Riddled with fear the four boys could only look on in pure shock at the horrifying sight in front of them. There was no doubting from anyone that these corpses belonged to the missing girls from the reports over the past few months. The uniforms, the number of bodies and their genders. It all connected for the group. Aoi pulled out his Nokia cellphone but noticed there was no signal. He sighed in disappointment. Daiki just backed away slowly, bumping into the lectern. Kaito and Senji looked at each other. Senji had seen Kaito's more vulnerable side when he opened up to him during their time at the park days ago. But he never thought he would see genuine fear showing from the hardy punk.
"W-We really just stumbled upon t-this massive discovery..." Senji said, his voice shaky.
"I... I have so many questions. Why were they killed? How did they end up here? And why is it only girls who ended up as victims...? This mystery deepens. Senji. Aoi. Daiki. We need to go. We need to report to the police about this." Kaito stated. The three of them all nodded in agreement. "Shit... I can't imagine how this will affect the parents of these girls..."
Senji left the trapdoor open. The four regrouped after a few minutes of reeling from the initial shock.
"Fuck man..." Daiki shuttered. Aoi didn't have any words to say.
Each of them collected their thoughts, taking a moment to calm down. Once ready to leave, the four boys made their way for the doors. They remained silent not uttering a single word on their way outside. They didn't even look back at the decrepit structure. Kaito just led them back down the rugged trail that lead them here. Fear and uncertainty crept through their minds while they traversed through the woods back to where their bikes sat locked onto the sign.
At the Nakamura police station, Katashi sat in the break room with a cup of coffee in his hands. He was browsing through the notes he had taken during his and Isamu's discussions with the grief-stricken parents of the missing students. Isamu was standing over by the table with a coffee machine and microwave on top. A vending machine stood next to it. He was talking with a couple of other officers regarding what he had heard from the parents he and Katashi spoke to alongside their investigation of the park that led in a dead end.
"If I were you I'd check the woods outside town maybe? Or maybe poke your nose in any of the empty homes or shops in town? I don't know. Anywhere that's likely for people to hide stuff in or hideout in themselves. Somebody is responsible for all of this I'm sure. Would be even worse if there's more then one suspect..." The older balding officer said.
"I just can't help but feel sympathy for those poor parents. By the grace of God above I do hope you and that detective figure this out." The other officer with the black buzzed cut added.
Isamu sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. He felt lost but kept the balding officer's words in mind.
"We will I'm sure of it. His reputation speaks for itself. I'll take your suggestions into consideration. Abandoned buildings and homes are all also possible locations to investigate. We'll search every square inch of this town if we have to."
The radios attached to the officer's belts started to buzz with a female voice speaking;
"Attention nearby units. We have a reported domestic dispute coming from the second floor apartments near the bakery. Caller is requesting immediate response, over."
"Well looks like we better get a move on. See you around Isamu." The balding officer said before he and the other officer left the break room in a hurry.
Isamu waved them off then went over to join Katashi at the table. Katashi closed his notepad, placing it into his shirt pocket. He looked up at Isamu.
"Well? Any ideas where we should investigate next? Besides the woods I'm sure there are other possible locations in town worth looking over. Every town has nooks and crannies hidden away from the public eye." Katashi said.
"There are some abandoned buildings here in town. But, I feel any empty houses in the suburbs should be considered too. There's not too many but they're still standing. Either waiting to be sold to new homeowners or condemned and awaiting demolition from the city or complete renovation to be placed back on the market." Isamu explained. "I'm willing to bet those homes may be worth our time more so then the buildings in town."
"Very well. Guess we're once again taking a round trip through the suburbs. Can you gain access to those old homes' keys by chance?"
'Hmm that would take too much time. Nakamura has a few different real estate agents all working under a single agency. I'm an officer so I can speak to the chief to get the search warrants necessary to enter the empty homes for the purpose of our investigation. Should we find anything only then will the real estate agency be contacted personally."
"I see. Enough dawdling around now. Let us depart."
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Katashi downed the rest of his coffee. Isamu would take his with him as the two headed out to continue their mission.
A woman in a blue dress suit with long dark auburn brown hair done up in a ponytail sat at the front counter of the police station's main lobby reading a fashion magazine. Soft jazz played through the lobby speakers for ambience. The front double doors opened up. She glanced up to see four distraught boys with pale expressions enter the building and approach the counter. She set the magazine down to place her attention on them. It was an unusual sight even for her.
"Um, hello? Can I help you all?" The woman asked in a polite manner.
Kaito looked at the woman. Senji, Aoi and Daiki all kept their heads low looking at the clean black-tiled floors.
"Yes you can." Kaito said.
