Chapter 15: Uesugi Assassinated

"Eh? Wasn't the estimated time of death last night?"

Kuwabara emerged from the room with his pockmarked face; ever since he had been commended by the Metropolitan Police Department for a series of meritorious services, his mental state had improved significantly, perhaps because he saw the hope of a promotion.

About 60% of police officers in all of Japan are at the Police Sergeant level, and for nearly half of the Non-Career Track, this is the end of the line for their entire lives; according to surveys, the average age of a First-class Patrolman is only 25, and while the Second-class Patrol Sergeant is an informal, consolation-type position not worth discussing, the average age of a Third-class Police Sergeant is as high as 38.

But in reality, the vast majority of patrol officers are promoted after five years of service (two years at the fastest), and those who truly cannot be promoted are automatically promoted to Patrol Sergeant after five to ten years; the reason the average age of Police Sergeants is so high is because of a large group of veteran Police Sergeants in their 50s and 60s who have worked on the front lines their entire lives.

"Yes, the preliminary estimated time of death is last night, but Tanaka-san told me that the milk delivery box outside hasn't had its milk changed for three days." Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin, his brows furrowed: "So, I thought of another possibility."

"What possibility?" Tanaka Laodeng asked very cooperatively.

Ever since he had Uesugi Muneyuki, this old guy had given up thinking most of the time, focusing instead on watching him perform.

"Wait a moment, I'll make a call to ask Professor Okochi first." Uesugi Muneyuki gestured for them to wait.

Leaving the apartment, Uesugi Muneyuki found that the female Patrol Officer, Miss Takasaka, was standing at the entrance examining the collection of Ms. Kurozawa Yōko, with no intention of going inside at all: "Wow, look, look! This Ms. Kurozawa has collected so many old items from the Showa and Taisho eras!"

Having said that, she didn't even put on gloves, reaching out to touch them directly and playing with the trinkets belonging to Ms. Kurozawa's collection in her hands: "Wow, this is an offering box, and this is a paper streamer!"

"Hey! Takasaka! Don't touch the evidence!" Tanaka Laodeng immediately roared in exasperation: "Didn't they teach you that in previous classes?"

"Japanese girls can say no! Mai-sama taught me that!" Miss Takasaka responded indifferently; she aggrievedly put the shrine maiden paper streamer back, muttering to herself: "Fine, fine, I won't touch it. Can you have a better attitude? It's not like I wanted to come on field duty! I was doing just fine on office duty; it's all the Section Chief's fault!"

"Miss Takasaka?" Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself that it was the same with the previous Ishizaka couple case; this person just watched from the sidelines the whole time, really treating herself as an outsider, huh?

"Oh? Uesugi-san, is it over already? Can we go back now?" Miss Takasaka thought it was over, her mood very excited: "The sun outside is so bright, Tokyo is starting to get hot, why aren't you guys done yet?"

So she even treats herself as a salary thief, does she? Seeing this, Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't be bothered to say more to her; he dialed Professor Okochi's phone: "Professor, I've encountered a problem here, which is that if the deceased died of drowning while taking a bath, and the time of death was at least two days ago, but the autopsy..."

"Mm, mm, I understand, thank you, Professor!" Uesugi Muneyuki hung up the phone.

There was no doubt about it; this was a murder!

Returning to the apartment, Uesugi Muneyuki called Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako over: "No problem, Tanaka-san, Kuwabara-san, the deceased, Kurosawa Akiko, is just as you judged—she died at least two days ago, and it wasn't a drowning caused by an accident; this is a murder case!"

"But why hasn't the body decomposed?" Tanaka Laodeng naturally didn't dare to question Uesugi Muneyuki anymore; he just knelt on one knee, very puzzled, observing the body on the floor: "Uesugi, my young friend, didn't you say last time? Warm climate, sufficient moisture—as long as one of these two points is met, the body will decompose quickly. But if Ms. Kurosawa has been dead for two days, why hasn't the body shown signs of decomposition?"

