The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 3
Chapter 3 : Investigation Record
Upon receiving approval from the Traffic Division Chief, Kobayashi returned to the document storage room, only to find that Nakamura was already there with files, waiting for him alongside Akechi.
“Assistant Manager Kobayashi, you’re late! I borrowed the files that were on the Traffic Investigation Division’s desk.”
“You’re being too hasty. Why did you borrow them before getting the section chief’s permission?”
When Kobayashi received the files from Nakamura, he placed them on the long desk and began flipping through them. Akechi and Nakamura leaned over from both sides to take a look.
“Is this everything? Seriously, there hasn’t been much progress at all.”
“You’re right. Well then, what kind of case is it?”
The three of them began reading the documents attached to the file.
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The incident took place on the road in front of the housing complex, about a 10-minute walk southwest from the west exit of Akabane Station. It’s a single-lane road that extends in a gentle reverse S-shape, primarily from northeast to southwest. The housing complex is on the northwest side of the road, and the southeast side is a cliff.
On Friday, March 24th at 3:10 AM, a police officer patrolling in a patrol car discovered a man lying on his back on the road. The man had already gone into cardiac arrest, and immediate life-saving measures and emergency transport were administered. However, he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
According to the autopsy report and related documents, the primary cause of death was identified as a traumatic brain injury. Furthermore, there were fractures observed in the lower part of the occipital bone, as well as in the upper part of the cervical spine and sternum. Internal bleeding was also noted in the back and buttocks area. The time of death is estimated to have been around 1:00 AM on the same day.
According to the autopsy report and related documents, the primary cause of death was identified as a traumatic brain injury. Furthermore, there were fractures observed in the lower part of the occipital bone, as well as in the upper part of the cervical spine and sternum. Internal bleeding was also noted in the back and buttocks area. The time of death is estimated to have been around 1:00 AM on the same day.
Upon examination of the clothing, it was observed that there were stains resembling tire tracks on the collar and both shoulders of the suit jacket (later confirmed to be from a large motorcycle). In addition, there were minor abrasions on the back of the jacket and the buttocks area of the slacks. It is presumed that the man was lying on the road, face up, when a tire passed over his neck area and crossed over him. There were no traces of paint, film fragments, or similar substances.
Despite the concurrent efforts of administering life-saving procedures to the man, the discovery of the suspect was unsuccessful. The situation lacked any eyewitnesses.
The weather was cloudy when the man was discovered. From the evening of the previous day, the 23rd, until around midnight on the day of the incident, the 24th, there had been sporadic rainfall. As a result, the road was wet.
There were no visible brake marks or fragments that seemed to be connected to the incident near the scene. The road in front of the housing complex where the incident took place did not have any surveillance cameras. Despite attempts to obtain security camera footage from places like the convenience store near the Akabane Station West Exit, there has been no sighting of the suspect on the large motorcycle.
The man involved in the incident was Yoshida Manabu, 52 years old, and he worked as a public servant. He lived with his wife, Sachiko. According to his coworkers at the workplace, on the evening of the day before the incident, the 23rd, from around 8 PM to around midnight on the day of the incident, the 24th, he had been drinking at an izakaya (Japanese pub) near Akabane Station East Exit with his colleagues. They reported that he had become quite drunk.
The location where the incident occurred was situated on the route between the izakaya where the man had been drinking and the government employee housing where he resided.
According to information provided by family members, the man’s wife, Sachiko, had been at the man’s mother’s home in Kyoto since the day before the incident. At around 9 AM on the day of the incident, she received a call from her workplace and was informed of the situation….
†?†?†
“So, it seems…that he was drunk and lying on the road when a large motorcycle hit him. There’s very little evidence about the suspect. Now, what should we do? Maybe we should take another look at the security camera footage.”
Kobayashi stopped flipping through the files, sat down on a pipe chair, and crossed his arms. Sitting in the pipe chair next to Kobayashi, Nakamura adjusted her glasses and began talking to Kobayashi.
“I recall that nobody is currently residing in that housing complex, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. They’re all in the process of relocating due to reconstruction work. That road, you see, it’s a bit of a detour if you want to get from the station to the residential area in the west, so people other than the housing complex residents don’t use it much. That’s probably why it took almost 2 hours for the accident to be discovered.”
In his pipe chair, Kobayashi alternated between raising and lowering the front legs of the pipe chair, displaying a restless demeanor, and eventually directed his gaze towards Akechi. Akechi, in contrast, fixated on the files with a serious expression.
“What do you think, Akechi-kun? Should we check the security camera footage? Or should we try some questioning?”
“…Kobayashi-san, do you think this is really just an accident?”
“Eh ?” As Kobayashi raised the front legs of the pipe chair, he almost toppled over backward.
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Translated by : Cutae30