I can't.
I can't just stand and watch from across the road, I can't actually be seeing a disappearance and not do anything. I can't.
I just can't.
Clio didn't really have a plan. As she dodged cars and winced at their horns blaring at her, all she could think of was getting across the road. Once she got there, she ran towards Ottillie and the strange man and called out:
"Stop! Stop, let her go!"
The man didn't seem to hear her, so focused he was on wrestling a struggling Ottillie. But Ottillie noticed, pausing briefly, her gold eyes widening as she took Clio in. But then she turned and attempted again to wrench her arms away from the man. Elbowing the man in the face was enough to get one arm free, but he tightened his grip on her other arm, almost growling:
"Stop that, you. Stop that. How dare you…"
Ottillie attempted to bend over and reach something, and Clio ran over to try and prise the man's fingers from her arm. But then, she managed to bend low enough to yank one of her high heels off of her feet, and she used that to hit at the man. She kept hitting, her face contorting in fury, and Clio, stopped, uncertain. It was only the sound of someone running that made her turn around.
"Oi, Fujita-kun, get out of the way, that man's dangerous."
Clio stepped out of the way, feeling dizzy as she watched Sakichi charge past, taking the shoe away from Ottillie and pulling her away from the man's grasp. This took some doing, as not only did the man seem determined to get Ottillie in the car, no matter what, but Ottillie was still angrily trying to lash out at the man. It was only when Clio hesitantly reached out and tugged at her coat that she stumbled, breaking away from the man before then freezing in place.
For a moment, Ottillie straight ahead, blinking rapidly and breathing hard, nostrils still flared. Despite the fact she was still only wearing one shoe, she more or less remained steady and upright. Clio looked across the road, then back at Ottillie.
"Ny…Nylund-sempai?" she whispered. "Are you alright?"
The shoe that had still been in Ottillie's hand slipped away and fell to the ground. This made Ottillie flinch before staring down at the shoe. Clio swooped down and handed it to Ottillie, who, for the first time since she had met her, actually looked scared. But then, it was as if a shutter had come across her face. She snatched the shoe from her, shoved it back on her foot and then retreated to lean against the wall, retrieving her handbag from where it had fallen to the ground and searching for a compact, which she then used to check her make-up and hair. All the while, her gaze kept flicking back across the road.
What…why is she looking there?
Clio looked across the road, her eyes drifting towards the car that she had noticed before. From here, she could see that there was somebody in the driver's seat, staring straight at them, a camera in their hands. The peach hair stood out as familiar to her, but Clio struggled to place it until she heard Sakichi call out:
"Hey, Kuroki-san! Oi, get over here, we've caught Tomioka in the act!"
And sure enough, Hirotaro got out of the car, still holding the camera. He kept it trained on them for a few moments longer, before then bending down to put it away in his car. He locked up, and then jogged across the road with a curious lack of urgency. The man, who was now struggling against Sakichi's restraint, caught sight of him and then froze.
"It's you! It's you, you've set me up! You, you damn-"
The man's arms were pinned behind his back, but he attempted to kick out instead. Sakichi wasn't having it, however, remaining steadfast against the man's increasingly deranged rants. Clio stared at him, this apparently ordinary man. Closer up, he turned out to be older than Clio had realised initially, perhaps in his fifties or sixties instead. But apart from the wide eyes (no doubt looking larger than they were because of the thinness of his face), he really did look like an ordinary salaryman. Or, he would have, if not for the rage scrunching up his face and the deranged sheen of those bug-like eyes. Clio shivered, glad that the man hadn't really paid any particular attention to her. The recklessness of what she had chosen to do had started to sink in. What if Sakichi hadn't been there? What if another adult hadn't stepped in?
The others, she thought, where are they? Red and blue lights flashed, and sirens wailed, and she looked around to discover that although Konoha, Junpei and Ichizo were still across the road, they were directing the police towards them. But despite the din the sirens caused, suddenly, it seemed to quiet as Hirotaro finally approached them. The man Sakichi was restraining stopped kicking out and spitting and instead blinked, starting to shake instead before exclaiming:
"You."
"Ah, so I see you recognise me." Hirotaro said tonelessly.
"You…it was you all along!" he said. "I knew it, I knew that you would try and set me up! Itsuo-san and Ichiko-san said that you wouldn't dare, but I knew it…"
"You've been caught, Tomioka. You may as well admit defeat."
"I…what? No, no way! You set me up! This is a damn set up! A set up, I tell you!"
"How could this be a set up? You're the one who followed Nylund-san down the road!" Sakichi yelled. "You're the one who attempted to kidnap her!"
"He put her there," the man hissed, using his head to point at Hirotaro. "I bet he did, somehow."
Sakichi frowned at that and started to say:
"That's ridiculous, stop trying to-"
Hirotaro put up a hand to stop Sakichi, and then leant over to whisper something to the man, whose blood immediately seemed to drain from his face. As Hirotaro straightened, for a glimmer of a moment Clio thought she saw his thin lips curve into a smile.
But if he had smiled, it disappeared as quickly as she'd noticed it, and his face became blank once more as he turned to greet the police.
…
Since he had interviewed her before, Shouichi had decided to take care of interviewing Clio while her two friends and the private detective who'd been with them had been interviewed by his colleagues. That private detective, Ichizo, had offered to take Clio and the other girl, Konoha, back to the school, but they'd opted to wait in the reception area with Junpei until his aunt could come to pick him up. So once they were all done, Shouichi escorted them to reception. But as the three teenagers sat together and started chatting, Ichizo hung back for a moment.
"Chief, I…well, admittedly, I have only just met Fujita-chan, and Kagematsu-chan for that matter, but Fujita-san's a kid and her comfort's more important. So, since she's said she likes you, I'm inclined to trust you as well. So, the thing is, there's something I need to tell you, but that I'd like to keep on the down-low."
"If it's relevant to the case, I can't promise total confidentiality, depending on what it is."
"Oh yeah, yeah, sure. Just…" here, Ichizo lowered his voice to a whisper. "Look, it's not a state secret or anything, but my last name isn't a coincidence. Ini…that is, Inori, she is my sister. And I was kicked out of the family a long time ago, and like, my folks had given up on me a good while before that, but I still ended up knowing bits and pieces of what they got up to, and some of their staff and whatnot. That man…have you confirmed he's Masakazu Tomioka?"
"Why is it that you ask?"
As far as private detectives went, Shouichi trusted Ichizo. He did not know the man well as a person, and thought he was rather ditzy. But Ichizo had a compassion that he felt more police officers could use, and his reputation as a detective outshone that ditziness. Although Shouichi had not directly worked on the Hideyo Daiju disappearance from a few years back, he'd been well aware of it and of its resolution. There were many in the police who resented Ichizo for doing what they had not been able to do. Shouichi, on the other hand, was grateful.
