Chapter 150
Although what Usuha Izuki said was very irresponsible, and for such an important matter, as the person involved, he actually wanted to leave first—it was quite absurd.
But Inspector Megure thought about what he'd seen in the video just now. Samukawa Shinryu had been ambushed twice, and if he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been shot by now. Being alone with someone who clearly wanted to kill him for so long, the pressure...
Uh, actually you couldn't see any pressure on Samukawa Shinryu, but generally speaking there should be some, right?
Inspector Megure thought uncertainly. Men all need face—maybe he didn't want to show his vulnerable side in front of so many people and was putting on a tough front? Now saying such inappropriate things about going back was actually because he couldn't hold on anymore?
...This speculation applied to Samukawa Shinryu felt terrifying somehow!
But considering what Police Superintendent Kitami's reaction would be when this evidence was brought back to investigation headquarters...
Inspector Megure felt it was better to let Samukawa Shinryu go back and rest first, otherwise he probably wouldn't have time to rest once he got entangled later!
So Inspector Megure relented: "Alright, go back first. Keep your phone on... No matter what others say, you're the hero of this case."
Let's see how things go with Police Superintendent Kitami's side. After all, all current evidence pointed to Kitami Hitoshi. As a father, he'd definitely be affected, but how much was still unclear. Moreover, having been in high positions for so many years, with some maneuvering, he might really find time for post-autumn reckoning.
Inspector Megure felt a headache coming on. Cases involving high-level officials were the most annoying.
Hagiwara Kenji also understood the current situation was complex. Originally, after watching the video, his retroactive fear had already overshadowed his annoyance. Now thinking about the troubles Samukawa Shinryu would face afterward, he had no mood for idle chatter: "I'll keep an eye on things here. Next time there's a situation like this..."
At this point, Hagiwara Kenji was momentarily dazed.
Come to think of it, today seemed to be their first day joining Criminal Investigation Division One, right?!
How had this day passed like years, with so many things happening in one day!
Would it always be like this in the future?! Was Division One's pace this fast?! He'd never heard of this before!!!
Not only had Hagiwara Kenji never heard of it, even the veterans of Division One felt today's information overload was too much. They'd initially prepared to work overtime for a week without results, but before midnight, evidence was in hand and the perpetrator was dead...
Originally some people had opinions about Samukawa Shinryu, thinking his previous quick case-solving was because the Mobile Investigation Unit encountered all kinds of cases, most of low difficulty with weak-minded criminals. Now these people were all silent.
The "Strawberry Night" case was so difficult you might not encounter a few like it in a year, combining "serial murder case," "no detectable connections between victims," "multiple perpetrators," and even the high-difficulty element of "the perpetrator is police and right in the investigation headquarters"... If any of them were in charge, none would dare claim they could advance the case to this extent within a day like Samukawa Shinryu.
Therefore, now that hero Samukawa Shinryu refused overtime and wanted to leave, everyone had no objections whatsoever.
If only they could solve cases this quickly in the future! Anyway, Samukawa Shinryu was now one of their own in Division One!
Shiratori Ninzaburo had witnessed Samukawa Shinryu acting alone and felt somewhat ambivalent at the time, but now only admiration remained. Following Hagiwara Kenji's words: "Next time there's such a situation, don't keep it so secret. When you were at the hospital, had you already noticed something wrong with Miss Fukasawa? You didn't tell me anything!"
The attending physician wouldn't speak because he wanted to protect his patient. Samukawa Shinryu's words at the time seemed to favor the attending physician, so seeing through it but not saying anything was normal—maybe considering the doctor's feelings, or maybe thinking about how to handle it better...
Sigh, after all, she was mentally ill and definitely wouldn't get the death penalty. Now she'd probably be taken in by a hospital specializing in mental patients, preventing sudden escapes to harm others or herself, without worrying about hospital fees—not a bad solution.
The one who most deserved to die but was even less likely to get the death penalty had already been killed by Miss Fukasawa—a kind of karmic retribution. If Samukawa Shinryu had spoken up at the hospital, Miss Fukasawa definitely couldn't have escaped tonight... Hmm?
Shiratori Ninzaburo couldn't help falling into thought.
...Samukawa Shinryu couldn't have deliberately not spoken to give Miss Fukasawa a chance to escape and kill, could he?
Could such a thing be calculated?
Usuha Izuki didn't know what Shiratori Ninzaburo had suddenly thought of. He could only see his suspicion values suddenly spike, feeling somewhat puzzled but not concerned, saying calmly: "I didn't notice at the time."
Are you kidding? At least he'd told Inspector Megure about Kitami Hitoshi, but he hadn't mentioned Fukasawa Yukari at all. If he admitted it now, he'd have to write a report explaining why he didn't report discovering the perpetrator at the time. He wasn't stupid! Don't try to trick him into talking!
Shiratori Ninzaburo, who had no intention of extracting information, was skeptical about Usuha Izuki's explanation: "Alright, anyway we'll continue being busy. You go back first—we'll handle the rest."
