The Fatal Photograph

Thanks to the efforts of Jiang Hang and the on-site host, the situation at the scene has been largely brought under control.

It must be said that these Japan entertainers and hosts are indeed quite dedicated. Even though a murder had just occurred, they remembered their duty as hosts and were helping Jiang Hang stabilize the situation at the scene.

The reporters at the scene were also very professional; they certainly wouldn't let go of such a big news story as the death of a prominent politician at a memorial service for a famous director.

So, one by one, they took advantage of the moment when no one was looking to start transmitting what was happening at the scene back to their respective newspapers or news websites, so that people would work overtime to produce a report to attract public attention.

Several reporters with cameras even wanted to do a live broadcast from the scene, but Jiang Hang stopped them from going too far.

After dealing with the reporters, Jiang Hang, relying on his Eagle Eye ability, successfully found the purple handkerchief with the smell of gunpowder that Pisco had left at the scene.

If a test were to be conducted, Pisco's fingerprints might even be detected on it.

"How careless! Such an important tool for committing the crime, instead of using the one you prepared in advance, you used the one provided by the organizer, and after committing the crime, you simply left it at the scene. Is this the level of your organization's well-known cadres?"

As he spoke softly, Jiang Hang shook his head slightly.

He positioned Shizuka Sakaki near the corpse to prevent anyone from getting close, and the person closest to her at that moment happened to be Vermouth.

It's clear that Vermouth was aware of the problem with the handkerchief, which is why she approached it.

Faced with Jiang Hang's questioning, Vermouth replied without changing her expression, "It's normal for older people to be a little careless, otherwise the organization wouldn't have sent me here to assist."

"So he's been abandoned by your organization?" Jiang Hang was slightly surprised by Vermouth's sensible reaction, but upon reflection, it was indeed the Black Organization's usual style.

The organization is rife with internal strife, and everyone has their own agenda, so every time we meet, we have to be Mind's Eye.

They don't give a friendly look to those who are useful to the organization, let alone those who are useless.

It's a miracle that such an organization could exist for half a century, and even gradually develop into the global criminal syndicate it is today.

"If Mr. Jiang Hang is willing to let him go, then our organization will naturally not easily give up on such an old man who has made great contributions to our organization. How about you name your price, Mr. Jiang Hang?"

Vermouth tentatively asked Jiang Hang a question.

Although it's just an experiment, it's not impossible if it can save Pisco at some cost.

Jiang Hang looked at Vermouth, then picked up the purple handkerchief. "I recently took on a case in Tottori Prefecture. I originally planned to hand it over to my assistant, but I heard that your Black Organization has quite a bit of influence in Tottori Prefecture..."

Although Jiang Hang hadn't finished speaking, Vermouth was a smart woman, and she fully understood what Jiang Hang meant.

Her mind immediately began to analyze.

Tottori Prefecture is indeed the location of the organization's headquarters. While this is a top secret within the organization, it is hardly a secret for the Templar Knight Order, who nearly destroyed the organization decades ago.

What Jiang Hang meant was that he was too lazy to go to Tottori Prefecture to collect evidence, so he wanted the Black Organization to help him find the real culprit in the case.

The condition was the purple handkerchief in his hand that was quite disadvantageous to Pisco.

She thought it over carefully. If Jiang Hang didn't intend to use the handkerchief as evidence, as long as Pisco could handle the gun and the gunpowder residue on his body properly, the police shouldn't be able to find any flaws in Pisco's case.

"No problem, I will hand over the murderer in that case to you within two days." After a quick consideration, Vermouth agreed to Jiang Hang's terms, and even felt that Jiang Hang's request was too simple.

"I don't want the murderer, I want evidence," Jiang Hang emphasized again.

Although he recently rescued a murderer and lured him into his assassin organization, and has the Pioneer Foundation, an economic organization that is even more threatening than the Black Organization, he remains a law-abiding citizen.

He only needs evidence of the murderer's crime; he doesn't need the Black Organization to bring the murderer to him.

