Episode 1 - Mr. Sasaki (2)

-His name is Akira Sasaki. He is 76 years old.-

I handed the photograph to the police officer.

-He used to be a Kendo teacher, but he lost his dojo in a fire 40 years ago.-

The officer was writing down what I was telling him with little interest.

-What is your relation to mister... um... Sasaki?-

His question startled me. I had always seen him as my grandfather, but we weren't related by blood.

-He took care of me during a rough period of life.-

The words were a discredit to what the man had done for me, but I doubt that the officer would understand if I told him the full story.

-We'll need you to identify the body.-

I didn't expect him to have such a cold tone when speaking to me. Usually, you'd expect an officer of the law to at least try being sympathetic when talking to you about a deceased loved one, but not this guy.

-Yes, of course.-

***

The morgue was exactly what I expected. A sterile room holding the lifeless bodies of tens of people waiting for someone to give them a name and their deaths meaning.

The mortician slowly pulled the body of Mr Sasaki out of the compartment and began removing the cover that was placed over him. As the cover was slowly removed I could see Mr Sasaki's lifeless face.

I looked at him and memories slowly started to make their way back into my mind. How he would stay up all night with me, helping me with my homework, making sure that I got good grades in school. How, during weekends, he would always make time to teach me how to defend myself.

-Is this him?-

I snapped out of it as soon as I heard the officer's question.

-Yes, this is him.-

He started to cover the body back up when it struck me.

-Could I please see where he was stabbed?-

The mortician gave me an annoyed look, but indulged me and showed me the wound. He began explaining what he believed had happened and assured me that they would investigate to find the culprit as soon as possible.

He had a reassuring tone so it was very easy to believe him when he said that. Once everything was explained to me, the officer I came here with put his hand on my shoulder and told me to follow him back to the lobby.

As we were making our way through the halls I caught a glimpse of detective Pierce talking to one of his colleagues.

-Yeah, someone identified him. I'm pretty sure we can just sweep it under the rug now and move on to more important matters.-

I'd really like to say that rage took over my body and my fist started moving on its own to hit him in the face. But I can't. I have to think of my class first and punching a detective is not going to help anyone right now.

It's odd in a way. Seeing him in person you'd believe that he was a reliable person. At least that's what he looked like to me from afar. I can't really explain it, but he just looks like one of those people who take care of things once they put their mind to it. Guess I was wrong.

I slowed my pace down a little, still contemplating whether I should just forget about my class for a moment and act on my impulse. What would happen to me if I assaulted a detective? Would I get arrested and lose my job, or would they let it slide as just someone being upset and overtaken by their emotions?

-Mr Hill, are you alright?-

I didn't notice that I had stopped moving. I took a quick glance around and noticed that Pierce was only half a meter away from me now. He noticed me as well and began slowly extending his arm towards me.

-I'm sorry for your loss. I assure you that we will do anything we can to make sure the person who did this is made responsible.-

At that moment I was truly impressed by the man. Both his tone and expression seemed so earnest that for a moment I almost forgot his previous remark.

-I'm sorry detective, I must have heard wrong. I thought you said you were going to shove it under the rug and focus on more important things.-

In moments like this, I'm really glad that I have my class. If it weren't for them I would have let my anger get the better of me without a second thought.

-I assure you we...-

-Don't bother.-

I didn't want to stick around and listen to his excuses so I continued walking back towards the lobby. Both the detective and the officer who was with me were dumbfounded, but the officer quickly snapped out of it and hurried after me.

***

-Hey Theresa, could you tell the folks at the shelter I won't be able to make it today. Thanks.-

I hung up and put my phone back into my pocket. It took me a while to decide whether I should let the folks at the shelter down, but in the end, it felt justified. After all, the world let me down today, why wouldn't I do the same.

I grabbed my keys and turned on the car, making sure to turn off the radio the moment it went on. The sound of the engine was oddly soothing and I wouldn't want it ruined by anything. It was going to be a long drive after all.

The overpass was in north Edsham and it would take me some good 45 minutes considering the traffic at this time of the day. It's fascinating how much difference a 45-minute drive can make when it comes to Edsham.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the whole city was all modern buildings and skyscrapers since that's the parts of the city where people usually want to be. Most people avoid the north as much as possible since it's widely regarded as a ghetto where only bums and junkies live.

There used to be some real hope for people who lived there a few years ago, back when Antonio D'Argerrio was still alive, but I guess no good thing lasts for long.

It's a real shame that Edsham is the way it is today. As if all we did was take those we thought were a burden or a danger to society and put them in one place so we didn't have to look at them anymore and could go about our daily lives pretending they didn't exist. But they do exist.

***

After driving through several traffic jams, I finally arrived at the overpass. The moment I stepped out of the car a large, African-American woman came to greet me. The same one in my picture.

-Sammy!-

She shouted with joy and quickly ran over to give me a hug, only to stop herself a few seconds before touching me.

-I'm sorry, wouldn't want you to pick up that overpass aroma.-

I quickly flung my arms around her and gripped her as tightly as I could.

-Maria. I'm so sorry.-

CHAPTER END