That did not mean he was going to hand over all the key information on a plate. There were still procedures to be followed. Ichizo was still a private detective.
"Look, growing up, I head bits and pieces. That he liked women. Pretty, young women. Young enough that you could pretend they were underage, but not necessarily actually underage. Or, if they were underage, then as close to being adults as possible. There were rumours of him harassing any female employees or interns who fit that criteria, and that he consumed a lot of illegal pornography. Violent stuff, even. He didn't hurt Ini. If he had, she would have told me. Besides, I feel like my parents would have declared her off-limits, only because she's their heir. But, the thing is, apart from that, because he's been with them for ages and he's one of their senior employees, they would have brushed everything and anything else under the rug. Even if they knew he'd kidnapped any of the students, even if they knew if he killed Seren Nishiya. They'd cover it up, for the sake of IP. So…I assume that's something you need to know. And look into. And I don't want people knowing it came from me, because then they'll know about me and Inori, and well…there's a reason why, in law enforcement, you're not allowed to investigate things your loved ones are involved in, right?"
After what had been almost a stream-of-consciousness, Ichizo let out a huge breath and rubbed his forehead.
"And yeah, that don't apply to people like me, and it's not like it's going to stop me but…also, it might. It might, and I can't let it. Not while Ini's still out there. So, please?"
"You'll need to make an official statement to that effect, you do understand?"
"Ah, yeah, sure-"
"For the time being though, you can be called in under the pretext of having been a witness to this afternoon."
Ichizo frowned, but then smiled.
"Thanks there, mate! I appreciate it."
Ichizo then went back to the three teenagers, and seemed to seamlessly meld into their conversation. Shouichi watched them briefly, and then turned back only to see Sakichi and Ottillie also heading to reception, escorted by Detective Hanaoka.
"I must apologise, Nylund-kun," Sakichi was saying, bowing low. "You were never meant to be in any danger at any point. Are you hurt? Do you want to press charges against him, yourself? You know the police can't refuse it."
"I've been through this already," Ottillie responded tersely. "I just want to forget this happened and get on with my life. I trust that Detective Kuroki is satisfied, now? He'll uphold his end of the agreement?"
Sakichi seemed puzzled by that, but quickly smoothed it over with:
"I'm sure whatever renumeration he's promised you will be paid to you soon. "
Something flickered in Ottillie's eyes, and she briefly wrapped her arms around herself before remembering herself, letting her arms fall back to her sides and standing up a little straighter. She then noticed that they were being watched, and turned to him.
"Chief Inspector," she said. "Was there something you needed?"
"Like Enjou-san here, I wanted to be sure that you were alright after your ordeal, and also to let you know that depending on what information we get from your attempted kidnapper, we may need to question you again."
"I'm aware of his name. Masakazu Tomioka. And I am fine, thank you, Chief Inspector?"
"Has transportation back to the school been arranged for you?" Shouichi asked.
"Yes," Ottillie nodded, still guarded. "I believe one of your officers has arranged it."
"Well, if you have any concerns, then please do not hesitate to reach out."
Ottillie nodded once, and then turned and headed towards reception. Sakichi looked as if he were going to do the same, but then he faced Shouichi and said:
"Just so that you're aware, I still don't trust you. However, I know at this point, what happens next with Tomioka is a matter of the law. I've already given the files that I'd had with me to one of your detectives, and I'll bring up whatever else I have. There is irrefutable evidence that he is a serious sex offender, and that until now the Izawas have covered up for him for their own benefit. I hope that now, however, you'll finally act on it."
Shouichi ignored the barb, and simply said:
"As with Nylund-san, we may need to question you again later on. "
Sakichi snorted, but then nodded in acceptance before gruffly saying:
"Much as I hate to admit it, on this occasion Kuroki-san and I were lax. I went over this already, but the aim was that he turn up at the Lotus Bar expecting to meet her, only to find us instead. I'll be talking with Kuroki-san to try and figure out just what went wrong. But it's unforgiveable that we ended up putting other students at risk. With that being said, I am going to carry on. I know you won't like it, but now it's more important than ever to recover the remaining fifteen students."
"I will not try to stop you. However, as ever, I will ask you to make sure that you are not interfering with due process."
Sakichi snorted at that, and then said:
"Kid, just make sure that 'due process' doesn't end up being 'placating Hope's Peak'. When it comes down to it, they won't protect you."
Shouichi fought the urge to reach up to adjust his eyepatch, thinking about how well he knew the truth of what Sakichi said. Instead, he just nodded, and gave Sakichi a pointed goodbye. The private detective walked away briskly, and then Shouichi turned back and made his way to the incident room with Hanaoka. When they got there, some of the other detectives were waiting, so he asked:
"I take it then we've let the two private detectives go?"
"Well, Sakichi Enjou, sure," Hanaoka said. "But I want to keep Hirotaro Kuroki here a little longer and question him again."
"He cooperated, did he not?"
"Only to a point. He's explained clearly what he saw, and how he and Enjou have been monitoring Masakazu Tomioka for a while now. But he's definitely holding something back. Enjou quite gladly told us that they had been pretending to be Ottillie Nylund as a way of luring him in, because he'd been horrified that she'd been put in danger. Kuroki, on the other hand, has said nothing about that. He also hasn't voluntarily given us the details of the online interactions they had. Nylund-san, too, was fairly buttoned up. She only confirmed that she had been asked for consent for the two private detectives to pretend to be her online, but has refused to give any other details. "
"And if you add to that the fact that Kuroki must have known Tomioka through the Izawas," Hirano added. "There's something not quite right."
And he watched, Shouichi thought. Clio Fujita said he had merely watched. There could have been an explanation for that. Not every person had the ability or the disposition to step in, or even to think to call the police. But that did not seem right for a cool-headed private detective who was known for his cool-headedness. Even though it felt like a stretch, despite the suspicion such thoughts fostered, he asked:
"Are we considering him as a suspect?"
Hanaoka and Hirano exchanged a look, and then shook their heads. To this, Shouichi responded:
"In that case, we can't keep him unduly. Both of you go back in and apologise for the wait. Say that you needed to double check some things and that you just want to clarify them. Ask what you need to ask, but tread carefully unless something comes up that marks him as suspicious."
"Got it." Hirano and Hanaoka chorused.
"I'm going to go and interview Masakazu Tomioka. Remind me of which interview room he has been placed in?"
Hirano told him, and then handed him a folder with stills from the airport, as well as the official police sketch.
