Non-challenge: A Policeman's Tale (Day 28)
Title: A Policeman's Tale (Day 28)
Author: ytak
Word count: 1111
Rating (chapter): T (PG-13)
Rating (whole story): T (PG-13)
Comments: This chapter is a little weird. When I started writing it, it was amusing and then it morphed into some sort of weird combination of humor at parts with some 'eww' thrown in at others.
Other chapters can be read through here or here
Day 28
Takagi sneezed as he stepped out of the car. Chiba threw a worried look his way. “Are you getting sick?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.
Takagi shook his head. “No, but with the amount of paperwork we've gotten since yesterday, I'm considering it,” he said, not too seriously.
Chiba chuckled as they walked over to the uniformed officers and ambulance, stepping around a number of custom motorcycles. “You're right about the paperwork. It's only been a day, no, not even a whole day yet and Inspector Megure looks ready to do anything to get rid of it. Including going hatless!” Takagi chuckled at example of the extremes their chief inspector would be willing to go to make the paperwork go away.
Chiba and Takagi wiped any amusement off their faces as the conversation was forestalled by a uniformed officer jogging up to them. He told them where the witnesses were and what was already known about the scene of the death before leading them into the bar and over to the body.
The two detectives got their just as the body was being prepared to be placed in a body bag. They both had to scrunch their noses up at the smell before they began to talk to the officers who collected the body.
Chiba squatted down and lifted the body, looking to see if there were any obvious causes of death. There was no reason not to be careful. Sometimes, there would be a liquid on the body that would evaporate before it was discovered. That sort of clue might not be necessary to figure a cause of death but it sure helped.
Chiba shook his head at Takagi. “No obvious signs for the cause of death.” He looked a little pale as he stood, slowly, up. Takagi could see a telling spot wet spot forming around the rear region that usually indicated that the muscles of the body had relaxed in death and released excrement and urine. It was not the first time he had seen it and he knew it would not be the last so long as he was exposed to dead bodies.
Takagi stepped back to allow Chiba to get out of the way so the body could be put into the body bag. Chiba raised his eyebrows and nodded to the body and looked around the room. Takagi frowned a moment and realized what Chiba was getting at, the outfit that the deceased wore was not something normally seen around Beika. Then it hit him, the motorcycles and clothing, they were in a biker bar! Or, what passed for one in the greater Tokyo area. He felt like smacking his head for missing that.
Takagi could see Chiba's mind was beginning to drift a little, “Where do you think he got that coat?” Chiba asked Takagi quietly as the jacket in question disappeared into the black body bag as well as the rather short body it was on.
“I don't know,” Takagi said, looking around the bar. “We probably could find out by asking one of his friends here. The styles are similar.” He paused and grinned, “You thinking of buying a leather jacket?”
Chiba snorted, “As if I could afford a jacket like that. It's probably a custom job. It sure looked like one.”
“You're probably right,” Takagi said. The image of him wearing a leather jacket and Sato on one arm flitted through his head. I wonder what Miwako-san would say if I got one? He almost laughed at himself, She would laugh at me, I bet. Probably say it wasn't my thing. But it would be nice to have one.
“Still, it would be nice to have one,” Chiba said, almost as if he heard what Takagi was thinking.
“Yeah,” Takagi said. He looked around the bar the body had been found. There was no direct evidence of foul play. The man, Saitou, had going drinking with his buddies after the night shift and had kept it up for hours.
“I'm going to go talk to the bartender,” Takagi said, getting back to the task at hand. Chiba nodded and said he was going to talk to the officers who were first on the scene. About fifteen minutes passed before they met back up to exchange information.
“It looks like he might have succumbed to alcohol poisoning. The first guys on the scene said everything reeked of alcohol,” Chiba said. “But we'll have to wait for the toxicology reports to know for sure unless you got anything to refute the idea.”
Takagi did not disagree. “What I learned backs that up. The bartender is feeling rather guilty. He couldn't believe how much they drank. Apparently, Saitou-san kept up with his friends, drink for drink, despite his smaller body mass, until he fell asleep.”
“Speaking of asleep,” Takagi said, looking exasperated, “We are going to have to wait until they are all sober to properly question them.” There were four rather large men slumped over a nearby table, snoring away.
The sober voice of the bartender spoke up, “I tried to wake him. When he didn't wake, I called for help.” He looked mournfully at the table the deceased had been seated, “But I've only been a bartender for a few years. Still, he didn't look that far gone and I'm usually pretty good at telling when it is time to cut someone off.”
Takagi and Chiba exchanged a look before they began to subtly question the bartender about his relationship with the deceased.
Later, they thanked the bartender for his time but really felt exasperated. “Bartenders may have the reputation of being good listeners but there is nothing there that says they have to be good at telling stories,” Takagi said, feeling like he had been trying to extract information from a forgetful child. “Still,” he said after a pause, “I don't think he had anything to do with the death.”
Chiba nodded, “Now we just need his friends to wake up. Do you think it would be better to wait until after their hangovers are gone or question them during a hangover.”
Takagi winced, “After. Never question someone when they have a hangover. It can nearly be as bad as someone who is a mean drunk.”
“Oh,okay,” Chiba said, thinking about what Takagi said. "You know what? I was half expecting Mouri-san to be here because its a bar fairly close to his home."
Takagi snorted. "I don't blame you. I heard that he might be out of town at the moment."
"If only we are so lucky...," Chiba said, a prayer in the statement.