On the shoreline of Yuigahama Beach, police officers, investigators, and medical examiners surrounded the body of a woman, cast ashore by the relentless waves. Behind the yellow tape, Kamakura's residents gathered in silence, watching the scene unfold. A little farther back stood Detective Daigo Shiraishi, alone, his eyes fixed on the sky. Daigo was a middle-aged man, known throughout Kamakura as the tallest person in town. Everyone recognized him. He wasn't only well-known but also highly respected. The crowd slowly turned to glance at him, but said nothing. It was as if they understood this was part of his quiet ritual before stepping onto the scene. Suddenly, a voice called out from the shoreline. It was Daigo's partner, Shimura. The crowd turned toward him, watching quietly as he raised his voice. A moment later, their attention drifted back to Daigo, who stood motionless, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Mr. Daigo!" an old lady called as she approached him, "Your friend is calling you!"
"It's going to rain!" Daigo replied unexpectedly.
"What are you talking about, son? The weatherman said it's a sunny day!" She said, confused.
"No, no, no," Daigo insisted, "It's definitely going to rain... The sky looks depressed."
The old lady tapped him on his back. "If I were any taller, I'd twist your hair in my fist and make you listen! Now, go and talk to Shimura! He needs you!" Daigo listened to her as if she were his grandmother. He moved through the crowd, crossed the yellow tape, and made his way toward the scene.
"The sea has a strange vibe!" Daigo said to Shimura as they met.
"No shit! Shimura said, nodding toward the body. "That's one way to notice."
Daigo nodded, "The sea must be angry at us. Throwing dead bodies at us makes you wonder what's coming next..."
"Stop saying odd shit and let's go to work!"
The forensic pathologist, Mr. Tanaka, and his team had already finished their examination and were waiting for the detectives. As they walked over, Daigo let Shimura do the talking and quietly stepped closer to the body to take a look for himself. "You're late," Mr. Tanaka said.
He was an old man with forty years of experience as a pathologist. Strict and stubborn, he hated his job but he was damn good at it.
"She's called Nora Takamura!" Mr. Tanaka began sharing the details with Shimura while Daigo carefully examined the body. "Her father's English, her mother's Japanese. She lives in Shibuya and works as a secretary for TLM, a marketing and advertising firm. The body's been in the water for about three days. There's early bloating, skin slippage, and discoloration, but no injuries or wounds, except for a strange, rotten-looking mark on her left arm. No water in her lungs, so drowning is ruled out. She was already dead when she entered the water. No petechial hemorrhages, no signs of strangulation, and no visible trauma or defensive wounds. Whatever killed her didn't leave an obvious mark. Could be poisoning, overdose, or a natural cause. We won't know for sure until I finish the autopsy and toxicology work."
"Hell of a case," Shimura muttered, shocked. All the examinations had led nowhere.
"For now, it's a mystery," Mr. Tanaka said. "I'd say it could be a..."
"A suicide," Daigo cut in. "No. I don't think so."
"You can't be sure of that, Mr. Daigo," Tanaka replied.
"I know. We're all guessing at this point," Daigo said. "I can't say what exactly killed her, but I'm certain it wasn't suicide."
"Another bet, then," Shimura chimed in.
Daigo stood and walked down to the edge of the water. He knelt, soaking the knees of his pants, raised his hands, and began to murmur.
"We messed up your waters. Brought things we shouldn't have. We're sorry for our sins."
Everyone watching thought Daigo was praying. But he wasn't. He was apologizing to the sea, afraid of what it might bring next. Daigo stood up and walked past Shimura. "I'll leave it to you," he said over his shoulder.
"What? Where are you going?" Shimura replied, confused. "This is your case, Daigo!"
"I'm heading home to pack. Today's my last day in Kamakura."
"What the fuck?" Shimura shouted, rushing after him and grabbing his arm. "What do you mean, last day?"
"The chief called this morning. I'm being transferred to a police box in Tokyo."
"So you got the fall from that last case?" Shimura asked.
"Apparently! Anyway, I have to leave before it rains on me!"
"I'll meet you at the train station!" Shimura said before leaving Daigo.
"Did you know anything about this?" Shimura asked Mr. Tanaka
"Yes! The chief told me!" Mr. Tanaka replied.
"Nobody told me!" Shimura shouted, "For some reason, nobody fucking told me!" Angrily, he started walking away from the scene.
"And where are you headed, Mr. Shimura? Planning to pack up too?" Mr. Tanaka asked sarcastically.
"Done here, I think," Shimura replied. "Call me when the autopsy is ready. I've got some solo digging to do."
At the train station, Daigo met Shimura by the entrance. They walked to the ticket counter, got Daigo's ticket, and sat on a bench to wait for the next train.
"So, this is really it," Shimura said. "Your last day here. How does it feel? Leaving after eight years?"
"Same as leaving the last place I called home," Daigo replied. "I'm used to it."
"I'm not! I was born and raised here, I can't imagine living anywhere else, especially not by force, I would kill myself!"
"Nostalgia is a terrible thing!"
"You don't feel it?" Shimura asked
"I do!" Daigo said. "And I hate it. Nostalgia always comes with regret. Makes you stuck in the past. Makes you want to go back and fix things."
"You believe that's possible? Going back?"
"I don't know. Doesn't seem likely."
"If it were, I would go back and stop you from taking the fall alone!"
Daigo gave a faint chuckle. "I doubt anything would've changed the chief's mind."
A loud screech of the approaching train cut through their conversation.
"I need to go!" Daigo said.
"Yeah, man!" Shimura replied. "We'll stay in touch!"
Daigo boarded the train, found an empty seat, put on his headphones, and slowly drifted off to sleep alone in the carriage.