The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 7
Chapter 7 : Plum Blossoms.
“Is it really this spacious?”
Kobayashi, after climbing the stairs, looked around the park. On the lawn, many trees had been planted, and between the trees, a cobblestone path had been maintained.
“Now, Assistant Inspector Akechi, here’s a question. What kind of tree is this?”
Nakamura, who had gone up the stairs first, turned around and asked Akechi a question. Akechi responded with a puzzled expression
“What could it be? Cherry blossoms, perhaps? There were beautiful flowers in the crime scene photos, after all.”
“Wroongg~, the correct answer was plum.”
“Is that so? I also thought it was cherry blossoms. Could it be that all of these are plums?”
“Both of you seem to be unfamiliar with flowering trees, don’t you? There’s no cherry blossom with such rugged bark. It’s not all of them, but there are plenty of plum trees here.”
As they chatted, the three of them climbed the stairs and a little further to the right, they found a bench overlooking the road. Akechi, holding the file, sat in the middle, with Kobayashi and Nakamura sitting on either side.
“Well, everyone, did you happen to find any hints?”
“What’s with that strange Kansai dialect? Well, it’s been six months, you know. It’s good that we at least found out about this nice park.”
With that said, Kobayashi looked up at the sky. A beautiful blue expanse filled the heavens. While still gazing skyward, Kobayashi turned to Nakamura and asked.
“That reminds me, what month do plum blossoms bloom?”
“It depends on the variety, but around January or February. If they bloom late, they can also bloom from March onward.”
“Then what’s in this photo must be late bloomers. I thought they were cherry blossoms for sure.”
Listening to the exchange between Kobayashi and Nakamura, Akechi opened the file and showed them the crime scene photos.
The photo, taken during the daytime on the day of the incident, was captured from a point midway between where Kobayashi and the others had parked their car and the crime scene. From a distance, it showed occasional trees in the left-hand park, with pink and white flowers in bloom.
“It looks like most of them have fallen, but there aren’t any petals on the road, surprisingly.”
“That’s true. It could be due to factors like wind direction. Inside the park, there might be plenty of fallen petals.”
“Cherry blossoms lose their charm when they fall, don’t they…”
“Plum blossoms, you say? Well, both plum and cherry blossoms can be troublesome once they fall, don’t you think? There’s a cherry blossoms tree in front of my parents’ house, and dealing with the aftermath can be quite a chore. Especially after rain, those wet petals just stick to the broom and dustpan. Oh, and by the way, we use ‘Ko-boreru’ (falling) for plum blossoms, not ‘Chiru’ (falling).” [1]
While Nakamura was imparting her knowledge, Kobayashi cast his eyes downward and observed Nakamura using her right foot to sketch the character ‘?’ (no) on the ground. The grass had sections where the soil was visible, and Nakamura’s shoes had become a bit dirty from the earth.
Observing this casually, Kobayashi suddenly asked Akechi something that had caught his attention.
“Did we have a photo of the victim’s shoes?”
“Yes, we do. It’s right here,”
Akechi flipped through the file’s documents. There was a photograph taken from above, showcasing a pair of black business shoes.
“Is there a photo of the shoe soles in the file?”
Kobayashi continued to inquire, prompting Akechi to flip through the documents.
“We don’t have a photo of the shoe soles,”
Kobayashi turned to Nakamura.
“Natchy, sorry to ask, but could you bring the gloves and the victim’s shoes from the car? It’s a bit tough for this old man to make that round trip,”
“Roger!”
With a salute, Nakamura dashed off.
†?†?†
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“sorry about that, this is a big help.”
In no time, Nakamura returned. Kobayashi and Akechi got up from the bench, and Nakamura placed the clear case with the victim’s shoes on the bench. She handed the gloves to Kobayashi.
“You guys, handling things like this is actually not allowed. Don’t try to imitate it.”
While putting on gloves, Kobayashi said this and then crouched down to open the lid of the clear case, gently taking out one of the shoes and turning it upside down. Akechi and Nakamura also peered inside.
Within the grooves of the rubber soles of the business shoes, apart from stuck dirt and withered grass, there was also a single flower petal nestled within.
1. In Japanese, when they want to say ‘fallen flower’, they used ????(Koboreru) for plum flower, and ??(Chiru) for sakura. ?
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Translated by : Cutae30