As for why he didn't make any more demands, it's because he didn't need to get involved in this case. The purple handkerchief seemed like an important clue, but in reality, so many people in the hall had the purple handkerchief; even a random waiter or a reporter who snuck in could have brought one in.

If Vermouth were to slip by and switch the handkerchiefs on a few people, even if the police suspected Pisco, he could use the fact that his handkerchief had been switched as an excuse. Then, given the Black Organization's capabilities, it wouldn't be difficult for them to find a scapegoat to divert attention from Pisco.

Ultimately, the outcome of this case was already decided the moment that gossip reporter captured the exact moment Pisco committed the crime.

Jiang Hang doesn't need to do anything; all he needs to do is find that photo and show it to the police.

That's why he gave Vermouth face here. Vermouth felt that he had indeed shown a friendly attitude towards the Black Organization. It's just that Pisco himself gave himself the opportunity but failed to make a difference, so he can't blame anyone else.

After that, they will work even harder for Jiang Hang.

Thinking of this, Jiang Hang used the theft techniques he had learned from the system to quietly slip the purple handkerchief into Vermouth's hand, letting her handle this "key" evidence herself.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hang continued to patiently question those who were close to Nomikuchi Shigehiko before the incident, hoping to glean any other clues from them.

When the police arrive, he can use these people's statements as an explanation.

While the Japan police may indeed be somewhat lacking in capability, their speed of response has always been widely recognized.

In less than twenty minutes, the familiar Inspector Megure and his subordinates arrived at the crime scene.

"Brother Jiang Hang, thank you for maintaining order at the scene. Did you find anything?" Because he was already quite familiar with Jiang Hang, Inspector Megure exchanged a few polite words before asking Jiang Hang about the details of the case.

After glancing at the police officers who were cordoning off the crime scene and taking control of the situation, Jiang Hang stated directly that this case was not an accident and must have been a homicide.

"So it really wasn't an accident..." Inspector Megure wasn't too surprised by Jiang Hang's answer.

Given the deceased Nomikuchi Shigehiko's status, although corruption, bribery, and political crimes are not under their jurisdiction, as a front-line inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, he naturally knew more inside information than the average person.

If Nomikuchi Shigehiko hadn't had this "accident," he would probably have been taken away by the police for a full investigation within the next couple of days.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's top brass has repeatedly suspected that Nomikuchi Shigehiko, who has suddenly risen to become a member of parliament in recent years, may have other mysterious forces supporting him.

Now that Nomikuchi Shigehiko is dead, and Jiang Hang, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department advisor, has discovered the possibility of murder, it is very likely that the mysterious force was behind it.

Inspector Megure listened to Jiang Hang's analysis with a serious expression.

Upon hearing that there were gunshot marks at the broken end of the chandelier, and that it was highly likely that someone had shot it with a handgun in the dark, causing it to fall and kill Nomikuchi Shigehiko, he confirmed this and immediately ordered the surrounding police officers to search for the bullet scattered throughout the hall.

While Japan's gun control is not as strict as that of its neighbor China, it is still much stricter than that of the United States.

Since the other side has guns, they have to consider whether the organization behind Nomikuchi Shigehiko is a terrorist organization.

If members of that terrorist organization are still at the scene, the police must be even more cautious to avoid a desperate situation. After all, it is a responsibility that a mere police inspector cannot bear to have armed terrorists openly shooting and killing people in front of many famous figures.

Under Inspector Megure's instructions, everyone at the scene became more cautious. Inspector Megure himself contacted his superior, Kiyonaga Matsumoto, the superintendent of the Investigation Division One, to report the situation and request that higher-ups in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department send personnel to support the scene.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, the prominent figures from the entertainment, business, and even political spheres present did not immediately step forward to object to the police, but instead silently observed the attitude of the Japan police.

These big shots may not be afraid of the police, but there's no need for them to step forward and attract the police's attention.

If the police still can't provide an explanation after a long time, they will naturally instruct their subordinates to take the lead so that they won't have to stay at the scene to be interrogated by the police.

Pisco had this plan: to change into identical clothes, dispose of the firearms, and return to the venue before the police arrived.

He could naturally sense the tension on the police's side. It seemed that the detective was indeed skilled, discovering the gunshot marks left at the scene so quickly.

