Chapter 8 – March 8, Jinguichi Genjiro.

My name is Jinguichi Genjiro, but it’s actually a fake name.

 I work as a detective and have a daily routine of waking up every morning with a cup of milk tea. However, today I ran out of tea and milk, so I had to settle for some green juice samples that I received.

 I need to make sure to consume vegetables too, as my body is the capital of my work.

As I drank the surprisingly tasty green juice, I was a little surprised by its pleasant taste, which was different from what I remembered.

Usually, I would stop by the office and chat with the director and my colleagues, but for the next few days, I planned to work alone on a request from my niece.

Although I had informed the director about this investigation, I wanted to finish it on my own as much as possible.

I started up my laptop and looked through the information my niece had given me.

“The target is Jin Sakurazaka, a man in his mid-twenties. He lives with his sister Yae Sakurazaka, and there is no information available about their parents,” the information read.

This is all the information I was able to obtain.

When it comes to investigating someone’s background, there are various legal and illegal methods that can be used. Fortunately, I have a colleague who is skilled in such matters, so I have asked him to look up the target’s family register and address, as well as conduct a basic background investigation. I should have the results by noon today.

In the meantime, what should I do?

“I think I’ll start with a simple internet search,” I decided.

In the past, it was common to search for information by talking to acquaintances who were police officers or had access to past records of newspapers, and visiting libraries for research. However, nowadays the fastest way is to use the internet.

I entered “Sakurazaka” into the search engine, but there were no relevant results. I tried searching for related information using the keywords such as place names, songs, and comedians.

“Several results came up for place names, songs, and comedians,” I noted.

I didn’t have high expectations, so the search results didn’t surprise me. I tried entering the name of the target’s sister as well, but nothing came up.

I tried searching on famous social media platforms, but the results were still negative. There are people who use their real names on these platforms and can be easily traced with a simple search, but it’s not always that easy.

I decided to search for the address I obtained from my niece on a map application. I zoomed in on the satellite image of the area, taking it slowly to get a clear picture.

“Oh, you’re living in a nice place. It looks like a high-end villa area by the lakeside, with luxurious houses here and there. They must be rich for sure. I’m so jealous,” he said.

He explored the surroundings, but there were only two fancy cafes around. There wasn’t even a convenience store nearby. It seemed like the only option for shopping was to go to the station area a little further away.

“There’s also a possibility that they work from home,” he added.

Several assumptions come to mind, but jumping to conclusions is strictly prohibited.

As a detective, it is necessary to compare information and evidence and solve the case with reasoning, not speculation. Arbitrary assumptions are only a foolish act that narrows down the options.

I’ll jot down the possible scenarios that come to mind on my flip phone.

“Oh, who’s this from?”

I was surprised by the sudden ringtone and almost dropped my phone.

The name displayed was…a junior colleague from work.

It’s perfect timing, as I had asked them for something.

“Aiyo.”

“Please give me a proper answer, will you?”

A cheerful young voice could be heard early in the morning.

“That doesn’t matter. So, what’s the result?”

“I sent you a copy of my residency certificate and other necessary documents via email. Please check it on your PC.”

“Thanks.”

“Huh, don’t you have any words of gratitude? Oh, wait! Do you know about our senior?”

“What about him/her?”

Although I wanted to end the call quickly, I reluctantly entertained the conversation since I was asked a question.

“I heard that rabies has been spreading lately. I got bitten by a stray dog that was left in the mountains–“

“Okay, okay, see you.”

Since it was an unimportant topic, I unilaterally ended the call. I opened the email that was sent to me and quickly scanned through it.

“Their parents are deceased, and the two siblings are living together… Hm? They changed their surname after their parents’ death.”

Perhaps they were taken in by their maternal relatives after their parents’ death. They moved to their current address just before their parents’ death. That house must have been part of their parents’ estate.

“If that’s the case, I wonder if their parents were famous or wealthy.”

As an experiment, I searched for the names of the parents, and to my surprise, their names were prominently displayed in an old news article on a certain news website. There even seemed to be a summary site about it.

“They got into a car accident with a car carrying a politician while on a drive. Was it the other party’s fault?”

As I looked at the name of the politician, it reminded me of something. Were they the family of the victim involved in that highly publicized incident at one point?

To fill in my vague memory, I read through the articles that were available on the internet from that time.

It happened eight years ago on February 21st. Yae, the sister, was in her second year of high school, while Jin, the brother, was in his third year of middle school.

It was a collision between two cars on the street. The car belonging to the Nanakagami family was severely damaged due to a head-on collision with a car that had swerved out of the opposite lane.

The driver, Nanakagami Tsu, was injured. His wife, Nanakagami Saeko, who was in the passenger seat, died. Two children were in the back seat, one with minor injuries and the other with serious injuries.

“How do you pronounce this name? Is it Nanakagamitau?”

I was taken aback by the unusual name I saw for the first time, but the okurigana (Japanese kana characters that indicate pronunciation) were attached, indicating that it should be read as “Shichishimokami”.

