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墨書 Inktalez
"Name?"
"Ishii."
"Residential address?"
"Hegawa Village."
...
After finishing the testimony and leaving the police station, it was already 3 am. Ishii was exhausted, and during the testimony, his eyelids felt like a shoddy theater curtain, with the audience eager for it to drop and leave the stage. Walking on the path back home, Ishii still felt a bit dazed, trying to recall what had just happened.
Today is Saturday. My former college roommate came to Machida City to visit. After dinner, we walked in Hiyama Park for a while. My roommate soon said he was tired, so I accompanied him back to the hotel. When I returned home, I realized it was only 10:30. I changed clothes and went for a run by the sea. This is my habit. As a programmer, I believe it's important to have a strong physique, so I usually run on weekends.
Even though it was getting dark, there were still many pedestrians, mostly residents of Machida City and Hegawa Village, coming out for some fresh air. The city center is just too hot. The streets are crowded, and even in the park, there's no breeze. The air conditioning units outside are still buzzing and emitting heat, making it sticky to walk on the park paths.
I listened to GREENDAY as I ran. Running twice a week is starting to show results, and now I don't feel tired even after running several kilometers. I kept running until I reached the red vending machine on the seaside terrace, where I finally stopped to buy a bottle of water and leaned against the railing to rest. This is my habit.
He looked at the faint lights on the opposite bank, blowing the sea breeze, feeling a little numb in his legs, and enjoying the comfort brought by the dopamine secretion after exercise. It is now ebb tide, and many rocks are exposed on the beach. Several mice can be seen foraging for small shells and crabs among the rocks. He suddenly felt nauseous, remembering the time when a mouse had entered his residence at night and stolen the bitter gourds kept on the balcony. So he decided to run back and buy some mouse glue.
Suddenly, he saw something between two large rocks in the distance on the left. He squinted for a while, his heart skipped a beat, as if it was a person's arm.
Ishii went down to the beach, carefully jumping from one rock to another. Sure enough, it was an adult's arm, the other end of the arm wrapped in a white shirt, the skin had turned pale from being soaked in seawater for a long time, and the arm was stuck between the rocks, motionless. Ishii shouted, confirmed that there was no response around, and then bent down to look elsewhere.
After reporting to the police, they quickly arrived at the scene, guarded, investigated, asked Ishii a few questions, and took him to the police station to give a statement. After several hours of back and forth questioning about the details, they finally let him go home.
The police officer in charge of taking the statement was named Ito Kenjiro, a very obese middle-aged man. Due to his very high body fat content, even in the air-conditioned interrogation room, fine sweat still oozed from his greasy flesh.
Ito Kenjiro is 37 years old this year and currently holds the position of deputy police chief. He is considered an experienced police officer in the local area, and his investigative style is practical, delving deep into every detail. Due to his frequent immersion in investigations, he is not very talkative in daily life, remains unmarried, and has few friends. Overall, he is not very talkative.
He took out the verified forensic report, put his legs on the desk, slouched in the chair, lit a cigarette, and squinted carefully at the report. The arm was judged to be that of an adult male, with no other limbs found nearby. From the wound on the arm, it was obvious that it was likely cut off directly by a sharp weapon, possibly a knife. The skin appeared bruised with some small wounds, indicating that it was likely scratched by rocks on the shore after dismemberment. The palm was very rough, with several deep scars. There was a clear difference in skin color between the elbow joints, with the upper arm appearing fair and the area below the elbow showing a distinct tan from frequent sun exposure.
Ito shook his head and thought to himself that this person was likely someone who worked by the seaside. However, the urgent task at hand was to clarify two questions: who the person with the severed arm is and whether they are still alive.
Early the next morning, the identity of the arm was quickly determined based on the scattered yacht driver's license on the reef. Ueno To, male, holding an A-level yacht driver's certificate, 42 years old, but looking several years older than his actual age. Through the internal system, it was quickly discovered that this person is an employee of the nearby yacht club and also resides near Machida City.
They immediately contacted his superior.
"Hello, who is this?" The other party seemed to have not yet woken up, and their voice sounded a bit hoarse and somewhat displeased.
"Hello, I am Police Officer Kenjiro Ito from the Machida City Hegawa Village Police Department, badge number 95427. I have a few questions regarding a case and I hope you can cooperate with the investigation."
"Oh, what's this about?" The other person seemed a bit cautious, not sure if there was a problem or if he was being treated as a scammer.
"Do you know Ueno To?"
"Oh, Ueno To, nice to meet you. He's my colleague. What's up?" The other person's tone softened a bit.
"Has he been working at the company recently? I mean, do you know where he is?"
"Huh?" The other person seemed surprised, paused for a moment, and then added, "A few days ago, he had a dispute with a customer, got scolded by the manager, and had his salary deducted. Ueno seemed a bit angry at the time, so he took a few days off and hasn't been seen since."
After some inquiries, Ito went to Ueno's residence based on the employee roster provided by his boss. He lived in a village near the yacht club, not far from the scene of the incident, about a 20-minute walk away.
Ito first knocked on his door, but there was no response. He then called out Ueno's name loudly, but still no answer. As it was approaching noon, the weather was getting warmer, and sweat began to drip from Ito's head. Impatiently, he forcefully opened Ueno's door and walked in.
The room was empty, with a narrow hallway. Upon entering, there was a bed and a wardrobe, with a shoe rack and several air conditioner boxes by the door, probably picked up as there was only a fan in the room. These items filled the entire room, leaving only a one-person-wide aisle. Outside the room was a balcony over a meter wide, with a shelf on the left holding a rice cooker and an induction cooker, and pots and pans underneath. On the right was a toilet. Although the room was small, it was very tidy, indicating that the owner was clean and organized. However, the owner seemed to enjoy drinking, as Ito noticed several empty bottles of alcohol on the bedside.
Ito and another police officer searched every corner of the room and found no unusual items. They did, however, find a bundle of grass tied with a red string on the faucet in the bathroom. Ito, being knowledgeable, identified it as bulrush, which fishermen tie to their boats to ward off evil and seek blessings.
He muttered to himself while looking at the bulrush, "People are like grass, destiny is like water. When the water recedes, the grass by the shore emerges; when the water rises, the grass by the shore is submerged. Sometimes, people are greater than destiny, and sometimes, destiny is greater than people."
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