However, that's all the investigation can do. No matter how much they investigate further, they won't be able to find anything about him.

Pisco was thinking this when he saw Vermouth walk past him with a purple handkerchief in her hand, given by the organizers, and a look of disdain on her face.

"I've already taken care of the oversight you made, but this is only the first time. You won't be so lucky next time. Before the police find you, you'd better think about whether you've made any other silly mistakes."

As Vermouth's warning reached his ears, she also slipped a new handkerchief into Vermouth hand, one that she had taken from someone else.

Chapter 432: Chapter 428: The Deadly Photograph

Although Jiang Hang kept complaining in his heart that there weren't many people in the Black Organization who actually did any real work, he knew that it was just a joke.

In this assassination attempt against Nomikuchi Shigehiko, in addition to sending two codenamed executives, Pisco and Vermouth, the Black Organization naturally had many junior members in the venue assisting them in completing the mission.

However, apart from being raised by the Black Organization from a young age and assigned a public identity, most of these grassroots members were unaware of each other's existence.

All they had to do was obey the orders of those officials and complete the tasks assigned to them.

Under Vermouth's control, these grassroots members did indeed make the situation at the venue much more chaotic than before.

Furthermore, Vermouth had already resolved the crucial handkerchief issue, so she now maintained a rather aloof demeanor when questioned by the police.

While other socialites at the scene might have cared somewhat about the attitude of the Japan police, Vermouth Hollywood United States, and under that identity, she doesn't need to care about such things at all.

When questioned by Inspector Megure and his team about her location at the time of the incident, she became somewhat impatient and had her "translator" tell the police that she knew nothing. She also repeatedly urged the police to investigate the cause of death as soon as possible and not to waste too much of her time.

As for the body search, just hearing those two words made Vermouth say that if the Japan police really did search her, she would protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs afterward.

After Vermouth first protested to the police, other socialites, when questioned by the police, also began to question the police's capabilities, expressing that they did not want to be searched like criminals.

The investigation is stalled, and the investigators are being questioned by these so-called social elites. Inspector Megure is really having a headache right now.

Because he was facing not only external pressure, but also pressure from the higher-ups in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and from the Second Investigation Division Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which was responsible for investigating economic and political crimes. They were urging him to find out the cause of Nomikuchi Shigehiko's death as soon as possible.

After all, Nomikuchi Shigehiko a big fish that the Second Investigation Division had been watching for several months. As long as the case went smoothly, the police officers in charge of it would get a share of the credit afterward.

But now that Nomikuchi Shigehiko has suddenly died, all the things they have painstakingly investigated over the past few months have vanished in an instant. Now, the people from the Second Investigation Division are even more eager to rush to the scene to find out how Nomikuchi Shigehiko died than Inspector Megure's team.

"I had such a large bonus and vacation time. We were supposed to make the arrest in the next couple of days. He was fine this afternoon, so how could he suddenly disappear tonight?" This is pretty much what the police officers from the Second Investigation Division are thinking right now.

In response, Inspector Megure gritted his teeth and firmly stated that no matter who it was, even if it was the Prime Minister, anyone who wanted to leave would have to undergo a police search and questioning.

So far, however, the police have not been able to find any useful clues from the guests at the scene.

If things continue like this, who knows what sharp words those reporters will use to criticize the police's incompetence after they leave.

Thinking of this, Inspector Megure could only look hopefully at Jiang Hang, who was standing under the chandelier seemingly studying something.

Hopefully, this rarely-mistaken consultant will continue to demonstrate his remarkable reasoning abilities in this case.

"Brother Jiang Hang, do you have any clues now?" Inspector Megure asked Jiang Hang tentatively.

The other party has just found the bullet that the murderer fired, which is currently the only thing the police have that can be considered evidence.

Sensing Inspector Megure's unease, Jiang Hang didn't try to be mysterious; instead, he pointed to the broken chandelier on the floor and ceiling.

"Based on my judgment, the bullet was probably fired from that direction. Judging from the angle of the bullet, it was roughly in this area," Jiang Hang said, walking around the spot where Pisco had been standing.

