Invitation to the Witness Stand

"Do you have the detailed autopsy report for the victim?" Shiraishi asked as soon as he opened his eyes.

"No..." Akasaka said awkwardly, then added an explanation, "We have the inspection report, it covers the basic situation..."

"Is the body still here?" Shiraishi interrupted directly.

Akasaka continued to shake his head awkwardly, "Because the cause of death was clear, it was already returned to the family... and cremated."

Shiraishi: ...

Fine, the evidence that most easily reveals the truth is gone!

If an autopsy had been performed, it would have been entirely possible to distinguish whether the victim's wound was from one stab or two, and whether the stab went in along the wound.

Although Shiraishi was disappointed, he wasn't entirely surprised by this outcome.

This was a chronic problem in the Eastern Island Nation...

The politically correct way to put it is that the Eastern Island Nation's police have excellent "inspection" capabilities. Even ordinary patrol officers can perform basic inspections on bodies and are experienced—after all, all deaths outside of hospitals are inspected.

The politically incorrect way to put it is that the autopsy rate and the number of forensic pathologists in the Eastern Island Nation are far too low!

With a population of over 100 million, the Eastern Island Nation has fewer than 200 forensic pathologists...

Local police stations generally do not have forensic pathologists; only the Metropolitan Police Department and prefectural police headquarters do.

The small number of forensic pathologists naturally leads to a dismal autopsy rate for unnatural deaths, and even murder cases cannot guarantee a 100% autopsy rate.

Seeing that this case was being investigated by the police station's main force, and the cause of death was so clear, and the time of death could be estimated... Shiraishi guessed at the time that an autopsy probably hadn't been done!

And so...

Shiraishi walked directly into the soundproof room at this moment!

Gulp—

Seeing Shiraishi enter, Ms. Rin-da, who was being interrogated, immediately felt her heart race and swallowed hard.

Although she didn't recognize Shiraishi, he... looked very intimidating!

In the already dimly lit soundproof room, Shiraishi, who was like a little giant, "crawled" in, giving off an almost fantastical cinematic feel, like Gandalf entering a hobbit's dark room—the door to the soundproof room was one of the few that hadn't been enlarged. After all, the soundproof room had sound-absorbing padded walls, making modification difficult, and... no one had thought the chief would personally enter the soundproof room before!

Seeing that it was Shiraishi who entered, Gen immediately stood up and said, "Chief."

"Mm, you sit aside first, I need to ask this lady a few questions," Shiraishi said directly.

Gen then sat on a small stool to the side, and as Shiraishi sat in a chair, the chair in the soundproof room immediately let out a "groan."

Ms. Rin-da's posture visibly changed, and she shifted back in her seat with some resistance.

Shiraishi didn't deliberately display his imposing presence at this moment; instead, he showed a kind smile. "Ms. Rin-da, you said before that the victim threatened you and used it as an excuse to have you cook a final meal, right?"

"Y-yes," Ms. Rin-da said, becoming even more frightened by the condescending smile.

"What were you preparing?" Shiraishi asked, seizing the opportunity.

"Huh?" Ms. Rin-da was stunned by the question.

"State the menu you prepared for that day immediately," Shiraishi said in a deep voice.

"Ah... yes! It was... Beef Bourguignon, Mashed Potatoes, Bouillabaisse, Escargots..." Ms. Rin-da quickly listed them.

"Mm, all French cuisine? It seems... there were no ingredients that would require a sushi knife. Then, did you really wash the sushi knife at the time?" Shiraishi asked, changing the subject.

"I... I don't remember, I should have washed them all!" Ms. Rin-da's answer was unclear.

However... looking at her expression, Shiraishi already knew what he wanted.

Seeing Shiraishi squint at her, Ms. Rin-da felt a cold sweat break out all over her body!

Then Shiraishi said, "Ah, so you said... you saw this person leaving in the alley, which is why you chose to enter through the front door, right?" He said this with a tone of feigned difficulty.

Gen was puzzled at this moment, not understanding the chief's intention, but he didn't show it.

"That's right! But... I'm not really sure... but wasn't my car captured on camera?" Ms. Rin-da said somewhat flusteredly.

"It wasn't captured very clearly, and we might need you to testify, including the fact that the victim was already dead when you returned... Is that okay?" Shiraishi suddenly asked.

"Huh? This..." Ms. Rin-da hesitated.

Seeing this, Shiraishi said understandingly, "You can refuse, but then the crime you committed will have to be dealt with according to official procedures... As for that Tsubokura, he might escape this time, but he won't escape the next!"

When Ms. Rin-da heard "dealt with according to official procedures," she wasn't particularly shaken, but upon hearing "escape this time," her expression clearly flickered.

"Wait! I... I understand, I am willing to testify in court!" Ms. Rin-da said firmly.

"Mm, then... thank you for your courage. The witness stand actually has a nice view, nothing to be afraid of," Shiraishi smiled peacefully, then got up and left the soundproof room.

Shirai and the others outside were also at a loss.

"Chief, why is it necessary to make her testify?" Akasaka asked bluntly.

Shiraishi glanced at him and then said as a matter of course, "The reason for making her testify is, of course... because it's necessary for her to testify. What do you think?"

Hearing Shiraishi say this, Akasaka quickly replied, "Yes! That's right, it's very necessary..."

Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Shiraishi also nodded and said, "Then... let's submit the current investigation results to the prosecution! Remember to request a supplementary interrogation of Tsubokura from the prosecution."

"This... Chief, the prosecution, I'm afraid..." Aoki's tone was uncertain at this point.

Based on his understanding of the prosecution's style, they would likely refuse!

"Mm, it's enough that we applied, and make sure to keep records of all applications. Once the prosecution chooses to accept supplementary evidence, remember to notify me of the results immediately," Shiraishi emphasized.

Shiraishi handed the task of writing the report and coordinating with the prosecution to the Criminal Affairs Division, and threw himself back into the "stamping" business.

Until the next day, October 6th, Thursday...

Aoki came to report to Shiraishi at noon. "Chief, the prosecution has replied... They only accepted the evidence pertaining to Tsubokura and rejected our request for interrogation. As you said, we've kept records of the reports before and after submission."

"Did they accept the new witness?" Shiraishi confirmed.

Seeing Shiraishi so calm, Aoki was a little puzzled, but he immediately replied, "They did."

Shiraishi nodded. "I understand." He didn't say anything more.

In the afternoon, Shiraishi had Gina "track his location" while he greeted Ebihara, then left work early, which was rare