Chapter 217: , The Baffling Disappearance Case

The bizarre disappearance case once again reminded Uesugi Muneyuki of the previous Tokyo Woman's Christian University female student disappearance case.

More than four weeks have passed since that case occurred, and with neither person nor corpse found, it remains one of the very few cases the Metropolitan Police Department is currently powerless to solve.

Ever since Uesugi Muneyuki officially joined the force, the clearance rate of Investigation Division 1 has risen to over 80%, and all of Tokyo is cheering for the Metropolitan Police Department's vitality; yet, regarding this Tokyo Woman's Christian University student disappearance case, society has expressed understanding for the Metropolitan Police Department's failure to solve it, because without a corpse, even the Special Mission Unit is powerless—Uesugi Muneyuki is a Forensic Pathologist, not some subspace four-divine-holy-grail wish-granting machine.

However, this disappearance case made Uesugi Muneyuki alert, and he continued to ask: "Could you elaborate? Father-in-law, and Uncle Mouri, Mr. Uchimura, I remembered that previous disappearance case."

"You mean, the one from Tokyo Woman's Christian University?" Department Manager Uchimura recalled.

The three high-ranking Japanese police officials exchanged glances, thinking that since they were among their own, they should speak plainly.

"Aiko is the daughter of Igarashi Masataka, the former Chief of Investigation Division 2 at the Metropolitan Police Department, who was one generation above me," Watanabe Eiji thought for a moment and said: "Division 2 Chief Igarashi is ten years my senior, Aiko is 38 this year... I believe she is still unmarried, right?"

"No, she is divorced," Headquarters Chief Mouri nodded: "She graduated from Meiji University, entered Mitsui Real Estate at 22, and had a smooth path thereafter; she was a section chief at 25, a division manager at 28, an assistant department manager at 32, and rose to department manager by 35. She poured her heart into her career, was married, but divorced quickly, and has no children."

"Divorced? Isn't she unmarried?" Watanabe Eiji was stunned: "I always remembered her as unmarried."

"Wait!" Uesugi Muneyuki interrupted the three elders' gossip: "That's not what I'm asking!"

"Oh, oh, we digressed. In any case, Muneyuki, do you know why Aiko was the one serving as the Project Manager for the Yokohama International Logistics Center?" Watanabe Eiji asked with a slight smile.

"That is exactly where my focus lies. Why are you all so agitated just because it's a disappearance?" Uesugi Muneyuki was indeed very interested: "You even said 'shimatta'."

"Actually, it's quite simple. Let me put it briefly: former Division 2 Chief Igarashi retired at the mandatory age when he was in his late fifties, and immediately transferred to become a director at Mitsui Real Estate," Department Manager Mouri said simply: "At around the same time, Igarashi Aiko joined Mitsui Real Estate. Do you understand now?"

Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly realized.

Another revolving door?

"Yes, the reason we feel this is a disaster, and why this position had to be held by Aiko, is because only with the resources of her father behind her could Aiko link together the entire project's network of relations—including the government, local autonomous organizations, banks, and numerous construction units and suppliers," Criminal Investigation Department Chief Uchimura Kanji also said with a bitter smile: "Only a former Chief of Investigation Division 2 has such great influence, but now that Aiko has disappeared... this project is going to have major problems."

"Does the Sumitomo Mitsui Group not have sufficient resources?" Watanabe Minami asked with interest.

"Sumitomo Mitsui also relies on the connections and network of Division 2 Chief Igarashi to have so many resources," Headquarters Chief Mouri Takayoshi said with a bitter smile: "Otherwise, why do these large groups, large enterprises, and various industry associations like to invite us high-ranking police officials to take positions after our mandatory retirement? It is precisely because they value the connections and influence we possess as figures from powerful departments."

"Moreover, Aiko's personality is also rather... how should I put it? She is indeed very capable and works extremely hard, but the reason she was able to rise so quickly within the Sumitomo Mitsui Group is mainly because she has a father who is a former Division 2 Chief, serving as a director with deep connections throughout the Kanto Region and many relationships within the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare."

Department Manager Uchimura said casually: "But Aiko always believed that she attained her current status and promotion to department manager at 35 through her own countless sweat and effort, so she placed extreme importance on her work. That is likely the reason her first marriage ended hastily, and she has no children."

"A workaholic career woman, is that it?" Uesugi Muneyuki rubbed his chin, and for some reason, he suddenly turned his head to look at the young lady Minami beside him.

Young lady Minami understood immediately and instantly waved her little fist at Uesugi Muneyuki, feeling a bit annoyed.

Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Kora!

The three high-ranking police officials couldn't help but laugh together when they saw this scene.

Watanabe Eiji suddenly felt a bit fortunate that before Uesugi Muneyuki officially joined the force, he had his daughter act as the Thirteenth Section Chief for a period of time; at first, Minami also thought, 'Isn't it just solving cases? If Uesugi can do it, why can't I?'

As a result, Minami suffered a huge setback in this matter, and only then did she realize that she was truly not cut out for solving cases.

And Igarashi Aiko had not realized this point.

At the same time, Uesugi Muneyuki also thought of this issue: in this country of Japan, if a woman is truly young and holds a key position with great power in a large group company or within the system, there are generally only three situations: either her father is very powerful, her husband is very powerful, or her father-in-law is very powerful.

Besides these three situations, there is also a hidden situation where her son is very powerful, but generally speaking, a powerful son only grants her status, and rarely can he help her hold great power.

Of course, Uesugi Muneyuki is talking about Japan, and it has nothing to do with other countries; any resemblance is purely coincidental.

After the few of them chatted, the television immediately cut to other news, and Uesugi Muneyuki saw a familiar person—in a promotional advertisement filmed by Mai for Mitsui Property, the National Goddess was performing a hand-gesture dance, with a beauty that could topple cities and a grace like a celestial being.

