"Ten million..." Hayashi Shuichi was instantly tempted. "But my safety..."
"We will go with you," Officer Teraoka guaranteed. "You are the treasure of the First Investigation Division; we would never let anything happen to you."
Fair enough. No wonder you two are so invested in this. The fee Yamada Daisuke is offering is surely more than just my share...
Hayashi Shuichi mused inwardly, glancing at Inspector Samezaki with a teasing look in his eyes.
"Cough, my share isn't much, just five hundred thousand," Inspector Samezaki blushed, coughing unnaturally twice. "A police officer's salary is too low, and my daughter is growing up..."
"Inspector, say no more, I understand," Hayashi Shuichi waved his hand and glanced at the wall clock. "Are we going now?"
"Yes, it's better to resolve things early so we can have peace of mind later," Officer Teraoka said pointedly. "By the way, Hayashi-kun, if you find anything, please tell me first. In the unlikely event that the killer isn't Takigawa, we can be prepared."
Hayashi Shuichi nodded in understanding. Leaving aside the fact that Takigawa was indeed the killer, even if he wasn't, for ten million yen, Shuichi would make sure he became the killer.
After all, none of these yakuza were good people.
Since they were investigating a crime, they naturally had to go to the crime scene.
Ito Ichiro's sworn brother, Yamada Daisuke, was waiting at the entrance of the Ito residence.
Although they were sworn brothers, Yamada Daisuke was much younger than Ito Ichiro, appearing to be just over forty.
Compared to the fierce-looking Takigawa, Yamada Daisuke didn't look like a yakuza member at all.
He possessed a corpulent physique that filled his suit to the bursting point. His round face glistened with oil, and with that constant pile of smiles, he looked more like a shrewd merchant than a gangster.
"Mr. Teraoka, you've finally arrived."
Seeing Hayashi Shuichi and the two officers get out of the car, Yamada Daisuke immediately welcomed them with enthusiasm.
"This must be our Beika's famous high school detective. I've seen Mr. Hayashi's name in the newspapers quite often recently. Truly, heroes come from the young..."
"Mr. Yamada, there is no need for pleasantries," Hayashi Shuichi interrupted with a faint smile. "Let's go to the crime scene immediately. Too much time has passed; it would be troublesome if certain clues were destroyed."
"Mr. Hayashi is right," Yamada Daisuke nodded hurriedly, leading the three of them into the Ito residence.
This was Hayashi Shuichi's second time here. Last night, he had climbed over the wall from the backyard with Tomizawa Chikage; this time, however, he was walking openly through the front door.
"Big Brother Ito has several other houses in Beika besides this one," Yamada Daisuke introduced as they walked. "Usually, at night, he would rotate where he stayed based on his mood. Sometimes, Big Brother wouldn't even go home and would just sleep at the nightclub. He loved to sing..."
Yamada Daisuke rambled on, but the implication behind his words was obvious.
Hayashi Shuichi immediately followed his lead: "Judging by Mr. Ito's habits, the killer shouldn't be an outsider. After all, where he stayed each night was a last-minute decision based on his mood; an outsider obviously couldn't prepare in advance."
"Yes, what Mr. Hayashi says makes sense," Yamada Daisuke slapped his own forehead, acting as if he had just realized this. "So, that means the killer is a member of our own group."
"The killer not only has to be from your group but must also be one of Mr. Ito's trusted aides," Hayashi Shuichi pretended to ponder. "Have you investigated the underlings who were with Mr. Ito yesterday?"
"Including Takigawa, there were six people in total," Yamada Daisuke was clearly prepared. He nodded immediately, a flash of smugness in his eyes. "Aside from Takigawa, the remaining five have all been detained. I won't hide it from you, Mr. Hayashi; before you arrived, I already had people question them."
"I don't know if they truly weren't involved or if they're just stubborn, but none of them admitted to killing Big Brother Ito."
"What about Takigawa?" Hayashi Shuichi frowned. He had come tonight not just for the ten million yen, but also to resolve the Takigawa issue once and for all.
If that guy managed to escape, Yamada Daisuke and the others might be fine, but Hayashi Shuichi would be in danger.
After all, what he was doing tonight was essentially "identifying" Takigawa as the killer. That guy's hatred would surely be focused on him.
When the time came, with new grudges added to old ones, Takigawa would nine out of ten seek revenge. Hayashi Shuichi wasn't afraid for himself, but he worried about implicating those around him.
