Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 155 - 77: The Perfect Alibi

Chapter 155: Chapter 77: The Perfect Alibi

Minamoto Tamako wanted to approach and ask about the situation, but the assistant immediately took a step to the side, blocking her way, and said gently, "Sorry, Chief Kujo hopes you can get some good rest and avoid getting involved in any more murder cases for the time being."

"It’s not right for you to do this, how can you restrict someone’s freedom?" Tamako pouted.

"Please understand Chief Kujo’s good intentions, Miss Tamako. She doesn’t want you to get hurt again," the assistant said seriously.

Even though she hadn’t been involved in frontline criminal cases for a while, she knew very well how low the chances were of recovering a missing person case these days... even if there were new leads, it would likely be a false hope.

Even if the person was found, it might not be a good thing, after all, the missing person was probably a human puzzle when recovered.

"But what does this have to do with Senior Feng?" Tamako looked around the assistant, towards the area behind the cordon, "Why are they searching his house? And Senior Watanabe, where has he gone?"

She had a vague, uneasy suspicion in her heart.

The assistant didn’t answer; she just repeated, "I hope Miss Tamako gets some good rest."

Tamako was about to explode with anger. It was unbearable talking to this person, but her upbringing prevented her from acting recklessly.

After holding it in for a long time, Tamako huffed, stomped her foot in anger, turned around, and went back to her apartment, slamming the door shut heavily.

The assistant sighed, thinking that being a nanny was not an easy job.

Come to think of it, Miss Tamako, being a Police Chief’s daughter, could have just laid back and enjoyed life, yet she worked so hard. Perhaps this is what elite education is all about...

No matter how complicated the assistant’s feelings were, Tamako, after returning to her room, quickly kicked off her boots, barefooted, ran into the living room, and made a simple stethoscope with a latex tube, a funnel-measuring cup, and some clear tape to eavesdrop on the noises next door.

"I really didn’t expect something like this to happen to Kazama..."

"It’s not so surprising; this is the result of not following orders!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"He obviously wanted to seize credit. In the end, he got intercepted by the Heavenly Punishment Group and lost an arm, presumably a doomed fate."

"Eh... so that arm at the scene was his, huh."

"You didn’t know?"

"Then what are we still looking for?"

"We can’t rule out the possibility of an accomplice, and even if it’s futile, the search must be thorough! Another team has already gone to the dojo to find his daughter, and anyway, no clue can be overlooked."

"Yes!"

"But speaking of which, where did the Heavenly Punishment Group come from?"

"Yeah, that’s strange, we’ve never heard of them before. And they’re so disciplined, they don’t seem like an ordinary yakuza group..."

"I’ve heard their leader is a woman."

"Really? A mountain gorilla woman?"

"No, apparently she’s got a great figure."

"Eh... got any pictures?"

"No, but there are eyewitnesses. How many women could be good at Sword Dao and have a great figure?"

"Captain, you don’t know, do ya? Women practicing Sword Dao usually have great figures..."

...

After that, it was all men’s dirty talk, making Tamako blush to her ears, so she quickly put down the simple stethoscope.

Never thought Chihime would get caught up in this...

What to do?

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she had seen Mr. Fushimi. What was that guy doing lately? Why wasn’t he at home in broad daylight... Could it be that he was involved in the investigation work?

Sherlock Tamako discovered a blind spot. Flustered, she took out a pink flip phone from her pocket and quickly typed a message to Fushimi Roku with her thumbs.

"What are you doing? Investigating? Can you take a call?"

Minamoto Tamako bit her thumbnail, waiting for ten seconds or so, but Fushimi Roku didn’t reply. He might be delayed by something. She had to stand up, pour herself a glass of cold water, gulp it down in one go, and only then calmed down a little.

Why isn’t he replying?

Tamako put down the glass, lay on the sofa, furrowed her little brows while staring at the phone screen, wishing there was a feature to see if the other person had read the message.

She quelled her impatience and waited five minutes, but Fushimi Roku still didn’t reply. She couldn’t wait any longer and muttered aloud to herself, "Since you’re not talking, I’ll take it as your default approval."

