Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 44: The Disappearing Bullet

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Disappearing Bullet

Yoshimura Yu wanted to say something more but was stopped by the other instructors. The ringleader causing trouble must be apprehended, so the instructor stuffed his mouth with a rag and dragged him into the mountain cave.

The situation finally calmed down, and Shirata Masahiro shouted, signaling everyone to return to the mountain cave first.

He softened his tone, soothing the trainees, claiming, ’You are all students I am proud of,’ ’You are all admirable men,’ ’After graduation, you must work hard...’ Hearing this, the trainees were moved to tears, making the scene exceptionally emotional.

"The mist is about to clear, take a ten-minute break and prepare to continue," Shirata Masahiro said, his face pale, managing a smile, "This is the final stretch, let me see your resolve!"

"Yes!" the trainees responded in unison.

Shirata Masahiro nodded with satisfaction, saying everyone regained their spirits and that they could all pass. They were so stirred up, moved to tears, and felt their blood boiling, ready for anything.

Yoshimura Yu alone was silently shedding tears, looking like a dead dog, being supported by the instructors, clearly not intending to walk on his own.

The instigator, Fushimi Roku, was indifferent to this. He followed Minamoto Tamako into the mountain cave and found the skeleton.

Only then did everyone remember that Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako had returned to the snowy mountain to investigate this skeleton. While they were still worried about descending the mountain, Minamoto Tamako had already returned despite being ill to investigate the case... It wasn’t a gap in ability, but a difference in determination.

’Utter defeat...’

The same thought occurred to everyone simultaneously.

The two had not yet approached when Miu quickly warned, "Be careful! That, that skeleton can move..."

As she spoke, the skull moved again, aligning itself towards Fushimi Roku. The latter, unhurried, glanced at Minamoto Tamako and said, "Go on, it’s your time to shine, world-class detective, future famous police chief, famous detective..."

"Enough!" Minamoto Tamako’s face turned red, quickly reaching out to cover his mouth, "Don’t say that in front of everyone!"

"What does it matter, anyway, after graduation, we all might lose touch. Why not seize the moment and show off a bit..." Fushimi Roku said, yawning. He hadn’t slept all night, having taken care of Minamoto Tamako, and was now very sleepy, urging, "Hurry up, it’s freezing, I want to go back and catch up on sleep."

Minamoto Tamako nodded, approached the skeleton, deftly put on white gloves, and began to carefully examine it.

Several trainees curiously gathered around, craned their necks from four or five meters away. They all wanted to know why the skull moved but were too embarrassed to ask, so they pushed Hideo to be the fool.

"So, Tamako, have you found anything unusual?" Hideo asked.

"There are two points of suspicion."

Minamoto Tamako pointed to a gap in the skull and said, "First, this hole in the skull should be a gunshot wound. When I first discovered this skeleton, I noticed it, which led me to suspect the deceased died of foul play."

"At the time, I couldn’t examine it closely because of the mountain search, but I clearly remembered a rusty bullet was embedded on the other side of the skull. It seems the bullet penetrated the left side of the skull, went through the brain, and lodged into the right side..."

Saying this, Minamoto Tamako turned the skull to face Fushimi Roku: "What’s strange is, this bullet is now missing."

"Huh?" Hideo was startled.

He thought, is that the main point? Shouldn’t the focus be on why the skeleton moved? How could Tamako act so nonchalantly as to turn the skull?

Before others could react, Minamoto Tamako continued, "The second point of suspicion is the deceased’s jacket pocket."

The skeleton was draped in a tattered jacket; the undershirt had already rotted to shreds. Minamoto Tamako carefully turned the jacket pocket inside out, and it was empty.

"Is there anything suspicious about this?" Hideo was confused.

"It’s too clean, no dust," Minamoto Tamako flipped another pocket inside out, revealing it full of dust and debris, "indicating something was originally in this pocket, likely a solid object that filled the whole pocket, recently removed... likely the same person who took the bullet."

As she explained, more and more trainees gathered to watch the commotion.

"Ah, I see," Hideo scratched his nose, "Actually, everyone is more curious why the skull could move..."

"Because there’s a snake inside, didn’t you see that?"

Minamoto Tamako’s expression seemed to say ’Why would you ask such a foolish question?’ She ’pulled’ the skull off the cervical spine, turning it to show Hideo.

Inside the skull curled a small snake, which had wrapped around the cervical spine with its belly, probably trying to find a place to hibernate. It was disturbed by the trainees, writhing uneasily, causing the skull to rotate. In the dim light, it seemed as though the skull moved on its own.

So that’s how it was...

Everyone suddenly realized, losing interest in further inquiry. Instructor Shirota clapped his hands, indicating break time was over, and everyone set off.

Fushimi Roku checked his watch, feeling it was getting late, and indeed time to go back.

Suddenly, Minamoto Tamako turned and asked, "Who was the first to discover the skeleton?"

Kuroki Miu, puzzled, weakly raised her hand, "It was me..."

"When you arrived at the cave, did you see any footprints?" Minamoto Tamako asked again.

"No," Miu turned back, seeing everyone packing up to leave, she said, "Is there anything else to ask? If not, we are about to set off..."

"Wait!"

Minamoto Tamako waved her small hand, pointing at everyone, striking the classic pose of ’the culprit is among us,’ saying, "Among you, someone has stolen crucial evidence! If you wish to leave, please first return the stolen item!"

Everyone was taken aback, their first reaction was confusion; who would take something from a skeleton?

"It started snowing after the mountain search last night. If an outsider entered the cave at night, they would leave footprints in the snow. Since there aren’t any, that bullet must have gone missing after you came in,"

Involving a homicide, Minamoto Tamako had principles she couldn’t compromise. Her small face was stern as she earnestly said, "Please cooperate with the investigation; it will only take a few minutes, just to say who approached the skeleton..."

"Sorry, I have no time to play detective games with you here," Shirata Masahiro interrupted, "I have to be responsible for my students, we must leave now."

"Didn’t we agree to rest for ten minutes?" Fushimi Roku tapped the face of his watch with his finger: "It’s only been seven minutes; a delay of three more minutes is no problem, right? Besides, the fog outside hasn’t completely cleared. Do you have any urgent matters, Instructor, that you need to leave for?"

Under the slightly doubtful gazes of others, Shirata Masahiro was silent for a moment, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a puff of white smoke.

"Then let’s wait three more minutes."

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