Shinrei Tantei Yakumo – ANOTHER FILES Vol 2 Chapter 2

'Wait a second. You’re the person who was at Kagami Spring yesterday, right?’

After Makoto asked that, there was a long silence, and then the call ended.

5

Is.h.i.+ had just stopped the car when he saw Yak.u.mo leaning against the school gate.

It looked like he was talking on the phone. After a while, Yak.u.mo noticed Is.h.i.+ was there, hung up and slowly walked over to him.

He let out a yawn while running his hand through his messy hair.

Even though such a serious incident had occurred, Yak.u.mo didn’t seem disturbed, nervous or anxious.

Was he hiding it well in his heart or did he really not feel anything – Is.h.i.+ still didn’t know.

'You’re late,’ Yak.u.mo complained to Gotou in the pa.s.senger seat as he got into the back.

'Shut up. We’re busy too,’ reb.u.t.ted Gotou without a pause.

'I apologise for bothering you when you are so busy. Please continue the hard work – I’ll leave the rest to you.’

After saying that calmly, Yak.u.mo put his hand on the car door and made a move to leave.

'Where are you going?’ Gotou said hurriedly.

'I’m obviously returning.’

'Why?’

'You’re busy, aren’t you?’

'You little – !’

Gotou looked like he would hit Yak.u.mo in his anger.

'P-please calm down!’ interrupted Is.h.i.+ frankly. If he left the situation like this, Gotou would probably actually hit Yak.u.mo, and Yak.u.mo would probably leave without any mercy.

'Let’s keep things peaceful, please.’

Is.h.i.+ put his hands together, as if in prayer. If Yak.u.mo left now, the investigation wouldn’t go anywhere.

Maybe Is.h.i.+’s prayer went through, as Yak.u.mo let out a sigh and sat in the backseat again. Gotou also calmed down, though he still looked anger.

– Thank goodness.

With a sigh of relief, Is.h.i.+ started the car.

'So – how is the questioning going with Takatos.h.i.+-san?’ asked Yak.u.mo after the car had been going for a while.

'Tozuka-san keeps saying he doesn’t know what happened, so the conversation isn’t going anywhere,’ replied Is.h.i.+ with a sigh.

'He was at the scene though.’

'Yes,’ replied Is.h.i.+, looking at Yak.u.mo’s face through the rear-view mirror.

As usual, he had a lazy-looking expression on his face and Is.h.i.+ had no idea what he was thinking. This was how Yak.u.mo always was.

'It is clear that he met Kirino-san, the victim, immediately before the incident. And yet he’s denying it?’

'That guy keeps saying he can’t remember,’ said Gotou, looking like he had eaten something bitter.

'Can’t remember?’

'He remembers up 'til he got inside and the exorcism started, but he says that Kirino was on the floor before he realised it.’

'That’s strange.’

Yak.u.mo put his index finger to his brow.

'What is?’ asked Gotou.

'The two of you heard the sound of fighting, didn’t you?’ said Yak.u.mo as a reminder.

Gotou nodded. Is.h.i.+ remembered too. At the time, there had been loud noises and yelling. That was why they had forced their way in.

'And yet Takatos.h.i.+-san denies it by saying he can’t remember.’

'The guy’s lying,’ replied Gotou, kicking the glove compartment.

Though Is.h.i.+ did understand how Gotou felt, he felt like Gotou was letting his emotions overrule his mind because of what happened to Kirino.

'It didn’t look like he was lying to me.’

That was what Is.h.i.+ felt immediately.

'Don’t just talk on feeling.’

Gotou immediately hit Is.h.i.+’s head.

Is.h.i.+ swerved and almost ran into a telephone pole.

He hadn’t been just talking on feeling. Though Takatos.h.i.+’s testimony had been vague in many parts, they had been consistent.

It made Is.h.i.+ think that Takatos.h.i.+ really couldn’t remember.

