The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : The Mystery Deepens

“Are you implying that the victim might have been intentionally run over? But what could be the reason?”

Kobayashi sat back in his chair, crossed his arms, and muttered. Nakamura, also seated, nodded several times in agreement. With a slightly perplexed expression, Akechi began speaking while flipping through the documents in the file.

“I’m not sure…. It would be great if we had some clues.”

“Deputy Inspector Akechi, I’ve got a question!” For some reason, Nakamura raised her hand and began speaking.

“Regarding the cause of death you mentioned earlier, what is a ‘cerebral contusion’?”

Before Akechi could respond, Kobayashi turned towards Nakamura and began speaking. “What’s this all of a sudden? Well, a cerebral contusion, you see, is when the brain itself gets injured due to a strong blow to the head or being shaken violently. Isn’t that right, Akechi ?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have much knowledge about it either.”, With a hint of shyness, Akira smiled while looking down.

“I received a cute smile! Thank you very much!”

Nakamura suddenly stood up and began to bow to Akira. Kobayashi quickly urged Nakamura to sit back down in the metal chair.

“Hey, take it easy! It’s kind of like this – picture it as when a forceful blow to the head makes the brain inside the skull collide and get damaged. That’s why sometimes it can result in a serious injury even without much external trauma, and in some instances, the brain on the opposite side from the impact can also be harmed. I don’t know all the details either.”

“But, Mr. Yoshida, who passed away, was drunk and sleeping on the street, right? Where did he get hit on the head?”

Nakamura muttered while tilting his head in confusion. Hearing this, Akechi suddenly realized something and exclaimed loudly.

“I see, that’s how it is!”

Akechi hurriedly began flipping through the documents in the file, muttering rapidly as if to double-check his thoughts.

“The motorcycle ran over the victim’s neck, resulting in fractures in the cervical spine and sternum. Nevertheless, due to the ‘slow and careful’ manner in which it happened, these fractures, while they did occur, weren’t the primary cause of death. The true cause of death is the cerebral contusion. There’s a fracture in the back of the skull. However, the likelihood of a severe head impact from being run over is low, and it’s also unlikely that this caused the fracture in the back of the skull…”

Akechi turned towards Kobayashi and Nakamura. “Check this out! It’s the report about the state of the scene on the day of the incident.”

Akechi pointed to the report written in the file. Kobayashi and Nakamura stood up from their pipe chairs and leaned in to examine the document.

“The weather on that day was cloudy, but it had been raining off and on until shortly before the incident, so the road was wet. Why didn’t I notice that earlier? Even if he was drunk, it’s unlikely someone would lie down face up on a wet road immediately after the rain. Besides, water would have seeped into his pants and underwear, making it uncomfortable. I’ve had similar experiences, and it tends to sober you up, doesn’t it?”

“You’ve experienced that too? Akechi-kun’s underwear getting wet…”

Nakamura mumbled something under his breath, but Kobayashi chose to ignore it and Akechi continued.

“And then there’s the cause of death, the brain contusion. Someone tried to make it appear as though the victim had died because they were run over by a motorcycle ‘slowly and carefully,’ attempting to hide the true cause and the motive behind it… Someone was trying to cover up both the cause and the motive. In the end, they were foiled by a skilled forensic examiner.”

After delivering his speech in one go, Akechi seemed out of breath. He took a deep breath and then turned his gaze back to Kobayashi and Nakamura. Akechi’s face was flushed, and his obsidian-like eyes were shining even brighter. 

“Yoshida-san wasn’t found lying on the road. He hadn’t experienced a hit-and-run incident… Yoshida-san suffered a severe head injury caused by someone else. Then, after the brain contusion, he was placed on the road by that someone to create the illusion of a hit-and-run.”

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Translated by : Cutae30