The Distance Formula - Chapter One

May 4th, 2011

"I have no time to play babysitter!" the graying detective snapped quietly at his supervisor.

Not even looking at me, Naoto noticed. "I assure you, Detective Dojima-san," she interjected in a low, steady voice, "I will not require you to look after me. I have addressed many similar cases already and find that most police stations have similar filing systems and internal layout. All I do need from you, is to simply co-"

She stopped as the man jumped up, grabbed a stack of files and dropped them roughly on the desk beside which she stood. "I already had to spend the last three days creating this ridiculous overview that you had requested from my bosses. Do you even realize this is Golden Week and I should be with my daughter right now?" He turned his attention back to his supervisor almost at once.

Naoto hadn't moved while he shouted at her. Was this man's concern really about some time off, when there possibly was serial killer in his town? The best thing to do right now, is to simply wait out till the man was more rational again. There was no reason to address him or to react to his emotional state. His outburst none withstanding; she was pleased at the size of the stack of papers he had prepared. The sooner he would finish with his tirade, the sooner she could do what she had been called in for. Right now, she would wait while his supervisor finished the conversation and left them.

She watched as the anger in his bearing had simmered down a bit and the ranting had finally ceased. "They told me you're cold as ice," he muttered, finally looking at her. "Okay, listen. We prepared one of the interview rooms for you. There is a small cot in there, too – we heard what went down in Kyoto and frankly don't want to walk in one some kid sleeping on the floor here."

What? How had he- no, no she would not do this. A flaring temper was not what was needed right now. The first day was crucial in establishing herself and if this meant ignoring irritations, well, that would simply have to be.

"So far it seems like that will not be needed, Dojima-san. Your colleagues in Kyoto had left vital information out of their reports and staying late hours was vital for the case." Firmly placing a hand on the stack of papers without moving her eyes away from his, she said "Right now, you seem well prepared. I am looking forward to working with you." Be in command of the situation. Show you will not be pushed.

Whatever it was he had wanted to say in reply ran into an inaudible murmur as he turned and simply waved his hand to beckon her to follow him. With a deep breath she squared her shoulders, picked up the stack of folders, and followed the older detective down the hallway.

Glancing about, walking at her measured wide, crisp step, Naoto eyed the dim hallway from under her cap. Nothing about it felt remarkable to her. A typical small-town police station. A few flyers, some public service posters and clip boards beside a door now and again. A break room door stood open, showing a few officers filling out paperwork while holding on to paper coffee cups.

Her guide stopped beside a door, opened it and pointed inside with a court nod.

"Thank you, Dojima-san", she said with a small bow, "I will do my best to avoid troubling you." He scuffed his cheek, grunted, and marched off, fishing for the packet of cigarettes in his shirt pocket.

She turned to look back inside the room. A table, two chairs, a bed with a rough blanket, a small desk against the wall, a chest of drawers and a TV standing on it. She even had a big cork pin board available. Compared to some corners she had been pushed into, this was outstanding in terms of comfort and usefulness. Not that she needed comfort. She had been called in for a very straight-forward job. Track down a killer who had a surprisingly public call sign. Hanging people upside down from high places. That the local police had such issues tracking the matter was incomprehensible to her.

Naoto closed the door and selected the chair facing the door as she sat down. Sitting with your back to the door could mean someone sneaking up or watching over her shoulder after they enter. Avoiding anything that could put her into a weakened position was second nature to her.

Let's start by sorting these papers into smaller stacks. Being organized is the best way to tackle any workload and getting acquainted with the case in installments would help her follow the trail left behind by her perpetrator.

First, putting aside all folders regarding the second found body. Going by the assumption that each murder was just that, stand-alone and not a suicide or a cult would help to not fall for any pre-conceived notions about what should be there or what was too obvious to investigate. She pushed the papers to the far left side of the table. br

On the far right, she placed the folder containing the description of the first crime scene. Left of that, the autopsy file. Left again, overlapping the folders of each of the interviewed witnesses. And to the left of _that_ she placed all other folders which held the file number this case had been assigned.

She stopped to look at the identifier of the case.

"#HC129-DR/AT. Hm." She paused a moment. Had this office really less than two hundred cases of unnatural death since they started their filing system? This certainly was a rural area.

Seven hours later the room had turned into a typical Shirogane work space.

Naoto was surrounded by a number of reference books about the local area; reports of related crimes in a 50-kilometer radius; folders with copies of previously unsolved cases in Inaba; and the stack of the second murder's folders on the desk by the door at this point.

Her finger trailed over the map on the cork wall showing the two crime scenes; comparing her notes with copies of the documents she had pinned near the locations. Had the staff here not done such basic visualization to compare the locations of the crime scenes? Ridiculous. They possibly had done so, but gave up too soon. Taking their own maps and references down before closing up the case was simply showing their general disregard for the case.

The door opened, and, she noticed with a flash of indignation, without a knock again. Dojima-san was back. He had stopped by a total of four times now. Each time he became more aggravated, but what his upset was he did not say or even hint at. Naoto dismissed it as his mood simply being dour.

"Listen, Shirogane, its past midnight now. I'll head home."

Not looking up from her folder containing the statements of witnesses, she nodded, barely hearing the man. His whereabouts did not matter right now. Getting acquainted with the case and locale however did.

He stood silent in the open doorway and waited.

