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Preys	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don�t own Rurouni Kenshin. The characters belong to Watsuki, but the plots, ideas, OCs and text are *mine*.
Preys
Chapter 7: Past issues

Megumi turned to Saitoh again, barely containing her anger.
�Did you know about it? Did Kondo know? Who else is part of that disgusting conspiracy?�
He leaned against the wall, his eyes reduced to thin slits.
�Pay attention to what you say, Takani.�
�Meg!�
Her friend whirled to her. �There was no body, Tokio. They lied, and he�s back now.�
Saitoh scoffed.
Tokio felt cold sweat running down her back. She was afraid to understand. Not that. Not that. A copycat was never as clever as�.No, it was impossible.
�Shishio Makoto� Saitoh stated.
So his instinct had been right. The night before, the crime scene matched to perfection, not only in the settings but also in the atmosphere, in the nature of evil lingering there. An evil he was sure he had already met.
�So you knew,� Megumi snarled venomously.
�I told you to be��
�Enough! Enough, now! Meg, sit down and explain. Saitoh, you�ll talk afterwards. We have to stay calm.� Tokio waited for them to cool down. �That�s what you didn�t tell me on the phone last night,� she finally said to her friend.
Takani spoke fast, with a nervousness that Saitoh had never witnessed. Tokio didn�t see her in that state since a long time. Oh, Gods. This period meant something else to Meg, how could she have forgotten it�
�You know, it was my first case ever. I was in my first year of internship, and I had been affected to the morgue because I had lost a bet. I didn�t go to the crime scenes then, so I didn�t realized yesterday. Maybe I didn�t want to�.. But I was there for each autopsy, and as soon as the body has been on my table, I knew. Believe me; my memories of the wounds are quite accurate. These ones were so similar that I looked into the old files. This wasn�t the work of a copycat. It was of course impossible, since Seta is rotting in jail and Shishio is dead. I couldn�t put my finger on it when you called. It�s only when I gathered all the files for today�s meeting that I noticed the absence of Shishio�s autopsy report. There were only his previous military medical reports which were used as references for the identification. I remembered that Okina had performed the autopsy. I�m just back from visiting him. He collapsed when I told him about the murder. He confessed that the body was never found. The previous city administration had asked him to lie in order to end the panic in the media and the population.�
�And so that they could brag enough about us solving that case to win the elections the following month,� Saitoh completed sarcastically.
Tokio hid her face in her palms. It was a nightmare. A prostitute, Tsubame. She didn�t even make the link yesterday.
�So,� Megumi retorted to Saitoh, �You knew.�
�He didn�t.�
Saitoh arched both his brows at Takagi�s muffled voice. She looked very tired as she finally took her hands off her face.
�A touching trust in my integrity.�
�You mean, in your obsessive temper. You would have chased him until you got him,� she countered dryly.
He watched her intently while she addressed Takani again.
�Did Okina tell you who asked him to lie?�
�The former Mayor himself. And Kamiya.�
Both looked at her in disbelief.
�I know. I didn�t want to believe it either. Okina told me that Kamiya was not really in favor of the idea, but the chances of survival being the nearest to zero, he finally gave in to Kawaji�s persuasion too. Okina was shattered, you know. He swore me that he thought it was for the best.�
�You were less sensitive when you thought that *I* was involved,� Saitoh noticed sarcastically.
�You and Kondo got promoted just after the arrest. Okina had nothing to gain.�
�Saitoh!� Tokio warned as she saw his eyes glittering again. �Meg, please. So you�re convinced that it�s Shishio.�
�The execution mode is too similar. I could even testify in court with the little that I have. I can�t tell if it�s the same blade that was used before, but it�s definitely the same kind.�
�It�s him.� Saitoh�s voice was definite.
Tokio stared at him, recalling his strange words in her car while she was driving to the hospital. Did he already suspect that then?
She leaped on her seat as her phone rang and she picked it up in a rapid gesture, sighing. Her face lit suddenly. �Aoshi!� No matter. Listen, we have new facts.� She exchanged a meaningful look with the other woman, who stood up and left. �Meg is on her way to explain you�..Yes, I think it worked�..I also think it�s better�..See you later, then.�
She hanged up and stared at the machine for several seconds, her hands joined in front of her mouth.
Saitoh was trying to get a cigarette out of his pack, and clasped his tongue in exasperation at the realization that it was empty. He caught in flight the one she sent him.
�Kondo didn�t know either,� he stressed.