"I've put the messages in there," Hirano added. "As well as a summary of what's been found on his phone so far. It turns out this guy is extraordinarily stupid, saving all the details of his passwords to the different accounts there, even though they're all under different names. So Itsuki was able to get it fairly quickly. They're still digging, though."
"No, this will do fine. Thank you. "
Beckoning one of the other detectives, Tsukasa, to join him, Shouichi tucked the folder under his arm and headed to the interview room. There, Masakazu Tomioka sat, now dressed din the grey tracksuit of a prisoner, with the look of a hunted animal about him. However, when he looked up, his eyes flared briefly.
"No comment, until my lawyer gets here."
"That's fine." Shouichi said. "Isn't it?"
"It sure is, there's no rush," Tsukasa said. "May we get you a drink of any sort, Tomioka-san?"
"Hmph, no thank you. I don't intend to be sitting here for long! That psycho set me up, I tell you! He only went and set me up!"
Rather than respond to this, Shouichi stared evenly at Tomioka. The man blinked a couple of times, clearly waiting for a reaction, but Shouichi refused to give it to him. Eventually, Tomioka grimaced and looked away.
"Oh great," he muttered. "Are you a psycho too? All of you conspiring to set me up!"
It was at that moment that there was a rap on the door, before it opened and a young woman in a smart red skirt and black blazer, with messy green hair piled into a high bun. Her eyes were almond-shaped and almost peach in colour, and she looked resolute in that way that people who had to really shore up their determination had. Shouichi assumed that she was Tomioka's lawyer, and that assumption was proven when Tomioka leered at her, and then exclaimed:
"Ahhhh, Satou-chan, it's so good to see you, pretty as ever. Come on, get me off on this. It's all a big set up anyway. That Kuroki, it's all him. It's not me."
The lawyer remained standing, staring at Tomioka in barely-disguised revulsion. Tsukasa cleared his throat and said:
"Um, did you want a seat?"
"Oh, no. I'm not staying. The Izawas simply asked me to come here to tell Tomioka-san here something very important."
"What do you mean, you're not staying?"
"The Izawas, they said," Satou slowly said. "They said, you're on your own here now. You broke your word, so you're on your own."
"But I-I, I never!" Tomioka protested. "I never broke my word!"
"There's no use trying to deny it. You broke your word, and now you have to face the consequences. I was asked to pass that on, too. So with that, I will be leaving."
"Why, you…"
Tomioka leapt up, but Shouichi barked:
"Sit down."
Tomioka sat down heavily, looking pole-axed. Shouichi then turned his attention to Satou and asked:
"So you will not be serving as legal counsel to Masakazu Tomioka?" he asked her.
"No," she said. "It is what the Izawas had ordered. They won't have any part in supporting somebody who kidnapped their daughter."
"That wasn't me!" Tomioka yelled. "I told you, that one wasn't me! Tell them to ask that bitch who it was! Tell them that it wasn't me, this is a set up! I kept my word, damn it all!"
Although Satou's eyebrows twitched, she staunchly ignored Tomioka, and instead bowed and meekly apologised to Shouichi and Tsukasa before leaving the room. Tomioka, still seated, whipped around and stared at the door in utter despair before he put his head in his hands. He muttered under his breath, something about 'that bitch' and 'none of this would have happened if she'd just left Seren to me as promised'. Tsukasa started to try and question him, but Shouichi stopped him. He wanted to give it a few more moments and see if the abandonment would have any effect.
After a few moments, Tomioka looked up, and swung his legs back under the table. He crossed his arms and rested them against the table. More quietly, he asserted:
"This is a set-up."
"Multiple witnesses saw you attempt to kidnap eighteen-year-old Ottillie Nylund, and in addition to that we have both witnesses and footage of you attempting to kidnap nine-year-old Ceri Nishiya."
Shouichi took the CCTV stills out from the folder and placed them in front of Tomioka.
"Recognise him," Tsukasa asked, tapping at the picture of Tomioka. "I'd hope you do, considering that's clearly you. Was that a set-up, too?"
"That's, that's just…I kept my end of the bargain, damn it! I kept my end and what do I get in return? Being set up by their damn private eye to take the fall for everything, and having my reward killed on top of that!"
"How have you been set up?" Tsukasa asked, mildly. "It wouldn't be fair to charge you for everything if there are other people responsible for these horrible crimes, and there are such a lot…chief, what are the charges that Tomioka-san is facing here?"
Shouichi obliged, stating quite blandly:
"So that is two counts of attempted kidnapping, one against a minor. In addition to that, you're facing charges of sixteen counts of kidnapping, and one count of murder."
Tomioka's eyes bugged out even further than they had done before as he exclaimed:
"Sixteen? They're trying to set me up for all sixteen? As if they didn't help with some of them, themselves, after their valuable heir was kidnapped? And why should I go down for killing Seren when I didn't even get the chance to? Nuh-uh, no way, there's no way I'm helping you lock me up and throw away the key!"
"You are doing that yourself," Shouichi said. "Faced with irrefutable evidence, what on earth makes you think that we will be inclined to believe your claims of a set-up, especially when you have provided no explanation or proof?"
"That detective placed her there on purpose, I'm telling you! He knew that I would be tempted, so he probably bribed her to stand there and look tempting. I bet if you look in my car, you'll find a tracker! I bet it was him pretending to be her online, too!"
"You were communicating with Ottillie Nylund online?" Tsukasa asked.
"Well, I thought so!" Tomioka said indignantly. "If I'd known it was a set-up, I wouldn't have bothered, though."
"Were you the one to initiate contact, or was she?"
"Me, of course. These young girls, they want it but don't know it, so you have to be forceful, you know. Although, maybe you have less trouble, being young and attractive and having that eyepatch to give you that air of raw danger. You must have the ladies falling over you. If only I had a fraction of your luck!"
Tomioka sighed heavily at this and stared down at the table, clearly lamenting his bad luck. Shouichi had no time for it:
"If you knew all this, then why did you choose to stop and attempt to abduct her?"
Tomioka looked up:
"Of course someone like you doesn't get it. I doubt your colleague gets it either, though that's nothing to do with attractiveness."
Shouichi gave Tsukasa a sideways look, but as he thought, the detective was unruffled, instead choosing to say:
"Well, sure, but as I said before, how can we see the truth if you're refusing to explain it to us?"
"There are only so many ways that we can tell you that with what we already have, it's not looking good for you? Did we mention that we can lay out clear motivations for you not just kidnapping Seren Nishiya, but murdering her too? Do you remember writing these messages, sending them to her?"
Shouichi laid the printouts of the messages on top of the CCTV stills, but Tomioka did not look at them. Instead, he just crossed his arms and said:
"That's just more of a set-up."
