Chapter 777

Kameyama Kaoru realized what it was.

Although this guy is somewhat thick-headed, he is not stupid; he has worked in the police system for over a decade, so he naturally knows what this means.

"Look at this again," Yamada Section Chief said, picking up another stack of photos from the desk.

This stack is of another woman; the next stack down is yet another.

Over a hundred women, ranging in age from teens to forties, with a few men mixed in—well, European and American men and one very obvious Korean man.

Kameyama Kaoru's fingers began to tremble.

"These..." he raised his head, looking at Yamada Section Chief, "are these his? Taken by Setouchi Makoto?"

"All were found on his computer." Yamada Section Chief's voice was calm, but there was no calm in his eyes, "A total of one hundred and three female corpses, over a thousand photos, spanning a long period, and undoubtedly this is only part of it."

Kameyama Kaoru opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"He worked as a forensic police officer in the Kanagawa Prefectural Police." Yamada Section Chief continued in a low voice: "Utsunomiya Keisatsu-chou, Konan Keisatsu-chou, and two other stations—he served there for thirteen years straight. These photos were all taken by him in the mortuary."

Mortuary.

Forensic Identification Division.

Police.

These three words turned over and over in Kameyama Kaoru's mind, finally forming an image he dared not believe.

"You mean..." he struggled to speak: "He abused his position, during preliminary identification and administrative and judicial appraisal... to take these photos?"

Yamada Section Chief nodded: "It should be this way."

Kameyama Kaoru lowered his head to look at the photo in his hand—the pale faces, the closed eyes, those who were once daughters, wives, mothers, at their most helpless moment, photographed by a man in police uniform with his mobile phone, capturing their final appearance. He put the photo down, feeling his fingertips as if burned by fire.

"And then?" he gritted his teeth, forcing out these words from between his teeth.

Yamada Section Chief nodded at the detective beside him; the detective opened his laptop and pulled up a document.

"We checked his bank flow and consumption records; from ten years ago, his monthly spending clearly exceeded his salary level—upscale restaurants, luxury hotels, electronic products, and several overseas trips, conservatively estimated he has spent several million yen extra over these years... Of course, theoretically it cannot be used as evidence, merely... somewhat suspicious."

"Where did the money come from?"

"We don't know; we suspect he used cryptocurrency. But he refuses to provide his wallet address and private key, making it technically difficult to trace." Kameyama Kaoru fell silent for a while.

"What about him personally? Has he confessed?"

"He answers what is asked." Yamada Section Chief said: "He admitted to upskirt photography. He also admitted to these corpse photos, saying it was 'personal interest.' But when asked about other matters, he remains silent."

"He remains silent?"

"He remains silent." Yamada Section Chief lit a new cigarette: "Just sitting in the interrogation room, staring at the wall, saying nothing."

Kameyama Kaoru felt a sense of foreboding; he grew restless, crossing his arms and pacing back and forth in the room.

"After he was transferred to Tokyo?" Kameyama Kaoru pressed: "Is he still taking photos?"

Yamada Section Chief flipped through the document pile again and pulled out a few photos.

"Yes. In cases of unnatural death within the Ayase Keisatsu-chou jurisdiction, as a police affairs officer with forensic experience, he occasionally goes to the scene to assist. This is a drowning case from last year, the victim a woman in her twenties. His computer contains thirteen photos of her."

Chief Medical Examiner Uesugi Muneyuki is very busy; the Metropolitan Police Department allocates quotas to police stations nationwide, meaning only a limited number of autopsies per year can be requested from Uesugi Muneyuki; exceeding the quota requires a special application, so police stations nationwide tend to be frugal, only requesting Uesugi Muneyuki for cases involving possible homicide or controversy, so such accidental deaths are generally examined by local police stations themselves.

"If only Uesugi Muneyuki were here three or five times, all doubtful cases in the world would be resolved and the families of the deceased would rejoice!"

National Public Safety Commission Chairman Nanko Taro

Kameyama Kaoru stared at the face of the drowning victim, unable to utter a word.

The office gradually darkened. Someone turned on the light; the harsh fluorescent lamp illuminated a table full of photos and documents, casting shadows on each person's face. Yamada Section Chief stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and walked to the window.

