Chapter 2: Blue, "The blue abyss I'm in is both heaven and hell"
It was 8:32 pm when Detective Rin Kazure pulled up to the Yamanet Apartment complex on the North Side of the city. She was surprised to have received a homicide call in such a nice area, though, looks were simply superficial. A few neighbors had gathered outside the complex in question, thanks to the presence of police officers. Rin strode up to a uniform clad officer with dark purple locks, who was speaking with who she presumed to be a neighbor.
"Captain Gasaki," Rin addressed the officer, "I'm here."
"Detective Kazure," Captain Gakupo Gasaki greeted Rin firmly, though with a slight friendly air, "It's good to see you. The crime scene is inside, but wait a moment. I'm chatting with the neighbor across from the scene."
"What do you mean wait? Isn't this a double homicide?" Rin asked bluntly. She was an efficient detective who preferred to get through her cases quickly, but with thorough investigation.
"Well," Before Captain Gaskai could continue, a few paramedics stepped out of the apartment with a woman with long pink hair, covered in blood. She was restrained to a stretcher, and was shouting incoherently, "That's why." Rin simply nodded. The woman was carried away. Well, that was the suspect all right.
"I-I-I'll be okay though, right?" The neighbor asked nervously. He was a dark skinned teenager, probably only a bit younger than Rin herself.
"We'll have you come down to the station for a statement, alright? We'll handle protecting you," Captain Gasaki assured the man. He patted him on the shoulder before another officer led him away. Captain Gasaki turned to Rin, "Any questions, detective?"
"No, I'm going on," With that, it was time to investigate.
The interior of the apartment was rather normal, sans the crime scene. Rin crouched down. It was obvious that the girl was murdered first. It was plain as day. It would explain the decapitation, which appeared to be postmortem from Rin's quick look around. An autopsy would have to confirm more on that later. The man on the ground was freshly killed in contrast. Rin surmised he'd been lured in. How sad. Captain Gasaki stepped in as Rin stepped away from the bodies.
"What do we know about these two?" Rin asked the Captain, scribbling notes in her trusty blue notebook, "And how are they connected to our suspect?"
"Our suspect, the one with the paramedics, is Luka Akarine," Captain Gasaki filled her in, "Freelancer, and has been here for 2 years. She owns the apartment. The witness I spoke with earlier saw her speaking with the first victim, Gumi Megurei around 3. He lives right across from her."
"Gumi Megurei," Rin scribbled the name as she said it, "What do we know about her? Did she know the suspect?"
"Preliminary investigation on the next door apartment says she's the other victim's partner. She was in college for a business degree at Future Yamanet University, according to a pieces of paper left in that apartment," Captain Gasaki continued on, "The man was a manager at Telware Paper Company."
"I see," Rin glanced at the ground, noting something on the kitchen floor. She walked over and picked it up carefully with some tongs that had been left out, "A Valentine's Day card."
"Isn't it early?" Captain Gasaki raised an eyebrow. Rin examined the note.
"It appears our suspect was infatuated with her neighbor," Rin set the tongs, and by extension, the evidence, onto the kitchen table, "This is a pretty cut and dry case."
"I'll have you question the suspect once she's stable tomorrow," Captain Gasaki informed Rin, before thanking her, "Thanks for coming out on short notice."
"It's my job, Captain." Rin sighed, tucking her short blonde hair behind her ears, "Someone has to do it, right? Crime doesn't sleep. I'll start my report tonight. If anything comes up, have anyone message me ASAP."
"Of course, detective."
Rin Kazure returned to her apartment late into the night. She lived on the East Side of town in a high rise apartment. It was a humble, simple apartment. She was attempting to relax in her bathtub on this especially solemn night. Rin loved her job. She loved her co-workers. She loved enacting justice. But, Rin couldn't hide the toll that each murder had on her. Homicide was her specialty, and it came with a hefty price of caring just too much. Each victim, each family, each suspect, and each of their families always tore away at her conscious, her heart. It filled her with a blue painful sadness. She had began working as a detective last year, and yet was still not over the shock each homicide brought her.
It's normal, she told herself. Yet she held back tears as each body was taken to the morgue.
Justice will be upheld, she told herself. Yet the sobs of families on both sides tore at her mind.
It'll be easier as times goes on, she told herself. And still she was on the verge of tears in her bath tub this very second.
Despite it all, Rin couldn't find it in herself to leave the job she still loved. Rin sunk deeper into the waters, everything save her head under the water. Her phone which sat on the edge of the tub hadn't rung, let alone lit up. Rin wondered if Captain Gasaki was looking out for her, and didn't want to disturb her. He was a good captain, always making sure each of the officers under his command weren't too stressed in the particularly stressful field. Rin closed her eyes, basking in the stillness that was the water and her sorrow.
