books44 Chapter 318 The Hidden Cost of Crime
Chapter 318 The Hidden Cost of Crime
The wallpaper along the baseboard edge is slightly curled, which is typical of the humid seaside atmosphere; no amount of frequent replacement will help.
The distance from the entrance to the archives was shorter than Kogoro Mouri had expected. Or rather, the police station was as small as a sparrow, barely functional enough to operate.
The archives are located at the deepest part of the police station, and the dim incandescent light bulbs at the entrance are covered with a layer of grayish putty mixture.
He kicked away a cigarette butt on the ground, muttered a name under his breath, and pulled out a large bunch of keys with a clattering sound.
“Our town doesn’t have a dedicated archive room, so all the cases, big and small, over the past few decades have been recorded here.”
"What about the case files for the other two cases?"
"Don't worry, they were all transferred here last night!"
He turned the rusty lock, put his hands in his pockets, and kicked the iron door of the archives room with all his might—but embarrassingly, he didn't break it. He clicked his tongue, resignedly leaned against the door, and rammed it with all his might.
"That's how old archives are; they're only open a few times a year, so it's normal that they don't welcome people." It was unclear whether this was a complaint or an awkward explanation.
Upon entering the archives, the damp, dusty smell became even more pronounced, causing Kogoro Mouri to sneeze several times. When he opened his eyes again, a thick stack of file folders was shoved against his nose.
"Here you are, the case files for four serial murders. The victims are all young, single women with brown hair, and the cause of death in all cases was massive bleeding from stab wounds caused by sharp objects, resulting in immediate death."
Taking the case files, Kogoro Mouri began to peruse the details of each case.
The first known case occurred a year ago on a beach near a restaurant here, where the victim died from a stab wound to the abdomen.
The second incident occurred five months ago in Nara Prefecture, where a woman's body was found in the ruins after a mountain burning festival; she had been stabbed in the abdomen.
The third incident occurred two months ago in Toyama Prefecture, where a woman with stab wounds to her abdomen was found in a river.
Finally, it was the day before yesterday, exactly one year after the first incident, in the bamboo grove by the railway in the small town.
Kogoro Mouri stroked his beard, deep in thought: "Hmm, this is a bit tricky! Aside from the case in Izumo, the other two were discovered too late, leaving no clues. And the culprit is very cunning, choosing relatively remote locations for both crimes."
Hearing him suddenly stop halfway through his sentence, Nitian chuckled and continued, "They're all poor, remote places that rely on tourism for development, right?"
"Haha, you can't say that."
Trying to ease the tension, Kogoro Mouri scanned the report line by line with his pupils and took a deep breath.
Having not been involved in criminal investigation for so long, it felt somewhat unfamiliar to suddenly think from the perspective of a criminal police officer rather than a private investigator.
“I know the general situation. But before I assist in the investigation, I would like to ask you one question: Officer Nida, what is the basis for your judgment that Masato Hanazawa is the murderer?”
Nida raised his eyelids slightly: "What, are you here to clear Fanze's name?"
"Through our interactions, I don't think you're the kind of person who would speak without reason. If it weren't for him, we would have let a serial killer with four lives on his hands go free."
After a moment of silence, Nitian dragged two chairs from the corner, dusted them off haphazardly, and plopped down opposite them.
“The real man of the Hanzawa family…” In the poor lighting, his tone was unexpectedly melancholy. “Mr. Mori, you must know that you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
"When the first case occurred, that kid was the suspect suspected by everyone in town—everyone in town could testify to each other's alibis, except for him."
According to him, he was collecting seashells on the beach when the incident occurred. He felt unwell halfway through and went to a nearby public restroom. Therefore, he didn't see the perpetrator, didn't discover the crime scene, and had no witnesses.
"But there is no conclusive evidence to prove that it was him," Kogoro Mori said solemnly.
Nida casually admitted, "Yes, that's why I didn't arrest him immediately."
“A month after the incident, the kid finally couldn’t withstand the public’s condemnation and ran off to Tokyo with his tail between his legs before even celebrating his birthday.”
Birthday?
Oh, that was the time we cut the cake with Kudo's head on it!
Recalling the farcical scene from last year, Kogoro Mouri's lips twitched along with his mustache, and his face looked pale.
To be honest, with Fan Ze's sneaky aura and peculiar thought process, people who don't know him well would really want to call the police.
Someone ordered a lifelike human head cake that "bleeds" to celebrate their birthday because they like Shinichi Kudo. Is that something a normal person would do?!
That outlaw look of his made my handcuffs itch and hard!
Kogoro Mouri: Oh no, I suddenly realize that what Nida said makes a lot of sense, what should I do?
"Ah, um, please continue."
“After that, I didn’t pay much attention to his activities. But according to young people from the same village, he posted photos of his travels in various parts of Japan on his private Line account, including Toyama and Nara.”
[Date: Spent the whole afternoon with my boss in the woods, but unfortunately we didn't see the legendary mountain beauty.]
[Date: What's the difference between long-haired and short-haired brown hair? They shouldn't be different! They're just substitutes for the same target...]
(The accompanying image shows a brown bird of unknown species with its feathers ruffled, looking extremely frightened.)
[Month x, Day x: He must have killed too many people; he exudes a murderous aura, and his targets dare not approach him.]
(The accompanying image is a blurry picture of a 'woman' with short, gray-brown hair running frantically through the woods.)
Mouri Kogoro: "..."
To describe a bird photography commission with Kuromon in such a way, Masato Hanzawa is truly a first.
Nitian pointed to the screenshot on his phone, expressing even greater disgust: "Look at this unstable mental state, it's too arrogant!"
"I'm so tired," Mori thought, wanting to light a few cigarettes and then go back and punch each of the two young men who were causing trouble.
"But as far as I know, Master Fanze wasn't treated very well in Izumo, was he?"
Too lazy to beat around the bush, he bluntly pointed out Fan Ze's predicament:
“Because his father had killed someone, he was ostracized and talked about by the residents from a young age. But how the public views him is one thing, and how we, as police officers, view people with prejudice is another! You can’t assume that a child is guilty just because a relative has made a mistake.”
"Why not?"
Amidst a gaze filled with disbelief and astonishment, Nida casually spread his hands, shrugged, and reiterated quite naturally, "Why not?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"Mr. Mori, isn't this one of the potential consequences of crime?"
If you do something wrong, you should accept the corresponding punishment. Criminal penalties are only the most basic legal punishment.
Serving a sentence and being released from prison is just the beginning of the aftereffects. Once convicted, a criminal record follows the offender for life, restricting their employment, licensing exams, and loan applications; cases involving public figures or major offenses are reported under their names, accelerating the formation of social stigma; and as a result, relatives and family members are often labeled as the "perpetrator's family," facing social ostracism and, of course, being the first suspects when a crime occurs.
"Indeed, this treatment sounds very unfair to ordinary people. But they are criminals, and their families! If the punishment is too lenient, what about the trauma suffered by the victims? And what can we, the Japanese police, do to stop crime?"
Ni Tian inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a sense of ecstasy, his righteous indignation trembling amidst the pungent, cheap tobacco smell.
"So why not? Isn't this the great and powerful hidden mechanism by which our Japanese society controls crime rates!"