It felt like Gotou was the one talking on feeling, but naturally, Is.h.i.+ couldn’t say that.

'Gotou-san, what is your evidence for thinking that Takatos.h.i.+-san is lying?’ said Yak.u.mo in his usual calm tone.

'That room was a locked room. If he didn’t kill Kirino, who did?’ said Gotou, turning around from the pa.s.senger seat.

Is.h.i.+ couldn’t deny that it had been a locked room. There was only one door to the waiting room, and it was behind the podium.

The broken stained gla.s.s shards had all been outside the building.

That meant that there hadn’t been intruders who came in from there. However, Is.h.i.+ was caught on another point.

'Tozuka-san may be the one who killed him. However…’

'What?’

Gotou glared at Is.h.i.+.

Is.h.i.+ felt like he’d be hit if he spoke more, but keeping quiet wouldn’t start anything. Is.h.i.+ opened his mouth, determined.

'What if the ghost possessing Tozuka-san committed the murder?’

Is.h.i.+ revealed his theory.

If that was the case, it would explain why Takatos.h.i.+ couldn’t remember what had happened right before the murder.

'What?’ Gotou looked openly displeased. 'Don’t be stupid. The ghost possessing Tozuka was trying to kill Tozuka.’

'Please recall the words carefully. The ghost only said, “I’ll kill you.” It didn’t specify who “you” was.’

It was like a light bulb had come on in Gotou’s head.

He had probably accepted it as a possibility.

'Yak.u.mo. What do you think?’ asked Gotou, leaning towards the backseat.

'I can’t deny the possibility, but that would mean that the spirit possessing Takatos.h.i.+-san had wanted to kill Kirino-san.’

When Gotou heard Yak.u.mo’s explanation, his expression clouded over.

Though Yak.u.mo hadn’t said anything aloud, Gotou had probably heard the hidden meaning in those words.

'You saying that the ghost hated Kirino? To the point that it’d want to kill him – ’

'What do you think, Gotou-san?’ said Yak.u.mo casually, even though he had to know Gotou felt.

Is.h.i.+ was worried that Gotou might yell in anger again, but Gotou was unexpectedly calm.

'It isn’t unthinkable,’ said Gotou with a stiff expression.

'Does that mean Kirino-san was a person who was easy to dislike?’ asked Is.h.i.+, which made Gotou’s fist come his way.

'He was an ex-cop. It’s pretty much his job to be hated.’

Is.h.i.+ understood now. Just as Gotou said, working as a police officer made people hate you.

If they solved the case, the perpetrators hated them, but if they couldn’t solve the case, the relatives of the victim became angry with them for not being able to do anything. That was their job.

When, where, who – even if those questions remained, the possibility that Kirino was hated enough to be killed was high.

'It feels like the number of suspects just increased by a lot…’ said Is.h.i.+, feeling disappointed. He glanced at Yak.u.mo in the backseat.

Though Yak.u.mo had been the one who brought up the topic, he was looking out the window vacantly, like he wasn’t interested at all.

He had pale and well-defined features, but his face was blank. Is.h.i.+ had no idea what he was thinking.

But still, Is.h.i.+ felt like Yak.u.mo might have already seen through the whole case.

6

Gotou was in a dark room –

There was a large window in front of him.

To be more accurate, it was a one-way mirror. Though he could see through to the other side, the opposite side couldn’t see him.

Naturally, the interrogation room was on the other side of the one-way mirror.

Takatos.h.i.+ was slumped over on a chair. He looked much thinner than he had when they first met. There were bruises all over his face. They were from when Gotou had hit him.

Miyagawa and Is.h.i.+ sat opposite Takatos.h.i.+ as they questioned him.

'How is it?’

Gotou looked at Yak.u.mo, who was standing next to him.

He had his index on his brow and looked serious as he stared through the one-way mirror.

Gotou was having Yak.u.mo check whether Takatos.h.i.+ was possessed by a ghost or not.

