met free Page 14
Page 14
"No! I'm not a suspect!" Dean Ishida blurted out, then realized his mistake and turned pale.
A glint flashed in Yuuki Takada's eyes as he looked at Dean Ishida in front of him.
"Oh?" Takada Yuuki deliberately dragged out his words, his tone filled with a dangerous undertone, and said, "It seems Dean Ishida knows some inside information? Not a suspect? Then what did you do at Mizuno Ai's house during this time?"
Dean Ishida's lips trembled, his eyes darted around in a panic, and sweat had soaked his temples.
Yuuki Takada's all-knowing gaze pierced through his already crumbling defenses like needles.
The air in the office seemed to freeze, with only the dean's heavy, suppressed breathing remaining.
"I'm sorry, Officer Takada..." He finally managed to squeeze out a voice from his dry throat, a weary resignation in his voice, as he said helplessly:
“I did know that it was the crime scene of Ai Mizuno… My initial intention was never to go near that ominous place, and I didn’t want to cause trouble for your police.”
Dean Ishida took out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it hard against his forehead, trying to regain some composure.
Yuki Takada didn't urge him, but his sharp eyes narrowed slightly, silently exerting even greater pressure.
His fingers tapped lightly on the smooth tabletop, the rhythmic soft sounds striking Dean Ishida's taut nerves.
"But...but..."
Dean Ishida's gaze involuntarily drifted to the tightly closed door, as if worried about something, and even more afraid that the child outside would hear, he said in a trembling voice, "That little girl named Ruby... she... she's been acting very strange ever since she was brought here..."
"...Besides the initial panic and confusion, she would always wake up screaming from nightmares at night, and during the day she would often curl up in a corner by herself, muttering to herself to the air, saying things like... that her mother's things were missing and she had to go back to look for them, and that she had to return something, etc."
Yuki Takada stopped knocking.
He leaned forward even more, and the shadow almost completely enveloped Dean Ishida.
"Oh?" Even though Yuuki Takada already knew what that was, he could only pretend not to know for now, and said in a serious, cold voice, "What did she say...?"
"I...I really don't know what it is!" Dean Ishida hurriedly explained, "Ahori is very tight-lipped and won't say anything."
"Lubi is too young and has suffered too much trauma, so her words are fragmented and incoherent..."
"Later, I vaguely learned a little news from Ahoria: she couldn't sleep without a blanket."
Dean Ishida licked his chapped lips, his eyes filled with helplessness and lingering fear: "She kept crying and making a fuss, saying that the things were missing, that they must have been left at her mother's house, and that she wanted to go back to look for them."
“I tried to calm her down, telling her that the police would handle it tomorrow, but she wouldn’t listen at all. She was so agitated that she was on the verge of a breakdown. I was afraid she would hurt herself or affect the other children…”
"That night, I watched her cry so hard she could barely breathe, her little face turning blue... I... I was confused for a moment, thinking that if I could secretly take them there to find that thing, maybe... it would calm her down."
Chapter 21 The Deal (Please continue reading)
"So you sneaked into the murder scene that our police had cordoned off under the cover of night?"
Yuuki Takada said coldly, "You decided to return to the crime scene under such great threat just to appease Ruby, right?"
"Of course, these factors certainly don't warrant you, the director of an orphanage, risking such a great threat to come to the crime scene. It must be that phone call you made that day."
"Yes, it is!"
"I know this is utterly stupid!"
"It's illegal! I regret it so much!"
Dean Ishida, filled with remorse, wept as he said:
"At that moment, all I could think about was stopping Ruby's crying as quickly as possible, calming her down, and preventing her from disturbing the other children..."
"I was momentarily blinded by greed! In the end, I took them home."
"Your police cleaned the scene very well, but fortunately we had the key in Ari, so we were able to easily return to the crime scene. They then searched for her blanket in the room, while I looked around in vain!"
"Really! Inspector Takada, I swear, I didn't take anything from the scene. I just... I just made an irreparable mistake!"
Yuuki Takada scrutinized Dean Ishida's face, which was a mixture of fear and genuine anxiety.
Dean Ishida's words logically explain why he was in a place where he shouldn't have been.
The motive fits the image of an orphanage director driven to desperation by a crying child, but how much of it is the truth and how much is a carefully crafted lie?
"That phone call?" Takada Yuuki spoke slowly, each word crystal clear, striking straight to Dean Ishida's heart: "If I'm not mistaken, it was Ono Jiro who called you, asking you to return to the crime scene to search for crucial evidence, right?"
"To tell you the truth, Jiro Ono has already been arrested by our police. With Director Ishida already at this point, do you think you still need to keep it a secret?"
Dean Ishida's expression finally relaxed. He tried hard to recall, and finally made up his mind:
“That’s right! That night, I did make a phone call to Ms. Mizuno’s company president, Jiro Ono, to ask for his opinion and see if there was any way he could help me.”
"But he eventually told me that if I found the diary in Mizuno Ai's house, he would give me 500,000 yen and deposit it into my account."
"I see." Takada Yuuki looked at Dean Ishida in front of him and gave a cold laugh:
It seems that Dean Ishida really did think the same thing.
Dean Ishida leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped tightly together, his knuckles turning white from the force.
The regret on his face was replaced by a deep weariness and anxiety, and his voice was hoarse with an almost pleading tone:
"Inspector Takada, I know... I know I made a terrible mistake!"
"An unforgivable mistake!"
