Chapter 817

Okada Masayoshi reacted quickly.

"The Takasaki Special Investigation Headquarters, Investigation Division 1 Chief Hasegawa, is already online."

Uesugi Muneyuki took the phone, without exchanging pleasantries.

"Chief Hasegawa, this is Uesugi Muneyuki of the Metropolitan Police Department Special Mission Division. Regarding the Takasaki mass murder case, I have three questions for you. You only need to answer yes or no." The person on the other end of the line froze for a moment, clearly unaccustomed to this opening style: "Well..."

"First, was the male head of the victimized household not at home on the night of the incident?"

"……Yes. He was on a business trip in Osaka."

"Second, did the female head of household have a social media account and a habit of frequently sharing her family life?"

Hasegawa remained silent for two seconds.

Uesugi Muneyuki could hear the sound of paper rustling and someone asking a question on the other end of the line, then after about ten or so seconds, came a slightly tense response: "……Yes. She has an INS account, and we are currently retrieving the records."

"Third, is there any evidence at the scene indicating that the victim actively opened the door for the killer—no forced entry, no pried windows, normal entry through the front door?" This silence lasted even longer.

"Yes." Hasegawa's voice dropped: "Our initial assessment was also that it was an acquaintance committing the crime, but after a full day of investigation, we have made no progress." Indeed! Uesugi Muneyuki, with his free hand, pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and quickly jotted down a few key words.

Normal entry, social media, familiar stranger, following the network cable to kill, again a mass murder and a completely ransacked home.

"I am currently at the Kawaguchi Police Prefecture headquarters. Bring all the materials you have on hand—crime scene photos, autopsy reports, the victims' social media records—right away. Before tonight, I want to see you in Kawaguchi."

"Chief Uesugi, this requires headquarters' approval—"

"What documents do you need? I will have the National Police Agency headquarters send them to you right now, so you don't need to apply; I can get them faster here." Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly.

The other end of the line fell completely silent.

"Chief Hasegawa, I am not negotiating with you." After saying this, Uesugi Muneyuki took the phone away from his ear, handed it back to Okada Masayoshi, furrowed his brow, and turned to walk toward the Kawaguchi Police Prefecture meeting room.

Okada Masayoshi held the phone, hearing Hasegawa on the other end lower his voice to say to someone nearby, "Prepare the car, go to Kawaguchi," then hung up.

At the end of the hallway, Wuyu Prefecture Police Investigation Division 1 Chief Sato Masashi stood there, holding two cups of coffee, with a complex expression. He had obviously overheard part of the previous conversation.

Uesugi Muneyuki walked up to him and paused.

"Chief Sato, lend me the meeting room. Starting tonight, this case will be led by the Special Mission Division."

Sato opened his mouth, wanting to say something—possibly "This doesn't follow procedure," or possibly "We need to report to headquarters"—but in the end, he said nothing.

What procedure do you need? Uesugi Muneyuki can arrange it right now.

Report to headquarters? The Special Mission Division is a new department established by cabinet approval, and strictly speaking, neither the Police Commissioner nor the Superintendent General has the authority to abolish it.

"Then it's settled." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "I need all the detectives under your command who have participated in the investigation of this case. By seven o'clock tonight, bring their notebooks and memories, and come to the meeting room."

Chief Hasegawa and others watched Uesugi Muneyuki's back disappear around the corridor corner, suddenly feeling that the cup in their hand was a bit heavy.

A young detective sidled up and whispered: "Chief, he's so arrogant."

Sato glanced at him and sighed: "Arrogance is just right. If he can't solve the case, the blame is his; if he solves it, we share the credit. Go call people—have the meeting room full by seven."

The young detective blinked, suddenly understood, let out an "ah," turned and ran off to notify them.

Right, isn't Uesugi Muneyuki's purpose exactly this?

He's here, so we have justice!

If he can't crack it, then our incompetence is justified!

More! More!

Ah, if we think this way, what has headquarters been doing all along?

At 5:40 p. m., the Gunma Prefecture police arrived.

Hasegawa is a man in his early forties, tall and thin, with white at the temples and bloodshot eyes—since the Takasaki case broke only a day ago, he has probably slept less than six hours. He brought a thick manila file folder, placed it on the table in the Kawaguchi Police Prefecture meeting room, and it made a dull thud. "Let me brief you on the situation." Uesugi Muneyuki said warmly.

"A family of four, murdered." Hasegawa wasted no words, opening the file folder and spreading the photos on the whiteboard: "Head of household Takahashi Kazuo, forty-five, works as a sales department manager at an auto parts company."

"At the time of the incident, he was on a business trip in Osaka that night, with lodging records, Shinkansen tickets, and customer testimonies all matching."

"His wife, Takahashi Mi, is thirty-nine."

"Their eldest daughter, Takahashi Riko, is sixteen, in her second year of high school."

"Their second son, Takahashi Kenta, is thirteen, in his first year of junior high."

"Also, Takahashi Kazuo's mother, Takahashi Fumie, sixty-seven, lives with her son and daughter-in-law, usually helping to look after the grandchildren." He pulled out several crime scene photos. Uesugi Muneyuki lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over those images, his expression showing no fluctuation.

"Mi collapsed in the first-floor kitchen. One stab to the neck, three to the chest, two to the abdomen. There are traces of sexual assault on the lower body. Riko was in the second-floor bedroom, stabbed four times in the back, one of which pierced her right lung, cause of death being hemorrhagic shock. Her pants and underwear were removed, with traces of sexual assault."

