Chapter 219: Headlines of the Kanto Circle

In the gloomy and narrow interrogation room of the Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters, Executive Director Sato, looking angry and dejected, sat on a special interrogation chair, surrounded by a large circle of detectives.

The detectives of Kanagawa Prefecture were anxious to solve the case, biting onto Executive Director Sato and refusing to let go; they adopted a fatigue tactic, questioning him continuously for several hours without pause, and incessantly using bright light exposure combined with coerced confessions, trying to force Executive Director Sato to say what he had done to his subordinate, Aiko.

Executive Director Sato was both angry and desperate; he kept explaining that the bloodstains at the scene were left by his ruptured hemorrhoids.

However, no one believed him.

Moreover, regarding the issue of the DNA bloodstains left at the scene, it could indeed be used as circumstantial evidence for an arrest; on this point, even the entire Nishimura Asahi Law Office team that rushed to the scene several hours later felt it was tricky.

Even though they managed to obtain the clothes Executive Director Sato wore that day, proving there were indeed bloodstains on them, and found the Sumitomo Mitsui Group employees who came that day to testify that Executive Director Sato was indeed bleeding that day, the Kanagawa detectives still refused bail.

Their attitude this time was surprisingly tough, preparing to send the case to the Public Prosecutors Office 48 hours after the arrest.

As for whether he was guilty or not, let the District Public Prosecutors Office decide!

Police Inspector Yamanaka was very confident about this.

It was him who did it!

Executive Director Sato was unable to defend himself against this, and what made him feel even more ominous was that if he were sent to the Public Prosecutors Office, then involving a criminal case, the Public Prosecutors Office would likely freeze the International Logistics Center Project within the entire Yokohama Port Revitalization Project.

For Mitsui Real Estate, which undertook this project, this would be a devastating blow.

At the same time, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters officially held a press conference.

On September 12, the entire Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters press conference venue was packed.

On September 11, the news of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police arresting a Sumitomo Mitsui Group executive had already flown all over society; countless media and newspapers had captured photos and on-site footage, proving that the Kanagawa Prefectural Police had indeed taken away an executive from the Mitsui Fudosan Yokohama Branch, and according to the reporters' investigations, they soon confirmed the suspect's identity—Executive Director of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group Board of Directors, Sato Kozo.

News was flying everywhere outside; for a time, NHK and the five major television stations all reported on this matter, and the fact that a fatal murder case had occurred within the Sumitomo Mitsui Group immediately attracted the attention of the entire society.

A superior kidnapping/murdering a subordinate was originally a particularly explosive topic, especially with the fine Japanese tradition—workplace bullying and the humiliation of juniors by seniors, which made countless Japanese people instantly associate it with certain scenes.

Young people immediately started chatting about this on the internet, talking about superiors pushing a subordinate's head into a sukiyaki pot, superiors and subordinates sharing a room on business trips, business reception forced by an arrogant client, or a peerless subordinate.

An elderly man and a middle-aged female subordinate, this inevitably makes people make associations.

Various jokes immediately exploded, especially since this time it involved two of Japan's seven major financial cliques, Mitsui and Sumitomo!

At the same time, the Sumitomo Mitsui Group also held an emergency meeting to discuss this matter; due to the extremely negative impact, the Sumitomo Mitsui Group urgently issued a letter demanding an explanation from Kanagawa, and an entire legal team was stationed directly in Kanagawa, with both sides desperately looking for evidence favorable to themselves.

For this reason, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters officially announced to the outside world that it would hold a press conference on September 12.

At the press conference, Headquarters Chief Takakura very proudly announced to the reporters, "We have achieved a major breakthrough in the disappearance case of the Mitsui Real Estate female executive at an extremely fast speed; according to the investigation, Igarashi Aiko's superior has major suspicion of committing the crime."

"According to the on-site investigation, there were no signs of intrusion or destruction in the room, and the balcony glass on the second floor was broken from the inside, so this must be a crime committed by an acquaintance."

