"Kabuki-cho" "To your TV debut." "I feel like I'm being tricked." "Am I really right for the part?" "Don't worry." "You're perfect." "My instincts say you'II be big." "really?" "We'II start you with a TV drama, then a commercial." "I can secure at Ieast five." "Then a photo book, a lead role in a film and maybe even a CD." "My only experience is in modeling." "Money can buy you experience." "Many amateurs act like they're pros these days." "But this industry is not that easy." "I'm going out for cigarettes." "Hiroshi?" "Sorry about before." "still working?" "Yeah." "Then I won't wait up." "Be careful coming home." "Don't worry." "By the way, it looks like I'II get the part." "We'II talk later." "Good for you." "Hey." "It's Casanova." "The tape?" "Is she a model?" "Yup." "She's hot." "How do you do it?" "It's my job." "Just a job, huh?" "When you're done with her, give her to me." "I'II take care of her." "Japanese beauties fetch a high price in China." "Seven Days Earlier" "Mayumi, did you really land the part?" "Where'd you hear that?" "Everyone knows." "Is it official?" "No, it'sjust talk." "You're meeting the producer, right?" "I hear he's a notorious womanizer." "And sex fiend." "They hung up." "Oh, is this yours?" "I'm so sorry." "It looks exactly like mine." "And has the same ring." "I'm Aoi." "Asuka." "I'm new to all of this." "Oh, you are?" "Lots of stuff." "I've been staying with a friend." "I'm house hunting today." "Find anything?" "Nothing I can afford, I'm afraid." "Maybe I can help." "Busy tonight?" "Hi, Tommy." "Hey, how've you been?" "Hi." "Who are you?" "Kasumi's here, isn't she?" "Overthere." "Thanks." "See you around." "Kasumi..." "How's it going?" "Mari moved out, right?" "So?" "She asked me to find a replacement." "This is Asuka, one of our new models." "Isn't she cute?" "She's looking for a place to live." "She's a nice girl." "Your smile is revolting." "Going home, Lucy?" "Don't call me that." "Mari moved out, huh?" "Want me to come back?" "Fuck you." "I found a roommate." "Bye." "She prefers women to you." "Kasumi!" "I'm all right." "G'night." "Watch it, bitch!" "Huh?" "mellow out." "well, good night." "What?" "It leaks." "See something interesting?" "You leave tomorrow, okay?" "I'm sorry." "Hands out." "Yes, but bigger." "Hands up." "Look forward." "still here, huh?" "should I leave?" "What's this?" "It was left at the door." "Want me to go buy something for dinner?" "So cute." "Is this handmade?" "Mari left it here." "What was Mari like?" "Eccentric artist." "No, don't." "Want a toke?" "So you're a model?" "Give it up." "It sucks." "They'II fawn over you at first, especially haIf-Japanese." "Then toss you out with the trash." "bilingual?" "Then forget it." "That's Japanese showbiz." "Japan is all greed, with no ideals." "I had a turtle once when I was a kid." "What's his name?" "Mephisto." "You like turtles?" "I Iike dogs." "I had a Husky when I was a girl." "One day it bit my sister." "My dad went nuts." "Bang!" "Americans and their guns." "He really loved her so it was my fault for liking dogs." "He beat the crap out of me." "So now I keep pets that don't scratch and bite..." "Like him." "Born in America?" "The Amazon, I think." "Not the turtle." "You." "In the boonies down south." "Is your fatherthere now?" "He's dead." "Wanna see the roof?" "It's pretty up here." "Ever been to the Bronx?" "Greenwich village?" "What's it like?" "It's pretty at night." "The dark blood of night blots out everything, obscuring the ugliness." ""Oh, Iimpid moon." "Were this the Iast eve to endure my suffering."" ""How often I've awoken at night, awaiting your illumination."" ""How I long to stand atop a mountain basking in your soft rays."" "That was amazing." "Good night." "Good night." "Are you living with Lucy?" "As her pet?" "Do you know her nickname?" ""The devil"." "If you live with her, you die." "AII her boyfriends have." "Both of them did." "That apartment is haunted." "Did you see?" "See what?" "You're short for a runway model." "I'm going out." "Lucy." "hello?" "What's wrong?" "Attention all units in Precinct 4, respond to 911 call reported stabbing, one adult male, at Hotel Bats, Block 2-16-61 Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku." "This is Shinjuku central, Unit 6." "We're patrolling Precinct 4." "Proceeding to hotel Bats." "Coming in." "The chain lock." "This is the police." "What's wrong?" "Please step away." "What's wrong?" "Everything okay in there?" "What street?" "Main street?" "I've a few questions." "The HQ team's late." "Be patient." "They're here." "How's it going?" "Not the usual, huh?" "It's pretty gruesome." "Never seen anything like it." "You're young yet." "This way." "hello, Sir." "flamboyant work." "I'II be downstairs." "Let me through." "Good luck, sir." "Hey." "What about upstairs?" "I'II go up with Yusuke." "Other rooms?" "We're on it, Sir." "Excuse me." "139 cm." "No butts on the bed?" "hold up a second." "Frogs don't get dissected this bad." "He's got 5 red roses stuck in his eyes." "Get here as soon as you can." "Thanks." "Excuse me, Sir?" "The chain was up on the door." "And all the windows were locked." "Their entry and exit are a mystery." "Vanished in a cloud of smoke, huh?" "If they didn't flee downstairs, this is the only way out." "Watch it!" "What're you doing?" "They're blanks." "This ain't television." "I'm sorry." "Too big a jump." "What's traffic like around here?" "Pretty busy." "Our killer may not be very far." "Go question the neighbors." "Neighbors?" "We're in the heart of a red light district." "Excuse me, Sir." "These two made the call." "Lucy!" "Don't call me that." "What were you doing here?" "Friend of yours?" "A shit cop." "Nice to see you, too." "I told you to stay out of trouble." "ChiII out." "We're witnesses here." "I hate these showbiz types." "Actresses?" "No." "They're models." "They get paid a king's ransom to shake their little asses." "coincidentally, one of them worked with the victim before." "You know her, Yusuke?" "Yeah, from the Community Safety Division." "shoplifting, drugs, bad attitude." "You handle her, then." "Wait a minute." "So you knew the victim, Isamu Kimura?" "He's the talent agent who gave you your big break four years ago." "And he had been following you around, harassing you for about a year now?" "Yeah, I guess." "Cut the crap." "He was stalking you." "That's my problem." "No, now it's our problem!" "He wasn't able to deal with me quitting on him." "How so?" "He messed around." "He'd take work from other models and pass it on to me." "He's such a philanderer." "Kinky too." "No smoking here." "How many assailants?" "Just one." "male?" "female?" "female." "You sure?" "She had a female body." "Long or short hair?" "Short and bobbed." "Did you see herface?" "Her face?" "Try to relax." "cold water, please." "Do you know a Mayumi Minato?" "model." "We know." "She was seen with Kimura at the hotel." "Then she did it." "Case closed." "Not so fast." "What was their relationship?" "How should I know?" "Why ask me?" "Lovers, I guess." "Then why was Kimura stalking you?" "'Cause he's a weirdo." "No doubt." "Did he use that room knowing that you could see him from yours?" "He wanted you to see him bringing women there?" "results of the autopsy?" "Yes, death from excessive bleeding." "From the bruises on the victim's wrists and ankles... it seems he was dissected alive." "A cross section of his ribs reveals extremely precise work." "The killer has surgical experience or deep medical knowledge." "If you'II turn to the next page..." "Page number 6." "This was next to the neck." "This is not ordinary Iipstick." "We're analyzing it now." "AII evidence points to malice, not theft, as the motive." "The dissection may be designed to obfuscate motive." "tell me about Isamu Kimura Mayumi Minato, Kasumi Kuroki and Asuka Hoshino." "Mr. Kimura had been harassing Ms. Kuroki for over a year." "And there was bad blood between Ms. Kuroki and Ms. Minato." "Ms. Kuroki bore resentment toward both." "The first witness as suspect?" "But Kuroki has a rock solid alibi." "And no medical knowledge." "still, we will continue to investigate her past and acquaintances." "But it's unlikely she was involved." "Don't be so sure." "She's still our key suspect." "The criminal was careful not to leave fingerprints or traceable evidence." "But item 7 resembles reptiIian bone