Chapter 58 Homicide

"Because the deceased's cell phone was not on his body, the possibility of him being intentionally pushed cannot be ruled out. Therefore, we conducted a further on-site visit. However, both the elderly residents and the staff at the nursing home stated that they did not see Mr. Amano that day, nor were there any appointments for services..."

"During the inquiries, we discovered that this Mr. Amano had been exploiting his position to defraud elderly people who trusted him of their money. The victims included Otani Shinjiro, who happened to be near the scene that day. Elder Otani had previously been swindled out of three million yen by him."

Minami did not take much credit for himself, but Shiraishi knew that he must have played a major role in gathering this intelligence...

After all, Minami possessed high proficiency and a gentle demeanor in [Interrogation]. Such daily small talk, especially when coaxing the elderly, was right up his alley—both casual inquiries and formal questioning fell well within the scope of his [Interrogation] skill.

"That Otani Shinjiro also lives in the nursing home? How is his health?" Shiraishi confirmed at this point.

"Elder Otani is already seventy-nine years old, and his legs are not very nimble. Although he doesn't need a wheelchair, he cannot do without a walking cane. He doesn't usually live at the nursing home, but he occasionally goes there for care services," Minami described Otani Shinjiro's physical condition in general terms.

"So... why bring the old man back to the precinct to assist with the investigation? Three million yen doesn't seem like enough of a reason, does it?" Shiraishi was still somewhat puzzled.

Could it really be as simple as having a motive? Besides, a mere three million yen... for an old man who was a former Ministry of Finance official, it shouldn't be much of a strong motive.

"Actually... when I went to question Mr. Otani, he confessed to the murder himself," Minami offered an unassailable reason.

Shiraishi: "???"

Indeed, regardless of who it was, once a person confessed to murder themselves, asking them to return to "assist with the investigation" was just a polite way of putting it; it was effectively an emergency arrest!

No wonder Kunikida had raised no objections to this either...

"However..." Minami's words wavered slightly at this point, as if something was bothering him deeply.

Ring, ring—

Right at that moment, Shiraishi's cell phone suddenly rang. "Hold on a second."

Shiraishi glanced at the screen and chose to answer—it was an unfamiliar landline number, but he recognized the prefix... It was a phone number from the Ministry of Justice office!

Back when he was independently investigating the Inukai case, Shiraishi had answered calls with this exact prefix countless times...

"Hello, this is Shiraishi Kuro," Shiraishi answered.

"Hello, hello, Chief Shiraishi. I have heard so much about you. I am Minister Takamori's secretary, my surname is Takagi. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

The male voice coming through the receiver sounded quite friendly.

However...

Shiraishi remained completely unfazed by this!

The Inukai gang back then had also used both carrots and sticks, trying coercion and inducement alike. It wasn't as if Shiraishi had never heard soft words coming from this very number.

"So it's Mr. Takagi. Hello," Shiraishi replied neither humbly nor overbearingly.

"Chief Shiraishi's previous defiance of the powerful has always been admired by Minister Takamori. Moreover... Chief Shiraishi must have heard that Minister Takamori has always advocated a heavy-handed approach to completely purge violent organizations. Minister Takamori has witnessed Chief Shiraishi's performance in the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division!

"It seems the Beika Precinct has encountered a tricky case this time, but Chief Shiraishi can rest assured—the Ministry of Justice is the police force's most solid backing! Chief Shiraishi should not feel any pressure. If certain individuals dare to overreach in the face of the law, Chief Shiraishi need not have too many misgivings. When it is time to strike, just strike..."

Takagi's words caught Shiraishi somewhat off guard—wasn't this supposed to be an attempt to shield one's own people?

However, Shiraishi did not feel overwhelmingly grateful because of this. He simply replied calmly, "Well, I will certainly handle the matter impartially, neither wronging the innocent nor letting the guilty escape. Please rest assured on the Ministry of Justice's end."

Takagi paused slightly, not expecting Shiraishi to... lack worldly tact so thoroughly?

Still, considering everything Shiraishi had done, Takagi took it in stride. After offering a few more hints, he hung up the phone.

...

"Go on, what were you going to say with 'however'?" Shiraishi was still more concerned about the case. Having put down the phone, he continued to press Minami for answers.

Yet...

Ring, ring—

His cell phone rang again!

"Wait a moment..." Shiraishi looked and saw that this time it was a saved number—a call from Iwata.

"Hello, Iwata." Given the Ministry of Justice call he had just received, Shiraishi guessed that Iwata wasn't calling him simply to chat idly.

"Shiraishi! You really are in a lucky streak... You already know that your precinct arrested a former Ministry of Finance official named Otani, right?" Iwata brought up the matter straight away, just as expected.

"Indeed, the new Minister of Justice's secretary just called me a moment ago... What is going on here? Does that Otani have some kind of grudge with Minister Takamori?" Shiraishi was genuinely puzzled by this affair.

"To people like them, what is a 'grudge'? It's just that Otani Shinjiro's son is blocking the path of a junior from the same faction as Minister Takamori!

"If Otani Shinjiro actually goes to prison this time, his son will undoubtedly be heavily affected, effectively knocking him out of the race for the upcoming Cabinet Secretariat position. The official who takes over as the Administrative Vice-Minister of the Cabinet will then be someone from Minister Takamori's faction. He definitely told you to enforce the law impartially, right?

"That way, you don't have to feel any pressure. Handle the case brilliantly, make it an airtight case, and give them no chance of an appeal. Once you forward it to the prosecutors afterward, you won't be an orphan of the police world anymore!"

Iwata was genuinely looking out for Shiraishi's interests.

After the Inukai case, although Shiraishi was in no immediate danger and no one would dare to touch him as a mere precinct chief at this moment, his future prospects looked bleak.

Even though Minister Takamori rose to power because of it, any debt of gratitude he owed was directed at Superintendent General Hakuba. As for Shiraishi Kuro, who had charged into the fray, he was a blade that was far too sharp; regardless of faction, everyone felt wary of him!

Of course, to Minister Takamori, it was merely "unnecessary to use this blade right now." But if an opportunity arose to let him see that Shiraishi was still quite useful, it wouldn't be out of the question to accept Shiraishi pledging allegiance...

After hearing the gossip about this matter from a friend in the Ministry of Finance, Iwata had immediately pieced the logic together and hurriedly called Shiraishi.

"I hope so... But the culprit doesn't seem entirely certain yet." As Shiraishi spoke, he glanced over at Minami, who was driving.

Without paying any heed to Iwata's exasperated nagging and rambling on the other end, Shiraishi hung up the phone first and turned back to Minami. "So, what else did you find?"

"Well... Chief, you'll understand once you look at the interrogation recording." Minami had already driven up to the front of the precinct building.

At the same time, Shiraishi noticed that a large crowd of reporters had gathered outside...

If someone hadn't deliberately leaked the news, Shiraishi wouldn't have believed it—after all, he had only just found out about the matter himself, so how could these reporters have rushed over so quickly?