pertwk Page 36
Page 36
"Testing me?" Tanaka Junichi asked casually, puzzled.
“Of course, perhaps the other party is enjoying the process of gradually putting pressure on you and causing you to break down in front of everyone,” Yuki Takada said coldly. “More importantly, this indirectly confirms that the other party must be a member of your company, otherwise they would not be able to contact you through the Internet as a tool to convey information.”
Sato Miwako immediately realized what was going on. Looking at the picture in front of her, she said softly, "Why don't you send me that picture? I'll see if I have any special technical means to find out the source of this photo."
"Yes...yes!" The young employee glanced at President Tanaka, and after seeing him nod, he hurriedly began to operate the equipment.
Kogoro Mori, supporting the still somewhat weak Junichi Tanaka, spoke in a stern tone: "President Tanaka, at a time like this, I don't think you should be hiding anything. Where is that place in the photo? That background, those miscellaneous items... do you remember it?"
"Also... this is very likely the place where Ms. Horikawa Airi is currently being held captive, and perhaps the very place where Fuyuyama Reihito is hiding. Every second is a matter of life and death for her."
"Collect 10 points of Disguise!"
"Pick up 10 points of combat skill!"
This was the familiar voice that Yuuki Takada had heard when he glanced at the photo on his computer screen earlier.
With this news, it seems that Horikawa Airi in front of us is probably already dead.
only……
What puzzles Yuuki Takada is that, based on her current attributes, Airi Horikawa is a company employee and doesn't seem to have anything to do with fighting.
Moreover, the information obtained from Junichi Tanaka had nothing to do with this attribute. Could it be that... this fighting attribute belongs to other dead people?
and many more……
It seems that this Fuyuyama Reijin has always been mentioned by the other party.
A flash of inspiration struck me: this fighting attribute comes from Reiji Fuyuyama.
If that's the case, then everything seems to make sense.
Yuuki Takada's gaze swept over the pink stain on Junichi Tanaka's collar, almost blurred by sweat, before moving to his flustered, evasive eyes:
"President Tanaka, you just said that Reihito Fuyuyama and Airi Horikawa are in a romantic relationship?"
"So, what's the deal with Horikawa Airi's name and that considerable amount on this copy of the hospital payment receipt?"
"The diagnostic report was blacked out... Is there something hidden here that Fuyuyama Reihito must bear, or is there something that makes him feel deceived and betrayed?"
He took out the crumpled photocopy of the receipt that he had found in Fuyuyama Reihito's drawer and waved it in front of Tanaka Junichi.
"And this thing on your collar..." Takada Yuuki's voice was low, carrying an all-knowing chill, "It looks like some kind of cosmetic residue? The texture is very fine, and the color... seems to match the brand and shade that Ms. Horikawa Airi often uses? There are no women's products in your office."
Junichi Tanaka's body stiffened abruptly, instantly struck by an invisible electric current.
He looked at the receipt in Yuuki Takada's hand, and subconsciously tried to cover his collar. Fear, shame, and despair intertwined in his eyes, and finally turned to ashes.
"I...I..." His lips trembled, and the immense psychological pressure finally broke down his last line of defense.
He slumped to the ground, covered his face with his hands, and said haltingly, his voice trembling with sobs and deep regret, "It's...it's my fault...it's all my fault..."
"That place is...it's an old warehouse that the company rents near the port. It's usually used to store expired documents and materials. It's in a remote location. Only I and a few senior executives know the exact location. The key...the key is in my office drawer."
As he spoke, Tanaka Junichi led the group back to his office.
“Horikawa Airi, she... she’s pregnant with my child…” Tanaka Junichi’s voice was barely audible, filled with pain as he whispered, “About three months ago, after a social gathering, I got drunk, and then… I think you all know what happened next.”
"Then one day, she told me she was pregnant. I was terrified. My wife has a company reputation to maintain, and if she exposed it, we'd be finished."
"So I gave her some money and told her to take care of it. That payment slip was for that surgery. I already knew that he and Fuyuyama Reijin had this kind of relationship..."
“Then one day, we continued our usual conversation. She suddenly told me that Fuyuyama Reijin knew about these things.”
