Chapter 6 Like a Shadow

Metropolitan Police Department First Investigation Division, Friday.

Ida is writing a written report on the last operation.

The most important reason for Wednesday's failed operation was that the police were too passive.

From the moment the criminal informed them of the transaction location less than five hours in advance, the police were scrambling to respond, with very little time to prepare.

Even though Date was informed beforehand that there were skilled disguisers among the opposing side, it didn't help much. Aside from the fact that this information couldn't be made public, the more important issue was that the total number of people on the other side and what they were disguised as were unknown. They couldn't exactly have the traffic police pull faces and investigate one by one, could they?

For the past two days, Ida has been watching the live broadcast replay and road surveillance footage non-stop. His only gain is that he finally knows why the boy in the Beetle returned the way he came:

Yuki Sakai was initially imprisoned near the airport.

The answer was hidden in the route map that the criminal had shown to Kazuo Sakai, but unfortunately the police did not notice this code at the time.

Even more unfortunately, Yuuki had already been moved away before the boy returned.

Shinichi Kudo

Looking at the boy's file, Ida sighed and said with a wry smile, "Skipping class for an entire day to investigate a truth that has nothing to do with him, what can I say about this kid?"

Takagi asked, puzzled, "Why didn't he call the police?"

"Perhaps it stemmed from overconfidence in his own abilities, or perhaps from a lack of awareness of the seriousness of the matter."

"Huh?"

"The police and the hospital have kept the news under tight control. Even President Sakai doesn't know the current situation of his subordinates Nakagawa and Miyazaki. It's highly likely that Kudo doesn't know about this murder case. He's probably involved because he discovered his classmate was missing. Look, Kudo and Sakai go to the same school."

Takagi suddenly realized, "I see! But a smart and righteous kid like Kudo-kun would definitely become an excellent detective if he joined the police force!"

Date said seriously, "Takagi, if you learn to handle cases like him, you'll definitely be thrown out of the First Investigation Division within six months!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Completely lacking in organization and discipline! You single-handedly stormed the kidnappers' hideout. Luckily, the prisoner had already been moved. What if you had faced them head-on? Did you consider the countermeasures and consequences? Have you completely forgotten the basic rules of a criminal investigator?!"

"I'm sorry, Date-senpai! I will never make such a mistake again! So, what should we do with this child? A verbal warning?"

Date waved his hand: "Leave it to me!"

Just then, Sato walked into the office with bad news.

"Date-senpai, look at today's headline news!"

"News?" Date opened the webpage and was taken aback when he saw the headline on the front page: "The anger of the working class, the Sakai Group riot? Sato, were there any casualties?"

"Five people sustained minor injuries and have been taken to the hospital for treatment."

Ida breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Sato explained, “I investigated the cause of the incident. It’s almost the end of the year, and the employees are all concerned about their year-end bonuses, but the management is slow to give a response. The new secretary, Hiroshi Shintani, is completely unable to manage the situation and is not capable enough to handle things. Now no one in the company is taking charge, and there are even rumors that the group’s senior management has absconded with the money, so the lower-level employees are protesting and even threatening to strike.”

"President Sakai is still in the hospital?"

"Yes, President Sakai's heart condition flared up after the ransom was paid on Wednesday, and he's been in the hospital ever since."

When it rains, it pours.

The police search operation also came to a standstill.

The turning point came on Saturday night.

Good news from the hospital: Miyazaki Yu has woken up!

Ida rushed to the hospital without stopping.

The attending physician said to Ida, "Officer Ida, I'm so sorry! It's our negligence that caused the patient to only wake up now, and this is the hospital's responsibility."

"Doctor, what does this mean?" Ida asked, puzzled.

"We only discovered this afternoon that someone had tampered with Mr. Miyazaki's ventilator, which is why he has not woken up due to insufficient oxygen supply."

Ida pressed on urgently, "Who discovered it?"

"It was a temporary nurse who almost turned off the ventilator because he was new to the job and unfamiliar with the operation. But after a careful check, he discovered the problem. It was a blessing in disguise!"

Date smiled slightly, and a familiar face appeared before her eyes.

He was tempted to ask the nurse if she had exceptionally beautiful almond-shaped eyes. However, he was afraid that asking too much would arouse the doctor's suspicion, so he refrained from asking the obvious.

