Chapter 5 - Prologue 5
For the time being, everyone ate lunch, and in the afternoon, the work of investigating the traces of digging began. Shovels were brought by officers who had remained at the Engaru Station to make up for the shortage, and first, three spots were dug by three people each to investigate all at once. However, although they dug deep into all three spots and investigated thoroughly, nothing came out. At this point, as Komura had pointed out, the possibility that "they didn't dig to bury, but dug up to look for something" became higher.
This was because if they had dug to bury something, the possibility of nothing coming out of three out of six spots would be extremely low. Based on the footprints and other circumstances, there was a high possibility that there was only one person besides the victim—the person who was the true identity of the fireball—so considering the amount of work, it would be quite impossible to go that far just for a decoy.
"It seems Komura was right after all..." Nishida spoke to Komura.
"As I thought, there's a high possibility they dug up one spot after another to look for something they had buried..." Komura also said, wiping away sweat as he thrust his shovel into the ground.
"Which means. Does that mean the possibility of something coming out of the remaining three spots has become low?" The Division Chief voiced his weakness with a look of dismay.
"What do you think about that...? However, what can be said for sure is that this will tell us whether the ghost disappeared after that incident because the police got involved, or because they succeeded in digging up the object of their search, right? On the other hand, if we assume the culprit finally succeeded in digging up the place they had buried before, the possibility of something coming out of this series of dug-up traces would be limited to cases where the ghost could only partially recover the items. Like if they missed something, or if they didn't have time to thoroughly investigate the last hole they dug and had to bury it back immediately because of Yoshimi's incident or accident..." Takeshita replied, and Division Chief Sawai and Nishida also agreed.
For the time being, considering the fatigue of the members who had dug first, they swapped them out to search the remaining three spots, but as expected, nothing came out. In the end, did the ghost succeed in digging a hole and recovering something? Having ended in a fruitless effort, the field investigation team slumped onto the ground and remained silent for a while.
"Actually, it would be good if it turns out they weren't looking for anything major," Kurosu said as if it were someone else's business.
"No, they were acting in a way to stay hidden in a place like this in the middle of the night, so it must be something that would be bad if found!" The Division Chief unusually raised his voice, perhaps his long-time detective's intuition was acting up. Then he immediately continued calmly.
"Anyway, what can be said for sure is that the ghost either succeeded in some kind of recovery, or..."
"Or, though the possibility is extremely low, something is buried in a place that hasn't been dug up yet." Nishida unconsciously finished the Division Chief's sentence.
"Exactly." The Division Chief glanced at Nishida and nodded slightly but firmly.
That said, it was a fact that they had checked all the traces that "he" seemed to have dug and nothing had come out. For about five minutes after that, while the three—the Division Chief, Nishida, and Takeshita—were discussing what to do next, Ooba suddenly raised his voice.
"Please look at this!"
"What is it, Ooba?" Takeshita asked.
"I think there's a slight commonality between the six spots we just dug," he replied. Hearing that, the members other than Ooba focused their intense gazes on him all at once, even more than when he had shouted. Ooba looked bewildered by that, but as if determined, he pointed to each of the six spots and pointed out,
"At every location, there's a white birch tree that's thicker than the others, right?"
Indeed, although white birch trees were scattered about, the base of the thick white birch trees and the six holes matched.
"And so, there's one more particularly thick white birch tree a little further ahead. If they were digging based on the thick white birches as a guide, that place hasn't been investigated yet. Of course, I can't deny the possibility that they've already recovered the object of their search."
The place Ooba newly pointed to indeed had a white birch with a trunk even thicker than the others. Because there were several trees of different types around it, it was in a place that was somewhat difficult to see compared to the other thick white birches, but it was certainly thicker than the six so far. For some reason, the other trees around that white birch also seemed thick. And that place was where Nishida had confirmed earlier that there were no traces of having been dug.
"I checked there earlier, and there were no traces of digging. Which means, if Ooba's reading is correct, it hasn't been dug at all yet," Nishida said with a hint of excitement.
"This might mean we've been given a last chance," the Division Chief said with a hint of excitement, then gave a shout of encouragement.
"Hey, you guys, alright, everyone dig!"
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The investigators, having regained their morale, dug more than 50 centimeters in a few minutes under the Division Chief's instructions, but there was no sign of anything particularly coming out. As expected, if this place was also no good, they would hit the reality of the limit of their physical strength, and at the moment everyone was about to give up, Kurosu's shovel stopped unnaturally.
Then, he lightly and quickly threw his shovel behind him and brushed away the dirt with his gloved hands in silence. Seeing the movement of having clearly found something, the other investigators who were digging together also stopped and continued to stare at Kurosu's movements. That silence continued for about ten seconds.
