"First, as part of my duty, I must clearly inform the suspect of their right to remain silent..."
As Kazama Tatsuya began to speak, Fushimi Roku frowned. Minamoto Tamako, however, didn’t see any issue, thinking that it was typical of a senior to pay attention to procedural details.
"And I must clearly state that the suspect will not be subject to adverse inference or penalties for exercising their right to remain silent. You have the right to hire a lawyer and may request for a lawyer to be present during the interrogation. If the suspect expresses the desire to meet with a lawyer, the police must wait for the lawyer to arrive before proceeding with the interrogation..."
Kazama Tatsuya recited these words like an emotionless script machine. He hadn’t finished when Kamei Riko interrupted, "I want to see a lawyer!"
With those words, the interrogation could no longer proceed.
Fushimi Roku was somewhat puzzled as to what exactly Kamei Yuusaku was holding over Kazama Tatsuya, making him so wary that he wouldn’t even dare to use his trademark Great Memory Recovery Technique.
Even if Kazama Tatsuya had killed someone, so what? Even if Kamei Yuusaku had evidence of the Kazama family’s murderous intentions spanning three generations, once inside the interrogation room, wouldn’t Kazama Tatsuya’s words prevail? If he really wanted to be ruthless, Kamei Yuusaku could easily become a vegetable in detention, and even the most solid evidence would be pointless.
A suspect accusing a criminal police officer—never mind whether the judge believes it—who in the police department responsible for interrogation would care?
If Kamei Yuusaku really wanted to report something, who could let him walk out of the interrogation room?
Fushimi Roku was bewildered; perhaps Kazama Tatsuya had committed treason? Was he actually a hidden spy? Otherwise, why would he be holding back so much?
Seeing that Senior Feng was not getting results, Minamoto Tamako decided to skip this session and wait for Mrs. Kamei to hire or for the court to appoint a lawyer. In the meantime, she was not planning to sit idle and decided to summon Kamei Yuusaku into the interrogation room for the next session.
This time, she and Fushimi Roku took to the field themselves, with Fushimi Roku leading the interrogation as usual, while she assisted. As the session began, Minamoto Tamako followed the template provided by Kazama Tatsuya to inform Kamei Yuusaku of the rights afforded to a suspect.
Kamei Yuusaku didn’t pay much attention and didn’t request a lawyer, instead observing the one-way mirror with interest.
"May I ask what your relationship is with the victim?"
"Where were you on the day of the incident?"
"Is there nothing you wish to explain?"
After three consecutive instances of being ignored, Minamoto Tamako was displeased. As a legitimate interrogator, how could a suspect ignore her? Even if they wished to remain silent, at least they could state beforehand, ’I don’t want to say anything,’ right?
Completely disregarding her was really too hateful!
She previously thought that Kamei Yuusaku had a good personality—he was so warm and talkative when they had hot pot together, yet now he seemed like a different person... Indeed, as Mr. Fushimi said, people’s hearts can’t be fathomed, and criminals defy logic.
One mustn’t be soft on evil, or the so-called justice becomes nothing but empty talk. Minamoto Tamako understood this principle well. She did her utmost to muster what she imagined as her fiercest expression, pursing her lips high and furrowing her brows into a knot, slapping the table with her small hand, demanding the suspect to confess truthfully!
Kamei Yuusaku finally reacted. He turned his head and asked, "Can we talk alone?"
"How is that possible? Every interrogation must be recorded..."
Before Minamoto Tamako could finish, Officer Sakai closed his notebook, stood up, and left the interrogation room.
This was a request made by the suspect himself, meaning that whatever was recorded on the interrogation log afterward, the suspect would have to accept it. At this time, there were no video recordings of law enforcement processes, and even the new interrogation supervision department was only established in 1993...
Minamoto Tamako was baffled. She was about to ask what was going on when she noticed the one-way glass suddenly darkening. Before leaving, Officer Sakai even pulled down the ’curtain,’ completely isolating the interrogation room from outside.
