Holy Mother - Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Soul Killer

After that, they both walked and knocked on the doors of each house one by one to ask about the situation. However, there was no important information they could get from it.

“Nobody has seen or heard anything… is that even possible?” Tanizaki sighed.

Some cases weren’t resolved even though the investigation headquarters was established. However, in most cases, the perpetrators always left traces like a loud noise was heard, or the culprit took off clothes and then threw them away, or there are footprints and blood. However, this time the criminal seemed to leave no traces at all. It had only been two days since the incident. Even so, Sakaguchi felt the investigation this time was filled with dark clouds.

“Let’s have lunch first. You can do nothing when you’re hungry.” Sakaguchi tried to say that as cheerful as possible.

“Wow, turns out it was already past two o’clock. No wonder I felt hungry. Let’s eat quickly and then continue our task.” Tanizaki was surprised when she looked at her watch.

“If I’m not mistaken, there is an udon¹ restaurant in the Shotengai ²district.  Let’s go there.”

As Sakaguchi was about to start walking towards the Shotengai district, Tanizaki showed a dissatisfied face.

“Udon? How can your stomach be full with food like that? “

“Huh?” Sakaguchi blinked because his suggestion was directly rejected. “What do you want to eat then? Don’t tell me you want to eat French food? “

“Let’s eat Katsudon³. If I’m not mistaken, I saw a Tachigui⁴ in front of the station entrance that sells that. “

Sakaguchi thought for a while and then remembered. “Oh, in that place?”

“But, have you ever been there?” Sakaguchi hurriedly followed Tanizaki who had walked towards the station.

“Eh? Never,” answered Tanizaki.

“Hmm, how to say it… the place is a little old fashioned and it also has a heavy atmosphere…. Well, the point is, the place is very old and I have never once seen a female customer there. “

Tanizaki immediately stopped. “What is the size portion of the food? How about the taste?”

“Huh? Not bad, I guess. “

“Thank God!” Tanizaki put on a face that looked so relieved from the bottom of her heart. “The important thing is the size and taste! Those were the ones that determine everything.”

Sakaguchi adjusted his steps to match Tanizaki’s steps as she had begun walking quickly.

“Is that really okay? You didn’t pick it because you felt bad for me, right? “

“Do you think I chose male-oriented food for your sake?”

Tanizaki turned to look at Sakaguchi. “Apparently, you still don’t understand. Didn’t I already say that I was someone who doesn’t pay attention to things like that?”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. “

“I know, but I also understand your feelings. Some women are too tense because they want to eliminate the line between men and women. For example, they were angry when men paid for their food. I understand that this is a sensitive issue, I also understand your confusion about how to treat women, and how to deal with a situation like this.”

“Hmm, yes I guess.”

“But, as I said earlier. We are better complementing each other by accepting gender differences. Thus, there are many things that will become smoother.”

The reality was exactly like that. When he was working, there were cases that are better left to a woman. For example when the victim was a woman – especially for cases of sexual assault crimes – or when a woman was a suspect. Usually, the suspect had an easier time to confess and open her heart when questioned by a fellow woman. Sakaguchi had also been helped by female detectives and each time, he felt in awe at the depth of character that a man does not have. It was true, that there are tasks that were more suitable to each sex.

“Do you understand my explanation this time?”

“Hm? Maybe…”

“So! If you really want to pay for my meal, I will be happy to accept it.” Tanizaki innocently smiled.

***

Tanizaki devoured her katsudon with lightning speed. Of course, because this was a Tachigui store, the average dining speed of the customers here was very high. But Tanizaki’s eating speed was faster than the average. Sakaguchi was stunned at Tanizaki’s eating method. When he was young, Sakaguchi also ate a lot, but since he had reached his fortieth birthday, he could not eat like that. Especially since his wife left him. There were not many things that could arouse his appetite.

While waiting for Sakaguchi to finish eating, Tanizaki sipped her hot tea. However, after the girl put down her cup. Suddenly her eyes looked lonely.

“Well… I’ve been talking about gender equality for a long time, but I do think there needs to be a revolution here. When talking about the equality of men and women, people more often talk about women having to take engineering subjects. Or men should be able to take time off to care for their children. However, Japan has one difference between men and women that must be eliminated.”

“What is it?”

“Rape Cases.”

Sakaguchi looked Tanizaki in the eyes, while the girl continued. “If the victim is a man, that cannot be called a rape case. Isn’t this strange?”

In Japan, a new case could be called a rape case if and only if the victim was a woman. That meant, even if a man became a victim of sexual assault, that could not be called a rape case. Although the victim was clearly sexually assaulted, his case could not rise to become a rape case. Of course, the rape case penalty was more severe.

“A case is called a rape case if a man’s genitals enter a woman’s genitals. This means that when there are no female genitals between the legs of the victim, a man cannot be a victim of violence. Which means, we couldn’t classify that as a rape case. Don’t you think that is nonsense? “

Sakaguchi also considered that as nonsense. Moreover, rape was a crime against morality. The main requirement for crimes against morality can be made into a case but could only be determined by the preconditioned factors by the suspect itself. For example, a bribery case cannot be appointed as a case if the suspect was not a government worker or a court jury. Same with rape cases; a rape case could only be a case if and only if the suspect was a man. That meant women couldn’t be a suspect of rape cases. When Sakaguchi declared that it was indeed unfair, Tanizaki nodded while replying, “That’s right, that’s what I mean!”

“Not only that. What’s worse was the sentence for criminals who kill their victims after raping – meaning rape-murder cases – had a lighter punishment than for murder. I cannot forgive this!”

For a long time, many people said that the punishment for rape and rape-murder cases in Japan was relatively mild. Every time Sakaguchi met a victim of a rape case, he felt like he hadn’t done his job properly. There are also people who, despite being completely innocent, end up losing hope and killing themselves.

Sakaguchi remembered the words of the woman from the first house.

Soul killer.

Rape killed the soul. Killed the body. Killed the future.

“Yes. I also think the same.” Sakaguchi nodded while saying that. Tanizaki looked a little happy because of that.

“Thank God that you also think like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even though I argue like that, the seniors always say ‘that’s not your job!’ and consider it finished. Therefore, I am happy that you’re not like that.”

However, Tanizaki who was smiling before immediately turned serious and gritted her teeth.

“Yukio-chan is a male. So, this case will not become a rape case. Moreover, if for example he was raped before being killed, this case almost turned into a rape-murder case. Even though this is a terrible case, I am quite grateful that this case has become a murder case because he was murdered first and then raped.”

“That’s true. But, this case won’t work if we don’t catch the culprit first. We will decide later whether we should be grateful or not after arresting him.”

“Yes. Come on, let’s go around again.”

After sipping her tea for the last time, Tanizaki came out of the store. Sakaguchi followed her outside after thinking that maybe his partner might be reliable this time.