“Could you look at the right hand first?” Shinji asked. “I think I see something.”
Hayashi raised a skeptical brow, but didn’t comment, instead he squatted down to get a better look at what Suzuki was doing. Shinji followed, hoping the spirit remembered correctly. As Suzuki worked to carefully unclasp the fingers, the beam of Kojima’s flashlight fell on something thin and Suzuki grabbed a pair of tweezers. She pulled a long piece of dark-colored thread, twisted around the fingers, most likely ripped from a piece of clothing.
Kojima placed the flashlight aside and brought a plastic bag for Suzuki to put the thread in, then zipped it.
“Nice catch!” Kojima said, excited. She passed the bag to Taniguchi who seemed more ill and less interested to be here with every second.
“Yeah, nice catch.” Hayashi nodded.
Shinji couldn’t quite place the tone of his voice. It wasn’t mockery, but it wasn’t praise either. Shinji didn’t plan to worry about it, though. The thread might end up being completely useless, but it was proof that the jogger’s memories were slowly returning.
Canvassing the crime scene carried well into the evening. A tent was raised to cover the perimeter as it started to drizzle. Hayashi was looming over everybody, repeating questions a hundred times and double-checking each piece of evidence. The victim had been taken by Suzuki for autopsy and the ghost stared despondently at the spot where his body had been.
Taking advantage of a few minutes when Hayashi talked with the forensics, Shinji made eye contact with the ghost, trying to get his attention without speaking loudly.
The ghost got the hint and followed Shinji to the other end of the perimeter as far away from the chief as possible.
“Don’t leave this place,” Shinji whispered. “I’ll come back for you, okay? I can’t take you with me right now, but I’ll return later.”
The ghost’s eyes widened. “Where will you take me?”
“To my apartment. I need to ask you a few questions and keep you safe.”
Some ghosts had the tendency to stray away from their place of death in an attempt to go back home and got lost. Shinji couldn’t let that happen. He needed to work on the jogger’s memories and get as much information as he could about the murderer.
First day in Tokyo and he didn’t have time to breathe let alone properly prepare for the ghosts he would be taking care of. He rubbed his eyes and when he opened them, Hayashi stood in front of him.
“Let’s go back to the office. I want to wrap things up for tonight and continue tomorrow. Did you come by car?” Hayashi asked.
“Taxi,” Shinji replied.
“You’ll ride with me then.”
Hayashi instructed the remaining officers to keep the scene enclosed and supervised, then gestured for Shinji to follow him.
Yoyogi Park still swarmed with people despite the gruesome murder. The earlier crowd had dispersed and a few reporters appeared in their stead, but Hayashi swiftly turned them away.
They walked in silence to the car, with Hayashi smoking cigarette after cigarette at a worrying speed. After making a left at the park’s exit, Hayashi pulled the car keys from his coat’s pocket and passed them to Shinji.
“You’re driving,” he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Hayashi’s car was a sleek black Nissan Leaf. Shinji unlocked it and climbed into the driver seat on the right while Hayashi settled in the passenger seat. The interior was pristine, not a speck of dirt on the dashboard or the gray and black leather seats, not even around the ashtray.
“Something wrong?” Hayashi asked.
“No, sir.” Shinji put the key in and turned on the ignition. “Just admiring the car.”
For the first time today, Hayashi let out a relaxed chuckle. He pulled another cigarette from the pack of Mevius and rolled the window on his side all the way down. “Does smoking bother you?”
“Not if the window stays open,” Shinji said, entering the address to TMPD headquarters on the car’s GPS panel before leaving the park.
The road was jammed and Hayashi mumbled some curse words under his breath. He slumped in his seat, one arm out the window and the other resting on the center console.
“So,” Hayashi said, “heard you came from Chugoku Shikoku Regional Police.”
“Yes,” Shinji confirmed.
“Were you born in Hiroshima?”