บท 9: Investigations are a series of steps.
It was my first time seeing a dead body outside a coffin. Surprisingly, the scene didn't bother me that much even if it was bloody. Although seeing the victims eyes filled with pain and horror was kinda unnerving.
"Good morning, Mikage. Although this event doesn't make this morning good", Amelia greeted me when she arrived.
"Yeah. We just arrived and it's a mess. Let's ask them for the details", I said and we approached a knight.
"Hello. I'm Mikage Kamishiro, an administrative officer of the 13th unit and the lead investigator of this case. This is Amelia Watson and this guy is Temma Kishido, the vice-captain of our unit", I introduced ourselves to the knight.
"Ah. I'm Theodore Sen, a knight from the 14th unit. Our victim is a man named Victor Ri. There's also a claw mark made from the victim's blood in the scene and Victor is part of the Familiaran", he said.
"Victor Ri, age: 39. He's an executive of the Familiaran", Amelia said as she inspected the body.
We approached her as she was touching the body.
"Three stab wounds. One in the stomach, one in the heart, and one in the brain. The murderer must really hate this guy", Amelia muttered.
"What do you mean?" Temma asked.
"I've read about this before but in the southern parts of this world, a murder that involves stabbing both the brain and the heart meant that there was a deep grudge or hatred between the murderer and the victim", she answered.
"I see. To stab the body 2 more times after he died, it must be deep hatred", Theodore said.
"I think I should rethink the profile of the murderer", Amelia muttered as she stood up.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I assumed that they had a grudge on the Kageyama Clan since they were pinning the blame on them. But from this murder, it seems the grudge is with the Familiaran. Can we talk to them somehow?"
"We could arrange a meeting with a representative. And I think they would want to talk with the investigator too", Temma answered.
"While you're working on it, can I see the records of some previous cases?" Amelia asked.
"Sure. You can go over them in the record center. Mikage, can you show her the way?"
"Got it."
Amelia and I went to the record center while Temma was trying to contact the Familiaran. After the keeper saw my badge, we were granted access to the files we needed.
"Mikage, help me find cases that involve the Familiaran. Bonus points if the names of the victims are there. Probably cases from 10 years ago until this day", Amelia instructed me.
"10 years ago?! That's a lot of cases to search from!" I complained.
"Well. You'd better work those eyes instead of that mouth if you want to be helpful. Besides, we could avoid a murder if we do this right", she told me.
"So you're saying that the murderer is involved with a previous case?"
"Yeah. He must be part of a case that involved the victims or the Familiaran family. So find anything that is related to that and bring them to me."
Even if she said that, it would still be a lot. The record center contained copies of cases that happened all over Westa. And 10 years was a huge range to search from.
After a while, someone knocked on our door. It was a knight from my unit.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Temma said that you needed this", he answered as he handed me a map with marks on it and pieces of paper.
"Ah! Thank you!" Amelia took the things and the knight left.
"What's that?"
"I asked Temma if it was possible to see the knights' patrolling schedule and their respective areas. Good thing it was made in such a short amount of time."
"But why?"
"No reason. Just trying to see how the murderer sees things. Get back to searching cases."
I shrugged and continued searching. Time passed and I managed to find 23 cases that involved the Familiaran and 5 of those involved both of the victims. They were executives of the Familiaran so it was normal for them to be involved. The cases were a murder from a year ago, robbery from the same year, arson from 5 years ago, another murder from 7 years ago, and a missing person from 3 years ago. I gave them all to Amelia and she read it for a while.
Temma arrived and said that he arranged a meeting with the Familiaran. We were supposed to go there in an hour so we cleaned up and went to the Familiaran's place.
Unlike the Kageyama Clan that had wooden buildings and a large wooden gate, the Familiaran's place resembled a huge mansion with a large iron gate. We were invited inside and were led to an exquisite room.
After a while, a gray-haired man with glasses and beard entered the room. He was wearing a green coat and was quite tall. Temma tensed up and even Amelia had a serious expression. I didn't know who that guy was but he must be an important person to the Familiaran.
"Vice-captain Temma Kishido, Detective Amelia Watson, and a Japanese boy... This is an odd group", he said.
Wait a minute... Did he just call me Japanese?
Despite his greeting, Amelia and Temma didn't respond. So in order to break the silence and avoid being rude, I spoke up.
"Good evening. You must be the Familiaran's representative. I'm Mikage Kamishiro, an investigator for this case."
The man chuckled and I saw sweat drop from Temma's face.
"Mikage... That man is not just a representative", Amelia said.
"Technically, I am still a representative from the Familiaran. Although it could also be said that I'm the boss", he grinned.
He's the boss? Oh crap...
"Mikage... This is Arurandeisu, the head of the entire Familiaran", Temma said.
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