"It was here. I think it's safe to conclude that this is what they wanted to find, and they couldn't recover it," Kurosu leaked quietly but triumphantly.
There, a part of an arch-shaped bone, believed to be a rib, was exposed. The Division Chief also became excited for a moment, but since it wasn't clear at this point whether it was human, he tried to remain calm and instructed,
"Carefully dig everything out and confirm!"
The investigators who had stopped resumed digging carefully, centered around forensics, and as soon as a human skull came out,
"Oh!" a voice rose from somewhere. From there, the work proceeded smoothly, and a full human skeleton appeared. Without being instructed by anyone, Nishida and the other investigators looked at it and folded their hands in silent prayer.
"There's a depression that looks like it was made by a sharp object on the head. It's definitely a fatal wound," Forensics Shunin Matsuzawa spoke to the Division Chief and Nishida. As even an amateur could tell, there was a hole made by a small depression on the top of the skull.
"A pickaxe or something?"
"Without a doubt," Matsuzawa replied immediately to Nishida's question.
"I think it's been several years since it was buried. Since I can't say it's completely skeletonized, it's probably about three to five years," he added.
"Three to five years according to Matsuzawa's estimate... But why did they come looking for it now?" Takeshita said quietly beside him.
At the point where the cause of death became almost clear, it was confirmed that it had developed from a ghost and fireball commotion into a murder case, not just body abandonment. And whether Yoshimi's death was an accident or a crime, including the fact that the camera was gone, it seemed certain that a murder case from several years ago was involved.
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It took ten minutes from there to completely dig out the body. After investigating for another hour to see if there were any other abandoned items, they carefully placed the body, which had become almost all bone, on a plastic sheet. Perhaps because the culprit had taken them, there was no wearing or discovery of clothing, but since there were treatment marks on the teeth of the skull, Nishida thought the probability of identifying who the victim was wouldn't be low if a missing person's report had been filed.
It was already starting to get a bit dark in the dense forest of Jomon as it became shaded, but the investigators were energized by the magnitude of what they had "gained," especially since they had been prepared for a fruitless effort at one point. It might have been an irreverent attitude at the point of the discovery of a murder case, but for a detective, the investigation of a murder case was a different sensation from a general one, so it couldn't be helped. And it was also an undeniable fact that catching the culprit would be the best way to mourn the deceased.
After taking a break for about 30 minutes on the spot at the Division Chief's discretion, they were to return to the Engaru Station with the body, but during the break, Matsuzawa and Miura from forensics were carefully examining the body. Seeing that, the other investigators couldn't very well relax on their own and stood watching their work. In the midst of that, Komura said,
"Even so, why didn't 'he' notice the thickest tree? Did he run out of time?" he said as if to himself. Takeshita, who was listening beside him, said,
"That's a possibility, but look, there are several other thick deciduous trees next to it, right? And the white birch might have overlapped, so he might not have noticed the thickness. Especially if he was acting in complete darkness to avoid being seen, he wouldn't have known well no matter how much he lit it up." He presented one theory. On top of that,
"However, since he likely couldn't find it, did he give up on recovering the body, or did he no longer need to recover it...? Probability-wise, he likely tried to take a break for a while, considering that the police would get involved due to Yoshimi's death. But it means we found it first." He spoke while thinking deeply.
At this time of day, as Takeshita mentioned, various things become difficult to see in the forest. And as if waiting for Takeshita to finish speaking, Matsuzawa began to speak calmly while moving his hands.
"The reason why the trees around this white birch are unusually thick despite not getting much sun is that as the body decayed and decomposed, it was supplied as nutrients into the soil, and that's influencing it. Well, I feel bad for the deceased, but they've become fertilizer."
"Hmm, I see." Hearing that, the Division Chief groaned while looking around.
The body was a male based on the shape of the pelvis, about 165 centimeters tall and relatively small, and it was told to the members of the Criminal Investigation Division by the forensics team, who had investigated thoroughly, that there seemed to be traces of a fracture below the left knee. Because the entire skeleton remained intact, quite powerful information was becoming clear on the spot, but more various things should become clear with further detailed verification through scientific investigation.
Since they had already contacted the station about the discovery of the body, before the establishment of the investigation headquarters, the forensics unit from the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Kitami Area HQ, who are more elite than the local forensics, would likely be dispatched. Beyond that, the Scientific Investigation Laboratory (Kasoken) of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police HQ might get involved depending on the situation.
After finishing their temporary break, the footsteps of Nishida and the others as they returned along the darkened path to the place where the cars were parked with the body and the newly found abandoned items were rather light, perhaps due to a pleasant fatigue. The time it took to return to the Engaru Station by car also felt faster than the way there, which must have been the same impression not only for Nishida but also for the other members of the Engaru Station.