"This man died suffocating. But there are no strangling marks around his neck," Akashi said out loud while a team of detectives stood behind him.
They held their pencils and notebooks, taking his lesson to heart.
He could have taken the credit for killing the envoys of the Earth Kingdom and claimed it was for self-defense.
But that would cause troubles.
Political troubles.
They weren't merely assassins. They were envoys. And they held political weight. And their death could allow the Earth Kingdom to demand something in return and put the Republic City in a weak position.
And as someone who knew how politics worked, he knew that there would be some sacrificial lambs.
Politics held more power than justice, and that was an absolute fact.
In his previous life, in the past and post-WW2, there were cases of murder between spouses from different cultures. And murder cases between different races. When the media got involved, the cases became a matter of culture, race, and stereotypes. Eventually, a woman who killed her husband was let go because her husband was brown. A man was let go because he murdered someone because of their skin color, and so on. And such cases happen all the time.
But when politics get involved, justice takes a nap.
And with justice's taking a nap, honesty should also take a nap.
So, he had pretended to be innocent of killing them.
He knew that the Republic City would be in the weaker position.
The Earth Kingdom held a gun, and the Republic City held a knife.
It was obvious which side would compromise.
"This could be the work of a bloodbender or a waterbender," Akashi nodded, pretending to look for evidence he had planted.
"But sergeant, how? There is no water remaining," said a detective.
"Obviously, they shoved water into their respiratory system and then pulled it out. Or else, they may have bloodbent them to lose their ability to breathe," Akashi concluded.
The crime scene from yesterday had been modified to remove any trace of airbending.
"But isn't that bloodbender in prison?"
"Who knows? There may be another bloodbender," Akashi said sadly. "And it could be a waterbender. The last one had been hit by a high-pressured water blade. We know that can cut steel, let alone a human skull."
"So, the suspect should be a waterbender primarily, with the possibility of being a bloodbender secondary," Detective Number One said.
"Sergeant. We've found traces of water in the shade. It didn't evaporate," Detective Number Two added.
Everyone turned to find traces of water and blood. They followed it, and there was no doubt that the murder was committed by a waterbender.
Akashi had made that appear so. As someone with experience in this field that exceeded the recently founded police force, he could manipulate the crime scene to his liking.
Akashi turned his head.
There was a large crowd beyond the yellow tape that prevented them from getting in.
The crowd, however, wasn't composed of mere people.
Journalists and their bosses were present. The council members. Influential figures. The Police Chief, deputy chief, and the Police captain came as well.
Normally, all of these figures wouldn't be bothered by a mere homicide.
But this one had a very heavy political weight.
Did Akashi regret getting such attention? Well, there were 3 levels that he had gained that made him not regret any decision.
And what if the Earth Queen got after him? What if Tarrlok got after him?
As long as they were fuel for his growth, so be it. The only thing that Akashi worried about was biting more than he could chew.
He gave a few more inspections of the crime scene.
The final conclusion was that the killer was a waterbender, and possibly a bloodbender.
'At least Tarrlok is out of this mess. I wonder how Amon's position would be if his identity as a bloodbender got exposed. If there was a clash when it's revealed that he's a bloodbender, all of this shit would be on him as suspect number one, and his equality case would be baseless in the eyes of the public,' Akashi thought as he walked out of the yellow tape.
Finding him was the police chief.
He walked along with her.
"So, that's the final conclusion. A waterbender," she asked.
"Yes," Akashi nodded.
"I wonder, why were they murdered a very few blocks in this place. A couple of streets away from the police station," she asked, seeming to be suspicious. "It feels like the killer is sending a message to us. It makes me angry."
"Wouldn't it be easier to solve this case if it happened nearby the police station," Akashi sighed frustratingly. "So, what do you think happened?"
"I don't have proof. But my hunch is telling me that these envoys got it on themselves," she said. "Obviously, the murderer wasn't a firebender or an earthbender, as they could get rid of the body easily.
"And why would they come to this isolated district? Someone must have lured them here and killed them on the spot.
"As waterbending needs a ready source of water nearby, whoever killed them planned everything in advance," she said.
"Yeah. That seems to be spot on," Akashi sighed. "But to be fair with you, the only thing we have on the suspect is that they are waterbenders."
"Well, most of the criminals get back to the crime scene," she remarked, and Akashi couldn't agree more.
"That's not guaranteed. It's a building site. Workers are going to flood here," he shook his head.
"That's really frustrating," she clenched her jaws, seeming to be frustrated with this case. "This case is very heavy, and there's pressure on me to put more resources on it to solve it."
"I don't know," Akashi shrugged. "I'm only a cop. I have no idea how politics work."
"There's no need to lie with me," she said.
He looked at her feet. She was donned in metal, so she wouldn't know about his heartbeat.
"Stop looking at my feet. People would think that you are into them," she commanded.
Akashi laughed, placing his hand on her back. She was donned in metal armor, so it was useless to feel her through his hand.
"Let them know that I am into you," he smiled.
"Akashi, people are watching," she blushed. "The council is already on bad terms with me, and the earth councilman is now on me. If I'm known to screw a man so much younger than me."
Akashi didn't let go, liking to see her face turning red.
"Let them be. I'll take care of you. My salary is enough," he said.
She rolled her eyes, elbowing his ribs. "You know. That's easy for you to say when you can't hear almost everyone's whisper."
"You know. This case has gotten me a bit pissed off. Want to blow some steam off?"
"Sure. Why don't you head to my office first. I told the secretary to let you in advance."
"Great. I'll deliver a great report."
"At least don't bring an empty paper. I'm serious. I need this report. And I can only act nice for a short while."
-x-X-x-
At the same time, the Earth Queen, who was sitting on her throne, angry that the envoys she sent were murdered all of a sudden, received an urgent package.
"Your majesty. The envoys sent you this before their death, with a message," a man in servant attire entered the main hall and reported.
"What did they send?" she replied, her voice grim.
"A book," he said.
"Bring it over and read the letter," she commanded.