"Inspector Megure, you can ask the people in this area to recall who they know. That should reduce a lot of trouble."

Although Inspector Megure had good eyesight, he obviously couldn't see what the broken end of the chandelier on the ceiling looked like. After taking a picture with his camera and then enlarging it to confirm that Jiang Hang was right, Inspector Megure was still amazed, even though he already knew that Jiang Hang had eyesight comparable to a satellite camera. He then immediately followed Jiang Hang's instructions and started questioning the people around him.

Of course, the location Jiang Hang provided wasn't that precise; it was just a circle with a diameter of five or six meters, but that was enough to narrow down the suspects from all the guests in the venue.

But Jiang Hang glanced at the scene and realized that Pisco had deliberately changed his position in the darkness. After firing the gun to confirm that the chandelier had fallen and hit Nomikuchi Shigehiko, he left the venue to deal with the firearm. Therefore, after Inspector Megure's round of questioning, no one had noticed Pisco's position when the incident occurred.

In Jiang Hang's gaze, he could even see a barely perceptible hint of smugness on Pisco's face, who hadn't been questioned by the police.

That expression seemed to say, "Although I'm old, I won't be sloppy when it comes to carrying out a mission."

Jiang Hang withdrew his gaze.

He was certainly aware of this situation, but he hadn't originally thought that this would make Pisco manifest.

He deliberately gave such a large circle to make his next move seem less abrupt.

Watching Jiang Hang's actions, Vermouth's lingering unease intensified.

At the same time, she was also a little worried. Under such circumstances, could Jiang Hang still find any fatal evidence?

But no matter what, she has to be prepared for the worst.

While the police were still questioning the guests, Jiang Hang wasn't idle either. After questioning several people and figuring out who was with them, Jiang Hang approached his real target.

"You were standing in that spot when the chandelier fell, right?" Jiang Hang asked the unremarkable-looking middle-aged man wearing glasses.

This is a reporter who sneaked in to film some gossip. He has no idea what incredible things he has captured in his attempt to secretly film gossip.

It's clear that this reporter is a seasoned veteran who has seen it all. When Jiang Hang questioned him, he showed no sign of nervousness whatsoever. In fact, under Jiang Hang's questioning, he readily admitted to being a gossip reporter.

"I was indeed here when the incident happened, but I was there to film gossip news. At the time, my attention was entirely Tarumi Nanjo, and I didn't notice anyone else around me."

Tarumi is a well-known music producer, while Nanjo is a very popular female writer recently. The two have been rumored to be dating recently, but neither of them has admitted it publicly. This gossip reporter sneaked into the memorial service because of the two of them.

"Judging from your current appearance, you've already taken photos of the two of them being intimate?" Jiang Hang asked knowingly.

"If it weren't for the sudden murder case, the photo I just took would have been the biggest news tonight," the reporter sighed with some regret.

The public announcement of a relationship between a well-known music producer and a popular female writer would normally keep the topic trending for hours, but not now.

A member of parliament, already embroiled in a corruption scandal and about to be arrested by the police, was killed when a chandelier fell on him while he was attending a memorial service for a famous director. I bet every TV station has been bombarded with this news in the next few days... except for TV Tokyo.

Although he secretly took a few photos at the scene, there were quite a few colleagues there, and official news reporters would be coming later. A small reporter like him couldn't compete with so many colleagues; at most, he could only try to get some attention.

"Can I see the photos you just took?" Jiang Hang asked simply.

The reporter didn't think much of it. Since his photos had already been published and were probably already on news websites, there was nothing he couldn't show to others.

He took out his phone, brought up the photo, and handed it to Jiang Hang.

The photo shows the two of them embracing intimately. Judging from their affectionate expressions, it's clear they've probably been together for a while.

Behind this photo are several other people intently looking at the screen.

However, at the very back of the photo, there is one person who stands out from the rest of the group, even holding a pistol and pointing it upwards.

Although the figure in the photo is somewhat blurry due to focus issues, and you might not notice the person unless you look closely, once you do notice them, it's easy to identify them from their figure and gray hair.