Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 146 - 68: Exposing the Alibi

Chapter 146: Chapter 68: Exposing the Alibi

On New Year’s Eve, while others were enjoying family reunions, Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako went out of town on a business trip to investigate a case. Kazama Tatsuya and Watanabe Shun also joined, saying they wanted to assist in the investigation.

This time, Minamoto Tamako was as determined as a turtle swallowing weight to get to the bottom of the case. She first contacted Kamei Yuusaku’s superior to verify his business trip location, duration, and travel invoices.

The departure and return times fully matched the testimony records, but buying a ticket didn’t necessarily mean he boarded that train. Therefore, Minamoto Tamako decided to personally visit Kamei Yuusaku’s business trip location for further investigation.

Once investigated, a discrepancy quickly emerged.

According to local fishermen, Kamei Yuusaku only stayed for six days. As usual, he helped dealers and wholesalers collect fish, signed contracts with the successful fishermen... If there was an oversized tuna, he would buy it at a high price before the Tsukiji Market opened and transport it for resale in Tokyo.

However, Kamei Yuusaku claimed in his testimony that he stayed in the area for seven days before returning to Tokyo. The date on his ticket and invoice was also the seventh day.

There was a missing day in between, exposing a flaw in his alibi.

Minamoto Tamako checked with the transportation office, finding that currently, drivers picking up a toll ticket at the entrance of a toll highway record the vehicle type, entrance name, date, and time, which is then collected along with the toll fee at the exit.

Using the license plate under Kamei Yuusaku’s name, she found the toll record for that day—Kamei Yuusaku returned to Tokyo at 12:13 PM on the day of the incident, meaning his alibi was never valid.

The case made a major breakthrough, and Minamoto Tamako was very pleased. Her efforts to visit fishermen from house to house in the cold wind and snow on New Year’s Eve were not in vain.

Fushimi Roku was also in good spirits; he would go traveling every New Year, a habit from his past life, and this work trip happened to satisfy his wish.

The scenery in Kawagoe City was quite nice, with the coastal town’s winter snow scenes being beautifully chaotic. The waves crashed against the cape like shattered jade, and the Inubosaki Lighthouse shone its beam through the coast under the night sky. The interspersed red and blue rooftops lined up densely.

Watanabe Shun also had a great time, as it was customary for fishermen to celebrate their return with shochu. He used the investigation as an excuse to blend into the bonfire party, consecutively outdrinking three burly men and earning the title of ’drunkard’ from the fishermen’s elders...

The only one not in a good mood was Kazama Tatsuya.

With results in hand, the group prepared to buy tickets to return to Tokyo. Fushimi Roku suggested taking the ferry back, which, though a slightly longer detour, provided better views along the way.

Minamoto Tamako and Watanabe Shun, in good spirits, had no objections; a free ferry ride was a great opportunity, especially since Mr. Fushimi said he’d treat. Kazama Tatsuya, keeping a stern face, also didn’t object.

Fushimi Roku bought the ferry tickets, and at the scheduled time, everyone boarded the ferry. The sea breeze carried a moist salty taste, and as the ship’s whistle droned, it set off, breaking waves and leaving the coastline behind.

They went back to the cabin to play cards, with each winning and losing some. Over an hour later, the ferry started whistling, indicating it was about to dock. Passengers went to the deck, leaning on the railing to gaze at the grand light show that was the night view of Tokyo’s Harbor District.

Fushimi Roku and the others also left the cabin to admire the picturesque view with the other passengers.

Minamoto Tamako grasped the rail with both hands, her bangs fluttered by the cold wind, her eyes shining brightly. Just then, Daiba’s fireworks festival began, with colorful fireworks slowly ascending and blooming against the night sky everyone gazed upon.

"Justice will prevail!!"

Minamoto Tamako cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted over the sea and distant city.

The surrounding passengers turned their heads, suddenly making Kazama Tatsuya and Watanabe Shun feel socially mortified. As old-school criminal police officers, they usually didn’t wear uniforms when going out. Only Minamoto Tamako found police uniforms cool, wearing them whenever she had the chance.

