James had received the same call before Jodie did. Though the person on the other end refused to reveal the details, the moment he heard "murder case," the experienced FBI agent immediately knew exactly what had come knocking.
"Since the higher-ups have still decided to keep us working here, we won't be able to get away from Uzo anytime soon..."
Halfway through, James suddenly sensed that something was off.
After a moment of silence, he smoothly changed his story. "I mean, since the higher-ups have still decided to keep us working here, apprehending Uzo is also one of our duties—now that a lead has practically fallen into our laps, we can't just ignore it."
That excuse was for Jodie.
But James knew there was another reason in his heart: the higher-ups had recently been dealing with the pier matter and were in fairly close contact with the Metropolitan Police Department. Takagi's call would most likely be on record.
Under those circumstances, knowing there was a case—and one that might have been handed to them by Uzo—yet refusing to go as the team leader... there was no way he could write his report like that.
What else was he supposed to write? "Uzo sent us an Invitation Letter for a Murder Case, but Jodie and I found it too troublesome and decisively shut him and all related leads out"?
...If he remembered correctly, the higher-ups' interest in Uzo had lately been quietly approaching the level of their interest in Vermouth. He was so close to retirement; he did not want anything to go wrong at a time like this.
And of course, as a warrior who had fought the forces of darkness for decades, he could not back down over such a minor difficulty.
...Even if Uzo was, in every sense,