Date entered the ward, and Miyazaki, lying on the hospital bed, nodded to him.

"Mr. Miyazaki, I am Detective Wataru Date from the First Investigation Division. I would like to ask you a few questions."

Miyazaki nodded somewhat nervously.

"What does Mr. Miyazaki do after he gets home from get off work on Fridays?"

"Okay, I'm going home to eat, take a shower, and go to sleep..."

"Is there anything else? Although the security cameras near your house are malfunctioning, if you hadn't left the house that night or the early hours of the next morning, you wouldn't be lying here now, right?"

Miyazaki rubbed his hands nervously and asked, "Officer Date, are you willing to believe what I'm saying?"

“The job of a detective requires skepticism. If Mr. Miyazaki wants me to believe you, you need to tell the truth that no evidence can disprove.”

Miyazaki nodded, took a few deep breaths, and replied, "Okay, I'll tell you everything!"

"Late Friday night, or rather early Saturday morning, I received a call from Horii. She urgently told me to go to a place right away, or it might be too late."

"Horie?" Date racked his brains, finally digging it out from the back of his memory. "Horie Haruko, Shintani Hiroshi's girlfriend? No, ex-girlfriend?"

"Ugh! I don't even know if they've broken up or not, but that woman called me anyway."

What is the relationship between Mr. Miyazaki and Ms. Horii?

"It's nothing! Shinya is my assistant, that's all. I've never spoken to her alone before."

Date recalled the woman carefully; he had met her when he was closely monitoring Shintani.

Horii is also an employee of the Sakai Group, working as an accountant. She gives the impression of being timid and weak, and is afraid of strangers.

Ida never considered this woman as a suspect.

"What did Ms. Horii say to you?"

"She said... Nakagawa kidnapped Yuuki and told me to go and rescue her quickly."

"What?!"

Miyazaki explained with difficulty, "I was stunned when I heard that. How could Nakagawa do such a thing? Horii told me that Nakagawa had discovered that she was falsifying accounts. So he threatened her to steal the president's car keys. Because the car keys are usually kept by the driver, Ishiura. Besides the president, the secretaries use the car the most, and Shintani and Ishiura have a good relationship, so Nakagawa asked her to steal them."

Date quickly scribbled something in his notebook and nodded to signal Miyazaki to continue.

"Horie said she initially thought Nakagawa wanted to steal the car, but she just discovered that Nakagawa had kidnapped Yuki. She was terrified, so she begged me to stop him."

"How did Ms. Horii discover the kidnapping? Why didn't she call the police herself?"

Miyazaki tried to recall and replied, "Horie didn't explain clearly. She spoke quickly and incoherently, and I was in a hurry at the time so I didn't notice that. As for why I didn't call the police, I guess I was afraid of being mistaken for an accomplice?"

"So Mr. Miyazaki went directly there?"

"No, I called Nakagawa first. I still couldn't believe he would do such a thing, but no one answered the phone. I started to panic and thought that Horii might be telling the truth, so I went over to check on him."

"Around what time did Mr. Miyazaki make the call?"

"Let me think, it should be almost one o'clock, right?"

"This matches the time of the missed call on Nakagawa's phone."

"How did Mr. Miyazaki get there?"

"I took a taxi there."

"You have your own car, why don't you drive there? Taxis must be very expensive."

"Because the place Horii mentioned was very remote, and it was dark, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find my way, so I took a taxi."

Do you remember the license plate number?

Miyazaki shook his head.

"Alright then, Mr. Miyazaki, please continue."

“When I got there, I saw the parking lot Horii mentioned. I went in and sure enough, it was the president's car. Taku was sitting in the driver's seat, and he seemed to be asleep. I didn't see Yuuki and thought she was in the trunk, but it was locked, so I knocked on the window to wake Taku up…”

Date interrupted, asking, "Are you sure Nakagawa is asleep?"

"He was asleep, or someone knocked him unconscious. When I woke him up, he started cursing and asking if I had hit him. Honestly, I just arrived, how could I have hit him?"

Why didn't Mr. Miyazaki secretly open the trunk to rescue Yuuki, but instead woke up Nakagawa?

"Because I have something to ask him! I've known Taku for over 30 years. We grew up together. I can't understand why he would kidnap the president's son, so I have to ask him in person."

