Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 559 We've Made a Mistake

All the elite detectives in the Special Investigations Division fell into a blind spot: based on the victim's characteristics, they prejudicially assumed that the murderer was a government official or a wealthy young man with close ties to government officials.

However, the killer may not have known the victim and was not a government official.

When committing murder, the killer's preferred targets may not be 'disgraced officials,' but rather a list—officials who have been to Cat Island are all on the list.

Coincidentally, Kei Horie was one of the victims of Cat Island.

Furthermore, Horie Kei's mother was a member of the Cat Island cult, and his sister also suffered greatly as a result. After the Aum Shinrikyo cult was eradicated, Horie Junko disappeared without a trace.

He was recently granted probation, and then a series of murders happened. What a coincidence!

The above is Fushimi Shika's subjective guess, without any logical basis. He enjoys guessing, and if the range of guesses is too broad, he will write it down on a small piece of paper and draw lots to try his luck.

But Minamoto no Tamako is different; she excels at deduction. So this time, she did notice details that Fushimi Shika hadn't, such as why the murderer wrote "Heavenly Punishment," why the murderer killed Mizutani Rika, and why no suspects could be found in social circles...

Fushimi Shika didn't ask, but Minamoto Tamako couldn't help but think that if a detective doesn't explain his reasoning process, it's like wearing fine clothes in the dark, which can make people feel so uncomfortable that they want to scratch their heads.

"The meeting is about to start, aren't you going to ask me why I went to see Horie Kei?" Minamoto Tamako patted the passenger side dashboard with her small hands, as if she were playing the drums.

"I won't ask." Fushimi Shika focused on driving.

"Why don't you ask? Don't you want to know what's so urgent?" Minamoto no Tamako wanted to say something, but she didn't want to take the initiative and insisted that Fushimi Shika ask her.

If she just talks to herself, wouldn't that be like performing a monologue? That wouldn't be interesting!
No wonder TV dramas and novels always have a baka assistant. Minamoto Tamako originally thought that the baka assistant was just used to highlight the detective's intelligence, but she didn't expect that he also had the important role of being a straight man.

"Because you deduced that Horie Kei was a suspect, you canceled the meeting and went to see him immediately," Fushimi Shika said casually.

“That’s right!” Gen Tamako encouraged, “Don’t you want to know how I deduced that?”

"I don't want to." Fushimi Shika turned the steering wheel.

He was driving, and Yuan Yuzi couldn't grab his arm. She could only bob slightly in the passenger seat, like a restless child half-sitting on the chair: "How could I not want to? Of course you want to! Didn't you see? I just had a nosebleed! I deduced something incredible!"

"Do you have any evidence?" Fushimi Shika asked casually.

Genji was overjoyed. Just as Fushimi Shika was about to ask a question, she took the initiative and said, "There is no physical evidence yet, but I have a logical chain..."

Fushimi Shika immediately interrupted the spellcasting: "That's not important. It's enough that we know Horie Kei is a suspect."

“How can this not be important? How can you convince the judge to issue an arrest warrant without sufficient reasons?” Yuan Yuzi was very dissatisfied.

Fushimi Shika said, "It's alright. Let's catch the person first, and we can complete the emergency arrest procedures later. Instead of wasting your time talking about those messy things, why don't you ask me where I'm driving?"

Minamoto Yuko was taken aback, only then realizing that she had no idea where Horie Kei lived or worked. She had just called out casually, and Fushimi Shika immediately turned the steering wheel around.

"Aren't we going to Horie Kei's house?" Gen Tamako had a bad feeling. "Do you know where Horie Kei lives?"

"I don't know," Fushimi Shika replied truthfully.

"Then what are you doing..." Minamoto no Tamako rolled down the car window and looked out, noticing that Fushimi Shika's route seemed somewhat familiar.

“Go to the prison,” Fushimi Shika said. “He’s on probation and will be under the care of a probation officer. His home address is a required field, and they have all his personal information. Instead of searching around, we should just ask the officer directly.”

Genjiro suddenly realized what was happening and gradually calmed down. She called Commander Murata to explain the situation, intending to explain her reasoning process during the call and let Fushimi Shika hear it.

Her plan failed again. After hearing the reason, Murata An said very decisively, "Then you go and investigate first. When you come back, find the administrative officer to see the meeting minutes... Remember to give me Mizutani Rika's investigation report."

“Um…” Minamoto Tamako wanted Commander Murata to ask her how she deduced it.

"What's wrong?" Murata An asked.

She didn't care how her subordinates found the suspect, as long as they caught the person and had evidence.