"It's very simple, because the deceased didn't take a bath at all before she died!" Uesugi Muneyuki said coldly: "She was knocked unconscious by someone and then moved into the bathtub to be drowned! Someone added a large amount of ice cubes to her bathtub; the deceased first drowned in a mixture of a large amount of ice and tap water, and then as time passed, the ice cubes slowly melted. Because the body was soaked in ice water for a long time, the rate of decomposition was greatly slowed down, which caused the discrepancy in the estimated time of death!"

"There is no doubt, the deceased must have been murdered!" Uesugi Muneyuki made a direct judgment: "And it was definitely an inside job!"

"Is this true, Uesugi, my young friend?" Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako looked at each other; the Assistant Police Inspector crossed his arms, lost in thought: "Taking an ice bath in summer? An inside job? Indeed, if it is as you say, there are no signs of forced entry into the deceased's home, no obvious signs of rummaging, and the doors and windows were locked tight, then there can only be one conclusion."

"Right, the killer had a spare key to the deceased's home!" Uesugi Muneyuki judged calmly: "First, the killer and the deceased were definitely acquaintances, and the killer had a spare key to the deceased's home. Second, the killer knew very well where the deceased hid her cash and valuables, so naturally there were no extra signs of rummaging. Finally, there were no obvious wounds on the deceased's body, indicating that there was no fierce struggle between the two during the process. The killer likely attacked the deceased's head to knock her unconscious, then dragged her into the bathroom and placed her into the ice water to drown, disguising it as a drowning while bathing, and also confusing the estimated time of death, making people think Ms. Kurosawa died last night."

"Tanaka-san, Kuwabara-san, as long as you immediately investigate which relatives of the deceased had a spare key and which relatives had been here two to three days ago, then that person is the killer who murdered Ms. Kurosawa!"

Uesugi Muneyuki finished speaking in one breath, then signaled that the police could begin their investigation.

Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako sighed repeatedly; they admired Uesugi Muneyuki to an extreme degree, and while they were shocked, they couldn't even say a word.

Finally, it was Tanaka Laodeng who asked the last point of confusion: "In that case, why wasn't there any obvious external trauma on the deceased's head?"

"Have you heard of an ice pack?" Uesugi Muneyuki pointed to the water in the bathtub: "For areas that are swollen and red from an impact, using an ice pack can quickly reduce the swelling... Alright, my task is finished, it's your turn now."

"So that's it, Uesugi, my young friend, you really are a genius!" Tanaka Laodeng immediately turned around: "Everyone, start the investigation, go door to door, ask which other relatives Ms. Kurosawa had, and who had been here about two to three days ago! Move out!"

"Yes!" The police officers on duty outside shouted in unison.

Only Uesugi Muneyuki stood with his hands behind his back, still harboring a bit of doubt in his heart.

What kind of person would actually know how to design such a technique to confuse the sight of the forensic pathologist and the police?

This niece of yours doesn't seem like someone with that level of ability, Ms. Kurosawa.

With solid evidence and a clear direction for the investigation, two hours later, the police immediately locked onto the suspect: Ms. Kurosawa's niece, Yamada Aika, who lived three kilometers away.

"Yamada Aika, 28 years old, no formal job, currently living alone in an ordinary single-room apartment. She was in frequent contact with the deceased, had a spare key to the deceased's home, and a neighbor once saw her entering and leaving the deceased's apartment three days ago." In the police car, Tanaka Laodeng said to Uesugi Muneyuki, Kuwabara Mako, and Miss Takasaka: "We are going there now."

"Uesugi-san, actually you don't have to come." Kuwabara Mako said casually: "We police can handle the arrest; you wouldn't want to snatch our police work too, would you?"

"I'm just, curious, that's all." Uesugi Muneyuki certainly couldn't say that he had a Death Soul Contract with Ms. Kurosawa Akiko that needed to be completed, and that Ms. Kurosawa Akiko's Dead Soul wanted to see with her own eyes why her niece had killed her—could it really be for money?

"Curious?"