�I think so. The previous mayor and he weren�t in good terms.�
�Kawaji was a sleazy weasel.�
�As far as I know, politicians are all sleazy weasels to you, Saitoh.�
He took the first drag. It was too light, but it tasted like her. He let the smoke lingering in his mouth for a while before exhaling it, slowly, gazing at her face. She tensed, her hands clenching, her gray eyes taking a silvery shade.
They heard the main room door opening, voices coming near. She rose slowly, tearing her eyes away from him, grabbed the documents on her table and exited.
He took another puff, savoring the taste again, before following her.
***
Their desks in the main room were gathered at the center, forming a rectangle, perpendicular to the large windows. On the left side was the door to Takagi�s office, on the right a big-screen TV and video set were making the corner, next to a big white board which took half of the wall. At the very end of it, a table and a chair were installed for the chief of section to use during the briefings. Two other desks, used by Shinomori and Takani, were set against the left wall. The main door faced the windows, a closet containing files on its right, a table with the coffee machine and the hotpot on the other side.
When Saitoh entered, Takagi was already preparing her files. His desk was the nearest to the door, Okita�s facing it. His eyes narrowed as he saw a rose on top of it. How distasteful. Kitaoka was next to him, Sagara ending the line. Makimachi sat at her place, in front of the moron, her usual happy face in place but her eyes red and slightly puffy. Yukishiro came back, nodding to them, and took his place at his own desk, between Makimachi and Okita�s. Saitoh caught the concerned glance that Kitaoka sent to his partner, which was answered by a quick shake of the head. He reported his gaze on Takagi, guessing by the move of her shoulders that she braced herself.
She turned towards them, Makimachi and Yukishiro moving their chairs to face her. They were all tense in expectation, reminding Saitoh of pupils waiting for the schoolmistress to begin the class. He was totally estranged to the scene.
�First things first. I talked to Kondo this morning,� she started, in a steady but sad voice. �He arranged the funeral for tomorrow afternoon. As Okita fell on duty it�s going to be an official ceremony, with the mayor giving a speech. Considering the circumstances, we can count on the media to be there in mass. This is a great shock for all of us, but I expect you to behave. No yelling at the journalists,� she pointed, her gaze resting briefly but meaningfully on Sagara, �and no comment whatsoever about Sanjo�s death. Kondo is trying to obtain a restraining order against them, so that we can say goodbye calmly in the cemetery.� A pause. �I talked to each of you on the phone last night. I hope that you had the time to recover from the shock, because this new case is nothing but usual. And with Okita gone, we lost a great force. We must give everything we have and stick together. No time for crying, or doubting, or weakening.�
And God bless us all, Saitoh mocked inwardly. He could have been spared a lecture from Sister Takagi. The others probably needed to hear that kind of bullshit, unfortunately, he corrected mentally as his gaze dropped on the rose again. He reached for a new pack of cigarettes in his drawer.
Tokio let out a silent sigh.
�Now, the team�s configuration is going to change for a while. Shinomori is joining; he�ll work with Saitoh. He and Takani will arrive in a while. Kitaoka, you and Sagara are partners on this case. Makimachi, you�re with Yukishiro.�
�What? Why?� Sano and Misao exclaimed. Tsunan looked intently at her face, then at his partner�s neck in front of him. Enishi didn�t make a move.
�Because I say so. Do you have personal objections?� she snapped. Tokio was unnerved, now. She had to justify herself with Kondo, then to convince Saitoh, who the hell was the boss in here, in the end?
�No but��
�Well, Sagara, so you�ll just follow my orders. Let�s move to the case�.Just in time!�
Saitoh, who had been pleased to see Takagi losing her Saint Boss attitude, was a bit disappointed when she gave a quick smile to Shinomori as he passed the door, Takani on his heels. The doctor handed a pile of documents to their boss before taking her seat. Well, with what Takagi had to announce it was probably better that she stayed in control, but still�
Poker-faced as usual, the profiler put his files neatly on the desk and sat on it, next to them. Saitoh smirked. Shinomori being almost as tall as he, no wonder that he didn�t use the dwarf-sized chairs.
Takagi began the briefing on the case. �As you all know, Sanjo Tsubame, our Mayor�s niece, was found murdered yesterday evening, at 7.53 p.m., by a patrol of the 13th precinct. One of them took the initiative of calling us since they already had a murder of the same kind last week. Saitoh and I went to the crime scene, where he found immediately similarities with an old case. I�ll come back to that later. Sagara, Makimachi, make your reports.�
Sano answered first.
