The Silence of the Hentai
Plot: Tom Hayes, Sky Rigdon
Execution: M A Davis / Miko
Inspector Haruka of the Nerima Ward looked over the crime scene one more time. He paused to light a cigarette, then puffed at it thoughtfully.
"You been in Nerima long, kid?" he asked, idly.
"No, sir," inspector Kenji replied. "I just transferred in a week ago, sir. I'd heard all of the stories, but I never thought... I mean this is... is _wrong_ sir. It's weird and it's wrong."
Inspector Haruka nodded in silence. He flicked on his tape recorder and spoke into it.
"Suspect is a short, balding male, age unknown but appears to be well over sixty. Suspect was found tied to a lamppost. He appears to have died of suffocation, although the body also appears to have been beaten by various blunt objects...."
"It looks like he was hit by a truck if you ask me, sir," Kenji said. "Maybe several of them."
"I know what it looks like," Haruka said, turning the recorder off for a moment. "Trust me, Kenji, once you've been working Nerima for a while you'll understand. You find people beaten like this all the time, and it's never anything as simple as vehicular hit and run."
"His face," Kenji said. "I've never seen such a look before. Sheer terror, but at the same time, a look of almost pure joy...."
Inspector Haruka took another puff on his cigarette, then stared off into the distance in contemplation.
"We'll want to check the local school," he said. "Furinkhan High. Talk to the students, especially the girls."
"Sir? If you say so, sir."
"Oh, indeed I do," Haruka said. "This case isn't as mysterious as it first appears, Kenji. In fact, think we'll get to the whole truth without too much difficulty...."
Kenji looked back at the victim's body and shuddered.
"Imagine," Kenji said, "having 30 pairs of panties stuffed down your throat. It sounds inhumane!"
"Oh, I don't know," Haruka replied. "If you ask me, he died a happy man...."
FINI