Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 373 Fujiwara Homare's Superb Locked Room Murder

Meanwhile, at the Sugamo Police Station, after receiving the case file, Minamoto Tamago immediately went to investigate the scene.

This case wasn't particularly difficult, but it wasn't exactly simple either. On her way to the scene, she had already figured out the cause and effect.

Previously, Fujiwara no Kimiko had been away from home for several days, her whereabouts unknown, and she had not returned.

She knew the specific reason, after all, Fujiwara Homare had returned with them—however, after she returned, she did not inquire about Fujiwara Homare's condition.

I thought Fujiwara Homare would go home immediately to reunite with his parents, tell them how dangerous the cat island was, how he almost lost his life, and how he was so moved to tears to see his parents again... But in reality, Fujiwara Homare didn't go home. Instead, he called his friends and went to a bar to drown his sorrows.

The incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning. According to witnesses, Fujiwara Homare, as usual, was picking up women at a bar. He struck up a conversation with a woman and then took her back to his hotel. Although he seemed a little drunk at the time, he should still be relatively sober, at least able to walk without any problems.

The following morning, at six o'clock this morning, a hotel staff member was doing routine cleaning. Seeing that there was no "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, he used the master key to open the door as usual. However, he was surprised to find a safety chain hanging behind the door. Through the crack in the door, the staff member saw a female corpse, slumped on the edge of the living room.

After the initial shock subsided, the waiter reported the incident to the manager, who promptly called the police.

Sugamo police officers arrived first, and the patrol officers, along with forensic specialists, processed the scene, collected the victim's body, and woke up Fujiwara Homare, who was fast asleep in bed, taking him back to the interrogation room for questioning. After they had organized the criminal case file, they handed it over to the Sugamo Police Station for further processing.

Kinoshita Shojin took over the case file, unsure how to proceed with the investigation, especially since the suspect was the son of the Fujiwara family and also the son of the Superintendent General of Police…

But Yuan Yuzi didn't care about all the twists and turns. As a detective, her mission was to find out the truth and clear the deceased's name!
Yuan Yuzi continued to review the case file. The deceased's identity had been confirmed. Her name was Yoshikawa Rio, an elementary school English teacher. It was said that she had been troubled recently and went to a bar to drown her sorrows. She happened to meet Fujiwara Homare, and the two somehow became involved. In the end, Fujiwara Homare took her back to the hotel, where she died the next day.

When she arrived at the hotel, there was a crowd gathered at the entrance, and several reporters were trying to squeeze in.

Four or five patrol officers blocked the entrance, shouting at the reporters, but they ignored them completely.

Seeing this, Yuan Yuzi pulled up her pants. It was her first time going out on a field mission, and she was wearing a suit and trousers that were a bit too big and loose on her. She had to tighten her belt.

Heh heh, it's finally my turn to show off my skills!

She imagined what a detective would look like in a TV series, then coughed lightly, walked closer with a serious face, and slapped her police ID card out.

The Sugamo patrol officers recognized her and quickly set up a cordon, pushed aside the reporters, and made way for her: "Tamako-senpai, you've finally arrived..."

The reporters immediately turned their cameras around and started snapping photos of Yuan Yuzi. She blocked the lens with one hand, stepped into the scene, and told them to stop taking pictures, but she was actually very pleased.

This is right!

This is the kind of treatment a criminal investigator should receive!
But her joy was short-lived, as the patrol officers delivered a barrage of bad news: first, the victim's information had somehow been leaked, perhaps by witnesses who knew the deceased, or for other reasons; in any case, the victim's family and workplace all knew about it.

The deceased's family is now blocking the entrance to the police station demanding an explanation. I've also heard that the workplace has held a memorial service. It seems like it's only a matter of time before the outside world finds out the suspect's identity.

Yuan Yuzi felt that this matter was somewhat familiar. The case had just occurred, and the outside world was already making a great deal of noise. It seemed like she had seen this kind of thing somewhere before.

Adhering to the principle of respecting the suspect's privacy, she only replied with "no comment" no matter how the reporter asked.

As Yuan Yuzi entered the hotel room, she closed the door to prevent reporters from peeping in and meticulously put on shoe covers, a head covering, and gloves.

The patrol officer followed them inside and pointed to a white line at the end of the entryway, near the living room: "The deceased's body is lying here, face down..."

Yuan Yuzi leaned down slightly and observed carefully for a while. She could see a lot of bloodstains on the ground and a lot of bloody handprints on the wall. Upon closer inspection, she could see slight scratches, indicating that the victim had struggled before dying.

She then followed the trail of blood into the bedroom, where she found the bed covered in blood and the murder weapon lying on it.

A fruit knife stained with blood.

Yuan Yuzi took out a sealed bag, sealed the crucial evidence, and carefully examined it for a long time. She confirmed that the window was locked from the inside, there were no other entrances or exits, and there were no signs of forced entry at the front door...

In other words, this is a locked room mystery!
Great, finally we have a puzzle that she excels at!
While racking her brains, Minamoto no Tamako sent a message to Fushimi Shika, trying to recruit Fushimi Shika into her group... no, not trying, she absolutely had to recruit Fushimi-kun into her group!

After inspecting the scene, she rushed to the morgue to examine the body with the forensic doctor.

Rio Yoshikawa was a natural beauty, and even after being dead for half a day, her body still evoked a sense of melancholy, like the loss of a first love.