“I have failed the trust of society, and I have failed the reliance of the children… But, but…”
Director Ishida choked up, and the next words seemed to require all his strength to squeeze out, "The orphanage... the orphanage is really about to collapse!"
Tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time they were not simply tears of fear or regret, but rather a complex mix of despair and struggle.
"The funding from above is a drop in the bucket, and social donations are dwindling..."
"I'm already half a month behind on this month's rent, and the landlord comes every day to urge me to pay. He's even threatened to cut off the water and electricity!"
"We're cutting back on the food and supplies the children need, but we can't cut back on medical expenses!"
"Plus, some children can't stop taking their heart medication, and their rehabilitation treatment can't be interrupted... and the staff's salaries... I haven't paid them in full for three months. Several teachers are looking at other job opportunities. If this continues..."
Director Ishida closed his eyes in anguish, his shoulders trembling violently. "If this continues, Hope Home, this orphanage... may have to close down!"
"Those children...those homeless children, where can they go? Are we going to let them go back to the streets?"
Dean Ishida raised his tear-filled face, his eyes filled with a despair of having nowhere else to turn:
"Five hundred thousand...five hundred thousand is an astronomical figure for me!"
"That's money that can solve our immediate problems, allow the children to have a few more decent meals, cover another month's rent, and keep a teacher on the payroll..."
"When the president, Jiro Ono, called, he was so certain that I should go to my room and find the diary, saying it was right there in front of me... At that moment... I was really driven crazy, all I could think about was that 500,000 yen!"
“I know it’s a crime, it’s stupid! But I have no choice… after all, this is my last straw…”
Only Dean Ishida's suppressed sobs could be heard in the dean's office.
Yuuki Takada's cold expression did not melt away from this lament; his sharp gaze scrutinized the distraught middle-aged man before him.
The plight of the welfare home may be real, but using it to mask criminal motives is also a common human cunning.
He grasped the key to Ishida's words—the diary.
Just when Dean Ishida thought Takada would continue to reprimand him or announce a decision, Takada Yuki leaned back in his chair.
His expression became inscrutable, as if he were considering something.
"Director Ishida..."
Yuuki Takada's face was cold, and he spoke in a voice that had an undeniable penetrating power, directly drowning out the other person's sobs, "I heard your predicament. I also understand the plight of the orphanage."
“But that cannot be a reason for you to destroy the crime scene, obstruct justice, or collude with others to find evidence. You know very well how bad your situation is right now.”
Dean Ishida suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and a faint, incredulous hope.
Yuuki Takada leaned forward slightly, his cold eyes fixed directly on Dean Ishida's, and said, word by word:
"Jiro Ono has been arrested. The 500,000 yen he promised you was just a verbal promise..."
"Your actions are enough to cost you your position as director and even put you in jail. Think about the consequences, think about those children. If we lose you, the orphanage will immediately fall into chaos, and may even have to close down."
Is this the ending you wanted?
Dean Ishida's breathing became rapid; he sensed the unspoken meaning.
“Now, I’m giving you a choice.” Yuuki Takada’s tone carried an almost cold, transactional tone. “A chance that could give you, and Hope Home Welfare Home, a glimmer of hope.”
Dean Ishida's heart pounded, his throat went dry, and he asked nervously, "Wh...what opportunity? What are you going to do?"
"Tell me, are you willing?" Takada Yuki said softly, trying to keep his tone extremely low, with an absolute sense of pressure: "Of course, if you are not willing, you will only face imprisonment."
The air in the dean's office seemed to freeze at that moment.
Dean Ishida's expression shifted dramatically, changing between fear, hesitation, and struggle.
In the end, a sliver of survival instinct and extreme anxiety about the future of the orphanage overwhelmed everything.
Looking into Yuuki Takada's clear eyes, he knew the other man wasn't joking; this might be his only lifeline.
Dean Ishida swallowed hard, then finally opened his mouth slightly and said, "I do!!"
Chapter 22 A Call from the Metropolitan Police Department
"I'm willing, Officer Takada, please show me the way!"
Yuki Takada smiled faintly, and a thought instantly formed in his mind as he looked at Dean Ishida.
Immediately afterwards, Yuki Takada leaned close to Dean Ishida's ear and whispered a few words.
"Ah..." Dean Ishida looked puzzled and said softly, "Officer Takada, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Do we really have to do this to those children?"
“I’ve made myself clear to you. Of course, if you’re not willing, please allow me to take back what I just said. However…” Takada Yuuki looked at the other person, and at the end, the corners of his mouth turned up: “Of course, you may have to go to the Metropolitan Police Department now.”
"No, no, no..." Dean Ishida clung tightly to Takada Yuuki's arm, crying out, "Of course, as long as Officer Takada is willing to help me, I will naturally do as you instruct me."
“Okay.” Yuuki Takada nodded to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Since you’ve agreed, then I’ll have to trouble you from now on.”
As Yuuki Takada was speaking, he was about to turn and leave when he seemed to remember something. He stopped, turned his head, and said coldly, "Oh, right, Ariaki and Ruby are an exception. If you send them there, hmph..."
Seeing the gloomy look in Officer Takada's eyes, Director Ishida nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course, Officer Takada, rest assured, I will strictly follow your orders. Those two will absolutely not appear on the list! Absolutely not!"
Yuuki Takada was quite satisfied, and his face returned to its usual calm.
Without saying a word, Yuuki Takada walked straight to the door.