Bzzt.
Or not. Rin glanced over at her phone, seeing a text message from one her close friend. Well, now was as good as a time as any to get out of the tub. Rin sat up and removed the drain plug, sighing in slight disappointment.
Rin sat at the edge of her bed, thumbing through her text messages in a tank top and shorts. As usual, her best friend wanted to chat with her about autopsies and getting experience. Len Karosa was two years younger than Rin, and had for some weird reason wanted to go into autopsies. Why, who knows. Rin had to give the kid credit for being able to be more composed emotionally than her with dead bodies. Rin texted him back, messaging, 'Meet at station at 3,' before putting her phone on the charger. Rin crawled back up to top of the bed and plopped to her side, shutting her eyes tight. Tonight would be another sad night.
The downtown police station was in a buzz as usual. The homicide department was hot on the trails of last night's homicide, and the number one suspect had just been transferred from the hospital over to the station for interrogation. Rin went straight for the interrogation room, her long navy winter coat still on her petite frame. She only had to glance at the officer standing outside the door for him to quickly nod and open the door for her. The cold, stone grey room had only a metal table and two chairs inside. Rin sat at one chair, facing the handcuffed suspect. The officer who had been outside the door rushed back in to hand Rin a case file, before ducking back out.
"Hello, Officer." The suspect greeted Rin warmly.
"I am detective Rin Kazure," Rin properly introduced herself, "You've been read your rights, Luka Akarine?"
"I have," Luka nodded, smiling. It was oddly creepy to see the woman smile. Rin mentally shuddered, "What may I help you with today then, detective Kazure?"
"Miss Akarine," Rin began, being rather blunt with the delusional woman, "You do realize you are the prime suspect of the murder of your neighbor and his girlfriend? You are facing life in prison without parole if convicted. So, I'm going to ask you questions related to the case, alright?" Luka simply nodded. Rin questioned if the woman was sane, but figured she must've been semi-sane to be in interrogation. Rin thumbed through the file first.
Case files weren't as hard for Rin, but often the gory details were laced in. In this case, there were photos of the deceased, of evidence. Simply looking at it made Rin feel melancholy. A wave of blue sorrow washed over her momentarily before she set down the file.
"Miss Akarine," Rin began the questioning, "Did you invite Gumi Megurei into your apartment?"
"I did, detective." Luka answered, "I told her I had baked cookies, and she came over to my apartment to eat some, as well as talk with me."
"And what did you and Miss Megurei do in your apartment?" Rin asked her.
"She ate a cookie, which were laced with bleach," Luka added with a small smile before calmly finishing her statement with, "And then, I killed her."
"…How did you kill the deceased?" Rin asked. The woman had just confessed to murder, more than likely pre-meditated from the sounds of it.
"I stabbed her to death." Luka replied calmly, pausing before adding, "Well she tried to fight back, but, well, she's dead so, you know how that went," Luka giggled a tad at that remark.
"…I see." Rin sucked in a breath of air before asking, "Miss Akarine, you just confessed to murder. Would you like me to call an attorney for you? You can legally request one."
"No." Luka declined, adding, "Even if I had a lawyer, there is no point. I will be convicted," She smiled cheerily, "I really don't regret what I did. I saw what I wanted to see: Red." That mere statement sent ice blue chills down Rin's spine. Yet, somehow the statement reverberated in Rin.
"…I understand," Rin cleared her throat and continued her questioning, "What did you do after you murdered Miss Megurei?"
"I was going to clean up, but, frankly," Luka sighed, "It felt pointless. There was too much to clean up! But," Luka's twilight eyes narrowed, "…Seeing her like that angered me. So, I took off her head and shut off the lights. I then took a nice shower."
"And then, how did your neighbor enter your apartment?" Rin asked her, "Was it voluntary?"
"He came over, asking for where his girlfriend was," Luka explained calmly, "I had said she was in her earlier, so he came in. The lights were off in the living room. I locked the door, and turned on the lights."
"And what happened?" Rin asked her, adding, "When you turned on the lights?"
"He saw the dead girl. And cried." Luka emotionlessly said, seeming disappointed, "…I had thought he would love me then, but he was too focused on her. So I stabbed him too. And I kept stabbing him."
"How many times did you stab him?" Rin asked her, almost afraid to ask. The autopsy report had come in hours earlier, and had reported over 55 stab wounds on the poor soul.
"Oh, I'm not sure," Luka admitted, and then said, "After I stabbed him, I stabbed myself. But, not long after, the door came off the hinges, and officers came in."
"I see," Rin stood up from the table and simply nodded, "Thank you for your time, Miss Akarine. We will call an attorney for you, and process your charges." She collected the file and made her way to the door.