"It's nothing," said Yuan Yuzi, a little annoyed. "We'll verify it as soon as possible."

"Okay." Murata Anzu hung up the phone.

Yuan Yuzi pouted and remained silent in a huff. She secretly vowed that she would never speak unless someone asked.

However, from the moment Fushimi Shika found the inspector, obtained Horie Kei's information, apprehended the person at her workplace, and brought her back to the police station for questioning, no one asked her a single question throughout the entire process:
How did you deduce that?

Only Section Chief Kinoshita asked, "Why arrest him?" Fushimi Shika casually replied, "This guy has a criminal record and is a suspect." Then Section Chief Kinoshita said "Oh" and ignored him.

Even though Minamoto Tamako was a seasoned investigator, she still felt that the Japanese police were arresting people far too hastily. However, these were extraordinary times, with gangsters frequently taunting the police on the streets. If arrest procedures weren't relaxed, the police simply couldn't enforce the law properly.

Horie Kei remained calm throughout. When he was arrested, he asked Fushimi Shika to wait two minutes while he tidied the shelves before extending his hands and voluntarily letting Fushimi Shika put on handcuffs.

It was rare to encounter such a cooperative suspect, so Fushimi Shika gave him the respect he deserved. When leaving with the suspect, he took off his coat and covered Horie Kei's wrists, obscuring the handcuffs.

This resulted in Fushimi Shika's pajamas being exposed, making him look like a handsome otaku who went downstairs to play with his friends while wearing pajamas.

Upon returning to the police station, Fushimi Shika took off his trench coat, put it back on, and carefully buttoned it up to avoid further damaging his reputation.

The three entered the interrogation room. Horie Kei was handcuffed to an iron stool. Fushimi Shika casually closed the door and asked, "Do you know why we arrested you?"

"I don't know," Horie Kei said.

His skin was already very pale, but under the cold light of the incandescent bulb, it had a deathly pallor. His prominent brow bones blocked the light, creating shadows under his eyes.

He seems to have suffered greatly these past few years, his youthful spirit has vanished, leaving only a near-numb weariness. Recalling his attempt to live off a woman last night, it's somewhat understandable; young people battered by society always seek shortcuts.

“If you confess honestly now, it can still be considered a surrender. But once I tell the truth, the nature of the crime will be different.” Fushimi Shika used interrogation techniques to put pressure on him.

"I really don't know," Horie Kei said, repeating the same statement.

“To tell you the truth, we won’t arrest anyone without evidence. We’ll wait for the culprit to commit further crimes and reveal flaws. We’ll only take action when we’re 100% certain. Do you understand what I mean?” Fushimi Shika continued to press the issue.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yuzi suddenly realized what was happening and couldn't help but widen her eyes. She wanted to speak but was afraid of interfering with the interrogation.

That's a good idea! We can secretly monitor the perpetrator and catch them red-handed when they commit another crime. Then we'll have both witnesses and physical evidence.
Why are you only saying this now?
Minamoto no Tamako suspected that Fushimi Shika was trying to slack off. After all, surveillance was a tough job, requiring 24-hour shifts and regular all-nighters. A moment's inattention could lead to someone escaping, making it far easier to capture and interrogate them.

"I don't understand," Horie Kei said, repeating the same thing. "Do you really want me to explain it clearly?" Fushimi Shika asked.

"Please make sure you explain yourself clearly." Horie Kei showed no signs of being pressured.

Fushimi Shika stepped forward, placed his hands on the table, looked down at Horie Kei, and said clearly, "About a week ago, a judge was stabbed to death in the street. A few days later, a politician hanged himself from a lamppost. On the same day, the politician's lover also died a violent death... Shall I continue?"

"I don't understand, what does this have to do with me?" Horie Kei looked puzzled and shrugged.

"There is evidence to prove that you killed him." Fushimi Shika's tone was very confident, as if the police station had already obtained complete witness testimony and physical evidence, and arresting him was just the last step in the process, and they could prosecute him at any time.

"I am innocent," Horie Kei said calmly.

Fushimi Shika's gaze slowly moved upwards, and he could clearly see a line of small characters floating above Horie Kei's head.

"60.1%"

"Pickpocket": Taking revenge for pleasure
"Cleansing Reward": Cleansing Horie Kei's sins will grant you Lv5 Presence Reduction.

……

When Fushimi Shika was a lawyer in his previous life, he encountered a special case.

The client was once an ordinary farmer. He and his father were abducted to an illegal coal mine, where they suffered almost cruel abuse. They worked eighteen hours a day and almost died from exhaustion in the mine.