"These were recovered from your phone, and these are just the ones that go back to September 2022. Not a single student had disappeared back then-explain to me how you were set up for the disappearances with these, then?"
"It's a set-up." Tomioka persisted. "That's all I'm saying."
"In that case, we have nothing more to say to you."
Shouichi got up, shoving the papers he'd taken out back into the file. He beckoned to Tsukasa, who also got up, and they both made a show of ignoring Tomioka and heading for the door, before Shouichi paused and waited for Tomioka to say something, when he didn't, he added to Tsukasa, pointedly loud:
"Tell the officers who escorted him here to come back and return him to the cell."
That should have got a reaction, but when Shouichi turned himself to look, Tomioka had resolutely pursed his lips, staring at the wall opposite. Shouichi waited a few moments longer, but then had to concede defeat. And so he and Tsukasa left the interview room, and closed the door behind them.
…
Back in the incident room, everything they had so far was reviewed. Hanaoka's re-questioning of Hirotaro hadn't yielded anything that had justified her suspicions, and so he hadn't been held back that much longer. She reasoned that he might have been simply trying to avoid dwelling on the fact that his impersonations of Ottillie may have been a motivating factor in Tomioka's actions at that bus stop. Nonetheless, although even she acknowledged it was way down on the priority list, she wanted to keep an eye on him. Shouichi conceded this, given that Tomioka clearly knew Hirotaro, to say nothing of their connections to Izawa Pharmaceuticals as a whole.
They then went through what evidence they had against Tomioka, apart from the attempt to kidnap Ottillie. The most damning, after the footage of him attempting to kidnap Ceri, was not just the hundreds and hundreds of social media messages, but the photographs. There were dozens and dozens of photographs of teenage girls and young women, most shot at a distance and all of them clearly without the person realising. Many were of Seren, some of others that Shouichi recognised as Hope's Peak students, but most were people he didn't recognise. Whether they were people Tomioka knew in other areas of his life, or random passers-by, it was hard to tell for some of them. But a good handful of the photographs were of the 'upskirting' variety, so at least some of the other photos had to be of women Tomioka had interacted with.
Similarly, although the bulk of the messages were to Seren (all of them to her theatre-related social media, since it didn't seem like she had anything personal or 'just for fun'), there were plenty to an account that appeared to be Ottillie's, the rest were, again, to accounts that they belonged to young women. Or teenage girls. However, it was only Seren's that were peppered with the extremely graphic descriptions of what he'd be doing to her once he had her. Most of the others, while still explicitly sexual, felt almost depressingly standard in comparison.
However, there was nothing there that tied Tomioka specifically to Seren's abduction or her murder, and nothing that tied him to the other fifteen. But the IT people hadn't finished going through the phone yet, so it was possible that more would be found. There was some more discussion and speculation about the state of Seren's body and what that could tell them, and although it did not get very far, it was at that point that Shouichi was informed that they'd been given a warrant to search Tomioka's flat, and he leapt at the chance to get a little bit more insight into the man. There was no question of his involvement in the Hope's Peak disappearances, even less question of his overall guilt. He certainly did not believe Tomioka's claims of a set-up were anything more than an attempt to wriggle away from that guilt. But there were little things that niggled, that told Shouichi that things were more complicated than they seemed. So he leapt at the chance to go there, opting to take Hanaoka and Tsukasa with him. He set Hirano and a few others on the task of going back through the case files of the other disappearances in case a link could be made, and the rest on finding people who knew Tomioka so that they could get a better understanding of what he was like and how that had resulted in him doing what he had done. He also set a small group on checking in on the progress regarding going through his phone, and then with that he and his two detectives went off to Tomioka's flat.
The flat was in the nicer part of the town bordering Towa City, on the third floor of the block that it was a part of. When Shouichi, Hanaoka and Tsukasa got there, the crime scene investigators were already there, and one of them immediately said:
"The first thing you're going to want to see is the bedroom. We've already photographed it, but we're removing a few things that may be of interest."
Once they were suited and booted up appropriately, they were led through the well-kept but seemingly impersonal space through to the bedroom. And that was far from impersonal. Although the bed sheets were beige and unremarkable, the furniture utilitarian, the wall opposite the bed was a different story. Plastered all over it were dozens and dozens of pictures, the vast majority of them being of Seren, some even overlapping each other. Taking a closer look, it seemed that they went back at least a few years. One, in the middle, gave him pause. It showed an apparently furious, teary Seren at ten years old, dragging a suitcase as she lagged behind what appeared to be her parents and younger siblings, although they were out of focus in the image.
"That was the last good time we had with her," Haruko explained. "It was when we were coming home from that trip that Seren got upset that she had to sit separately from us on the flight, and made up that story…at least, that's what we assumed. That she'd made it up in retaliation."
"There it is." Shouichi muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
Hanaoka stood next to him, and let out a long whistle, clearly noticing the photograph in the middle:
"Here's the proof then, that Seren Nishiya had been telling the truth all of this time. Whether this is a separate thing, or it is part of the Hope's Peak case after all, there's no going back from it now, is there? We failed her."
"I cannot dispute that one. There's no turning back time now, though."
"Ah, and I wouldn't be so sure that this is separate, either."
This came from Tsukasa, and Shouichi swivelled around to face him.
"Why do you say that, Detective Tsukasa?"
"Look."
He pointed to the very edge of the cluster of photographs. Shouichi frowned, and then took a step forward. There, hidden under pictures of Seren walking down a street at night, were a set of maps.
"You've got evidence bags, right?" he asked Tsukasa and Hanaoka.
While both answered yes, it was one of the crime scene technicians who handed him a couple. Shouichi nodded his thanks, then carefully removed the photographs that were covering the maps. These were placed in the bags, which he then handed back to the technician, before looking at what had been exposed.
Three maps stared out at them, each of them clearly printed off from somewhere online, each showing a different part of Towa City. In the top-right hand corner of each, a small photograph was stuck.
"Hold on, isn't that…?"
"It is, yes."
Although Shouichi had to lean in close and really squint, owing to the size of the photographs, but sure enough they were recognisable as Yori Miyagi, Ae-ra Park and Fukue Amari. The three maps, likewise, were of a convenience store some blocks away from the Inagawa Television Studio, the Towa Central District Mall, and the roads immediately outside of Hope's Peak Academy. The places where Yori, Ae-ra and Fukue had been taken from, respectively.
Tomioka's voice echoed in his head:
"Sixteen? They're trying to set me up for all sixteen? As if they didn't help with some of them, themselves, after their valuable heir was kidnapped? Nuh-uh, no way, there's no way I'm helping you lock me up and throw away the key!"