"Oh, detective," Luka called out. Rin turned to face the killer one last time. The pink haired woman smiled warmly at Rin, "It's a shame you can't see red. You seem to be stuck in a blue haze." Rin froze in her tracks for a single second, but exiting the room.
Rin sat at her desk in the station, typing up a preliminary report for Captain Gasaki. Luka Akarine's parting words were on her mind. She had just been transferred to the local women's prison after meeting with an attorney. From what Rin had overheard from the other officers, it was likely that Miss Akarine would agree to a plea bargain for life in prison with parole in 50 years. Despite such an open and shut case, it lingered on Rin's mind. Who in their right mind would snap and murder a man and a girl over love? Then again, it happened every day, but the chilling way she had gone about confessing to it? That in itself was horrifying to Rin.
"Rin?" Rin jumped in her chair at the call of her name, "D-did I scare you?" She turned and saw her friend, Len Karosa. The blond with teal eyes smiled at her. She could see a dark pink hoodie peeking out under his black and yellow winter coat.
"Oh, Len, no, it's fine." Rin exhaled a bit before getting out of her chair, "Want to head down? I already got the go ahead from the Captain."
"Yeah," Len smiled, "Let's go."
The police station had its own private morgue in the basement. It was both beneficial, but mildly creepy. The two went down the stairs and into the freezing cold room. Rin pulled out the body of Gumi Megurei, and lifted it onto the stretcher with Len's help. He then took the body from the stretcher to the examination table.
"Damn, she died terribly." Len remarked, grimacing at the body. He then noticed the head, and audibly winced, "Whoever did this must be sick in the head…morally."
"You could say that," Rin quietly remarked. She sat in a chair, unable to look at the victim's body again.
Len thoroughly investigated the body, cutting it open once again to simply get a feel for autopsies. Rin had always wondered why Captain Gasaki was fine with Len doing this now and again, and figured it was only because he didn't mutilate any of them. In fact, he was rather careful with the bodies. Len returned the body to the freezer on his own as Rin sat in the chair.
"Rin," Len spoke up after having shut the freezer door, "Is something wrong?" Rin looked up at him from her notebook.
"What do you mean?" Rin asked him. Her grip on the notebook tightened.
"You seem down," Len noted, seeming concerned for her. Len walked over to Rin, sitting down in the chair beside hers, "Is it something to do with this case? …Was that girl one of the victims, Rin?"
"…She was." Rin quietly admitted, eyes glued to the floor, "She was brutally murdered by a jealous woman."
"It's hard to see that, isn't it?" Len asked her, a small smile on his face, "Having to go day in and out seeing a bunch of bodies, their deaths, and then have to see their loved ones?"
"…Yeah." Rin's voice cracked a bit as she responded, "It's hard, but it's my job. I signed up for it. I have to get used to it though."
"I know you do," Len assured her, "But it's okay if you're not used to it yet, you know that right? Even I get sad when I see cadavers in class. I love doing what I do, even if I'm in school, but," Len sighed a bit, still maintaining his reassuring smile, "it's okay if it hurts ya know…Because we're just human."
"…Thank-you, Len." Rin quietly smiled as a few stray tears fell down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting to show too much weakness, though it wouldn't be the first time he would've seen cry, "Really, thank-you."
"No problem, I have to look out for you, don't I?" Len smiled brightly at her. Rin's navy blue depression lifted into sky blue happiness. Len's hand hesitated towards her back, but shakily moved to her shoulder, "Do you have anything to do after? Or are you off?"
"Hm, oh, well, I just have to write the report which I can do from home." Rin told him, and then asked, "Why are you asking, Len?"
"Do…you want to go out for ice cream?" Len asked her, getting up from the chair with a smile. He extended his hand out to her, "Get your mind off the case for a bit?"
"Isn't it a bit too cold for ice cream?" Rin smirked at her friend. Len nervously laughed, realizing that she had a point, "Well, it's never a wrong time for ice cream, so I'll take you up on that offer." Rin grabbed his hand. Len smiled back, much more confidently, and pulled Rin to her feet.
As Rin walked out of the station with Len at her side, she smiled softly at the blue sky above her. It greeted her calmly, gently, unlike the depressing site of a crime scene. Perhaps it was merely her outlook thanks to Len. After all, he was rather kind, though she wouldn't dare date him the way she was now. Rin didn't was too fearful that her job, though mostly her still raw emotional feelings for the crime scenes, would get in the way of a relationship. Still, in the future… she wouldn't mind…. Well, never mind that.
This afternoon, Rin could admit she was still feeling blue. But, blue wasn't just sorrow, and Rin could at least take some type of solace on that.
This chapter was weirdly hard to right, well at least to end. I think it ends okay though, while also leading into the next chapter. – Kingdom Mitsumi