That evening, in the Tsuchihara Agency office, Colonel Haruki Masayoshi was reporting to Kagesa Hiroki on the investigation into the shooting that had occurred that day.
Haruki Masayoshi himself was also an experienced agent with outstanding professional skills. His investigation of the shooting scene was almost identical to Eguchi Ryusei's judgment.
“General, judging from the current situation, Kitaoka Ryoko has secretly concealed the wanted criminal Hirayama Jiro, and her intentions are quite intriguing. Judging from some marks on her body, she was arrested, taken to this house, and shot. The murderer's intention is very clear: to make people believe that Hirayama Jiro was responsible for all of this. Therefore, I judge that the main cause of this matter is Kitaoka Ryoko, and the murderer's target is also Kitaoka Ryoko.”
After listening to Haruki Masayoshi's account, Kagesa Hiroki nodded and said, "Then who do you think wants to get rid of Kitaoka Ryoko?"
“This requires us to find the source from Kitaoka Ryoko!” Haruki Masayoshi smiled slightly and answered softly, “We investigated Kitaoka Ryoko’s itinerary today. Early this morning, she went to the French Concession to retrieve the body of the murdered undercover agent. Not long after she returned, she went out again. We questioned the guards at the agency, and they said she left with her subordinate Iwai Nosuke. After some investigation, we found out that they went to the Mulan Society.”
"Muran Academy?" Kagesa Hiroki asked curiously.
Mulan Academy was the most famous cultural club in Shanghai, a gathering place for literati, scholars and artists. Its sponsor was Fujiwara Tomohito, the president of the Fujiwara Society. Kagesa Hiroki had been there a few times before, but it was just for show. Later, due to busy official business, he did not go again.
“Yes, we questioned some people inside the Muransha Institute. They said that Kitaoka Ryoko met with Fujiwara Tomohito, the chairman of the Fujiwara Company, and left shortly afterward. No one saw Kitaoka Ryoko again until the shooting. In other words, Kitaoka Ryoko was attacked after leaving the Muransha Institute and was immediately taken to the safe house where Hirayama Jiro was being held, where they were both shot.”
This matter involves Fujiwara Tomohito, which piqued Kagesa Hiroki's interest. Kagesa Hiroki has been paying close attention to Chairman Fujiwara and has been sending friendly signals. Currently, everything is developing in a positive direction.
Kagesa Hiroki asked, "Do you know why Kitaoka Ryoko went to see Fujiwara Tomohito? And what did they talk about?"
Haruki Masayoshi was taken aback, shrugged, spread his hands, and said helplessly, "We don't know why Kitaoka Ryoko went to meet with Fujiwara Tomohito yet. Their conversation was private, and no one heard what they said."
Now, everyone around Kitaoka Ryoko has been killed in this shooting incident. Only Yabe Jinkazu survived, but his position is too low and he knows nothing. I questioned him carefully for a long time, but I couldn't get any valuable information out of him. Iwai Nosuke is also missing and hasn't shown up yet, so we have no way to investigate.
As for the specific content of the conversation, we dare not ask Fujiwara Tomohito about it; we would be grateful if you could do so.
Haruki Masayoshi was right. Given Fujiwara Tomohito's current status, none of these intelligence agents dared to approach him directly for questioning. Even if Kagesa Hiroki were to come forward, he would have to be careful about his manner of speaking and attitude.
Upon hearing this, Kagesa Hiroki shook his head and said, "Do you expect me to go and question him in person? Wouldn't that be blatantly showing my suspicion? Besides, the Central China and North China factions are currently locked in fierce battles at headquarters. I need support from all sides, especially since Fujiwara Tomohito has a huge influence in Shanghai. I'm busy trying to appease him, so how could I afford to antagonize him? Otherwise, wouldn't that just benefit that old fox Tsuchihara?"
Haruki Masayoshi also knew this, and he could only nod and say, "That's why I'm also having a hard time with the next step of the investigation. In my opinion, Kitaoka Ryoko's death is closely related to this meeting with Fujiwara Tomohito. We've investigated a detail: according to the scholars at the Muran Academy, Kitaoka Ryoko usually wears a kimono when she goes to the academy and stays for a relatively long time. This time, however, she was wearing a military uniform and only talked with Fujiwara Tomohito for a very short time before leaving. Her purpose was very clear; she must have had something very important to discuss with Fujiwara Tomohito before the accident happened. If I don't know the content of their conversation, it's difficult for me to make a judgment."
At this point, Haruki Masayoshi hesitated for a moment before continuing, "General, as far as I know, Hirayama Jiro assassinated the Fujiwara Company's branch manager, Shirakawa Hidee, because his brother, Hirayama Tokumoto, had been assassinated. He then infiltrated Shanghai to assassinate Fujiwara Tomohito. His intention is clear: he believes his brother was killed by the Fujiwara Company. If that's the case, the Fujiwara Company is suspected of assassinating the local garrison commander. And could Kitaoka Ryoko be hiding Hirayama Jiro to blackmail or threaten Fujiwara Tomohito, only to be betrayed instead..."
"Fujiwara Tomohito must not be involved in this case!" Kagesa Hiroki immediately interrupted Haruki Masayoshi.
Everyone knew about the Fujiwara Company's affairs; it was an open secret to these high-ranking officials. Conflicts of interest with local powers were inevitable. It was said that Fujiwara Tomohito had specifically communicated with Lieutenant General Tada about this matter. Now that everyone had settled the matter and covered it up, he couldn't afford to reopen the fire and cause such a big problem, needlessly offending the local interest groups in Shanghai. That would be too foolish.
At this moment, Kagesa Hiroki desperately needs Fujiwara Tomohito's support. Even if this case is really related to Fujiwara Tomohito, he must cover for Fujiwara Tomohito with him. He must not lose sight of the main point and lose the big picture for the sake of the small.
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