The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 4
Chapter 4 : Akechi’s Dubiousness
“While reading this document, I’ve started to wonder whether it’s really just an accident…”
As Akechi uttered those words, he opened the document that contained details about the victim’s cause of death. Kobayashi leaned forward in his pipe chair to examine it closely. At some point, Nakamura had quietly moved to their side, standing and observing with evident curiosity.
“This is about the cause of death for the deceased Mr. Yoshida. According to the autopsy report and other documents, the direct cause of death is listed as ‘traumatic brain injury.'”
“That’s right.” Kobayashi nodded.
Akechi continued, “Is there a reason the fractures in the cervical spine and chest aren’t being regarded as the cause of death?”
“Well, maybe he hit his head due to the impact when he was hit by the motorcycle. There’s not much pedestrian traffic on that road, and I think the motorcycle was probably going pretty fast.”
“That’s what I’m wondering. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle, but can you actually ride over someone lying on the road at high speed and continue without stopping?”
“Oh ! now that you mention it”, Nakamura suddenly raised her voice loudly.
“My friend went on a motorcycle tour to the mountains recently, and he mentioned that on a narrow and poorly visible road, he couldn’t avoid running over a dead deer, which caused him to crash. Fortunately, he didn’t sustain any major injuries, but he was complaining about the high cost of repairs.”
“But there’s no evidence of the motorcycle having crashed this time. And there weren’t any brake marks on the road either. Could it be that a skilled rider managed to recover and then fled the scene?”
“As Kobayashi-san mentioned, that possibility does exist.”
While affirming Kobayashi’s viewpoint, Akechi continued with the discussion.
“However, is it really possible to ride a motorcycle at high speed in a straight line over the neck area of someone lying face up? Normally, wouldn’t you lose balance and fall, or wouldn’t the rear wheel slide and hit a different spot?”
Akechi opened the document describing the victim’s clothing.
“In the clothing of the deceased in this case, there were tire marks only on the neck and shoulders. If the motorcycle had lost balance, wouldn’t the rear wheel have ridden over the abdomen or head? There’s a possibility that the rear wheel passed over the upper part of the road near the head.”
“Indeed, this time the tire marks are only around the neck, not on the body. It’s a matter of whether the rear wheel could pass over the top of the head… Do we have any information about the type of motorcycle tire?”
“Hmm, let me see… Ah, here it is.”
Nakamura turned the page and pointed to the relevant section. Kobayashi stood up to take a look.
“Sorry, I must have skipped over it. Let’s see… At the very least, it doesn’t seem to be an off-road tire. In that case, the minimum ground clearance for a large motorcycle is around 20 centimeters or so, although there are plenty of exceptions. And the length from the forehead to the back of the head for an adult is roughly less than 20 centimeters. So, there’s a slim chance that the motorcycle’s body could just barely pass over the top of the head. But if the neck area was stepped on by the front wheel, it could cause the head to move due to the impact, and there might be some traces on the head. If there are no traces, then…”
“Assistant Manager Kobayashi, that’s impressive, isn’t it!” Nakamura looked at Kobayashi with an astonished expression.
“I haven’t been a police officer for so long for nothing.” After giving Nakamura a satisfied look, Kobayashi turned back to Akechi.
“So, it means the motorcycle most likely crossed over the victim’s neck area slowly and carefully… Wait, what?”
Kobayashi, realizing the implications of his own words, fell silent in shock.
“…That’s right. There’s a possibility that they intentionally targeted the neck area when they ran over him, isn’t there?”
Akechi shifted his gaze away from the file and turned towards Kobayashi and Nakamura. Kobayashi felt a shiver down his spine.
Hi, If you like the novel, please let me know by leaving a rating or review for this series (?? ? ??)
Translated by : Cutae30