Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 148 - 70 Serial Killings

Chapter 148: Chapter 70 Serial Killings

Kamei Yuusaku refused to cooperate, not willing to say another word, even when Minamoto Tamako presented evidence to pressure him, he remained unmoved, so the interrogation couldn’t proceed.

Without witnesses or a confession, Minamoto Tamako planned to find new evidence — at least some decisive proof that Kamei Yuusaku had threatened Kamei Riko, in order to prosecute.

In the following days, Minamoto Tamako was busy running around the Sugamo Apartment building, checking phone records with the telephone company, and visiting the East Sugamo parking lot to search through parking records, she was practically overwhelmed with work.

Fushimi Roku, on the pretext of interrogating suspects, was idling away in the police station. Every day at the scheduled time, he would call someone out, lock them in the interrogation room, and watch them read manga.

The first day, the police station received a report that someone in the Sugamo Apartment building had killed his wife and dismembered her body; half the police force rushed to the scene to investigate;

The second day, a report said that a female executive from a certain company had embezzled public funds, and after being exposed, the subject jumped to her death;

The third day, the police station received notice that a popular hostess from a brothel had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, leaving behind a suicide note before her death...

On the fourth day, fifth day, and sixth day, more deaths occurred consecutively. Sugamo, which had been quiet for a long time, suddenly erupted with a slew of heinous cases, as if the previous tranquility was just an illusion.

The police were overwhelmed, and at this point, the recently emerging "Heavenly Punishment Group" became even more rampant. Once a murder occurred, they would impose private justice on the so-called ’culprit’ before the police arrived, further deteriorating the already poor public security.

Minamoto Tamako initially planned to focus on investigating the fall case, but it wasn’t long before she discovered that all these murder cases seemed to be connected to Kamei Yuusaku...

The victim in the wife-killing case was involved with Kamei Yuusaku, and the killer’s motive was a stack of anonymous photographs received;

The female executive at the company was once Kamei Yuusaku’s lover, or more accurately, his sponsor; she had indulged in extravagant spending with Kamei Yuusaku, leading to enormous debts, and after being anonymously reported, she ultimately chose to leap to her death;

The case with the hostess was even more incredulous; it was said that her first night went for 20 million yen, and a mysterious man took it. With a bit of investigation using Kamei Yuusaku’s photo, Minamoto Tamako found that they had lived together before and were recently in contact...

Minamoto Tamako hurried back to the police station to tell Fushimi Roku about this discovery.

He didn’t even have a desk at the police station, just a folding table in the corner which served as his office. He was idly flipping through case files when he heard this and dismissed it, saying, "It’s just a coincidence."

"How can there be so many coincidences? The great detective Sherlock Holmes once said, ’There is no such thing as a coincidence’..."

"Wadasi doesn’t understand English," Fushimi Roku deflected with his usual tactic, but it wouldn’t work this time. The same trick couldn’t be used on Minamoto Tamako twice. She pointed out that Mr. Fushimi graduated from Nagoya University, where passing grades in TOEFL were required for undergraduate admission, so how could he not have learned English!

"What are you planning to do then?" Fushimi Roku retorted.

Minamoto Tamako was stumped by the question; she had no experience handling such a thorny problem. In the past, it was always Mr. Fushimi with his crafty ideas, and when it was left to her to resolve, she was at a loss.

"What... what do you think?"

Minamoto Tamako had learned to throw the question back, a tactic Fushimi Roku often used, and using it gave her an odd sense of guilt over shirking responsibility.

"I think we should eat and drink as usual," Fushimi Roku said without looking up as he turned a page, "If the sky falls, tall people will hold it up."

Minamoto Tamako thought how could this be acceptable? Mr. Fushimi was slacking again, she’d scold him thoroughly when she got home...but now the priority was the investigation, she didn’t have time to argue with a lazy ghost, and she rushed to the court to apply for an extension of detention.

But this time she was rejected.

At the start of the new year, the public prosecution and legal departments were all pushing for achievements, with some prosecutor’s offices even blatantly posting "indictment goals" in their offices.

A case as straightforward as Kamei Riko’s impulsive murder should have been closed and submitted for prosecution long ago. Yet, Minamoto Tamako had been delaying it, dragging it out until the detention period was almost over, and now still wanted to apply for an extension... wasn’t this causing a delay?

With Kujo Yua’s tacit acceptance, the prosecution had already begun applying pressure. The chief was overwhelmed and couldn’t play the role of mediator anymore. Until the court notified him, he asked Minamoto Tamako to close the case...even if she disagreed, it was useless, as clerk Sakai had already organized the dossiers and related materials, transferring everything to the prosecution.

On the day the case was closed, the turbulent Sugamo suddenly calmed down.

No new murders, no new crimes, everything returned to its usual peaceful self-consistency.

Minamoto Tamako bet with her own hair antenna that there was definitely something wrong here! But she had no influence, without Mama’s backing, she was merely a simple patrol police, powerless to say anything.

Even after the prosecution filed charges, Minamoto Tamako still refused to give up, seeking a meeting with Kamei Mrs.’s lawyer to elaborate on doubts, providing considerable favorable evidence, and suggesting the lawyer make a defense for Mrs. Kamei’s innocence. The latter took it seriously, asked detailed questions, and assured her they would do everything possible to ensure no innocent party was wrongly imprisoned.

On the day of the trial, Minamoto Tamako dragged Fushimi Roku and others to attend. She clenched her fists nervously, watching as the defense lawyer eloquently delivered his case in court.

The lawyer claimed the client was highly likely to suffer from "pet dependency syndrome", a condition where the emotional needs meant for humans are almost entirely entrusted to pets, viewing them as the most intimate and important emotional companions, even surpassing reliance on family and friends;

He then cited various abnormal behaviors in the client’s daily life and presented a psychiatric evaluation to further elucidate the emotional abuse faced by her, to prove she had no self-control at the time of the incident;

Next, the lawyer slammed the table passionately, loudly declaring that Kamei Yuusaku, as the client’s son, knowing full well his mother’s mental issues, premeditatedly stole her pet, eventually leading to this tragedy... he provided various pieces of evidence, such as testimonies from fishermen, highway toll receipts, parking records, and hair and feces tests from the forensic department, all proving Kamei Yuusaku’s indirect involvement in the death!

...

The courtroom fell silent.

Minamoto Tamako was emotionally overwhelmed, utterly carried away, as the lawyer had completely voiced her thoughts. If it weren’t for the judge knocking his gavel for order, she would’ve stood up and applauded for the lawyer.

As such, as long as the judge wasn’t an idiot, they’d surely allow the police to conduct a further investigation, since the facts weren’t clear and there were many doubts, how could they easily hand down a verdict? Once the case returned, she would seize the precious opportunity to continue investigating!

"Don’t celebrate too soon," Fushimi Roku whispered while munching senbei, "The lawyer was hired by Kamei Yuusaku."

Upon hearing this, Minamoto Tamako widened her eyes, shivering with shock.