Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 456, Uesugi is exonerated!
P.S.: Due to unforeseen circumstances (referring to the blind date), today's chapter is only a combined two-part one of 5400 words. It's tough being the emperor, and I know it's tough for all of you readers too. Let's all make the best of it!

After leaving the Metropolitan Police Department, Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly felt not bad. He walked alone on the streets of Chiyoda Ward, spreading his arms and making a "Y" shape.

Praise the sun!

He didn't know how much time had passed, or how long it had been since anyone had conducted a private investigation. Ever since he became sworn in with Erena Ikeda, Erena would always be by his side when he went out to investigate cases. Although Erena wasn't always able to be of any use, having her by his side was always a safety net.

Erena also accumulated merits by spending all her time with Uesugi Muneyuki, and her promotion was very fast.

I'm really not used to not having her by my side right now.

However, true strength lies in one's own strength, not in the strength derived from position or bloodline. Uesugi Muneyuki always kept this in mind. Just as the Yonezawa Uesugi clan is still quite respectable and influential in Japan today, it is not because their ancestors were named Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagekatsu, but because the ninth generation Uesugi Takayama successfully reformed and accumulated a huge amount of domain treasury funds.

This allowed the Uesugi clan to escape the disasters of the late Edo period thanks to their sufficient wealth. Then, because the head of the clan at the time, Uesugi Shigenori, distributed most of the clan's savings to the samurai, they avoided samurai rebellions and the huge inheritance tax during the Meiji era. Finally, because Uesugi Shigenori took the initiative to speak up for the people after entering politics, he was subjected to the iron fist of the clan government, which forced the Uesugi clan to give up politics and transform into a scholarly family.

The next head of the family, Kensho Uesugi, studied at Cambridge University in England. After returning to Japan, he became a royal advisor to the Imperial Household Agency. The next head of the Uesugi family, Takayuki Uesugi, graduated from the Department of Buddhist Literature at Tokyo Imperial University and became a professor at Yamagata University. Then, his grandfather, Kuninori Uesugi, graduated from the University of Tokyo and stayed on as a professor of cosmology.

Fortunately, the Iron Fist incident prevented any member of the family from participating in World War II; otherwise, they would certainly have been targeted by Emperor MacArthur during the post-war purges by the US military.

Although his father was incompetent in many ways, he was fortunate enough not to cause much trouble. Now that he and his brother had both entered Tokyo University, the family's reputation could be maintained for at least three generations, including his generation. As for what would happen to future generations, that was beyond his control; he could only rely on their wisdom.

So, what exactly happened to my brother?

After this incident in March, the family had been secretly investigating, but it seemed that the older brother had discovered it and volunteered to go on a business trip to participate in an archaeological excavation activity. He wouldn't be back for a month, so the family's various attempts to probe him had to be abandoned until he returned.

They're not really going to count on me, are they? But I'm already a member of the Watanabe Uesugi family!

This Uesugi is not that Uesugi.

However, you can't write two Uesugi characters in one stroke.

Ugh, I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll wait for my brother to come back and have an open and honest talk with him.

After some thought, Uesugi Muneyuki decided to first trigger the Azure Stone and try to communicate with the two deceased, Okada Miki and the bartender Koizumi Ryosuke.

As for his need to avoid suspicion, that's true, but he doesn't need to give a direct conclusion. He just needs to keep reminding Kashiwagi Jin through Kashiwagi Meisa, which is something he excels at.

Under his guidance, Meisa Kashiwagi has already been dispatched to the front lines due to "involvement in Metropolitan Police Department personnel matters and Sakura Club affairs".

Thinking about her relationship with Meisa Kashiwagi, Muneyuki Uesugi smiled slightly.

"I really need to keep a closer eye on you, old man!"

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

Uesugi Muneyuki moved very quickly. That afternoon, just as Sugishita Ukyo, the head of the First Investigation Division, arrived at the front line in Ota Ward to set up the Special Investigation Headquarters and gather nearby police forces to conduct a thorough search of Okada Masayoshi, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived near the morgue where the bodies of Okada Miki and Koizumi Ryosuke were temporarily kept.

Surprisingly, both Okada Miki and Koizumi Ryosuke strongly resisted Uesugi Muneyuki's spirit communication. Koizumi Ryosuke, in particular, developed a great fear of Uesugi Muneyuki, and his spirit resolutely refused to be communicated with. Clearly, Koizumi Ryosuke knew how troublesome it would be if the police uncovered these matters.

