Bloody Smile: A Detective/Thriller Short Story [ON HOLD]

Part 1.2 ✔️

Once arrived in Japan, the car was already there to bring him to a commissary. A chief police officer, after welcoming him, introduced him to three Japanese guys.

"These guys are some eyewitnesses. They will help us catch the murderer" the man said.
"I'm Hana Yamazaki and this is Kaori Watanabe" a girl with long black hair said pointing at the girl next to her.
"And I'm Hyosuke Nakagawa" a brunet haired boy said.

"It was the 14th January and it was snowing outside. I and Hana went, like every afternoon, to the bar" Kaori started to explain. "At 4.41 pm Kenta entered in and we chatted, then he walked away. Outside there was a tall, thin man wearing a coat, a mask and a hat all in black. They seemed to violently fight for like ten minutes and then, they went off in opposite directions"
"At about 11.35 pm they met again in front of the bar and the man seemed drunk because he seemed to have no balance. They exchanged some words and then, the man shot him. He left leaving Kenta in a puddle of blood. As soon as I saw the scene, I called 110, but they arrived too late" Hyosuke added.

The next day the detective Felipe and three guys went to the crime scene. Arrived, they started to analyze every single detail. Then, the detective almost immediately noticed something on the wall.

"IT'S A SMILE!" Felipe shouted getting closer to it.
"Uh, and so?" Kaori asked.
"It's Bloody Smile's sign" Hyosuke replied.
"Who is he?" Hana asked.
"He's the most wanted criminal all over the world for various murders. For now nobody knows either his real identity or the reasons of his murders" the guy explained.
"You're smart" Kaori complimented him.
"Thank you..." he replied scratching the back of his neck embarrassed.
"FOUND IT!" Hana shouted from the dumpster.
"What?" Kaori asked. "And... what are you doing in a dumpster?"
"Yesterday Hyosuke said he saw the assassin throwing something nearby so... Here I am!" Hana explained.
"It's a photo!" Felipe said removing the photo from Hana.
"What intuition! Compliments, Sherlock!" Kaori teased him clapping her hands and Hana laughed.
"Hey, Sherlock! Look behind the photo!" Hyosuke said.
"Don't copy me!" Kaori 'told him off'.

Felipe turned the photo and it depicted a school class. The photo was torn in half and on the back there were the date of 05/06/2004 and the signatures of the students.

'RING RING'

Someone's phone rang and it was Felipe's.

"Uh, sorry... It's my friend" Felipe said excusing himself. "What do you want, Cristiano? I'm working right now! I'll call you later!" he said to his friend half-shouting. "Dude, why did he have to call me now...?"
"Yeah, right... Let's move on!" Hyosuke said.

The guys moved from the crime scene to the victim's house. They searched around the house and in his bedroom. In the library they found a yearbook of 2004, the date on the photo. The detective leafed through the book and found a dedication on behalf of a certain Kan Wilson - 'One day I'll kill them'.

"A bit strange as a dedication, don't you think?" Felipe asked.
"Creepy, I should say" Hana replied.

Besides the yearbook, they didn't find anything else so they went back home.

The guys sent the photo to the science police and the results arrived a few days later. There weren't any fingerprints or any traces of DNA.

Hyosuke, while observing the photo again, noticed a boy with a smile on his shirt.

"Hey, guys! Take a look here!" he exclaimed. The others came closer and looked at it.
"It's horrible..." Kaori said.
"No, not that... The smile!" Hyosuke said.
"Interesting..." Felipe commented.
"It corresponds to a certain... Kan Wilson" Hyosuke said.

Suddenly a phone rang again.

"It's mine!" Hana said. "Hey, Hayato!"
"It's her boyfriend..." Kaori commented rolling her eyes. Hana glared at her.
"Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you look for a certain Kan Wilson on your laptop? Thanks! Love you!" she said.
"Ew, gross..." Kaori commented disgusted.

After two hours a message arrived to Hana.
'I found what you need' from Hayato.
'We're coming' she replied to him.

After a few minutes the three guys arrived to Hayato's house.

"Good afternoon! Come in!" Hayato said leading them to his computer. "I found out this guys was reported missing, one of the great unsolved cases of 2015. He was about twenty-five years old"
"Ah ah! Found it!" Hyosuke exclaimed.
"Ah, and what did you find little genius?" Kaori asked ironically.
"Before reporting a person missing, about two years must pass from its disappearance. Now think about it. Kan, in 2013, runs away from home and stays hidden for two years, then, in 2015, they can report him missing" he explained.
"Yes and I think he did it to commit homicides freely without being at least suspicious because he was reported missing..." Kaori started to laugh.
"That's right, little genius" Hyosuke replied ironically.
"It could be, but how do we find him if he is missing?" Hana asked.
"Um, I think you forgot that you have a hacker as a boyfriend" Hayato said clearing his throat.
"Oh right! Can you help us find him?" Felipe asked.
"Sure. Just let me some time and I'll do a research of this guy. I'll send Hana what I find" he replied.

While the guys went out, Hana and Hayato exchanged a quick kiss.

"From bad to worse..." Kaori commented seeing that scene.

Later in the evening...

"Why did you call me, dude?" Felipe asked through the phone.
"Hey, calm down, man... We just wanted to know how is going the case..." Cristiano replied.
"Yes! How is it going?" Pedro asked then.
"We're currently looking for a man named Kan..." Felipe replied. "How's Gabriela?"
"Great! Your girlfriend here is fine..." Pedro responded. "I'll pass her to you"
"Hey, Felipe!" Gabriela spoke happily. "Why didn't you call me during the day?"
"I was busy... I met three witnesses today. They're some young Japanese guys, two girls and a boy" he explained.
"I hope those two girls have already a boyfriend" Gabriela said in a kind of jealous tone.
"Don't worry, one of them is already taken and the other one seems to hate me" he explained.

Gabriela was kind of relieved by his answer anx then, they hung up the call as Felipe had to take a good rest for the next day.

*[Hana Yamazaki is a 20-years-old Japanese girl attending a university in Tokyo. She's shy, introverted, stubborn, bipolar, quick tempered, aggressive, trustful, weird and intelligent. Her boyfriend is Hayato Tanaka. He's a 23-years-old Japanese boy who owns a hotel in Tokyo. He's caring, loving, introverted and a nerd.

Kaori Watanabe is a 20-years-old Japanese girl attending university with Hana. She's stubborn, shy, determined, intelligent, sarcastic and clumsy.

Hyosuke Nakagawa is a 23-years-old Japanese choreographer. He's extroverted, friendly, undecided, impulsive and flirty.]