Reinvestigation

The Investigation Division of the Beika Police Criminal Affairs Division was naturally responsible for frontline investigations.

At Beika Police Station, there were only a dozen or so "Investigation Divisions." Aside from Unit 1, which handled administrative work, the next nine units were not divided by specific case types. In short, anything involving "violent crime" fell under their jurisdiction. After those nine Violent Crimes Units came the Intellectual Crimes Division and the Theft Crimes Division.

Compared with the Metropolitan Police Department, police station Violent Crimes Units were few in number and no longer subdivided. Unlike the Metropolitan Police Department, where the First Investigation Division alone had ten units specifically handling murder cases among "violent crimes," with robbery and arson handled separately.

At police stations, people habitually called a "unit" a "team," because each unit only had four to six people. They were generally arranged as veterans mentoring newcomers, with even fewer personnel than the units of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division.

Of course, this was Beika Police Station... Not to mention smaller stations lacking so many detectives, even among major stations, Beika Police Station had an unusually high proportion of detectives.

Each team could handle different cases when busy, and when a major case arose, each team could also take charge of a separate line of investigation.

After Shiraishi had roughly understood the case, he gave Shirai a little room to save face. After taking the opportunity to lecture the other departments as well, he dismissed them...

The lecture still had to be given. Taking this opportunity could also raise their [Principles] by a point or two.

Although excessively high [Principles] could also cause problems, everyone's current issue was generally that their [Principles] were not high enough...

Shiraishi now summoned Unit 2, Unit 3, and Unit 4. These three units usually handled serious crimes. Among them, Unit 4's leader, Haitani, had been the main force assisting Shirai in solving this case and had also been the primary assistant during the interrogation stage.

Unit 2's leader was Aoki, while Unit 3's leader was Akasaka. They were usually called the Aoki Unit and Akasaka Unit, and both were considered elite detective teams within the station.

Clearly, Shiraishi was about to clean up Shirai's mess!

The officers of the Haitani Unit were undoubtedly the most nervous at this moment.

They had brought over the archived case files, photos of all the evidence, and written records of the detailed interrogation statements.

Then, in the conference room, Shiraishi looked through the materials in his hands while having team leader Haitani explain the PPT. Haitani was no longer young, but unlike ordinary detectives, he was not disheveled. At the same time... he gave off a somewhat slick impression.

The officers from the Aoki and Akasaka Units also knew they would be taking over the case afterward, so they listened attentively.

Team leader Akasaka was a middle-aged man with a pompadour. Aside from him and his partner Tosaka, who was also an older man, the Akasaka Unit included Gen and Yamada. This was also the "problem team" personally appointed by the former station chief: full of drive, but somewhat rash, and... the main culprits behind official vehicle traffic violations!

Indeed, in Shiraishi's view, every member of the Akasaka Unit had rather high [Hot-Bloodedness]...

The other team leader, Aoki, had an entirely different style. He wore glasses, kept his hair impeccably combed, and looked younger. He usually worked hard to cultivate an elite image. Even his professional suit was exceptionally formal, almost businesslike!

Whenever Aoki walked alongside his partner Matsuki, they looked like a politician and his secretary. The younger officers in the Aoki Unit were Makita Miwa and Suzuki Atsushi. Makita Miwa was also the only female police officer in the Criminal Affairs Division.

Overall, the Aoki Unit was the opposite of the Akasaka Unit: a group of "good kids."

(Makita Miwa and Suzuki Atsushi also came from Police in a Pod; illustrations will be added manually later. The two team leaders and their partners had real-life inspirations, but they were primarily original characters. For ease of reading, most of the protagonist's subordinates would have surnames associated with colors, while both team leaders' partners shared one character with their surnames as an identifying feature.)

Shiraishi now thoroughly reviewed the detailed account of how the case had been solved...

And he discovered the problem with the case!

Haitani did not forget to summarize the chief culprit. "The current public pressure can basically be confirmed to be the work of that hateful lawyer! Kurogoma Kensuke is best at using public pressure and outside factors to interfere with judicial trials!"

Haitani was not lacking in ability either. Overall, he ranked among the top detectives in the Criminal Affairs Division. Compared to the hot-blooded Akasaka, he seemed more polished, but compared to the elite-like Aoki, he carried a somewhat roguish air.

But regarding his current attempt to downplay the important points...

