"It's not necessarily related. The kidnapping occurred in the United States, and Yamada Kimi was in Japan during that time. Moreover, the kidnapping case is completely different from the crimes Yamada committed."

"Mikoto Yamada was primarily involved in the sex trade. The only thing he's involved in is probably kidnapping." Matsuda Jinpei took a drag on his cigarette, turned his head, and asked Fujiwara Yuu, "Didn't he say anything to you before he died?"

You are really sharp. It's tiring to go around in circles with smart people.

Fujiwara Yuu lied without batting an eyelid, but he didn't think it could fool Matsuda:

"No, he didn't have time to say it."

“Tsk.”

Matsuda Jinpei smacked his lips softly, his distrust evident from his expression. But he chose not to pursue the matter further. He wouldn't do anything that would only lead to frustration. He had the patience to wait for Fujiwara to confess the truth.

Having worked in the workplace for many years, he naturally learned how to change the subject. He took off his black suit jacket and draped it over the railing, glancing at Fujiwara's left hand.

"Does your hand still hurt? Don't get it wet during this time."

I have learned how to change the subject, but the way I do it is more or less awkward.

Fujiwara Yuu lowered his head and smiled faintly. He spread out his left hand, which was covered with medical gauze, and said with a teasing tone:

"Matsuda, you should learn more about changing the subject from Akihara in the future."

Jinpei Matsuda rolled his eyes and ignored him. He looked up at the sky, feeling pretty good as he thought about the fact that the first case he encountered six years ago had finally come to an end.

I was a bit unruly when I was in police academy. Maybe I still had dissatisfaction with some police officers at that time, otherwise I would not have said such a harsh word full of middle school syndrome during the interview: beat up the Superintendent of Police.

Come to think of it, that day was the day when I became friends with Fujiwara Yuu.

"Hey, Fuji."

"Um?"

Fujiwara Yu turned around and saw Matsuda Jinpei holding out his fist in front of him. If it were six years ago when they first met, he would definitely think that this guy wanted to fight him. But now... it was different.

He raised his right hand in tacit understanding, clenched it into a fist and lightly touched it with Matsuda's fist, just like he did when they made peace.

"You still owe me a fight, don't forget it."

"Hey, it seems someone owes a lot of bread and hasn't paid it back yet. I won't tell you who it is."

"...You still remember this?!"

"certainly."