Seeing a cute female patrol police shout out the standard catchphrase of a morning drama heroine, the passengers waved and echoed, "Go for it, Patrol Police Miss!", "Wishing you a promotion in the new year!", "Patrol Police Sis, you’re so cool!"... At that moment, Minamoto Tamako suddenly felt that her year’s efforts were not in vain; every day was especially fulfilling.

"Thank you, everyone! I will definitely continue to work hard!" Minamoto Tamako shouted.

Even the sea breeze, ship’s whistle, and fireworks couldn’t drown out the cheers of blessing at this moment. People clapped and cheered, and Minamoto Tamako turned to urge Fushimi Roku to shout something too. Not being shy or stage-frightened, he cupped one hand by his mouth and, in a whispering posture, shouted outside the railing, "Cleanse the evil!!"

Without waiting for others to invite him, Watanabe Shun also joined the fun, shouting, "I want to get rich!", drawing everyone’s gaze. He regretted it after shouting; had he known there would be this segment, he would’ve prepared lines in advance.

Kazama Tatsuya found it immature and was unwilling to join in their antics. But Watanabe Shun and the two juniors insisted on dragging him to shout along. The atmosphere was incredibly lively, and for a moment, Kazama Tatsuya felt like shouting out the frustration in his chest to the sea.

He opened his mouth but couldn’t produce any sound.

The ferry fell silent for four or five seconds, and Kazama Tatsuya lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and said, "I’ll pass; I’m too old for this."

Minamoto Tamako didn’t continue to pressure the senior, given Senior Feng’s usual maturity and steadiness; not wanting to act up was understandable. The two continued to enjoy the view, shouting and cheering, while Fushimi Roku cast a sidelong glance at Kazama Tatsuya with a cryptic smile.

...

Upon returning to the Toshima Police Station, the first thing Minamoto Tamako did was apply for a search warrant and arrest warrant. The suspect falsified statements in his testimony, and there was evidence indicating the suspect fabricated falsifications, enough for the courts to approve the application based on these two points alone.

The criminal police went to arrest him, and Kamei Yuusaku didn’t attempt to escape but rather cooperated fully, extending his hands for cuffing. Minamoto Tamako, full of vigor and confidence, led the identification officers to search the Kamei family. She found minute remnants of dog hair in the house and car, as well as remnants in the pet bedding sand.

The stool remains, after testing, could roughly indicate the date of discharge, enough to prove that Mrs. Kamei had indeed kept a dog recently. As such, the so-called mental problems were unsubstantiated, leading Mrs. Kamei from psychiatric treatment to the detention center.

Minamoto Tamako originally intended to do a profiling on the rooftop to figure out what exactly happened the day of the incident, eventually causing Mrs. Kamei to lose control, but was stopped by Fushimi Roku.

He had a compelling reason to prevent it: firstly, because too much time had passed, profiling might not be effective; secondly, because the evidence for the prosecution was already sufficient, there was no need to profile anymore; thirdly, because profiling was mentally taxing, Minamoto Tamako needed to follow medical advice.

Seeing reason, Minamoto Tamako didn’t persist. With the clues gathered so far, she was able to deduce the truth:

On the day of the incident, Kamei Yuusaku sneaked back home, stole the pet dog Marujiro while his mother was napping. Upon waking, he threatened Mrs. Kamei with Marujiro’s life, causing her to push her husband off the rooftop.

"Now, what remains is the key evidence for conviction,"

Minamoto Tamako stood outside the interrogation room, speaking with a serious expression: "As long as Mrs. Kamei explains why she lost control and what happened on the rooftop, we can charge Kamei Yuusaku with indirect murder!"

Fushimi Roku said nothing, peering through the one-way glass into the interrogation room.

After a little over half a month, Kazama Tatsuya and Kamei Riko were back in that interrogation room. They sat opposite each other silently, eyes filled with exhaustion and anguish.

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