💯 STORY CHALLENGE
Tokyo Blue Nights | Part 1
#22 of 💯
The phone of Chief Inspector Suwabe Junichi started vibrating. It was 4:03 a.m. Squarely in the middle of the Wolf Hour. Less than two hours earlier he managed to fall asleep after drinking himself to a stupor.
“Moshi… moshi?” “Good morning bosu. Sorry for waking you up but we have a… situation. Can you come to Ikebukuro? It is… quite messy.” “How many bodies?” “We are still unsure bosu.”
“Ι’m on my way, text me the address.” “There is no need bosu, the crime scene is the observation deck of Sunshine 60.” “Kudaranai! The press will be unleashed on our ass like locusts! I’ll be there in 10…” he said, then smelled the sake on him “…make that 20. Seal the crime scene and all that.”
“We sealed the skyscraper bosu. No-one can enter or exit unless we vet them.” “Good. See you soon.”
Twenty years in homicide at various ranks had taken their toll on Suwabe Jinichi. After becoming Chief Inspector he could have stayed at his office, coordinating from afar. But that was not his style, despite having a team of very capable inspectors that he personally picked.
He had a quick shower, took two caffeine pills, quickly brushed his teeth, sprayed some peppermint in his mouth to mask the sake scent and put on a fresh costume set. In 19 minutes he was parking his car at the underground garage of Sunshine 60.
Inspector Mamoru Oshii, the one who called him, was waiting for him. “Good morning Mamoru-san. Please give me a brief report as we walk to the crime scene.” “Good morning bosu. Forensics just arrived and are sorting out the mess. The night guard found them and called us. A middle-aged man called Nozomu Sasaki. We already vetted him, he is clean. But he’ll need… psychological support.”
“Thank you. Why are you unsure about the number of victims?” “Because… plenty of body parts are missing. Like I said bosu, it’s messy. It’s a bloodbath up there. A young police officer puked his guts out after taking a look. Don’t worry, he did not contaminate the scene, he ran and unloaded over the railings. He knew you would sushi up his ass otherwise.”
“The idi… no, we’ve all been through that Mamoru-san. I think when you look at messed up bodies and do not break a sweat it is worse.” “Hai bosu.”
They entered the elevator, which took them to the 60th floor in less than half a minute. What Chief Inspector Suwabe Junichi saw next was not a mere crime scene but the stuff nightmares are made of. It was like a mix & match consisting of the ‘best of’ all the crime scenes of his career.
The most gruesome demons that haunted his thoughts and dreams laid out all at once. It was as if the killer was sending him a message. Sensing the gravity of Mamoru Oshii’s words he took a vomit bag just in case.
“I just… need a moment. I’ll be right back Mamoru-san.” “Hai bosu.”
Suwabe re-entered the building, turned a corner where no-one could see him and unloaded his stomach’s content in the vomit bag.
A new flash fiction series by Nikolaos Skordilis, motivated by this writing prompt and written as part of the 💯 Story Challenge, both conjured by Zane Dickens. All my 💯 Story Challenge shorts:
