“Yep. It’s probably why he assigned Miyazaki to you. He knows you have a hard time dealing with rookies.”
“That I do.” Teruo sighed. “And yet the superintendent always assigns them to me.”
“Someone needs to train them, Teruo.”
“Not me.”
Teruo stopped at the letter of recommendation from the Miyazaki’s former boss. It sounded a tad too personal as if Miyazaki and she had been close friends and not superior officer and subordinate officer.
Suspicious. Or maybe not? Maybe Teruo was the exception while everybody else had good relationships with their coworkers.
Teruo kept reading. It seemed Miyazaki had been offered a promotion to inspector, which he had refused, instead accepting the job at the TMPD and remaining a police sergeant.
“If he had a great track record, why did he decide to come all the way here?” Teruo asked. “Doesn’t make sense to lose such an opportunity.”
“No idea.” Megumi shrugged. “Who cares? You got a new officer. Be grateful.”
“I am grateful. I’m just trying to understand why he moved if he was so good. Looks like a loss for both him and the Regional Police. If he stayed there, he’d have gotten promoted, but now he’ll be stuck with me.”
“Yeah, I don’t wish that on anyone.” Megumi snickered and Teruo rolled his eyes, smiling. “Perhaps he was bored and wanted a taste of the mighty capital. Lots of people move to Tokyo. It’s not uncommon. Or maybe he got tired of the rumors.”
Teruo placed his elbows on the table, clasping his fingers. “Rumors?”
Megumi glanced over her shoulder as if someone would barge in and listen to the biggest secret in the TMPD, then whispered, “Seems his superior officer ended up dead on their last case. She was murdered by someone whom Miyazaki knew. But he wasn’t even a suspect or questioned and nothing went on his record.”
“That is strange. But if it didn’t go on his record, how do you know about it?”
“From our HR who heard it from Regional Police’s HR.”
Teruo’s shoulders slouched in disappointment. “Seriously? HR? That’s a den of vipers. Stop listening to their gossip.”
Megumi waggled her finger at him. “Not nice, Teruo.”
“What’s not nice is spreading crappy rumors about someone at their new workplace.” He tapped his knuckles on the desk, contemplating these rumors. There must’ve been a reason for them. “Has the superintendent said anything about the incident?”
“No. I heard it after I spoke with him when I went to get the file for you.”
“Do you know when Miyazaki will arrive?”
“HR said he’s already in Tokyo. His personal phone number is in the file. Give him a call.” Megumi checked her watch. “Anyway, try to keep this one, otherwise you’re in deep shit. Gotta go. Tons of paperwork to finish. Don’t forget about the superintendent. He’s waiting for you.”
“Right now?”
Megumi huffed. “No. In a week. Yes, right now!” She slid off the table and made a gesture with two fingers from her eyes to Teruo before leaving his office.
“Yeah, yeah.” Teruo chuckled.
He returned to Miyazaki's file and the glowing letter of recommendation from his now-deceased superior officer. Miyazaki must've been preparing his applications to another city with the intention to leave Hiroshima before whatever mess of a case spawned such rumors.
Teruo hoped he wasn’ttooenthusiastic. He disliked those. They were the ones who ran away from him the fastest. Ishida had been a ray of sunshine when he was assigned to Teruo. Followed him around like a puppy, eager to help, but never quite managing to, which drove Teruo crazy. He didn’t have time to show rookies how to work around a crime scene. And then the double homicide happened. Teruo ran a thumb over his still throbbing shoulder.
Perhaps this was for the best. Ishida would work in a department which suited him and Teruo would work with an officer who could deal with bloody homicide cases and murderers. He planned on digging for more info about Miyazaki’s former superior officer though. While he didn’t trust HR’s gossip, he had a feeling there was more to that story.
Teruo saved Miyazaki’s number in his phone before throwing the file in a drawer. After fixing his suit jacket and tie in his office’s private restroom, he left for the superintendent’s office located in the adjacent corridor. He knocked, and the familiar raspy voice offered a “come in” from inside. Teruo took a long breath, then opened the door.
“You’ve asked to see me, sir.”
Criminal Investigations’ First Division Superintendent Yoshida was a stocky man with a receding hairline and a constant glare on his face—though Teruo had a feeling he was the sole target of that glare. They’d worked side by side in the past when Teruo first joined the division and the superintendent was a chief inspector. Teruo was everything Yoshida despised: a bad team-player, impatient and a smoker. For some reason beyond Teruo’s understanding, the superintendent never kicked him out of the division, though he’d come close a few times. Like today. Teruo had nothing but respect for the man, even if they rarely saw eye to eye.