Chapter 29: May Lovers Become Siblings
The deduction in the study had concluded.
Tsujimura Kimie, now wearing freshly applied handcuffs, was escorted out of the study by two police officers.
Inspector Megure followed close behind.
Seeing Natsukawa standing by the door, the Inspector looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Natsukawa-kun, I really must apologize for earlier."
Heh.
I didn't expect to join Inspector Megure's list of "brothers" so quickly.
Natsukawa waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. It's just that Anya didn't explain things sooner, otherwise we wouldn't have argued for so long."
"Anya, come here and apologize to Inspector Megure, Mouri-san, and Hattori-kun."
"No way!" Anya quickly took two steps back and hid behind Natsukawa.
It wasn't her fault! Uncle Mouri was way too scary. Conan had even fainted, but the bump on his head was still there.
If she'd spoken up earlier, she might have gotten punched too!
"It's alright—you can't blame Anya-chan. Even if she had said something, we self-important adults might not have believed her anyway."
Hattori Heiji spoke with self-deprecating humor, pulling down the brim of his cap and turning away with practiced coolness. "I should actually thank Anya-chan. I've learned a new detective philosophy today."
Anya blinked, feeling appreciated, and quickly asked, "What new detective philosophy? Anya wants to know!"
"What you see with your own eyes might just be exactly what someone else wants you to see."
That's it?
Natsukawa couldn't help but want to flick Hattori upside the head, but considering the negative influence it might have on Anya, he restrained himself.
"Chief Hattori Heizo's son has a serious case of chuunibyou syndrome," Kogoro muttered under his breath to Inspector Megure, his expression completely deadpan.
"He does, a bit," Inspector Megure nodded and continued. "After all, he's still a high school student. But his reasoning ability really is quite impressive. Even though he got the conclusion wrong this time, at least his logic was sound."
What else could Inspector Megure say? He couldn't exactly tell the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief's son that he was an idiot who'd almost led both him and Kogoro astray, could he?
This was the son of Hattori Heizo. You simply couldn't criticize him openly.
Kogoro nodded silently in agreement.
He muttered to himself, "Inspector Megure's been in his position for a while now. He's gotten much more diplomatic with his words."
Seeing the group emerge from the study, Natsukawa raised an eyebrow and called out to Inspector Megure.
"Inspector Megure, are we only arresting Tsujimura Kimie?"
What did that mean?
The group exchanged bewildered glances. Could there be more to this case? A case within a case?
Was the culprit playing some kind of Inception game with them?
"Who else should we arrest?" Inspector Megure asked uncertainly.
Had Hattori overlooked something again?
"Natsukawa-kun, just speak your mind," Kogoro added.
Natsukawa didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Hattori, hoping the young detective would finally connect the dots himself.
"Huh?"
Hattori looked utterly confused.
Seeing this, Natsukawa sighed.
Had no one else noticed there was another person who should be arrested?
"Are you... referring to the relationship between Tsujimura Takayoshi and Katsuragi Sachiko?"
Kogoro asked, his eyes darting around nervously. (o_O)
One was the son of Tsujimura Isao, and the other was the daughter of Tsujimura Kimie. Their parents were married to each other, so if you really insisted on calling them siblings, there was some technical truth to it.
Romantic relationships between siblings definitely weren't allowed, but these two weren't related by blood, so it should be fine, right?
"Of course not, Mouri-san! What are you even thinking?" Natsukawa said, both amused and exasperated. He hadn't expected Kogoro to have such a unique thought process, actually noticing that particular detail.
However, as a single guy himself, he still wanted to silently offer his blessings: May all lovers eventually become siblings!
Okay, that thought was purely internal monologue and would absolutely not be expressed verbally.
"I'm talking about Mr. Tsujimura Toshimitsu." Natsukawa's expression returned to calm as he glanced at the utterly astonished elderly man and continued, "Mr. Tsujimura Toshimitsu just confessed to murdering his son. He's suspected of taking the blame for his daughter-in-law and deliberately misleading the police investigation. I think Inspector Megure should arrest him as well."