Tamako opened the contact list, pressed the only other contact beside Mama, and hit dial. A long series of monotonous ringback tones rang out.

"Moses?" Fushimi Roku’s voice came on.

Tamako’s little tuft of hair perked up immediately, and she quickly placed her phone to her ear. "Where are you? Do you know about the Sugamo riots? And about the falling case, I found some new leads..."

"Mmm hmm... I see... hiss..."

Tamako frowned, listened closely, and couldn’t help but ask, "What are you doing? Why are you so out of breath while talking?"

"Am I?" Fushimi Roku’s voice suddenly stabilized.

"Yes! It’s obvious! And were you feeling guilty just now?" Tamako squinted her eyes, wondering what this guy was up to behind her back.

"I’m just too busy, so busy I can hardly catch my breath—listen to my breathing, huh huh huh huh..."

"No, what exactly are you busy with? That’s the reason I called you..."

Buzz.

Tamako heard the call disconnect. She called out a few times and, seeing no response, looked down at her screen to find that Fushimi Roku had hung up on her!

Nonsense!

She dialed again, and the voice notification said the other party was busy. In rage, she began rolling around on the sofa, wishing she could bury her head inside the phone to peer through the airwaves to see what that rascal Fushimi Roku was up to!

...

Fushimi Roku was indeed busy.

He was occupied with destroying a mess of files in the junk room.

Fortunately, he was prepared in advance: He tore down the whiteboards, stacked them, covered them with a curtain, and considered it cleaned up.

Taking advantage of the police station being empty, Fushimi Roku carried three whiteboards to the crematorium, slipped the workers a ten thousand yen ’tip’ to help incinerate the boards, saying it was to commemorate his deceased parents... Don’t ask why they had to be burned at the crematorium; say it’s for environmental protection.

At temperatures reaching a thousand degrees Celsius in the furnace, the paper and plastic burned to ashes.

After finishing his task, Fushimi Roku rushed nonstop to the dojo where Kazama Chihime was located.

After the riot ended, he was also assigned to the investigation. Originally, he should assist the other criminal police to question Kazama Chihime, but midway he found an excuse, ran back to handle the evidence... being out of reach for too long would arouse suspicion, so he had to hurry back and join the criminal police team.

Furthermore, Fushimi Roku heard Kamei Yuusaku’s last words before his death.

If he’s guessed it right, the one who decapitated him was Kazama Chihime...

He rushed as fast as he could, and finally made it to the Kage-ryu dojo before the other criminal police got suspicious. He pushed open the courtyard gate, jogged to the main hall, and bowed, apologizing, "Sorry, I’m late..."

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

In the spacious dojo, several criminal police were questioning the staff. Kazama Chihime and Watanabe Shun were kneeling, speaking in low tones. Upon hearing footsteps, the two turned their heads simultaneously, with the latter assuming the senior’s authority and scolding, "Why so slow? Our boss’s life and death is uncertain; now’s not the time to be slacking!"

Then, Watanabe Shun turned his head, softly comforting Kazama Chihime, promising that the police would definitely find her father.

After a round of questioning, several staff members at the dojo confirmed that Kazama Chihime was washing the copper armor during the Sugamo riots, and neighbors also saw her in the yard picking up clothes... In short, she had a perfect alibi and no motive for the crime.

Even so, the detectives from the Investigation Division did not act carelessly. They conducted cross-examinations, compared statements, expanded the investigation scope, ruling out the possibility of witnesses conspiring to give false testimony;

Subsequently, they searched the dojo, finding no suspicious bloodstains or potential weapons. This dojo was passed down through the family, with frequent inspections from the Cultural Heritage Bureau, so a secret room or hidden compartment was unlikely.

After thoroughly dismissing suspicions, the leading officer bowed and said:

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Kazama. We all sympathize deeply with your father’s situation... We must continue our investigation, so we won’t take up more of your time."

Kazama Chihime looked worried, folded her hands, bowed slightly, and gently saw them off, saying:

"Thank you all very much."