He had wanted to let Yak.u.mo meet Takatos.h.i.+ directly. Since it was Yak.u.mo, he might have been able to find some new information.

However, Gotou just hadn’t been able to get permission.

Yak.u.mo had met suspects in secret before countless times. Miyagawa had silently accepted it to solve cases, but this time, they had a tough opponent.

Takatos.h.i.+ was the grandson of a retired cop. If they weren’t careful, they would cause a big problem. It was even worse since Gotou had already raised a hand towards him.

'He isn’t possessed by a spirit of the dead now.’

Yak.u.mo shook his head and then turned around to lean against the one-way mirror.

Gotou didn’t feel disappointed. Yak.u.mo’s not seeing anything was another piece of info. In short –

'Tozuka was lying then.’

When Gotou declared that, Yak.u.mo snorted aloud.

'You’re a helpless idiot, as usual.’

'What did you say?’

'Not being possessed by a spirit right now does not make everything Takatos.h.i.+-san said a lie.’

'What are you talking about?’

'Have you forgotten? Gotou-san, you thought that it was a prank at first.’

Now that Yak.u.mo mentioned it, that was right.

There was the possibility that somebody was acting out these spiritual phenomena. If that was true, that would mean Takatos.h.i.+ wasn’t lying.

However, that was just in regards to the spiritual phenomena.

'In any case, the possibility Is.h.i.+ mentioned about Takatos.h.i.+ killing somebody while possessed won’t fly any more.’

Though Gotou said that with confidence, Yak.u.mo just shook his head and sighed in exasperation.

'This is why you’re an idiot.’

'Why? You said that Tozuka wasn’t possessed, right?’ Gotou retorted, but Yak.u.mo looked as calm as always.

'I did say that he wasn’t possessed now – ’

'Ah.’

– So that’s what he meant.

Gotou finally understood and clapped his hands together.

'So you’re saying it’s possible the ghost left Tozuka’s body after killing Kirino.’

'Yes.’

Though Yak.u.mo said that with confidence, Gotou just couldn’t accept it.

'Isn’t that too convenient?’

'What do you mean? That’s how spirits wandering the world are.’

'What are you talking about?’ asked Gotou, which made Yak.u.mo run a hand through his hair like he thought explaining would be troublesome.

Even if Yak.u.mo acted that way, Gotou didn’t understand what he didn’t understand. He glared at Yak.u.mo for an explanation, which made Yak.u.mo finally open his mouth.

'What if the spirit possessing Takatos.h.i.+-san had a grudge against Kirino-san and wanted to kill him?’

Gotou was finally able to understand after listening to Yak.u.mo’s explanation.

'Killing Kirino got them their goal – ’

After Gotou said those words like they were strangled out of him, Yak.u.mo nodded.

Come to think of it, that had always been the case. Spirits that wandered had unfinished business. Yak.u.mo found those feelings and helped them finish their business properly, while sometimes he made the spirits’ feelings change and solved cases that way.

If Takatos.h.i.+ had really been possessed by a ghost that hated Kirino and wanted to kill him, now that that business was finished, there would be no reason to wander any longer.

That would mean it was too late –

'Gotou-san.’

Yak.u.mo called out to him.

Gotou looked over, but Yak.u.mo had his hands in his pockets and was looking down, even though he was the one who had called out.

'What?’

'It’s fine if it’s just what you know. Please tell me Kirino-san’s history.’

For a moment, Gotou hesitated, but nothing would change by hiding it now.

'Kirino graduated from the religion department of a university and joined the force. He worked at a station for some years and then got sent to Criminal Affairs.’

'When did he partner with you, Gotou-san?’

'About eight years ago – ’

'A bit before you met me again.’

'Yeah.’

A case ended his partners.h.i.+p with Kirino and made Gotou partner with Miyagawa again. Then, he had met Yak.u.mo, who had been a middle school student.

