Conversation · Kim Kitsuragi

A bespectacled man in an orange bomber jacket has folded up his newspaper and is now tapping his foot on the floor. Looks like he's been waiting for quite some time.

After catching your attention, he narrows his eyes and extends his hand in greeting.

If an assault were launched on this building right now -- if the windows came crashing down and the whole world descended upon you -- this man would hurl himself in death's way to save you. You are sure of this -- but why?

On the sleeve of his bomber jacket -- as well as on its back -- are the same enigmatic white rectangles as on your blazer.

Shake his hand.

"Hello, I'm Kim Kitsuragi." His grip is firm. "Lieutenant, Precinct 57. You must be from the 41st..."

You realize he is waiting for your name.

This is your chance to come up with a really good name for yourself. Get creative -- conceptualize!

Invent a name for yourself.

Concentration makes you squint your eyes. Your name should be deep gold and orange, like a forest fire looming on the horizon, but mixed with the stench of liquor rising from your breath. You're two steps closer to it, but there are still many to go...

"Just call me Officer".

"Very well. Officer..." He's slightly confused.

"It looks like we had a little scheduling error on Sunday. Saturday too, actually... Have you had time to talk to the manager here?"

What he means is he has been trying to meet up with you for two days, but you have been otherwise occupied.

"There must be some kind of a misunderstanding. You're taking me for someone else."

"No, I don't think so." He studies you briefly. "We should ask him for a run-down of the area now that I'm here as well. I understand the scene is out back, right?"

"It also wouldn't hurt to assure him the police are finally here. In full force, I mean. Have you mapped out the initial interviews?"

"I have. Yes."

"Good. But even if you haven't, we'll have time for that after we take a look at the coroner's case."

"Have you removed the dead body from the tree?"

"Look man, you know, yeah."

"Does that mean the body is no longer in the tree?"

"Completely."

"Completely? Does that mean you took the body down from the tree?"

"Dead body?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I don't like dead bodies."

"Sure. But did you take it down from the tree?"

"No."

"So, the body is still in the tree..."

This is the first time you detect a weariness in the lieutenant's voice. It is obvious he would have preferred for the body to no longer be in the tree.

"...where it has been hanging for seven days straight. We should go there as soon as we're done talking to the owner."

What a shame. Get to it now. Rip that body down from the tree.

"Don't worry about the body. I'll rip it down."

"After it's been up in a tree for that long, any kind of ripping is inadvisable."

Delicate goods. Filled with stinking horrors...

"What were we supposed to do again?"

"Talk to the manager. Then we go out back and take the body down."

"Let's go." [Leave.]

"After you, officer."

Lieutenant Kitsuragi is now in your party. You can talk to him whenever, by interacting with him.

If you're about to embark on an investigation, shouldn't you have a badge?

"Wait, shouldn't I have a badge or something?" (Check your pockets.)

"You mean you don't have a badge?"

"It wasn't on me when I woke up."

"Losing your identification card is a serious matter. My vehicle has a shortwave -- you can use it to report your badge missing. I advise you to try to locate it as quickly as possible. But getting the body down should still take precedence."

Alright, come on now. If he hasn't said anything about your lack of pants, no one will. You're only hurting yourself by not wearing them...

(Pretend you found it.) "I have my badge! I'm a policeman and I have my badge."

"Oh..." There's a moment's pause, then he continues, obviously relieved: "If you didn't have your badge then that would be very bad. You would need to report it on my shortwave. But since you do have it, we can go straight to the task at hand."

"But I can't remember anything."

"I can see you drank last night, and the night before," he says after a moment of silence. "And that you are still drunk now. But I have seen officers go through worse. Much worse."

"If you need something for your headache, there is a general store nearby. But, as I said, the dead body should be our number one concern."

Yeah, a painkiller would be good about now. This thing is pulsating with discomfort.

The best cure for a headache is, of course, morphine. They won't have that, so cigarettes will have to do.

"You think I'm a cop? I can't be a police officer! Look at me!"

"We all feel that way sometimes. There is no such thing as a police officer, I'm afraid. What remains is that there is a dead body in the tree -- someone has to figure out who put it there. If we don't, no one else will."

And then, soon after, dead bodies would be dangling from all the trees.

"But first we have to take it down," he concludes.

"What if I told you I'm not really a police officer?"

"How can you be so sure I'm from the police?"