He went on to explain what their group had uncovered inside the old church deep within the woods. From their finding of the church to pulling the trapdoor open and discovering the bloodied corpses of six teenage girls wearing the Nakamura High School uniforms. The woman's eyes grew wider and wider, her jaw dropping at Kaito's in-depth description of the discovery, the conditions of the bodies and even the church itself and how strange it was being there hidden away in the woods. She grabbed the landline phone on her desk and dialed a number, bringing the phone up to her face.
"H-hello? Chief? You need to come down to the lobby at once. Don't ask why just get down here please." She spoke, slamming the phone down. "Just wait here a moment please children."
Less then a minute passed before a portly man with an officer's cap on entered the lobby. The badge on his uniform was unique from the others with a special 'Chief of Police' engraving on it. He approached the four boys and the woman behind the desk. All four of the boys looked up at him. He was quite intimidating from his size alone but had a friendly face. He hiked up his pants, adjusting his belt then placing his hands on his hips to signify his authority.
"Hello there children. Madam. So, what was I called down here for? Care to explain?" The chief asked in a softened but serious tone.
The woman just pointed at the boys. Kaito took a deep breath and explained what he had just told the woman at the front counter. To say the chief was flabbergasted would be an understatement. He was absolutely horrified yet fascinated at what he was just told by this rebellious-looking teenager. This new information was crucial to the investigation but with the dreary revelation, the news would impact the townsfolk of Nakamura as a whole.
"Well shit. I was not expecting such a... A grave report such as this. I need to contact that detective at once. Oh this... This will be devastating to the community..." The chief's only mustered response. He took his cell phone out to contact Katashi. "Hey it's me. Where are you? Okay. Stop what you're doing and head back to the station with Isamu right away. We have uncovered new information regarding the missing children's case. You heard me detective now get back here."
Katashi upon hearing the news, immediately demanded that he be taken to the site where the bodies were located. Isamu and the chief also decided to join on this trip towards the woods outside town. Kaito and Senji rode in the back of Katashi's car while the chief followed along behind them. Aoi and Daiki stayed behind at the station, not wanting to revisit the church anytime soon and said they would wait for their friends to return. Kaito felt uncomfortable, remaining silent the entire time with his arms crossed. Senji, while normally would be thrilled to be tagging along for an investigation with a renowned detective, felt a pain his stomach and growing anxiety. He and Kaito quietly exchanged glances upon arriving at the sign near the concealed trail.
Everyone exited the vehicles. Kaito faced the adults with unease. Senji was by his side, resting a hand on his shoulder, nodding to encourage him. He let out a deep sigh.
"Well kid? You said this is where we start. By all means, lead the way. I'm having a smoke in the meantime." Katashi murmured, lighting up a cigarette.
Katashi pointed in the direction where the trail led and started walking without saying a word. Senji followed right behind. The rest of the group trailed along. Brushing past the foliage, trudging through the dirt and rocks, the adults found themselves in awe upon reaching the decrepit church even after having noticed it in the distance prior to arrival. A haunting sight to behold. A place the boys didn't wish to return to but here they were. Kaito continued on into the church. For the first time since leaving the station, he finally spoke;
"Up there. Past the lectern. In that pit where the trapdoor remains open." He told the adults.
Katashi followed by Isamu and the chief one-by-one ascended the steps then over to the pit. With flashlight in hand, Isamu flicked it on to aim it down in the pit. The grisly scene had all three of them in a state of disbelief. Even the hardened Katashi showed genuine surprise. The chief was scratching his head, feeling his stomach churn at the horrific sight of seeing murdered teenagers. Katashi took out his portable camera to snap photos. Isamu felt sick to his stomach, examining the marks on the bodies.
"Six victims. All teenage girls. All wearing the uniforms of the town's high school. Each body seems to have been inflicted with bloodied wounds, meaning they were definitely killed. Fuck... I was not expecting this in the slightest. This changes everything now..." Katashi muttered gritting his teeth. "... Our missing person's case has become a serial murder case."
"My worst fear regarding this mystery has come true after all..." Isamu shuddered.
"So chief... What should we do about this? Do we come clean to the public about the bodies? The reaction won't be pleasant I can assure you of that. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted this under wraps for now but you will still need to get these bodies transported out of here. This is now a crime scene. And from what the boys told us, they found nothing else in here. But now we have a serial murderer on the loose. I do have a theory though... Whoever is behind this has been disposing of their victims here. My suggestion would be to set up a stakeout operation near the trail's entrance. With all the patrols going on, if we're lucky, nobody else will get killed and maybe we can catch the culprit should they return here for whatever reason. Either we uncover the suspect, or our thorough investigation halts this spree of killings and the case goes cold..."
The chief had to think for a moment. Everything Katashi said and suggested he agreed with. Kaito and Senji remained silent, patiently waiting to leave the church and head back into town.
"We'll take your suggestion detective. Get the bodies transported out of here to the coroner, set up a stakeout, and keep the discovery from the public for now." He stated boldly. "We've solved one part of this mystery. But this is far from over..."