PREYS
by Kamorgana
Disclaimer: NOT MINE.
RK
belongs to Watsuki and co..
Preys
Chapter 4: Method clash
They were waiting in the Mayor's private office. Tokio had phoned Kondo
immediately after identifying the body. He had returned to the
reception, and would get the Mayor to meet them.
Saitoh took his lighter and cigarette pack from his pocket, but she
warned absently: "Don't smoke in here. He doesn't like it."
She was behaving like at home. The guard in front of the elevator had
greeted her, and opened the office door without questions. She knew
where was the light switch and had sat down on a small couch, not on
the chairs in front of the desk, which would have been more
appropriate. He raised a brow, and observed the room. Trophies,
pictures of the Mayor receiving trophies, pictures of the Mayor with
celebrities, pictures of the Mayor everywhere, in fact. The man was
known to be the biggest narcissist. He noticed some private pictures,
too, and the girl, whose body was still lying on the asphalt, not
faraway, was on each of them. She looked better than on her ID. She was
not really pretty, but there was a kind of innocence in her smile.
Probably why she attracted the murderer in the first place.
" You knew her well?"
Takagi faced him several seconds with a blank face. The door opened as
she was about to answer, and Kondo came in with the Mayor. It was a
tall and muscular man, who looked way younger than he was. Miracle of
modern surgery, guessed Saitoh.
"Takagi-san! And detective Saitoh, I presume? Take a sit." The
detective declined silently, leaning against the wall.
"Hiko-san, there is something we have to talk about," began Tokio, at
Kondo's pressing glance. Her composure was perfect, and Hiko mistook
the gravity of the situation.
"I know, I know. The Narcotics' director bothered me all day on the
phone and during most of the party. Don't worry about that. All I want
is results. You just made my day, and probably my year. Stupid
journalists or the opposition whining about my security policy? I can
take the guy out of my hat."
He was pouring himself some whisky, and as they all refused a glass,
gulped one straight. He flashed them his trademark teeth-shining smile.
It was notorious that women voted massively for him. "My predecessor
didn't have enough brains and guts to go for your idea, Kondo, but I
could see
it was a good one. One of the best decisions I've ever made, and I make
a lot."
"Hiko-san.." Her voice was soft this time. The politician turned to
her, surprised, and his eyes grew serious, then dark, as they exchanged
a long glance.
Saitoh frowned. Yes, she knew him well. He wished she wasn't there. She
had no idea on how to lead a first interrogation. She'd better avoid
poking her nose into it.
"Who is it?" Hiko finally asked.
"Tsubame. I'm so sorry."
She didn't want him to be told like that, but Saitoh had been adamant
to come and Kondo had insisted. There was no way he was a suspect, for
heaven's sake. The more comfortable the witnesses felt, the more they
spoke. Cops were so paranoid.
He refilled generously his glass, swallowed it. "Is there a..chance, if
I can say so, that it was an accident? Or that it's an identity
mistake?" As she shook her head, he sat down, and said calmly. "Tell me
everything."
Saitoh stared at him, surprised at Hiko's self-control when he had just
categorized him as a buffoon. He could see in the man's eyes that the
full realization had hit him. Usually, if the victim's families were
not collapsing immediately, it was because they didn't really
understand. That was not the case here.
"We have to ask you some questions before answering to yours," he
pointed, more politely than he had intended to. The man's attitude
deserved a little respect.
Hiko nodded. Tokio sat on the couch again and Kondo, still silent, took
one of the chairs. He was even more an observer than Saitoh.
"Can you first tell us about your relation with your niece? Were you
close?"
"I took care of her after her parents died. She was six. She lives with
me.was living with me from then on. I consider her as my own child."
" Do you have an idea of what your niece was supposed to do tonight?"
"She had a date with her boyfriend. When I left for the reception
tonight, she was still home."
"What time was it?"
"6 o'clock."
"Her boyfriend was supposed to pick her up?"
"At first. But he called before I left, saying that he had a task to do
for his supervisor, and asked her to wait for him at the restaurant."
"In front of it?"
"Inside, of course. Not enough of a precaution, it seems." Hiko had
seized the whisky bottle and took another glass.
"Do you know how she got there?"
"In her own car. I asked her if she wanted the driver to take her there
but..." He contemplated the bottle, with a cynical smile.
"Was that the last time you talked to her?"
"Yes. She told me to try to have fun, and to wait for Yahiko and her
before going to bed. He was." He hesitated.
"He was supposed to propose tonight," provided Tokio. She knew that
Saitoh and Kondo wanted to hear the facts from his mouth, but she
couldn't help herself. Hiko thanked her with a rapid glance.
Saitoh went on, ignoring her and his annoyance at her intervention.
"What about her boyfriend? What do you know about him? At what time
were they supposed to meet?"
"At 8 o'clock, La Promenade." The cop acknowledged the name of the
famous French restaurant by a quick nod. "His name is Myojin Yahiko.
He's studying economics at Tokyo University. His father is a general,
very respectable family. Tsubame and him have known each other for
years, and have been dating since high school."
" It's now 10 o'clock. You didn't hear from him? Isn't that strange
that he doesn't worry about her?"
Hiko smiled, melancholy fugitively softening his features. "She is
always late, one hour at best. Especially tonight, she was frantic. She
even talked, as he was going to be late, about going shopping again
before her date. She was complaining she had nothing to wear.. Wait!"
he added suddenly.
Reaching for his cell-phone in a drawer, he frowned. "He tried to call
me from 9.30 on." The phone rang again.
"Yahiko-kun? ..Yes, I know. Where are you?... Tell the guy to go to my
office.. Yes, she had an accident...I can't tell you now. I'm waiting
for you." They could hear a yelling voice through the phone as he cut.
