“Heard you’re already in Tokyo. We’ve got a case in Yoyogi Park. Can you make it?”
“Of course. I’ll be there.”
Teruo hung up and texted Miyazaki the address with instructions on how to navigate through the enormous Yoyogi Park. Once done, Teruo climbed into his car and lit another cigarette. He made his way through the streets, curious to meet his new and highly-praised partner.
In about twenty minutes he reached the park and detoured to the northern side, leaving the car in the designated area. He walked the rest of the way, beyond the kids’ cycling trail, toward the closed-off path set by the uniformed officers already on the scene. The yellow taped crime scene was in a remote section of the park, behind a patch of shrubs on the outskirts of a small grove.
A crowd had gathered, not yet large enough to get in the way. The perimeter ran from the sidewalk, through the grass area, and just inside the grove’s tree line. The forensic technicians were already busy sweeping the area for evidence and a handful of them were gathered behind thick shrubbery where the body must be.
The ground was damp beneath Teruo’s shoes from the early morning rain and his feet sunk in the mud. Weather wasn’t on his side and he’d be lucky if forensics could gather decent evidence.
After showing his badge, an officer raised the tape and Teruo walked into the scene. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see the body as it lay hidden behind two bushes, though part of the victim’s head was visible.
Some steps away from Teruo, the first officer on the scene was still talking with a man and a woman who appeared to be a couple—likely the witnesses who had called it in. Before checking in with the officer, Teruo circled the crime scene, keeping far enough not to disturb it, but close enough to get a look at the victim. Though foliage covered part of the body, a dark red stain was visible on the neck. The dispatcher had described it as possible strangulation with a wire.
The forensic team was still taking pictures, so Teruo turned on his heels to speak with the first officer and the witnesses. A sudden breeze brushed past him, icy like the winter wind and looking almost…white. Teruo stopped in his tracks, rubbing his eyes and making a mental note to ask one of the officers for more coffee.
Another breeze passed by him, coming from the grove, and only then Teruo noticed a man, standing alone beyond the yellow tape, one shoulder resting on the trunk of a tree, hands in his pockets, and his head moving slightly as if talking to someone. But there was no one beyond the tree line so he must’ve been speaking into wireless earphones.
Right when Teruo started toward him, the man glanced over his shoulder as if he’d sensed Teruo’s presence, pushed himself from the tree, and approached.
He was of Teruo’s height, dressed in a black suit that fit his frame perfectly, with a neat white dress shirt and black tie, but no coat despite the cold weather. His tousled hairstyle clashed with his formal attire, yet complemented his youthful good-looks. He had no wireless earphones or a Bluetooth headset.
“Police Sergeant Miyazaki Shinji,” he said. “Are you Chief Inspector Hayashi?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Teruo said dryly.
“Pleased to meet you, sir.” Miyazaki bowed, offering a dashing smile which took Teruo by surprise.
He should’ve at least attempted to give a shadow of a smile back, but couldn’t bring himself to. The discussion with the superintendent had left a bitter taste in Teruo’s mouth. He hated having his career hang in the balance because of a new officer he didn’t even know.
Since he had dug his own grave by stretching the superintendent’s patience there was nothing to be done now.
“Let’s check in with the first officer,” Teruo proposed, returning his focus to the case.
Miyazaki nodded and pulled out a pocket notepad and a pen, following Teruo to where the officer and the witnesses were. The officer greeted Teruo and passed over the clipboard containing the initial documentation of the scene along with the witnesses’ statements. Teruo skimmed through it fast, then glanced at the couple. They looked scared out of their wits; the woman white as a sheet of paper, drinking from a water bottle, and the man hovering by her side. According to the report she’d thrown up right after seeing the body.
“Tell me the gist of it,” Teruo asked the officer.
“Victim is a man, maybe late twenties or early thirties. He’s got no possessions on him. No phone or wallet, nothing to identify him by. Not even his house keys, so—”
“The perpetrator might’ve stolen them,” Teruo finished.
“Indeed, sir,” the officer agreed.
Miyazaki jotted everything down quickly, then pointed to the couple. “They found the body?”
“Yes.” The officer encouraged the couple to come closer.
Teruo introduced himself and Miyazaki. “May we ask you a few questions?” Teruo said.
“Sure,” the man replied, holding a firm hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“How did you find him?”
“We were jogging on the main road there.” He indicated the paved area of the park where the crowd of onlookers had gathered. “We wanted to take a break, so we came here… for privacy,” he choked out the words.
Teruo narrowed his eyes. “Why did you take a break in the bushes? There’s a public restroom nearby.”