Something had clearly gone wrong at the convenience store. Worried about Eri Kisaki, Hayashi Shuichi rushed downstairs to investigate, with Reiko trailing closely behind him.
The siblings arrived at the entrance of the shop, where the glaring yellow of the police line shimmered under the morning sun. Several officers in uniform stood with solemn expressions, maintaining order as a crowd of curious neighbors gathered, their whispers rising and falling in a restless tide.
Through the glass doors, Shuichi spotted Eri sitting on a chair near the checkout counter. Her face was as pale as a sheet of parchment. A female officer was crouched before her, speaking in a low, soothing voice while occasionally jotting notes into a small ledger.
"Reiko, wait here." After cautioning his sister, Shuichi ducked under the police tape and stepped into the store.
"Shuichi…" Upon seeing her childhood friend, Eri could no longer suppress the terror clawing at her heart. Tears welled up and spilled over. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist and clinging to him as if he were her last lifeline, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Shuichi caught her firmly. Feeling the frantic tremor in her frame, he tightened his grip, pulling her closer into a protective embrace.
"It's okay. I'm here," he whispered, his palm moving in a gentle, rhythmic motion against her back to soothe her.
Shuichi then turned his gaze toward the female officer. He recognized her—she was the same officer who had treated his wounds the last time he had used a police car to ram a hijacked ambulance into the Beika Police Station. She gave him a slight, professional nod of recognition.
"What happened?" Shuichi asked, keeping his voice steady as he held Eri.
The officer lowered her voice, her expression grim. "This young lady came in to buy meat buns. Since the weather was so hot, she decided to pick up some ice cream as well. But while she was rummaging through the freezer, she discovered a leather bag..."
She paused, casting a sympathetic glance at the still-shivering Eri.
"Inside the bag was… a severely mutilated human head."
Shuichi felt the slender body in his arms jerk violently. He instinctively drew her even closer, shielding her from the crime scene. Though Beika Town had seen a surge in violence recently and Eri had accompanied him to several grim scenes, directly confronting a disfigured, severed head was a trauma far too visceral for a sixteen-year-old girl to process.
"Was it the freezer next to the checkout counter?" Shuichi asked.
"Yes," the officer confirmed.
Before Shuichi could ask anything further, the sharp screech of brakes echoed from outside. Through the glass, he saw Superintendent Samezaki and Inspector Megure stepping out of a car, followed by several detectives from the First Investigation Division. They strode into the store with practiced urgency.
Upon entering and seeing Shuichi already on the scene, Superintendent Samezaki approached him to ask for an update.
"I only arrived a moment ago," Shuichi replied, giving a brief summary of what the female officer had told him.
Eri's emotions seemed to have stabilized slightly, but her fingers remained white-knuckled as she gripped his arm, refusing to let go.
Samezaki nodded solemnly before turning toward the open freezer. "Let's start by examining the... head."
Shuichi patted the back of Eri's hand gently. "I'm going to go take a look. You stay here and rest for a bit."
Eri bit her lower lip and nodded, though the lingering tension in her fingers betrayed her reluctance. The female officer stepped forward to take over, guiding Eri back to her seat.
The three men walked over to the freezer. When the black leather bag was carefully eased open, revealing a head that had been ravaged by a corrosive liquid—likely sulfuric acid—Inspector Megure's face went instantly ashen. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard against the rising bile.
Compared to him, the other two remained remarkably composed.
Megure couldn't help but marvel inwardly. It was one thing for Superintendent Samezaki to be unfazed; he was a veteran with over twenty years on the force. But how could Hayashi Shuichi, a mere high school student, remain so unnervingly calm? His mental fortitude seemed to surpass even that of a professional detective.
The acid had done its work well, blurring the facial features into an unrecognizable mass.
Samezaki donned a pair of latex gloves and carefully inspected the frozen remains. "There are piercings in the earlobes. It's likely a female."
Tome, an officer from the forensics department, interjected from the side. "We can't determine gender based on ear piercings alone these days. Plenty of young men are getting them now."
"Kids these days... always trying to look gender-neutral," Samezaki grumbled, shaking his head. He continued his inspection. "The neck wound and the facial disfigurement are both very 'clean.' There's almost no blood or loose tissue residue left on the head itself."
Shuichi leaned over to inspect the interior of the freezer. "The freezer is clean as well. There are only a few stray drops of blood on the surrounding items."
"Strange," Samezaki muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "Why would a killer go through the trouble of dismembering a body and then, instead of disposing of the head, specifically hide it in a convenience store freezer? What is the purpose?"
"Could the culprit be the manager or an employee?" Megure suggested, finally managing to push past his discomfort. "Perhaps he intended to dispose of it but was suddenly interrupted. Lacking time, he hid it in the freezer, thinking he could deal with it after his shift?"
"It's a possibility," Shuichi agreed. "Let's start by questioning the manager."
Shortly after, a slightly stout man in his fifties and two young clerks were brought into the back area. The older man immediately began waving his hands in a panic the moment he saw Samezaki.
"Officer, I swear, this has nothing to do with us!" he cried. Then, spotting Shuichi, his eyes filled with a desperate hope for a character witness. "Hayashi-kun! We're neighbors! You know me—I'm an honest man. I could never do something like this!"
Shuichi knew this man, Mr. Matsuzaki. In all their interactions, he had always seemed like a standard, law-abiding businessman.
"Mr. Matsuzaki, please, stay calm," Shuichi said in a level, comforting tone. "The police are just conducting a routine inquiry. Just answer honestly."
Matsuzaki wiped a thick layer of sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course. I'll cooperate fully."
"When was the last time you organized or restocked this freezer?" Shuichi asked.
"Yesterday evening…" Matsuzaki recalled, squinting as he thought back. "The ice cream stock was running low, so I put in a new shipment. Oh, wait!" He turned to his two clerks for confirmation. "It was around 7:30 PM, wasn't it?"
The two young men nodded in unison. "Yes, about 7:30. We were the ones who organized the remaining stock to make room for the new boxes. There was definitely no leather bag in there at that time."
"Was the ice cream selling particularly well last night?" Shuichi asked. He remembered noting during his inspection that the freezer was nearly empty again, which was the only reason Eri had noticed the bag buried at the bottom.
"Incredibly well!" Matsuzaki explained quickly. "With this heatwave, ice cream and popsicles have been flying off the shelves."
"The freezer is located right next to the checkout counter," Samezaki said, his brow furrowing. "Are you telling me you didn't notice anyone carrying a bag like that into the store?"
Matsuzaki looked helpless. "When the foot traffic is that heavy, Officer, we really don't have the energy to scrutinize every bag a customer is carrying."
The two clerks shook their heads as well. Clearly, no one had noticed anything out of the ordinary.
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