Yuan Yuzi and the forensic doctor put their hands together in a gesture of respect to the deceased, as is customary, before beginning the autopsy.

There were no obvious external injuries or bruises on the body. There was food residue and alcohol in the stomach. There were multiple stab wounds on the back. The fatal wound should be a ruptured spleen, with that stab being the deepest.

After the autopsy, the next step was pharmacological testing to rule out the possibility of poisoning. She couldn't help much with this part and could only wait for the lab results. After running between the two places, it was just past her workday—Kinoshita Shojin called her, telling her to let him know if she needed help, but absolutely not to mention forming a special investigation team.

"Okay, okay, I know, I know. It needs to be kept secret! Trust me, I absolutely won't let it slip!"

Gen Tamako readily agreed, feeling a heavy responsibility to keep the secret. This case was of utmost importance; there was no time to rest, and she had to summon the main members of the deduction team for help!

But Fushimi-kun didn't reply to her messages at all, so she simply went home in person and asked Fushimi-kun for help—if Fushimi-kun didn't agree, then she would use Rabbit Coins!

Solving the case is the top priority; personal pleasures must take a backseat!

As Minamoto no Tamako unlocked the apartment door, a delicious aroma of food wafted out. Without a second thought about what Fushimi Shika was secretly eating, she deftly slipped off her shoes, strode into the living room, and loudly announced, "A massive case! Section Chief Fujiwara has committed a locked-room murder!"

……

The three people next door heard everything clearly.

Watanabe Shun's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to ask Fujiwara Homare who he was, but no one paid any attention to his repeated calls. Moriki Ayaraku and Kazama Takusai looked at each other with serious expressions, then put paper cups upside down on the wall to try and hear more clearly.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Fushimi Shika was busy in the kitchen.

Hearing the door open, he quickly reduced the sauce and took it off the heat, striving to make tonight's candlelight dinner perfect.

Music was playing in the living room, fresh flowers were in a vase on the dining table, and there was delicious food he had cooked himself—the atmosphere was so perfect that Yu Zishou would definitely be unable to resist confessing her feelings to him!
When their feelings for each other deepened, he tricked Yu Zi into revealing her bank card password under the pretext of planning expenses together during their relationship.

Of course, he wouldn't touch Yuan Yuzi's own savings; he would only transfer the 25 million to avoid arousing Yuan Yuzi's suspicion.

Based on his understanding of Yuan Yuzi, this guy would never use the stolen money; he would definitely donate it to charity... His life is already pretty tough, so it's better to donate it to him than to let the good stuff go to outsiders.

However, the first thing Yuan Yuzi said when she entered the door surprised him.

How dare Fujiwara Homare kill someone?
And it was a murder in a locked room... How could he even have the brains to set up a locked room?

Fushimi Shika snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and thought to himself that this matter was unimportant; what did it matter to him if Fujiwara Homare committed murder?

He composed himself, forcing a flawless fake smile that anyone who saw it would have to praise for its deep affection: "You're back? Are you hungry? We can talk about the case later, let's eat first!"

Yuan Yuzi was already immune to it; she stood at the corner of the entrance hall, her face wary.

She loathed Fushimi-kun's previous act of pretending to be a cheerful, sunny boy. She hated this insincere behavior; it was so hypocritical and clearly had ulterior motives!

It's rare to see Fushimi-kun cook, today is truly a special occasion... What mischief has he gotten himself into this time? Or is he planning something mischief?
Although his smile seemed fake, the food on the table was genuine; Fushimi-kun's culinary skills were undeniable. Minamoto no Tamako swallowed hard and leaned closer. On the table were grilled cod, grilled eel with soy sauce, and a steaming bowl of hot potato curry beef brisket—it would definitely be delicious with rice!

"Hmm... okay, let's eat and chat."

Gentama sat down obediently at the table, and Hira Sakura also came out of the room and sat next to her at the dining table to wait for the meal to be served.

Even when investigating a case, you need to fill your stomach first. As the saying goes, sharpening your axe won't delay your work!

Yuan Yuzi couldn't wait to serve herself rice. She filled a large bowl with a big spoon, the rice overflowing, and she kept talking: "Have you rested enough? I see you're in the mood to cook, so it should be alright, right?"

Fushimi Shika couldn't say that he wasn't in a good mental state, because saying it would ruin the atmosphere. If he looked depressed, Minamoto no Tamako would definitely be too embarrassed to confess.

"Yes, everything's fine now," he said casually.

“In that case, let’s go investigate the case together!” Yuan Yuzi stretched out her spoon, scooped up a spoonful of hot curry, poured it over the rice, then picked up a piece of eel, placed it on top of the rice, and prepared to put it in her mouth to chew.

Ping Yingzi liked to eat beef brisket, and she secretly picked up a few pieces, piling up a small mountain of beef brisket in her bowl.

"Let's not rush the investigation..."

Just as Fushimi Shika was about to say something romantic to warm up the atmosphere, she was interrupted by Minamoto Tamako with a serious expression: "How can we not be in a hurry? This is a matter of life and death. We'll leave after we finish eating. We still need to interrogate Section Chief Fujiwara himself..."

She puffed out her cheeks, chewed repeatedly, and mumbled, "Um, we can't call him Section Chief Fujiwara anymore, we have to call him Suspect Fujiwara Homare."

(End of this chapter)