Chapter 27 Reunion: One-fifth of the guesses were correct!
The Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at the scene quickly. Although they were not acquaintances, their professionalism was impeccable.
Using the formulas as a template, they divided the tasks clearly and quickly collected on-site evidence.
The patrol chief who arrived was still somewhat troubled: "This evidence isn't enough to confirm that this is a murder case, is it?"
Ray stood to one side with his arms crossed, observing the situation with great interest.
Although Hiro Karasawa's behavior was very obvious to experienced people, it was a typical case of a lack of psychological resilience after committing a crime.
But even if it can be proven that the light was turned on by a trained animal, what evidence is there to directly charge the suspect?
What solution will that unpredictable police officer have this time?
"Lord of the Stars, what are you looking at?"
Before he could figure it out, he turned around and saw Bourbon staring at him with a forced smile, with another expressionless face in his arms.
He seemed to have reached some kind of consensus with the Siamese that looked exactly like him, and temporarily ceased hostilities to unite against a common enemy.
After a moment of eye contact, Lei remained silent, indicating that it was nothing.
He then changed the subject, saying in a curious tone, "I didn't expect you to fit in so well with this place."
Not as an employee, but as one of these furry little creatures... Siam Bourbon, something that other members of the organization would never even dare to dream of.
"Ha," Furuya Rei said coldly, narrowing his eyes, "It's alright, you're quite a good match for a crime scene." He could see right through what offensive thing Furuya was thinking.
Sooner or later he'll have to go to jail.
Sure enough, he got angry and embarrassed again.
Lei was clearly used to his teammate's unpredictable moods, and shrugged helplessly, assuming it was just a clash of personalities.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had been silent, looked left and right, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two faces before finally settling on Rai's face.
He suddenly remembered something, and his cat-like eyes, which had been filled with doubt, gradually widened. The corners of his mouth, which usually smiled gently, began to curve upwards, becoming eerily radiant.
Until both teammates simultaneously cast questioning glances at him.
"Excuse me, something pleasant just came to mind. Please continue." His tone was gentle and polite, like flowing water.
Knowing that arguing with a black-faced and black-hearted person was a waste of time, Lai immediately made a stop gesture.
Rei Furuya snorted coldly and stopped wasting his breath.
Footsteps sounded again on the stairs, and it was obvious that Ryusei had returned.
The three turned their gazes and saw the young man just coming in, casually crossing his arms with a obviously fake smile on his lips.
“The victim has woken up and said some interesting things. Mr. Karasawa, would you like to know what he said?” He spoke in a gentle and patient tone, as if giving the man a final chance to confess.
The police officers who had just arrived were still confused and looked at them with puzzled expressions.
“…No need,” the dust settled, and Karasawa Hiro breathed a sigh of relief, the breath that had been pounding in her chest. Unable to hold on any longer, she knelt on the ground and bowed her head to admit, “I did it.”
"I called Zhonglin to ask him to check the shape of the light bulb's connector. I know he has a habit of using speakerphone when he makes calls..."
Therefore, he only needed to give the trained cat commands when Nakabayashi Yuuki was on the phone to succeed.
"He doesn't care about these animals at all; he only cares about his own revenue! Moving from the suburbs to the city center is one thing, but Zhonglin even ordered a batch of iron cages to convert the cattery into a pet shop..."
"...What right does someone like that have to take over this store! Am I just supposed to watch him destroy all the hard work I've put in over the years?!"
Hiro Karasawa held his head in his hands and murmured something.
Regardless of the reason, it is a foregone conclusion that Karasawa Hiro premeditated murder, and the Metropolitan Police Department has handcuffed him.
"A clumsy technique." The black-haired man commented objectively after listening to the man's self-criticism.
While using animals to commit crimes provides a strong alibi, it is too unpredictable. If the perpetrator doesn't touch the exposed wires when the light is turned on, they are unlikely to succeed.