"Takigawa is the newly appointed Wakagashira," a look of helplessness appeared on Yamada Daisuke's face. "Even I cannot simply arrest him. However, please rest assured, I have people watching him. As soon as there is sufficient evidence here, we can take him down immediately."
Hayashi Shuichi nodded and made his way to the second floor. The lighting in the corridor was dim, old paintings hung on the walls, and a faint smell of disinfectant permeated the air.
"The room near the stairs is Big Brother's study," Yamada Daisuke said, pointing to the room in front of them. "According to the underlings, thieves also broke into this room last night. The safe was opened, and about one hundred million yen was lost."
Hearing this, Hayashi Shuichi's expression instantly became peculiar.
Last night, he had come here with Tomizawa Chikage to "rob the rich and give to the poor."
The Phantom Lady, disregarding her unhealed injuries, had only stolen a backpack full of bills—about twenty or thirty million yen. There was no way it amounted to one hundred million!
Is someone fishing in troubled waters, or taking the opportunity to cook the books?
Yamada Daisuke sharply noticed Hayashi Shuichi's unusual expression. "Did Mr. Hayashi discover something?"
"I was just thinking, could this be the killer trying to cover his tracks?" Hayashi Shuichi made something up on the spot. "He deliberately created the illusion of a theft to make you think the killer's goal wasn't Mr. Ito initially, but the money in the study. It was just that during the theft, he was discovered by Mr. Ito and had to kill him."
"Of course, there is another possibility: that besides the killer, a thief actually did enter the house last night."
"As expected of a famous detective, to perceive the killer's disguise tactics so quickly," Yamada Daisuke acted as if he had been enlightened, clapping his hands in praise. "You really are amazing!"
Hayashi Shuichi's mouth twitched at this exaggerated flattery. "Where is the scene of Mr. Ito's death?"
"Just next door." Yamada Daisuke led Hayashi Shuichi and the two officers to a doorway guarded by four or five underlings.
Next to the door stood a weapon rack. Aside from displaying several katanas, there was also a suit of armor that looked quite old.
"Has someone moved this weapon rack?" Hayashi Shuichi asked after a glance.
"How did Mr. Hayashi know?"
Yamada Daisuke seemed genuinely surprised this time. "After Big Brother was murdered last night, the armor here was scattered on the floor, and a bloodstained katana was lying next to it."
He walked to the weapon rack and pointed to a spot on the floor.
" The underlings were too panicked at the time and made a mess of the place. I figured no clues could be found here, so I just had people clean it up. The bloodstained katana was also taken into the room."
"Pay attention to the details, and you will naturally discover the problems," Hayashi Shuichi replied perfunctorily.
The fallen armor at the door was actually knocked over by Tomizawa Chikage last night. She had been startled upon seeing Ito Ichiro's corpse and unexpectedly encountering the killer.
Hayashi Shuichi, of course, knew this perfectly well.
"...Details?"
Yamada Daisuke couldn't help but lower his head to observe carefully. Beside him, Inspector Samezaki and Officer Teraoka did the same.
A moment later, Yamada Daisuke suddenly paused. "So that's it."
"Where is the problem?" Officer Teraoka asked in confusion. Inspector Samezaki next to him had a similar reaction.
Embarrassing. A yakuza boss found the issue, yet the police from the Metropolitan Police Department can't see anything!
Hayashi Shuichi fought back the urge to roast them and explained, "Look at the corner of the wall under the weapon rack. There is still a trace of blood residue on the wall there, but the adjacent floor is very clean."
"So the problem is there," Officer Teraoka nodded in sudden realization.
"Let's go inside and see the scene," Hayashi Shuichi said.
Yamada Daisuke clapped his hands, and the underlings guarding the door hurriedly opened it, clearing a path.
"Mr. Hayashi, please," Yamada Daisuke bowed respectfully, his smile full of ingratiation.
Hayashi Shuichi glanced at him. Compared to the fake flattery earlier, the current Yamada Daisuke seemed to genuinely admire him a little.
In fact, just as Hayashi Shuichi suspected, Yamada Daisuke hadn't thought much of this so-called high school detective initially.
Asking Officer Teraoka to invite Hayashi Shuichi tonight was merely to use his fame to solidify the claim that Takigawa was the killer of Ito Ichiro.
