Non-challenge: A Policeman's Tale (Day 41)
Title: A Policeman's Tale (Day 41)
Author: ytak
Word count: 1014
Rating (chapter): K+ (PG)
Rating (whole story): T (PG-13)
Comments: This chapter sort of went and then pittered. Meh.
Other chapters can be read through here or here.
Day 41
Wrinkling his nose, Takagi walked into his apartment. It still smelled despite the windows being open all night. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, the thought recalling a time he burned popcorn. The popcorn had not even really been on fire but the smell had hung around for days. And a real fire had not happened then. With a sigh, he worked his way to the bedroom. He crossed his fingers as he opened the door and slipped in, closing it behind him.
The air was much cleaner. He was thankful he had closed the door before dinner last night. Closing the door seemed to make the difference. I think I can stay at the apartment tonight. I don't want to stay at a hotel another night. Who knows if I can afford it with what I'm going to have to pay the landlord for the damages.
A quick glance at the clock told him that he had a little time to start cleaning up, even if it was just to begin wiping down the kitchen. Quickly, he slipped out of the bedroom and to the kitchen to start wiping the countertops down with a wet rag. He winced as he looked at the rag after one wipe. It was pretty grimy.
He threw the rag in the sink before leaving the apartment, taking some time to shut the windows.
Takagi found himself dreading the day at work. He was certain that he was going to receive a lot of ribbing from the others. At least, Miwako had not really been upset. If anything, she had seem amused when she left for home after they took a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant.
I guess that's a good thing. As dates go, it probably won't be forgotten. He could not help but wonder just how the day would turn out.
----
Takagi and Sato followed a patrolman through the gate to a nice house. He felt a little bad that a call about a dead body as soon as the shift started delayed any trouble he might have had from his fellow officers.
Despite the iced over pool, a faint oder of decay waifed through the air. The warmer prior day had been just enough to allow the body to thaw out a bit and begin decaying. The cool winter air helped quell some of the oder but not all of it.
Initial investigation seemed to indicate that the body had been strangled and dumped in the pool and then the tarp pulled back over. By all rights, the body should not have been discovered until spring and, by then, the decomposition would have made it even harder to determine the time of death.
Sato and Takagi were directed to the owner of the house and pool, Nizukami. He waited just inside and seemed to be making a great effort not to look at the pool.
Takagi and Sato eased into the questioning, trying to put the man at ease before they asked him to describe how he found the body.
“I thought it was just a dead animal when smelled it,” said Nizukami. “I almost didn't check. I figured it wasn't the first dead animal I found in the pool, so it wouldn't hurt to wait till later. But then, I decided that I had to know if the neighbors cat had drowned. Again.” He gulped, his face still very white, “How bad would've it been if I'd waited until it was warmer out?” he asked.
Sato and Takagi paused from their note-taking. They exchanged a quick look. For a moment, they had a non-verbal debate on how to handle the question.
“It would've been bad, Nizukami-san,” Takagi said. “We are really glad you did not wait to check. If you had waited, pinpointing a time of death would be even harder.”
Sato cleared her throat, “You did a good thing by checking. You did the right thing.” Nizukami seemed to be slightly less pale because of her words but Takagi thought that might have been his imagination.
They thanked him and went over to look at the body again before it was taken to the coroner's office. Together, they walked around the pool where the body was being loaded into a body bag.
Takagi's eyes narrowed as he looked at the body. There was something about it that seemed familiar. Had he seen the man before? He turned to ask Sato if there was something familiar about the victim when the blurring motion of the victim out of the corner of his eye triggered the memory of a man on a motorcycle. Frowning, Takagi reflected on the memory.
When did someone fly by me on a motorcycle? he asked himself. The day my apartment complex was burglarized. Is this the same guy? He looked closer at the body.
He had only a fleeting glimpse of the burglar on the motorcycle. It was not enough for him to be certain that the victim was the same person. Was the burglar ever apprehended?
A sinking suspicion settled in his stomach. It was only a suspicion but he knew that sometimes the best thing to do was to listen to that gut feeling that something was not right. He called Sato over to explain what happened at the complex more than a week ago and that the victim remind him of the burglar.
She frowned and considered what he told her. Then she gave him a grin. “It won't hurt to check with the officers in charge of that investigation. Leads have lead to arrests on less.”
“I'll call second division,” Takagi said, “They can get the paperwork together while we investigate here.”
“Good plan,” Sato answered. She noticed heads bobbing up and down along the fence. “Looks like people are being allowed to linger,” she sighed.
Takagi called to the office and made his request for the information on the other investigation while Sato stepped outside the fence to clear the area (of which he had no doubt of her success).