Chapter 695: Chapter 438: Simultaneous Crimes_2
"What kind of viewing is this?" Taira Sakurako disliked going out.
"Autumn leaf viewing." Fushimi Roku played a pun, motioning for her to hurry up and stop dawdling.
Taira Sakurako muttered something about an unscrupulous boss exploiting child labor, then put down her chopsticks and went out. She packed a seafood ramen for him, with plenty of shrimp, mostly kelp shreds and bean sprouts as side dishes, and a bit of a Naruto Roll.
Everyone knows that seafood ramen can’t possibly contain real seafood, just like how there are no wives in wife cakes, no couples in couple’s lung slices, and no braised beef in instant noodles.
Fushimi Roku fried a few pieces of tuna and king crab for himself, laying them on the ramen, turning the seafood ramen into something luxurious.
"You’re more extravagant than I am," Taira Sakurako said, standing to the side.
Fushimi Roku picked up his chopsticks, slurping the noodles while eating the seafood, casually retorting, "Ever thought of living such a luxurious life?"
"I have." Taira Sakurako nodded.
"Then come out with me, and you’ll know where all this seafood comes from. Watch closely and learn well, even Tamako can’t learn this, isn’t that a reward?"
After saying this, Fushimi Roku bowed his head and slurped his soup.
Taira Sakurako thought it made sense, so she put on a little hat and mask, waiting to go out with Fushimi Roku.
After eating to his fill, washing up, and dressing properly, Fushimi Roku finally left. Taira Sakurako followed him, reminding, "I’m the deputy captain now, you have to report to me in advance whatever you want to do."
"What are you talking about?"
Fushimi Roku was walking along the coastal street, planning to take the tram to Otaru Pier. Hearing this, he turned back to look at Taira Sakurako and asked, "What deputy captain?"
"Vice captain of the detective team, Tamako appointed me yesterday and hasn’t had the chance to inform you yet," Taira Sakurako said, holding up a video camera with the lens pointing at Fushimi Roku, "Now you know, remember to call me vice captain from now on."
"You mean a team of three needs a captain and a vice captain?" Fushimi Roku looked at her like she was an idiot, "Then I won’t be a member either, you two captains can play together."
"Do you want to quit?" Taira Sakurako repeated Minamoto Tamako’s original words, reminding, "The detective team isn’t a market where you can come and go as you please. If you want to quit, you need to write a ten-thousand-word resignation letter, only with my approval can you leave."
Fushimi Roku asked the same question, "What if I don’t write it?"
"Then you will lose the right to investigate cases, and you don’t know how many people are vying to investigate the case at the moment. You might not even have the chance to investigate even if you want to." Taira Sakurako said.
"If I ask you to stay home now, who do you think is losing the right to investigate cases?" Fushimi Roku retorted.
Taira Sakurako was momentarily at a loss for words; Minamoto Tamako hadn’t taught her this, and she really didn’t know how to answer.
The deputy captain encountered a major crisis on her first day, failing to establish authority in front of the team members, and even at risk of being demoted, because Fushimi Roku made a call to Minamoto Tamako asking about the deputy captain issue.
"I’ve shed blood for the detective team, I’ve contributed to solving cases, yet I wasn’t made deputy captain. Why does Sakurako get to be?" Fushimi Roku put the call on speakerphone, loudly questioning in front of Taira Sakurako, "Now I suspect you, the captain, of being unfair!"
Minamoto Tamako had just arrived at the police station, not even through the door, whispered sneakily from the hallway, covering the microphone with her small hand due to guilt, "Well, how about this, you be the right vice captain, Sakurako is the left vice captain, your position is slightly higher."
With that, she didn’t wait for Fushimi Roku to respond, "Ah, there are two ladies chatting ahead, I need to go find out more about the murder case details, talk later!"
The busy tone of "beep beep beep" echoed, Taira Sakurako looked down at the screen and saw Minamoto Tamako had hung up.
"Did you hear that?" Fushimi Roku coldly snorted, "Real power is not a mere title; it’s in the hands of the capable."
Taira Sakurako remained silent.
Fushimi Roku subdued the "Sakurako beast," took the tram to Otaru Pier. Mizutani Junichiro remained enthusiastic, noticing Fushimi Roku had brought a child, and specially gave Taira Sakurako a few candies. Taking this favor, she felt the outing wasn’t in vain.
Today’s main task was to commission Mizutani Junichiro to find out whether Kujo Yuka and Kujo Hikari’s lover had hired a killer.
