Kanako quickly wiped the raindrops from her face before sliding into the driver's seat of her car. As she closed the door, she let out a long sigh of relief, grateful to be out of the storm. The rain had been coming down hard for hours, but now it seemed to be easing up.

Still, Kanako couldn't shake the mixed emotions swirling inside her. On the one hand, she was happy that her father had agreed to reunite with her mother. On the other hand, she was worried that this decision would negatively impact her younger brother's future. She had stayed behind to try and convince her father to change his mind. That's why she hadn't left until now. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and quickly typed out a message to her mother, letting her know that she would be home late.

Just as she hit send, her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen to see that it was Peko, her colleague and also subordinate.

"Kanako here," she answered.

"Captain, where are you?" Peko’s tone sounded urgent, and she could hear the sound of police sirens in the background.

“I was going to come home now, what’s going on?” Kanako replied, her heart pounding with apprehension.

“There's been a murder on Tachibana street. We need you to come here immediately.”

The scene was a large alley where a crowd of people had gathered despite the late hour and the rain. Among them were police officers, reporters and some curious bystanders.

A camera zoomed in on a woman holding a microphone.

"This is Mizuna, reporting live from number 18 Tachibana street, where a gruesome murder has taken place. The victim has been identified as Ishida Kagari, an eighteen-year-old student at Amaterasu High School. Her body was discovered by an elderly woman who lives nearby."

The camera cut to a shot of an old woman wearing a floral pajama. She looked shaken and nervous.

“It was around 9:30 p.m. I was waiting for the storm to pass before taking out my garbage. When I saw her lying there by the street light, I was so frightened I ran back to my house and called the police."

The camera switched back to the reporter. Her face became serious.

"This has marked the third case of high school girl being killed in the past month. The police are still investigating, but we have received some information that a witness saw a student running away from the crime scene. If this is true, it would mean that yet another underage student has committed murder. Some people have petitioned the president to enact a new law that would increase the punishment for this age group. However..."

A police car pulled up to the crime scene, and two individuals emerged. Among them were Kanako and Peko, both dressed in their uniforms. Peko, a tall foreign man with dark skin and sunglasses, frowned upon seeing a group of reporters gathered around the yellow tape.

"Who tipped them off? They're always getting in the way," Peko muttered.

While Peko grumbled, Kanako paid no attention and immediately began assessing the area. She retrieved her notebook and sketched the scene's layout, diligently noting anything that caught her attention.

They showed their badges to the officer in charge and walked towards the body.

Kanako knelt beside a cold puddle where a blanket-covered body lay. She lifted the corner of the blanket and saw Kagari's pale face, the girl looked peaceful, as if she had fallen asleep. Her clothes were neat and clean, showed no signs of struggle. But as Kanako examined the victim, her eyes fixed on a large, dark bruise on Kagari's neck.

Just then, a man approached her, holding a clipboard. He was a forensic officer of this case.

"Excuse me, who's in charge here?" he asked.

Kanako stood up and turned to face him. Her voice was slightly trembling.

"I am," she said.

The man looked surprised. He had expected to see a senior police, not a young woman. Little did he know that Kanako was an excellent police officer. Despite her youth and gender, she was already the captain of the special investigation team of Tokyo. Her main strength didn’t come from exceptional physical or intellectual skills, but a strong work ethic and a keen intuition for crime-solving.

"According to the reports, the victim died time around 8:30pm to 8:35pm. The cause of death was asphyxiation due to a crushed larynx. Someone applied a tremendous amount of pressure to her neck and snapped the hyoid bone. She died immediately," the man said.

"Did you find any weapon or tool that could have caused this injury?" Peko asked.

The forensic officer flipped to the next page on his clipboard and shook his head. “No weapon was found, but...please look at this.” He handed the clipboard to Kanako and pointed to a series of images that showed Kagari's neck from different angles. There was a clear imprint of a hand on her skin, with five distinct fingers.

"Are you saying the killer used one hand and broke the victim’s neck instantly? That's ridiculous! No human could be that strong." Peko gasped and said.

Kanako handed back the clipboard and thanked the officer. She waited until he moved away before whispering to Peko.

"This is not a coincidence," she said, her tone serious.

Peko looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Captain?"

"Think about it. This is the third high school girl who was murdered this month. And they all died in a similar way: by an unknown force that broke their bones. The first victim was found in a hotel, had her arm twisted until it snapped; the second victim was found in the park, had her legs spread until they cracked; and now this one here had her neck squeezed until it broke." Kanako said.

Peko remembered. "But they arrested the suspect for the first case, right? A high school boy who was caught on CCTV in the hotel corridor."

Kanako nodded. "Yes, but remember how the guy kept insisting he didn't do it, even with clear evidence against him?"

Peko understood the implications of what his captain was suggesting. Both of them fell into a heavy silence, knowing it was too early to jump to conclusions. But one thing was certain: this serial killer case was far from normal.

MeguTG

Next part will be released tomorrow. Thank you for reading!