"So, what was Mr. Nakagawa's answer?"

"Taku told me, 'Since you're unwilling to lend me money, I'll have to find another way.' Officer Date, is that even human language?"

Why does Mr. Nakagawa need to borrow money?

"It's all because he lost too much money in speculative trading!" Miyazaki said indignantly. "He's lost everything and doesn't want to give up, and he even wants to borrow money from me!"

"Mr. Miyazaki has frequented casinos many times, you don't deny that, do you?"

Miyazaki lowered his head silently and said, "There were a few times, but only a few."

"Mr. Miyazaki's visits to casinos coincide with the timing of those rumors about your wife. Is this a coincidence?"

Miyazaki gave a bitter laugh: "Officer Date is really something, he even investigated something like this... Yes, I went to the casino to vent because I was upset about those things. But my wife didn't betray me! It's all because of the bastard things Taku said when I refused to lend him money! He even mocked me! In the past year, Taku has somehow gotten involved in the black market, and I tried to advise him but he wouldn't listen. He's really blinded by money!"

Miyazaki's face turned bright red, and Date handed him a glass of water to calm him down.

“Officer Date, I originally wanted to persuade Taku to send the child back. Yuki is usually very willing to listen to me, so we could pretend nothing happened. But Taku refused, and instead hit me, saying he would tie me up too.”

"So you started fighting?"

"He hit me first! He even pushed me to the ground, and I hit my head, it hurt a lot and it bled. Officer Date, you know what? From childhood to adulthood, Taku has always protected me in fights, I never imagined he would hit me so badly..."

"And then what?"

"I scrambled to my feet, feeling dizzy, and saw Taku heading towards the trunk. I thought he was going to tie me up with a rope. I was terrified! So I grabbed the knife from the driver's seat, and I..."

Miyazaki paused, a look of confusion on his face.

"I don't know how it happened, but before I knew it, the knife was already stuck in Tuo's back. Tuo fell to the ground, and blood splattered out..."

"Mr. Miyazaki stabbed me, but couldn't pull the knife out?" Date frowned, realizing something was wrong.

Miyazaki nodded, puzzled, and asked, "Officer Date, is something wrong?"

Are you sure your memory is accurate?

"I'm sure!" Miyazaki explained urgently, "I wanted to pull out the knife to stop Taku's bleeding, but he fell to the ground cursing and swearing. He looked terrifying! I just wanted to take Yuuki and run for my life, but when I opened the trunk, I found it was empty..."

"Empty?!" Ida almost dropped her toothpick in surprise.

"It was indeed empty. I was just about to turn around and ask Taku where he hid Yuuki when I felt someone hit me from behind, and then I passed out..."

After pondering for a moment, Date said, "Thank you, Mr. Miyazaki. The information you provided was very helpful. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding the kidnapping?"

"How are Taku and Yuuki doing?"

Date replied with a troubled expression, "It is regrettable that Mr. Nakagawa Taku passed away, and Sakai Yuki has not yet been found."

Miyazaki froze, his body trembling uncontrollably: "Taku... is dead? I killed him? But I didn't mean to kill him, I really didn't..."

"Mr. Miyazaki, please accept our condolences. The police are still doing their best to find the perpetrator who murdered Mr. Nakagawa and kidnapped Yuki."

"Huh? What do you mean? No, I didn't kill him?"

"One stab is not enough to kill."

"Who is the murderer?"

"Does Mr. Miyazaki have any knowledge of the illicit activities Mr. Nakagawa is involved in?"

Miyazaki shook his head: "Taku tried to recruit me, but it sounded a bit off to me, like it wasn't a legitimate business, so I refused."

"Do you remember what Mr. Nakagawa said at the time?"

"Hmm...it sounds like some kind of illegal drug?"

"Thank you, please get some rest."

As Ida walked out of the ward, she thought to herself: It seems that the previous investigation went astray!

How could he have overlooked Haruko Horii?

"It seems necessary to investigate that woman more thoroughly."

Suddenly a white figure flashed past my eyes, and the back view looked vaguely familiar.

Ida smiled wryly, thinking: They woke me up in the early hours of last weekend and haven't shown up since.

"I was once the class monitor, after all. You should at least come out and see me, Lord Cat Demon?"