Shouichi acquired more bags, explaining that they needed to take down some of the photographs to see if there were more maps. With the help of his two detectives, and one of the crime scene technicians, all of the photographs were taken down and bagged up, but no more maps were found.
"Perhaps there are some in the drawers of the desk?" Hanaoka suggested, pointing to the desk, which was being examined.
"No maps here," the technician looking through said drawers said. "We've already removed and bagged his laptop, and a bunch of bank statements and whatnot, but we've just found this."
A small, cheap looking black mobile phone was held up. Shouichi took it and powered it on. There was no passcode on it, so he was immediately taken to the home screen. The first thing he did was look in the call history, and saw that for the past month, Tomioka had been making numerous calls to one number, none of which had been answered. Further back, though, from around the end of November through to mid-January, a handful of calls had been answered. He then went to the text messages and saw that while the only person that had been texted from this phone was the same number as the phone calls, there were a great deal more of these text messages.
Shouichi scrolled through the messages, and stopped on some part the way up, sent on January the 10th.
My_Number [22:03 2023.01.10]: why did you take Seren
My_Number [22:03 2023.01.10]: I thought you wanted the foreign lookalike. Seren was meant to be mine that was the agreement
Unknown_Number [22:07 2023.01.10]: But, Seren Nishiya is such an interesting character. You must know this, given you're responsible for her development. Ottillie Nylund is so bland in comparison even with the issues she has. In the end, all it boils down to is she is a spoilt brat. I've already kidnapped a perfectly good spoilt brat, as you well know.
My_Number [22:08 2023.01.10]: I got you Fukue Amari. I did the other two even though one was a boy and didn't turn me on at all. I followed your terms. Give me Seren
Unknown_Number [22:08 2023.01.10]: Why don't YOU take the 'foreign lookalike', huh?
Unknown_Number [22:10 2023.01.10]: But you won't, because you're the same as me. In the end, it's her who will prove the most compelling. Don't you worry. Once I'm done with her, you can have her. But you're going to have to be a good little horny boy and wait patiently.
Unknown_Number [22:11 2023.01.10]: If you do anything to derail my narrative, you know what will happen. They'll lock you up and throw away the key faster than you can blink.
My_Number [22:11 2023.01.10]: you're getting crazier by the minute, even crazier than they say you are. Lunatic bitch how have they not tried to lock you up already
Unknown_Number [22:12 2023.01.10]: For the same reason you're not trying to do the same.
Unknown_Number [22:12 2023.01.10]: to keep your dirty little secrets safe
Unknown_Number [22:12 2023.01.10]: And your secrets are ever so dirty aren't they, especially where your oh-so-precious Seren is concerned. Don't you worry yourself though. I keep my promises. I won't be touching her, and I won't be the one to kill her. I'll leave that luxury all to you.
Unknown_Number [22:13 2023.01.10]: But I know it'll be hard for you to wait while your nether regions are controlling your brain, so here's a little treat for you.
Unknown_Number [22:13 2023.01.10]: [IMAGE_ATTACHMENT]
Unknown_Number [22:14 2023.01.10]: There you go. Don't tell me I don't give you things in return for your assistance.
Tapping on the attachment seemed to show Seren lying on a camp bed, still wearing the clothes she had been wearing when she'd been taken, her hair fanning out around her, one arm covering her eyes. It was difficult to tell if she was awake or asleep, but her expression looked pained nonetheless. The image had been taken from above, at an angle, showing that the concrete-walled room was tiny.
"Hold on, isn't that…look!"
Tsukasa pointed at the remaining photographs on the wall, and though it took Shouichi a moment to place it, sure enough, the photograph displayed on the phone had indeed been printed out and attached to the collection. There appeared to be few other similar photographs, all showing Seren in the same room, usually lying down but in one particular photograph, sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed and clearly disoriented.
"When the IT guys go through this phone, they'll find all those there, won't they?" Tsukasa asked. "So this person, this person is the woman that Tomioka was talking about."
"How can we be sure it's a woman?" Hanaoka asked.
"Well, given the choice of swear words and the fact he referred to her as a she-"
"Let's not make assumptions," Shouichi interrupted. "At the moment, all we know is that this person exists, and they're behind some of Tomioka's actions here, and are likely behind all the other disappearances in a similar manner. We need to see if we can discover anything about their identity first. Tracing this number would be the first step, but anything else we can get from this phone, this room…"
"Interviewing the Izawa family?" Hanaoka suggested. "I know they're going to kick up a fuss if we even hint that we think they're involved, but we have a plausible angle given Tomioka worked for them."
Shouichi nodded at that. He'd known from the moment he'd learnt that Tomioka was an IP employee that there would be trouble. From his perspective, the Izawas would have to, to be crude about it, suck it up. He also knew, however, that their money and influence was such that they could make it difficult for him to do what he really wanted. Really, he needed to take things slowly, carefully, considering every single step. But there wasn't time for that. What if somebody else turned up dead?
Nonetheless, he thought, I have no choice. I need to take one step at a time.
"Let's keep searching and see what we find."
…
While in the end, most of the incriminating evidence against Tomioka linked to Seren and to his general proclivities. These, on their own, were more than enough to keep him in prison for a significant amount of time. But the phone brought up plenty of incriminating messages which further confirmed that Tomioka had been the man who'd kidnapped Yori, Ae-ra and Fukue. Indeed, Hirano had gone to Yori Miyagi's file, found the CCTV from the convenience store and spotted Tomioka on it, leaving the store just moments after Yori had left.
It was these, and the photographs on the wall, that Shouichi and Tsukasa presented when they attempted to interview Tomioka again. He did not stop trying to claim that where Ottillie had been concerned, he had been set up. He did, however, outright admit that he had been involved in those three disappearances, giving details on how he had tracked them down and waited for the right moment. He also implicated himself in at least wanting to kidnap Seren, referring to the three kidnappings as at least being 'good practice' and lamenting about how 'the lunatic' had gone back on their word.
Who this lunatic was, though, Tomioka refused to say.
"Either you don't know," he said. "Or she already has you in her pocket, and you're doing this for show. And if she does…well, as I know to my peril, it's too late."
"If you give us concrete evidence as to her identity, and if that leads us to where she has been holding the other students, then this person will not have the hold over you that you're claiming she has."
"Please, like it would be that easy!" Tomioka scoffed.
He crossed his arms and leant back in his chair, looking for all the world like he'd thought he'd won, even though he must have known that he hadn't. Shouichi exchanged a look with Tsukasa at this point, and changed tack:
"So, after you kidnapped Yori Miyagi, Ae-ra Park and Fukue Amari, where did you take them?"
