February 1st – 7:00 am
My cell phone rings. Who’s the bastard calling me so soon in the morning? I’m not even used to this time zone yet! If it’s my boss, today is the day I’ll lose my job, I swear it! As if yesterday’s ranting over my latest article wasn’t enough already…
I pick it up and look at the screen. Relieved, I smile.
“Ciao, bella.”
“Hey there, little brother.” Lucia. Finally, a pleasant voice. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”
“No, I was already getting up. How are things back in Rome?”
“The same. How about you? You go to Japan and don’t even tell your sister, how rude!”
“Heh. I don’t mean to linger too much around here. I just want a good story, that’s all.”
Silence. I know it’s not a problem on the line; it’s obvious what she’s thinking.
“Antonio...”
“Marco. That’s my name here. See, I don’t wanna take any risks.”
“So why did you go after this new Kira? Tell me you’re not willing to…”
“I’m no idiotic teenager anymore, sister. I know he’s not God. After all, he never caught the guy who tried to hurt you.”
“That’s past, Tonio.”
“Yeah, I know, chill out. I just want a good story. After that, I’ll be home in no time.”
“Fine… Just don’t risk yourself, okay? Take care.”
“You too.”
Still treating me like a rebel adolescent. Well, I don’t blame her.
I slowly get up. Crap. Half day wasted on finishing that article, and for what? My boss hated it. Something about “risking the lives of devout Japanese cops by revealing their names”. At least that’s what I got in the middle of all the cursing. As if he gives a damn about cops…
Suddenly, people are yelling and running down the hotel corridors. Still shirtless, I open the door and grab the first employee that passes by, asking what’s going on.
“Kira killed a robber! They found a dead body in a building’s hallway, less than a block away from here!”
A glimpse of my camera dropped next to the bed gives me no second thoughts. In less than a minute, I’m fully dressed and running down the street, following the flow of curious people, half of them tourists from the same hotel. There’re probably other journalists among them… Screw it, just one or two decent pictures will suffice to save my job.
I arrive right before two police cars cover the sidewalk next to the entrance. I take two, three hasty shots before the cops form up a line and push the onlookers back. Hah! Who said size doesn’t count? Luckily, the policewoman right in front of me is too short to cover my camera’s lens on the top, and I photograph the corpse again before the doors are closed. Take that, Japanese midgets!
With the entrance sealed, the crowd slowly loses interest. Some stay, hoping to see something, but they only get the angry looks of the police officers standing in front of the building. I’m not among them. I look behind as I walk back to the hotel, satisfied. It’ll take a while until the body’s removed and all the residents are questioned, but the police can’t lock people in their homes forever.
I’ll be back in a while.
* * *
10:20 am
Three hours and a hearty breakfast later, things are calm around the building. People still pass by and point at it, but apparently everyone moved on with their lives. From the other side of the street, I observe the police officers as they open the doors and leave the place. No sign of the dead body; the probably removed it while I still was back in the hotel.
The last car goes, and I walk in. This Japanese cops are efficient, I’ll give them that. No trace left of a murder being committed here in the last few hours. Well, Kira was always known for the clean deaths, but still… Nothing from which I can start my own research.
Well… Maybe I’ll find a resident willing to answer the same questions the cops certainly asked them over and over. I look at the closest door and knock.
Now comes the part I don’t like.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Marco’s here again! Sorry for staying away for so long, folks. Your favorite cranky Italian journalist is back, lol.
Hope you enjoy!
Thanks to Bones, for lending me SK’s last appearance as a hook for Marco’s move!