"Section Chief Kameyama," he said with his back to Kameyama Kaoru: "What do you think of this matter?"

Kameyama Kaoru leaned against the chair back, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest.

He recalled many years ago, when he was still a rookie detective, an old senior had told him: "Kameyama, in our line of work, what we fear most is not encountering vicious criminals. What we fear most is discovering that the criminal wears the same uniform as we do."

At that time he did not understand what this meant.

Now he understands, after serving over a decade as a police officer and spending over a decade in the Near East and Africa.

Especially in Africa, often there is no distinction between soldiers and bandits, marauders.

The Near East is the same—some people cannot be accurately assessed until they explode.

"What will happen if this gets out?" he asked.

Yamada Section Chief gave a bitter smile: "You are a celebrity at headquarters; you know better than I do."

Kameyama Kaoru naturally knows.

A serving police officer, abusing his position, photographing female corpses, storing them on his computer, and possibly profiting from it—once this is exposed, the first to fall will be the Kanagawa Prefectural Police for dereliction of duty, mismanagement, and failure to supervise; then the Metropolitan Police Department—how could such a person be transferred smoothly? Why did the background check fail to detect the problem? Then the entire police system—what else do we not know? How many more Setouchi Makotos are hidden in various corners?

When you find a cockroach in your home, the whole house may already be infested.

Public opinion will explode.

The National Diet will question.

Superiors will resign in protest, subordinates will be pushed to the forefront.

The reputation of Japan's police, built over a hundred years, will collapse overnight.

Kameyama Kaoru stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window is the everyday scene of Saitama City; many people here take the train to Tokyo for work, the streets are quiet but traffic flows incessantly.

No one knows that on this ordinary day, in this ordinary office at the Wuyu County Police Headquarters, several people are guarding a secret capable of overturning the entire nation.

"It must be kept secret." He turned back, looking at Yamada Section Chief: "Before the matter is clarified, not a single word must leak out—I... I will go to headquarters and ask Section Chief Sugishita what to do!"

Yamada Section Chief nodded.

"I know."

Kameyama Kaoru looked again at the other people in the room.

"You too. This matter must not be told to anyone—family, colleagues, friends, anyone. This is an order."

The three people nodded.

Kameyama Kaoru picked up his coat, walked two steps toward the door, then stopped again: "As for Setouchi Makoto," he said, "keep an eye on him. Don't let him get into trouble." "Understood."

"Oh right, Kameyama Section Chief." Yamada Section Chief said with difficulty: "In those corpse photos, there were... several white-skinned women, apparently they fell ill while sightseeing in Kanagawa and died, and there were also accidental car crash deaths... Setouchi this guy took... very detailed photos!" "..." Kameyama Kaoru felt a bit short of breath.

After returning to Tokyo, Kameyama Kaoru saw Sugishita Ukyo the next morning.

That was no longer the Public Safety Bureau they had been idling away in, to the point of desperation. As the Investigation Division 1 Chief, Sugishita Ukyo wasn't someone you could just find whenever you wanted. It was that Sugishita was simply too busy. After being promoted to Investigation Division 1 Chief, Sugishita's schedule was packed full—various meetings, documents, personnel arrangements, and occasional major cases popping up. Kameyama Kaoru had called three times last night, all blocked by the Division Chief's assistant.

"Section Chief Sugishita is in a meeting."

"Section Chief Sugishita has a guest."

"Section Chief Sugishita asked me to tell you: if it's about that case, come to his office tomorrow morning at eight to talk."

Not face-to-face, Kameyama Kaoru basically didn't dare to say anything, so he could only wait until the next day.

At seven fifty-five in the morning, he stood at the door of the Investigation Division 1 Chief's office and knocked.

"Please come in."

Kameyama Kaoru pushed the door open and entered. Sugishita Ukyo was standing by the window, holding a cup of black tea in his hand, gazing at the Tokyo morning scenery outside, still wearing the classic English gentleman's suspender trousers. Hearing the footsteps, he turned around, and behind his glasses, his eyes held a hint of a faint smile.

"Little Turtle. Long time no see."

This address made Kameyama Kaoru dazed for a moment.

Since leaving the Metropolitan Police Department, very few people had called him that anymore. Now Sugishita Ukyo was already fifty-eight, and he himself was in his early fifties. "Sugishita-san..." he began, then corrected himself: "Section Chief."