At the press conference, Headquarters Chief Takakura said very firmly: "Combined with the fact that the suspect once left bloodstains at the scene, there is no doubt it is him."

"Afterward, Executive Director Sato also had the suspicion of deliberately fabricating an alibi and destroying the crime scene."

"Is the police being too far-fetched to be so certain?" A reporter below immediately raised a hand: "According to the statement issued by the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, the bloodstains left at the scene were caused by a ruptured hemorrhoid, and according to subsequent sampling, it was confirmed that the bloodstains left at the scene indeed came from Executive Director Sato's hemorrhoid problem."

"This cannot prove the suspect is innocent." Police Inspector Yamanaka took over the topic: "Please trust our judgment; our judgment has always been reasonable."

"Then may I ask what the murder weapon is? Where is the missing Ms. Igarashi Aiko now? What is the motive for the crime?" Reporters below immediately asked.

"... Currently, it is impossible to determine whether Ms. Igarashi Aiko is dead or alive; we are still stepping up the interrogation. As for the motive, it is very likely related to an extramarital affair between the two. According to our investigation, when Ms. Igarashi Aiko was previously the Planning Department Deputy Chief, she once had an extramarital affair with a Department Manager, so we have reason to believe that a similar situation occurred in this incident."

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police's attitude was very tough: "We believe that in a few days, we will find new evidence."

"Currently, the evidence is insufficient; we have applied to the prosecutors to extend the detention time to 10 days to conduct further searches on the case."

On the screen, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police's press conference was seen by many detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department Investigation Division 1.

Uesugi Muneyuki was also there.

The head of Investigation Division 1, Sugishita Ukyo, had his eyes wide open, and the hand holding the black tea cup was trembling incessantly: "It is simply... reckless! Completely groundless! How can you presume guilt like this?! And... now that we don't even know if the missing person is dead or alive, is it appropriate to expose the missing person's personal privacy like this? Really... unacceptable!"

"Not searching for the missing person, but staring at a suspect with insufficient evidence and wanting to turn it into an ironclad case... unacceptable!"

Investigation Division 1 felt that there was no problem with arresting Executive Director Sato, because the circumstantial evidence of the bloodstains left at the scene was enough to apply for an arrest warrant, but to be so impatient to come out and hold a press conference to claim credit before mastering definitive evidence... was a bit too much.

Not to mention publicly exposing the missing person's personal privacy at the press conference.

The professionalism of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police was very worrying; it could be seen that they were very anxious.

"No way, this is the local branch, just like monkeys in the countryside." Shiratori Sho of the Second Division complained: "Once they see a banana, they can't wait to jump around."

As mentioned before, the peak of uselessness for Japanese police is in Kanagawa, a legendary "lost-prone" prefecture that can have four incidents of losing service pistols in a year.

"Hahahaha." Joyful laughter came from within Investigation Division 1.

"Besides, that is the Sumitomo Mitsui Group; how dare they!" said Police Inspector Shimano of the Fourth Unit.

"Why wouldn't they dare?" Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly interjected, saying with a half-smile: "Ms. Igarashi's father is the former Chief of Investigation Division 2, and after retirement, he currently serves as a director at Mitsui Real Estate. The District Public Prosecutors Office has been investigating these matters recently anyway. If they can use this opening to hit the Headquarters and Sumitomo Mitsui hard, who knows how many people in the Special Investigation Team will be promoted."

"The District Public Prosecutors Office?" Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment made everyone in Investigation Division 1 silent.

This group of people is truly haunting.

But it seems they cannot do without them.

"Uesugi-kun, what is your take on this case?" Sugishita Ukyo asked.

"Currently, I know almost nothing about this case." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head: "Based on the case details revealed so far, I cannot make any effective judgment, but there is one point I find very strange."

"According to the investigation by Kanagawa, they firmly believe it is a crime committed by an acquaintance, but according to the statement from the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, when there was no response to knocking on the door at the beginning, a colleague who was very familiar with the missing person climbed over the back fence and entered the house directly through the backyard. This shouldn't require an acquaintance, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin.

