The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 8
Chapter 8 : Intuition On The Scene
“This is…”
While peering at the rubber soles of the business shoes, Akechi asked Kobayashi in a soft voice.
“It’s a plum blossom petal. Probably. Is this grass lawn, I wonder? Any noticeable scratches on the heel or sides…? Akechi-kun, do you remember if the victim’s clothing showed any signs of damage?”
“Indeed, there’s some minor damage on the suit jacket’s back and the slacks’ buttocks.”
“What does the damage look like?”
“Well… It’s like they’re positioned horizontally below the shoulder blades and closer to the upper thighs rather than the buttocks.”
“At the base of the thighs, you say… What about the hem of the pants?”
“Looking at the photo, it appears to be mostly clean.”
Upon hearing that, Kobayashi gently placed the business shoes back into the clear case and closed the lid. Then, he removed his gloves, handed the clear case to Nakamura, and stood up, heading towards the staircase. Akechi and Nakamura hurriedly followed him.
As they reached the stairs, Kobayashi came to a halt. Because of the sudden stop, Akechi bumped into Kobayashi, and Nakamura bumped into Akechi.
“Assistant Manager Kobayashi! Please don’t stop suddenly like that. We’ve got a multiple collision incident here.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Kobayashi turned around, scratching his head apologetically, while Akechi and Nakamura chuckled. After sharing smiles with them and laughing himself, Kobayashi began to speak to the two.
“This is just my gut feeling, but could it be that Mr. Yoshida passed away on this staircase?”
Kobayashi borrowed a file from Akechi and proceeded to open the document that contained information about the cause of death and other details.
“Mr. Yoshida had a fracture in the lower part of the occipital bone, at the back of the head, near the neck. If he had fractured it by simply hitting his head on the ground, I would expect the fracture to be a bit higher. But, what if it happened here?”
Kobayashi pointed at the staircase.
“While facing towards the park, if someone were to fall onto the stairs from behind, it’s possible that the edge of a step could hit the lower part of the occipital bone.”
“Edge of the step?”
Nakamura tilted his head and asked Kobayashi.
“The front edge of the staircase step. It’s the cornered part.”
“I’ll give it a try!”
Without Kobayashi and the others having a chance to stop him, Akechi headed for the staircase and laid down on his back, with his head facing downward under the stairs.
“You were right, Kobayashi-san! The lower part of the occipital bone hits the corner of the staircase!”
Nakamura quickly placed the clear case on the ground and began taking photos with her smartphone from various angles. Akechi, aware of this, tried his best not to move. Despite the gentle slope of the staircase, his face showed signs of discomfort, as the blood rushed to his head. Nakamura noticed Akechi’s distressed expression and started taking a series of continuous shots. Was it necessary, those photographs?
Kobayashi quickly made his way down the stairs, set the file down at the side beneath the stairs, and bent at the waist to peer at Akechi’s head from the side.
“Indeed, the occipital bone is hitting the edge of the step. If you were to fall from above with some force, the vertex bone might also hit the stair’s surface… Akechi-kun, I’m sorry, but please bear with it a little longer. Hey, enough with the photos. We’re going to lift Akechi-kun now, so please help,”
†?†?†
Kobayashi, from below the staircase, pushed up Akechi’s back and carefully lifted his upper body. Then, he slid his own arms beneath Akechi’s sides from behind and cradled him. Then, he called out to Nakamura.
“Do you have his legs? Hey, don’t stare at that area. Akechi-kun must be embarrassed. Are you ready? Okay, on the count of three, we’ll lift Akechi-kun. Be careful. Alright, here we go, One, two and three !”
Kobayashi and Nakamura lifted Akechi’s body. Akechi’s petite and slender build made it easy to lift him smoothly. They proceeded towards the road.
They gently lowered Akechi’s body onto the road just as they reached the center of the road.
“Akechi-kun, thank you! It’s okay now. You can sit up,”
In response to Kobayashi’s voice, Akechi sat up. He forgot to brush off the dirt from his clothes and spoke to Kobayashi with a mixture of surprise and joy on his face.
“So, that’s what it was! At the very least, there are two culprits!”
“It’s just my gut feeling, but… sorry, I’ve dirtied your clothes,”
“It’s alright! Oh, by the way, Kobayashi-san, could you take a look at my back? I thought maybe if we compared it to the photos of Mr. Yoshida’s clothing, we might find something,”
“I see, understood,”
Kobayashi fetched the file he had placed by the side of the staircase and opened the document containing the photos of the clothing. He compared it to Akechi’s back. Despite the difference in height, there were faint, linear white stains on the back and buttocks area of Akechi’s suit jacket, similar to the ones in the photo of Mr. Yoshida’s clothing.
“Was the damage on the clothing caused by hitting the edge of the staircase?”
Nakamura took a photo of Akechi’s back with her smartphone and then turned towards Kobayashi.
“Assistant Manager Kobayashi, coming to the scene was a good decision, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was worth coming… Alright! Let’s collect samples of the park’s soil and grass before we head back. Natchy, make sure to take a photo of the plum tree too. And don’t forget the clear case we left behind,” Kobayashi headed towards the staircase as he spoke.
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Translated by : Cutae30