Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 834 - 502: Victims’ Families (2)

"Now they feel they’ve been deceived and blame us. It’s utterly baffling. Isn’t religion supposed to be free? The Police Department didn’t force them to convert, so why are they blaming the Police Department?"

The investigation officer wanted to say that ’they’ and the ’Police Department’ are two separate entities; they are just investigation officers and the Criminal Department chief, not the Police Department itself.

But after considering it, he said nothing, simply nodded in agreement.

"That ungrateful bunch is deliberately inciting chaos, exacerbating social unrest!"

Kato Touma slammed the table and asked, "The Police Department has ordered a ban on spreading illegal footage and has shut down the theaters. Where are these videos being circulated?"

The investigation officer hesitated for a moment: "It’s... the Victim’s Family Mutual Aid. They often hold gatherings and spread videos. It’s not just Tokyo; there are missing persons throughout Japan. Families inevitably worry their loved ones are kidnapped and spontaneously collect tapes for viewing..."

The missing persons cases in Japan have been persistently high, while the clearance rate remains distressingly low.

Sometimes, even if a murder has occurred, as long as a body isn’t found, it is treated as a missing persons case, ending with no resolution.

"Then arrest them," Kato Touma said.

"Arrest?" The investigation officer asked, "Are we arresting the victims’ families?"

"They are families, not the victims themselves. They can’t endanger society in the name of their loved ones being harmed." Kato Touma paused and continued, "There’s pressure from the council members too; it’s best to suppress this matter early on. A little sacrifice is worth it."

The investigation officer nodded in agreement and proceeded to execute the orders.

...

That night, in a residential building in Sugamo.

Ogasawara Shunma and his companions were staring at the screen, not wanting to miss a single frame.

His wife had disappeared last year. She had gone out to buy groceries and never returned. He reported it to the police, but it was ultimately treated as a missing persons case, with the police making no real effort to search, and his wife has remained missing.

Ogasawara Shunma had been frantically searching for his wife’s whereabouts across the country for years.

Until recently, he heard about the Cat Island incident, which left him shocked and anxious.

’Perhaps my wife was abducted by those people.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

That thought crossed Ogasawara Shunma’s mind, and with a nervous heart, he collected tapes in hopes of finding his wife’s whereabouts.

Gradually, more and more people like him gathered around. They all wanted to find their loved ones, fearing their relatives might have been taken to Cat Island, enduring torture and abuse.

Some people found their relatives and broke down in tears, but at least there was a result; others had to continue to suffer, searching with fear in their hearts.

They gathered spontaneously, held regular meetings at home. Today, it was Ogasawara Shunma’s turn, everyone sat on the sofa, staring at the only screen, scrutinizing the newly collected disc contents.

"Hey! Is that your daughter..."

"No, my daughter isn’t that overweight..."

"Wait, pause for a moment, that man looks a bit like my son..."

"Sorry, I made a mistake..."

...

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Everyone looked at Ogasawara Shunma, and one of them asked, "Is someone late? Or did you order something for delivery?"

"No, nobody ordered delivery." Ogasawara Shunma’s face darkened.

At this, everyone hurriedly tidied up. Ogasawara Shunma quickly took out the discs, hiding them in the floor recess.

After hiding the contraband, Ogasawara Shunma finally went to the entrance, leaned closer to the peephole, and loudly asked, "Who is it?"

Outside stood a girl in a small-sized trench coat, looking like a high school girl, with two strands of awkward hair poking into the peephole.

"I’m Minamoto Tamako, a criminal police officer from Nakagawara Police Station. Is Ogasawara Shunma here? I hope you can assist with an investigation," the girl shouted.

Ogasawara Shunma looked back, and his partners nodded in support. He swallowed nervously, opened the door, and asked, "I am Ogasawara Shunma, what’s the matter?"

"I heard you’re the family of a Cat Island incident victim and wanted to ask a few questions..." Minamoto Tamako tilted her head, peeking inside: "Do you have time?"

"I have some matters to attend to, let’s talk here." Ogasawara Shunma blocked the entrance, not allowing her in.

