The Hunter Read Online Free PDF Page A

they walked across an area already ringed by reporters. They ducked under the perimeter tape. A rank odor still pervaded the ruins. The ground, heavily soaked in water the night before, was covered in puddles that glistened in the weak winter-morning sunlight.
    Other investigators were deep in conversation.
    "You're saying we can rule out the possibility that the fire broke out in the kitchen or somewhere else in the restaurant? "
    "We can't say that for sure yet. The fire could have started beneath where the victim was sitting, or nearby."
    "Hard to believe there was any electrical wiring around there."
    "Anyway, a simple short circuit wouldn't give you a firestorm like that."
    "According to eyewitness testimony," the MPD arson unit head now began, "the victim was seated at a window table. He burst into flames, writhed in agony, and rolled on the floor as far as the salad bar." After peering at a roughly drawn map of the fire scene, he pointed out the relevant locations to the group. Within the First Investigation Division, the arson unit was charged with ascertaining a fire's origin and its cause, whether accidental or intentional. They were professionals in fire disaster.
    The group then prepared themselves. They wrapped a towel around the lower half of their faces and the neck of their jumpsuits. They put on helmets, slipped on heavy gloves. Because of the danger of treading on nails, they wore steel-soled boots. Each had a rake.
    All told, there were fifteen men, including Takizawa and his Tachikawa colleagues, who now proceeded into the site of the fire.
    "The waitress who took the victim to his seat hasn't recovered her eyesight and wasn't able to show us the exact place, but she did say it was a window table, fourth from the rear, next to a round pillar, and had a curved bench, so it's probably . . . ," the arson unit head paused, standing with the group in the restaurant now destroyed beyond recognition, his feet set on fittings reduced to rubble, looking from his map to the premises and back again before pointing, "... right around there." He went on: "The victim fell over and rolled on the floor. Taking into account where the body was found, he must have come along here."
    Finding the seat of the fire was the most important question in a fire investigation. It could be difficult to pinpoint, especially if the building had been deserted, but that was not a problem in this case where there were so many eyewitnesses.
    "Common sense tells you people don't just spontaneously combust, so there's got to be some clue right around where he was sitting."
    More than seven hours had passed since the fire was put out, yet the site still gave off a lingering heat. Exercising caution where they stepped, the investigators walked around what had until last night been a colorful restaurant serving dinner to an array of customers.
    "I'm going to pour water."
    "Easy now."
    When water was poured on a certain spot, the soot ran off, exposing the degree of incineration beneath. Just as the MPD officer had predicted, a curved bench next to a thick pillar near a large, shattered window showed particularly intense incineration; even the urethane filling was charred. Further, where the man had presumably rolled on the floor, the carpet was severely burned; just one place the approximate width of a human back was spared. This, then, was where the man expired.
    The investigators then focused on the distance between the curved bench that the victim had been sitting on and the spot where he came to an end, seeking any kind of evidence. Nothing was to be overlooked, however small; with utmost concentration, they sorted out even tiny particles. If kerosene or gasoline was used, there would be an oily residue; if there was an explosive device, there would be remnants of it; if an electric wire had shorted out, there would be telltale signs of the live current.
    "Hey, take a look at this," Wada beckoned to Takizawa, who was engrossed in examination