"Speak," Fushimi Roku said leisurely, "Now it’s just the three of us."
Upon hearing this, Minamoto Tamako became highly alert and opened her little notebook to start taking notes.
Kamei Yuusaku asked, "What is your relationship with Kazama Tatsuya?"
Fushimi Roku didn’t answer. He turned to look at Minamoto Tamako, who replied earnestly, "I have great respect for Senior Feng. He is a superior to me like a master... but this has nothing to do with the case. If you want to use connections to find shortcuts, you’re gravely mistaken! Neither I nor Senior Feng would ever engage in favoritism or injustice!"
"It just means the relationship isn’t strong enough," Kamei Yuusaku said.
Before Minamoto Tamako could retort, he switched the topic and continued, "Mr. Fushimi should understand that capturing me is meaningless... unless you plan to extract a confession under torture."
Minamoto Tamako wanted to ask what that meant, but she was afraid of revealing her ignorance, so she turned her head to look at Fushimi Roku. True to her expectations, he responded naturally to the conversational cue, and although she couldn’t quite understand, she nodded along in agreement.
"It’s all about efforts," Fushimi Roku said. "Senior Feng might not bother dealing with you, but we have all the time in the world."
"Oh really," Kamei Yuusaku leaned back in his chair, "Do you remember the bet I mentioned to Mr. Feng Jian?"
"I remember," Fushimi Roku nodded.
"Starting today, for every day I’m detained, one person will die outside," Kamei Yuusaku shrugged. "If you find it troublesome, you can always try to coerce me into confession. I’m very afraid of pain, so as soon as I’m beaten, I’ll tell everything."
He was confident that someone like Minamoto Tamako wouldn’t stoop to coercion during interrogations.
If the officer handling the case was a corrupt incompetent, even better. They wouldn’t struggle with him, and would directly conclude that Mrs. Kamei acted impulsively under the category of murder. With a suspect already in hand, only someone like Minamoto Tamako would pursue the truth... the same type of person who seeks judicial fairness in line with a sense of justice.
The only issue was Fushimi Roku; he couldn’t figure out which side this person was on.
It’s like a game presenting two options, A or B. NPCs either choose A or B, but someone like Fushimi Roku would choose ’or.’ Not only would they switch back and forth between A and B, but they might even deliberately trigger a bug to create option C... Such a person in the food chain is neither prey nor predator, but merely a troublemaker.
Sure enough, upon hearing these words, Fushimi Roku scratched his nose with interest, "Really?"
"You’ll know if you try," Kamei Yuusaku retorted provocatively.
"So, are you confessing?" Fushimi Roku asked back.
"Uh? I didn’t say that..."
"Then let me ask you," Fushimi Roku interlaced his fingers, "Regarding the indirect killing of Kamei Yuuta, do you plead guilty?"
"Did I not make myself clear just now? During my detention..."
"So what?" Fushimi Roku interrupted, "Who isn’t capable of boasting? You’re in detention, so no matter what happens outside, it has nothing to do with you. Stop giving yourself undue credit."
Kamei Yuusaku couldn’t sit still, "Just wait, there’ll be a new victim tomorrow..."
Fushimi Roku tapped on the table, looking down as he said, "What a joke, when does Tokyo ever not see deaths? According to you, all the victims worldwide are related to you? One case at a time, even if you use shadow clones to blow up Tokyo Tower, I’m only asking you about the fall case!"
Listening, Minamoto Tamako nodded repeatedly, feeling that Mr. Fushimi made a lot of sense.
At the start, she almost got duped, thinking Kamei Yuusaku was some extremely formidable psychopathic serial killer, who had unknown victims or accomplices outside; however, hearing Mr. Fushimi speak, she realized she had been led by the nose by the suspect...
But, what does "shadow clone" mean? Is it some sort of jargon?
Minamoto Tamako noted the term down in her heart, planning to ask the senior about it when she had the time. It seemed she still had much to learn; interrogating suspects was indeed a profound art.