Just as Planned

After Shiraishi stated his purpose...

"Eh? Ehh?!" Lawyer Dai clearly couldn't stay that calm—this was way too absurd, wasn't it?

"This is your only chance," Shiraishi said confidently, not worried in the slightest that she would refuse.

Since the Prosecutor's Office wouldn't cooperate, then... Shiraishi would find someone willing to cooperate himself!

Faced with Shiraishi's relentless pressure...

"This... then I..." Lawyer Dai bit her lip and decided to agree.

However...

Shiraishi interrupted her at that moment. "Before the Court Session, don't tell Komikado about this."

"Eh?" Lawyer Dai froze again.

Shiraishi looked up at her. As he cracked open a crab leg and pulled out the meat, he said, "The Prosecutor's Office will ignore evidence unfavorable to prosecuting Tsubokura, while Komikado will ignore evidence unfavorable to Tsubokura... He might even cover things up in advance. And if he has time to prepare, he'll cause chaos in court and strike first. The prosecution might end up completely unable to fight back because it concealed that evidence. Then, whether Tsubokura is truly the murderer or not, he could still get an acquittal."

Lawyer Dai had no rebuttal at all—though they had known each other only briefly, she understood clearly...

Komikado really was that kind of person!

"I want the truth of this case to come to light. It's not about what happens to Tsubokura. I'm not even sure whether this was completed intentional homicide or attempted homicide, so... that's why I'm meeting you here. I heard you sold your ancestral property to advance the retainer fee for that jackal on Tsubokura's behalf? I think you're that kind of person too." As Shiraishi finished speaking, he pointed at himself with the crab leg he had already sucked clean.

"I... understand! Thank you very much for trusting me!" Lawyer Dai suddenly brightened up—Shiraishi's approval had clearly given her a strong sense of accomplishment.

If it had merely been praise from an ordinary precinct chief, she wouldn't have been affected at all. But now...

For one thing, Shiraishi's identity was special. Though the public had begun to forget, Lawyer Dai naturally still remembered what had happened to the former Minister of Justice two months ago. For another, what Shiraishi was doing now was exactly as he had said...

It was proof that he trusted her!

"Mm, since you've agreed... these are leads you can obtain yourselves. As for the statements, it wouldn't be convenient to give those to you. Ask for them again in court when the time comes." As Shiraishi spoke, he took out a manila document envelope and pushed it across the tatami mat toward Lawyer Dai.

"Rest assured! Tomorrow, I'll definitely uncover the truth in court!" Lawyer Dai declared with conviction.

Shiraishi nodded at that. He had no doubts about it, after all...

Her opposing counsel was Komikado!

The only difficulty was making sure he learned of this only after the Court Session began. Otherwise, he would surely tear straight through the Prosecutor's Office, and there would be no talk of seeking the truth. Besides, Komikado didn't care whether Ms. Rin-da was the real murderer or not—he would only do everything possible to secure an "acquittal."

Only by letting Komikado learn of it at the final moment could he force him to choose between the two...

Lawyer Dai's presence had happened to let Shiraishi see an opportunity.

Judging from what had happened before, Lawyer Dai's abilities were fairly average, but... she truly did have a Sense of Justice!

That saved Shiraishi from having to sit in on the trial and personally meet Komikado during a recess afterward—given his identity, if something like that came to light, it would definitely invite criticism.

At the same time...

The evidence Shiraishi gave Lawyer Dai was all evidence she could theoretically access herself, so there was no need to worry about it coming back to burn her.

He had even preserved records of the evidence submission. If the Prosecutor's Office had any objections, Shiraishi wouldn't mind slapping it in the face!

After the meal, Shiraishi went to see Gina again and treated her to a meal at Manman Beef Bowl Shop in Kamurocho—after all, Shiraishi could eat four people's worth. If he had ordered a four-person crab set at that previous restaurant, even he would have felt the pinch, so he had only eaten until he was half full.

"Why did you have a crab feast with that female lawyer, but only beef bowls with me?" Gina complained while wolfing down her food.

"That was to create an imposing atmosphere and put psychological pressure on her... You're a child. You don't need that much pressure," Shiraishi said reasonably.

Gina curled her lips, but then her eyes darted about. "How about I become your professional informant from now on?"

"No!" Shiraishi refused immediately.

"Eh? One hundred thousand a month is enough for me! Don't your organized-crime units love keeping people like us?" Gina immediately tried to bargain.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the shop. Only the owner of Manman Beef Bowl Shop shot them a glare from the side—though he knew Shiraishi's identity, he simply found him unpleasant and hadn't misunderstood anything.

"Keep your voice down. Don't say things that could be misunderstood! Besides... no means no. You're still young. Go learn something... Don't even think about becoming an informant!" Shiraishi refused sternly.

One hundred thousand a month really wasn't much...

But "informant" wasn't a profession at all. It wasn't the same as being an undercover officer. Undercover officers were legitimate police officers who infiltrated criminal organizations. Even if they died, it was called a sacrifice—death in the line of duty!

Informants, on the other hand, were generally small-time hoodlums recruited by the police. They could provide intelligence from time to time and existed in a gray area.

That was why informants were inevitably not respectable people. They merely had some connection to the police. If they were arrested, they would still be sentenced, perhaps with a lighter punishment at most, and possibly credit for meritorious service.

By the nature of their work, organized-crime units had the greatest need to keep informants. Every veteran Detective in that field had a few underworld informants in his hands.

Shiraishi didn't reject such gray-area practices, but he would never use "a child who still had hope" as an informant—the implication of recruiting her was that she would have to walk in the gray areas from now on and become some petty hoodlum!

"You're so stingy..." Gina pouted deeply.

Meanwhile, Shiraishi fiercely devoured three servings of beef bowls and finally filled his stomach.

"Check!" Shiraishi called.

"Put the money in the register yourself!" the owner said sullenly.

"You're not in debt to him, are you?" Gina asked quietly.

Shiraishi merely shook his head, then left after putting down the money.

Early the next morning, Shiraishi did not Request Leave to go to court. Instead, he came to the police station as usual and sat in his office working.

It was not until noon that Shiraishi began glancing at his phone more often with some concern... but there was still no news.

"Looks like it's a real nail-biter..." Seeing that, Shiraishi relaxed instead.

It was not until three in the afternoon that the news finally broke—Reversal! The Killer on the Witness Stand!, <Coerced Confession Case Verdict: Intentional Murder... But Attempted?>, <Clash Between Lawyer and Prosecutor: A Look Back at the Ultimate Courtroom Showdown>...

Only then did Shiraishi finally let out a full sigh of relief.

Clearly, Komikado and Dai had not let him down.

Just as expected, Komikado had kept exposing holes in the witness's testimony through questioning, then achieved the final reversal by accusing him in court. Dai had also kept her promise—if Komikado had been prepared from the start, the trial likely would not even have progressed this far before a not-guilty verdict was handed down.

Then Iwata called as well. There had been progress on the matter Shiraishi had asked him to handle...