Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 452 A Hasty Bet

The next morning, Fushimi Shika was woken up by a phone call.

Gen Tamako asked him to take Sakurako to school, and after that, they would meet at the police station. Dr. Arima agreed to come for a consultation, and now they were going to continue questioning the suspect.

Fushimi Shika sensed that Minamoto no Tamako's mood seemed to have returned to normal, and was even more upbeat than before.

"Uh...you chatted with Moriki Ayane all night last night?" He was a little worried that Moriki Ayane would tell on him, or say bad things about him.

"No, we just chatted for a little over an hour. It was too late when I got back, so I decided to stay overnight at Sister Ya Lan's house."

Yuan Yuzi paused, then added, "Are you going on a secret mission today?"

Fushimi Shika was about to slack off, but then he changed his mind and asked, "Is Abe here?"

“Yes, Section Chief Tom has transferred him here to assist in the investigation…”

"Oh, then I won't be on a mission today," Fushimi Shika said, holding his phone between his shoulder and getting up to change his clothes. "Wait for me, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Hey, so enthusiastic..." Minamoto Tamako was taken aback: "Looks like you and Abe are on good terms!"

"Why do you say that?" Fushimi Shika used his palm to catch water, rubbed his cheeks, and wiped them with a tissue, which he considered washing his face.

“As soon as I told you he was there, you rushed over; it was the same last night, when Abe was around, you became especially proactive in investigating the case... You weren’t this proactive when I called you before.”

Minamoto no Tamako was a little jealous. She felt that Fushimi Shika was a member of the detective team and should take priority in following the captain's orders, rather than investigating the case with an outsider.

This is similar to Hira Sakurako's little group. She, Mayu, and Mai are her friends, known as the "elementary school trio." If Hira Sakurako were to play with Shota one day, it would naturally cause dissatisfaction among Mayu and Mai.

"No way...you're overthinking it."

Fushimi Shika was worried about being found out for talking badly about people behind their backs. He was about to collect all the official stamps, but he didn't want to lose them again because of gossip.

“It’s alright, I understand. Who doesn’t want to stand out in front of their juniors?” Yuan Yuzi thought she was very magnanimous: “I won’t hold it against you.”

Fushimi Shika knew that Minamoto no Tamako had misunderstood, but he didn't explain. He remained silent for a while, which was taken as tacit agreement.

He changed the subject, chatted for a few minutes, hung up the phone, took Ping Yingzi to school, and then rushed to the police station to work on a case together.

Yuan Yuzi arrived at the police station early. She wanted to conduct an interrogation today, but the procedure was blocked again. No matter what she said, the detective in charge of the case refused to make an exception. She had no choice but to go to Section Chief Kinoshita. Unexpectedly, Section Chief Kinoshita said that he was not responsible for this matter and passed the buck back to the detective in charge of the case.

Before she could even complete the formalities, Miyazaki Yuko had already arrived at the police station with Arima Toshio.

The detective in charge of the case was named Akimoto Masahiko, 31 years old this year, and was about to be promoted to police inspector. He was considered a senior detective. He had a very bad attitude towards the two specially hired personnel, said a few sarcastic remarks, and made it clear that Minamoto Tamako had no right to interfere.
Arima Toshio, though not angry, maintained the kind smile typical of a psychologist, but turned to ask Miyazaki Yuuko what was going on and when they could leave.

Yuan Yuzi was stuck in the middle, trying to calm people down, becoming the sandwich filling.

Abe Rokuro wanted to help, but there was no place for him to speak. So he went to greet Miyazaki Chiko and Arima Toshio, soothing the guests and relieving some of the pressure.

A dozen minutes later, Fushimi Shika arrived at the police station. Minamoto Tamako, in a state of panic, immediately sought help from Fushimi Shika.

As usual, the latter invoked the Narcotics Investigation Division, demanding an investigation and interrogation of those involved in the case under the guise of narcotics control.

But Akimoto Masahiko didn't buy into that. He insisted on following procedures for interrogation: first, he'd get Higashiyama's signature, then Kinoshita's approval, and finally, he'd have to take the slip of paper to them. Otherwise, there was no point in talking.

Even a fool could see that there was more to this than meets the eye.

Arresting someone for drug use when they hadn't actually used drugs—how did that case even happen? Gen Tamako expressed doubt about this, but Fushimi Shika knew the inside story. Japanese law enforcement agencies have performance targets, and when detectives encounter cases they can't solve, they usually report them as 'suicide' or 'missing,' thus keeping the homicide clearance rate at 100% year after year.