"From the current evidence, that is indeed the case; it seems one can enter the house without being an acquaintance." Police Inspector Kashiwagi Jin of the Third Division thought for a moment, but then shook his head repeatedly: "However, it's different."

"Different?" Uesugi Muneyuki tilted his head.

He and Kashiwagi Jin had always been a bit at odds, but considering that Kashiwagi Jin had overheard his secret talk with Kousaka during the last Todai Case and neither reported it nor caused trouble, but instead took the initiative to find them for help and provided key information, the previous grudges could be considered barely resolved.

"Yes, different." Kashiwagi Jin signaled: "If it weren't an acquaintance, or someone very familiar with the local terrain and building structure, it would be impossible to skillfully climb over the back door into the backyard and then enter the room. First, they would need to confirm that no one was home, then they would need at least enough time to observe whether they could enter smoothly. Secondly, this is a residential area with huge foot traffic; it is unlikely to climb over in broad daylight, and they would need to find a suitable opportunity."

Kashiwagi Jin's words made everyone nod one after another.

"So you also think it's a crime committed by an acquaintance?" Uesugi Muneyuki also expressed agreement with Kashiwagi Jin's view.

"Without a doubt, it is a crime committed by an acquaintance." Kashiwagi Jin said very affirmatively.

Investigation Division 1 discussed this biggest news in the Kanto urban circle recently, and everyone tended to believe it was a crime committed by an acquaintance, but was it really Executive Director Sato?

The investigation by Kanagawa seemed quite plausible, but... Uesugi Muneyuki always associated it with the previous Tokyo Woman's Christian University student disappearance case.

Igarashi Aiko has been missing for a week now, and it seems highly likely that she is in grave danger.

After thinking it over, Uesugi Muneyuki decided to wait and see how things developed.

He had been busy with other matters recently—initiating the adoption process to have Mikoto adopt Asuka and become her legal guardian.

Suddenly having a teenage daughter thrust upon her, Mikoto expressed that she could not accept it; she furiously declared, "I really misjudged you, Uesugi; I never expected you to be the kind of scum who would make a move on a high school student!"

Uesugi Muneyuki replied, "How can you even bring yourself to accuse me?"

The Forensic Beauty had nothing to say.

Afterwards, she learned about Asuka's situation and also felt the girl was very pitiful, planning to find a time to meet her so the two of them could sit down and discuss the adoption issue.

This meant that although Uesugi Muneyuki was concerned about the Igarashi Aiko disappearance case, he did not intend to proactively request to intervene as he had last time.

Recently, this matter had been the headline for the entire Kanto metropolitan area; the media had reported on it for two or three days in a row, but the Kanagawa Detective department kept stating that the case was still under investigation.

…………

September 15th, Tokyo, Ota Ward, Tokyo Bay, 3:30 PM.

A barge belonging to Tokyo Marine Holdings suddenly seemed to hit something.

The old crewman responsible for the docking grumbled as he looked down to inspect it, discovering a large black plastic bag gently bumping against the stern, with something seemingly inside.

"Who threw this trash here?"

"Tokyo Bay is getting dirtier and more disgusting by the day!"

Japan's waste sorting is extremely strict; not only must one purchase specific trash bags for different types of waste, but trash collection is also scheduled—if you miss the garbage truck, it drives away—and some trash must be disposed of by other means, while special large items like appliances or furniture require the purchase of special waste labels or stickers (costing several hundred to a thousand yen) before anyone will collect them.

Naturally, although most Japanese people are quite compliant with waste sorting, there are also many who find ways to dump large items, and throwing them into Tokyo Bay is one such method.

He therefore decided to fish the object out.

The black plastic bag, soaked in the water, emitted an extremely foul, rotting stench; upon opening the plastic bag, inside was a piece of flesh that had already been soaked until it turned white.

The old crewman could not immediately identify whether it was human or animal, but he recognized the way the plastic bag was tied.

This particular way of tying it was somewhat like...

(End of chapter)