Chapter 203 Interrogate the Manager

Interrogate the Manager

A Policeman’s PoV

I enter the interrogation room. There, I find an honor student who looks so dignified that it’s hard to believe she could be the mastermind of a heinous crime. I see. This appearance must’ve helped her hide her bad deeds until now.

I had already read all the preliminary investigation materials.

She manipulated Councilor Kondo’s son to b🬀lly her junior.

She used a special SNS to exchange messages and worked behind the scenes to leave no evidence, but failed.

When she got scared when everything was about to be revealed, she manipulated the soccer club members and planned to attack the female student who had the information.

If she never did this, she would be a beauty who could overthrow a country.

It has been almost 30 years since I became a policeman. So far, she is the most cunning high school student. She’s terrifying.

I wonder if she couldn’t use her wisdom somewhere else.

I couldn’t help but sigh. She was annoyed at me for sighing as soon as I entered. It seems she hasn’t completely given up yet. This is going to be a long day.

“Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san. I’m Furuta, who will be in charge of the interrogation today. I heard it from someone else. You keep saying you had nothing to do with it. Can you tell me more about it?”

I speak softly in a low voice. Let the place warm up first so we can talk.

“I have said this many times. It was just a joke. But Kondo-kun took it seriously. I don’t even know much about the violence committed by the soccer club members. I think it was planned by a junior member out of some kind of panic. Do you have any conclusive evidence?!”

She is talking very high-handedly while pretending to be a trembling little animal.

This must be her true nature. Someone violent who gets pleasure from manipulating people.

Her family consists of an educated mother and a workaholic father. A typical elite family.

There seems to be some sense of elitism here.

“I see. Let me ask you something. Why did you use such a not-popular, foreign SNS to communicate with Kondo-kun?”

It’s best to have an in-depth discussion with someone like this.

“Well, that’s because… I had a little relationship with Kondo-kun once; let’s just say we used to date. That’s why that app, which can easily erase traces of embarrassing exchanges and such, was convenient for me.”

I see. That’s a good excuse.

“I see. Then what about the theft of Aono Eiji’s personal belongings and the manuscript of his novel? Your junior said you told her to do it.”

Her behavior was as expected. It was like a fake reaction.

“No, sir. Everyone is just trying to blame me. That’s exactly what I’m saying; there’s no evidence that I told them to do it!”

“But we have many testimonies here. Most of the members of the club said that you told them to get rid of Aono-kun’s manuscripts and personal things. A bunch of solid testimonies is the closest thing to hard evidence, you know.”

“That’s …”

No matter how smart you act, you’re still a high school student.

“And I found out something interesting. On the day Aono Eiji was beaten, it seems that you were also near the crime scene. You were caught on the surveillance camera. What a coincidence! It’s as if you knew something before.”

It can’t be a coincidence, I said casually, and it made me smile.

“…but what about Ikenobu-san…it was Matsuda-san and the soccer club…”

She got caught. She seems to be a little shaken.

“Ah yes, that’s definitely true. Matsuda-san was in cahoots with the soccer club. That’s for sure. But she also said that she received verbal orders from you. This statement alone may not be conclusive evidence that you were involved in the attack. But the other members of the club also looked anxious when I mentioned your name.”

Let’s pull her this way.

“That’s… Oh yeah, it’s just that Matsuda-san didn’t want to be the mastermind, so she set me up…”

I grinned.

Confident of victory, I confronted her with the facts.

“But you know, Tachibana-san. I’ve been wondering. How did you know Matsuda-san was involved in the attack? I asked the teachers, but you said you mentioned Matsuda-san’s name from the beginning.”

When confronted with her own mistake, her complexion turns pale.

“That’s, that’s, that is on the news...”

She continues to dig her own grave.

“She’s a minor, so her name isn’t on the news.”

“Well, then on SNS, a friend from school told me a rumor...”

“When did you see this? No matter how I look at it, it seems like you knew all this before the rumors started.”

She was speechless and started mumbling to herself while looking at the ground.

You’ve lost.

“Tachibana-san. It’s true; you’re smart. But, you know, our world is not so sweet that you can make excuses after the fact. Don’t underestimate adults, okay?”