Kitagawa Ryusei, who appeared beside him at some unknown time, deeply agreed, but still said, "It's not without its merits. If he hadn't tried to cover things up with his first words when he arrived, we would have had a hard time suspecting him."
Moreover, if they hadn't happened to be there, this kind of thing would most likely have been treated as an accident.
"Isn't the victim's testimony obvious once they wake up?" the dark-haired man asked curiously, tilting his head.
Kitagawa Ryusei answered frankly, "Oh, he did wake up, but the hospital said he fell and injured his head, so I don't think we'll get any information out of him."
After he finished speaking, no one responded.
Looking up, he saw not only Moroboshi-kun, but also Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu looking at him with complicated expressions.
"What's wrong?"
When Furuya Rei saw Kitagawa Ryusei handling a case for the first time, he was completely bewildered: ...Was this a move taught in school?
Having already witnessed it once, Morofushi Kagemitsu remained silent but accepted it relatively well.
There was no inducement to confess, and strictly speaking, the victim did indeed wake up; it couldn't even be considered fraudulent confession.
He reassured himself that he hadn't violated any rules.
Coincidentally, the Special Investigations Team clearly thought the same thing.
Before meeting Kitagawa Ryu, they never imagined that once you step on a boundary line, you'd find yourself repeatedly tap-dancing with it.
With work already so terrible, you have to find a way to make things easier for yourself, right?
—Anyway, it's not like it's the first time I've done it.
The case was solved more smoothly than expected, and the Metropolitan Police Department officers quickly finished their work and left with Karasawa Hiro. Only seven people and a group of cats peeking out remained in the shop.
The one in Rei Furuya's arms was particularly fierce, lunging straight at Inspector Kitagawa, the center of the crowd, and couldn't be held back.
The blond youth was successfully positioned between the two people who were talking, preventing Kitagawa Ryusei from paying attention to the mysterious sniper.
Having just witnessed a colleague murder another colleague, Iwashita Misato was finding it hard to accept. She reached out to Kitagawa Ryusei with a forced smile and said, "I'm sorry, please give it to me."
"It's alright." Perhaps because the case was solved, the young man seemed much more approachable than before. He took the little Siamese from the blond youth, and his expression remained unchanged as the two hands, one white and one black, were clasped together.
"Actually, I do plan to get a pet. The house is too big and it's a bit lonely living alone, but it's not convenient today."
Kitagawa Ryusei lifted the kitten under its armpits with both hands, ignoring Furuya Reiichi's suddenly darkened eyes, handed the kitten to Iwashita Misato, gently patted its head and promised, "I'll come again another day."
He removed the tail from his wrist and resumed his polite demeanor, saying, "Since Mr. Nakabayashi is not able to return for the time being, we will not disturb him any longer. We will summon him to the police station for questioning later. Please pass on this message, Miss Iwashita."
After saying that, he turned around and gestured for Asahina and Kawashima Chisa to leave, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Furuya Rei and the other two looked at him with six question marks in their eyes.
His two teammates were equally bewildered. Although they didn't understand what was going on, the trust between them made them instinctively follow him.
Only after leaving the cat shelter and confirming that no one else could hear their conversation did Asahina Yugo ask, "Kitagawa, what's going on? Aren't we going to look for the ledger?"
Kawashima Chisa had the same question, but she didn't show it on her face.
Kitagawa Ryusei took his phone out of his pocket and casually waved it in front of his eyes: "I've got the stuff."
Fearing something might go wrong, he had already negotiated with Mr. Zhonglin while he was out making a phone call, and after confirming the location of the ledger, he took a picture of its contents.
“We only need to know the contents of the ledger; the ledger itself is not important. Leaving it where it is, if it disappears, can further confirm the relationship between those three people and the organization, and we won’t alert them too early.” He spoke with reason and evidence.
Of course, there's another aspect... If those two guys' real target is the ledger, who knows what they'll face if they fail the mission and go back.