Usuha Izuki nodded, then specifically bid farewell to Inspector Megure and Hagiwara Kenji separately before turning to leave the abandoned building.
Inspector Megure carefully held the video camera while continuing forward: "By the way, since Shiratori, you said you'd handle the rest, and you seem to have been present when meeting Miss Fukasawa at the hospital... you write this report."
Shiratori Ninzaburo: "...? I said we'd handle the rest... and Inspector, you seem to know more than me!"
He was shocked—how was Inspector Megure already redistributing workload?! If anyone could write it, wouldn't Inspector Megure, the only one besides Samukawa Shinryu who knew the truth, be more qualified?!
Inspector Megure sighed: "Alright, we'll write it together."
Shiratori Ninzaburo said naively: "It's just a report. He's tired now and doesn't want to write, but he'll write it himself after resting, right?"
Hagiwara Kenji interjected coldly: "Since entering the Police Academy, Little Shinryu has never written a report or self-criticism himself."
Shiratori Ninzaburo: "............"
All the officers fell silent.
Actually, they were already considering seeking Samukawa Shinryu's help when future cases had no leads... Once you owe a favor...
—Given that guy's frequency of causing trouble, wouldn't everyone in Division One have to help Samukawa Shinryu write self-criticisms in the future?!
Usuha Izuki left the police cordon under the awed gazes of officers, having someone drive him to the nearest station.
No choice—at this hour, in such a remote place, he couldn't get a taxi. Could only misuse public resources a bit.
Recently Usuha Izuki had been returning to Samukawa Shinryu's apartment more often, so daily necessities and some useless trinkets had gradually accumulated. Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei occasionally visited and brought souvenirs, making the room much more lively.
He took a shower, washing off the sticky blood, didn't bother washing clothes, found a bag to stuff them in, put it at the garbage collection area downstairs, then collapsed into bed.
After running around all day, he could hold up, but was genuinely tired. At least this overtime only lasted one day—better than dragging it out.
The next day, Usuha Izuki was awakened by a phone call.
He looked at the caller ID and answered: "Kenji?"
"Little Shinryu, you don't need to worry about Police Superintendent Kitami's issue anymore." Hagiwara Kenji said. "He was found hanged this morning—suicide."
Usuha Izuki: "...? Such a fragile spirit—how did he become Police Superintendent?"
Hagiwara Kenji choked: "Is that the point? Kitami Hitoshi's case might just be the tip of the iceberg. His father probably had even more terrible things that weren't investigated. It was fine when no one was looking, but now it can't be hidden... Though the subsequent investigation of him has nothing to do with us."
He roughly explained what had happened while Usuha Izuki was sleeping, finally summarizing:
"As for the report, Inspector Megure and Shiratori-kun have already written most of it for you. Hurry back and fill in the details! Just a little left!"
Usuha Izuki: "...Fine."
Some things he really had to make up himself—couldn't rely on others.
Perhaps the perilous video footage had earned Usuha Izuki considerable points. Hagiwara Kenji surprisingly didn't take the opportunity for post-autumn reckoning and even sounded decent.
Instead, Matsuda Jinpei had sent another email scolding him for not valuing his life, probably having heard from Hagiwara Kenji... Usuha Izuki replied with "Read," irritating Matsuda Jinpei into scolding him again for his bad personality and lack of remorse.
All true! Nothing wrong with saying it!
Usuha Izuki didn't bother arguing with Matsuda Jinpei.
Just as he was about to change clothes for work, he suddenly received another new email. Opening it, he found Amuro Toru informing him the mission was cancelled.
With both Kitami father and son dead, Rum felt the mission no longer needed to continue, gave them a token mission fee, and told them to wrap up.
Usuha Izuki called immediately: "How many people's share is this mission fee? Rum only gave this much?"
Amuro Toru: "Just this much... You can have it all if you want."
"This isn't about whether I want it—it's about Rum's attitude being wrong."
Amuro Toru thought: Is he going to mess with Rum now?
With such arrogance, you really couldn't tell if his foster father was actually an undercover agent... Generally speaking, if you knew a family member's identity was sensitive, shouldn't you keep a low profile, afraid the organization might find evidence someday and settle accounts with you too?
Then he heard Usuha Izuki say: "But forget it for now. I'm in a good mood recently and don't want to get involved with such annoying crap. I'll deal with it later."
Amuro Toru: "...???"
After hanging up, he pondered for a while, then relayed Usuha Izuki's words to Rum.
Rum: "............"
What big move was he planning? Can't he just speak directly if he's dissatisfied?
The mission target died so quickly—feels like you guys didn't do much work, and you're still complaining it's too little?
Besides, he just forgot Usuha Izuki was also involved! That was actually one person's salary!
He felt that if Usuha Izuki didn't make his move now, he wouldn't have peace for the next few months, constantly paranoid every day.
Rum was extremely speechless, planning to call Usuha Izuki proactively to explain and see if he could use Arak Wine to smooth relations...
—Sigh, he, the mighty second-in-command of the organization, had reached the point where hearing someone say "forget it for now" made him this anxious... Was Usuha Izuki here to ruin his workplace experience?!