Frostbitten fangs

Author: Nao Yasuda
Translator: Zou Bo, Yang Wenyu
Country: Japan/Japan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: "I'll roughly take a picture." The officer in charge of the case, Officer Tominaga, walked with a camera in one hand. "We still need to call the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department. It's not easy to put out the fire like this, and I don't know if they'll make it in time." Looking at the uniformed officers in a frenzy, Takizawa said to the young Wada, who was standing foolishly by his side and watching the fire, "Hey! Don't just stand there. Bring me anyone who called 119 or witnessed it." Saying this, he gave Wada a hard pat on the back, and Wada jumped up and replied, "Yes," before running out. "Hey! First, ask the uniformed officers! Also, look for the officer who made the call." Wada hurriedly replied, "Yes," and plunged into the crowd. "Danger! Please step back! Step back!" The shouts came from the fire truck's loudspeaker as the firefighters, drenched and running around in silver uniforms, and the ladder truck had also been deployed. The rescue team and the special fire team, which was on standby when the fire spread to the parking lot, were all ready. The area was so brightly lit that it didn't feel like late at night—not just because of the flames, but also because the lighting of the teams that had arrived early seemed like a movie set. Water jets sprayed from all directions at the building, and the lights made the building, burning and billowing smoke, emerge from the darkness. Even from a distance, Takizawa could feel the heat. The fire was so fierce and terrifying that the scene looked like a battlefield strewn with flesh and blood. Just as Takizawa was requesting support from headquarters via his car's wireless phone, the uniformed officer pushed through the crowd gathered to watch and told Takizawa that the witnesses, employees of the family restaurant, and relevant personnel had been roughly gathered. Takizawa instructed to find out their addresses and names.
"The number of injured is currently 7, and they are being sent to two hospitals for treatment," the officer reported after contacting the ambulance team via wireless phone. "According to witnesses, the fire started from a customer's seat." Another officer ran over. "Customer's seat?" Hearing this report, Takizawa frowned, a nasty premonition forming in his mind. If it had started in the kitchen, it would have been understandable, but a fire starting from a customer's seat and spreading to this scale was truly puzzling. It couldn't have been caused by a dropped cigarette or match from a customer. Was it an electrical short circuit or leakage?
"Truly unlucky," Takizawa muttered, looking up at the white smoke that was slowly rising from the scene. It would indeed be difficult to find anyone connected to the case among the crowds of curious onlookers who had come out late at night just to watch the commotion.
Past midnight, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department sent the Fire Investigation Division to the scene. Almost simultaneously, the police who had taken the injured to the hospital reported that the number of injured had now risen to 22, most of them suffering from burns and injuries from falling while fleeing. Identifying them was not difficult, except for one person who was severely burned and could not speak.
At 12:50 AM, the area was flooded with water, and the fire finally subsided, though some parts still smoldered with white smoke. The smell of charred debris quickly drifted away with the wind as the surrounding area began to cool rapidly, and the air of the late winter night returned. The fire trucks sounded their sirens and began to retreat one by one.
Kanohara Tatsuo, whose real name was Haruo Haruta, was born on March 28, 1961. His father was named Genji, and his mother was named Hideko, both of whom were still alive. He had an older brother who was seven years older and had inherited the family business, as well as an older sister who had married in Koyama. Haruta graduated from the local junior high school and then attended the prefectural high school, but dropped out after only one year. After that, he kept running away from home but was always brought back. At the age of 16, he finally disappeared. Four years later, at the age of 20, he was arrested in Tokyo for a violent assault. According to the investigation at the time, after running away, he had gone to Tokyo and had lived in places like Ueno and Kojimachi. Later, he worked as a staff member at a disco in Roppongi. Because he was not the type to fight and had no prior record, he was temporarily released with a suspended sentence. His later life remains unclear, and even his current occupation is uncertain. The investigation headquarters quickly launched an investigation into Haruta's current occupation and social connections. Of course, they also searched for evidence of the timed ignition device in terms of both drugs and components. However, even with accelerated component identification at the Scientific Investigation Laboratory, it was estimated to take more than a week. As for the components, since they were all common items found in the market, it would likely be very difficult to identify the suspect from the evidence. Similarly, it would be difficult to investigate criminals with a history of such crimes. According to the memories of all the investigators, the police's proud computer database also had no records of such a criminal. In other words, for this case, it was extremely difficult to grasp the outline of the culprit. The only remaining option was to start the investigation from the deceased's surroundings, apart from the investigators searching the area on foot, there were no other factors that could uncover clues to the case.
Kazuko and Takizawa took photos to show the witnesses who had already been questioned. They all said they had never seen him, except for the burned Chikage Moriguchi, who remembered the deceased, though unfortunately, her vision had not yet recovered. Without clarifying Haruta's occupation and social circle, the investigation was indeed very difficult. Other teams were investigating Haruta's relationships with women and his social connections during his time as a disco staff member, but it was still hard to see his true nature.
