“What exactly did they do?” Teruo inquired.
“Got into fights frequently,” the teacher said. “Many resulted in blackened eyes, split lips and such.”
Teruo exchanged a look with Shinji. What Kimura told them pointed to a destructive past for the victims. “Do you remember Yamato, Ozawa and Ishida?”
Kimura nodded. “Yamato was among the instigators. He drew satisfaction from beating people, mostly those who couldn’t physically defend themselves. Ozawa…” The teacher rubbed his chin. “I don’t remember much about her. She was pretty quiet, so I always wondered why she hung out with Yamato.”
“Was she his girlfriend?” Teruo asked.
“I don’t think so. Didn’t seem like it. As for Ishida, he was one of the bullied students before he joined the group. Or maybe he was forced to join? I’m not sure. He lived in Yamato’s shadow, doing his bidding.”
“Who else was in this gang?” Teruo said.
“Oh, half the class was, with Yamato as their leader. They strolled around the high school like they owned the place. I think I can point out three maybe four more that I remember were troublesome, but you have to understand, there were thirty-five of them.”
“Of course,” Teruo said, circling the names of the students Kimura pointed to. “What did Yamato’s group stand to benefit from this bullying? Was it pure sadistic pleasure?”
Kimura sighed. “That too. Sometimes they stole lunch money or other possessions. The students didn’t have the courage to tell us what, exactly.”
Teruo raised a brow in disbelief. “And no disciplinary action was taken?”
“Yamato was in detention frequently. He got suspended too. We couldn’t expel him because he was never caught in the act. He had others do his dirty work. And whenever he was directly involved, the bullied students didn’t have the courage to report him.”
Teruo figured Yamato must’ve been threatening them to keep quiet. Psychological bullying could sometimes be worse than physical violence. A bruise would heal, but mental scars would linger on forever. He shuddered just thinking what those students must’ve gone through.
Shinji leaned forward, notepad in his hand. “Was there a student that got bullied worse than the rest? One that stood out to you?”
Kimura shook his head. “Not particularly, no. I had complaints daily. It was…” Kimura trailed off, running his palms over his knees. “It was tough. Neither Yamato nor the others listened to reason. Even the teachers feared them and didn’t have the courage to intervene.”
“What about the girl who called the police?” Teruo asked, explaining the report from eleven years ago.
Kimura frowned, thinking. “I was on sick leave that day. The substitute teacher told me about the incident afterwards. From what I know, the girl didn’t go further with the complaint. Perhaps out of fear. She moved to a different high school soon after.”
“May I inquire what happened to prompt an investigation?” the principal asked. “After all, it’s been ten years. I’m sure some have changed their behavior. They’d be twenty-eight now.”
“We can’t give too many details,” Teruo said, “but Yamato, Ozawa and Ishida are dead.”
Both the principal and Kimura paled. The principal opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and only gave a nod.
Shinji turned to Kimura. “Do you remember any of their pranks or bullying methods? For example, strangling students with ropes or wires?”
Clever, Teruo thought. The criminal could’ve been reenacting the way they’d been bullied.
Kimura and the principal gawked at Shinji, then the professor cleared his throat. “I don’t think they went as far as to attempt strangling. Not that I know of.” He drummed his fingers. “I wouldn’t put it past them, though. They were cruel.”
“Have any of them kept in contact with you or the school?” Shinji asked. “Or called you recently about a reunion?”
“No. I wouldn’t have gone, anyway.”
Teruo and Shinji thanked them for their cooperation and left a contact number in case Kimura remembered anything else. On their way back to the car, Teruo sent a few text messages to his team of uniformed officers to check the students marked by Kimura on the piece of paper and question them. Those could be the next targets of the killer and he didn’t need another victim on his hands. The rest were still in the process of being found and visited by the officers to confirm alibis and get more insight into Yamato’s group of bullies.
“Let’s head to Yamato’s apartment,” Teruo said.
He hoped no one had been to the apartment this entire time, especially not the killer. Maybe something there would lead them to the one responsible, but Teruo wasn’t very confident. So far, whoever did this was frustratingly good at hiding their tracks.
Reaching the car, Shinji fumbled with his suit jacket’s inner pocket, getting out the keys while also dodging a group of passer-by. His notepad fell on the ground and a piece of paper slipped out of it, flying away in the faint breeze.
Teruo caught it in time, but before he gave it back to Shinji, his gaze fell on the contents of the paper. It had Yamato’s full name and address with a little note saying “Doesn’t remember his family or friends”. Shinji had written this; Teruo recognized his messykanjistrokes immediately.