Namahage Brutus (3)

"Hey ghost, hasn't it long past the time that molester was supposed to be killed?" Reiju whispered.

"Yeah, he was supposed to be killed in the garden nearly 15 minutes ago. Though the weird thing about my vision was the fact that he was calm up until he got stabbed. It was like he didn't seem to fear the namahage until he was suddenly stabbed," Shiruka stated.

"So it's possible he's in cahoots with the namahage?"

"Possibly. It would explain why he didn't kill him. Even though I lost him after he ran past the park, I'm pretty sure he took the exact same route we took to get here. At his inhuman speed, he should have at least been able to make it before us. On our way over I hopped off the car and took some shortcuts and was able to get here nearly 5 minutes faster than you. Therefore, it's fair to assume that guy could easily get here 10-15 minutes faster than us."

"I wonder if that has something to do with this murder."

"Looks like it was a yellow colored smokeball that caused the panic. Though the real problem is how he died. Office Oota was stabbed to death from the front, but the problem is the knife is glued to the door Urara kicked in on him," Kaemi stated.

"Like hell I murdered him! The hell are you trying to suggest Kaemi!?" Urara snarled.

"I wasn't suggesting anything you dumb gorilla."

"I'll beat the shit outta you for that!"

"Why is everyone so on edge?" Chika groaned.

"You two wouldn't know, but the B-station out here has a pretty bad rep. Urara's also got a grudge against Kaemi for getting transferred to B-station. Apparently she wanted to be a forensics officer but was too dumb-UGH!?"

Urara slugged Fumiyo in the gut before she could finish.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk about others behind their backs? Well, guess a freak like you was too busy lusting over her to learn any life lessons," Urara snarled.

"As for you two, are you relatives or acquaintances of the molester?" Urara asked Reiju and Chika.

"Nope, we're here to catch the Namahage," Reiju replied.

"Ugh, you really were civilians? I thought that old goat was just letting his hubris talk."

"How do you know we aren't detectives?"

"Your muscles. You two are no where near the physical condition a detective should be in. I'm in charge of physical training at the station so I can tell these things."

"Pretty poor reasoning. Some detectives are more brain than brawn."

"You picking a fight with me?"

"I can see why you were turned down by forensics."

"Hey Reiju, take a look at this," Chika said as she flashed her camera.

Reiju watched the video of the namahage encounter in the mansion as well as the murder from earlier.

"The one we saw really was a different person. The mask and costume are different, plus Namahage Brutus has a bigger body frame than the one we saw. But that's not all, listen to that creepo perv," Chika stated.

Chika replayed the portion of the video in question.

"Doesn't it kind of sound like he DOESN'T want us to search around?"

"Yeah, he also wouldn't let go of Kintaro until his libido got the better of him and he got faceplanted by Urara," Reiju said.

"What are you two murmuring about?" Urara growled.

"We're trying to solve the case."

"Please, you two are just two idiots playing detective. I on the other hand am a seasoned veteran and already have an idea who did it."

"Really? Who?"

"Classified."

"I bet we'll solve this case before you."

"Bet? You two aint old enough to legally gamble."

"How bout loser shaves their head? I'll even make it non-binding as an act of mercy."

"You smug little shit. Alright, knock yourself out. Just don't get in my way, but you damn well bet I'm holding you two to that losing condition."

"REIJU! Why am I getting roped into this!? If we lose, I can't just chug a gallon of milk to get my hair back like you can!" Chika cried.

"Relax, I myself have a better idea of who killed the officer. I just don't know the why. Though there is something else I wanna see on your camera. You too ghost, did you catch what went on up close in the bathroom?" Reiju asked.

"In my vision, I saw a silhouetted figure  collapsing to the floor on their back. Now I can see the figure was indeed Oota. Though while everyone was away, I saw the namahage we saw in here earlier come around the corner and enter the bathroom. It stabbed Oota then fiddled with the door for a few minutes before placing it back over Oota and leaving. I saw him shed his costume in a big room that borders the hall, but they were silhouetted. They then exited the room from a different door and mixed in with the other officers. As for the room, it appears it can only be accessed from secret doors. Luckily, I saw both of them," Shiruka stated.

"So that lookalike is actually an officer, and the room's connected? Chika, show me the footage of..."

                                                                                ...

"Hey Kaemi!" Urara shouted.

"What is it? I'm trying to investigate," Kaemi growled.

"I'm the forensics queen in this jurisdiction, so move over."

"You aren't even wearing gloves."

"They make my hands sweaty."

"This is why you're more suited for patrol rather than forensics."

"Um, I'm smarter than you. I even know who did it! It was ---."

"Really now?" Kaemi unassumingly glared.

"Yeah. I'm gonna prove HQ wrong! Then I'll be transferred back and put on the forensics team!"

"And you just said a moment ago- forget it."

As Urara proudly marched away, Kintaro came to look.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"Quite a bit. Turns out there was a nice little mechanism that took care of everything. Everything except killing the victim. The knife was securely glued to the door, but the glue was a fast hardening type. I can tell it was put on after due to the lack of bloodstains. I guess they were poorly attempting to make it look like the door was kicked down," Kaemi stated.

"In that case, I think we've got a clear picture of who did this, but the big question is why. You two know a possible motive?" Reiju asked as she walked by.

"If I had to guess, perhaps it's related to the murder of the aide. Iishi was there back then along with a few other officers. Namura, Harada, and a few other familiar names popped up," Kintaro explained.

"Come to think of it, where did Namura go? I haven't seen him since he left with the molester to go to the bathroom."

"What do you mean? That couldn't have been Namura. Namura's over 2 m tall is bald and has a black goatee."

"Interesting. What date was the molester's aide killed on?"

"He disappeared on July 31st 2005."

"Then I think I've solved every mystery, and I mean EVERY mystery we've encountered today. Gather everyone in the main room, but first come with me to the room over here..."

                                                                              ...

Everyone gathered in the main room.

"So how much longer are you pigs gonna stay here? The women can stay though," Kawabozu said.

"I'm hauling your ass in!" Urara glared.

"What for? Bumping into your squishy ass?"

"You bet I am! Murder as well!"

Kawabozu raised an eyebrow as Urara began her demonstration.

"While the molester was on the ground, he activated a trap that killed Oota in the bathroom. Then when were distracted by the trap, he destroyed the evidence. And that is how he killed Oota," Urara proudly huffed.

"Yeah, I think I lost brain cells hearing that crap. Now how about I restore everyone's by telling everyone what really happened," Reiju growled.