Ressha no Anchisukiru no Hanashi (The Train Guard's Story)

Note 3: To save on repetition, anything said with square brackets will be translated by Alan Ticket. For example: '"[Hello]" Daniel said.' In this case, Alan will say "Kon'nichiwa" to the person Daniel is conversing with. Another example is: '"[(Hello.)]" Stated the young boy.' In this case a young boy said "kon'nichiwa" and Alan translated it to "hello."

Sendai station, Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, 1:51 P.M

Daniel looked at the station, there were signs in English and Japanese. "[Is this Sendai station?]" Daniel inquired.

"[(Yes, it is.)]" Daisuke replied.

"[According to this report,]" Daniel stated with documents on his lap that the sergeant had passed him earlier. "[The train was heading northward. They turned the train in question back?]"

"[(Yes, that's right.)]" Daisuke responded. "[(There is a depot in Morioko, but that is a two-hour drive and not in our Jurisdiction.)]"

Daniel nodded.

"I guess the train didn't get far before the murder occurred." Cynthia noted.

"[When did the incident occur?]" Daniel asked.

"[(Around 7:00 P.M)]" Daisuke answered.

"[Trains run that late?]" Dan replied.

"[(Yes.)]" Daisuke noted.

"[Any witnesses?]" Dan inquired.

"[(No, the carriage the murder occurred in, carriage three, was abnormally empty.)]"

Daniel nodded. "[I see. Will you be coming with us, into the train?]"

Daisuke shook his head politely. "[(No, I have other things to do, there are others upon the train to assist you in this matter.)]"

Daniel, Cindy and Alan exited the policeman's car.

"[(Farewell foreign detective.)]" Daisuke announced.

"(Farewell to you too, Daisuke.)" Daniel stated, and Daisuke drove away. Daniel and his friends were a little befuddled, all but Alan of course. Alan led the way for the most part until they bumped into a transit officer. The transit officer bowed to them and Daniel and company returned the bow.

"(This is detective Daniel Smith of the Everleason police department, he was hired as a private investigator on behalf of Kinkawa co.)" Alan explained.

The officer nodded. "(This way.)" He stated and Daniel and company followed him.

They soon arrived at the train in question and made their way to the carriage where the crime was committed.

"I know that look." Stated a female voice with a slight Italian accent. "You are foreigners, no?" The owner of the voice sashayed toward the trio. "All except the man whose hair looks like it was in a typhoon."

"I'm sorry, we haven't met before, I'm Daniel Smith, the ones beside me are Alan Ticket and Cynthia Rodgers." Daniel proclaimed.

"Maria Bernardi, I'm with the Sendai police department." The lady announced. "I was already aware you were coming, Daisuke informed us of you and your friends coming."

"So, the victim landed here?" Daniel stated with his hand floating above the tape on the floor.

"I see you have already learnt not to point. Yes, the body was found there." Maria announced.

"This looks like the middle of the train." Daniel noted.

"It is almost the exact middle." Maria announced. "The killer was about…" Maria moved. "Here." She stomped her left foot for emphasis.

"Did you find the murder weapon?" Dan asked.

"It was under the seat the victim was last seen sitting in. The killer must have headed in the carriage south of this carriage." Maria noted.

"Why head to carriage four? Why not head to carriage two?" Daniel asked.

"The guard was in carriage two. The witnesses in carriage four didn't see much, so none of them have identified our killer." Maria.

"None of them? One of them must have saw something." Daniel stated.

Maria shook her head. "They saw the guard shortly after the bullet was fired, but they didn't see anything else."

"Then the killer must have still been in this carriage, to the north." Daniel replied.

"But the gun was found south of the body."

"Did the guard see it?" Daniel asked.

Maria looked like she was starting to realize something. "Hey, you might be right, the gun was easily spotted when the guard returned to the carriage, but he didn't see it before."

"I thought so. The killer must have been at the front of this carriage after committing the crime, then after the guard went through this carriage, looking for them, the killer placed the gun under the victim's seat to make us believe he went into carriage four and then he went back into carriage two just before the guard blocked of the scene."

"That is absolutely brilliant!" Maria and Cynthia announced simultaneously.

Daniel shrugged. "It's just something that came to me."

"Oh, don't be so modest Signor Smith." Maria stated. "We have some of the finest officers here, and none of them thought of that possibility."