"Kenta was in the hallway, killed by a heavy blow to the head—likely from the decorative vase taken from the genkan. Fumie, the elderly woman, was in the first-floor bathroom, with one stab to the neck and one to the abdomen, no signs of sexual assault."

Hasegawa spoke quickly, as if reciting a report, but when he mentioned the elderly woman, his voice trembled slightly.

"The method of the crime is highly similar." Uesugi Muneyuki said, his gaze falling on the crime scene photo of Takahashi Mi—her face was the same as Matsumoto Yumi's, having been beaten, eye sockets fractured, lips split: "Husband not at home, crime committed late at night, female victims sexually assaulted, male victims—even a thirteen-year-old boy—killed outright. No signs of forced entry, normal access through the front door."

"We have investigated all relationships of the Takahashi family." Hasegawa said: "Relatives, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, friends—we checked over two hundred people in two days, and not one matched the criteria. We even suspected Takahashi Kazuo himself, but his alibi is rock-solid." "What about social media?" Okada Masayoshi interjected from the side.

Hasegawa glanced at him, then pulled out a sheet of printed paper from the bottom of the file folder: "Takahashi Mi's INS and Twitter accounts. She is… how to put it, just as Chief Uesugi said, she is a very active user. She posts at least three or four times a day, all content about family life—today I made bento, my daughter ranked X in her grade, my son placed in the sports festival, my mother-in-law taught me how to pickle radish, my husband bought her a birthday gift. Every photo has geotags enabled, and sometimes the house number can even be inferred from the scenery outside the window."

Okada Masayoshi took the printed sheet, flipped through it quickly, then looked up at Uesugi Muneyuki.

"The situation is almost identical to that of Matsumoto Yumi." He said: "Both are housewives, both extremely active on social media, both overshared personal information, both joined similar mom groups. And moreover—"

He flipped to one page, pointing his finger at a username.

"Takahashi Mi also joined a similar cooking exchange group. The group name is 'Gunma Prefecture Housewives Cooking Enthusiasts.' It is not the same group as Matsumoto Yumi's, but the nature is completely the same."

Uesugi Muneyuki picked up the printed sheet, looking at the screenshot of that group.

His gaze lingered on that page for a few seconds, then he lowered it and turned toward Hasegawa.

"Chief Hasegawa, I need you to answer me one question."

"Please go ahead."

"What did Takahashi Mi do for work before marriage?"

Hasegawa froze for a moment, then lowered his head to flip through the materials: "She… graduated from university and worked at an advertising company for five years as a planner, reportedly with good performance, rising to supervisor. She married at twenty-seven, quit her job, and became a full-time housewife."

Uesugi Muneyuki did not press further. His expression remained unchanged, but Okada Masayoshi, sitting opposite him, noticed his eyes narrow slightly—that was his habitual reaction when he sensed something.

At eight o'clock that evening, led by the Metropolitan Police Department Special Mission Division, the Wuyu Prefecture Police and Gunma Prefecture Police each dispatched core forces to form the Special Investigation Headquarters, which was formally established in the auditorium of the Kawaguchi City Police Station.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood on it, with a huge whiteboard behind him, on the left were photos and relationship charts of the Matsumoto family, on the right were photos and relationship charts of the Takahashi family.

The diagrams on both sides were strikingly similar—red markings indicated female victims in the same way, blue markings indicated absent husbands in the same way, and yellow question marks were placed at the "front entrance" position in the same way.

More than sixty people were seated below. The front row consisted of six members of the Special Mission Division, the middle row had over thirty detectives from Saitama Prefecture Police, and the back row had over twenty from Gunma Prefecture Police.

They wore different styles of suits, with different-shaped police badges on their chests, but their facial expressions were uniform—one of relief, as if they had been saved.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood on it, without using a microphone, yet his voice clearly reached the back row.

"Starting today, these two cases—namely, the Matsumoto family triple homicide in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, and the Takahashi family quadruple homicide in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture—are officially merged for investigation.

The overall commander of the Special Investigation Headquarters is Superintendent Okada Masayoshi, and the deputy commander is Assistant Police Inspector Kai Kyō. The personnel of the original investigation headquarters from Wuyu County Police and Gunma Prefecture Police remain unchanged, but from now on, all work orders will be issued uniformly by the Special Mission Division."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over those below.

"I have finished speaking. Who agrees, who opposes?"

No one spoke.

More than sixty people, not a single one opened their mouth.

It was not because they had no opinions—local police being pressured by young people from Tokyo would inevitably have opinions in their hearts. But they had all seen the crime scene photos of the Matsumoto family, seen those of the Takahashi family, and knew they had searched for half a month, a full day, and found nothing. Yet Uesugi Muneyuki, from his arrival in Saitama Prefecture to now, less than eight hours, had already confirmed the connection between the two cases, overturned the long-held "acquaintance perpetrator" assumption, and proposed a new direction that at least looked reasonable—the killer had come along the network cable! And there was an accomplice!

If it were another young police officer from Tokyo, they might have objected.

But this was Uesugi Muneyuki!

Doctor of Forensic Medicine from the University of Tokyo, descendant of the old nobility, Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Inspectorate of Censors! The ultimate weapon of the Japanese Police!

That face that appears daily on television—his reputation is too great, so great that these local detectives have developed a strange psychology—no matter what, since you came, solving the case is your due, failing to solve it is your disgrace; we only need to carry out orders, we need not think, we need not bear responsibility. It is like inserting a master key into a keyhole—if the door won't open, it must be the lock's fault, not the key's.

"Very good. Next, I will share my thoughts on this case."

"Regarding this case, I have noticed a particular detail."

Uesugi Muneyuki waved the document in his hand.

"That is……"