Yamada Daisuke couldn't conveniently handle this matter himself, and as a yakuza member, he couldn't rely on the police, so he had to find a third-party detective with some reputation.
As for whether the real killer was Takigawa, Yamada Daisuke couldn't care less.
When Ito Ichiro was alive, they were respectful and loving sworn brothers. But now that he was dead, the original brotherhood naturally vanished, leaving only conflicts of interest.
Hayashi Shuichi stepped into the bedroom. The first thing that caught his eye was the large pool of blood in the middle of the floor.
After a day, the blood had dried, turning a dark red that looked particularly piercing under the dim lights.
"Can anyone explain what happened?" Hayashi Shuichi asked.
Yamada Daisuke waved to the underlings at the door. A moment later, a bruised and swollen man, bound hand and foot, was brought over.
The man's eyes were filled with terror, his body trembling incessantly. The wounds on his face were still streaked with blood, and his clothes were tattered; clearly, he had undergone some torture.
"Tell us what happened last night one more time," Yamada Daisuke said in a gentle tone.
"...Yes."
The man shivered, swallowed hard, and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Last night, the Boss was originally going to the nightclub to sing, but halfway there, he suddenly decided not to go and came here to rest instead."
"After we arrived, we followed the Boss to the bedroom to check it. Only after confirming that the Boss had locked the door from the inside did we go down to the first floor to stand guard."
"Around one o'clock, we suddenly heard Takigawa shouting from the second floor that the Boss had been killed."
"We hurriedly ran up to the second floor and saw a woman in a bodysuit carrying a bag, breaking through the second-floor window and jumping down."
"Takigawa said that woman was the killer who murdered the Boss. We didn't think much and chased after her."
"Just as we were about to catch up, a strange man in a tuxedo suddenly jumped out from behind a tree in the yard."
"Under his cover, the two of them climbed over the wall. By the time we got out, we could only see their backs as they rode away on a motorcycle..."
"I had people sketch the appearance of the intruders based on what they saw last night," Yamada Daisuke handed over two sketches.
Hayashi Shuichi took a look and couldn't help but sigh inwardly—the yakuza really did have all sorts of talents.
The sketch of Tomizawa Chikage depicted her curvy figure perfectly, and even the details on her clothes were largely accurate.
As for Hayashi Shuichi's sketch, since he had blocked the pursuing underlings head-on and was wearing a mask, his face wasn't clear, but everything else was drawn clearly.
"Isn't this the Phantom Lady?"
Inspector Samezaki looked at the female portrait, his voice filled with confusion.
"She has committed over a dozen major crimes in Japan, but they were all thefts. She has never killed anyone."
"Moreover, before every strike, she deliberately sends a notice of intent to her target. Before Ito Ichiro's accident, did you receive anything?"
"No," the bound man shook his head. "I never heard the Boss mention it."
"Given Big Brother Ito's personality," Yamada Daisuke said with certainty, "if he had received a crime notice in advance, he either wouldn't have come here to rest for the night, or he would have made preparations to capture the Phantom Lady. He absolutely wouldn't have ignored it."
"Besides that, the Phantom Lady always works alone," Inspector Samezaki wondered aloud. "I've never heard of her having a partner."
"So, this means this Phantom Lady is actually an imposter?" Officer Teraoka took the sketches and looked at them. "This man is dressed so flamboyantly; it seems he wanted people to notice him. How does he look like a thief?"
You'd have to ask Tomizawa Chikage that. I also want to know why she made me wear such a flashy outfit last night...
Hayashi Shuichi roasted her in his mind, then looked around the bedroom. Ito Ichiro was obviously a man who feared death; the bedroom didn't even have windows. Aside from the door, it was all walls, on which hung some weapons for self-defense.
"You said earlier that you watched Mr. Ito lock the bedroom door before you went downstairs?" Hayashi Shuichi turned his head and asked.
"Yes," the man nodded vigorously. "I'm not lying. The others can verify it."
Hayashi Shuichi thought for a moment. "When Mr. Ito died, was he wearing shoes?"
"He was wearing slippers," the man replied. "I remember very clearly."
"What about the wounds on his body?" Hayashi Shuichi pressed. "Did you examine them?"
"Big Brother Ito was stabbed about ten times," Yamada Daisuke said with a face full of grief. "Most of the stab wounds were on his chest and abdomen. Only one stab was in the back..."
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