�A reservation was made last week, for yesterday 8.00, table for two, under the name of Myojin. Myojin called again as 6.00 p.m. yesterday, asking the manager whether he wouldn�t mind keeping company to Sanjo since himself was going to be late, less than one hour, Myojin promised. They�re regular customers, coming at least once a week, so the manager accepted. He wasn�t expecting her to show up before her boyfriend, she was reportedly always late. Myojin arrived at 8.52 p.m. Myojin was not really surprised that she was late either, yet after 20 minutes he showed signs of impatience, then of worry. The manager said that he made several phone calls, getting very nervous as he was told that she left home before 7.00; and as neither she nor her uncle returned his phone calls, he got restless. He asked for a cab a few minutes before ten and left, fearing that she had a car accident. I interrogated the employees. The doorman told that Myojin was dropped by a black BMW, the driver being is supervising teacher according to Myojin�s farewells. He�ll return my call later, his secretary told me this morning.�
Makimachi took the relay.
�I went to the mayor�s house, and the maid told me that the victim left at 6.40 p.m., very nervous and excited, complaining that she couldn�t get anything out of her hair and was going to her �beauty parlor� to have it fixed. The maid also confirmed Myojin�s phone call after 9.00 p.m. I got the victim�s cars references and sent it to the Traffic. They�ll call me as soon as her car is found. It�s a Porsche, by the way. It was too late for the hairdresser, so I called one hour ago. They confirm that she called after 6.00 to get an urgent appointment, they managed to book her for 7.15, but she never showed up.�
�Where is it?� Saitoh asked.
Sagara picked up his phone and left the room, scratching his hair.
�Near La Promenade. You know, those people go out of their castles only for these little posh areas,� she answered disdainfully. Saitoh couldn�t help to grin as she blushed and mumbled: �Sorry� to Takagi.
�So, she was killed between 6.40 and 7.53,� Tsunan stated.
�It makes Myojin out.� Sagara was back. �Good morning officer. Last evening I was with Myojin-kun in my office of the University from 5.00 to few minutes before 9.00. I�m very busy, so goodbye officer. Che!�
�Thank you. I didn�t believe that he did it, but we have to get the routine job done too. Sagara and Kitaoka, you�ll be finishing it for Sanjo.� Tokio handed a file to them, then another to Makimachi. �These are the 13th precinct�s files. You and Yukishiro will check the first murder. Takani-sensei will give you the conclusions of the autopsy.�
She lit a cigarette. Saitoh had wondered how long she could have avoided it. But now was the messy part. She addressed the three people who didn�t already now.
�The reason I called those tasks routine is that, as I told you, this case offers a striking resemblance with an old one, more exactly a case from 11 years ago. You weren�t working yet, but I�m sure that you heard of it. It mobilized the entire police forces and the DA for several months, along with the media for more than a year.�
She pinned two pictures on the board. �Seta Soujiro and Shishio Makoto. The two faces of the Slayer.�
***
The room�s atmosphere was heavy. The three young cops had gasped, and they were staring at Yukishiro. He was still unmoved.
�Yes, this hits one of us personally. And I�ll ask, from all of you to support your teammate if he needs it. Would you stop looking at him like this?�
Tsunan turned to Takagi, his pupils reduced to tiny points in green pools. He slowly nodded, approval spreading on his face. Sagara and Makimachi recovered from the surprise. The young girl squeezed quickly Enishi�s hand. He turned towards her and after several seconds managed a little nod as she gave him a shy, encouraging smile. Tokio and Aoshi shared a relieved glance.
�Yukishiro is not the only one who has been impressed by this case. Saitoh was on it longer than everyone here. Takani was in the team who practiced the victims� autopsies. Shinomori came out with the profile, and I had to interrogate Seta in court.�
She rubbed her arms with her hands, as if to chase away a chill. For a mere second, she looked vulnerable�.A second, only. Her voice was steady when she went on.
