The morning was gray and heavy. The sky was pulled over with clouds, and the air seemed damp, as before a thunderstorm. Somewhere in the distance were heard peals of thunder, but the rain still did not begin. The branches of the trees, wet from the night dew, heavily hung down to the ground, and on the asphalt glistened puddles, reflecting the gray sky. Everything around seemed somehow muffled, as if the world was waiting for something, and this waiting pressed down on the shoulders.
Akiyama came out of the house, carrying in each hand a large plastic canister with water. They were heavy, and he slightly swayed under their weight, but walked confidently, without stopping. The water in the canisters splashed, creating a rhythmic sound that mixed with the noise of the wind.
Near the police van, parked right at the house, stood his older sister Hannah. She crossed her arms on her chest, watching him with a slight smirk on her face. Her dark hair was gathered in a careless bun, and on her shoulders was thrown a light cardigan, despite the coolness. She stood motionless, as if she was part of this gray morning. The wind slightly stirred her hair, but she did not pay attention to it.
- Akiyama, she called, when he drew level with her. What was done with that fat man?
Akiyama stopped, put the canisters on the ground and opened the trunk of the van. The metal dully clanged when he raised the lid. He carefully loaded the canisters inside, checking that they would not tip over. Then he straightened up and looked at his sister.
- He was hanged, he answered calmly, closing the trunk. Death penalty. Was sentenced. Yesterday in the courtroom he undressed and right there started jerking off. The whole floor came all over. The judge even found it funny.
Hannah smiled, but did not move. Her hands remained crossed on her chest.
- Are you joking?
- No. He really did that, Akiyama shrugged, in his voice sounded a slight tiredness, mixed with irony. Apparently, decided to leave beautifully. Well, or stupidly. Rather the second.
- And what did you say to him before the court session? Asked Hannah.
Akiyama looked at her, and in his eyes flashed a shadow of a smirk.
- I said that in Japan there is no death penalty, he answered. Apparently he is a schizophrenic and believed it. I did not want to upset him.
Hannah quietly laughed, but her posture remained unchanged.
- Life teaches you nothing.
- I know.
Akiyama again opened the trunk, took out the canisters, checked them, then put them back. He thought for a moment, looking at the two canisters in the trunk. His gaze became serious.
- I think, it won't be enough, he said to himself.
Hannah frowned.
- Did something happen again? She asked.
Akiyama turned to her. In his gaze appeared seriousness that had not been there before.
- Yes, again in our backwoods a foul murder happened, he said. Yesterday before the end of the festival. A guard found the corpse of a guy. More precisely, already a skeleton with meat. Without skin. He was crucified and burned. With a sledgehammer they beat, apparently.
Hannah silently looked at him. The wind again stirred her hair, but she did not look away.
- Look, be careful, she said.
- Yes, I am always careful anyway, answered Akiyama.
- Don't get yourself killed, added Hannah.
- They won't get the chance.
- And don't kill anyone, she said.
Akiyama smirked and shook his head.
- Well, since you said so, then okay, he said, closing the trunk.
He got into the van. The engine rumbled, and the car slowly moved along the road. Hannah remained standing by the house, crossing her arms on her chest, and watched after the van until it disappeared around the turn.
When Akiyama drove up to the school, he immediately understood that the scale of what was happening was greater than he had assumed. The entire territory was cordoned off. Special forces in black uniforms stood around the perimeter, their faces hidden by masks, and their weapons were pointed down, but ready for battle at any second. Police cars, vans, an ambulance, all of this was chaotically parked around the school. The flashing lights created a strange flickering that was reflected in the wet asphalt.
Akiyama stopped the van at the fence, got out and put on a protective mask and gloves. He immediately noticed Itsuki, standing at the very entrance to the building. Their eyes met, and Akiyama approached him.
- What here? Asked Akiyama, looking around.
- A corpse, Itsuki answered shortly. A guy. About eighteen-nineteen years old. A skeleton with remnants of meat, without skin. The body is crucified, burned, there are traces of blows with a sledgehammer. Someone knew what they were doing. This is not an accident.
Akiyama nodded, inspecting the place. The ground around was covered with dirt and footprints, but they were chaotic.
- How could this go unnoticed? He asked. Yesterday there was a festival here. Thousands of people. How was he not noticed?
- He was found in the morning, behind the rear building, in the old shed, said Itsuki. The door was locked from the inside, but someone broke the lock. The body was not found immediately, only today, when the guard was checking the premises.
Akiyama looked at the entrance to the school. There stood two guards. The very ones who yesterday tried to stop Genzo. They were talking about something in low voices, but when they saw Akiyama, one of them stepped forward.
- Akiyama-san, he said. We have already told everything to the police. Why are you here?
Akiyama sharply turned to them. His voice became harsher.
- I am here because I have a job, he answered. And because you two idiots let outsiders onto the territory yesterday. Have you completely lost your fucking minds?
The guard frowned.
- We could not stop them. They said they were called to perform.
- Could not? Repeated Akiyama. You are two adult men. You could not check their passes to the festival? Could not call the teacher? Laziness, that's what it is, you let everyone in.
The guards exchanged glances, but did not answer anything. They stepped aside, avoiding his gaze.
Itsuki stood nearby and silently watched. He did not interfere. He knew that Akiyama was right.
From around the corner of the school appeared two paramedics, pushing a black plastic bag on a stretcher. It was heavy, and they with difficulty pushed it along the uneven asphalt. Next to them walked a policeman who was writing something in a notepad.
Akiyama approached the stretcher, squatted down and pulled back the edge of the bag. From there burst a sharp, nauseating smell, a mixture of burnt flesh, chemicals and decomposition. The body that lay inside was barely recognizable: charred skin, torn muscles, worms crawling in the remnants of flesh. The arms were spread out to the sides, like those of a crucified person, and on the chest were visible traces of blows from a heavy object.
At that moment Genzo approached them.
Yesterday he could not find his friend, he walked through the basement, shouting his name. but without result.
He stopped a few steps away, looking at what remained of the body. His face turned pale, his breathing became uneven. He looked at the corpse, and inside him something faltered. He did not know who it was. But something in this body, in its posture, in its silence, seemed familiar to him. Too familiar.
- Wow… he exhaled almost soundlessly. What is this?
Akiyama sighed and looked at him.
- This is a corpse, he said. A skeleton with remnants of meat. He was crucified, burned, beaten with a sledgehammer. We do not yet know who it is. But, apparently, this is not just a murder.
- But why? Asked Genzo. His voice trembled, but not from fear. From something else. From a premonition.
- I do not know. Maybe it was a message, answered Akiyama. Maybe a warning.
Genzo continued to look at the body. His heart beat faster. He felt that this was not just a coincidence. Something was connected to this corpse. With Renji. With Kaoru. With everything that was happening around.
- I must find Renji, he said.
Akiyama looked at him and did not answer anything. He simply closed the bag and called over the paramedics.