"Mm, it's very difficult for a normal person to come up with such an exquisite criminal design that can confuse the police and the forensic pathologist." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "So I want to see what kind of person the suspect is."

While they were talking, the police car stopped downstairs at an apartment building.

A knock sounded on the door of Room 203.

The door opened slightly, revealing a listless half-face inside; a thin, short woman poked her head out slightly. She wore her hair in an ordinary shoulder-length style, had thick dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks were sunken from malnutrition. Her thin shoulders braced against the door, and seeing that the visitors were strangers, she was slightly uneasy.

"Hello, Ms. Yamada Aika, we are the police." Tanaka Laodeng first showed his credentials: "We have come to ask about Ms. Kurosawa; could we bother you for a moment?"

"I don't know." Yamada Aika's voice was very soft and somewhat weak: "I also feel very sorry about my aunt..."

"Yes, however, we discovered some suspicious points during the autopsy process and would like to ask about some details. Could we bother you for a few minutes?" Tanaka Laodeng emphasized his tone.

"O-okay." The woman hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually opened the door.

As the door opened, a scent of food rushed out; the room was filled with an unpleasant odor. The area inside was very narrow, with many trash bags placed on the floor. The small table on the tatami mat was covered with instant noodles and fast food items—some finished, some unopened. Many women's undergarments were hung from the ceiling with ropes.

The woman inside was thin, wearing only a simple T-shirt and hot pants, and many private items were thrown everywhere; she habitually wanted to tidy them up.

Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

It really was just as Ms. Kurosawa had described.

"Takasaka." Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako immediately felt a massive headache upon seeing this situation; they signaled that it was time for Miss Takasaka to move.

This is when a female police officer is used.

"Mo~ why is it me?" Takasaka, as usual, intended to stand outside and slack off.

The expressions of Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako gradually became stern. They never assigned tasks to this female Patrol Officer, and they tried to call her as little as possible for field work. They let her slack off as much as she could when they went out to handle cases—wasn't it just for times like this?

"Takasaka?"

"Fine, fine, I know." Miss Takasaka saw that there was really no way to shirk it, so she reluctantly entered the room first. The smell of rotting food made her want to vomit: "Ah, so annoying, so annoying, so annoying."

Tanaka and Kuwabara, the two men, stood at the door, while Uesugi Muneyuki walked a few steps inside: "Ms. Yamada, who instructed you to do this?"

"Eh? What?" Yamada Aika raised her head with a look of shock.

"Who instructed you to knock Ms. Kurosawa unconscious and then press her into the bathtub to drown, and also taught you to put a large amount of ice cubes into the bathtub to confuse the autopsy results?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked around the room: "I don't think you are someone who understands forensic knowledge."

"I, I don't know what you are talking about." The woman living alone hurriedly lowered her head, but she could not hide the surging fear; Uesugi Muneyuki's words were like a tsunami, directly striking the deepest secret in her heart.

"Heh, let me guess how things went down," Uesugi Muneyuki continued. "You have been unemployed the whole time, occasionally asking Ms. Kurosawa for money. The night the incident occurred was another day you went to ask Ms. Kurosawa for money."

"In the past, Ms. Kurosawa would give you some out of consideration for you being her niece, but this time, she didn't. Instead, she criticized you from the position of an elder, so you became angry from embarrassment and talked back to Ms. Kurosawa. It so happened that Ms. Kurosawa hit her head on something and fainted."

"Seeing that she had lost consciousness, you thought you might have killed someone, and in your panic, you faked a scene like this," Uesugi Muneyuki said coldly. "But ice water and hot water have different effects on a person. Tell me, who exactly taught you to do this?!"

The Aizen Myoo Dharma Image shone brilliantly, and under the blessing of the Dharma Image, Uesugi Muneyuki's presence was like a surging tide.

"............ I don't understand what you are talking about, I was just, I was just." Yamada Aika's eyes widened, her pupils constricted. She truly could not understand why Uesugi Muneyuki could reconstruct what happened at that time.

Impossible! This person is a Forensic Pathologist, not a god or Buddha!

