Ch.31004 Investigation Report – Proci’s Concerns (6)

Great journalists usually have a morning routine. I’ve heard some drink black coffee loaded with butter, while others solve newspaper crossword puzzles.

I never had one before, but now I do! I read the apology letter sent to me by another journalist who openly mocked my article recently.

I didn’t intend to mock him. People can have different opinions. But my article was about someone who had died… and he ridiculed that dead person. That crosses a line.

However, after about a week and several letters of complaint, that journalist sent me an apology letter! And it was written with elegant handwriting and great care.

Since then, reading that letter has become part of my daily routine. It contains hope that even those who cross lines can make efforts to reflect and become better people. This too is a hymn to humanity!

Just as I was finishing reading the apology letter, the telephone in my house started ringing. I guess routines that bring good luck really do exist! I rushed to answer it.

“Hello! This is Rose Leafman, reporter from Golden Age Press! Who’s calling?”

A familiar voice came through with some static. It was a police officer who was a friend of my father’s. Though not an angel.

Most police officers were angels, but sometimes police needed to conduct quiet investigations, and that’s when non-angel officers were needed too. He was one of those human police officers who handled such tasks.

“Ah, Rose. It’s Uncle Leonard. Do you remember me? In Texas with your father…”

It might be a bit rude to interrupt, but I recited what this uncle-like figure was about to say, with a bit of exaggeration.

“Leonard Price, who’s been friends with my father since he graduated school and inherited the ranch! It’s been a while! You haven’t called at all, what’s going on?”

My father’s friends were generally impressive people. If I were a bit more materialistic, I might have thought of them as connections, given how my father had friends in all walks of life.

Oh, of course they weren’t really connections! My father was an honest businessman. Kind to his family, attending the God-President’s church every Sunday. He was the warmest person I knew.

In response to my question, he lowered his voice and whispered. Thinking this must be a request for coverage, I couldn’t help but light up with excitement.

“I have a scoop for you, if you can cite me as an anonymous police source. If you want it, come to Long Island. The exact address is…”

He quietly gave me the address. The stories Uncle Leonard provided were always quality ones. He was someone who helped me write articles about crimes that would otherwise have been buried in ordinary circumstances.

People’s daily lives wouldn’t change much if they didn’t know about these crimes. But still, eyes need to see. Just as bitter medicine is medicine, uncomfortable truths are still truths.

“I’ll come right away! Oh, should I bring Paulina with me?”

“Yes, there’s Paulina. I was thinking of assigning a human police officer, but having Paulina too would be reassuring. It could be a bit dangerous, so come quietly. It would be better to publish the article anonymously too.”

Somehow this was thrilling. I hoped neither Paulina nor that police officer would be in danger… I didn’t want to see anyone else die. My hands started trembling, so I squeezed one with the other.

It seemed wounds could heal but not disappear. I swallowed down the rising panic.

“No! I’ll use my real name. If both the source and the reporter are anonymous, people won’t believe it. If I decided to become a journalist, I should accept that level of risk.”

“No, no. While it’s your decision… no. You’ll understand when you get here. I’ll be waiting, so hurry.”

Is it really that serious? As fear began to creep in, I called for Paulina.

“Paulina! It seems we have another story… he says it’s dangerous. What should we do?”

Having already received plenty of paid leave after the last incident, it was time to get back to work. She was in casual clothes but went to get the shield hanging in the living room and knocked on it with her fist.

“You hired me for dangerous situations, Rose. A lawyer protects her client. Whether through law or shield, from accusations or violence. Can you trust me?”

Somehow Paulina seemed to sparkle as she said this. Her bangs still covered her eyes completely, but I was sure she had wonderful eyes behind them.

“Of course! If I can’t trust Paulina, who can I trust? Let’s go! We need to find out what dangerous situation this is!”

She put on her suit lined with chain mail again, and I also took out my proper suit. Before leaving, I briefly clutched the cowboy hat placed in a corner of the room.

Those who forget today while gambling on tomorrow are the first to die. After repeating what I had heard from that cowboy, I headed to the address Uncle Leonard had given me with Paulina.

The location was a warehouse by the dock. Since he had told us which warehouse it was, we headed to Warehouse 17 and knocked on the entrance door a couple of times.

