In Tokyo, a criminal

Chapter 395 Police-civilian cooperation, concealment, and righteous reporters (asking for monthly tickets)
The night of February 1993, 2 was destined to be a busy and fulfilling night for the bureaucrats in Sapporo.

This was especially true for the police headquarters' disaster response officer, who didn't even deserve a name. Based on the list of casualties compiled, he personally visited every household overnight.

"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"

He rang the doorbell of a dead person's house.

After a while, the back door opened, and a middle-aged woman with red eyes asked, "Excuse me, what can I do for you?"

It was obvious that she had just cried bitterly.

"Mrs. Yamamoto, my condolences. May we come in and sit down for a while?" The disaster response officer bowed politely with a gentle and friendly attitude.

Mrs. Yamamoto glanced at him, then at the two policemen behind him, nodded, and moved aside to make way for them to enter. "Please come in."

The disaster response officer bowed and walked in with two subordinates. After entering the living room, there was a middle-aged man with red eyes and a young girl.

"Mr. Yamamoto, I am the disaster response officer of the police headquarters. I am deeply saddened that your son died in the stampede tonight!" The disaster response officer bowed with a sad face, then turned around and took a suitcase from a subordinate and continued, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. This 20 US dollars is a small token of our police's appreciation. I hope it can more or less make up for the pain of losing your son."

"This... How can this be possible?" Mr. Yamamoto, who had been honest all his life, was stunned instantly, because he didn't think his son's death had anything to do with the police, nor did he think he deserved compensation. He refused again and again, "I can't take this money, I can't take it."

"Please accept it, Mr. Yamamoto. This money is not just for your family. The families of all those who died in this accident will receive this consolation money." The disaster response officer explained in a gentle voice.

Mr. Yamamoto looked a little confused at first, not understanding why the government gave them compensation for no reason.

Turning his head to look at his wife and daughter, seeing the eagerness and expectation in their eyes, he pursed his lips and suddenly burst into tears, saying with gratitude: "Thank you, Mr. Policeman, thank you so much, thank you country, thank you police."

He still believes that this is a compensation policy of the country, and his patriotism has reached its peak.

"Mr. Yamamoto, you are so polite." The disaster response officer handed the cash box to Mrs. Yamamoto, bent down slightly, took Mr. Yamamoto's hand and said, "As the saying goes, the dead cannot be resurrected, and life must go on. With this amount of money, you can have something to rely on in your old age. If you really want to thank us, we have an unwelcome request, and we hope you can agree to it."

"I will definitely agree, I will definitely agree. Please tell me what it is and I will do my best." Mr. Yamamoto sniffed, choked with sobs and nodded repeatedly.

The disaster response officer bared his fangs. "Last night's accident was a coincidence, a disaster that no one wanted to happen, but it has already happened. What we can do is to minimize the impact afterwards. In addition to considering the feelings of the victims' families and giving them monetary compensation, we must also consider maintaining the reputation of Sapporo."

"So we decided in great sorrow to tell a white lie for the sake of the future of Sapporo citizens. The number of victims announced will be lower than the actual number. Therefore, we hope that you will not tell anyone about the cause of your son's death."

"You...you want to conceal the truth! This money is not compensation, it's bribery!" Mr. Yamamoto reacted instantly after hearing what he said. The emotion on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by anger. He shouted with foam flying at the mouth: "My son is dead! A living person died like this! And I have to conceal the cause of his death for the future of you bureaucrats?"

"You can't say that. You're doing this for the reputation of Sapporo and for the 20 US dollars." The disaster response officer corrected himself, wiping the spit from his face.

"Get out! Get out!" Mr. Yamamoto was a completely different person from before. He snatched the money from his wife's arms and threw it at the disaster response officer, "Take your filthy money and get out of here right now!"

The cash box fell to the ground and bounced open, and brand new US dollar bills smelling of ink scattered all over the floor.

The gentleness on the disaster response officer's face was replaced by coldness. He kicked the cash box and said, "You old man, you are shameless. Your son is already dead. He would not have survived anyway. What's the point of dwelling on the cause of death? It's harmful to others and not beneficial to yourself! Can't you just live a good life with the money? Even if your son is alive, he may not be able to earn these two hundred thousand dollars in his lifetime!"

This is his true face. He was pretending to be tired just now. I thought that this old man would definitely agree because he was so honest, but I didn't expect him to suddenly turn hostile.

Then there's no need for him to continue pretending.

"You... you beast! Is that what a human being says?" Mr. Yamamoto was so angry that he was shaking, his face was pale, and his eyes were red. "If someone is too nice to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. Why did you hide the truth? You must be afraid of being held accountable. Why are you afraid of being held accountable? You must be responsible for tonight's accident! My son's death is related to you. I don't want money, I want justice!"

Mrs. Yamamoto and his daughter hurriedly supported him on both sides, fearing that he would faint from excitement.

