Tokyo: I'm really not a killer

Chapter 82 Interrogation

Meanwhile, inside the police station's interrogation room.

Komi Yui sat quietly in the iron chair, her hands folded on her lap, her guide cane leaning against the wall.

Yamamoto Koji sat behind the table opposite her and lit a cigarette. Yoshioka Akio stood beside him, taking notes.

"Ms. Komi," Yamamoto Koji began, his tone not particularly stern, "yesterday afternoon you went to the police station lobby, saying you were providing supplementary testimony for your father, Kenkichi Kuwata's, case."

"Yes, officer." Komi Yui turned her head slightly, facing the direction of the voice. "An officer contacted me before."

"Which police officer contacted you?" Yamamoto Koji asked.

Komi Yui paused for a moment, then gently shook her head: "I don't know which officer it is—they only said on the phone that I need to come over."

Yamamoto Koji exhaled a puff of smoke, not immediately pressing the issue.

"According to the front desk officer's description," he continued, "while you were waiting, you accidentally knocked over a thermos, causing quite a bit of chaos."

"I'm so sorry," Yui Komi said, bowing her head with an apologetic voice, "It was so careless of me. I heard someone call my name and instinctively tried to turn around, but—"

"Did you hear someone calling you?" Akio Yoshioka couldn't help but interject. "Who called you?"

Komi Yui shook her head: "I don't know, the voice sounded a bit unfamiliar, I might have misheard—it was very chaotic at the time."

"Ms. Komi," Yamamoto Koji leaned forward slightly, "this afternoon, right when you were making—well, when the accident happened, a serious prison break occurred at our police station, and the key suspect, Hideaki Shiraishi, was taken away from the detention area."

Komi Yui's face showed just the right amount of surprise: "How could this be?"

"We suspect this is a premeditated operation, coordinated from both inside and outside," Yamamoto Koji said slowly, scrutinizing Komi Yui with his gaze, even though he knew the other could not see him.

Komi Yui's hands, resting on her lap, tightened slightly, but her expression remained calm: "Officer, do you mean—you suspect me of involvement in this?"

"I'm just stating the facts and asking you about the situation," Yamamoto Koji said. "Do you have anything to explain? Did you see or hear anything suspicious? For example, did anyone suggest or ask you to come to the police station today? Or do you know anything about Hideaki Shiraishi?"

Komi Yui shook her head again: "No, officer, I don't know anyone named Shiraishi Hideaki. If—if I have unintentionally helped a bad guy, I'm really sorry."

Her tone was sincere, tinged with self-reproach.

Yamamoto Koji and Yoshioka Akio exchanged a glance, the latter then whispering, "Boss, should we make a move?"

"Forget it, don't make things difficult for a blind person—"

Yamamoto Koji glanced back at the door. The chief was watching him from behind. If he couldn't get anything out of him today, the chief would make an example of him.

However, he had his own clever plan.

Yamamoto Koji stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, gave Yoshioka Akio a wink, and then walked out of the interrogation room first.

"Yamamoto, how is it?" the chief immediately asked, stepping forward. "Did she speak? Is she an accomplice?"

"Chief, the situation isn't looking good." Yamamoto Koji lowered his voice. "This woman is blind, so we can't read her eyes, and she doesn't have any micro-expressions. She's also a relative of a victim in a recent case, so her identity is very sensitive. We don't have enough evidence. Right now, all we have is the fact that she happened to be at the scene this afternoon; nothing else."

Seeing the chief's brow furrow even more, he quickly continued, "Conventional interrogation methods aren't very effective against her. She insists it was an accident, and her testimony is consistent and unwavering. Moreover, if we press her too hard, what if she has a health problem? Her lawyer could use that against her—the media—"

The director's face indeed turned even uglier.

"Are we just going to let it go like this?" the director asked, unwilling to give up.

"Of course not," Yamamoto Koji immediately interjected, his tone becoming thoughtful. "I think in this situation, we might need to change our approach, change our interrogation style. My—uh, more direct style—might not be suitable for dealing with her."

Moreover, I spent most of the day here with her, my eyes are sore and my brain is completely fried.

He rubbed his temples, looking like he was overworking his brain.

"What do you mean?" the director asked, looking at him.

"I suggest we try Izumi Mari instead," Yamamoto Koji suggested. "She's a policewoman and mainly in charge of paperwork, so her communication style is gentler. Perhaps we can find a breakthrough by appealing to emotions or focusing on details."

He glanced at the chief, "Moreover, having different people interact with the suspect can prevent her from becoming familiar with interrogation tactics and developing resistance. I'll organize the statements first, and then go through every single moment of today's events—from her entering the police station to knocking over the thermos to the prison break—to see if we can find any connections that she overlooked or that we missed. This is a meticulous task and will take some time."

"Hmm—that makes sense." The chief nodded. "Then let Izumi give it a try. Yamamoto, you've worked hard too. Go have a cup of tea and sort out the statements and timeline carefully. Make sure you don't miss any clues."

"Yes, Director!" Yamamoto Koji immediately straightened his back, looking as if he had just received an important task. "I'll get on it right away! Yoshioka, give me the records, and you come with me to organize the data."

Akio Yoshioka quickly handed over the notepad. Although he didn't quite understand why his boss was suddenly being so enthusiastic, he still hurried to follow.

Yamamoto Koji, holding the notepad, bowed slightly to the director, then led Yoshioka Akio with steady steps toward the office, as if he were really about to immediately dive into a difficult analytical task.

Watching his retreating figure, the chief's anger subsided somewhat. He then instructed the officer beside him, "Go and call Izumi Mari over to continue the interrogation."

In the corridor, Yamamoto Koji turned the corner, and only after confirming that the chief was out of sight did he slow down and casually shove the notepad into Yoshioka Akio's hand.

"Boss, are we really going to organize the timeline?" Yoshioka Akio asked.

"Organize my ass." Yamamoto Koji took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a leisurely puff. "Let's go, let's go to the lounge for a cup of tea first, and then go to the cafeteria later to see what we're having for dinner."

"What if the prisoner goes missing? —"

"There's nothing we can do about it. There were so many colleagues there, we can't just blame the two of us, can we?" Yamamoto Koji was quite nonchalant, smoking a cigarette as he and Yoshioka Akio strolled leisurely toward the break room.

Just as I turned a corner, I almost bumped into a young patrolman who was walking briskly towards me.

"Ah, sorry." The young patrolman quickly stepped aside and bowed slightly.

Yamamoto Koji looked up and saw a somewhat familiar face. After thinking for a couple of seconds, he remembered: "Oh, Inspector Hara. What brings you here? Didn't you say you were off today?"