"Just call him Sugishita." Sugishita Ukyo waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down, and he himself also sat behind the desk: "I heard you made three phone calls yesterday. What's so urgent that you absolutely had to talk in person?"

Kameyama Kaoru took a deep breath and recounted everything he had seen yesterday at the Kawaguchi Keisatsu-chou headquarters, word for word.

From the covert filming on the tram, to Setouchi Makoto flashing his police ID, to discovering the corpse photos in the apartment, to over a hundred bodies, thirteen years of experience in the Forensic Identification Division, suspicious funding sources with unknown origins, and then his conversation with Yamada Section Chief.

Sugishita Ukyo listened silently throughout, without interruption, and his face showed little expression.

He only occasionally lifted his teacup to take a sip, or occasionally pushed his glasses.

After Kameyama Kaoru finished speaking, the office fell silent for a few seconds.

"That's how it is." He said: "I've already instructed the Wuyu County Police to keep it strictly confidential. Before the investigation is clear, not a single word can leak out." Sugishita Ukyo put down his teacup and looked at Kameyama Kaoru.

That gaze made Kameyama Kaoru's heart skip a beat.

He and Sugishita Ukyo had been partners for so many years, so familiar with this gaze—it was the look Sugishita had when he discovered an important clue, and also the look when he was about to say something unpleasant.

"Sugishita-san... what should we do?" Kameyama Kaoru asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Sugishita Ukyo let out a soft sigh: "Little Turtle, you said you had them keep it confidential?"

"Yes." Kameyama Kaoru felt a bit proud and also relieved, thinking I too know the importance of confidentiality.

"When?"

"Last night. Before I came back from Wuyu."

Sugishita Ukyo nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching into a bitter smile: "Then, this news can probably be suppressed for another day."

Kameyama Kaoru was stunned: "What do you mean? I already told them to keep it confidential..."

"I know you told them to keep it confidential." Sugishita Ukyo interrupted him: "But Little Turtle, think about it—from the time Setouchi Makoto was arrested, to searching the apartment, to discovering those photos, to your talk with Yamada Section Chief, how many people knew about this?"

Kameyama Kaoru thought for a moment: "The Wuyu County Police side, a few people from the Organized Crime Division, a few from the Investigation Division, plus the duty staff in the interrogation room... roughly a dozen or so."

"A dozen or so." Sugishita Ukyo repeated: "These dozen or so people, you told them to keep it confidential—can they really keep it?"

Kameyama Kaoru opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"They're not bad people," Sugishita Ukyo continued, "they also want to keep it confidential. But they have families, colleagues, friends. Someone might not be able to resist telling his wife, 'There's a big case lately,' someone might complain to a close colleague over drinks, someone might get a call from an old colleague at the Kanagawa Prefectural Police asking for gossip. Each person only leaks a little bit, but when added together, it becomes a complete piece of news."

Kameyama Kaoru fell silent.

"Moreover," Sugishita Ukyo pushed his glasses, "this matter itself is explosive news—a police officer photographing and collecting female corpses, once someone gets wind of it, it will spread like wildfire."

"But..." Kameyama Kaoru still wanted to say something.

Sugishita Ukyo lifted his teacup and gently blew on it: "You demanding they keep it confidential only gave this news one more day to survive. If you hadn't said that yesterday, last night someone would have called a familiar reporter, and this morning's newspaper would have had the headline."

"Often, we in the Metropolitan Police Department find out about things from the media!"

Kameyama Kaoru leaned back in his chair, unable to speak. In thirteen years in Africa, the world had undergone tremendous change—police were no longer what they used to be, and media were no longer what they used to be!

Only he, still naively thought that the two words "confidentiality" could solve everything.

Sugishita Ukyo looked at Kameyama Kaoru's expression, put down his teacup: "Don't blame yourself. You've already done what you should do. Now the problem is, what do we do next?"

Kameyama Kaoru lifted his head.

"Do you have a way?"

Sugishita Ukyo shook his head.

"No way."

"The only thing we can do is go see Onoda right now!"

"Get ready, Little Turtle. The coming period will be tough!"

Kameyama Kaoru swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Could it be that I returned to Japan just to end the Japanese police world?