Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 581 Victims’ Families

The head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division is named Kato Touma.

The Criminal Investigation Department has departments such as the First Investigation Division (violent crime), the Second Investigation Division (economic crime), and the Fourth Investigation Division (organized crime). The head of the Criminal Investigation Department needs to balance the resources of each division to avoid overlapping functions.

In addition, he is also responsible for developing investigation standards, optimizing processes, and supervising the implementation by subordinate departments.

In the event of an emergency, he would be in charge of setting up a special investigation headquarters and allocating resources—the special investigation sections and investigation sections that had been used to investigate previous cases were all established or approved by him.

For serious cases that affect social stability, Kato Touma is required to personally supervise them.

For example, in the 1991 kidnapping of a corporate executive in Tokyo, he participated in the negotiation strategy and reported the progress to the Prime Minister's Office.

Kato Toru has been in a very bad mood these past few days.

It wasn't just because the Superintendent General of Police rejected his proposal for temporary martial law; the main reason was that the Minister of Public Security demanded the release of the list of cat islands and the 'selective' investigation of the perpetrators.

Those incompetent fools believe that the Cat Island incident has seriously threatened social stability, especially the relatively cruel videotapes, and that an explanation must be given to appease public sentiment.

However, Touma Kato does not agree with this.

"What do you mean by 'providing an explanation'? Isn't it just sacrificing subordinates and colleagues to shut up those troublemakers?"

"Which superintendent is not an elite graduate of a prestigious university? Which one is not a brilliant student who has studied diligently for many years? They have worked conscientiously for so many years, and even if they have not made any great achievements, they have certainly put in a lot of hard work. How can they expect to take care of the feelings of ordinary people?"

"We are police officers, not girls in a bubble bath shop!"

"In the end, it's all their own fault!"

"No one forced them to come to the island; they went there on their own. A bunch of idiots, a bunch of paupers, a bunch of greedy bastards—who can they blame for going to their deaths?"

Kato Touma was pouring out his grievances in his office, while the administrative officer stood by, pouring him drinks and nodding in agreement from time to time: "Yes, it takes two to tango..."

Just then, the landline on the table suddenly rang.

Kato Touma was quite disappointed and picked up his wine glass to drink by himself.

The administrative officer answered the phone and said in a businesslike tone, "Hello, this is Minister Kato's office... Okay, Mr. Higashiyama..."

The officer covered the microphone with one hand and whispered, "It's someone from the Ministry of Public Security, they want to discuss the list with you..."

Kato Touma picked up a small mirror from the table and started fixing his hair in front of it.

The mirror reflected a stern face with deep nasolabial folds and a downturned mouth. He was over fifty years old, with graying temples and thinning hair that required constant grooming and waxing to prevent the appearance of a receding hairline and bald patch.

"Just say I'm busy." Kato Touma applied hair wax to his palm and used his fingers to style his long hair towards his short hair.

The clerk relayed the words verbatim, but the other party was uncooperative, invoking the name of the Minister of Public Security. The clerk dared not be negligent and had no choice but to relay the message: "The Public Security Bureau has opened a case and says they want to speak with you..."

Kato Touma's office landline is an internal phone, which outsiders cannot call in, so for the time being, no one suspected the other's identity.

Recalling the argument at the meeting a few days ago, Kato Toru felt a surge of anger. He hadn't expected the Minister of Public Security to actually take action without warning: "Let me handle this."

The officer handed him the microphone, and Kato Touma put down his mirror, raised the microphone, and said, "Tell Chief Yamamoto that the Tokyo Criminal Investigation Department is on my shoulders, it's not his place to investigate! What case is the Public Security Bureau opening? Where did the Metropolitan Police Department get terrorists? If you want an internal investigation, wait for Chief Inspector Kujo's signature!"

After saying that, he slammed the phone down.

The clerk tried to calm Kato Touma down, but he was just feeling agitated. He quickly fixed his hair and called his subordinates to report on the case's progress, hoping to hear some good news.

Unfortunately, the investigators disappointed him again.

The videotapes were widely distributed, making tracing their origin extremely difficult. Accomplices could easily infiltrate video arcades, claiming to have seen the new videos elsewhere and continuing to distribute them.

The police had already shut down video rental stores of all sizes in Tokyo, effectively cutting off the transmission route. Logically, with gradual confiscation, the videotapes should eventually be eradicated.

But the investigators brought bad news.

"Many people are burning videos onto CDs, which makes the search more difficult. What used to be the content of ten videotapes can now be recorded on a single CD..."

The investigator stood in front of his desk, holding documents in both hands, and read aloud the findings of his investigation.

