Chapter 205 Excuses

Excuses

Manager Tachibana’s PoV

I’m desperately thinking of excuses.

I’m in a cold detention cell under constant surveillance now.

I feel like I’m going crazy. But I can’t just run away. Because if I don’t get away with it, I’m doomed.

I have to do something.

I need an excuse to shut that smart old detective up.

“I gotta do it. I gotta do something.”

When the guard told me to be quiet, all I could do was nod, moving slowly like a zombie.

“Hey, Tachibana-san. Did you sleep well last night? Or did you not sleep because you were thinking of excuses?”

The kind of grin that gets on my nerves.

I always feel like I’m about to be swept away by his flow.

“You treat people like criminals. Have you ever heard of innocence until proven guilty?”

“Yes, I know. I’m a civil servant, even though I look like this. I passed the law exams.”

No. Don’t get carried away.

I tell myself to stay calm.

“Then treat me that way.”

“Yes, I try to be as objective and rational as possible in my investigation. But all logic leads me to the conclusion that you are lying.”

“Isn’t that just your subjective error?”

“Maybe you’re right. Shall we continue?”

The fight begins again.

“Then I’ll ask you. The attack on Ikenobu Eri. It was you who instigated the soccer club and Matsuda-san to attack her, wasn’t it, Tachibana-san?”

“Wrong. That was just Matsuda-san’s lie. I had nothing to do with it.”

“I see. But, you know, we finished the investigation of the surveillance camera I told you about yesterday. The surveillance cameras around the park where Matsuda-san and the soccer team members met secretly recorded images of a girl who looks like you. Here’s the footage.”

I knew this would happen.

But I had read that it would happen like this.

“No, I don’t remember that. First of all, the outfit is an ordinary one you can buy in any department store. Even the face is not clear. It was just a false accusation.”

To protect myself, I wore ordinary clothes I bought at a nearby supermarket. And a mask. So even though they look alike, that doesn’t prove it.

“Yes, it’s true. Ah, high school students are really amazing after all.”

Don’t tell me he fooled me again.

My expression tightened involuntarily.

“What’s so amazing about it?”

“I mean, even from a distance, you can tell that this outfit is just something you can buy at a department store. Well, I guess an old man would never be able to tell. As expected from a young person… or maybe it was you the person who actually wore it.”

“I just happened to think so because I saw something similar on sale at a nearby supermarket.”

“Oh, another coincidence? That’s a hell of a coincidence.”

Damn, damn, damn. He is nitpicking again.

“I don’t know, because it’s true.”

“Yes, I know. But what I want to ask you is something else. Actually, it’s your sneakers that we confiscated from your house. There was a small piece of a fallen leaf inside the shoe. It seems to be from a rare plant, a plant that only grows in that area, yes, in that field park, but… you have no idea, right?”

I’m in a cold sweat again.

“Well, that’s… because I live nearby and go to the park sometimes.”

“That’s right. But do you get leaves in your shoes just by walking on the track? I think it usually only happens when you hide in the bushes or something. But you are a high school student. I wonder if high school students hide in the bushes and play hide-and-seek these days. That’s weird.”

“… I told you I have no idea!”

“Don’t be so angry. I do it for a living, too. Then let’s change the question. You were deeply involved in Aono Eiji’s bullying problem. Am I wrong?”

One after the other, really.

“Wrong. First of all, I have no motive to b🬀lly Eiji-kun.”

Yes, a motive. If there is no motive, the credibility of the story is diminished.

“Ah, motive. Well, if the evidence is solid, it doesn’t really matter. But of course, we look at that, too.”

It’s so scary; my escape route is blocked.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to hear it? If I tell you, it will block your escape route even more.”

The schemer in front of me grinned.