Having a thorough understanding of the internal workings of these criminal organizations, Kitagawa Ryusei was able to conjure up dozens of unique possibilities in his mind in a short time.
Now that we've got the goods, there's no need to create more problems for them.
"As expected, Kitagawa-kun is still the most reliable!"
Now that their goal had been achieved, Asahina Yugo felt that Kitagawa Ryusei's approach was more advantageous to them, and his tone relaxed: "These three people are obviously problematic. That Moroboshi-kun has a very obvious callus on his index finger and doesn't even try to hide it."
"He is also of mixed race, and his accent is more American."
"That Mr. Midorikawa was also very strange. He remained too calm throughout, and showed no emotional fluctuations in the face of the scene and the probing."
Chisa Kawashima fell into thought and explained the anomaly she had discovered.
“They’re not ordinary people, are they…” Asahina followed up, “I remember the other blond guy was always following Kitagawa. What do you think, did you notice anything amiss?”
What's wrong? Does it count as suspected facial twitching or uncontrollable blinking?
Kitagawa Ryusei mentally grumbled, choosing to skip over this unspeakable topic: "Call everyone together for a meeting, let's see what we can find in the ledgers, and improve the 'files'."
Asahina and Kawashima exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Yes!"
*
As autumn passes, it gets dark faster and faster. From leaving work at sunset a few days ago to walking home under the streetlights now, it gives one the illusion that life is getting busier and busier.
As expected, Kitagawa Ryusei finished work well past the normal closing time.
Compared to the others who were eagerly packing their briefcases, he didn't see going back to embrace the dark, empty house as something to look forward to.
Even so, Kitagawa Ryusei absolutely did not want to see his house brightly lit without his knowledge!
And you don't even need to think to know who the uninvited guest is.
Kitagawa Ryusei pushed the door open, his force so great that the poor, thick door slammed against the wall and bounced back: "You bastard, believe me or not, I'll arrest you right now for trespassing!"
The sound was extremely loud, as if it had finally vented all the dissatisfaction with the guy who had suddenly left and then returned without permission.
Then Kitagawa Ryusei saw the scene inside the house and bumped into five bewildered faces.
The black-haired, purple-eyed youth looked innocent: "Xiao Liusheng, did you have a bad day at work...?"
The squad leader silently put down his teacup: "Hiss, that's terrifying."
The curly-haired youth was even more arrogant: "Are you kidding me? Hagi, the class monitor, and I didn't trespass. We came in openly with the spare key!" He then glanced meaningfully at a blond jerk who was serving dishes.
The blue-eyed youth took off his apron and came out of the kitchen, his cat-like eyes smiling: "Zero said you live here, so I wanted to come and see. Sorry to bother you, Ryusei, I just borrowed your kitchen."
Kitagawa Ryusei remained stunned, not yet recovered.
The scene inside the room was completely different from what he had imagined.
The person guessed correctly, one-fifth of the time.
"They actually want to arrest us? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've become a police inspector," Matsuda Jinpei angrily took off his sunglasses. "You dared to hide the information after finding these two guys? I think you're the one who should confess and get lenient treatment!"
"That's right!"
When this matter was mentioned, Kenji Hagiwara and the class president nodded in unison, their eyes accusing each other, conveying only two words: "Too much!"
If it weren't for Kenji Hagiwara's routine "visit" to check on Ruki Kitagawa, who was worried about her being bored at the villa, and the fact that he wanted to have a get-together with the class president who was finally free, they would have bumped into two people who were fully armed with baseball caps, acting suspiciously, and carrying large and small bags.
They still have no idea that Kitagawa Ryusei has already met with them!
The five people outside the gate slowly froze, clearly caught off guard.
They tacitly avoided asking about each other's situation, and after the initial excitement, they tacitly agreed to treat this meeting as their first reunion after graduation.
