Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 124 - 46 Violent Interrogation

Chapter 124: Chapter 46 Violent Interrogation

The crime scene was at the Sugamo Apartment. The caller was a resident who reported hearing a couple arguing, followed by someone jumping to their death. The patrol police were the first to arrive at the scene, setting up a perimeter of police tape at the corner of the building; the identification officers arrived soon after, taking pictures and gathering evidence.

The criminal police from the station arrived late, with two detectives and a patrol officer assisting in the investigation. One of the detectives was carrying a large travel bag, almost half his height, looking quite heavy, leaving its contents a mystery.

The three of them crossed the police tape. With an annoyed expression, Fushimi Roku complained as they walked: "Why do I have to carry it?"

"My police rank is higher than yours, and I’m an official detective," Kazama Tatsuya brought up again.

"I can’t carry it," Minamoto Tamako said matter-of-factly.

Fushimi Roku sighed, too tired to question why they had brought a child to a crime scene... In another four or five years, the famous detective boy Conan would make his entrance. When the era of intense detective battles arrived, having all sorts of people at the crime scene would no longer be surprising; after all, detectives were just background figures.

The body was lying at the base of the apartment building wall, dressed in a suit and slacks, sprawled in the snow, with a tragic death appearance. The dark red blood resembled syrup on shaved ice. Fushimi Roku didn’t turn his backpack around to prevent Taira Sakurako from seeing something she shouldn’t.

"Hmm, the deceased looks about fifty, probably a salaryman. Since it was a couple’s argument, identifying him shouldn’t be too hard..."

Minamoto Tamako took out a small notebook, speaking as she wrote. She turned her head, only to see Senior Feng with a somber expression, his face unusually grave.

"What is it," Fushimi Roku with hands in pockets, sensed Kazama Tatsuya’s odd behavior: "Do you know this person?"

Kazama Tatsuya didn’t respond. He just threw out a "Go take statements" and hurried into the hallway.

"Senior Feng is acting so strange today, has he been like this recently?" Even Minamoto Tamako noticed something was off with him.

"Maybe it’s his time of the month," Fushimi Roku lied casually.

"Eh? Do guys have that too?" Minamoto Tamako was taken aback.

"Of course, guys have a few days each month when they’re in a bad mood..." Fushimi Roku said, walking backward and turning the apartment corner.

He took out his police badge, covering the word "Intern" with his fingers, and flashed it at the patrol officer, instructing them to interview apartment residents and take statements. The patrol officers looked uneasy, but didn’t say anything more, proceeding into the building to conduct interviews obediently.

"How can you pass your own work to someone else?" Minamoto Tamako crossed her arms, frowning as she asked, "If they’re doing the interviews, what are you going to do?"

Fushimi Roku intended to slack off, but couldn’t openly admit that, so he claimed he planned to interrogate the person who reported the incident.

Upon hearing this, Minamoto Tamako’s expression softened slightly.

She had been suspecting that Fushimi Roku wasn’t seriously investigating the case, perhaps not even prioritizing his initial training. Now that he seemed willing to do some real work for his record, she felt slightly relieved.

On the other side, Kazama Tatsuya quickly climbed the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

Seeing him approaching aggressively, the onlooking residents hurriedly shut their windows and doors. He didn’t knock on each door, nor did he stop people for questioning. Instead, he headed directly to the fourth floor, pounding on the iron door of room 1-35.

In the old apartment building without a peephole, a woman’s tearful voice asked from inside, "Who is it?"

"Police!" Kazama Tatsuya replied in a low, firm voice.

The door creaked open a crack. A haggard middle-aged woman leaned against the door, her eyes red, tears streaming down her face. The two exchanged a look, Kazama Tatsuya’s expression was complex. He opened his mouth to say something but instead pulled out his police badge, covering the photo and name with his fingers: "Detective."

The middle-aged woman removed the safety chain, her lips trembling, pleading with the police to help her find Marujiro.

Marujiro was her dog, a long-standing companion, with whom she shared a deep bond, taking him out for a walk every evening. After coming home tonight, she napped briefly and awoke to find Marujiro missing... Her precious Marujiro was gone!

The middle-aged woman rambled on, crying as she spoke: "Gone... My Marujiro is gone... He’s so attached to me, he’d never run off on his own. Someone must have taken him... If anything happens to him, how will I live..."

Kazama Tatsuya ignored her, entering through the door.

Inside was a small two-bedroom apartment, with slightly cramped furnishings. Kazama Tatsuya’s eyes scanned the room. There was an old TV set against the wall, and the flowers on the coffee table had wilted. His gaze fell on a VCR.

Upon inspection, the videos inside were all of the dog—from a small fluffy puppy to a half-human-sized large dog, all captured on film.

Kazama Tatsuya flipped through the videos, finding the one from today. When he played it, the image was shaky and flickered, accompanied by a woman’s voice: "Marujiro, it’s bath time today... Marujiro?"

Then the footage shook violently. According to estimates, the woman must have tossed the camera onto the tatami. Frantically, she was searching and calling out in the house, but received no response.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a suit returned home, taking off his coat and undoing his tie, ready to rest, only to be stopped by his teary-eyed wife.

The couple began arguing. The middle-aged woman seemed to snap a nerve and screamed hysterically, repeatedly asking where Marujiro was, where Marujiro had gone. The middle-aged man barely answered, looking weary, dismissing her questions with continual "I don’t know," "who cares about it..."

At this point, the middle-aged woman seemed to hear something, stopping abruptly, her face stiffening as she listened intently: "I hear it... it’s Marujiro’s bark! Marujiro—" she shouted, running out. The middle-aged man quickly followed, shutting the door behind him.

What followed was a long stretch of still footage.

Kazama Tatsuya pressed the fast forward button, and after about ten minutes, the middle-aged woman returned. She was dazed, like she’d been drained of her strength, slumping onto the couch motionless, silently shedding tears. It wasn’t until Kazama Tatsuya knocked on the door that she snapped out of it.

"I’m talking to you! Are you even listening?! It’s always like this, I’ve begged you, can’t you at least take this seriously?!" The middle-aged woman snatched the VCR, crying as she questioned.

"Is this connected to Kamei Yuusaku?" Kazama Tatsuya interrogated.

The middle-aged woman widened her eyes, shook her head in a panic, retreating step by step, pleading that her son was on a business trip and had nothing to do with this, that she was the one who pushed her husband off the building... Kazama Tatsuya pressed on, asking where Kamei Yuusaku was, when he left, and when she last saw him.

The middle-aged woman broke down, crying and sobbing like a fish about to suffocate: "Stop forcing me... Stop asking me... I’m already in so much pain, I beg you..."

Kazama Tatsuya’s facial muscles were hard and taut, his jaw clenched. He grabbed her arm, pushing her onto the sofa, then took out a small notebook from his coat, thrusting it against her chest and punched her hard.

The crying stopped abruptly.

The woman gasped for air, her mouth open, drool sputtering out, panting heavily like a dying dog.

"Where is he?" Kazama Tatsuya asked, enunciating every word clearly.