'When did he quit the force?’

Yak.u.mo glanced at Gotou

'I hear it was right after we stopped being partners,’ said Gotou, though hesitant.

Gotou had found out when Kirino quit at this morning’s investigation briefing.

'What is the reason Kirino-san quit the police?’

'Some personal business. Even the boss back then doesn’t know.’

'Do you not know either, Gotou-san?’

Yak.u.mo’s gaze was sharp.

Yak.u.mo was probably suggesting that it had something to do with the end of their partners.h.i.+p, since Kirino had quit immediately afterwards.

'I don’t know.’

To be honest, Gotou had an idea of why Kirino had quit, but he hadn’t heard it from Kirino’s mouth or anything.

He didn’t really know.

'Is that true?’

Yak.u.mo put his chin in his hands.

He was clearly suspicious. Gotou thought about explaining the case, but in the end, he just shook his head and said, 'I don’t know.’

It’s got nothing to do with this – maybe he was telling himself that.

'I understand. How about after he quit the police?’

Yak.u.mo backed off unusually easily and asked another question.

'Seems he had some training and became a pastor at that church.’

It probably hadn’t been that hard for him to change jobs to become a pastor since he had come out of a religion department.

'Did he keep in contact with people related to the police after he quit?’

'Seems n.o.body kept in contact. Everyone was shocked that Kirino was a pastor.’

'I see – what sort of person was he like while he was on the force?’

Yak.u.mo narrowed his eyes.

Come to think of it, Is.h.i.+ had asked the same question last night. Gotou started to speak, even though he found it annoying.

'The complete opposite of me.’

'How were you different?’

'He sees things logically, like you. He’s never moved by his emotions. Just checks the facts – that type of guy.’

'That’s also a way of thinking.’

Gotou knew that.

No, he should say that he had come to understand that recently.

'I’m not saying that one’s right or wrong – he just had his own way of thinking. But at the time, I couldn’t understand that. Obviously it was the same for him too though.’

'I see…’

'Kirino didn’t try to listen to suspects talk – he just went forward with the truth. He didn’t care how people were during questionings either – just gathered the facts.’

'You must not have been able to forgive him then.’

'Yeah.’

Gotou didn’t deny it. It was the truth.

Humans were emotional creatures. Criminals had their excuses, and victims were sometimes partly to blame. Ignoring that wouldn’t really solve cases – Gotou had believed that, never doubting it.

'So we always argued. Well, it was just me yelling at him.’

Even as Gotou said it, he started smiling without thinking.

Now that he thought back on it, it was similar to his relations.h.i.+p with Yak.u.mo now.

'With just this information, I don’t understand why he quit the police force and became a pastor – ’

It was the same for Gotou.

What on earth happened to Kirino – Gotou wanted to ask him, but that wish wouldn’t be granted.

7

Haruka stood in front of the gates to a city middle school –

Since there were cla.s.ses right now, the grounds were quiet. It was strange how coming here made her feel nostalgic, even though this wasn’t her old school.

'Sorry I’m late.’

Haruka turned towards the voice and saw Makoto coming towards her.

Makoto’s grey pantsuit and tied-up hair matched her slender frame well.

'Ah, no, I just came here myself.’

'Then let’s get going.’

Makoto went through the gate.

'Er… Is it all right for us just to go in?’ asked Haruka as she went after Makoto.

'I’ve called in advance, so it’s fine. I’m going to talk to his old home room teacher,’ Makoto said quickly as she walked briskly.

That was a woman who could do things for you. Haruka was impressed by Makoto’s preparations. But –

'What did you tell them?’

It would have been difficult to say they were investigating a spiritual phenomenon. And if they weren’t careful, the story might not match up.

'Exactly what we’re here for,’ Makoto said frankly.

'What do you mean by exactly?’

'I told them that we want to investigate Tozuka-san’s case.’

'Wouldn’t the school not like that?’