However, when Uesugi Muneyuki asked her who exactly instructed her to do this, the string of Yamada Aika's sanity finally snapped.

No, he cannot be allowed to keep asking.

Tsubasa cannot be implicated, absolutely not!!!

She erupted without warning, flipping and twisting her waist, throwing her frail body as if she were launching herself toward the kitchen counter.

Ms. Takasaka, who was in the middle of an inspection, was stunned. Seeing Yamada Aika's fierce and menacing appearance, Ms. Takasaka's first reaction was to scream and dodge out of the way: "What are you doing?"

Ms. Yamada managed to grab the sharp kitchen knife "Kowaguchi Daiku" from the kitchen counter. She gripped the handle clumsily, the tip of the knife shaking incessantly, her hands tightly clutching the blade facing outward. Accompanied by Ms. Takasaka's terrified screams, the kitchen knife in Yamada Aika's hand had already stabbed toward Uesugi Muneyuki!

"Ah!" Ms. Takasaka looked up and saw Ms. Yamada actually stabbing with the knife, which scared her so much her heart stopped. The female Detective screamed in agony, then squatted on the ground with her hands covering her head, facing the corner of the wall, trembling all over: "No, ahhhhhhh!"

What?!

Uesugi Muneyuki never expected Ms. Takasaka to move out of the way. He instinctively stepped back quickly, but his foot was caught by a trash bag behind him. With his balance unstable, Ms. Yamada's sharp knife was already right before Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes!

This woman?! Is she crazy?

Uesugi Muneyuki could no longer worry about the possibility of exposure. Facing the sharp, painful, and dazzling kitchen knife, Uesugi Muneyuki only had time to do one last thing.

Aizen Myoo!

A crimson light wrapped around Uesugi Muneyuki's body, but this could not stop Yamada Aika's kitchen knife. At the most critical moment, an aged, ghostly green Dead Soul blocked the space between Uesugi Muneyuki and Yamada Aika.

It was Ms. Kurosawa's Dead Soul. The old lady took one last look at her niece, who was showing signs of madness, and sighed softly.

So you really wanted to kill me, Aika.

Just for that bit of money?

【Don't be afraid, child, I will help you!】

Kurosawa Akiko's Dead Soul penetrated Uesugi Muneyuki's right hand. Courage, carrying a will like steel, quickly condensed into a tough substance on the surface of Uesugi Muneyuki's right hand. The sharp, long kitchen knife slid across the back of Uesugi Muneyuki's right hand, which he used to block. The blade cut the skin, sparking slightly, and was then deflected.

It all happened in an instant. Uesugi Muneyuki only felt pain in the back of his hand and fell backward into a pile of trash. Just as Yamada Aika was about to stab again, the two Detectives at the door finally reacted.

Oh no!

"Ah!" Ms. Yamada was not some strong, muscular woman. With one strike failing and the blade deflected, she also screamed as her footing became unstable. The knife in her hand almost hurt herself, and she slowly sat down only after hitting the wall.

Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki clutching his hand and slowly falling, Tanaka Laodeng and Kuwabara Mako thought the knife had hit a vital spot and were scared out of their wits. Tanaka Laodeng pulled out his baton and rushed up with Kuwabara. At this point, he didn't care about anything else. Tanaka Laodeng swung his sword-shaped baton, hitting Ms. Yamada's forehead and turning it red. Kuwabara even flew up and kicked the knife out of Ms. Yamada's hand, then pounced and pinned Ms. Yamada firmly to the ground.

"Uesugi, are you okay!" At this time, Tanaka Laodeng hurriedly helped Uesugi Muneyuki up from the trash pile.

"Uh..." Uesugi Muneyuki struggled to get up, finding his right hand bleeding profusely. He couldn't help but groan in pain, his face contorted: "Should be... fine..."

I almost died here!