Fortunately, one day when the illegal coal mine was expanding its production, there was a shortage of accountants. The foreman asked the coal miners if they could read. Out of more than twenty people, only he raised his hand—he had a high school diploma and could not only do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but also solve equations.

But his father didn't know how, and thus died in the mine.

Before long, he rose through the ranks to become a trusted confidant of the mine owner, not only managing the accounts but also supporting a group of thugs. To win him over, the mine owner married his daughter to him.

By this time, the client had turned his life around and was no longer thinking about indulging in pleasure. Instead, he was focused on finding the human traffickers who had kidnapped them and was determined to avenge himself and his father.

After searching for more than a decade, the client finally found the person who had been searching so diligently.

The human trafficker was over seventy years old and had long since retired. He married, had children, and opened a hotel in a small second-tier city, living a peaceful life.

The client arrived at the door with a group of thugs. In front of the human traffickers, he first killed the child, then raped and murdered his wife, and finally put the human traffickers under waterboarding, drowning them alive.

Due to insufficient police resources and rampant organized crime at the time, the client was not arrested immediately. He later committed several more massacres, killing several human traffickers.

The client's modus operandi was quite peculiar. Before committing the murder, he would deliberately disguise himself as a poor farmer, allowing human traffickers to abduct him and subject him to months of hardship in an illegal coal mine, harboring a deep-seated resentment. When he could no longer endure it, he would contact his henchmen to rescue him and seek revenge on the human traffickers.

When the country launched a crackdown, he was quickly apprehended.

At the time, Fushimi Shika asked the client why he did this—since he had already successfully avenged himself, why did he want to relive the pain of that year?

The client countered, "Do you know what revenge feels like?"

At the time, Fushimi Shika shook his head, indicating that he did not know and hoped that his client would be honest and not hide anything from the lawyer.

The client continued, "It felt so good to get revenge; it was like my scalp was about to explode."

"People often say that revenge leaves you feeling empty, but that emptiness actually comes after the initial thrill."

"It's like smoking. The first puff is the best. After you finish one, you feel great for a while, then you feel empty inside and want to smoke another one."

"So I killed one, and I want to kill another. Just killing people isn't fun; I have to kill people who have a grudge against me. The more I hate them, the more enjoyable it is to kill them."

"Can you understand?"

"I'm addicted to revenge."

……

Right now, Fushimi Shika stared at the small print after "bad habit," and he was absolutely certain that Horie Kei was the murderer.

Like his client, he was addicted to revenge.

Fortunately, Horie Kei has enough enemies that he probably won't be able to kill them all before he's caught.

"If you confess honestly, you might get a life sentence; but if we prosecute you, it will definitely be Si Xing." After threatening her, Fushimi Shika gave Minamoto Tamako a wink.

Now that they had a tacit understanding, Minamoto no Tamako immediately understood and played the role of a good policewoman, saying, "Horie-kun, Mr. Fushimi is doing this for your own good... Don't let his appearance fool you, he is actually a kind-hearted person, and he hopes you can seize this opportunity to turn over a new leaf."

She spoke with exceptional seriousness. Coupled with her cute appearance and non-threatening voice, she made a very good impression, and her ability to play the "bad cop" role was almost always successful.

"Stop arguing! Since he won't admit it, don't blame me for not giving him a chance!" Fushimi Shika shouted, slamming his fist on the table, trying his best to play the role of a violent detective.

Horie Kei leaned back and said, "But I really didn't kill anyone. Since you already have evidence, then show it to me."

Gen Tamako subconsciously replied, "It's not convenient for me to show you the evidence; we will submit it to the judge..."

"Aren't you going to present evidence to question me?" Horie Kei suddenly interrupted.

Genjiro then realized her slip of the tongue and had to turn around, lean closer to Fushimi Shika, and whisper, "Did we arrest the wrong person?"

"Didn't you deduce the truth?" Fushimi Shika asked back.

"It's just a guess..." Gen Tamako said somewhat guiltily.

Fushimi Shika didn't really have any good ideas. He just wanted to take a break. If he could get Horie Kei to confess through interrogation, that would be even better.

But now that hope has been dashed, Horie Kei is not taking the pressure seriously at all.

Fushimi Shika narrowed his eyes, then suddenly smiled, patted Horie Kei on the shoulder, unlocked his handcuffs, and said, "Then we must have made a mistake. Sorry, you can go now."

"Huh?" Minamoto Tamako was stunned.

(End of this chapter)