Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

"Ms. Nagai, I am Masashi Akiyama, the lawyer hired by your parents. This is my assistant, Arimura. We need to understand the specific circumstances of the night of the incident, as well as the details of the police charges. You must tell me truthfully any information, whether it is detrimental or favorable to you, so that I can help you."

Miyuki Nagai did not react. She kept her head down, staring at her intertwined fingers, without even lifting her head.

"Ms. Nagai?" Masashi Akiyama raised his voice.

Miyuki Nagai's body trembled almost imperceptibly, but she remained silent.

"What do you know about the death of Nurse Junko Imai? On the night of the incident, when you were in the dormitory, did you notice anything unusual?"

silence.

"The nurses' station surveillance footage shows that you went to the medication preparation room during that time period. What did you do there? How long did you stay?"

silence.

"Were you aware of the deaths of those three patients? Did you come into contact with the drugs that caused their deaths?"

Still, silence.

No matter what Masashi Akiyama asked or how he asked, Miyuki Nagai remained silent. It was as if she had built a transparent wall around herself, isolating herself from all exploration.

Only the occasional rapid breathing and the trembling of her eyelashes showed that she was not completely unaware.

The meeting time was fast approaching.

The policewoman came in and took Nagai Miyuki, who was still silent, out.

Stepping out of the Metropolitan Police Department, the afternoon sun was a bit too bright.

Rio Arimura couldn't help but complain, "What kind of attitude is this! We want to help her! How are we supposed to get started if she doesn't say anything? The evidence from the police is already very unfavorable to her, and if she continues like this..."

"Arimura," Masashi Akiyama suddenly stopped and looked at her, "Don't you think Miyuki Nagai is a criminal, right?"

"Of course!" Rio Arimura blurted out. "I carefully reviewed the information her parents brought, and I also saw what she looked like in person! She's always been a typical good girl, with above-average grades, few friends, an introverted and shy personality, even a bit timid, and easily dependent on and trusting others. Her first reaction to anything is to run away and blame herself! You expect someone like that to steal medicine, poison, and kill? And kill three in a row? That doesn't fit her personality at all! She's more like... more like she was completely overwhelmed by immense shock and guilt, suffering from serious mental problems! How could someone like that calmly plan and execute murder? She must have been framed! Or... or something happened that we don't know about!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her face turning red.

Masashi Akiyama listened quietly, and only spoke slowly after Rio Arimura finished speaking.

"Your observations and intuition have some merit. Her condition doesn't seem like that of a premeditated killer; it's more like an extreme manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder. But..."

He then changed the subject, saying, "The law demands evidence, not personality analysis. The police's reasoning, based on the existing evidence, forms a closed loop. Nagai Miyuki's lack of cooperation is extremely detrimental to her. The urgent task is to find the real gap in the chain of evidence, or, as you've stated, uncover the truth behind what you've described."

"It seems we need to go to that hospital and take a look for ourselves."

Tokyo Metropolitan Shiodome Sanatorium.

Even during the day, this building, renowned for its psychiatric ward, is shrouded in an unusual quiet, and the smell of disinfectant in the air seems to carry a heavy sense of oppression.

Masashi Akiyama and Rio Arimura identified themselves as lawyers, stating that they were retained by the family of Miyuki Nagai and needed to understand the relevant situation.

The hospital staff were very cooperative and immediately assigned a middle-aged woman from the administrative department to accompany him.

However, the investigation proved more difficult than anticipated.

Whether they were doctors, nurses, or administrative staff, everyone reacted remarkably in unison when the topic turned to the riots of a week ago, Junko Imai's ordeal and death, and the mysterious deaths of three patients.

Everyone immediately fell silent, their eyes darting around, their words vague.

"Sorry, we don't know the specifics either."

"That's something the police are investigating, and we can't say more about it."

"We are very sorry about what happened to Nurse Imai, but she was a very nice person..."

"Those patients? Sigh, they were all critically ill, and accidents happened..."

"Nurse Nagai? She hasn't been here long, I don't know her very well..."

Everyone is trying their best to distance themselves and distance themselves from the matter.

Masashi Akiyama and Rio Arimura asked several people in succession, but all they received were similar, uninformative responses.

Even the accompanying administrative staff would occasionally offer seemingly well-intentioned reminders, "Sir, these issues may involve patient privacy and hospital internal management. Should we wait for the police...?"

Rio Arimura was somewhat discouraged.

She and Masashi Akiyama walked out of the main building and came to the central garden that connects several buildings.

Although it was daytime, there were few people in the garden, with only the sparse winter sunlight providing a meager warmth.

They sat down on a bench.

"We can't get anything out of them," Rio Arimura said dejectedly. "Everyone is avoiding the topic. It's like what happened that night, and the deaths of those people, are some kind of taboo that can't be touched. This is so abnormal. If it were just a normal medical accident or patient dispute, it wouldn't be like this."

"Unless, someone warned them about something."

"Could it be pressure from hospital executives to cover up management loopholes or scandals?" Rio Arimura speculated.

"Possibly. But..." Masashi Akiyama pondered.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in a white coat walking quickly out of the staff passage on the other side of the atrium.

The man was about forty years old, of medium build, wearing glasses, and had a serious expression.

He looked around, then his gaze locked onto the direction of Masashi Akiyama and Rio Arimura. After hesitating for a moment, he walked straight over.

Masashi Akiyama observed the newcomer discreetly. The other person's unusual demeanor and expression were particularly noticeable, which piqued his interest.

The man walked to the bench and stopped. He looked around warily, then lowered his voice and asked urgently.

"You...are Miyuki Nagai's lawyers?"

Masashi Akiyama observed the other person without showing any emotion, and nodded slightly when he heard the man's question.

"Yes, I am Masashi Akiyama, and this is my assistant, Rio Arimura. May I ask who you are?"

The man quickly scanned his surroundings again, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that no one else was paying attention to them.

"My name is Kobayashi Kosuke, and I'm the doctor on duty here." He paused, lowering his voice even further, "I have something I must tell you about Nurse Nagai and Nurse Imai, but it's not convenient here."

"If you trust me, meet me tonight... tonight after 11 p.m., at the back gate of the hospital, on the path leading to the old warehouse. I'll be waiting for you there. Please... come alone, and don't alert anyone..."