Happy Accidents

Chapter 7: Field Work

Finishing up with the last of her examinations, Sakura carefully put the bones away and set her notes to start converting to physical documents, which she would proofread later. Her impeccable memory meant that she could recall what she'd recorded, enabling her to reference it easily without it being in front of her. By the time the detective returned, she had packed up her things and was ready to go.

"Okay, so who are we going to start with?" she asked curiously. "Oh, um, your car, I assume?"

"Yes, mine. It has sirens and lights if we need them. We're going to talk to a few people. Dental records confirmed the victim as Kin Tsuchi, a resident of Oto."

"So she wasn't a local," Sakura surmised.

"No. Not even close. Oto's at least three hours away, but the river connects it, so she was either brought here and dumped with the hope no one would find her, or she floated down the river for a while," he replied.

"The former," she corrected. "Damage to the skeleton didn't indicate she'd moved far along the river. There would have been less remaining flesh, and the body likely would have been in worse condition, and we would have had to dredge the river for the rest of the remains." Sasuke let out a grunt at her correction like he was upset he didn't notice such a thing—or think of it—himself.

"So who do we have to talk to that's related to this?"

"Dosu Kinuta and Zaku Abumi, her roommates. Both have records. Dosu was brought in on drug trafficking charges, while Zaku has been in for aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. They're both out on parole right now. Kin had a solicitation charge, but she was never convicted. They had a good lawyer though he's a slimy snake as far as I know." The way he spoke, he sounded disgusted by whomever their defence lawyer was.

"Yeah? Which lawyer?"

"Orochimaru Hebi," Sasuke bit out bitterly.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of him all right." Oh, had she ever. Ino had complained for hours at length about just how much of a snake he was. She hated him deeply.

"You have?" He asked curiously.

"...She didn't tell you when you went to get the warrants, did she." It wasn't a question.

Sasuke shook his head slowly in confusion. "No. Tell me what?"

"DA Yamanaka? She's my best friend. We've been friends since elementary school, and we were college roommates. Not that we ever saw each other in college. I was buried in medical degrees, and she was buried in her LSATs." She shrugged but then frowned at the state he was giving her.

"Hold on. You're a forensic anthropologist and pathologist?" He asked incredulously. "No way. Not a chance. What year did you graduate high school?"

"Thirteen, why?"

He stared even more. "Thirteen. You were—a fourteen-year-old college student." It was like he didn't believe her... but unfortunately for him, it was the truth. The expression he wore looked like she'd sucked-punched his ego into another plane of existence.

"Yeah. I'm smart. Thanks for noticing that yesterday, by the way," she threw back with a hint of snark. She wasn't that upset, but it had still stung a little.

"...sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have been so rude." Now that was unexpected. Did her intelligence suddenly humble him? How nonsensical. There he was again, flipping between hot and cold over and over again. Well, whatever had happened last night seemed to warm his heart a little; he was more talkative, albeit only briefly. He'd gone silent again after his apology before clearing his throat and continuing.