"Oh! Fair?" The disaster response officer sneered disdainfully, looked around, and pointed at the shabby furniture. "Are hungry people qualified to talk about justice? Old man, don't be so selfish. After losing the pillar of your family, have you ever thought about how your wife and daughter who is still in school will live in the future?"

"Believe it or not, I can get your daughter expelled from school in a minute, or even put her in jail on a random charge! How can you fight us? Are you sure you want to ruin your daughter's future for your dead son? Please think carefully!"

Mr. Yamamoto's daughter's face turned pale. She grabbed her father's sleeve tightly and looked at him pleadingly.

Mr. Yamamoto's eyes were red and he was panting heavily.

"Your son's death has nothing to do with our police force. He can only blame himself for bad luck. Now I only give you two choices. Either take the money, or wait for your daughter to go to jail." The disaster response officer threatened coldly.

"You...you guys!" Mr. Yamamoto pointed at him with trembling fingers and was speechless for a long time. Then he suddenly knelt down and cried loudly, "Is there still law in this world? Is there still justice?" "Do you see the police badge on me? We are the law!" The disaster response officer chuckled.

Mr. Yamamoto cried bitterly, and when he was tired of crying, he calmed down. He turned his head to look at his wife and daughter who were full of worry, and said as if he had been completely drained of energy: "Okay, okay, okay."

The dead are dead.

But those who are alive must continue to live.

"That's right. Sooner or later, I will have to agree. Why do you have to force me to say something unpleasant? A man who knows the current situation is a hero." The disaster response officer showed a satisfied smile on his face and turned away. "Let's go to the next one."

The disaster response officer worked tirelessly, visiting all the victims' families overnight, and successfully got them to cooperate through a combination of hard and soft tactics, including intimidation and inducement.

This is the Japanese style of police-civilian cooperation.

....................................

The next morning, City Hall held a press conference.

Mayor Miyashita Hirokazu, dressed in black and with a white flower on his chest, walked up to the podium, bowed solemnly, and said in a low voice: "Today's press conference is mainly to explain to the public the stampede accident at the opening ceremony of the Ice and Snow Festival last night. The cause of the accident was that the serial dismemberment murderer hid the heads on the stage, and then they fell, causing panic."

"I fainted from grief the moment I saw the heads of the victims! The murderer was so cruel and despicable that he deserved death! Fortunately, the city hall had made careful arrangements in advance and made detailed predictions of all possible situations. In addition, the police responsible for maintaining order at the scene responded quickly and executed effectively, so the chaos last night with more than 3 people only resulted in the death of people."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar, and the reporters below couldn't help but whisper about it.

"Only three people died? Is this true?"

"Only two of our reporters died. How could there be only three? The number must have been underreported."

"I was there last night and the situation was so chaotic and the police did not respond effectively at all."

"Quiet! Please be quiet!" Miyashita Hirokazu shouted twice, and then continued: "In addition, more than a hundred people were injured and sent to the hospital. This is a blessing in disguise. Of course, as the head of Sapporo's government affairs, I am like a head of the family. All citizens are my family. Every death is enough to make me feel heartbroken. Please observe three minutes of silence for the victims."

Then Fujimoto Takaei took the stage and made a statement, "The serial dismemberment case has been taken over by newly appointed Superintendent Aoyama Hidenobu. With his ability, I believe it won't be long before the murderer is brought to justice. Please pay further attention."

Aoyama Hidenobu's name is still very useful.

Not to mention ordinary people, even the reporters at the scene had no doubt whether Aoyama Hidenobu could catch the murderer. This is the confidence that zero defeat gives people.

"Inspector Aoyama is in charge. The murderer will definitely be caught. This evil man will pay the price."

"Yes, that's great. The dark clouds hanging over Sapporo are finally about to be dispelled."

"With the help of Inspector Qingshan, the murderer will be found out and will receive the punishment he deserves..."

After the press conference, all the reporters couldn't wait to leave and rushed back to write press releases.

There was only one young reporter with long hair and a camera slung across his shoulder, frowning and looking uncertain, as if he was in a state of confusion.

"Hey, Ryosuke-san, what are you thinking about? You look absent-minded." A beautiful short-haired female reporter wearing a beige coat, blue jeans and black boots patted him from behind.

Matsushita Ryosuke was startled, and after coming to his senses, he looked at her and said, "It's reporter Chiyo, don't you think there's a loophole in what Mayor Miyashita said? Do you really believe that only three people died in such a large stampede? Two reporters from our station died last night alone."

"You mean, the city hall concealed the real death toll?" Chiyo Hashimoto frowned.

Ryosuke Matsushita nodded seriously.

"That's too bad! In that case, let's find out the truth and then report it to Inspector Aoyama! He is such a righteous man, he will definitely not sit idly by." Hashimoto Chiyo's face was serious.

Matsushita Ryosuke took a deep breath, "Okay! One of the responsibilities of a reporter is to report the truth."

At the same time, inside the police headquarters, Superintendent Aoyama, who is regarded as the embodiment of justice and has high hopes by two young reporters, is doing something unjust.

(End of this chapter)