He had mentally prepared himself to be scolded before he arrived.

"So you mean there's been absolutely no progress these past few days?" Kato Touma interrupted.

"Yes." The investigator bowed deeply. "It was my incompetence; I am extremely sorry."

Kato Touma sighed deeply: "You know the rumors circulating outside, right? You and I are both on the list for Cat Island."

The investigators knew perfectly well that the rumors weren't just rumors; they had all been invited to visit Cat Island and gambled a few small stakes for fun. No one expected that just playing a couple of games would escalate to this point.

“I know,” the investigator nodded.

"Politics is a business. How can you get elected if you don't have money? What's with all this talk about cults? If you don't cause trouble, isn't it just the state religion? Even the prime minister supports religion. Supporting religion gets you votes. Smart people direct fools. That's how the world works."

Kato Touma stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said as he walked, "Are you religious? You don't, do you? I'm not religious either, the Prime Minister isn't religious either, and I bet those religious leaders don't believe what they say either. Only a fool would believe it."

"Now they feel cheated and are blaming us, which is completely absurd. Isn't religion a matter of freedom? The Metropolitan Police Department didn't force them to convert, so why are they blaming the Metropolitan Police Department now?"

The investigators wanted to say that "they" and "the Metropolitan Police Department" are two different things. They are now investigators and the head of the criminal investigation department, but that doesn't mean they are the Metropolitan Police Department itself.

But after thinking about it, he said nothing and simply nodded in agreement.

"Those ungrateful bastards are deliberately instigating riots and exacerbating social unrest!"

Kato Touma slammed his hand on the table and pressed, "The Metropolitan Police Department has ordered a ban on the distribution of illegal videos and shut down the video rental shops. Where exactly were those videos distributed?"

The investigator hesitated for a moment: "It's... the Victims' Families Support Association. They frequently hold gatherings and distribute videos. Not just in Tokyo, but throughout Japan, there are missing persons. Families inevitably worry that their loved ones have been kidnapped, so they spontaneously collect and watch the videos..."

Japan has a persistently high number of missing persons cases, while its crime-solving rate is shockingly low.

Sometimes, even if a murder occurs, if the body is not found, it is treated as a missing person case, and in the end, the matter is never resolved.

“Then arrest them,” Kato Touma said.

"Arrest?" the investigator asked. "Are you going to arrest the victim's family?"

“They are family members, not victims. We cannot use the name of our loved ones being harmed to endanger society.” Kato Touma paused. “There is also pressure from the councilors. Let’s put this matter aside as soon as possible. It’s worth making some sacrifices.”

The investigator nodded and went to carry out the order.

……

That evening, in a residential building in Sugamo.

Ogasawara Toshima and his companions stared at the screen, not wanting to miss a single frame.

His wife disappeared last year. She went out to buy groceries but never returned. He reported it to the police, but it was treated as a missing person case. The police didn't actually search for her, and there has been no news of her since. Ogasawara Toshima has been traveling around searching for his wife for years.

Until recently, when he heard about the Cat Island incident, he was both shocked and anxious.

'Perhaps my wife was kidnapped by those guys.'

Ogasawara Toshima couldn't help but have this thought. With a heavy heart, he collected videotapes, hoping to find out where his wife was.

Gradually, more and more people like him appeared around him. Everyone wanted to find their loved ones, worried that their relatives had been kidnapped to Cat Island and were suffering torture and abuse.

Some people found it and wept bitterly, but at least there was a result; others had to continue to suffer, searching with fear in their hearts.

They spontaneously gathered together and held regular exchange meetings at home. Today it was Ogasawara Toshima's turn. Everyone sat on the sofa, staring at the only monitor, carefully watching the contents of the newly collected discs.

"Hey! Is that your daughter...?"

"No, my daughter isn't that fat..."

"Wait, hold on, that man looks a bit like my son..."

"Sorry, I misread it..."

……

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Everyone looked at Ogasawara Toshima, and one of them asked, "Is anyone late? Or did you order takeout?"

“No, no one ordered delivery.” Ogasawara Toshima’s face darkened.

Upon hearing this, everyone scrambled to tidy up. Ogasawara Toshima quickly took out the discs and hid them all in a recess in the floor.

After hiding the contraband, Ogasawara Toshima walked to the entrance, approached the peephole, and loudly asked, "Who is it?"

A girl stood outside the door, wearing a small trench coat, looking like a high school girl, with two tufts of hair sticking up to the peephole.

"I'm Detective Minamoto Tamako from Sugamo Police Station. Is Ogasawara Shun here? We need your cooperation in investigating a case," the girl called out.