Although Okada Miki was highly resistant, a trace of resentment still emanated from her. She was filled with intense unwillingness and pain. Therefore, although she also refused to be psychiced by Uesugi Muneyuki, as she expressed her wishes, the two still established a connection.

[Ladies, I'm so regretful! I thought I married a rich man—a police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department's professional division, and his dad's a big shot in the Financial Services Agency! But look what happened! He's just a stubborn, poor cop! His salary is a pittance, and he hands over 500,000 yen a month, and he won't even buy me a Hermes Kelly bag! He talks about 'police officers being honest'? It's laughable! Look at other people's husbands; anyone with a little power is making a fortune in under-the-table income. He's so high and mighty! Now I'm stuck living this stingy middle-class life! I really don't know how his dad, with such a high position, managed to keep all the perks for his son? Or is he just too stupid to accept them?]

Miki Okada completely ignored Muneyuki Uesugi's questions and continued to vent her frustrations.

Uesugi Muneyuki's lips twitched, and he clenched his fist. As a frontline detective, he knew all too well the cost of corruption in the police force and the value of integrity. Such a blatant complaint that "her husband doesn't accept bribes" was an insult to the police badge and the greatest desecration of Okada Masayoshi's commitment!
"Mrs. Okada, why did you have an affair? Who killed you?" Uesugi Muneyuki shouted.

Okada Miki's soul completely ignored Sugi Muneyuki, and she continued to mutter to herself: "I saw that old movie starring Noriko Sakai again the other day… Sigh, back then, he pursued me just because I looked like her, didn't he? It's ironic now. Who does he think he is? A cop who deals with criminals all day! Besides that face and that intimidating family background, what else does he have? Money? Status? Nothing! His father doesn't even acknowledge me as his daughter-in-law! What did I marry him for? Just the empty title of 'Inspector's Wife'? Even going to a nearby nightclub or bar to keep a bartender requires careful budgeting! I've had enough of this life!"

[I agreed to marry him not for a cheap 2LDK apartment, not for a monthly expense of only 500,000, but for living in a grand mansion, wearing designer brands, and attending high-society gatherings. And yet, I get none of that! None at all! So what am I marrying him for? For some stupid "hero's wife" title?]

【Chizuko Ueno is absolutely right! Marriage is an institution that oppresses women! Look at me! I'm bound by marriage to a boring, poor, self-righteous policeman! He and his arrogant father are, at their core, accomplices of patriarchy! What have they provided me? So-called 'stability'? Bah! It's poverty and confinement! They use the empty title of 'Inspector's Wife' to trap me, depriving me of my right to pursue true happiness and wealth! This kind of man, this kind of marriage, should be utterly destroyed!】

As an independent woman of the new era, I smashed chains and gained freedom!

Uesugi Muneyuki's contempt ran even deeper: he belittled Okada Masayoshi's proud professional identity as "a cop who deals with criminals all day long," and attributed the motivation for marriage to "upper class."

No, how exactly did she manage to hook up with Masayoshi Okada in the first place?
Could it be that this woman specially trained in "fishing techniques" in Shibuya and Kabukicho?

You've also read Chizuko Ueno's works, right?

Uesugi Muneyuki almost laughed in anger. Although Ueno Chizuko was a troublemaker, leaving a stench of excrement wherever she went, and making a fortune by promoting feminism, selling books and courses, and then disappearing after living in a luxury house and driving a high-displacement car, she didn't really care about the lives of women at the bottom of society. But at least Ueno Chizuko advocated that so-called women's independence was highly related to economic independence, and she opposed materialism.

Perhaps for Mrs. Okada, Chizuko Ueno wasn't extreme enough.

"Is this your excuse for cheating, Mrs. Okada?" Uesugi Muneyuki sighed. He truly felt sorry for Okada: "Wasn't he recently made a hero? He even got injured, and everyone's praising him!"

[A hero? Ha, just a fool who took the fall for someone! What good is he? Can honor feed me? Can it buy me a new Van Cleef & Arpels necklace? The more the media praises him, the more annoyed I get! If he were really dead, I could use the title of 'hero's widow' to get some benefits, maybe even hook up with someone richer and more powerful. Now? Humph, half-dead, and I have to pretend to visit him in the hospital, so annoying!]

