NABC Page 16
Page 16
"Hehe, then let me introduce you. Matsuda, listen carefully!" Yumi said solemnly, pulling the mature beauty along. "This is the Madonna of the prosecutor's world, the dream girl of countless male prosecutors, known as the indomitable heartthrob of the prosecutor's office... Ah!"
Before Yumi could finish speaking, the mature beauty forcefully grabbed her cheek.
"I was wrong, Reiko-nee! Really..."
"Reiko?"
Upon hearing the name, Matsuda suddenly remembered it.
"You are Prosecutor Reiko Kujo!"
No wonder Yumi was surprised that he didn't recognize him; the prosecutor's office and the metropolitan police department have a close relationship, especially with the man in front of her.
Most cases that are resolved in one session are handed over to her, and then sent to the court for prosecution and judgment.
The job of police officers like Matsuda is simply to arrest criminals; it's actually prosecutors like Reiko Kujo who are responsible for sending them to prison!
Reiko Kujo released Yumi and extended her right hand to Matsuda.
"Reiko Kujo, prosecutor."
"Jinpei Matsuda, First Division Detective."
The two shook hands, and Reiko Kujo looked at Matsuda and praised him, "Thanks to Officer Matsuda, our days as prosecutors have become much easier recently."
"If every police officer were as capable as Officer Matsuda, there wouldn't be so many lawyers causing trouble out of nothing."
She was telling the truth; the prosecutor's opponent is the defense lawyer in court.
If the police make mistakes during the investigation, the prosecutor will be in a very passive position in court.
Reiko Kujo, a well-known prosecutor, was also tricked by the police of Division I along the way.
"...Actually, everyone in Class One works very hard."
Since Kujo could speak so rudely about the police, Matsuda couldn't very well follow suit and comment on his colleague. After giving a casual reply, he looked at Yumi curiously and asked, "You two..."
"Hehe, I helped Reiko a lot with a case a few days ago, so she's treating me to dinner today. How about it, Matsuda, want to come along?"
Yumi blinked, tempting him.
"This is having dinner with two stunningly beautiful women, you know?"
"Two? I only saw one beautiful woman, Prosecutor Kujo. Where's the other one?"
Matsuda deliberately looked around, as if he was searching earnestly.
"Matsuda! Aren't I a beauty?!" Yumi snapped.
After the two played around for a while, Matsuda said goodbye and left.
Kujo watched his retreating figure and chuckled, "This Officer Matsuda is quite a nice guy, not arrogant or impatient. I thought that someone hailed as a hero of the Metropolitan Police Department would be a bit spoiled."
Chapter 19 Moon Shadow Island
“This guy has always been like this, so lazy and easygoing,” Yumi said, then suddenly feigned surprise, “Reiko-nee, you don’t have a crush on him too, do you? Let me make this clear, this guy belongs to Sato, and they’ve been dragging this out for over three years!”
"Don't talk nonsense!" Kujo blushed slightly. "I just feel that there aren't many police officers as capable as him in the Metropolitan Police Department these days."
"That's good," Yumi patted her chest, seemingly relieved.
"Don't talk about me. You and him are making such a fuss. Don't you have any thoughts about it at all?" Kujo looked at Yumi coldly and suddenly spoke up.
"Huh? What did you say, Reiko-nee? Right, let's hurry up and go eat, or we'll miss our reservation time." Yumi seemed not to hear her and grabbed Kujo, running towards the Beika Building.
……
The next day, Matsuda saw Reiko Kujo again in his office.
She came in person to check the case file of the previous Valentine's Day murder case.
Matsuda solved the case, so naturally he was the one who received Kujo.
"These are the test reports for the coffee cup and the sink; pesticide residues were detected in both."
"This is Mrs. Akutagawa's confession admitting to the crime, and these are the notes of those present."
Matsuda picked out the files one by one and handed them to Kujo.
"Excellent, the chain of evidence is clear and complete."
Kujo praised, "With these, we don't have to worry about being criticized by those lawyers in court."
Holding a stack of files, Kujo was about to leave.
"By the way, Officer Matsuda, this..."