"Alright."

Minamoto Tamako nodded and explained her purpose for coming.

She hadn’t been able to find Fushimi Roku for some time, and after feeling down for a while, she decided to shift her focus, dedicating herself to work and investigation.

To find out the source of the tapes and expose accomplices in the Cat Island incident, Minamoto Tamako had been interviewing victims’ families, hoping they could serve as witnesses, identifying criminals appearing in the footage.

After hearing her intentions, Ogasawara Shunma was momentarily speechless: "You mean... you’re investigating the case?"

"That’s right!" Minamoto Tamako nodded, holding a notebook: "Mr. Ogasawara, which family member was harmed? Could you provide their name and age? The police will certainly investigate, giving you and your loved ones closure!"

Ogasawara Shunma felt his ears buzzing.

When he came to his senses, he found his eyes were moist.

"Please come in, please come in!" Ogasawara Shunma welcomed Minamoto Tamako inside: "I’m not a victim’s family. I’m not sure if... but there are people here who are victims’ families..."

Minamoto Tamako had noticed earlier that there were others in Ogasawara Shunma’s home, and upon entering, found there was quite a group.

There were salarymen who she encountered casually on the street, students in school uniforms, and full-time housewives in aprons... They all looked at Minamoto Tamako eagerly, as if she were their last straw of hope.

"Who are the victims’ families?" Minamoto Tamako asked.

Among the crowd, four or five raised their hands. They had more than one missing family member, so they continued searching for other relatives.

Minamoto Tamako opened her notebook and carefully took notes, asking each question in detail.

Finally, to gather evidence, Minamoto Tamako hoped to take the video discs.

Ogasawara Shunma and others looked troubled; the video tapes were now contraband. It had taken them much effort to collect, and they needed to trade them with others later, so handing them over casually to the police was difficult.

"Then let’s make a copy, I don’t mind replicas," Minamoto Tamako said.

Ogasawara Shunma was greatly surprised. Previously, the criminal police would destroy the tapes immediately upon seeing them, but now Minamoto Tamako had actively suggested making a copy.

’This female criminal police officer is different from the others.’

Everyone present had the same thought simultaneously.

They pried open the floor and took out the videos. Some copied a set, and Ogasawara Shunma directly handed his original over to Minamoto Tamako.

He held Minamoto Tamako’s hand, struggling to hold back tears: "Please... I can only beg you... I’ve asked so many police officers... I... I don’t have anything to repay you..."

"It’s what I should do, you don’t need to repay me," Minamoto Tamako said, feeling no pride, only shame.

She felt ashamed for the entire Police Department.

The entrance suddenly echoed with a loud noise, like something exploded. The riot officers kicked down the door, wielding police batons, shouting: "Police! Everyone down on your knees, heads down!"

The apartment plunged into chaos, and the teenagers instinctively hugged the tapes and tried to flee, but the riot officers charged in, striking and knocking them to the ground. Salarymen shouted, throwing themselves into the fray, blocking the entrance to prevent other riot officers from coming in.

Minamoto Tamako shouted for everyone to remain calm, but the screams of the housewives drowned her out.

Under these circumstances, she dared not fire her gun, fearing the riot officers would misjudge the situation, or shock innocent people, so she could only crouch with her hands over her head, continually shouting.

"Quiet!" A riot officer coincidentally struck her forehead, the baton hitting her head, causing her vision to flash with stars.

After about ten minutes, the chaos finally settled.

The riot officers had apprehended the suspects, confiscated a large number of video tapes, and planned to take them back to the police station for disposal.

Minamoto Tamako was livid with rage. Come what may, she would argue with the case head.

But the tape seizure was directly overseen by the Criminal Department chief, and she had no access to Kato Touma, so she had to rush into the Police Department office to seek her mother’s help.

"I’m sorry, about this matter..."

Kujo Yua sat in her office chair, bent over handling documents. Unintentionally raising her head, she glimpsed the bruise on Minamoto Tamako’s forehead and was stunned:

"What happened to your head?"