Free A Cop's Eyes by Gaku Yakumaru Page B

took a call from someone she called Kai. I’m not sure if he was the boyfriend … But given how happy she looked talking to him, probably … And now I’ll never see her again,” she concluded in a wistful murmur.
    Kai—they could be in luck if they could figure out who it was from Ayano’s call records.
    The car turned left at Kawagoe Way and onto Kanpachi Road.
    Having left All Skies Travel, they were headed toward the apartment in Kasugacho, Nerima Ward where Ayano had lived up until a year ago.
    Looking out at the familiar streets from the passenger’s seat, he sank into gloomy thoughts. Nearly ten years ago, he’d combed through this neighborhood until he was sick and tired of it.
    It had fallen prey to a serial assailant who targeted little girls. It was Nagamine’s first major case since being assigned to Investigation Section One.
    In succession, two girls had been hit in the head with a hammer while playing alone, one of them passing away.
    Eyewitness reports indicated that the culprit was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. Despite a thorough investigation of the neighborhood, he was never apprehended. The case was handed over to an ongoing investigations unit but was probably not one step closer to being solved.
    â€œI don’t like this neighborhood much …” he muttered to himself.
    â€œMe neither …”
    Nagamine turned toward the driver’s seat in response.
    â€œUp until ten years ago, I lived near here.”
    Natsume’s profile, as the man stared straight ahead and drove, sent a certain image flitting across his mind.
    He’d seen it on TV at the precinct station. The victim’s father, tears in his eyes, desperately pleading to the culprit—
    One of the victims was called Emi Natsume.
    Natsume—could the person next to him possibly be the victim’s father from back then?
    But he’d never heard that the victim’s father was on the force. No, he was sure he’d been told that the father worked at a juvenile detention center.
    I entered the police academy when I was thirty
—
    What, had he joined because of that case?
    His gaze fixed on Natsume’s profile, Nagamine was unable to find his next words.
    At Ayano’s old apartment, they interviewed her former next-door neighbor.
    â€œTrue … A weird fellow did keep coming by. He’d kick the door and shout in the middle of the night … a real nuisance,” the male resident said with a fed-up look.
    â€œHave you seen that man since she left?”
    â€œYeah, I’ve seen him around a number of times even afterwards.”
    â€œEven after she moved away?”
    â€œHe was probably looking for her friend.”
    â€œHer friend?”
    â€œYeah. Just the other day too, right by that convenience store, I saw her being grilled by that guy. It was like she was getting threatened for something, and I felt bad for her.” His insouciant tone contradicted his professed sympathy.
    â€œWhat’s this friend like?”
    â€œShe didn’t try to stand out, little or no makeup … Seemed to come here often, too, when my neighbor was still living here. I bet this friend was being harassed because he thought she knew the woman’s new address. But a guy who threatens a weak girl, he’s scum, yeah?”
    In that case, he definitely should have called the police or tried to help her, but Nagamine let that thought go unvoiced.
    â€œDoes this woman live close by?”
    â€œI would think so. I’ve seen her a few other times, too … Strange thing is, she has a different hairstyle every time I spot her. When I saw her here, she had a short haircut, but other times she had long black hair.”
    â€œIt must be a wig.”
    â€œThat must be it … She was pretty tall and slim, and I thoughtshe might actually be a model.”
    That woman might know about