"Fuyuyama Reijin... he somehow found out about this. He thought Horikawa Airi had betrayed him with another man. Later, he started to become lax at work, until these days he found out that the person behind Horikawa Airi was me."
"I... I was afraid they would make a big fuss, so I threatened Horikawa Airi with being fired and the company's debts... to keep Fuyuyama Reiji calm... The company is currently short of funds, so I can only give him 100,000 yen for now."
“A few days ago, Fuyuyama Reijin came to my office and made a scene. Horikawa Airi heard the commotion and came to stop him. She told Fuyuyama Reijin that she wanted to break off their relationship, and the two of them had a big argument inside.”
"But I never expected that the two of them would put on a show of suffering in my office, with the aim of getting me to hand over one million yen, or they would reveal everything. Then they took out a USB drive and waved it in front of me."
Chapter 56 Everything Connects
Looking at the USB drive in their hands, Tanaka Jun recalled painfully, "The moment I saw the USB drive, my first reaction was to grab it."
"During the argument with Fuyuyama Reijin, I accidentally pushed him too hard, causing his head to hit the corner of the table. I stood there dumbfounded, looking at the blood on his head, until I later realized that Fuyuyama Reijin had died."
"And Horikawa Airi also fell down, stunned for a moment, and then...then she crawled towards me like a madwoman, grabbed my trouser leg, and kept muttering Fuyuyama Reihito, it wasn't her who killed him."
"I helped Horikawa Airi up and saw that she was mostly unharmed, just terrified."
"After that, I don't know why, but Horikawa Airi immediately threw herself into my arms, and we began to communicate as she gently swayed..."
"...I...I was out of my mind at the time, thinking that since things had already come to this, I might as well do it."
Junichi Tanaka slumped to the floor, his expensive suit trousers covered in dust from the carpet.
He covered his face, his body trembling violently, and his intermittent sobs echoed suffocatingly in the silent office.
"After that, I... I hid Fuyuyama Reihito in that old warehouse." He sobbed, filled with remorse, "I covered him with those discarded materials, thinking I could do it without anyone noticing..."
Kogoro Mouri gasped, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and anger: "You...you killed someone, but what about Airi Horikawa? Was she there too?"
“After our conversation ended, I tried my best to comfort her, but I never expected that she would almost trick me…” Tanaka Junichi didn’t dare to look at anyone, his voice growing softer and softer, “That day, she did go with me to the old warehouse to bury the body, but…”
"Was everything you did that day just to keep me calm?"
"Keep you calm?" Kogoro Mouri was taken aback.
“That’s right!” Tanaka Junichi continued, “After the day’s investigation ended, Horikawa Airi called me that night and said she wanted to raise the price, otherwise she would tell the police everything.”
“If we can control Horikawa Airi, everything will be solved, so…” Tanaka Junichi stopped abruptly, his face drained of color, realizing he had said something even more terrifying.
Yuki Takada and Miwako Sato's eyes instantly turned icy cold.
Kogoro Mouri also gasped.
"What did you do to her?" Sato Miwako asked sharply, preparing to attack him, but was stopped by Takada Yuki.
"No! No! I didn't!" Tanaka Junichi frantically waved his hands, protesting in a panic, "I just... I just wanted to calm her down!"
"After that, I'll give her an even bigger sum of money, on the condition that she leaves Tokyo completely, and I'll lure her... I'll trick her into going to that warehouse, and I want... I want to 'talk' with her, and make her keep the secret forever..."
"And then?" Yuuki Takada said coldly.
"Then...then, I think I gave her water laced with sleeping pills." Junichi Tanaka's voice was so low it was almost inaudible.
"I wanted to wait until she fell asleep before thinking of a way to get rid of her, but... I was too scared... I locked her in the warehouse and... I ran back here... thinking... I'll think about it later..."
"That letter opener! Did you take it to the warehouse?" Yuki Takada immediately pressed for the key question.
“Yes…yes.” Tanaka Junichi nodded dejectedly. “I…I was very flustered at the time, and I thought I should bring something for self-defense, so I put the knife in my pocket. Later, when I left, I was in such a panic that I probably dropped it in the warehouse.”
