Those Who Are Not Protected - Chapter 2: Episode 1.1

“Still no progress in finding my husband?”

Misako Jonouchi pressed on over the phone, and the police chief on the other end responded in a polite tone:

“I’m truly truly sorry. Our entire station staff have been making inquiries everywhere, but we haven’t received any eyewitness reports…”

Though the words were courteous, Misako knew full well that the actual investigation wasn’t nearly that thorough. Even if the missing person was a prefectural assemblyman, there was no way the entire police force would be mobilized just to look for him. Only after the discovery of her husband’s corpse would the police begin to take the situation seriously.

“All the officers in our department will do their best to investigate. Madam, please wait for our report.”

From his tone, it was clear that he just wanted to end the conversation quickly. Misako knew that if she continued talking, her anger would explode, so she ended the call early.

Even so, she still felt very upset and angry at the police. She had also heard some officers joking, saying, “He probably just used work as an excuse to stay at his girlfriend’s house.”

A mistress? What a ridiculous joke. She and her husband had been married for over thirty years, and nothing like that had ever happened. Her husband, Jounouchi Takeshi, was an honest and serious man. His coworkers used to mock him, calling him “a one-hole man”. meaning he was too proper. Even Misako, his wife, sometimes thought he was too rigid. If there really was a woman who wanted to be with such a boring man, Misako would like to meet her.

Her husband had gone missing ten days ago—on October 19. After the assembly meeting ended, he left the prefectural council building at 6 p.m. and never came back. At first, Misako thought he might be meeting a supporter, but when she asked his support group, they said there was no such meeting planned. She tried calling his phone, but it went to voicemail and no one answered. The whole night passed like that.

Because of their age, Misako didn’t panic just because he didn’t come home that night. She believed there must be a reason. But by the next evening, she finally reported him missing to the Sendai North Police Department.

Many prefectural assembly members had been involved in scandals, and their conduct made the police slow to take action. Some had used political funds for personal vacations, traveled abroad claiming it was for research, committed sexual harassment, or even worse. So, when a local politician went missing for a few days, people assumed it was just another scandal.

Misako didn’t agree. Her husband was known in the Miyagi Prefectural Assembly for being an old-fashioned and upright man. Even the members who liked drinking and chasing women never invited him to such activities. He was cautiously careful with money and kept himself clean. Other members involved in scandals felt ashamed in front of him. The idea that he would hide because of some disgraceful reason was nothing but a bad joke.

But two or three days passed, and there was still no sign of him. By the fifth day, Misako had no choice but to hire a private detective, but they still found nothing useful.

Then, on the 29th—ten days after his disappearance—the police chief contacted Misako.

“Could you please come to the station right away?”

“Did you find my husband?”

“Yes. But unfortunately, we found his body.”

His body had been found near a forest beside Takamori Mountain Park in Rifu Town, Miyagi District. A farmer named Gomi, who lived in Sendai, found the body and answered Officer Tashino’s questions nervously.

“The battery of the electric fence was low, so I went to the tool shed to change it. When I opened the door, I saw someone tied up inside.”

The tool shed was hidden by trees and couldn’t be seen from outside. Gomi believed the shed was chosen for the crime because it was in such a hidden place, and the sight scared him.

“When was the last time you came to the shed?”

“The harvest started in early October, so… um, the last time I came was the 17th.”

“So, if it wasn’t for changing the battery, you wouldn’t have come to the shed again?”

“That’s right.”

“Who knew when you would finish the harvest?”

“Everyone around here knew. All the local farmers are part of the same farming group. We follow the same schedule.”

That meant anyone watching the area would know whether the shed was being used.

“Did you know it was a dead body right away?”

“Of course. Because of the smell.”

Gomi said these words with an annoyed voice.

“As farmers, we’re very sensitive to the smell of rotten things—like rice—and the smell of a dead body is very different. The moment I entered, I knew the person was dead.”

Tashino glanced behind him. The shed was surrounded by trees, so there was no need to cover it with a blue tarp. Inside the shed, Karasawa was examining the body.

The body was a thin, weak-looking man. As soon as Tashino heard the report, he thought the case might be connected to the Mikumo murder. So, he asked Karasawa to do the autopsy, thinking that if the same killer was involved, Karasawa was the best person to examine the body.

But he never expected the victim to be a prefectural assembly member. When they checked, they saw Misako had already reported him missing on the 21st.

Now that the body had been found nine days after the report, the Sendai North Police Department had lost face. Given that the victim was a sitting council member, they could potentially face accountability. The chief and the senior officers must be panicking now.

“You said the smell of a dead body is different. Have you smelled it before?”

“About five years ago… another body was found in that same shed.”

Gomi looked like he was remembering something unpleasant.

“In the middle of winter, a homeless person went inside and froze to death. I was the one who found him. He had been dead for almost a month. I can’t forget that smell. After that, we locked all the metal sheds for a while…”

“But this time, it wasn’t locked?”

“Because no one had been going in, and there was nothing worth stealing.”

“Did the news report that case?”

“Yes, it was in a small article in the local newspaper. I think the TV news mentioned it too.”

After hearing this, the police realized the suspect list had grown. Anyone who saw that news story would know the shed was a good place to keep someone hidden.

As Gomi left, Hasuda arrived.

“Karasawa seems to be done with the autopsy.”

The body had been moved and placed under a blue tarpaulin tent. As Tashino followed Hasuda into the tent, the sour and rotten smell hit his nose immediately.

Karasawa, who was squatting beside the body, turned his head.

“I heard you were the one who asked for me to do the autopsy?”

“I may have overstepped,” Tashino said, “but I thought if Inspector Karasawa came, you could immediately tell if this case had anything in common with the Mikumo case.”

Karasawa gave a bitter smile at Tashino’s answer.

“Similarities, huh? Even if I wasn’t the one doing the autopsy, the result would’ve been the same. This one also died from hunger and dehydration. After just two cases, I’m now the expert on starvation deaths.”

Tashino squatted next to him and looked at the body. Just like Karasawa said, the muscles were all shrunken, just like in the Mikumo case. There were also marks around the mouth and limbs that showed the person had been tied up.

“The tape has already been removed, but from what I can see, it looks the same as the one used in the first case. It’s likely the same type.”

“When did he die?” Tashino asked.

“We’ll have to wait for the autopsy, but probably around two days ago, on the 27th. Just like before, it was death from weakness caused by hunger. But not drinking water is even deadlier than not eating.”

“Was it done by the same person?”

“The way he was tied and where he was tied are the same. From a medical examiner’s perspective, I can only say it’s very similar.”