"If you're hoping for an address, that's more than my life is worth at this point." Tomioka sneered. "Besides, do you think I was allowed in there? Don't you think I asked, so many times? In any case, I left the girls in the woods, and the boy at an abandoned gift shop. I'm sure you have that address there."
He gestured dismissively at the printouts of the selected text messages he had been confronted with, then once again crossed his arms and leant back. Shouichi and Tsukasa kept pressing, but while cracks appeared, and a few more small details leaked through those cracks, the man himself did not break. It was as if in Tomioka's mind, the idea that he could have been set up cancelled out his responsibility for the actual wrongdoings he had perpetrated. That, and it was clear that Tomioka was a depressingly standard example of a violent misogynist, assuming that all men thought the same way he did, deep down. Shouichi took more pleasure than he should have in making it clear that that was not the case, and even more in informing Tomioka of just how long he'd probably end up in prison for.
At that, his eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets, and he shrieked:
"You can't do this to me! You can't! All this, for what, that little slut? I knew there was something about her, the first time I ever saw her and I was right, wasn't I? The way she flaunted herself, she was practically begging for me. If I have to go down for what happened to her, I would rather have done it myself!"
"Only for you to get caught." Shouichi said, before he could stop himself.
Tomioka blinked, and then stuttered:
"I-I'm sorry?"
"The only thing Seren Nishiya wanted was for you to get caught. In fact, for all your talk about being set up by this person and that person, I'm surprised you didn't think of her. Perhaps it would have taken longer were you not foolish enough to attempt two kidnappings in one day. However, we would have found you eventually, because she made sure of it. You're sitting here due to your own actions first and foremost, but you're also sitting here because it was her last wish that you would pay for them. I suggest you think about that while you're waiting for your final sentencing."
Tomioka's mouth opened and shut abruptly a few times in quick succession, but he appeared to have nothing more to say. And neither did Shouichi, for that matter. He sent for officers to take him away again, and then he and Tsukasa headed back up to the incident room. After making sure everything was in order, he sent the rest of his team home. They needed the rest, after all. And so did he, but only after he had sent off a report to the higher-ups.
As he did so, unexpectedly, the station superintendent came over and asked for a quick update. Shouichi explained he was just finishing the report, but gave her that update nonetheless, watching her as she studied the incident board they had set up, primarily focused on Seren but with plenty of information about the other fifteen disappearances too-especially Yori, Ae-ra and Fukue.
When he was done, the superintendent turned to face him and said:
"So, there's no doubt about it, the sixteen disappearances are linked. I was rather hoping they weren't."
"This is a significant lead, though." Shouichi said.
"The Commissioner has been dining out with Ayato Suwasaka though. In fact I believe he's doing so tonight. And apparently Suwasaka-san and his wife have been insistent that their daughter's disappearance be regarded as an isolated incident, not a part of these disappearances."
Shouichi considered his response very carefully before giving it:
"It is not impossible that may be the case, however it is looking likely that most of the disappearances are indeed linked. To be blunt about it, it would be foolish to divert resources into fifteen separate investigations at this time."
"That is true as well," the superintendent said. "But it doesn't look good for us to have a serial killer on our hands."
Shouichi just waited, and the superintendent chuckled wearily:
"I know full well your anti-authoritarian side is bubbling under the surface there. Come on, spit it out. I promise not to take it personally."
Shouichi very much doubted this, but he didn't take any of that personally either. It wasn't as if the superintendent was wrong. Just hearing the name of Suwasaka made his hackles rise. Perhaps even more than the Izawa name, that was a name that he did not trust. Not after the way they had made their opinions known after nearly disappearance, finding reasons why they couldn't be connected, calling each new tragedy a mere coincidence, even after their daughter had joined those ranks. People called them 'dignified' and 'private' and Shouichi knew that these were also valid responses to grief and fear. Not everyone fell apart openly. He knew that, and yet.
"I sincerely hope the Commissioner isn't thinking of letting his friends influence an investigation."
The superintendent blinked, but composed herself quickly:
"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't. But I'm sure that as a parent himself, he's worried that it would be upsetting to learn that one's child was a victim of a serial killer. It's almost the type of thing that happens on a TV drama or a book, not real life. It must already be unbelievable that Tsubame Suwasaka got taken simply walking home from school."
"It probably wouldn't feel good to know that the horrible thing that happened to your child was part of a wider pattern that hadn't been seen before, either."
The superintendent considered this, and then nodded:
"Actually, Kiyofuji-kun, you're right. We don't want a repeat of what happened with the Gakusha High School boys."
"Which means that we do also need to take a closer look at Hope's Peak in general. Although, I suspect that Ayato Suwasaka would have something to say about that."
The superintendent sucked in a breath and gave Shouichi a sharp look:
"You need to be careful there," he said. "Don't let your past experiences cloud what you're seeing now."
"I have no intention of doing so," Shouichi replied frostily. "But with all due respect, Ma'am, Hope's Peak is what all sixteen teenagers have in common. With one of them dead and clear evidence linking at least some of their disappearances together, it would be irresponsible to not dig deeper into that common ground. Naturally, as with Seren Nishiya, separate threads can be followed, but having a donor of Hope's Peak as a friend of a higherup is not an excuse to not do due diligence. As long as I am permitted to do so, I intend on conducting this investigation as thoroughly as possible."
The superintendent whistled, although the look she gave him still pierced:
"Well then, Kiyofuji-kun, you really don't hold back, huh? For what it's worth, by and large we agree with you. However, it pays to be aware of what those with the money are saying, and it pays to be careful. And again, take care to make sure that you're not superimposing your own bad experiences over what's happening now."
"Don't worry," Shouichi said. "I won't."
The superintendent considered him, and then nodded:
"Well, you have always been thorough. Let's just pray that whatever the truth is, we find those students quickly. Don't stay here too late."
Shouichi nodded politely, and waited for the superintendent to leave, before then turning back to finish the report.
…
Ririka had an early start that morning, having been asked to make sure the software for the new security cameras was working as it should be, and that it did not interfere with any of the other security software. She had helped with the physical installation of them when they'd arrived the evening before, hot on the heels of the news that somebody had attempted to kidnap Ottillie Nylund. This discovery had made Ririka sick to the stomach, leaving her wondering if Ottillie really had been the true target all along. Her father had been involved in apprehending the kidnapper, she knew, but he hadn't come back to the school after it had happened and so she did not know a whole lot about it.
I suppose, she said, the main thing is that the girl is safe. There's nothing that I could have done.