[By the way, Uesugi-san, you're with the Metropolitan Police Department, you should know, right? How are the Metropolitan Police Department's survivor's pension and compensation calculated? I heard the amount is quite substantial, enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life! If Okada dies in the line of duty, how much will I receive each month? I heard there's also a large sum of cash; how much will that be? Sigh, why did I have to die first?]

Now he's the one collecting my compensation! It's infuriating!

Seeing that Okada Miki was still complaining, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately turned off the psychic communication, leaned heavily back against the wall, rubbed his eyes, pinched his sore nose, and wore a complex expression that was a mixture of extreme shock, deep contempt, and a sense of absurdity.

I need a word that's even more offensive than "stinky sign"!
Uesugi Muneyuki vaguely sensed the human emperor's anger.

Ahhhhh! Eight-Armed Divine Emperor above! Let your purifying golden flames burn everything!

Imagine the surging river of blood, the golden throne flowing with blood and brass, and the murderous intent and glory that permeate the pile of bloody skulls, all dedicated to every peerless warrior who fights, climbing together the endless ladder forged from blood and skulls. Is that the emperor's call?

Hmm, it seems that's correct!

Lord of mankind, grant me strength!

"Heh...heh..." He let out a low, sarcastic laugh: "This is...refreshing the limits of our understanding."

“Okada… I’m starting to ‘understand’ you a little now.” Uesugi Muneyuki muttered to himself, his voice full of sarcasm: “Having such a… scumbag wife. On the surface, she’s glamorous and beautiful, but behind the scenes, she’s a greedy, heartless, and vicious woman who curses you to die day and night so she can collect her pension! She even uses the honors you earned with your life as a stepping stone for her to climb the social ladder!” He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the police lights still flashing outside, the force searching for Okada Masayoshi.

“No wonder…no wonder you lost control.” Uesugi Muneyuki’s eyes turned incredibly cold and certain: “Living under such resentment, greed, and curses for a long time would drive anyone insane! Discovering her affair with her lover on Black Valentine’s Day…that was the last straw that broke the camel’s back! Public opinion pressure? That was just the spark that ignited the powder keg! The root of the problem lies in this woman’s greed and malice!”

The last trace of pity that Uesugi Muneyuki felt for Okada Miki because of her victimhood had vanished, leaving only pure, cold contempt.

He viewed these statements as the most powerful and convincing supplementary evidence to Okada Masayoshi's motive for murder—the image of a pitiful yet hateful man who had been subjected to long-term mental abuse, curses, and exploitation by his wife, and who finally exploded under extreme stimulation, was fully formed in his mind.

Reasonable!
Now all you need to do is perform a death flashback.

Uesugi Muneyuki immediately began the next step.

He performed a death flashback on Miki Okada.

However, the situation ahead once again surprised Uesugi Muneyuki.

In the flashback to his death, a tall, muscular man with unkempt long hair and a gloomy expression appears in Okada Miki's memories.

Nani? ? ?

Uesugi Muneyuki had no choice but to overturn his own conclusion on the spot, thus contradicting himself.

Okada, not the murderer?
........................

When Meisa Kashiwagi arrived at the scene, the entire apartment had been sealed off.

"Mingsha, you're here." When Bai Muren saw his wife, a look of relief appeared on his face: "As expected of you, we've found out the truth."

“After you reminded us, we investigated the nearby flower shops. According to the florists, Okada bought flowers for his wife at the flower shop around 9:51 a.m., which means the previous time frame for the crime doesn’t apply.” Kashiwagi Jin said easily, “So my deduction is correct. Okada committed the crime between 10:00 and 10:05 a.m.

"Is that so?" Kashiwagi Meisa's gait was a little unnatural, and her face, which was usually icy and aloof, was still slightly flushed. She thought for a moment and then asked in a low voice, "Um, have you found any other ways to enter and leave the apartment without being monitored?"

"Have."

Kashiwagi Jin showed Kashiwagi Meisa two places.

These are the emergency exit door at the back of the apartment building and the garbage transport passage leading from inside the building to the outside.

Neither of these areas has surveillance cameras. The emergency exit door requires a special key, which only the homeowner has. Then there's the garbage transport passage, which is very well hidden and would be unknown to anyone who isn't very familiar with the residents.

Therefore, this must have been committed by someone known to the victim!

Therefore, it must have been Okada who did it!