'Of course they wouldn’t like that if we went through the proper channels, but this is my old school.’

'Oh!’

Haruka was surprised, but she understood. Makoto was walking forward without any hesitation because this was her old school, which she knew well.

Haruka followed Makoto through the front entrance and switched into slippers.

They went down the first floor corridor. At the front of the staff office, Makoto said, 'Wait for me a bit here,’ and went inside.

After a while, Makoto came out alone.

'The reception room’s on the second floor. Let’s go.’

'Ah, yes.’

As if being pulled forward by Makoto, who was acting swiftly, Haruka went p the stairs into a room with a doorplate that read 'Reception Room’.

It was a Spartan room that only had sofas in it.

Haruka sat down with Makoto.

'I never would have thought that this was your old school, Makoto-san.’

'Why not?’

'You have the image of somebody who came out of some private all-girls school.’

'That wouldn’t go well with me,’ Makoto said immediately.

'Really?’

'I was really gloomy back in middle school. I practically never talked to my cla.s.smates.’

'You don’t look it.’

'It’s true. When I went to the reunion, practically n.o.body remembered me.’

Haruka couldn’t imagine it at all from how Makoto was now.

Then, the door opened and a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties came into the room.

She was plump and had a friendly image to her.

Haruka and Makoto stood up and bowed deeply together.

'I sincerely apologise for coming at such a busy time. My name is Hijikata Makoto, and I come from Hokutou Newspaper. This is my a.s.sistant, Ozawa.’

Makoto held out her business card and introduced Haruka as well. The female teacher took the business card and said in a quiet voice, 'My name is Namioka.’

Namioka sat down opposite them and said, looking down, 'Sorry… there aren’t many things to say…’

It was clear that she was on guard.

Her old student, Takatos.h.i.+, was suspect in a murder case. Haruka could understand those feelings painfully.

'I know. Please relax – I won’t write anything improper about my old school,’ Makoto said gently as she smiled.

'What do you want to ask?’

As Namioka said that, her expression and tone were still hard.

'I heard that Tozuka Takatos.h.i.+-san was rather rough while he was in school.’

Namioka looked surprised.

'You’ve heard about that?’

'Yes, I talked to other people before coming here.’

When Makoto said that, Namioka seemed to relax. Perhaps she felt better knowing that other people had talked as well.

'Well, it’s true that there were problems with his behavior.’

'What sort of things exactly?’

'Hm… Dyeing his hair, smoking at school – there were even rumours of extortion.’

Namioka looked very displeased, but it sounded a bit like she was talking about something that had happened to somebody else.

– What would I do if my student were the subject of rumours like that?

Haruka suddenly thought about that.

Namioka had probably wanted to escape the problem, but had she done nothing?

'Did you ever ask him about it?’ said Haruka, knowing that she was doing something she shouldn’t.

'I didn’t.’

'Why not?’

'A teacher’s job is to teach studying, but reprimands are family problems. And if the teacher isn’t careful, the parents will come in. Tozuka-kun’s grandfather was in the police, so it would have been troublesome if anything happened,’ Namioka said flatly.

Though Haruka just couldn’t accept that, she didn’t say anything else. It would just take the conversation off track.

'Were there students that he was friendly with?’ asked Makoto after a moment.

'Hm… Kuriyama-kun and Nomoto-kun were friendly with him, I think.’

'Could you show us a photoof him at the time?’

'Would the graduation alb.u.m be OK?’

'Yes.’

'Please wait a moment.’

Namioka stood up and left the room.

'Haruka-chan, you were in education, right?’ commented Makoto after the door closed.

'I am.’

‘Don’t become a teacher like that.’

It was like Makoto had read Haruka’s mind.

Though Haruka felt happy, at the same time, she felt heavy pressure. She might not end up become the person she wanted to be.

Namioka must have wanted to be an ideal teacher when she started. Would Haruka be able to be the teacher she wanted –

Namioka came back with the graduation alb.u.m before Haruka found an answer.