After feeling a gaze from the lens on the door, it opened. Following an urgent gesture to enter quickly, we went in, and another police officer slipped out to check the surroundings.

“We weren’t followed, Inspector Leonard. So…”

Uncle Leonard nodded with a serious expression. Something significant was clearly happening.

“She’s my friend’s daughter. She’s a journalist I can trust. She won’t be bought by the mafia. The lawyer is trustworthy too. She was hired for the girl by my friend’s family.”

Mafia? Is this related to the mafia? I thought of people in suits concealing guns. I might have once thought it looked cool… but now I could only think of them as thugs.

“In times like these, there’s nothing better than someone you know. So, please come this way. It’s an unpleasant sight, so be careful. This morning, this washed up on the shores of Long Island.”

Following the officer inside, there was something covered with cloth… something that looked like the shape of a gnoll. Due to the overly sensitive nature of elves, I could tell what it was.

It was a corpse. The stench of decay threatened to overwhelm my mind. I barely held back the rising nausea and pinched my nose to prevent the smell from entering.

It was a bad habit. Trying to suppress everything until it eventually bursts. Last time, there was someone to receive those erupting emotions, but would there be someone this time too? I felt anxious for a moment.

The officer lifted only the neck portion of the cloth covering the gnoll. There was a large wound that looked like it had been mauled by a beast. He quickly covered it again, so I didn’t need to look at it for long.

“Are you sure we can trust her, Inspector?”

“Yes. You know we need to make the first move before those guys’ bought journalists start spewing nonsense articles. We’ll even provide scene photos so they can’t call it false reporting.”

It seemed like some important conversation was taking place. If it’s about the mafia, and truth that the mafia wants to hide… was this gnoll killed by the mafia? Since it’s a gnoll, it must be the Italian mafia.

While I was trying to piece things together, the officer who had shown us the corpse began to explain. I was also able to receive several photos taken directly by the police.

“First, let me tell you the gnoll’s name. Simone… no, Simon Proci, the brother of a mafia branch leader named Giuseppina Proci who’s been gradually expanding her influence. He was in charge of accounting in the organization, so we were keeping an eye on him, but he disappeared recently and then washed up on the shores of Long Island.”

Even for the mafia, do they kill people so easily? Despite trying to breathe only through my mouth, that terrible smell seemed to penetrate my mind through my breath.

“Do you remember the bite mark I just showed you? When Italian mafia members execute traitors or members who have caused trouble for the organization, they execute them by biting like that. Wasn’t the bite mark quite large?”

I didn’t even want to imagine how painful it would be to be bitten with a hyena’s bite force. And the bite marks left on that gnoll were as large as if they had been made by a lion rather than a hyena.

Female gnolls were about one and a half times the size of male gnolls, but to leave such wounds… it would have to be someone with the build of one and a half female gnolls, judging by the size of the marks.

“Very much so. Was it really a person who bit him?”

“That’s the important part! This gnoll’s sister, Giuseppina Proci, is a gnoll of this size. The only one in all of New York who could leave such bite marks is that woman. We can file murder charges with the bitten corpse as evidence. If we can put away one branch leader, New York will become a bit cleaner.”

He showed another photo. It seemed to have been taken while spying outside an Italian restaurant, and in it was a gnoll who was indeed two or three heads taller than the average female gnoll.

So, she executed her own brother by biting him? Where did the concept of family love go? It was hard to accept, but I swallowed it for now. I could still hold on.

“Right now, this investigation team is safe, but among other police officers, many have been bought by the mafia, and there are journalists like that too. If they start publishing articles with wild speculations, it will be disadvantageous in court, so we wanted to call a trustworthy journalist to publish an exclusive special edition before other journalists write articles. Can you take this on?”

The idea that police officers had joined hands with the mafia was shocking, and I wanted to ask if it was true, but his expression was filled with desperation. It was the face of someone who wanted to overcome the situation by any means.

Even the darkest night can be crossed with just one torch bearer. If there are people making such efforts, I should lend my strength. I nodded with all my might.

“Yes, I’ll publish it! No journalist would turn down an exclusive, and if publishing an exclusive is the right thing to do, any journalist would answer like this.”

“No, that’s really not the case, which is why we called you. But thank you!”