Detective Jin Kashiwagi confidently tells his wife, "The cunning frog has been touching your belly!"
“Mingsha, there’s no need for that. We already have enough evidence, clues, motives, and surveillance. The only thing we need to do now is bring Okada to justice. You can go back now.” Kashiwagi Jin said to his wife, “I regret what happened to Mrs. Okada, but there’s no point in you staying here.”

Meisa Kashiwagi didn't leave. She temporarily left the scene and secretly took out her phone.

After a while, Meisa Kashiwagi found her husband again: "Um, Jin..."

"What is it now? Haven't I told you everything I needed to tell you?" Kashiwagi was already getting a little impatient.

“Um, I was thinking, is there a possibility… that Okada-san isn’t actually the murderer?” Kashiwagi Meisa said weakly, “I remembered something, and that was the shoe print.”

"Shoe prints?" Kashiwagi Jin was taken aback. He thought for a moment and said, "That's right. We did find Okada Masayoshi's shoe prints at the scene, and we found them all the way through the emergency escape route and the underground air conditioning room. Doesn't that confirm that Okada is the murderer?"

"Um, I mean, besides Okada, didn't you find other shoe prints at the scene?" Kashiwagi Meisa said, her legs trembling slightly. "Could you check if there are any similar shoe prints at the back door of the emergency exit and the garbage room?"

“There were indeed other shoe prints at the scene, but that’s not normal…” Kashiwagi Jin was so annoyed by his wife’s continued nagging that he subconsciously retorted.

However, before he could finish speaking, the star inspector of the Metropolitan Police Department suddenly realized what he meant.

Yes.

There were indeed other shoe prints at the scene, and they were very fresh. Since Okada's shoe prints were checked, why weren't the other shoe prints checked as well?

There may be more witnesses, or perhaps more clues!
"Mingsha, you've found another blind spot!!!" Bai Muren exclaimed excitedly. If there weren't so many people around, he would have loved to give his wife a big hug!

How come I never realized my wife was so amazing before?
How about we transfer Meisa to the First Investigation Division in the future, so that my husband and I can work together to fight against the husband-and-wife team of Uesugi Muneyuki and Watanabe Minami!
Hmph~ The Special Missions Division has Uesugi, but I have Meisa! With my husband and I working together, we might just be able to firmly suppress Uesugi!

Thinking this through, Kashiwagi Jin finally snapped out of his rut ​​that "it must have been Okada who did it." He immediately ordered an investigation into the other shoe prints at the scene and specifically focused on two locations where surveillance could be avoided to verify the information.

This confirmation came at dusk, when the forensic team indeed made a discovery!
The fresh shoe prints in the Okada apartment were found to have disappeared without anyone noticing, instead of leaving through the main entrance, but rather through another stairwell and down the garbage room passage!

"Major discovery! Major discovery!" Kashiwagi Jin finally realized that the case might not be what he had thought, and immediately reported his major discovery to the Special Investigation Headquarters, which was still being formed: "There may have been a fourth person at the scene! Repeat, the on-site investigation found that there may have been a fourth person at the time!"

Meanwhile, Meisa Kashiwagi, who had been playing music on speakerphone the whole time, saw this and secretly hid in a corner: "Hey, yeah, Jin finally found out. What do we do now?"

“Very good, Madam, you are still very capable.” Uesugi Muneyuki’s relieved voice came from the phone: “Next, do as I say.”

"Tell him step by step to first determine his height based on the shoe print, verify the angle of Koizumi Ryosuke's injuries and Mrs. Okada's wound, and then watch the surveillance footage, especially the nearby footage and the front gate footage, to observe the height and alert similar suspicious persons. Note that there were no fingerprints of that person at the crime scene, so he must have been wearing gloves."

"Then question the time of death, noting that the time of the report filed by the test taker upstairs does not match."

“Take it one step at a time, don’t say it all at once, and don’t steal his thunder. Our great detective can’t stand that. Use a casual, “oh dear” tone to remind him, making him feel like he realized it himself.” Uesugi Muneyuki said softly with a slight smile, “They say women are born actors. Madam, you probably don’t need me to teach you, do you?”

“…I understand.” Kashiwagi Meisa nodded shyly, silently watching Kashiwagi Jin, who was beaming with pride at discovering a major clue and a blind spot, not far away. A word popped into her mind.

Marionette.

However, the former Metropolitan Police Department's icy, half-blooded wife suddenly blushed.

Am I not also Uesugi Muneyuki's puppet?

(End of this chapter)