The vehicle slowly came to a stop at the entrance to the street. The forensics officers who had arrived ahead of them immediately began securing the scene and collecting evidence with DSLR cameras and other equipment.
Yellow police tape had been strung up around the area near the crime scene. As he pulled on a pair of white dust-free gloves, Ritsu effortlessly stepped over the tape with his long legs.
Now fully in investigation mode, he walked stoically toward the victim lying on the ground. Noticing an ID card that had fallen nearby, he bent down to pick it up, his gaze settling on the information printed on it.
Tatsuya Nagai, 25 years old, resident of Apartment 205, Building 3, Green Moss Street, 5-Chome, Beika Town.
If it was that apartment complex, it was only two train stops away from here. Very close.
Ritsu handed the ID card to Hayasaka beside him, then crouched down to examine the corpse. He didn't detect the faint bitter almond smell typically associated with cyanide poisoning, so cyanide could likely be ruled out.
The victim's pupils were dilated. A large amount of saliva had secreted from the mouth and overflowed, accompanied by a garlicky odor.
Looks like poisoning from ingesting an organophosphorus compound. The cause of death was probably respiratory failure leading to hypoxia.
Ritsu tried to search Tatsuya Nagai's body for more clues when a patch of green on the victim's shoulder caught his attention. Just as he was about to inspect it more closely, his vision darkened slightly and a clear voice rang out.
"Inspector Onizawa, we meet again."
Again?
Ritsu instinctively looked up at the middle schooler standing before him in a light blue casual outfit. The moment he recognized the grinning face, the corner of his eye twitched.
'Kudo? Why is it him again…? This wasn't the first time they had run into each other at a crime scene.'
"Kudo-kun, don't tell me you were the first witness?"
"That's right. I'm also the one who called the police." Shinichi Kudo completely failed to notice the annoyance in Ritsu's eyes.
Pointing at the stain on Tatsuya Nagai's shoulder, he continued, "Inspector, I helped preserve the crime scene for you. Look over here, the victim's shoulder has green paint on it."
"I noticed without your help. And you—"
"Huh?!"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted. Ritsu shifted his indifferent gaze toward the startled Takagi. He disliked repeating himself.
"What is it, Takagi?"
"It's nothing, I just feel like I've seen this victim's face somewhere before," Takagi explained.
"Previous criminal record?" Ritsu asked.
"I can't quite remember. Inspector, I'll head over to the nearby precinct and see if there are any reports involving Tatsuya Nagai."
"Mm. Go ahead."
Hayasaka stepped forward and handed the Kazman bottle collected in an evidence bag to Ritsu. "The victim probably died after drinking this Kazman. Have you figured out what poison was used?"
"An organophosphorus compound."
As Shinichi was about to continue his deductions, Ran, wearing a red sleeveless sports shirt, finally couldn't hold back anymore. She stepped forward and scolded him.
"Shinichi, stop interfering with police investigations all the time!"
"Huh? I'm not interfering, I'm providing clues, okay?" Shinichi replied helplessly. This was part of his training to become a Holmes-level detective. Now that he had a chance, there was no way he'd pass it up.
"If you're the first witness, then tell me exactly what happened," Ritsu said calmly.
"I didn't see the victim buying the Kazman. I just heard a scream and ran over with Ran to check things out. By the time we were about to call an ambulance, the poison had already taken effect and he died," Shinichi explained.
Which meant he hadn't actually seen the victim purchase the drink himself. The possibility of random poisoning couldn't be ruled out.
Ritsu's expression darkened slightly. If it was random poisoning, then the case became far more complicated. Crimes like that were usually committed by antisocial offenders seeking revenge against society. They had no real motive for murder, they simply wanted to kill.
"Hayasaka, are there any vending machines nearby?" Ritsu asked.
Ran had originally intended to drag Shinichi away from the scene, but upon hearing the question, she answered, "Inspector, there's a vending machine about fifty meters ahead."
"Is that so? Thank you, Mouri-san. Hayasaka, I'm heading over there. Stay here and secure the scene."
"Understood."
Ran looked somewhat surprised that Ritsu still remembered her surname. Their last meeting had been back in February, almost three months ago. Yet he still remembered the name of someone he'd only met once. Impressive.
Ritsu headed toward the vending machine. From the footsteps behind him, he could tell the detective fanatic had followed along.
"High school students should focus on school instead of taking interest in the adult world," he said helplessly.
"It's Saturday. School's off."
"Then do your homework."
"Already finished it. Come on, Inspector, just let me tag along? An extra pair of eyes might uncover another clue."
Ritsu frowned. This violated procedure. In Japan, detectives already occupied something of a legal gray area, let alone underage high schoolers like him.
"You really are a brat obsessed with detective games. Just don't get in my way."
"I'll behave, Inspector~~"
By the time their conversation ended, they had already arrived at the vending machine fifty meters away. Ritsu checked the drinks inside and confirmed that Kazman was indeed being sold there.
Glancing at Shinichi behind him, he asked, "Want a drink?"
"Cola, thanks."
'Not even pretending to be polite, huh? I was just offering out of courtesy.'
Ritsu inserted several coins and pressed the buttons for canned coffee and cola. As he bent down to retrieve the drinks from the dispenser slot, he unexpectedly noticed another bottle of Kazman still inside.
"Hm? Kazman?" Shinichi exclaimed in surprise.
"Interesting."
Holding the Kazman bottle, Ritsu returned to the crime scene and compared it directly with the one in Hayasaka's evidence bag. He quickly discovered that the victim's bottle had a blue discount sticker attached, while the bottle from the vending machine did not.
Furthermore, after carefully inspecting the victim's bottle, he found no tiny puncture holes in the cap, nor any damage to the bottle itself.
Which meant the poison had been poured in after the bottle had been opened.
But most people would notice if a drink had already been opened by someone else, right? Surely nobody would be careless enough to ignore basic hygiene and drink it anyway.
"This discount sticker should be from three days ago, meaning the culprit planned the poisoning three days in advance," Shinichi analyzed.
"At this stage, though, we still can't rule out random poisoning. Too bad there aren't any surveillance cameras on this street, otherwise things would be much easier."
Tap tap tap.
Rapid footsteps approached.
Takagi stopped in front of Ritsu, slightly out of breath. "Inspector Onizawa… I-I remember why the victim looked familiar now. I once helped a woman question this victim before!"
"Explain."
"It was about a month and a half ago. A young woman living in a nearby apartment reported him to me after I'd just caught a pickpocket."
Takagi accepted the canned coffee Ritsu handed him and took a large gulp before continuing,
"She said someone had been stalking her recently, so I helped stake out the area near her apartment. Eventually, we caught someone loitering around the building."
He pointed toward the body bag. "That person was the victim, Tatsuya Nagai. I'm absolutely sure of it. I just went to the nearby precinct to verify the report. That woman filed another complaint three weeks ago as well!"
After hearing this, Ran immediately said, "Could he be the 'Wolf of Beika' people have been talking about recently?"
"Yeah. He claimed he followed her because he liked her. But since he never actually did anything inappropriate to the woman, both reports ended without charges. We could only lecture him and send him home."
'A stalker reported twice after failed attempts at romance…
The "Wolf of Beika"…
The Kazman in the vending machine…
The poisoned Kazman showing no signs of injection…
Could it be…?'
Ritsu had already more or less pieced together the culprit's method. "Takagi, you still remember where that woman lives, right?"
"Yeah, she lives nearby."
"Lead the way. Let's go meet the young woman who was being stalked by the Wolf of Beika."
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