"Komikado... I have heard of him too. He is indeed a greedy jackal. But... this jackal does not usually like taking criminal cases, especially violent crime cases. What attracted this jackal was precisely an investigation result riddled with holes and already giving off the stench of decay!" As Shiraishi spoke, he slammed the case summary in his hand onto the table.

Haitani immediately stood at attention and fell silent...

In the end, this case had far too many holes!

The strongest evidence was the fingerprints on the kitchen knife. However, it was a knife from the victim's home. The victim often invited colleagues over for hot pot while alive, and it was perfectly normal for Tsubokura, as a junior colleague, to use the knife to help cut vegetables. The testimony of other colleagues also confirmed this. Yet only the murder weapon had Tsubokura's fingerprints on it. He claimed to have used other kitchen knives as well, but there were absolutely no fingerprints on them!

Added to that was the so-called "motive" and other circumstantial evidence...

After the defendant directly overturned his previous "confession" and accused the police of extracting it through torture, the situation had indeed become unfavorable.

Especially now that Shirai's attempt to hint at testimony to a witness had also been dug up by the other side's lawyer, who appealed on the grounds that normal evidence had been ignored while also launching a public-opinion offensive...

"Ultimately, you thought the suspect had no money and could only hire a court-appointed lawyer, so you handled this so carelessly, didn't you?" Shiraishi said bluntly.

"Chief, we..." Haitani had just wanted to explain.

Shirai took the initiative to speak from the side. "Then what are we supposed to do? Just sit by and watch the criminal escape punishment?"

"Shirai Jo! I did not state it plainly just now because of your age! If you had known from the start that the lawyer would be a difficult opponent, would you still have submitted this kind of thing for review? In your eyes, are 'improper investigation' and 'letting the criminal go' the only two options? If all you think about every day is making this kind of either-or choice, take off your badge right now!

"And your interrogation... Since the surveillance cameras just happened to be broken, I will not ask whether the allegations of forced confession are true. I will only ask you this... Is this the interrogation result you are proud of? Did the suspect's confession contain any important additional details? Did he provide any powerful evidence? Is this what you call ability?"

Shiraishi directly reprimanded him, and only then did Shirai wilt...

That was right. Using interrogation methods to make a criminal confess... Shiraishi could understand that. Naturally, some methods crossed the line and absolutely could not be used. More importantly...

A "confession" itself was not the goal. Someone saying, "I did it," was meaningless!

If the suspect could be made to confess some "important details," such as details only the killer would know, which could then be verified—preferably with matching physical evidence—then as long as those lined up, they could count as important evidence.

But Shiraishi had carefully read the statements...

There were no such "important details." Instead...

"Things like wearing a white shirt during the crime and falling on the road because he was nervous... With no evidence to corroborate those details, doesn't that look like proof that the testimony was fabricated? You are an old detective. Did you not see that?" Shiraishi said angrily.

When people lied, they instinctively fabricated useless details. Shiraishi, who was proficient in psychology, naturally spotted the problem at once. He could not guarantee that the suspect had not committed the crime, but...

Shiraishi could be certain that when the defendant "confessed," he had not genuinely intended to admit guilt.

Even leaving aside procedural violations, this was definitely not Shirai's true level of ability. In the end, the pressure on him was too great, so he had begun making one bad move after another!

What angered Shiraishi most was...

It now seemed that the Haitani Unit officers' [Principles] were also declining!

If they continued being led by Shirai like this, the younger officers would be ruined as well...

"Everyone in the Haitani Unit is suspended from duty effective today for self-reflection. Submit written self-criticisms for every improper action taken during the investigation!

"Akasaka, Aoki, you will be responsible for reopening the investigation. The Akasaka Unit will reexamine the case on the premise that 'Tsubokura is not the real killer.' The Aoki Unit will conduct supplementary investigation into the criminal evidence on the premise that 'the real killer, Tsubokura, is cunning and deceitful.' Submit your preliminary investigative approaches to me by two o'clock this afternoon...

"The case has already been remanded for retrial. The suspect's lawyer is also an expert, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to us. Before the trial resumes on Friday, please work a little harder."

Shiraishi directly assigned the tasks, then glanced at Shirai again and added, "Also, starting today, every report submitted for review in criminal cases must be personally signed and approved by me... Meeting adjourned!"