Everything is connected!
Fuyuyama Reiji may have inadvertently learned that his girlfriend was abused and forced to have an abortion by the company president, and may even have thought that his girlfriend's fall and miscarriage were caused by the company president.
After learning the truth, he plotted with his girlfriend, Airi Horikawa, to force Junichi Tanaka to demand more money.
Ultimately, the deal fell through, and the other party turned the tables on them.
President Tanaka Junichi, in order to cover up his misdeeds and possible crimes, intends to drug and imprison Horikawa Airi.
Instead of reporting it to the police, they tried to use even more despicable means to make the informant disappear.
The stolen antique knife was something he brought to the warehouse himself and then left behind!
No wonder Tanaka Junichi came to see Detective Mouri Kogoro so quickly; it turns out this job was entirely to clear his name.
Moreover, this whole affair was a play orchestrated by Junichi Tanaka himself.
The so-called threatening letter was nothing more than his attempt to clear himself of suspicion by killing the two men.
Yuuki Takada gave a subtle wink to someone behind him.
"Warehouse address? The exact location! Tell me immediately!"
Seeing this, Sato Miwako took out her phone, ready to call for backup. Her tone was extremely serious, and her hand was already on the speed dial button.
Startled by the stern shout, Junichi Tanaka trembled, his lips moving but barely able to form a coherent sentence: “In…in Tatsumi-cho, Koto Ward, near the canal, that abandoned ‘Sanwa Foods’ old warehouse, the innermost cold storage.”
"The old warehouse of Sanhe Foods, the innermost cold storage room!"
While clearly repeating the instructions into her phone, Miwako Sato had already dialed the emergency communication line at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters: "This is an inside line from the Special Crimes Division of the First Investigation Division. Immediately dispatch the First Investigation Division support team. Target location: Sanwa Food Waste Warehouse, Tatsumi-cho, Koto Ward."
"Repeated: Sanwa Foods abandoned warehouse in Tatsumi-cho, Koto-ku! A victim, Horikawa Airi, is suspected of being illegally detained; her condition is critical! Meanwhile, suspect Tanaka Junichi is present at the scene, involved in a murder and illegal detention case, requiring immediate control! The suspect's current location is..."
She quickly recited the address of Junichi Tanaka's office, her gaze fixed like a hawk on the president who was slumped on the ground, his face ashen.
“You…” Tanaka Junichi looked at the two people in front of him, his face turning deathly pale, and he stammered, “You…you are police officers?”
Miwako Sato nodded and said, "Mr. Tanaka, we never said we weren't police officers."
While Sato Miwako was calling for backup, Takada Yuki had already moved silently to the door leading from the office to the outside corridor.
Just now, during the tense standoff, the door seemed to have been opened a crack by the airflow or someone unintentionally bumping it open.
He keenly caught a very slight, suppressed gasp coming from outside the door.
Just as Sato Miwako gave the address, a series of hurried and frantic high heels pounded on the ground outside the door, growing louder as they receded into the distance. Clearly, someone was desperately trying to escape!
"Someone's eavesdropping outside!" Yuuki Takada shouted, reacting with lightning speed as he flung open the office door.
The secretary, Matsumoto Yumi, was seen hurriedly disappearing around the corner of the corridor. She had obviously heard something, otherwise she wouldn't have left the scene in such a hurry!
"stop!"
Yuki Takada chased after him without hesitation.
Chapter 57 Going to the Warehouse
Yuki Takada moved swiftly and precisely, catching up with the panicked female secretary in a few strides. With a clean and decisive grappling move, he grabbed her wrist and pinned her firmly against the wall.
"Let me go! I don't know anything!"
Yumi Matsumoto screamed and struggled, her face filled with fear and despair.
"Eavesdropping and trying to escape, and you still want to say you know nothing?"
Yuuki Takada didn't lessen his grip, coldly retorting, "Although I don't know what your relationship with Junichi Tanaka is, your act of eavesdropping is rather unfriendly, you know?"
His questioning went straight to the heart of the matter, causing Matsumoto Yumi's struggle to freeze for a moment, and her face turned even paler.