By the way, the father’s name is “Tsu”.

“The cause seems to be a mistake on the other party’s part while driving. It was the fault of the driver hired by the politician…”

The trouble was that the politician who was riding with him at the time was a popular celebrity from the entertainment industry. Even I, who am not familiar with show business, knew his name recognition.

He debuted as an actor after being an idol, showed unexpected talent, and became a hit in dramas and movies. A success story that was too good to be true, entering politics in his mid-thirties.

Then, in his second year in office, the accident happened. It was quite a topic of conversation, but the general consensus was that the driver was at fault, and that the victim was Mikishima Heito, who was riding with him.

Mikishima held a press conference, admitting their own fault without any excuses, and made a sincere response, providing ample compensation to the two children who were left behind.

Although this would have been a major event that would have caused a politician to lose their position and honor under normal circumstances, his likability actually increased due to this incident.

“That alone would have been okay, but…”

As I recall the incident, a sigh escapes me.

The sensational event… became a bait for the media.

A traffic accident involving a famous person. Two children left behind. It was covered every day on the wide shows, and Mikishima and the sibling’s faces were shown every day.

The older sister’s composed behavior and appearance, which were like those of an actress or idol, were liked by the media, made it even more complicated.

In addition to the noisy media, Mikishima’s ardent fans, for some reason, began to criticize Yae Sakurazaka, the victim, on the internet.

“That woman wants attention from Hei-chan and is pretending to be sad!”

“She’s trying to make Hei-chan sympathize with her!”

“Oh, no, no. Using her parents’ misfortune like this is just awful.”

Such jealous and unbearable slander spread on the internet.

And then, some of the media stupidly reported that “it’s making a fuss on the internet.”

The rumors swelled and spread, reaching the ears of the siblings.

Her sister couldn’t take it anymore and dropped out of high school. Since then, she seems to have been a shut-in.

If she had calmly responded and hired a lawyer to sue the online defamation, she might have won, but it would have been cruel to demand that of her and her brother who were trying hard to live on after suddenly losing their parents.

“I don’t know if it’s to avoid media scrutiny or to focus on her sister’s recovery, but it seems that they are spending time in their family’s house in the countryside.”

There is hardly any information available after that.

The sister has not left the house since then, and the brother seems to have worked after graduating from high school but left the job after two years. That is all that is known.

“It’s unclear what happened to them after that,”

There is no indication that the siblings are working, yet they seem to be living a prosperous life. The house they live in appears to have been left by their parents, but there are several possibilities as to how they are able to maintain their lifestyle.

One scenario is that they have been living off the inheritance left by their parents. Their parents must have had a significant income to be able to afford such a house, and in addition to life insurance payouts for both parents, it is said that they also received a large sum of money from the culprit, Mikishima Heito. It is reasonable to think that they have accumulated enough savings to be able to live without working.  

Another possibility is that they have invested the money and succeeded in business ventures. It could even be the case that they are earning passive income from owning and managing properties like condominiums.

Lastly, it is possible that they are working from home in some capacity.

My niece had suspicions that they might be involved in some shady business, but I think that the likelihood was low.

However, the request that caught my attention was to fortify a house into a stronghold. Even if someone had plenty of money, who would ask to turn their home into a robust fortress?

In fact, she said that she had received a cash advance of 5 million yen for the job.

As I stroked my scruffy beard, as I paced around the room, wondering about the situation.

“Are they involved in a criminal enterprise that they can’t openly discuss and that they have made enemies. So they want to strengthen their security. Is their paranoia justified?”

“The pieces seemed to fit together,” he said.

The main question was the reason behind the fortification of the house.

It was also suspicious that they requested the work to be completed within a month. It could be that they were in a dangerous situation and were trying to prepare quickly, or they were planning to get involved in something risky.

Either way, it would make more sense to relocate to another country or area with better security. There are even luxury apartments with high-level security systems that could be a good option.

“Hmm, seems like there’s value in investigating this for real.”

“Unlike the usual boring and uninteresting jobs I’ve been doing, this one is making my forgotten detective spirit itch. As I lift my gaze, I see my face reflected in the glass of the cupboard. Myself, with a smile on my lips.”

“First, let’s investigate the flow of money. Are they just eating up their assets, or are they earning it themselves?”

After closing his eyes for a while and sinking into the sea of his thoughts, he takes a deep breath and opens his eyes vigorously.

“Great, great, this is fun!”

His excitement boils over, and he scratches his head vigorously.

“When was the last time I felt this pumped up? … Wait, don’t get carried away, me.”

“This is a job. Don’t mix personal feelings in it.”

Do what you should do as a detective. Don’t forget that.

Putting on his wrinkled suit, he lightly fixed his hair, which was mussed from sleep, with his wet hand.

He checked himself in the mirror by the entrance and saw a mediocre middle-aged man who looked pleasantly tired.

Alright, this is the ideal detective image for me.

He opened the door with enthusiasm and left the house with a confident gait.

…………………