Cynthia scribbled away at her books. "You know I shouldn't have been jealous." Cindy proclaimed. "When Michelle heard about this, she will be the jealous one."

"Are you sure that you are the Cascoss' police commissioner's daughter?"

"I am definitely their daughter." She giggled.

"Their?" Maria noted.

"People outside of the police departments across Cascoss are not allowed to be aware of any information about my parent." Cynthia elaborated. "A lot of people apply to police stations across Cascoss just to get a crack at trying to determine their identity. But Daniel joined the EPD for a different reason, right Daniel?"

"That's right. I joined to help those in need. I don't care if I ever get any more information about the police commissioner other than the fact that Cynthia here is their daughter and their last name." Daniel explained. "What was the victim's name?" Dan asked.

"Ezume Watanabe. He was married and his wife has already been informed of his passing." Maria elaborated.

"So, may I see the murder weapon?" Dan asked.

"Oh, of course, (can we get the murder weapon here?)" Maria asked, her Japanese accent wasn't half-bad.

A male officer presented the gun to her and he bowed and she bowed in return.

"This is it?" Dan asked.

"It sure is." Maria replied.

"Are you currently checking the registration?" Daniel stated.

"Yes, but the results do take a bit, this isn't Rhombodian, where you can expect results with the snap of a finger." Maria added.

"I think that would be rather pointless." Cindy proclaimed.

"Why is that, Cynthia?" Maria asked.

"Actually, you can call me CD. The reason I believe checking the registration is pointless is because that gun came from Darkrun." Cindy proclaimed.

"How can you tell Cindy?" Dan asked.

"The engraving on the side. The first four characters are c-137, the post code of Darkrun is 112137." Cynthia explained.

Daniel looked at the engraving. "C-137-25567891. You're right, this is a Darkrun gun."

"I learned about it in weapon recognition class." Cynthia explained.

"Oh, I graduated before even getting a chance to take that class." Daniel admitted as if it was natural to admit that fact.

"No wonder why you didn't notice it immediately." Cindy proclaimed.

"Were there any fingerprints on the gun?" Dan inquired.

Maria shook her head. "Not a single one."

"How about the bullets? They always forget about the bullets." Daniel proclaimed.

Cynthia cleared her throat. "I'm afraid not Daniel. The gun would have been sold already loaded."

"How so, CD?" Maria inquired.

"The teacher of the weapon's recognition class taught us that if the serial code ends in a 1, then the person selling the gun has to sell it preloaded. A 0 at the end means that the gun is sold with no bullets in it." Cynthia explained.

"She's right. It's in the Rhombodian Gun Practices book." Daniel stated. "Are you sure you don't want to take over Cindy?"

"No, Daniel. You're doing perfect, I mean not even I thought the guy who did it actually went north and not south." Cynthia laughed.

"So that means if there are any fingerprints on the bullets, then they would belong to the seller of the gun." Maria noted.

"Well, if there are fingerprints then the killer didn't buy the gun from Darkrun but a second-hand seller here in Japan who obtained that gun from Darkrun." Cynthia elaborated.

"That's right. The people of Darkrun are very particular about not leaving traces of themselves on the weapons they sell." Daniel stated.

"You know, for officers of the law, you sure do know about a place where lawlessness runs wild." Maria noted with a suspecting tone.

"Well, it's because Darkrun is such a bad place that we have to keep on our toes about the goings-ons in there." Daniel elaborated.

"Well, we'll check the bullets and see if there's any prints." Maria announced, she handed the gun to the man who presented it to her and bowed, he bowed and is dashed away.

"So, now what?" Cindy inquired.

"Can we speak with the guard?" Daniel asked.

"Can you? Are you good with Japanese?" Maria asked.

"I'm afraid not." Daniel stated honestly.

"Do you need an Auditorium? Aimi Fuse is one, she can help." Maria announced.

"Oh, thank you, but I already have a translator." Daniel stated.

"You know what the Auditorium ability does Daniel?" Cynthia stated with shock.

"David and Damien, both remind me to look through the list of powers so I don't forget. Yes, Auditoriums have the power to manipulate sound, including translating spoken languages." Daniel explained.

"Oh." Cindy noted with a tone of belief. "You read the list of powers. I'll never question your knowledge of powers again."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have to learn as much as I can to do the job, don't I?" Dan elaborated.