Several days passed. "Hmm, I think I've seen him somewhere," Kazuko and the others began to visit the other tenants in the building where the restaurant was located. Although the building had an office, the fire had occurred right after the previous manager had resigned, so there was no manager at the time. "Where did you see him? Please try to recall," Takizawa said, crossing his arms and looking troubled. "In any case, he wasn't one of our customers. I'm sure of that. If he had been a customer, I would definitely remember." The speaker was a man who ran a beauty salon on the floor above the burned restaurant. He touched his cheek with one hand. Due to the direct impact of the fire, not only his salon but also others were forced to temporarily close or relocate.
"Are men also going to beauty salons?" "Why ask that? If you're still asking such things now, Officer, you're too outdated." Perhaps due to psychological effects, the chief's expression improved slightly, and he seemed to feel better. Oh, he got a haircut. Kazuko took out a notebook from her satchel and focused all her attention on the case.
"Someone believes that the animal tooth marks on the deceased Hikawa Kazuki from the Tennozu case may have been left by a large dog or a wolf." A discussion erupted in the meeting room. Wolf? Kazuko looked unconvinced at Chief Ota. The chief's expression was extremely serious, as if he were speaking earnestly. His hair was cut too short, making him look like a soldier out of sync with the times. She saw the chief nod to himself, as if confirming what he had said.
"According to the identification report, the hair attached to the deceased's body is clearly not from wild animals. The hair is neatly groomed, belonging to a male animal. It does not belong to any breed of dog. We are currently collecting samples for comparison. Many believe it is wolf hair. Moreover, the hair consists of both coarse and soft types. Based on the condition of the sebaceous glands and the presence of skin tissue attached to the hair roots, it is clear that the hair did not fall off from a fur coat but came from a living animal."
Does anyone keep wolves? And groom their fur? But no one laughed. No one would say such a thing as a joke; the timing was wrong.
"In addition, during the search around the scene where the deceased fell, relatively fresh animal tracks were found in the nearby bushes, matching the claw marks on the deceased's back. These tracks are believed to be from the hind legs, measuring 10.6 cm long and 7.5 cm wide, quite large, and elliptical in shape, while the tracks of ordinary dogs are more circular. Furthermore, from the severe impact the deceased suffered on his head and neck, the attacking animal must have had a larger mouth and stronger jaws than a wolf dog or Doberman, which are large breeds. While not all these features are decisive, they suggest that the animal was more dangerous than an ordinary large dog."
A diagram of a wolf's footprint was posted on the whiteboard next to the chief. To Kazuko, it seemed more strange and fresh than the confusing chemical symbols and equations she had seen before on her break.
"The investigation into the deceased Kazuki Kazuki shows that he is an ordinary office worker, but during his student days, he frequently visited areas around Roppongi and was a delinquent. Based on the places he frequented at that time, he was likely connected to Haruta. Analyzing Kazuki's attack, it is more reasonable to consider the perpetrator a well-trained animal rather than a wild dog or beast. These two people may have had contact in the past and were attacked around the same time. There must be something suspicious about this. Therefore, it was decided that the Tennozu case would also be handled by the investigation headquarters, and the two cases would be investigated together."
A sound that could not be distinguished whether it was a sigh or a deep breath came from all around. Kazuko spread her notebook on her lap and felt a bit confused. She had never chased wolves before, of course, the purpose was to find the person controlling the wolves, but what did that have to do with benzyl peroxide or timed ignition belts? She really couldn't understand.
"I think we can consider that the suspect in the timed ignition belt case and the owner of the wolf are the same person." "It's also possible that they are not the same person, and there is some connection between them." Various opinions quickly emerged among the investigators. For the tense investigation headquarters, this discovery, while not particularly valuable, certainly brought a breath of fresh air for the time being, and the investigation had made some new progress.
At the instruction of Chief Kwanagawa, the investigators were reorganized. In addition to the previous teams investigating Haruta's surroundings, searching for witnesses, and investigating the circulation of benzyl peroxide, new teams were established to investigate the relationship between Haruta and Kazuki, as well as to search for the wolf and explore new motives for the crime. Kazuko had expected that today would also be a continuation of the work from the previous day, investigating companies related to drugs, but unexpectedly, she was assigned to the wolf search team.
Takizawa took the man's hand, replacing the doctor. "You're okay now. You've been saved." He stared intently at Takizawa, then averted his gaze, lifting his trembling hand from Takizawa's. "If you have anything to say, use this." Kazuko brought the alphabet board in front of Kishihara. He blinked a few times and struggled to point to the kanji on the board. "Kazuko." Takizawa asked, "Is that your daughter?" His hand fell exhaustedly onto the bedsheet, but he then grasped Takizawa's hand again, tighter and more firmly. "Yes!" "I heard she's staying at a hospital in Saitama for now and living at home?" "Yes." "I heard she's 26 years old this year." "Yes." He looked at Takizawa again and pointed to the alphabet board once more. "Are you okay?" Kazuko looked at Takizawa, who pretended to be looking at the alphabet board and glanced at Kazuko. What should she do? Tell him the truth? How would that affect the investigation? If he was hit, and he shut down, that would be a problem. But she couldn't hide it either.
"It's not good right now," Takizawa replied. The man stared at him sideways, as if judging whether his words were true or not. Then the man closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling violently. Was he relieved, or had he given up?