“No idea.” Teruo pointed at the files. “Check the forensics while I call Kojima.”
Shinji pressed his lips, looking worried, and dragged the files closer. Teruo called the medical center’s main desk and asked to be directed to the room Kojima, Taniguchi and the new medical examiner worked on Miura Eisuke’s autopsy. After some hushed complaints, the line changed.
“Yes!” Kojima answered, a tad too loud.
“It’s Hayashi. Was wondering how the autopsy is going.”
“Oh. Hi, sir,” she muttered, all enthusiasm leaving her voice. “Well, we’re nearly done.”
“Did you test the samples from underneath the victim’s nails?”
“We did. Well, I did, because our ME has gone to the restroom and he’s been there for the past twenty minutes and—”
“Never mind that, tell me the results.”
“We found skin fragments in Miura’s nails and I’m running them through the system. It should show the results any second now. If you want to remain on the line—” Kojima let out a sharp yelp, then the line went dead.
“The hell?” Teruo stared at his phone. “Something happened to Kojima.”
“What?” Shinji asked, his eyes not leaving the laptop’s screen.
“I’m not sure. She…” Teruo stopped, a horrible knot forming in his stomach. He quickly called the main desk. “Yeah, it’s me again. Could you check on the room Suzuki’s assistants are in? Kojima yelled and the call was interrupted. I want to know if she’s okay.”
The clerk sighed. “Will do.”
Teruo hung up and turned to Shinji. “I think I’ll drop by the medical center. I have a bad feeling something’s going on there. Will you stay here and continue with the files? I can get one of the uniforms to help you.”
He drummed his fingertips on the desk, waiting for Shinji’s answer. But Shinji stared intently at the screen, his hand slowly tightening on the piece of paper in his hands.
“Shinji? What did you find?”
“The address of a spiritual medium from Yamato’s laptop matches with one of our forensics. The high school matches too.”
Teruo swallowed, bracing for the answer. “Who?”
“Taniguchi.”
Their gaze met, heavy silence falling over them.
“Taniguchi? Are you sure?” Teruo asked, not quite believing.
“Yes.” Shinji let out a long breath. “It adds up. It makes sense.”
“What? What makes sense?” Teruo didn’t wait for Shinji’s reply as a thought hit him like a brick. He stood, the chair rattling and hitting the wall behind him. “Fuck. Kojima! And the evidence too. We need to get to the medical center.”
He grabbed his phone and the keys, not bothering with his coat and dashed out of the office, Shinji at his heels.
CHAPTER 28
Shinji
Shinji checked the route on the car’s GPS. They were at least twenty minutes out even with Teruo speeding.
“Can’t believe it,” Teruo said, exhaling smoke through his mouth and nose. “Taniguchi? A murderer? He could barely look at the victims, let alone kill them.”
Shinji shook his head. “Taniguchi’s pale face and nausea aren’t because he hates seeing bodies, but because he’s stretched thin with using his spiritual energy.”
Moments of tense silence stretched as Teruo glanced at Shinji then took a long breath.