He will not go until I actually address him. Small talk. Naoto turned away from the map and nodded at him once more. "Yes, very well, Detective. I will be available to you in the morning." He really was fussing. Possibly the problem was her height. The detective just about towered over her. Staying a few steps away from him was possibly advisable, to minimize the appearance of the height difference.

His mouth twisted in a wry manner. "Listen, son, you'll miss the last bus. Want me to drive you someplace? Are you staying at a hotel?"

"Your concern is misplaced, Dojima-san. I am quite capable of arranging my own transportation, should I need to."

The older man rolled his eyes, flapping one arm in annoyance. "Okay. Fine. Goodnight." He pulled the door shut and vanished down the hallway.

Naoto arched an eyebrow at the closed door. Just once it would be nice to have someone overlook her age or height and instead see her current track record. How many more cases would she have to solve before people stopped feeling she was helpless or incompetent?

She placed down her notes to stretch out and her chest felt tight as she did so. Naoto took off her cap to run her hand through her short hair. The collection of evidence in the first case had not covered enough ground. Not to the mention lack of searching the ground around the site. An elaborate placement of the corpse, such as this, should have left unmistakable tracks. Sunken foot prints from carrying the corpse; traces of tools used, witness reports from the people living in the surrounding area. Yet, nothing.

At least so far she had made good progress. Small town or not, the records Dojima-san was keeping were outstanding. Some other paperwork filed by one Adachi had left much to be desired, especially when it came to witness protocol, but so far she had been able to navigate the files without wasting too much time on reference material.

The most pressing question however became this: More caffeine or some sleep?

She placed her cap down beside another folder of papers and pulled her note book closer. No need to stay up too long, her mental faculties would only suffer. She would just quickly finish up the notes for the day and then walk to the apartment Grampa had organized. Late-night walks helped her sort through what she read, something she had learned early in her life while taking walks in the garden of the estate.

Putting the folders back in order and adding copies of pages to her own brief case, she walked out, locked up her 'office' and left for the apartment. Nothing so far stumped her, except maybe the lack of competence when it came to securing evidence. All things considered, she felt she would find the solution without problem. Yes, this case would not take long at all.

May 5th, 2011

When Naoto had returned the next morning, she found herself lost in the notes from the previous day within minutes of sitting down. She stirred her coffee with her left hand while flicking back and forth through the papers in front of her.

No one had seen Mayumi Yamano for a few days before she was found dead. The staff at the Amagi Inn had been very specific about this, stating that each time they came to ensure their guest was comfortable, they found she had either left or not yet returned to her rooms. She had not taken any meals at the inn. She had also not been seen outside the inn, either.

Unsurprising, really, as she had been taking time away from the public due to the news reports of her affair. She had fully counted on the discreetness of the inns staff. Naoto did not much care about the news that had led to the reclusion of Miss Yamano in the sense of how the victim may have dealt with it, so long as it was not a case of suicide or directly connected to the murder.

So was it jealousy after all? Unlikely. All involved parties in the love triangle seemed to have not been in contact throughout the recent weeks. Both Taro Namatame and Misuzu Hiiragi had not been in direct communication since their separation. They also had separate, solid alibi. When Miss Yamano had withdrawn to the Amagi Inn, none of the involved parties had spoken to one another in days.

Naoto frowned, her spoon stopping for a moment. This leads us back to her having left… But if Mayumi Yamano's aim was to be in retreat, then why would she have left the inn? Leaving the premises would expose her to unwanted attention, so going out for dinner would not have been desirable in her situation.

Lost in thought she sipped her coffee and shuddered. It had grown cold and bitter while she had been reading. Had that much time passed already? Surely not, she had only recently arrived and started to review her own case notes...

Her watch buzzed softly, vibrating against her wrist. It was now nine in the morning. Two hours. She had already been here for two hours. And had not found out anything new yet! Re-reading what she had noted down from the first case was too early, it seemed. She bit off a frustrated sigh and got up to get some more coffee.

It was encouraging to see the station already being well staffed at this time of the morning. She nodded to any officer who greeted her. Stopping to talk to them would be fruitless however, she did not yet know which questions to ask, so her path was straight to the kitchen to refill her cup and return to work.

Closing the door behind her, she sat back down, putting the cup aside for now. Something seemed missing, and as much as she wanted to move on, it bothered her. Miss Yamano's movements did not add up. No one had seen her leave the inn, she had not mentioned any desire to explore the countryside. There was no mention of any visitors, letters left with the concierge or phone calls placed for her. Neither had she made any calls or send any letters through the staff. No taxi or limousine had been called in for her – Naoto had checked up on that yesterday herself, as the police seemed to have forgotten to.

She stood and stepped over to her map. The inn was on the outskirts of town, but not exactly far from any roads, street lights or other houses. Had she been taken by force, she would have been needed to be kept quiet – or was already dead at the time. However, forensics had not found any sign of forced entry, struggle or even a violent act against Miss Yamano in her room or any of the secluded areas of the inn and springs.

Turning her back to the wall, she leaned up against it. Tucking her cap down by habit with her left hand, her right flipped through some pages in her note book. Reviewing the notes on the interviewed parties, all accounts spoke of Yamano as being stressed – some members of the Amagi staff even said she had been rude to her hosts. Unusual, for a public figure. Also unusual for a woman who was used to host live broadcasts, to react badly to stress.

Naoto walked back to the desk and picked up her cup. Maybe I am overthinking this right now. She felt she could not summarize any more data on the first victim, so the next step in her investigation would be the second murder. Clearing off the table, she swapped the stacks of files. Time to look into the second murder in detail.

Chapter Two