Takagi then came over, but accidentally bumped into Kujo, who was about to leave.
"Watch out!" Matsuda quickly reached out to support her, forgetting all about the documents.
"Ah, the file, the file!"
Takagi frantically caught the papers falling from the sky, and in his haste, he bumped into Matsuda's back.
Matsuda was about to help Kujo up when Takagi came along and helped him up!
Matsuda was suddenly struck in the back and fell forward, landing squarely on top of Reiko Kujo.
The two locked eyes, and Kujo's face instantly turned red.
"Take it away..." she coughed lightly, speaking with feigned nonchalance.
"Ah, oh, sorry!"
Matsuda hurriedly got up and removed his hand, which had been in the wrong place when he fell.
As Kujo was about to get up, he saw Matsuda's outstretched hand.
"Let me help you."
"Thank you."
Kujo instinctively grabbed Matsuda's hand.
But as he pulled her up, Kujo realized where his hand had been.
Her face, which had calmed down, suddenly felt hot again.
"I go first."
She muttered something under her breath, snatched the document from Takagi's hand, and strode out of the First Division's office.
"Takagi, well done!" Matsuda gave Takagi a thumbs up.
Without Takagi's timely intervention, his right hand wouldn't have been able to achieve the view from the summit, overlooking all the smaller mountains below.
"I'm sorry, Officer Matsuda, I'm so sorry..."
Takagi thought Matsuda was being sarcastic and quickly bowed in apology.
Just as Matsuda was about to help him up, Inspector Megure walked in and said something he'd been saying a lot lately.
"Matsuda, there's a case. Come with me."
"Where are you going again, Inspector?"
Moonshadow Island.
……
On the ship, Matsuda exclaimed in surprise, "Inspector, how come Tsukikage Island, which is so far away, is under the jurisdiction of our Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?"
"Yes, it's all that damn government's fault!"
Inspector Megure shook the water off his hat, which he never took off when he boarded the ship, but the sea breeze had blown it up and it had fallen into the water.
"Inspector, your head..."
Matsuda noticed the scar on Megure's forehead, which appeared to be left from being hit by something heavy.
Megure instinctively reached for his hat to cover himself, then noticed it was still wet. He could only manage a wry smile and explain, "It's nothing, just a minor injury from before."
Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Matsuda didn't press the matter further, but instead inquired about the case on Tsukikage Island.
"The biggest capitalist on Tsukikage Island, and also a candidate for village chief, Kawashima, has been murdered," Megure said briefly.
"A candidate for village chief?" Matsuda thought for a moment. "By the way, are any of our old acquaintances from Section One here?"
"An old acquaintance?" Inspector Megure was taken aback for a moment before he realized what he meant.
“You mean the Mori family? I heard from the island police officer who called us that a detective did come over yesterday with his daughter and a little boy.”
"It really does seem to be them!" Inspector Megure said uncertainly.
"It's not just a possibility, it's certain! Inspector."
Matsuda said irritably, "With that family involved, this case is probably not going to be so simple."
"Why?" Inspector Megure asked, puzzled.
“Which case involving that family is simple?” Matsuda retorted.
"Let me think... Yoko Okino, art museum, Shinkansen, Valentine's Day..."
Inspector Megure's face grew darker and darker as he spoke.
Indeed, any case involving the Mori family is bound to have some twists and turns.
"The person who died this time was the village chief. Although he was not a high-ranking official in Tokyo, he was an absolutely powerful position on an isolated island overseas. Such a position is often associated with money and women."
Matsuda said helplessly, "That place isn't our territory, so investigating it won't be easy."
"No matter what, we're counting on you this time, Matsuda-kun!"
Inspector Megure patted his trusted lieutenant on the shoulder; he had far more confidence in Matsuda than in himself.
"The Metropolitan Police Department's honor rests on your shoulders. Remember, you must get there before Mori! We absolutely cannot let that sleeping detective steal the spotlight again!"
……
After finally arriving at their destination, Matsuda staggered off the boat.
"Matsuda, are you alright?" Inspector Megure asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just a little seasick."