'You can’t take it out.’

'I understand.’

Makoto replied with a smile and opened the alb.u.m.

Haruka looked from beside her.

She found Takatos.h.i.+’s name in the cla.s.s photos. Just as Namioka had said, his hair was dyed blond. He seemed to be glaring.

There was a picture of Kento too.

Though Takatos.h.i.+ seemed to have calmed down since then, Kento didn’t seem to have changed at all.

'Just as Yak.u.mo-kun thought.’

Makoto spoke quietly as she pointed at a photo.

At first, Haruka didn’t understand who it was. She remembered once she saw the large injury on the right side of the face.

The young man they’d seen at Kagami Spring. The man who had probably called Makoto –

'Do you remember him?’ Makoto asked Namioka while pointing at the photo.

Namioka leant forward and then said, 'Ah,’ sounding disappointed.

'Orita-kun, eh…’

'what sort of student was he?’

Namioka thought for a while.

'Well, in one word, he was a liar.’

'A liar?’

'There were a number of behaviour problems. Forgot his homework, was late often. It was tough warning him every time.’

Haruka felt there was a contradiction in Namioka’s words.

Even tohugh she had said that reprimands were for the household with Takatos.h.i.+, she gave Orita warnings. That meant she changed her att.i.tude depending on the person.

Haruka had a number of things she wanted to say, but she managed to keep them in.

'But why do you say he was a liar?’ asked Makoto.

'Ah, that’s right. When I asked him why he was late, he’d say things like he was attacked by a dog or he fell in a river – just whatever he wanted.’

'Is that so…’

Makoto sounded disappointed.

'Come to think of it, he called me once saying he found a corpse.’

'A corpse?’ said Haruka and Makoto at the same time.

'Yes, he said he found a corpse and wanted me to come look. Said he knew the person who did it.’

'What happened?’

'I called the police and they went there, but there was no corpse. The police complained to me – it was awful,’ said Namioka, sounding fed up.

In contrast to that, Haruka felt excited. Makoto’s eyes were wide open too.

'Did he say that he found a corpse at Kagami Spring? The spring on the hill to the west of the city,’ asked Makoto with a serious gaze.

'You might be right, come to think of it.’

Though Namioka’s response was vague, Haruka was sure of it. Makoto nodded, seeming to think the same thing.

They had asked for the main story, but Haruka had another thing she wanted to know.

'Excuse me, but how was Utsugi-kun?’ she asked.

'Kento-kun? He was a serious student. He underwent a lot.’

'Is that so?’

Kento still seemed like a serious young man now.

'Kento-kun used to be in a care facility.’

'Eh?’

Haruka’s eyes went wide at the unexpected response.

'His parents died young and he didn’t have any relatives to take him in, so he and his older sister were in a facility.’

'Is that so…’

Kento’s refres.h.i.+ng smile flashed through Haruka’s mind.

Haruka couldn’t feel even the smallest bit of sadness from living through painful experiences there. It made Haruka think that he was probably a strong person.

'A lot of people turned a cold shoulder towards him because of that. Some even said some distasteful things. It must have been hard, but he never really showed it.’

His parentless home environment was like Yak.u.mo’s.

'One last thing – ’

After the conversation about Kento had ended, Makoto brought up another topic.

‘What is it?’

'Namioka-san, what do you think about this incident?’

Namioka froze upon hearing Makoto’s question.

'All I’ll say is… that, well, Tozuka-kun was that kind of child…’

Though it was a vague response, Haruka could understand exactly what Namioka meant.

Namioka had probably been surprised by the case, but it wasn’t that she couldn’t believe it.

8

Is.h.i.+ held his breath in the eerily dim corridor of the hospital bas.e.m.e.nt.

– I don’t like this place.

He had come here many times in the past, but he still wasn’t used to it. He always felt like he would never be able to return if he went down this corridor.