�For those of you who are too young to remember the details, we�ll give you a summary. Nobody knows how many victims they made, as we ignore when they really began to kill. It officially started with the murders of several prostitutes in the 31st precinct. Three in three months. Saitoh?�
�The precinct inspector in charge there, Yukishiro Tomoe, called the Criminal Department two weeks after the third crime because she was getting nowhere. Kondo and I were given the case. She was murdered before we could talk to her. It was the same execution style, but she didn�t fit the victim�s profile. We dug, and realized that two weeks after each prostitute murder, a woman with a different occupation had been killed in the same way but in other precincts. The media rushed in the affair at that point, and since the murder weapon was a blade, nicknamed the murderer the Slayer.�
�The other murders had been perpetrated in the 23rd, 14th, and 9th precincts. There were no links between the victims, and it depended from the West City or Central City Morgue, and not the East like the other three. You�re too young to remember what a complete mess the public administration of this town was then; there was no communication between the different structures, or inside of them. You couldn�t even have any idea of what people working in the office next to yours were doing�.Nobody could make the link,� Megumi sighed.
�The murder frequency rose to once a week for 2 months.� Tokio realized that Saitoh was making an effort to control his voice. The media had been harsh on the police not being able to catch the murderer, and he probably had resented it as a personal humiliation. �We finally traced to an ex-military, Shishio Makoto, who was a neighbor of the 8th victim. He had a history of violence and a fascination for blades. Unfortunately, he also had an alibi for several murders, including Yukishiro�s. Then, somebody finally came up with a worthy profile,� he finished, glancing expectantly to Aoshi.
�The autopsy reports were pointing slight differences in the way the wounds had been inflicted,� the profiler started with his cold and low voice. �And though the victims seemed chosen at random, the selection pointed obviously at different pathos. Thinking that there were two murderers was a natural conclusion. Shishio was one of them. You can read my report later, to familiarize with the profiles. Saitoh and Kondo relied on them to find Shishio�s partner. The 8th victim�s stepson, Seta Soujiro.�
Saitoh went on. �We approached Shishio�s longtime girlfriend, Komagata Yumi. According to the neighborhood, she was also close to Seta. She obviously suspected something, yet her boyfriend had never been violent with her and she was hostile to us. The moron decided nevertheless to confront Shishio. We were still following her, and could intervene before he killed her. It ended by a pursuit, and Shishio�s car, after taking fire, crashed in the harbor.�
Saitoh�s eyes locked with the gray ones. Was she going to spill the beans now?
�Seta�s case was difficult,� she finally said, not avoiding his scornful gaze. �He wasn�t there when Komagata was assaulted and the proofs against him were indirect. Although the trial took place one year later, the passions didn�t fade, some journalists taking his side. As you see, he also looks extremely harmless, was merely 18 and he was a victim�s son. The DA was not sure to get a conviction. I was not in court for most of the trial. I was new at the bureau and was in charge of preparing the victim�s families and Seta�s neighbors to testify. The DA finally asked me to interrogate them in court. They had tried everything to get a confession from Seta: it was the only way to get a conviction for sure. I finally found out that some neighbors thought Seta had been abused by his stepmother for years. It didn�t fit his devoted son attitude. Shinomori-sensei, who was still following the case, suggested that I interrogated him during the last audience.�
�The DA himself and his principal substitute had tried him, and the effects had been disastrous. Seta looked like a victim of their harassment. The jury was well disposed towards you, you were young and showed compassion towards the victims family. Moreover, Seta wasn�t on his guard with you,� Aoshi explained.
�And he spat.� It was the first words that Enishi uttered since he had been there. His tone was forceful, but controlled.
�He was convicted to life imprisonment since he wasn�t of age at the time of the facts. Of his motives, we just know that the women he murdered �weren�t nice� to him. We thought he was there for the prostitutes� killings, and maybe murdered one, after the police began to have an interest in his partner in crime. Shishio�s motives are still unclear. Komagata Yumi was a prostitute before she met him, you can read Shinomori�s theory on it. Now, these two new murders correspond exactly to the pattern of the Slayer case,� Tokio finished.
�Fortunately for us, boss, copycats are usually easier to catch than the original murderer, aren�t they?� Kitaoka soothed.
She gazed straight in the eyes of Enishi as she answered slowly: �I�m afraid that it isn�t a copycat. Very likely, Shishio Makoto is alive.�
To be continued�.

Author�s notes:

Oops. That was tedious. Sorry, I really needed an exposition of the mystery plot�s background. For the �routine job� part, I wanted to show that it�s done, but I won�t inflict that again, one time is enough!

Thanks to mibu no ookami for reminding me that Saitoh is taller than Aoshi (^-^).

Next chapter: Saitoh plays mind games with Tokio again, first appearance of Soujiro, and a friendly reunion between Megumi, Aoshi and Tokio gives a few highlights.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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