" He took a cab as she wasn't answering her phone. Me neither, I always
leave it here during the receptions. He should be there in 5 minutes. I
guess you want to hear him too."
"Hiko-san, thank you for your understanding. I don't say that as
somebody working in your administration, but as a cop. Few people would
collaborate without questioning, with that calm."
" I know the difference between a compliment and a flattery, Kondo.
I've been in politics long enough." He had retrieved his aloof, cynical
expression.
"Just one question. Was she..abused?" he asked.
Definitely not a buffoon, thought Saitoh. He now looked dangerous.
Kondo turned to him.
He pondered his answer for several minutes. "We can't tell for now. I
would tend to say that it's unlikely...But we have to wait for the
forensics' report."
"Where was she found?"
He could reveal that. "Few blocks from here. Takagi-san identified the
body after we found the ID, but we'll need an official one."
"I will. I want you to catch the lowlife bastard. I can't understand
why somebody would have wanted to kill her, but." Hiko's anger was
cold, conveyed only in his eyes and voice, yet Saitoh understood why
the City Hall was now working like a perfect mechanic. He probably
scared the hell out of all the tedious bureaucrats there.
"There is the possibility of serial murders.."hinted Tokio. She
couldn't tell about the other body, but at least..
Saitoh sent her a disapproving glance. Stupid woman.
The office's door flew open. "What happened? Where is she? Why the hell
didn't you explain?"
A man in his early twenties rushed in, his hazelnut eyes wide with
worry, his voice aggressive.
" She has been murdered," stated coldly Saitoh.
Tokio stiffened. Bastard.
The other froze. His face went through all the conceivable emotions,
from disbelief to revolt, searching on Hiko's face for the truth. He
finally ran to Saitoh, his body shaking with anger. "What are you
saying?"
"Just the facts."
"Myojin-san, calm down, please." Tokio's voice was calm and her tone
sensible. The boy looked at her, his gaze turning into a plea.
"No.."he whispered.
"I'm sorry. There's no mistake."
Tears began to run down his face. "You said murdered. That's not
possible. Nobody could..would want to..she is so.."
"Get a grip. We need to make some details clear with you." Saitoh was
getting unnerved. He hated to see people with no self-control. And he
NEEDED a cigarette right now.
"We should give you a few minutes to put yourself together," proposed
Tokio, with a fake smile. "We are going to wait outside."
"Good idea, Takagi-san," approved Kondo, standing up and going to the
door, with an imperative look at Saitoh.
***
As soon as they were outside, Saitoh surrendered to his craving, Tokio
doing the same as she walked away, her cell phone in her other hand.
"So," began calmly Kondo. "Why did you ask for Takani? She was on
another crime scene. You know that the faster they arrive, the better."
" As soon as the inspector called me, and told me about the state of
the body, I had an intuition. It rang a bell."
"Takagi used the word "slaughter". She didn't say anything clearly, but
I think she found your attitude a bit odd. She's intuitive, you know."
Saitoh's eyes traveled through the corridor and stopped on her.
She was speaking dryly: "Sagara, I don't care. I want you to go first
to La Promenade, to verify a reservation for two, name Sanjo or Myojin.
If they came, when, etc.... The manager knows them so no, you don't
need to wait for a picture. I said now. Then.."
He took a drag. "And when I arrived on the crime scene, my hint just
got confirmed. I don't need Takani's report to know that the murderer
used a blade."
Kondo's calm demeanor didn't alter, but Saitoh knew him enough to feel
his tension. " Anything similar to an old case?" he asked cautiously.
"Unfortunately, yes. I have no proofs yet, but I'm sure of it."
"Copycat."
He shook his head. His superior sighed "I'm going to check on
Myojin-san. You've been too harsh, by the way."
Only Takagi's voice was echoing in the empty space. " I trust you to
inform Makimachi on what she has to do. Unless I call you again, you
can go home or wherever you want afterwards. Meeting tomorrow at nine."
She was pacing nervously, attracting his attention on her legs. He
turned his glance away.
She cut the communication and turned to the door as Kondo reappeared.
She faced them inquiringly. Saitoh had that superior smirk that made
her nerves cringe, but the old man demanded:
"Detective Saitoh, I want you to share your intuition with your
section's chief. Takagi-san, you are officially in charge, but I want
to follow this case closely. Myojin-san has calmed down, you can go."
Saitoh and Tokio bowed to him, and as soon as he turned his back,
stared at each other with hostility.
"Try to behave.." she hissed between her teeth, opening the door.
"My exact thoughts," he snapped on the same tone, following her inside.
To be continued..
Author's Notes:
Thousands of thanks to Mara& Firuze, for their help, valuable
advices, encouragements and reviews! I hope this fic will justify it.
Gambarimasu!
Ewunia, thanks, your review had me thinking of making the point again:
this is NOT a Kenshin-fic. The "mains" are Saitoh and Tokio; Enishi,
Aoshi and Misao to a lesser extend. If Kenshin-fans are reading this
fic, I wouldn't like them to feel cheated, so it's probably better if I
say it clearly now: he won't save the day in the end and some
characters don't like him. Just be aware of it if you continue (^0^)
Hiko is probably very OOC here..I like him a lot, but it was difficult
to have him deal with a loss. I think that he can give this impression
to
be a shallow narcissist, only to reveal his "scary shishou" side
afterwards..
Was Saitoh too mean here for once? I think he only behaves when he
considers people worthy of his respect.otherwise he can be that cruel.
Ok, it was the last "slow" chapter, more events from now on..I have a
plot, I swear!!!! More hints about the "old case".major Saitoh/Tokio
confrontation (I guess it's obvious!) and a shocking new in the next
one.
See you!
Kamorgana.
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