Chapter 81: A Crushing Realization

Urawa City, Urawa Police Station.

In the afternoon, with no work on her desk, Asano Kumiko clocked out early.

The workload in Investigation Section One was erratic; sometimes it was incredibly busy, other times it was extremely quiet.

As a result, they didn’t have fixed holidays, and officers were allowed to leave early after finishing their work during quiet periods.

If it were back when she first joined the force, she definitely wouldn’t have left this early.

Back then, Asano Kumiko was still full of confidence and hope for her career as a police officer, aspiring to become a guardian of justice for society.

But after the incident where Investigation Section One arrested Yamagami Nobuo only to have to release him, and ultimately suspend the investigation into the armored car robbery, Asano Kumiko suddenly lost that drive.

She no longer went to work with the same energetic spirit as before.

Especially after hearing the news that the city hall was providing the funds and the Yamagami-gumi the manpower to jointly establish a construction company, Asano Kumiko even felt a sense of confusion.

She didn’t quite understand the meaning of her job anymore. If the city hall could allocate funds to the yakuza, what was the difference between the police department and the Yamagami-gumi?

Maybe she should just resign…

“This is the fifth time you’ve filed a report.”

“Everything I’m saying is true…”

As Asano Kumiko passed through the police station lobby, she heard a commotion.

She habitually turned to look and saw a middle-aged woman talking to a young officer at the report desk.

The woman’s expression was extremely anxious, while the young officer did his best to calm her down.

Asano Kumiko had seen this woman a few times before. It seemed she had been coming to the police station frequently lately, but her problem remained unresolved.

Asano Kumiko frowned, wanting to go over and ask about the situation, but a wave of irritation and weariness suddenly washed over her.

She tightened her grip on her handbag and continued walking towards the exit.

However, after a few steps, Asano Kumiko stopped, turned around again, and walked to the report desk.

“Is there a problem?”

Asano Kumiko asked, sighing softly to herself.

She still couldn’t let go of her identity as a police officer.

“Oh, Officer Asano.”

The young officer at the front desk was fairly familiar with Asano Kumiko. “This lady is reporting that her husband has been domestically violent towards her…”

“It’s not domestic violence,” the middle-aged woman quickly waved her hand in denial. “My husband said he’s going to kill me.”

“Kill you?” Asano Kumiko looked at the young officer again with confusion.

The young officer smiled helplessly. “This isn’t the first time this lady has come to report this. We’ve taken her report at least five times. Colleagues from the Community Safety Division went to her home and the neighboring houses to investigate. Although she and her husband have had some conflicts, her husband has never even been domestically violent towards her. So, there’s nothing we can do.”

“But my husband really did say he was going to kill me…” the middle-aged woman said anxiously.

“Threatening to kill you doesn’t mean he’s actually going to kill you.” The young officer must have repeated this sentence countless times, and he sounded a bit weary saying it.

“You can’t wait until I’m actually killed by him before you do something, can you? Look at this injury!” The middle-aged woman rolled up her sleeve and stomped her foot in anger.

The young officer opened his mouth. He really wanted to say… perhaps, probably, maybe, that was indeed the case.

“Ma’am, ma’am, please don’t be anxious…” Asano Kumiko quickly tried to calm the middle-aged woman.

She looked at the woman’s arm, where there was indeed a fresh, recently scabbed-over wound.

She turned to the young officer and said, “Why don’t you have the colleagues from the Community Safety Division take another look?”

The young officer spread his hands helplessly. “It’s the colleagues from the Community Safety Division who are unwilling to take this case. It’s not me. They said they’ve already been once and didn’t find any problems. This wound was also self-inflicted by this lady with a sharp object. They suspect this lady is intentionally filing a false report for entertainment.”

“How could I be filing a false report! How could I!”

The middle-aged woman became agitated again, her eyes wide.

She grabbed a decoration from the report desk and was about to throw it at the young officer before she was quickly subdued by other officers who rushed over and was escorted out.

Asano Kumiko was also helpless and could only watch as the middle-aged woman was led away.

This kind of civil dispute was under the jurisdiction of the Community Safety Division. Even if they didn’t want to take the case, it wasn’t Investigation Section One’s place to interfere.

However, judging from what her colleagues in the Community Safety Division had said, it did seem like the woman was just having a quarrel with her husband…

Asano Kumiko drove her car away from the police station and headed home.

However, the middle-aged woman’s expression and actions kept replaying in her mind…

Screech!

‘No!’

Just as she was about to reach home, Asano Kumiko slammed on the brakes.

‘There’s something wrong with the wound on that woman’s arm!’

Asano Kumiko used her fingers to trace the location of the wound on her own upper arm, where the woman had been injured. After a moment, she was certain that it couldn’t have been a self-inflicted wound.

Due to the limitations of human joints, there are many differences between self-inflicted wounds and wounds inflicted by others. In forensic science, it is often very easy to make a judgment.

Perhaps it was a lack of understanding of criminal cases, or perhaps it was intentional negligence, but in any case, the colleagues in the Community Safety Division had hastily concluded that the woman’s injury was “fabricated.”

Asano Kumiko immediately turned her car around and drove back to the police station.

However, by this time, it was already closing time at the station. The young officer at the front desk had not yet left.

“Do you have that lady’s contact information? Where does she live?”

Asano Kumiko asked the young officer anxiously.

“Who?” The young officer was stunned for a moment before saying, “Oh, you mean Ms. Eguchi Fumiko? Her case file is in the Community Safety Division. You can go ask them.”

“Okay…”

Asano Kumiko hurried to the Community Safety Division, but most of the people there had already gone home.

Asano Kumiko grabbed an officer and asked for information about Eguchi Fumiko.

“This… Eguchi Fumiko?” The officer recalled for a moment and said, “I seem to have some impression of her. She’s a real troublemaker. But this case shouldn’t be under the jurisdiction of Investigation Section One, right, Officer Asano?”

“It’s true that it’s not under our jurisdiction,” Asano Kumiko said anxiously. “But I suspect that lady is in real danger.”

The officer seemed not to have heard the latter half of Asano Kumiko’s sentence.

He just looked at her strangely and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, asked in return, “Since it’s not under your jurisdiction, why are you asking about this case?”

Asano Kumiko opened her mouth, looked at her colleague in front of her, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to answer this question.