particles, particularly that of a snake." "We're working to pinpoint its origins." "BIoodstains in the room were from a chicken, not Mr. Kimura." "A chicken?" "The snake tissue is of South American origin." "When you know the species, check college labs, pet shops and importers." "It's possibly the work of organized crime, or a cult, perhaps." "The escape route is a mystery." "The room had been sealed." "The killer was there at Ieast until the first police arrived and walked out the front door during all the commotion." "Is that possible?" "AII of you are focused on me speaking right now." "How many of you would notice someone leaving this room?" "If so, the killer is very cooI-headed, keep your wits about you." "Meeting adjourned." "could it be "yakuza"?" "Many years on the job, I've seen a Iot of things." "But I have a bad feeling about this." "This is new and horrifying." "Like what?" "Don't know." "But it gave me goose bumps..." "like I'd seen something I shouldn't." "I'm pretty sure it's not "yakuza"." "Pet shops seem a waste." "It wasn't a crime of passion." "There's more to it." "Keep your eye on those girls." "Yusuke, over here." "Go see this man." "tell him I sent you." "Retired cop and narcotics expert." "He did two years of field work in the States." "Kooks and cults are his specialty." "He's a tad kooky himself." "This is a rare strain of oolong." "It was hard to come by." "Let me brief you on the crime." "No need." "I read the report." "Thank you." "Savorthe aroma first." "How is it?" "Tasty." "I hear you've done some profiling." "What's yourtake on this killer?" "." "I'm a bit out of practice." "The killer dissected his victim alive, but left no prints or evidence..." "cool and collected, medically savvy, and able to vanish in a cloud of smoke." "Who could commit a crime like this?" "Have you heard this riddle?" "What animal is big, red and eats rocks?" "Big, red, and eats rocks..." "My zooIogicaI knowledge is limited." "Please leave a message after the tone." "Tatsuo, are you there?" "Those were good photos." "We're printing them in this week's issue." "Do a good job on the pin-up idol scoop." "The date is all set up." "Get some good shots." "And don't miss the deadline." "This is bad publicity." "If a client complains, you're out." "This isn't my fault." "Your choice of neighborhood is." "And your choice of roommates." "Eyes up." "Let's go." "Hey." "Wait up." "You used my photo." "Did you Iike it?" "You enjoy photographing people in trouble." "You sell their misery." "You're scum." "Very photogenic." "Stop it." "people sell themselves forfame all the time." "You can turn a coincidence into an opportunity." "I hate coincidences!" "What's with you?" "When I was a kid..." "I had a fight with my best friend." "I tossed the doll she gave me out the window." "Just then a car drove by and crushed it." "I remember it vividly." "The car..." "A white Mercedes..." "License plate number 99." "I felt so bad I went to my friend's house to apologize." "But she had been hit by a car and killed." "The carthat hit her was a Mercedes plate number 99." "Coincidence brings bad things." "And now I've met you and witnessed a murder." "I have the luck of the devil." "If you're born under an unlucky star, the bad days feel comfortable." "I'II share that luck with you." "The number 9 is a perfect number." "It expresses art and truth." "Heaven's divided into 9 realms." "The solar system has 9 planets." "Pregnancy lasts 9 months." "It's a maternal number." "And 9 is..." "Kasumi, phone call!" "And 9 is..." "Kasumi, phone call!" "Kasumi, phone call!" "Yeah." "I'm going out." "Too much thinking will give you wrinkles." "The person you saw resembles this woman?" "The hair is identical." "Did you know this is Mari, a former roommate of Kasumi's?" "Where is Lucy today..." "I mean, Kasumi?" "At work, I think." "But she had nothing to do with the murder." "How do you know?" "How?" "I don't know." "I just do." "I do, too." "She's got a hard exterior, but she does care for people." "I heard about her boyfriends." "Suicides." "Suicide?" "Both of them?" "Yes." "But it wasn't her fault." "One was very high-strung, and she cared for him." "He was suicidal."