Ogasawara Shun turned around, and his companions behind him nodded in support. He swallowed hard, opened the door, and said, "I am Ogasawara Shun. What's up?"

"Well, I heard you're a family member of a victim of the Cat Island incident, and I'd like to ask you a few questions..." Minamoto no Tamako tilted her head to look inside: "Do you have some time?"

"I have other things to do, so I'll ask here." Ogasawara Shun blocked the door, preventing her from going in.

"Ok."

Yuan Yuzi nodded and explained her purpose.

She couldn't find Fushimi Shika during this period and was depressed for a long time. She decided to shift her focus and concentrate her energy on work and investigation.

In order to find out the source of the videotape and find the accomplices in the Cat Island incident, Minamoto Tamako has been interviewing the victims' families, hoping that they can act as witnesses and accuse the criminals who appeared on the video.

After hearing her purpose, Ogasawara Shun was momentarily stunned: "You mean... you're here to investigate a case?"

“That’s right!” Gen Tamako nodded, holding a notebook in her hand: “Mr. Ogasawara, which member of your family was murdered? Could you provide the victim’s name and age? The police will definitely open a case and investigate, and give you and your family an explanation!”

Ogasawara Shun's ears were ringing.

When he came to his senses, he realized that his eyes had become wet without him noticing.

"Please come in, please come in!" Ogasawara Shun welcomed Minamoto Tamako through the door: "I'm not a victim's family member, I'm not sure if I am... but there are victims' family members here..."

Minamoto no Tamako had noticed that there were other people in Ogasawara's house before, and when she entered, she found that there was a group of people.

There were office workers you might bump into on the street, teenagers in school uniforms, and full-time housewives in aprons... They all stared at Gen Tamako with pleading eyes, as if she were their last lifeline.

"Which one is a family member of the victim?" Yuan Yuzi asked.

Four or five people in the crowd raised their hands. More than one person in their family was missing, so they were still searching for the whereabouts of their other relatives.

Genji opened her notebook, took careful notes, and asked each question in detail.

Finally, in order to gather evidence, Minamoto Tamako requested to take the video disc with her.

Ogasawara Shun and the others looked troubled. The video discs were now contraband, and they had gone to great lengths to collect them. They would need to trade them with others in the future, so it was really inappropriate to just hand them over to the police so easily.

“Then let’s make a copy. I don’t mind a duplicate,” said Yuan Yuzi.

Ogasawara Shun was greatly surprised. In the past, detectives would want to destroy the video immediately when they saw it, but now Minamoto Tamako actually offered to make a copy.

'This female detective is different from the other police officers.'

The same thought popped into everyone's mind at the same time.

They pried open the floorboards and retrieved the video recording. Some people made a copy, while Ogasawara Shun gave his original to Minamoto Tamako.

He held Yuan Yuzi's hand, fighting back tears, "Please, I can only ask you for help... I've asked so many police officers... I... I have nothing to repay you with..."

“This is what I should do, and I don’t need you to repay me.” Yuan Yuzi didn’t feel proud, only ashamed.

She felt ashamed for the entire Metropolitan Police Department.

A loud bang suddenly came from the entryway, as if something had exploded. The riot police kicked open the door, brandishing batons and shouting, "Police! Everyone, put your hands on your heads and get down!"

The apartment descended into chaos. The boy instinctively grabbed the CD and ran, but the riot police rushed in and knocked him to the ground with two sticks. The office worker yelled and lunged forward, blocking the entrance and preventing the other riot police from entering.

Yuan Yuzi shouted for everyone to calm down, but her shouts were drowned out by the screams of the housewives.

In this situation, she dared not fire a shot, lest the mobile team misjudge the situation and startle innocent people, so she could only cover her head with her hands and keep shouting.

"Quiet!" The riot police officer tapped her on the forehead with his baton, the pain making her see stars.

About ten minutes later, the matter was finally settled.

The police officers apprehended the suspect and seized a large number of video discs, which they planned to take back to the police station for destruction.

Yuan Yuzi's anger reached its peak, and she insisted on finding the person in charge of the case to argue with him.

However, the recovery of the video footage was the direct responsibility of the head of the criminal investigation department, and she was not authorized to see Kato Touma, so she had no choice but to rush into the Metropolitan Police Department office to ask her mother for help.

"I'm sorry about this..."

Kujo Yui was sitting in her office chair, working on documents, when she glanced up and noticed the bump on Genji's forehead. She was momentarily stunned.
What happened to the injury on your head?

(End of this chapter)