But that was not entirely true, and it was a cold hard fact she had to force herself to ignore as she first signed in before heading to the Security Building, where both Alexis and Tanaka were waiting for her. She greeted them and exchanged some small talk before she sat herself down by the main computers at the front desk and got to work. From time to time, she looked up at the television mounted on the wall, which rather than showing a loop of announcements or pictures from recent school events, was broadcasting a police press conference. The sound wasn't on, but subtitles had been added, and though some of them were a little 'off' given it was live, enough were correct that Ririka could work out that a suspect had been arrested, and confirmed to be responsible for part of the disappearances but not all of them. While the person running the press conference-the commissioner-seemed keen to emphasise that they were not looking at Hope's Peak as being to blame, they were considering the school as the significant common denominator. Ririka rolled her eyes at that, only to find herself checking that neither Alexis nor Tanaka had noticed.
For the most part, however, she only half-watched the press conference, choosing instead to focus on her work until she heard a set of footsteps (one of them clearly being made by high-heeled shoes). Getting up, she saw a well-dressed, unfamiliar couple. Curious, and feeling as if she should go to greet them, Ririka dusted down her cardigan, adjusted the collar of her blue button-down shirt, and stood up, coming out from around the desk.
The couple noticed her immediately, and though their nods were polite, the way they looked at her made Ririka rather feel as if she was being analysed. The man asked:
"And who may you be?"
Trying to shake off the discomfort over being scrutinised, Ririka answered:
"I'm Ririka Enjou; I do a lot of the IT work around here, although I do have a few people above and below me."
"She's our IT Manager, although she's relatively new to the position. Before that, she's been our Assistant IT Manager for a good few years. She's just been in to double check all the CCTV connections are working as they should, and she's just added our new cameras to the system."
"Ah, I see, I see. Very good."
The man held out a hand for Ririka to shake, and she did so tentatively. His grip was strong, but not crushing, although Ririka got the feeling that if he wanted to, he could make his grip crushing. He did not smile, exactly, but neither was he cold as he said:
"My name is Shinji Motowari, it's a pleasure to meet you, Enjou-san. This is my wife, Nanako Motowari."
Nanako also held out a hand for Ririka to shake, and her grip had a similar quiet strength to it. She, however, smiled although it was a small, almost pensive smile. Ririka wracked her brain. Motowari…Motowari.
"Ah. You are Hayami Motowari's parents?"
"Yes, that's right. "
"The Motowaris very kindly ordered in the additional cameras that you have been testing, and have sent some of their own workers to assist with the physical installation."
"Ah, I see."
Ririka realised that another reason she recognised the Motowari name was that they were also significant sponsors of Hope's Peak (which explained how the new cameras had been delivered so rapidly, she supposed). However, unlike the Izawas or the Suwasakas, they did not make a habit of mentioning their Hope's Peak connections, and indeed didn't seem to court that much attention. For rich people, they seemed incredibly above-board in all they did. Almost too above-board, but Ririka acknowledged that that could just be her cynical side talking.
Or, perhaps, Dad's rubbing off on me. Not a thought she relished, and so she let go of it as she turned to Alexis and said:
"It's all linked up now and seems to be in order. Did you want to come in and have a look?"
"Yes, that's a good idea."
"We will watch as well." Nanako said.
Ririka was surprised at this, and Alexis seemed to be as well. But Alexis quickly recovered herself, inclining her head and beckoning the Motowaris around to the computers. Ririka offered Nanako Motowari the seat she had been sitting in, while Shinji took the second. Alexis remained standing straight, but rather than find a third chair for herself, Ririka opted to lean over to do what she needed to do. As she did, she talked through her processes, taking extra care to not get too bogged down in the technical details, although she would have gladly done so given half an opportunity. Then, she said:
"I've tested it anyway, but so you can see, let's pull up a particular feed. Where shall we monitor?"
"The woods," Alexis said instantly. "They are still the most risky area."
"Of course," Ririka said, bringing up the feed. "But, if you've put the cameras up there…"
Immediately, the screen filled with the feed from both cameras that had been installed in front of the woods, showing a view of a single security guard walking up and down, watching the woods. Sure enough, the boundary between Hope's Peak's ground and the wood was still unclear. As Alexis explained:
"They are on poles, and I had to fight to even allow that much."
"No fence has been put in as of yet?" Nanako asked. "That doesn't strike me as the best choice under the circumstances."
"I would say the same myself, Ma'am," Alexis said. "In fact, I had actually been asking for a fence for the longest time, but I had been refused."
"Ah yes," Shinji said. "That is a topic that has come up, hasn't it?"
"It has?" Ririka has curiously.
"We were here a couple of weeks ago, having a meeting about the expansion of the school and what the possible routes are for that, should we go forward. Although we are hoping to go forward with that despite everything. It will be a wonderful opportunity for ordinary teenagers to get the unique Hope's Peak experience and enrich their lives because of it."
Even though from the sounds of it, you'd have to pay astronomical fees to get into this expanded course? Ririka bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying that aloud. Alexis, on the other hand, had no compunctions about voicing her displeasure:
"Is this a priority to you?"
"Well, it has been a project that's been in the works for quite some time." Nanako said. "It has taken quite some more time to even get this far that we would have liked, and the number of people it could benefit is so great that it would be unfair to delay longer than needed."
"So, it's more important than ensuring the safety of the students that are already here? It's such an expensive endeavour that money cannot be spared to build a fence?"
"Wait, that's what you've been told?" Ririka blurted out, startled.
"It has been one of many vague, inappropriate excuses given to me, yes." Alexis frostily confirmed. "Motowari-san and Motowari-san, I apologise for my bluntness here but I cannot sit here and pretend to support any plans for a school expansion under these circumstances."
Ririka held her breath as she stared at Shinji and Nanako, sure that they would take offence and argue back. Instead, however, they looked thoughtful, and gave each other meaningful glances. After a moment, Shinji conceded:
"Though it pains us to admit that we have not been keeping our composure, even Nanako and I find it hard to go about our daily activities while Hayami is gone. Don't we, dear?"
"Mhm, but go on we must. Hence the attempt to move the school expansions forward. With that being said, Burton-san, you raise a good point. We were not aware you had been refused a fence, and we will be sure to bring it up at the meeting today. Won't we, Shinji?"
"We will indeed," Shinji said. "We will indeed."
They then looked at the screen, where the security guard still patrolled. Ririka was about to suggest to Alexis that they bring up another feed when the security guard stopped and fished his phone out of his pocket. He frowned at it and rubbed his face, before looking up and staring right at the camera.
"What on earth…?" Ririka muttered in astonishment.
"What is Kiyomizu doing?" Alexis said.
The guard turned back to stare at the woods. He appeared to be right in the middle of both cameras' focusses, as each side of him was captured. His fists were clenched, shoulders hunched, and even in side- profile it was clear he bit his lip nervously enough that he'd be close to drawing blood.
Then, someone emerged from the woods. And Kiyomizu did nothing.