Cynthia giggled. "Of course, Daniel. Sorry to have doubted you. You are brilliant after all."

"Anyway, we should proceed with our investigation." Daniel finally spoke. "Let's go see the train guard."

"He's this way." Maria announced and led the trio all the way to the transit officer office. Maria knocked on the door and the lady behind the door unlocked it and allowed them to enter, the lady bowed and each one entered and bowed in response to her bow.

The guard Fudoki Furutani was sobbing in the corner, he was wearing a face mask and his hat had fallen of his head and was now upturned on his lap.

"[(He's been like that all day.)]" Riku Hirabayashi, Fudoki's colleague, stated. He then noticed Daniel's hat. "No! Is this my lucky day?" Riku squealed with excitement. "You are Daniel Smith, right?"

"Yes, I am, I didn't know you spoke English." Dan noted.

"Of course, I do. We have been having an influx of tourists on the rails, so knowing English is starting to become mandatory." Riku explained. "You are not a fake, are you?"

"No, I'm the real Daniel Smith." Daniel proclaimed. Daniel presented his FORMAL badge. "See?"

Riku took it and he took a micro-usb cable from his drawer and connected the badge to the computer, files of videos recorded with the camera hidden in Daniel's tie.

Riku watched Daniel's previous cases and finally confirmed to himself that this was the real Daniel Smith.

Riku disconnected Daniel's badge and handed it back to Daniel. "I'm sorry I doubted you." Riku handed Daniel his badge.

"(Furitani-san! Stop hanging your head in shame! D. S. Smith is here to speak with you!)" Riku exclaimed.

"D. S. Smith?" Fudoki stated, picking his hat up and putting it back on his head. He looked up and his expression went from extreme sadness to one of surprise and excitement. "D. S. Smith, nice to meet you!" Fudoki announced in broken English, it was very clear that he didn't have a great grasp of the language.

"[I see you are having difficulty with English, but don't worry, I have a translator with me so that you can completely understand what I'm saying.]" Daniel replied.

Fudoki nodded. "[(I am so grateful to hear that.)]" Fudoki stated and bowed toward Alan, and Alan bowed back. "(Thank you for translating my words.)"

"(You're welcome.)" Alan stated.

"[Did you see anything on the train?]" Daniel inquired.

"[(I saw my own failure in carriage three.)]" Fudoki replied.

"[Please don't beat yourself up, it's not your fault.]" Daniel stated.

"[(But it is. I didn't make sure that nobody was carrying a weapon.)]" Fudoki replied, he was clearly angry at himself.

"[The weapon was from Darkrun, a very sneaky gun, even if you did check, it would have been difficult to come across.]" Cynthia explained.

"[She's right. Darkrun weapons are made by criminals for criminals, a pat down on someone carrying such a weapon would not be enough to find it. So, you see, you are clear of blame.]" Daniel added.

"[(Oh? Then it truly is not my fault?)]" Fudoki exclaimed with a spark of happiness in his sad eyes.

"[Yes, so stop crying.]" Daniel stated.

"Thank you, D. S. Smith. [(You are wonderful!)]" Fudoki announced.

"[Now, other than the victim's body, was there anything else that was odd?]" Daniel inquired.

"[(Yes!)]" Fudoki shouted at the top of his voice. "[(There was a strange man aboard the train, I'm certain he was wearing a disguise, I was sure of it. When I heard the gunshot, I went passed that man he was gone, but I believe he was in the washroom. When I returned to carriage two after looking for the one responsible the strange man had returned to his seat and the restroom was unoccupied.)]" He explained in a far calmer tone.

"[Did you see if the washroom was occupied when you went to investigate?]" Daniel asked.

"[(Yes, that's why I thought the strange man was in there.)]" Fudoki replied.

"[Could someone have tampered with the restroom lock from the outside?]" Daniel inquired.

"[(Possibly, but I'm not sure.)]" Fudoki put his head to one side.

"[Did you notice anything else about the strange man?]"

"[(Yes, his Japanese was terrible, no, terrible is an overstatement, he couldn't even put his words in the right order half of the time he spoke with me!)]"

"[But, if he couldn't speak Japanese, then why did he speak with you?]"

Fudoki shrugged. He did not know the answer.

