Chapter 55: Arresting Emma
After Marcus and Harper returned to the police station,
Harper angrily slammed his fist on the desk:
"Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit more! I saw that head clearly in that one glance, it was exactly the same as the one registered in the missing persons case. She was definitely Tomie."
"Miller, immediately take the dive team to try and retrieve it. We can't give up even if there's only a sliver of hope."
Miller, who had just taken off his cap to rest, quickly stood up to show he understood.
He was still somewhat frightened by what he had just witnessed, but he had to follow orders. Fortunately, it only involved finding the dive team; he didn't have to go into the river himself.
"Looks like we still have to continue looking for clues from Emma Mitchell and Dr. Patterson," Harper muttered to himself.
Marcus, with his keen hearing, naturally heard him clearly and instantly realized what he meant.
"You just mentioned Emma Mitchell and a doctor named Patterson?"
"Yes, what, Detective Moretti also knows about the dismemberment case from three years ago?"
Harper was surprised and pleased to hear Marcus's question; perhaps Detective Moretti had some clues.
"Why isn't this case in the stack of files you gave me yesterday?"
There were simply too many cases related to Tomie. Marcus had been flipping through them until midnight, analyzing them thoroughly before finally identifying a few clues that were highly likely to lead to Tomie.
Unexpectedly, things had taken a turn for the better; Emma Mitchell had indeed transformed into Tomie later on, though he didn't know where she was now.
However, since Harper could say that, Emma definitely hadn't become Tomie yet.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Detective Moretti. I was investigating this yesterday and put the file in my briefcase, forgetting to take it out. I'm really sorry, here it is."
Hearing Marcus's cold tone, Harper quickly apologized, respectfully placing a file in front of Marcus.
Marcus glanced at the file; it contained Emma Mitchell's current address.
"Let's go find Emma Mitchell!"
Marcus closed the file and called out. Harper and another ordinary officer named Anderson quickly followed Marcus, driving towards Emma's apartment.
As the car drove through a narrow commercial area, carts carrying goods and pedestrians weaved back and forth, making traffic somewhat congested.
Homeless people could be seen resting on the streets or in parks.
"What are you waiting for? Run! Run! You're all going to die! You're all going to die! Hehehehehe!"
A homeless man in a tattered black jacket raved through the crowd, shouting at the workers carrying goods beside him.
"Screw off! You lunatic! Get lost!"
A worker carrying a box was startled by the sudden appearance of the homeless man, nearly dropping the box, and kicked him in anger.
The homeless man, wincing in pain, quickly ran away, then saw the police car stuck in traffic.
He rushed to the police car, pressing his face against the window, straining to see inside, his face contorted by the glass.
He seemed to finally see someone inside.
"Officer, the end of the world is coming! I saw demons and monsters last night! They were punishing bad guys on the street, slash slash... hehehe, handsome bad guys, one claw, then another!"
"Run! Run!"
The homeless man chuckled mysteriously, then looked back in terror before scurrying away towards the street behind the car, seemingly worried something was chasing him.
But the street was only filled with hurried workers and pedestrians frustrated by the traffic jam.
"Crazy! Social services must have been slacking again, letting this crazy homeless man wander the streets!"
Harper shook his head helplessly, seemingly speaking to Marcus, yet also to himself.
"Hmm!"
Marcus didn't bother to reply, pondering what the homeless man meant.
He could sense that the homeless man had genuinely encountered something strange; one could observe a bit of that in an ordinary person's aura, like someone who had been traumatized.
Demons and monsters punishing handsome bad guys?
Handsome, bad guys?
It couldn't be that a Tomie was killed by a monster!
The police car pulled up in front of Emma Mitchell's apartment, and the three of them got out and headed straight for her room.
They knocked on the door, but no one answered.
"Find the landlord!" Marcus said.
The three went downstairs and found Hansen cleaning a room.
"Ask Emma? I don't know, but I have her phone number, you can ask her."
Seeing that they were police officers, the elderly Hansen, though unaware of what was happening, still cooperated by dialing the number.
"Hello, Emma, where are you? The officers are looking for you!"
"I don't know why. Oh, you're with Dr. Patterson. Be back this afternoon. Okay, I understand."
After hanging up, Hansen told Marcus and the others that Emma had gone to see a doctor.
"Anderson, stay here. Harper, you go find Emma Mitchell now. If you find her, arrest her and take her to the station. I received information that she's involved in a murder case."
Marcus turned to Harper and Anderson and said.
"Is it related to that dismemberment case, Detective Moretti?" Harper asked curiously.
"I need Anderson's cooperation to search the surrounding area again and see if there are any other clues."
As Marcus spoke, he glanced at the room downstairs from Emma's. He had just learned from the landlord that a new tenant had moved in there.
The person living there was named Yamamoto, who should be the Yamamoto who got Tomie's head in the story.
Harper and Anderson nodded and drove towards Dr. Patterson's clinic.
Emma Mitchell had already said goodbye to Dr. Patterson and was on her way to see her best friend, Sarah.
She was puzzled as to why the police detective wanted to see her, but she hadn't done anything wrong, so she wasn't worried.
"Emma, over here!"
Sarah, wearing a pink dress, raised her right hand and waved in the coffee shop.
"I'd like an espresso."
Emma sat down and placed her bag on the stool next to her.
"Sarah, what did you ask me out for this time?"
Emma smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
"Emma, do you know?" Sarah asked gently with an apologetic tone.
"Huh? Know what?"
Emma tilted her head slightly, feeling a little curious. She didn't understand what Sarah was asking.
"No, nothing, forget I said anything." Sarah hesitated for a moment, forcing a smile, but unwilling to continue.
Seeing Emma's expression, she knew that Kevin hadn't yet revealed their affair to Emma or broken up with her.
"What are you talking about, Sarah? That's strange!" Emma's smile held a hint of confusion and curiosity.
"Nothing, Emma. I suddenly remembered I have something to do, I'll go now, goodbye!"
Sarah picked up her bag and turned to leave. She had originally intended to clarify her relationship with Kevin to Emma today.
But seeing Emma's smile, out of guilt as a friend, she hesitated.
"Sarah...Sarah?" Emma hurriedly stood up and called out.
She sensed that Sarah was having some unspeakable trouble. Sarah paused for a moment upon hearing this, waved, and continued walking quickly.
Marcus saw Harper drive away in the police car. He then got the key to Yamamoto's room on the first floor from the landlord again.
(End of Chapter)