Chapter 59 Doubts

Inside the conference room, Shiraishi was watching the recording of the previous interrogation...

"That damn kid talked about some new strain of pesticide-free, natural green apples, claiming that as long as I subscribed to a fruit tree, I'd make a guaranteed profit. In the end, I subscribed to one hundred and fifty trees, and they only mailed me two boxes of ordinary apples! I didn't see a single coin of return!

"Because of this incident, my damn son actually said I'm senile and old-lumpish, and forbade me from managing my own money... Do you understand what that means?

"The reason human beings are human is precisely because we can independently use money. A person who cannot independently manage their own money can't even be considered a complete human being!"

Shiraishi: ......

Now Shiraishi finally understood why the old man was so furious over three million yen.

Was he lacking those three million yen?

No. It was because of those three million yen that his spending was restricted, and furthermore... as a former official of the Ministry of Finance, he held a distinctly different "concept of human rights."

In his view, this was an infringement that stripped away his very right to exist as a person.

As for the process of the scam, it was actually quite unremarkable: fabricate a commercial project, forge data, and then pull in investments. It could be said to have been specifically designed for the elderly—the so-called "lifestyle consultant" was basically just teaching seniors how to allocate their assets for investments!

Afterward, Shiraishi also watched the crime process confessed by Shinjiro Otani...

"That's right, my rage was uncontrollable! So I made an appointment to meet him, asking him to refund my money. But that damn kid just knelt and apologized while stubbornly refusing to give the money back... So I used my walking stick, thrusting it fiercely against his chest, and pushed him down!"

Shinjiro Otani seemed to have no intention of hiding his crime. Coupled with the fact that the interrogator at the time was Seiji Minamoto, the confession of the crime went very smoothly.

However, at that moment...

Minamoto couldn't help saying with a sigh of regret: "Mr. Otani! How could you... We had other ways to resolve this. For you to do something like this... Oh..."

"Hmph! Anyway, I don't regret it. After he fell, looking at the bloody sunset, my heart finally settled down a little bit..." In the recording, Otani's eyes appeared vacant as he muttered these sentiments.

"Eh? A sunset?" Minamoto asked, looking startled.

When Minamoto tried to ask further questions, Shinjiro Otani's mental state seemed somewhat off, and he began to repeatedly zone out, leaving Minamoto with no choice but to let him rest first.

"A sunset? His mental state doesn't seem quite right." Shiraishi also noticed the problem.

First of all, the victim's time of death was shortly before the report came in—it definitely happened in the morning. Moreover, that long flight of stairs faced west. Anyone looking out from there during the incident would definitely have seen the morning glow, and it would have been entirely impossible to see a sunset at that time.

Added to Shinjiro Otani's mental state...

It really did seem a bit abnormal!

"So at the time of the incident, he might very well have been out of his mind? But... could it be that he's deliberately putting on this act to escape punishment?" Kunikiro couldn't help saying at this point—he had seen plenty of guys who feigned madness and stupidity.

"No, we've also verified with the nursing home. Mr. Otani does indeed suffer from occasional absent-mindedness, zoning out, and forgetfulness... It's probably an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, though his condition has been controlled and he doesn't usually get like this when his emotions are stable," Minamoto quickly explained.

"Hmm, there's no need to fake it either... After all, he was the one who voluntarily mentioned that he killed someone during the preliminary interviews. If he wanted to escape punishment, he simply shouldn't have said anything from the very beginning," Shiraishi nodded as well.

Although they could have investigated and found out even without him saying it, still...

Shiraishi didn't think someone who confessed to the crime so readily would play such tricks.

"However, there is indeed a red mark on the victim's chest. Upon comparison, its size matches the tip of Mr. Otani's cane," Kanzaki spoke up at this moment.

The atmosphere at the Mika Precinct's case discussion meetings was always excellent; even with the Chief present, everyone dared to speak their minds freely.

Yet the moment Kanzaki said this, Shiraishi immediately raised an eyebrow, as if he had noticed something.

At the same time...

Kunikida walked in with a rather troubled expression, saying helplessly, "Chief, that Section Chief Otani insists on seeing you."

He had gone to deal with him for a while, but hadn't been able to brush him off.

"Alright, then I'll go meet him... Is anyone still continuing the investigation right now?" Shiraishi confirmed first.

Hearing this, Kunikida nodded and said, "Of course. The Aoki team is still canvassing the nursing home for other victims, the Hayatani team is investigating the victim's interpersonal relationships, and Makitaka and Suzuki are searching the victim's home."

Since Shinjiro Otani had claimed he committed murder and they had brought him back for interrogation, there was naturally no problem with detaining him. However...

Testimony like his was essentially invalid!

Kunikida hadn't given up on other investigative directions just because of this...

Shiraishi nodded at these words, and before he could even head to the reception area to look for Shiya Otani, he heard voices outside.

"Mr. Otani, you can't go in..."

"Step aside!"

Ignoring the obstruction from the reception staff of the police affairs division, Shiya Otani forcefully barged into the case discussion meeting.

"Chief Shiraishi! What are you people trying to do? My father is eighty years old, and you've just arrested him like this... Do you seriously intend to convict him based solely on the testimony of a senile old man?" Otani angrily accused Shiraishi.

It wasn't until Shiraishi stood up that he finally... reined himself in a bit.

"Mr. Otani, is it? Your father currently does indeed have murder suspicions, and his detention at the moment is completely justified. We certainly won't judge a case based solely on verbal testimony, but we also hope you can cooperate with our work... Of course, considering Mr. Shinjiro Otani's health condition, we will arrange for a doctor to examine him," Shiraishi walked up to Shiya Otani and said neither servilely nor overbearingly.

Shiya Otani looked to be in his forties. If he could soon be promoted to "Director-General of the Minister's Secretariat," he would indeed be considered part of the young elite, with an excellent chance of advancing to "Administrative Vice-Minister." One could say his future was extremely promising, but...

This had nothing to do with the case at hand.

"I—"

Seeing that he was about to say more, Shiraishi directly interrupted him: "And if Mr. Shinjiro Otani truly committed the crime while mentally deranged due to excessive psychological pressure, it currently appears that the source of that pressure is none other than you, Mr. Otani, isn't it? As a qualified official, I hope you can recognize your own mistakes rather than continuing to obstruct our investigation."

"You—"

After taking a rebuff—neither too soft nor too hard—from Shiraishi, Otani had no choice but to leave dejectedly. As he walked away, he naturally dropped a parting threat: "My father has Alzheimer's disease! All your current testimonies are invalid! My lawyer will be here shortly!"

Shiraishi didn't pay him any mind, simply making a "please feel free" gesture.

After Otani departed, Shiraishi turned to Kunikida and the other detectives present and said, "Let's go take a look at the victim's body!"

Although Kunikida was somewhat reluctant, since it was Shiraishi's proposal, he didn't refuse—the current Kunikida actually had no desire to touch frontline investigations anymore. Usually, he arrived right on time and left right on time, strictly refusing to work overtime. Like today on a Saturday, if not for the truly extraordinary circumstances, he wouldn't have been at the police station at all...