DANGER ZONE | Kenzou Tenma

Chapter 5: Where ways part

She was a scary woman, that detective.

When she walked into the interrogation room, it felt like a cold wave washing over me. I did not look up, but I could feel her sharp eyes on me. Even her voice was unusually deep for a woman. She seemed well-suited for Lunge's right hand man.

I told them my story. How Johan, my former patient, ruthlessly killed off my new patient, Adolf Junkers - but they stared at me with poker faces. They didn't even raise an eyebrow or make fun of me. They just stood there, their eyes piercing through me as I sat there in my miserable state, on the edge of breaking down.

What a life...

I knew that staying in the Eisler Memorial Hospital wasn't an option for me anymore. 

'I was supposed to die that night... but you brought me back to life.' 

Johan's words echoed in my mind. Those words, sounding like words of gratitude, were actually a testimony on my guilt, that I had saved someone's life who took the lives of others. It was my fault and my problem to solve.

I just wanted a calm night. One night to get away from this terrible reality, and just go out and drink a little. And then, she sat on the other chair. Admittedly, her disguise was incredible, but I didn't know what to think of her. I didn't even know her name, I just knew she was a detective close to Lunge, and that she came across as scary. Still, I believed she might have been honest about her intentions - if she didn't believe my testimony, she wouldn't have to go after me, since Lunge seemed to have enough clues that spoke against me. 

Be that as it may, I was not going to drag someone else into this. I would solve this on my own - that was my responsibility.

The next day, when I arrived at the station, everything was back to normal again. It was Friday, and I remembered that I had promised Finn that we would go out after work. As my subordinate, I wanted him to have an opportunity to talk someone about his career-related worries - his ambition was admirable, but he was young and fragile, and I didn't want him to go down a dark path. But right now, I had to wonder how my conversation with the Inspector would go, if I were to tell him that Doctor Tenma was indeed innocent. But first, I had to talk to Mr. Mueller, so I made my way to the interrogation room.

There he sat already, and he was looking different than usual. He looked towards the ground, his eyes fixated on it, his shoulders hanging down.

"Good morning, Mr. Mueller. I came alone today to have a talk with you. Are you alright?"

He didn't answer. His hands, caught in the handcuffs, were shaking slightly.

"Mr. Mueller?"

"I think he hates me now..."

I wanted to speak, but decided not to. Instead, I watched him, giving him time to find the right words.

"He said he understands me. He asked me if I wanted to come to peace with my past, and if I knew what I needed to do... so I killed my sister. But when he found out, he asked me: Why did you murder your sister? Was she at fault for what happened to you? How can you keep on living, knowing what you have done?"

His voice was weak as he stared at the ground with widened eyes. 

"Mr. Mueller, who told you this?", I asked him carefully.

He was just shaking.

"Now I get it..."

With an unsteady breath, raising his head to face me, he answered.

"I thought he was a friend... but he is a monster."

Half an hour later, I knocked at the Inspector's door, then going in.

"Hello, Inspector."

He was busy as always, not looking at me. He was writing as I came in.

"How did the interrogation go?", he asked.

"Apparently, the culprit was encouraged by someone else to commit the murder. He didn't tell me who he was, but his statement was similar to Adolf Junkers'. I might be able to get more out of him next time." Then, I took a breath, preparing for what I was about to say.

"Inspector, about Doctor Tenma..."

I made a short pause.

"His explanation might have sounded curious, but plausible from an objective point of view. I don't think he was lying because everything added up too well. Plus, looking at his personality, I couldn't imagine someone like him murdering someone, let alone multiple people. He seems like the type of person who doesn't want to burden anyone and even risked his whole career to save a little boy... He is not the culprit, Inspector. He is not able to take anyone's life. I ask you to re-assess the situation. We need to help him."

Lunge still didn't look at me and kept writing - until my last two sentences. Then, he laid down the pen, his eyes still fixated on the paper.

"Detective Helene, thank you for your concerns. I assume you have done your research on Doctor Tenma. However, I didn't consider you to be this gullible about Doctor Tenma. He must have wrapped you around his finger."

He stood up, walking past me, stopping in the doorframe.

"But I won't be fooled. My investigations have always been successful. I haven't been wrong about one single case. So if you decide to side with Doctor Tenma, I hope you know what you'll get yourself into."

With these words, he left the room. It was the beginning of the change - because I knew that if I were to bring up this topic again, my long-term colleague would walk away from me forever.