Hearing this, Hattori seemed to have a realization as well. "That's right! There's also suspicion of abuse of power—using his position to frame other diplomats. Although it happened twenty years ago, the statute of limitations might not have expired yet."
"It hasn't!" Tsujimura Kimie shook her head, her face calm but her eyes burning with hatred. "To be precise, it's been nineteen years, ten months, and seven days. The statute of limitations definitely hasn't expired!"
Although Tsujimura Toshimitsu had just tried to take the blame for her, the deep-seated hatred accumulated over nearly two decades couldn't be erased overnight. Tsujimura Kimie still despised this old man—her father-in-law in name only—down to her very core.
The biggest reason her ex-husband had fallen from grace was because of him.
Back then, Tsujimura Isao hadn't yet become a full-fledged diplomat. Only Tsujimura Toshimitsu, as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had possessed the power to frame her ex-husband, who had already achieved formal diplomatic status.
Tsujimura Toshimitsu's expression had returned to neutral at some point, as if he weren't the one being accused. He seemed entirely indifferent to the proceedings.
"Tsujimura-san, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Inspector Megure's expression grew more serious. Although the man had been a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, he was retired now, and his successor was dead. Taking action against him shouldn't meet any objections.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, directly under the National Police Agency, was the capital's primary police force. While it wasn't exactly an opposing party to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the political interests between different ministries were incredibly complex. If they could obtain some damaging information about the other side, they definitely wouldn't let it go. If they could arrest Tsujimura Toshimitsu, the higher-ups would probably be quite pleased.
That way, he might get some benefits too.
The Third Division of the First Investigation Section was chronically short-staffed. It was high time to find some capable subordinates.
Especially since they'd let Natsukawa waltz in without even notifying him.
He didn't say anything outwardly, but he was deeply troubled by it.
Even though Natsukawa had indeed helped solve the case after entering, the officers guarding the perimeter hadn't properly fulfilled their duties.
He'd heard that the latest batch of police academy graduates was about to complete their training. It was the perfect time to recruit some fresh blood.
And Miwako—it was time to bring Sato back to the First Investigation Division. She couldn't just keep racing around in the Traffic Department forever. Her abilities could be put to much better use here.
Tsujimura Toshimitsu had nothing to say. At this point, he could only remain silent.
Tsujimura Takayoshi, the only male heir of the third generation of the Tsujimura family, looked completely shell-shocked.
His father was dead, his stepmother was arrested, and now his grandfather was being taken away too?
In just half a day, an entire diplomatic dynasty had been reduced to just him—a young nobody who'd barely entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
If his grandfather was arrested and the Metropolitan Police Department dug up anything else about the family, he'd likely be implicated too. His future looked bleak indeed.
"By the way, a diplomat's salary probably couldn't afford such a massive mansion, could it?"
Natsukawa added casually.
He wasn't targeting the Tsujimura family specifically—he just felt it was unfair that only Tsujimura Kimie was being arrested.
Inspector Megure nodded thoughtfully. Natsukawa's words did suggest possible involvement in corruption.
Even with three generations of diplomats, the Tsujimura family shouldn't have been able to afford such an estate.
Unless they had some substantial family business background—which they clearly didn't. They'd already investigated beforehand. The Tsujimura family had produced only one son per generation for three generations, and their diplomatic career had originated with Tsujimura Toshimitsu, who had no prior business connections. The whole situation was highly suspicious.
However, whether these charges would ultimately stick depended on whether the National Tax Agency could find concrete evidence.
Recently, the National Tax Agency had been making some aggressive moves, with the newly appointed director apparently aspiring to transform it into Japan's version of the IRS.
Of course, that was just a pipe dream.
Regardless of what the Japanese public might think, the other cabinet ministers certainly wouldn't agree. Everyone had skeletons in their closets. How could they possibly allow the National Tax Agency director to pursue such political ambitions?
(End of Chapter 29)
[+100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01