Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 294 - 215: A Precarious Position

Chapter 294: Chapter 215: A Precarious Position

Minamoto Tamako was stunned. The images on the screen were breathtakingly beautiful, and that woman seemed otherworldly, capable of passing through the flames...

"Did we capture a ghost?"

She had heard before that cameras could capture things that weren’t clean, such as ghosts that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. This is a common trope in horror films, where the protagonists would always find a strange face or shadow in their pictures...

Perhaps influenced by Wulin Temple, her mind kept conjuring up tales of spectral murders, rebirth in flames, and monster crimes.

"Ah no, it should just be the camera image affected by the flames, strong light overexposure affecting the dynamic range," Mori Hajime scratched his head; he was, after all, a professional photographer who could see it at a glance: "This woman just walked from the other side of the bonfire pile."

"So that’s it..."

Minamoto Tamako sighed in relief, thinking she was overthinking it. It seemed that Wulin Temple greatly influenced her worldview, so when faced with inexplicable situations, her first thought wasn’t to uncover the truth but to attribute it to ghosts.

This trip was indeed necessary for her to adjust her mindset!

Minamoto Tamako patted her face; she had to be fully alert concerning Sakurako’s safety!

At this moment, Fushimi Roku suddenly said, "But why does that woman look so big? Mainly because she looks so close to the bonfire pile, which is why she seems to be walking out from the fire?"

"Near appears large, far appears small—it’s a matter of shooting angle," Mori Hajime said.

"Oh..." Fushimi Roku showed sudden realization and then asked, "So why is she so big?"

Mori Hajime patiently explained to the laymen: at the time, Sakurako, the camera, and the bonfire pile formed a triangular position, with the lens facing Sakurako, and the right side corner capturing part of the bonfire pile. At this time, the mysterious woman walked past the side closer to the lens...

"That’s roughly it," Mori Hajime asked Mizutani Hiroshi to demonstrate again through filming: "She was closer to the camera, so she’s bigger."

Fushimi Roku gave Mori Hajime a meaningful look, his gaze intriguing, making the latter a little uneasy, suspecting he might have said something wrong.

Minamoto Tamako suspected he was playing dumb, but she had no evidence and couldn’t be bothered to pursue it further. She repeatedly watched the tape recording; the mysterious woman seemed to have said something to Taira Sakurako, and the latter left the camera’s shooting range with her.

In other words, Taira Sakurako left with someone willingly.

Minamoto Tamako bit her thumb; she suspected kidnapping but felt it unlikely. Taira Sakurako was so smart; how could she casually walk away with someone?

She turned to ask Fushimi Roku for his thoughts; the latter was less worried after watching the tape.

If Taira Sakurako had met with an accident like falling off a cliff, a car crash, or food poisoning, it would indeed be necessary to find her quickly; but now that Taira Sakurako left willingly, it suggests she knows what’s happening, just needing some personal space.

After all, she has a gun in her hand.

If the other party truly were a kidnapper, Taira Sakurako would probably be busy dealing with the body now, so not answering calls might be normal... With her solitary habits, she shouldn’t easily let strangers close, and the chance of a kidnapper successfully attacking is very low.

Fushimi Roku didn’t want to elaborate on the police gun matter to avoid being nagged by Minamoto Tamako, lest he lost another green redemption coupon.

But if he didn’t honestly explain it, Minamoto Tamako would be worried sick. Fushimi Roku mulled over it for a moment and decided to continue playing deaf, saying, "How about asking other tourists? Kids might not remember, but such a pretty Dancing Girl might leave an impression on everyone..."

Minamoto Tamako nodded, biting her thumb and mumbling, "Good idea; we could also ask local residents, as they might recognize this Dancing Girl."

Mizutani Hiroshi felt asking individually was inefficient, proposing to use broadcasting to gather everyone and publicly inquire, recreating the crime scene. Having been running all day and exhausted, he devised this method to save some energy.

Minamoto Tamako found the proposal good and immediately decided, setting off.

The group headed to the broadcasting station, notifying the inn owners and tourists involved in the bonfire party to gather at East Sea Inn for investigation questioning. Before broadcasting, Minamoto Tamako had already confirmed that East Sea Inn is the largest hot spring inn in Izu Town, with a banquet hall accommodating hundreds.

"You’re being too official."

Fushimi Roku leaned closer to the microphone, adding: "Anyone participating in the investigation has a chance to win a mysterious prize. Also, the inn responsible has the duty to cooperate with police investigations and ensure the safety of the tourists... Above all, thank you for your cooperation."

After announcing the notice, the group left the broadcasting station and headed to East Sea Inn.

On the way, Minamoto Tamako couldn’t help but ask what the ’mysterious prize’ was, and Fushimi Roku shrugged, indicating he hadn’t prepared anything; he’d just pick a random flower to reward the winner.

"How can you do that? Isn’t this deception?" Minamoto Tamako found such behavior immoral.

"Where’s the deception? I never said what the mysterious prize was," Fushimi Roku replied unhappily, glancing at the small bell in her hand: "If you’re dissatisfied, you could give away that broken bell, a prize worth a thousand yen!"

Hearing this, Minamoto Tamako blew up in anger, loudly emphasizing that this wasn’t a broken bell but a Fate Bell!

It symbolizes the indestructible friendship of the detective team, so how could it be given away so casually?!

Fushimi Roku didn’t bother arguing with her, quickly speeding up and leaving Minamoto Tamako behind, with an attitude of not listening or caring. Seeing this, Minamoto Tamako took out a small white notebook to continue recording Fushimi Roku’s offenses.

"Attempted to give away the Fate Bell, disregarding the detective team’s friendship"

Minus ten points!

After writing, Minamoto Tamako was still vexed, thinking for a while, continuing to walk and write, adding another score: "No prize prepared, deceiving innocent tourists"

Minus one point.

Hmph, unconsciously already deducted seventeen points, leaving only 83 total now; Fushimi’s position is shaky!

Later, when Fushimi learns of this, he will probably regret it deeply, maybe even begging her for another chance...

Thinking of this, Minamoto Tamako felt better and immediately put away the small white book, catching up quickly to focus on investigating Sakurako’s whereabouts.

As for the charred corpse in the bonfire pile, they temporarily had no time to examine it, so it was set aside for now. Everything has a priority order; for Minamoto Tamako, living people’s safety always outweighs the truth about the dead.

Half an hour later, a considerable crowd gathered at East Sea Inn, including almost all inn owners in the town district. After all, they could leave the monk but not the temple; Fushimi Roku calling on the name of protecting tourists’ safety, they had to show up somehow.

The countryside banquet halls in ’91 differ from large hotels in later years, mostly just a large expanse of tatami, separated by wooden planks and small square tables, with the corridor leading out to the hot springs, where everyone sat on cushions on the floor, looking like a gang of mountain bandits.

Minamoto Tamako clapped her hands, attracting everyone’s attention. Mizutani Hiroshi and Mori Hajime borrowed a projector, set up a screen with white cloth, and began playing the scene of the fire.

Despite the lack of audio, the excellent visuals still elicited gasps from the crowd. Minamoto Tamako pointed to Sakurako and the mysterious woman’s side profile, asking if there were any witnesses who had seen these two people.

"Well..."

Someone hesitantly raised a hand, asking, "Did she walk out of the bonfire?"