Or rather, he did nothing that he should be doing. He did not approach the person; he did not take out his phone or walkie-talkie and call for backup. He did not even look around for anyone else in the vicinity and call out to them. Instead, he turned his head away from them quite pointedly, acting as if he was simply patrolling a different area. Because it was clear that that was all he was doing-acting, giving the person a chance to sneak away. Although it was a stretch to call what they were doing 'sneaky', given that this person was carrying a large, black bag or package of some sort on his back.
The shape of that bag…could it be?
Ririka turned, wide-eyed, to the Motowaris and Alexis.
"We should call the police, shouldn't we?"
"I'm already on it. Kiyomizu is not answering his phone."
Alexis frowned at her phone, and on screen, Kiyomizu took his out and ignored it, again looking very nervous as he remained turned away from the stranger. She then dialled and strode away from the desk as she began telling the police what was happening. Ririka stared at the screen and the stranger with the black package disappearing off of it. Tapping her fingers against the table with one hand, she used the other to try and find which feed they'd end up on, only to be startled by the sound of chairs scraping. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Shinji and Nanako had gotten up and stormed out. Ririka debated with herself for a moment, but not for long as she rushed out after them.
The moment she left the building and the cold hit here, she realised she'd left her cardigan inside. Ririka did not feel that cold for very long though, so quickly she worked up a sweat by running after Shinji and Nanako. She didn't necessarily consider herself unfit, but on the flipside of that, she wouldn't have considered herself the athletic type. She hadn't expected the Motowaris to be so inclined either and yet, they were there, running with a speed and elegance that she hadn't expected from either of them. Especially Nanako, who did not appear impeded by her pencil skirt and her high heels. It was a struggle for Ririka to catch up with them, and she only barely managed it as they got closer to the woods, huffing and puffing as she called out:
"Th-there, he's there!"
The Motowaris barely acknowledged her as they rushed off in pursuit of the stranger, and although Ririka followed them for a while, she found herself needing to stop and take a breath. And when she did, she realised that Kiyomizu was there. He was standing next to one of the new camera poles, his head still turned away to the side. Now she was in front of him, she could see the strain on him. Although she was still breathing quite heavily, she took care to be quiet as she approached him, without really understanding why. But then, she heard a shout of rage and startled, spinning around to see that the stranger was running back towards her and Kiyomizu. Ririka screamed, and called out:
"Kiyomizu-san! Kiyomizu-san!"
The security guard turned around and stared at her with fear before turning to the commotion. Frustrated, Ririka asked:
"What are you doing? There's an intruder!"
"I'm so sorry, Enjou-san," Kiyomizu said. "I can't, I'm not supposed to-"
He cut himself off and blinked rapidly, and Ririka saw why. Nanako had reached the stranger and had grabbed his arms in an attempt to restrain him. Although, attempt seemed the wrong way of describing it, since she had no hesitation in doing so. Unfortunately, the stranger managed to break away from her grip, hitting her quite hard in the face before running off into the woods. Nanako groaned, but stayed upright, and barely grimaced. She made to go after him, but her husband called to her.
"Nanako."
There was a warning in his voice, but Ririka couldn't work out why. Nanako turned to look at Shinji, glaring briefly before her expression became calmer, but icy. She instead marched up to Kiyomizu and asked:
"So, it's you, is it?"
"W-what's me?"
"You're the accomplice to the kidnapper and murderer, aren't you?"
"W-what?"
It's been someone on Burton-san's team all along? Ririka thought. But how? The best she'd seen, there hadn't been anything to mark them out as particularly suspicious. Sure, there were some who wouldn't hear a bad word against the school, but even so…Alexis was one of their immediate bosses, and she couldn't understand how anyone who worked for someone like Alexis could be like this.
"Don't play coy with us, boy," Shinji snapped. "We have seen you on those new cameras, pretending not to see that man dump a body of another student."
"E-eh?" Kiyomizu stammered, going red. "A body? What are you talking about?"
"Didn't I tell you not to play coy?"
"But, that's…"
"Are you telling me…?" Ririka spoke up. "Are you telling me that man was carrying another student?"
The thought made her want to throw up. She didn't understand how Shinji and Nanako could look so calm. Grim, of course, but calm nonetheless as they looked at each other, and then at the quaking-in-his-boots Kiyomizu. Then, Shinji grabbed Kiyomizu's arm, ignoring his yelp, and said:
"You shall have to see for yourself."
He then frog-marched Kiyomizu over to the path where it appeared the stranger had dropped the bag. Nanako walked by their sides, and Ririka followed on, vaguely aware of Alexis and other security guards approaching, and a crowd of both students and staff beginning to gather. They all gathered around the black bag, which Ririka could now see, beyond any shadow of a doubt, was indeed body shaped. It was also not a single bag, but a black tarpaulin that had come undone, and then a couple of bags.
"We can't touch the body." Alexis said, reaching them at last. "The police will be here, soon, and the crime scene will need to be preserved. Such as it is, so out in the open as it is here."
"But…" Ririka fought against the rising nausea. "Shouldn't we see who it is?"
"I…I have gloves…" Kiyomizu offered. "But is that…is that really a dead kid?"
"We do not need your gloves!" Alexis snapped. "I can't believe you, Kiyomizu."
Another security guard offered a pair of rubber gloves, and Alexis snapped them on, before telling Ririka, Shinji, Nanako and Kiyomizu to step back. They all did so, eyes glued on the black form. Alexis knelt down, but did not immediately open the bag. Instead, she lowered her head briefly and closed her eyes. She muttered something under her breath, and although Ririka couldn't hear what it was, she imagined that it was the same thing that she was thinking:
Sorry. I'm so sorry.
Alexis opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. She hovered her hands over the bag, before settling at one end and ripping it open. The stench of dried blood rose up and assaulted Ririka's nose immediately, and she had to clap a hand over her mouth for fear that this time, she would actually vomit. Indeed, Kiyomizu swore, and ripped away from Shinji's grip to turn away and do just that, heaving violently onto the paved ground.
The dead girl's hair was matted with blood, and some blood had spattered onto her face as well, which was stuck in a terrified grimace, eyes clearly afraid despite being devoid of light. Alexis had not ripped very much of the bag open, but Ririka could just see the beginnings of a wound at the throat, too. There was something that seemed unnatural about the position of her head as well.
"Oh, thank the gods." She heard Nanako breathe out. "It's not her. It's not Hayami."
"No, dear, it isn't." Shinji said, also sounding shaken.
"Who is it then?"
Despite her rising nausea, Ririka moved her hand away from her mouth to answer the Motowaris. For under all the gore, it was clear to her who this was:
"It's Chiara Kai."