Mizutani Junichiro said he had already investigated this matter, confirming no one in their circles had made a move, and none of the street hoodlums had suddenly fled.
In short, if there really was a case of hiring a killer, he would have caught the culprit and solved the case by now.
Fushimi Roku was slightly surprised by this result, not expecting the most likely option to be ruled out first.
Thus, there were only two options left: either Kujo Hikari killed his wife Kujo Yuka, or Kujo Hikari killed his girlfriend X — he wasn’t sure what her name was, so he used X as a placeholder.
But Fushimi Roku thought again and felt something was off.
Among these two options, there surely was a "third party," an accomplice, who helped Kujo Hikari commit the crime while killing another person, to achieve a simultaneous murder in two places.
If the two mistresses couldn’t find an accomplice, then it’s highly unlikely Kujo Hikari had one, otherwise, Kujo Mutsumi wouldn’t need to investigate anymore, as they would surely know the truth.
This was puzzling.
Fushimi Roku couldn’t figure it out for the moment, feeling that simultaneous crimes in two locations were impossible in any case. Thus, he commissioned Mizutani Junichiro again to thoroughly investigate the interpersonal relationships of the Kujo couple and their lovers.
Mizutani Junichiro repeated, if Kujo had engaged in a crime-for-hire, he would definitely know about it.
"Regardless, check it again." Fushimi Roku instructed, "The accomplice might not necessarily be from the circles but could be a suitor of the mistresses or an old acquaintance of Kujo Hikari."
The scope had suddenly expanded tenfold. Despite harboring complaints, Mizutani Junichiro dared not voice them and agreed verbally,
"Hai! I will do my best!"
Fushimi Roku delegated the task and didn’t bother further. His self-invented "Fuji Investigation Method" was like this, needing a balance of work and rest.
Today’s workload nearly exceeded the limit, close call.
Fushimi Roku took Taira Sakurako away from the pier to stroll around Otaru City.
After all, it’s a famous tourist spot in later generations and the filming location for "Lovers." Most areas were quite scenic.
The maritime pier seemed dirty and in disarray because the gangs were managing it.
Fushimi Roku walked leisurely along the stone-paved path by the canal, with his hands in the coat pockets. The autumn sun shone on the glittering water surface, reflecting points of light like shattered gold.
Taira Sakurako followed behind him, clutching the candies given by Mizutani Junichiro, looking around as they walked. In the distance, a red and white lighthouse stood at the end of the bay, appearing especially prominent against the blue sky. Seagulls circled around the lighthouse, occasionally diving down, skimming over the water and swiftly flying up again.
The autumn breeze blew across, carrying a faint sea-salt smell and the fresh fragrance of fallen leaves.
Fushimi thought, once the era of gangs completely passed, perhaps the city’s scenery would become purer... just like the sunlight at this moment, scattering on the stone-paved path without any impurities, casting clean shadows.
The two wandered around for half a day, buying some Otaru specialties mid-trip, though there wasn’t anything particularly rare, just glass crafts, seafood dishes, music boxes, and such items.
The day passed by like this, with Fushimi Roku taking the tram home. He shared two of the extra tuna with the neighboring residents who had dropped by earlier, receiving unanimous praise. Everyone no longer perceived him as a freeloading pretty boy but a kind-hearted, benevolent person.
He cooked the remaining tuna and king crab, and tonight’s meal was still a feast for gout.
In the evening, Minamoto Tamako returned from the police station, eagerly sharing at the dinner table the clues she had gathered: "I overheard people chatting today, and it turns out Otaru City Police Station found that hotel waiter and, after questioning, confirmed that he is indeed an eyewitness!"
Fushimi Roku already knew about this, responding flatly with a "hmm," ignoring Minamoto Tamako’s look as if she was prompting him to ask for the results.
Sure enough, Minamoto Tamako couldn’t hold it in, voluntarily saying, "Guess what? The hotel waiter also identified Kujo Hikari!"
Fushimi Roku was taken aback, turning his head to ask, "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, positively, and definitely! At both murder scenes, eyewitnesses identified Kujo Hikari! Although they didn’t see the face, don’t you think such a coincidence is strange? Moreover, after police investigation, Kujo Hikari is currently the sole suspect in both cases!"
Faced with this troubling situation, Minamoto Tamako grew even more excited, as she finally got to put Fushimi-kun in his place: "What did I say? Hmph hmph! Never underestimate the captain’s deductive abilities, aha!"