"Maybe it was the strange man who killed the victim? Maybe they were speaking Japanese terribly on purpose to establish that they were an outsider and therefore nobody would suspect him, because how likely would it have been that a tourist would have been connected to someone who worked at a trading firm." Cynthia concluded.

"I was thinking the same thing. If an outsider knew the victim, they'd know only his voice, after all, the CEO and CFO both said that their company has international connections." Daniel added.

"I though only one of them said it?" Cindy clarified.

"Maybe so, but the other one would have admitted the same thing if the one who did say it wasn't in the room, that's why I said they both said it." Daniel elaborated.

Cynthia nodded.

"[So, what happened to the strange man? He must have been questioned, right?]" Daniel asked.

"[(I don't know what happened to the strange man, when we finally got to the next stop, we had to battle with the pedestrians to prevent them from getting on the train, he could have escaped during that time because when the police finally questioned everyone on board, the strange man was nowhere to be found. Hold on…)] Fudoki looked at Alan and examined Alan head to toe. "[(He was on the train.)]"

"You were on the train Alan?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but I didn't see anything, that's why the police let me go." Alan noted.

"Where were you sitting?" Dan inquired.

"At the back of carriage four." Alan remarked.

"[Did you see Alan at the back of carriage four?]" Daniel asked.

"[(You? The one translating my beautiful Japanese words, yes, your hair was not so messy, but yes, you were there during my initial inspection. But after the shot, when I inspected the fourth carriage looking for the killer, I did such a quick glance that I didn't notice whether or not you were still in your seat.)]" Fudoki explained.

"[Was his seat in a blind spot?]" Daniel asked.

"[(Yes, you were sitting in a place I couldn't see you.)]" Fudoki replied.

"Were you in your seat all that time?" Daniel asked Alan.

"What? Surely you don't suspect me, do you? You heard my Japanese, it's perfect. Even the bosses at Kinkawa co noted that my Japanese was so good that even their Japanese is worse than mine, and they lived here for over 25 years." Alan replied.

"I suppose your right, besides you probably didn't even know that your workmate was aboard the train, did you?" Daniel asked.

"No, that was just happenstance, besides, even if I did know, why would I kill him?" Alan retorted.

"Good point. If anybody had a motive to kill him it was the person who's doing the insider trading at your firm." Dan proclaimed.

"You think that he found out that person's identity and that person killed him?" Alan inquired.

"That's my thinking, yes. But I still don't know who that could be, your company probably has over one hundred employees, any one of them could be the one that is getting the extra money." Daniel stated.

"But," Cynthia added. "How are we going to determine who it is, it's not we can get a record of who that person called, and even if we did, we wouldn't be able to find them. They could have had the money they were getting delivered to a place far from where they live."

Daniel shook his head. "So, the only thing we do know is that the victim was shot with a gun for which we can't trace and the killer is most likely the person doing the insider trading at Kinkawa co."

"But who could that be?" Cindy asked.

"That question I can't answer, yet." Daniel stated.

"Then we're truly stuck." Cynthia stated sadly. "Maybe I should've stuck with my jealousy and continued to wish for David. This case was exciting but now it's just meh."

"Oh, don't say that." Daniel proclaimed. "Maybe instead of thinking about the identity of the insider trader, we should think about how Ezume discovered the identity of the insider trader."

Cynthia lifted her head with a smile. "Ah, of course, out of the box thinking, I should have expected that from you." Cynthia then scratched her head. "But how do we figure that out?"

"We talk to Ezume's wife, maybe she knows how Ezume figured out the identity of the insider trader." Daniel proclaimed.

"Good idea. But how do we find her?" Cynthia asked.

"Let's ask Maria, she'd know, hey… what's your name?" Daniel asked Riku.

"Riku Hirabayashi." Riku replied.

"Would you take us to Maria Bernardi?" Dan asked in a polite tone.

"It would be an honour… but would you give me your autograph?" Riku stated.

Daniel opened the tray of the nearby printer and removed a sheet; he grabbed a pen from the cup on Riku's desk and wrote down his signature. He passed the pen and paper to Riku.

Riku held them close to his chest. "I will not forget this moment, and I will never lose this paper."

"You are a really devote fan." Dan noted.

"Devote? That's a new word, I'll look it up later and see if it's good or bad." Riku replied. "Let me take you back to Maria."

So Riku skipped along with glee out of the room and Daniel and company followed him, looking rather embarrassed as they did so.