"MI~TSU~I~Group~"

Then came an advertisement for the large female idol group YKC48, and Uesugi Muneyuki saw another familiar face; Miyawaki Sakura, whom he had met previously at Fuji TV, was using her pure little face to promote a banana milk.

He hadn't reacted yet, but Department Manager Uchimura was the first to complain: "Isn't that the Kagoshima Sakura?"

"??? Uchimura, are you trying to tell us that you are still chasing idols at your age?" Watanabe Eiji and Mouri Takayoshi were dumbfounded.

"No, no, no, I'm just..." Department Manager Uchimura was a bit embarrassed: "My son likes her very much; my house is full of her merchandise, posters, glow sticks, and handshake tickets. I've told him many times."

"Hahahahahaha hahahahahaha~" Laughter erupted in the horse racing track's VIP lounge.

"I actually do know Miyawaki Sakura. Do you need me to help your son get an autograph?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked, seizing the opportunity.

"That... if it's possible..." Department Manager Uchimura was very embarrassed, but it was clear he truly loved his son.

"Hahahaha~"

Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly discovered that hanging out with these older generations was sometimes not so boring.

But the prerequisite is that you must be strong enough yourself.

……………………

On the same day, Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters building, Forensics Division.

The forensics personnel of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police were preparing to categorize the evidence collected from the disappearance scene yesterday.

The Kanagawa police originally hadn't taken this case seriously at all; if the other party hadn't been a department manager and executive at Mitsui Real Estate, a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, the Kanagawa police wouldn't have even bothered to investigate.

They hadn't expected this to be a disappearance case beforehand; in fact, when the police arrived, the scene had already been made a mess by a large group of Sumitomo Mitsui Group employees, with fingerprints, footprints, and hair scattered everywhere.

When the forensics officer took out the evidence bag, he was instantly stunned.

Oh no!

During the on-site investigation, the front-line police didn't use an evidence labeling machine! Instead, they used a regular permanent marker to write by hand.

As a result, the weather was so hot now that by the time the Forensics Division received the evidence bags the next day, the permanent marker numbers on them had smeared into a blur.

How the hell am I supposed to determine the sequence, or figure out which is which?

Seeing this scene, the Kanagawa forensics officer broke into a sweat.

It's over; they didn't clarify things during the handover, so what do I do now? If something goes wrong, I'll definitely be the one held responsible!

None of my business!

The forensics officer thought for a moment and shook his head in anger.

That's right, none of my business!

So he stopped worrying about the sequence; he renumbered all the hair, and for the physical evidence, he matched what he could and assigned random numbers to the rest.

Just like that, all the evidence collected from the scene was completely renumbered, as for which was which, and whether they could be matched.

None of my business!

Just as the Forensics Division was dumbfounded, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters was also holding a special investigation meeting.

At the special investigation meeting, Headquarters Chief Takakura of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters and others listened to the investigation report by Police Inspector Yamanaka, who was in charge of the case, while over thirty Detectives sat below.

"The missing person, Igarashi Aiko, female, 38 years old, Project Manager at Mitsui Real Estate under the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, responsible for the project planning of the New Yokohama International Logistics Distribution Center within the YokohamaPortRevitalizationPlan."

"Igarashi Aiko's father is the former Investigation Division 2 Chief, Igarashi Masataka."

"According to the description from the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, on the morning of September 7th, during an internal group golf team-building event, the missing person failed to arrive, so her superiors and colleagues decided to go to her home personally to ask her the reason for her unexcused absence."

"The missing person's apartment is a typical detached house; surveillance in the vicinity is very sparse. The items in the home were arranged neatly, with no signs of forced entry, but the window on the second-floor balcony was damaged. It is suspected that there may have been an accident; judging from the glass fragments on the floor and the damage marks, it should have been smashed from the inside."

"Therefore, based on the golf bag at the door and the call records, the missing person should have encountered a situation between getting off work on September 6th and the team-building event on September 7th."

"The missing person's personal Briefcase is missing. According to her colleagues, the Briefcase contained key documents for the port revitalization plan, tens of thousands of yen in cash, some of the missing person's jewelry and a makeup bag, as well as her two mobile phones."

Police Inspector Yamanaka displayed the currently known evidence on the blackboard: "Because the people from the Sumitomo Mitsui Group and others entered the house first, there are a large number of footprints, hair, and shoe prints inside the house, making the forensic work very difficult."

"But we have obtained a key piece of evidence!"

Police Inspector Yamanaka proudly displayed it: "In the restroom, we found suspected human tissue and bloodstains left by the perpetrator!"

"Based on the above deductions, we can conclude that this is a crime committed by an acquaintance! And it is very likely related to business competition and personal revenge; the perpetrator should be familiar with the missing person, capable of making the missing person open the door voluntarily."

"Therefore, as long as we follow the bloodstains and the missing person's network of relationships, we can determine who did it."

"Very good, use this as a foundation to thoroughly investigate the missing person's interpersonal relationships, conduct DNA testing on the blood, and visit the nearby neighbors and streets one by one!" Headquarters Chief Takakura of Kanagawa Prefecture stood up: "Everyone, this incident involves the entire YokohamaPortRevitalizationPlan and concerns the future strategy of all our citizens and even the entire prefecture. Please be sure to raise your spirits to the highest level and solve this case in the shortest possible time! That is all!"

"Yes!!!"

All the Detectives of Kanagawa Prefecture were full of ambition.

With so much physical evidence, plus blood DNA, and no signs of forced entry, isn't this a sure win!

This time, it's our turn in Kanagawa Prefecture to make a great contribution!

(End of this chapter)