"It's, it's okay, just a hand injury. I thought..." Tanaka Laodeng had seen the red light all over the wall and thought the heart had been pierced, but found that Uesugi Muneyuki had only taken a knife to his right hand, and the wound was not deep, so he let out a long breath. He hurriedly helped Uesugi Muneyuki up, and when he looked at Ms. Yamada again, the greasy, middle-aged Tanaka Laodeng had a ferocious look on his face: "Handcuff her!!!"

"Understood!" Kuwabara struggled to pull handcuffs from behind his police vest.

But just at this moment, Ms. Yamada, who no longer had the strength to struggle, screamed: "Don't touch me, you are violating me! I will sue you, I will sue you!!!"

Seeing Ms. Yamada twisting her body, and since she was already wearing very little, her clothes were about to be torn in the struggle. Kuwabara dared not touch her anymore. He could only hurry to get off the woman and signaled Ms. Takasaka, who was still squatting with her head covered, to control her.

"Takasaka?"

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Takasaka!" After being called a few times, Ms. Takasaka finally reacted. She confusedly replaced Kuwabara and held Ms. Yamada down.

"Uesugi-san, are you okay!" Kuwabara hurried over: "Call an ambulance quickly!"

"Takasaka, you handcuff her first. We'll take Uesugi to the hospital, support will be here soon!" The two male Detectives helped Uesugi Muneyuki up and immediately used their walkie-talkies to call for police reinforcements.

"Okay, okay..." Ms. Takasaka was dazed and still didn't understand what had happened. She first watched the three of them go downstairs, then reached out to touch the handcuffs.

"It hurts!" Ms. Yamada said on the ground, her expression looking very painful.

"Ah? So... sorry, Kuwabara was too excessive, did he hurt you? It's okay, I'll be a little gentler..." Ms. Takasaka also felt Kuwabara was too rough. Hearing Yamada cry out in pain, she hurriedly loosened her grip on Ms. Yamada, feeling in her heart that Yamada's sudden act of stabbing someone was truly inexplicable.

Why would a woman who looked so thin, malnourished, and living in poverty do such a thing? She must have had her reasons, right?

It's all Uesugi's fault! Relying on knowing a bit of forensic science to just make things up there, it's too much!

How could he treat a poor lady like that?

Seeing Ms. Yamada panting hard on the ground, Ms. Takasaka felt even more pity. She was still reaching for the handcuffs in the leather bag at her waist, but because she had almost never actually handcuffed anyone in the field, she fumbled blindly for a long time without finding them, so she had to turn her head back.

However, just as she turned her head to find the handcuffs, Ms. Yamada, who had been panting on the ground for a while, finally caught her breath. She noticed the clothes drying pole by her side.

"Thump!"

Downstairs, after waiting for a few minutes, the support police cars finally arrived.

"Tanaka, Kuwabara, I'm not that badly hurt, at least my legs aren't injured, you don't need to carry me!" Uesugi Muneyuki had recovered his strength by now. Tanaka Laodeng had already bandaged his right hand, and signaled the arriving Koban patrol officers to send him to the hospital immediately.

Hands are a doctor's life!

"Sorry, little brother Uesugi, it's all our fault!" Tanaka Laodeng was both pained and annoyed, almost kneeling to apologize: "You go to the hospital first, we'll catch the person and come right away."

"Damn it, how dare she attack the police!" Kuwabara was even more gritting his teeth, his eyes red: "This isn't over!"

Before the words fell, a cry for help suddenly came from the second floor of the apartment: "Help! Help, someone come quickly!"

The few people downstairs looked at each other. At this time, Uesugi Muneyuki didn't care about his hand injury, and together with Tanaka, Kuwabara, and the few Koban police officers who had arrived, they ran toward the apartment.

Go upstairs, Room 203, open the door.

The scene before them left everyone dumbfounded.

They saw one of Takasaka's hands handcuffed, and the other handcuff was locked to the window railing. The window was wide open, and the curtains hung down from the second-floor window.

Tanaka and Kuwabara pulled out their pistols and aimed at the window. By the time they climbed to the window, the female suspect, Ms. Yamada, was nowhere to be seen.

Ran away?!

There should be another update today, probably~

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(End of chapter)