Only then could we leave the room with the corpse. Only after reaching a space where the corpse smell was less intense did I release my nose and take deep breaths. He handed me the entire investigation file.

The officer, looking for anything else he might need to tell me, pulled out another photo that was blurry. It was a photo taken in front of a two-story building, but it wasn’t properly focused.

I thought I knew where it was. Fifth Avenue in New York. It showed two gnolls and someone who looked human… but whether due to poor film development or something else, it was too blurry to make out anything beyond the basic shapes.

“I wish the photo had turned out better… Anyway, this was taken in front of a restaurant in New York’s busy district that Italian mafia members use as a meeting place. It seems Giuseppina Proci hired a civilian contractor, but the photo turned out like this, and we didn’t properly assign someone to follow, so we couldn’t identify who it was. Still, be careful.”

Civilian contractor… A detective perhaps? Though only a silhouette was visible, it looked like someone wearing a suit and a fedora. It was a black and white photo, but judging by the brightness, the clothes seemed to be a light color…

Don’t waste time, Rose Leafman. Clothes can be changed daily. It would have been good if the face had been captured, but only the back was in the photo.

Why did he warn me about this civilian contractor? So… ah, yes. Italian mafia only accepts gnolls as members, so gnolls needed to be careful. But there are people who might target me even if they’re not gnolls.

To suppress my anxiety, I looked up at Paulina. I didn’t want to imagine what kind of contractor this person was, but Paulina would protect me. Believing this, I nodded.

“My lawyer is quite capable! No matter who this civilian contractor is, she’ll be able to protect me. So, going back home…”

As I was about to say I’d go home, another officer approached me. He was the only one among the busy investigation team who had been watching us continuously.

Could there be a bought officer in this investigation team too? I felt anxious for a moment, but what the officer said was quite reassuring. Don’t fall prey to paranoia. That would be worse.

“Instead of going back to your home, how about we assign an officer to you and rent a place like a hotel… No matter how good your lawyer is, having a plainclothes officer with you would be better.”

Having a police officer too would make me feel twice as safe. Uncle Leonard also nodded as if it was a good idea.

“I’m glad I formed an investigation team with capable people. Instead of places where witnesses stay, could you take them to a high-end hotel in a busy area? I’ll cover the hotel costs even from my own pocket if needed.”

Somehow feeling caught up in something big, I felt both excitement and anxiety. The plainclothes human police officer who suggested the idea approached me and extended his hand.

“I’m Inspector Jonathan Pace. I’ll escort you to the hotel. How long does it usually take you to write an article?”

“Ah, I’m Rose Leafman! Usually, special editions are written and distributed quickly, but for this article, I’ll need to check against the case files properly… so it might take a little, um, a little longer. Still, I’ll try to have it printed and distributed by this afternoon at the latest!”

Noticing my anxious expression, the officer shook his head. Though in plainclothes, he was a very precise person. It was somewhat reassuring.

“First of all, since information won’t leak from this investigation team, it might be better to distribute it when it will have the maximum impact rather than as quickly as possible. You should contact the newspaper office, but wouldn’t it be better to distribute it to people during tomorrow’s commuting hours? To influence people, they need to be able to talk about the special edition when they see it, right, Inspector?”

It wasn’t about competition. Whenever I published it, my article would be the first, and follow-up articles would take time. So having a definite time would be better.

Moreover, people who see the special edition during commuting hours would discuss the article at their workplaces… and if enough copies are distributed, it would also create public opinion. He was both kind and capable.

Uncle Leonard also nodded as if it was a good idea. Indeed, my father’s friends were all impressive people. It must have been Uncle Leonard who brought such a person into the investigation team.

“Starting the day with such news might make people feel dirty, but it will stick in their memory. Alright, Rose. Can you prepare it to be distributed during tomorrow’s commuting hours?”

“Of course! With more time, I can convey it more accurately! Paulina, can you drive us to the hotel?”

Paulina’s car would be less conspicuous than a police car. Inspector Jonathan and another inspector headed to the hotel with us.

Since it was a high-end hotel in a busy area with many people coming and going, even Italian gnolls wouldn’t easily find me.

So this is what it feels like to have someone watching your back. Somehow… I felt full of reassurance.

Everyone was doing their job, and I couldn’t be flustered. Alright, it’s time to convey the truth again today!