"Hagi's heart is breaking. Hagi feels abandoned. The little animal that Hagi has raised with such care for two years has been stolen away by a wild man who suddenly appeared!" Kenji Hagihara clumsily hugged his childhood friend and pretended to cry, and the words he spoke sounded completely wrong.
Kitagawa Ryusei had a black line on his face: What kind of description is "a pet I've raised for two years"?!
Rei Furuya added insult to injury: "What wild man!?"
Are there really any "men of the house" out there?!
Just as things were about to escalate into chaos, it was the class monitor and Morofushi Kagemitsu who stepped in to quell the situation.
"Calm down, Zero."
"Didn't you say you missed Jingguang's cooking? The food will taste much worse when it gets cold!"
The last sentence was so intimidating that, having been waiting for the homeowner to come home, they were starving and grabbed their chopsticks, ready to start grabbing.
"Let's eat! It's that familiar taste, no doubt about it!"
"Thank you, Mr. Jing. I'm fed up with having to order takeout for our gatherings, especially in this wretched villa area where they can't even deliver."
The once quiet and empty house is now filled with the warmth of home, the warm lights casting a filter on the food on the table, and the familiar, incessant shouts of "bastard" filling the air.
At this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei missed the tranquility of the past even more.
Humans are indeed unwilling to be satisfied with their current existence.
He unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, and could only raise his drink cup to cover it.
"By the way, the highest-ranking person in our position right now is Xiao Liusheng."
After a hearty meal and drinks, people always need something to go with their reunion chat, and Kitagawa Ryusei, who had been hiding information and whose situation was particularly serious, was the first to be targeted.
Kenji Hagiwara spoke first: "But his work ethic when he first joined the police department was really surprising, just like Kofuruya when he was in school."
Matsuda Jinpei scoffed, "It's like he's been wronged and desperately needs to turn the tables and slap someone in the face."
Kitagawa Ryusei: ...
As always, Mazda hit the nail on the head.
"Hey, I see that Ryusei's colleagues all trust him quite a bit." Did he also suffer injustice?
Zhu Fujingguang became curious. He had entered the police special training program immediately after graduation and did not have a deep understanding of how colleagues interact.
Rei Furuya was practically listening intently.
Kitagawa Ryusei shook his head, feeling that it wasn't as exaggerated as they had described.
There were only a few minor disturbances when the Special Investigation Team was first established—everyone was a new recruit who had only been with the police department for a few years. They were all in the same professional group and had performed well in their respective departments. Suddenly being forced into the same team with a colleague of the same rank in charge, it was to be expected that there would be some dissenting voices.
When Kitagawa Ryusei was a prospective executive, he knew that there were troublemakers under his command. He understood that if he couldn't suppress all the voices at once, the team would face so many hidden dangers that it would be better to disband it on the spot.
"Back then, I just arrested a few more wanted criminals to get promoted faster; it wasn't that exaggerated," Kitagawa Ryusei summarized the events of that period in a few words.
"But Kenji and Jinpei are now the Metropolitan Police Department's hottest twin stars who are known for their virginity."
He mentioned the name he had overheard his colleagues discussing in the cafeteria.
Several pairs of eyes simultaneously shifted their focus to the two people watching the spectacle.
"Yes! It's Hagi and Jinpei!" Kenji Hagiwara readily admitted, putting his arm around the person next to him and sticking them close together.
Matsuda Jinpei's forehead remained as lively as ever: "This is so embarrassing! Don't say it out loud, you bastard!"
"Speaking of which, the class monitor has his own apprentice now, right? Hahaha, I met him once. Apart from his temper, he's strangely similar to Xiao Zhenping!"
Everyone laughed and joked around, as if they wanted to compress two years of time into this one meal.
There was no barrier between them, and no need for readjustment; they simply had endless topics to discuss and laughter to share.
It seems that choosing to live here was the right decision, Kitagawa Ryusei thought.
Although they're a bit older now, no one can disturb them no matter how late they chat...
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