'What are you standing there for?’

Gotou pushed Is.h.i.+’s back. Yak.u.mo was beside him too.

'I-I apologise.’

Is.h.i.+ reluctantly walked forward.

He went down the straight corridor to the door to the room at the very back. After a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

'It’s open.’

Is.h.i.+ heard a hoa.r.s.e voice from within.

When Is.h.i.+ opened the door, he saw Hata Hideyos.h.i.+ sipping tea in his seat.

He was wrinkled all over and had bulging eyes. His appearance and atmosphere were frightening, just like a demon’s. He was a strange person who thought of his work as a coroner as his hobby.

'My, my, Is.h.i.+-kun, have you finally run out of patience with the bear?’

After saying that in a cool voice, Hata let out a creepy giggle.

'Who are you calling a bear?’ Gotou said threateningly as he came into the room.

'What, you’re alive? A useless bear like you should hurry up and be dissected by me.’

Hata’s neck shook as he laugh.

Hata was frightening because you couldn’t tell whether he meant things like that seriously or as a joke.

'Shut up, you demonic old man.’

Hata didn’t care about Gotou’s threat at all. He just kept giggling.

'It has been a long time since we last met.’

Yak.u.mo, who came into the room last, bowed his head politely.

'Oh, Yak.u.mo-kun. Won’t you let me research that left eye already?’

Hata said something frightening again.

Yak.u.mo didn’t seem to take it seriously, as he just said lightly, 'If there’s a chance – ’

'So what are you all here for today?’ said Hata, playing the fool as he sipped his tea.

'What are you all here for? Obviously to hear the results of the autopsy for yesterday’s case.’

Hata shook his head when he saw Gotou’s agitated demeanour.

'You really are just a noisy good-for-nothing.’

'Shut up and hand it over already!’

'Bears really know no manners. Here.’

Hata took a file from his drawer and threw it towards Is.h.i.+.

Because of how sudden it was and his lack of athletic ability, Is.h.i.+ wasn’t able to catch the file, which fell to the floor.

'What are you doing?’ Gotou hit Is.h.i.+’s head.

'I-I apologise.’

Is.h.i.+ hurriedly tried to gather the files spread out on the floor, but then the photo of Kirino’s corpse caught his eye and made him freeze.

The raw memories from then came back to him fresh in his mind. Is.h.i.+ broke out into a cold sweat. It was hard to breathe.

'Are you all right?’

Yak.u.mo was the one who came to ask him that.

'I’m fine,’ replied Is.h.i.+, which made Yak.u.mo smile slightly before picking up Kirino’s photo.

He looked at the photo grimly, like he had noticed something.

'What are you s.p.a.cing out for?’ reprimanded Gotou. Is.h.i.+ hurriedly picked up the rest of the files.

'What was the cause of death?’ asked Yak.u.mo, staring at the photo.

'Blood loss. The left artery in his neck was cut clean through. Don’t know if he could’ve been saved even if he was taken to a hospital immediately…’ said Hata with a serious gaze.

Though there were problems with the way he spoke, Hata was an excellent coroner.

'Any other external injuries?’ asked Yak.u.mo, still looking at the photo.

'Nothing. The corpse is beautiful,’ Hata said firmly.

'Is the weapon definitely the knife that was at the scene?’

'From the shape of the wound, there’s probably no doubt about it.’

Hata nodded a number of times like he was convincing himself.

Is.h.i.+ looked at the doc.u.ments he picked up and found a doc.u.ment saying the same thing.

'How about fingerprints on the knife?’

Yak.u.mo looked towards Gotou.

Is.h.i.+ thought that Gotou would reply immediately, but Gotou looked troubled and then turned to Is.h.i.+.

It seemed that Gotou didn’t know the situation. Gotou was at a loss after letting his emotions get ahead of him.

Is.h.i.+ nodded and began the explanation.