If he's not mistaken, the whole thing went something like this:

A month ago, Masakyu Matsumoto went berserk in the street. After being arrested, the police discovered that he was mentally ill. Normally, the case could have been closed at that point, and the man could have been released to fend for himself.

However, the recent spate of random assaults has brought public anxiety about public safety to a peak. In the same year, Tokyo enacted a law on the management of mentally ill persons and amended legal provisions involving mentally ill persons in criminal cases, granting them the right to be exempt from criminal law and granted medical parole, which sparked public discontent.

During this period, a group of people have been blocking the courthouse entrance with signs, claiming that mentally ill people should also be punished for committing crimes and should not have any exemptions or privileges.

It is easy to imagine the immense social pressure that criminal police officers would face if they released mentally ill patients in this kind of social atmosphere.

The media will probably report conspiracy theories again, saying that Masakyu Matsumoto must have bribed the police to pretend to be mentally ill and exploit legal loopholes to escape punishment; or they will condemn the police for being irresponsible, failing to accommodate mentally ill patients, and neglecting public order, and demand that all officers apologize.

Akimoto Masahiko decided to go all the way and said that Matsumoto Masakyu had used drugs, so he detained him for a period of time and sent him directly to a drug rehabilitation center.

As for whether this matter would leave a record or ruin Matsumoto Masahiko's life, Akimoto Masahiko didn't care at all... Anyway, Matsumoto Masahiko was already insane, so what future did he have? Besides, what's the difference between a history of drug use and a history of mental illness? It's better to let them make some achievements, which can be considered as contributing to society.

Of course, Akimoto Masahiko felt that he was doing a good deed. If he just let the person go, there would probably be another homeless person's body under the overpass. Putting him in the detention center would at least provide him with food, lodging, and care, which was better than leaving him outside and letting him disappear inexplicably.

It wasn't just the Sugamo Police Station that was slacking off; detectives from other police stations were doing the same thing. They tacitly agreed to use the pretext of detaining drug addicts to deal with this group of mentally ill people who had gone insane, which attracted the attention of higher-ups in the Metropolitan Police Department.

As is well known, high-ranking officials in the Metropolitan Police Department are largely detached from the front lines. Some clever little devil suddenly appeared, compiled these fabricated case files, claimed that Tokyo was rife with drugs, and proposed a drug bust.

The higher-ups weren't necessarily fooled; they just saw an opportunity to make money and readily approved it. The Metropolitan Police Department established a narcotics investigation unit to gild the image of a high-ranking official's son, and the newspapers reported on it daily, boasting top-ranking narcotics results across the board. The entire narcotics operation was a farce.

If we can take down criminal gangs, why use the pretext of drug enforcement?

What's the point of drug enforcement if we can't take down organized crime groups?
The Metropolitan Police Department is now in an open understanding: the detectives handling the case know the drug addict is a fake, but they can't say it, or they'll be guilty of dereliction of duty; the higher-ups in the Metropolitan Police Department probably also know the drug addict is a fake, but they don't expose it, because if they did, they'd have no reason to make any political achievements.

At this point, nobody cares where these mentally ill people came from.

What Minamoto no Tamako wanted to do was to tear off this fig leaf, which naturally met with fierce resistance from top to bottom. Fushimi Shika knew that he couldn't go against the entire system; he had to separate the specific individuals involved from the relevant departments to avoid being overwhelmed by the sheer number of opponents.

Once he understood the key points, he naturally came up with a solution.

"Actually, it's like this: one of the suspect's clients had an improper business relationship with him, and we need to investigate the specific details..."

Fushimi Shika pulled Akimoto Masahiko into the office for a smoke. As they exhaled smoke, he said earnestly, "I know what's going on with that suspect, otherwise I wouldn't have brought a psychiatrist with me."

Akimoto Masahiko flicked his cigarette ash. He understood what Fushimi Shika meant and asked in return, "What if it gets cured?"

"It's not that easy," Fushimi Shika scoffed.

"What if?" Akimoto Masahiko asked, glancing sideways at him.

“Well then, I’ll transfer a full-fledged member from the investigation division and have him guarantee that this suspect can’t be cured,” Fushimi Shika said, his patience exhausted. He stubbed out his cigarette and said, “This is a serious case. If you insist on taking it so seriously, I’ll go find Chief Higashikata. At worst, I’ll just get a scolding.”

After weighing the options for a moment, Akimoto Masahiko figured that the detectives handling the case probably wouldn't reveal anything, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement.

The rest was easy. Fushimi Shika called Watanabe Shun over and vouched for them; Minamoto Tamako went to fetch the people, while Dr. Arima and the others waited in the interrogation room.

Abe Rokuro looked on with admiration, thinking to himself that Fushimi-senpai was indeed more amazing. What Tamako-senpai couldn't handle, Fushimi-senpai solved with a single move.

