-In 2023, not all parents hold their children to traditional standards for love and marriage, but modern lifestyles are still not always accepted. Especially not when your younger sibling is getting married first and your parents are practically jum...
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After your excursion to Adam's house, you and Sawamura walk back to the club where he had left his car. Neither of you thought it'd be a good idea to steal his car and you've already spent a fortune on canceling Ubers all night, so instead you both walk.
It's a quiet walk, and neither of you says much until you finally arrive back in Sawamura's car. The buzz you were feeling from the drinks before has now completely faded away and all you're left with is a sinking sensation in your stomach.
Just as you shut the car door, you look over at your older brother, hoping he has some kind of plan. However, when you see his forehead down against the steering wheel, you begin to lose that hope.
"Sawamura..." you call out quietly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry, Y/N," he sighs while still staring down at the dashboard behind the wheel, "I don't know what to do next. I know I said I'd help you but I don't know what to do now."
"I can file for annulment," you shrug. "It'll take a little longer, yeah, because I don't have his signature, but that's okay."
"It just doesn't sit right with me, all this stuff. I've got a bad feeling about that guy, Y/N. I mean we can't even find his last name let alone his signature."
"Well, actually..." you begin slowly, not really sure how to bring up what you found back at Adam's house, "I did find his signature."
"You did?" he repeats, picking his head up and sitting straight, head turned towards you. "And his last name?"
"Uh, it's a bit hard to figure out what the surname is from the signature because it's a bit all over the place but maybe if we analyze it we can figure something out," you shrug, opting not to tell him the full truth just yet.
"Let's head back to the station. I know it's late but the place is always open. We can start the annulment papers, too!" he beams, getting his energy back.
"Sure," you nod calmly.
The moment you set foot in the station, the officer behind the front desk calls Sawamura over.
"What's goin' on?" your brother asks as the two of you approach him.
"It's about that black widow case again. We found the location of someone connected to the suspect. You got a few minutes to look at a few things? I know you're not on the clock but it'd be a big help," he asks politely.
Sawamura looks over at you, unsure of what he should say. "It's okay," you nod as you pat his back. "Go help. Mind if I meet you at your office?"
"Really? Thanks, Y/N. I'll be right there, okay? I promise."
"Don't take too long," you smile. "See you in a bit."
When you walk off, you let yourself right into Sawamura's office and sit down behind his desk. You pull the chair close to the edge of the desk and turn on his computer. You're a bit surprised to find that Sawamura doesn't even have a password for his computer. It kinda ticks you off, though, because as kids he used to always make fun of you for never keeping a password on your devices.
"Let's see," you hum to yourself as you pull out the wedding certificate of Fuyuko and Adam from your pocket. "I wonder what'll happen if I look the two of you up..."
Opening Google, you search for their two names. Neither Fuyuko nor Adam Takahashi can be found.
"Interesting," you then murmur.
Remembering the file Sawamura has of Fuyuko on his desktop, you close out the internet browser and double-click on the file.
Before you sits pages and pages of information and evidence of a murder investigation. Sawamura's a missing person's detective, so it only makes sense to say that whoever died went missing first.
In the file is a web article that was published on a public forum entitled: Dead missing person found in forest near creek, police say.
Once you continue your reading, you find that a woman was suspected of killing her husband. He had gone missing, only for a group of high school kids hiking in the woods to find him headless and limbless nearby.
Upon reading about the gory details and seeing the images from the coroner's office, you nearly throw up.
Under one of the police reports, you find a statement declaring that Fuyuko was innocent of all charges. Whoever judged the case believed the husband was in the mafia, which explains his murder.
As you read more and more into the case, you find yourself a bit confused. You don't really see any signs leading to a gang-related incident. You're no detective, and he was murdered pretty brutally, but this murder seems really personal... almost too personal for a mafia killing.
"Jesus, Sawamura," you shake your head as you whisper to yourself. "What the hell did you get yourself into? She was a suspect after all... But she's so nice..."
Just then, the office door opens up and you quickly sit up straight.
"Hey," Tanaka smiles at you before furrowing his brow in your direction. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," you shake your head. "I think I almost fell asleep and you startled me is all," you lie to him.
"Okay..." he hums a bit suspiciously. "Sawamura just wanted me to tell you he'll be in soon. He said he's sorry for making you wait so long."
"That's okay. Thanks, Tanaka."
"Why're the two of you acting so weird today?" he then continues to pry. "I mean, you've never come into the station for longer than ten minutes. Are you two working on a-"
"Can I ask you something?" you interrupt him.
"If I have an answer," he smiles. "What's going on?"
"I was wondering if you know about that case with Fuyuko that Sawamura was working on before they were dating," you ask, hoping he can shed some more light on the case.
"Not really. I didn't work on the case but they ruled out Fuyuko as the suspect so it was alright for them to go out, I guess," he shrugs. "Hey, maybe it was Sawamura who did it," he then laughs.
"Yeah..." you respond less enthusiastically. "Well thanks, Tanaka. You don't have to stay, I'll be alright. I don't want to interrupt your work."
"Okay, then I'll head back. Have a good night, Y/N," he waves.
"You too," you smile back.
When Tanaka leaves, you let out a sigh. You don't think he could be any less helpful than he just was. Perhaps you'll just have to ask Sawamura straight up. If he's got nothing to hide then he should be honest with you.
