to even consider asking for his reasoning before her front door had clicked shut. She was now left unsatisfied and hungry for more information, but to no amends. Her curiosity would have to sustain itself until she could confront Light.