Watanabe Shun went out drinking all night again last night and planned to catch up on sleep during the day, but Fushimi Shika called him over, so he was a bit grumpy when he woke up.

He stood outside the one-way mirror, watching Dr. Ma treat patients, and muttered under his breath, "Who is this guy? He's acting all mysterious."

Akimoto Masahiko, who was also observing, looked at him with suspicion: "You don't know who he is? Isn't this case from the Narcotics Bureau?"

Watanabe Shun thought he had been caught slacking off, so he quickly coughed and tried to cover it up, saying, "I know, of course I know, what I mean is... I don't like this guy."

“Oh!” Akimoto Masahiko nodded knowingly and in agreement. “Me too.”

Dr. Arima examined the person for about half an hour, faster than Miyazaki Yuuko. After he came out, he pushed up his glasses and claimed that the person had been hypnotized and there was nothing that could be done. He said that once the person who gave the suggestion was found, the person would naturally regain consciousness.

Akimoto Masahiko couldn't help but chuckle dryly, turning to Fushimi Shika to ask where he'd found such a convict, and then inquired, "Is the Narcotics Investigation Division really that well-funded? Are you going through the reimbursement process again...?"

With a friendly smile on his face, Toshio Arima interjected, "Officer, don't you believe in hypnosis?"

"Does counting sheep count as hypnosis?" Masahiko Akimoto asked with a smile.

“Of course it counts.” Toshio Arima nodded.

"Haha, can you turn a person into a dog by counting sheep?" Akimoto Masahiko said with a cigarette dangling from his lips, his hands in his pockets, his face full of disdain.

Every tax season, the police department gains a new batch of "special hires," either recruited by section chiefs or invited by the commissioner. These people have one thing in common: their hiring fees are unusually high, and usually, the person responsible for hiring them reimburses the hiring expenses.

Masahiko Akimoto was a seasoned veteran, fully aware that the so-called "specially hired personnel" were either there to collect kickbacks or to balance accounts. Without exception, they were all practitioners of special social work, namely, so-called "private investigators" or "crime experts."

There's no need to give this kind of person a friendly look.

Arima Toshio guessed what Akimoto Masahiko was thinking. He took off his watch and said with a smile, "See? Patek Philippe. Your entire year's salary would only buy you a watch face."

Before Akimoto Masahiko could react, he reached out and put the watch into Akimoto Masahiko's pocket: "How about we make a bet? I'll bet on whether I can hypnotize you in three minutes. If I fail, this watch is yours."

Having said that, he clapped his hands lightly, like a shrewd businessman, rubbing his palms together, and laughed, "How about it? Was this a good deal?"

Akimoto Masahiko reached into his pocket with his right hand and glanced down. It really was a Patek Philippe. Although he couldn't tell if it was genuine, he was still a little tempted. Just as Ariji Toshio had said, the dial of this watch was worth a year's salary for him.

Because it's studded with diamonds.

“Sure,” Akimoto Masahiko patted his pocket and grinned, “Then I’ll accept it.”

Watanabe Shun was a little envious; he also wanted that watch, so he quickly leaned over and advised, "Why don't you reconsider? What if you've been hypnotized?"

"Impossible." Akimoto Masahiko said confidently.

Arima Toshio then said, "Since it's a bet, we should be serious about it. I've already bet a watch, what about you?"

Akimoto Masahiko didn't have anything of equal value to the watch, but he didn't want to lose face, and he was very confident, so he drew his police gun from his waist, weighed it in his hand, and pushed it in front of Arima Toshio.

“I want this gun,” he said.

Seeing this, Yuan Yuzi tried to stop him. As a detective, how could he use his service weapon to gamble? This was clearly a serious dereliction of duty!

Fushimi Shika, wanting to watch the drama unfold, quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Do you still want to solve the case? If you offend Dr. Arima, how can you investigate this case?"

Yuan Yuzi persisted, making muffled sobs and trying to pry Fushimi Shika's hand away. The latter had no choice but to continue, "How someone manages their own sidearm is their own business. You can't tell your colleague what to do... You can report him after he loses his sidearm."

That made sense. Yuan Yuzi hesitated for a moment and then fell silent.

Abe Rokuro was stunned. He felt something was off. How could Fushimi-senpai say such a thing?
Before he could even figure it out, the hasty bet between Akimoto Masahiko and Arima Toshio had already been made. Both of them wore confident smiles and even shook hands with each other as a sign of respect.

"Can we begin?" Akimoto Masahiko asked.

“Anytime is fine.” Toshio Arima rolled up his sleeves.

(End of this chapter)