Justice at Delphi - The Fall of Sibyl

Chapter 24

Ain't no rest for the wicked...

-Cage the Elephant

Another day. Another case.

Akane surveyed the gruesome scene with a practiced eye. In her rookie days, she would have struggled to keep her breakfast down. Now, she could look past the horror to glimpse insight into their latent criminal. Catching the one responsible was the only way to give the dead any measure of peace. Even so, Akane felt her stomach twist momentarily as she walked into the crime scene.

The victim was Nana Shimizu, a twenty-five year old teacher. Her body was found in a warehouse by the employees of the shipping company who owned the building. Nana was dressed in a white knee-length silk negligee. She'd been discovered hidden in a pile of scrap slated to be taken to a recycling facility that morning. There were bruises around her wrists from where she'd probably been bound. Her throat had been slit, her blood staining her white negligee. There was little to no blood amid the scrap heap. She'd been left behind like a discarded doll.

Nana had been on vacation for the past week and was due back to work yesterday. When she didn't show up or call, her colleagues became concerned. Nana was not the type to skip out on work and not call anyone. One of her fellow teachers swung by her apartment. Instead of finding Nana alive and playing hooky, they'd found her apartment trashed. Signs of a struggle were everywhere.

Akane's stomach tightened a moment before she regained her composure. Though the victim in no way resembled Yuki, the manner of death brought back the painful memories of that night. Memories of Makishima. Yuki's terrified face swam in her vision.

Clearing her throat, she asked. "What do we have?"

Kunizuka replied coolly, eyes focused on her tablet. "Since there is relatively little blood at the scene we can safely assume she was killed somewhere else. Based on the needle marks her her forearm, she could have been sedated after she was taken. We'll know more when we get our samples back to the lab. The cut was most likely made with a sharp cutting tool...probably a straight razor."

Akane nodded, jaw twitching. She could almost hear Makishima's voice in her head. "Do we have any witnesses of any suspicious people hanging around Nana's apartment?"

Yayoi shook her head. "Nothing yet, but they're still canvassing."

"Surely with a struggle like that, someone would have heard something." Inspector Shimotsuki suggested.

"One of her neighbors works a night shift and the other was staying with his girlfriend." Yayoi added. She glanced at Akane. The inspector looked a little pale. She too had recognized the similarity and knew it must be bothering her. 

"Do you think it was an old boyfriend? The suspect is usually someone the victim knows." Shimotsuki postulated.

Akane frowned, shaking her head slightly. "Maybe, but this feels different. Why not kill her back at the apartment? Why dump her body here? It doesn't make sense, but we can't rule anything out at this stage."

Yayoi observed Inspector Shimotsuki out of the corner of her eye. The junior inspector opened her mouth, then caught herself. She seemed about to argue, then thought better of it. "Then we should look into her personal and professional relationships. See if she had any enemies."

Akane nodded, mildly surprised Shimotsuki hadn't picked a fight with her. "You and Ms. Kunizuka reach out to the principal and find out if she had any issues with any teachers or students. Ginoza and I will check with her friends and family."

***

Mika cursed inwardly. How was she going to gain Akane's trust if she didn't have enough contact with her? She needed to create an opportunity to bond. Maybe then, she could--