The First Investigation of Rookie Career Police Officer Akechi - Chapter 29
Chapter 29 : b-2) Supporting investigation Part 1
The day after the meeting in the document storage room, Akechi took a day off and was sitting in his home office, working on his computer.
While it was called a home office, it was the size of a small library, with a large bookshelf fitted with a ladder along one wall. In the center of the room, there were several chairs placed around a large table. An antique-style office desk and large chair are placed next to the window. Akechi was using that office desk.
The door to the home office opened, and an elderly butler entered with tea and snacks. He called out to Akechi. “How about taking a little break? It’s your day off after all.”
Akechi laughed. “Thank you, Jiiya. I completely forgot that today was my day off,”
With that, Akechi stretched his back while leaning on the backrest of the large chair, then stood up. He walked over to the center table in the room and sat down in one of the chairs closer to him.
“I really love these scones. They’re delicious, aren’t they?”
“I’ll pass on your compliments to the kitchen staff. I’m sure they’ll be delighted.
“I’ll pass on your compliments to the kitchen staff. I’m sure they’ll be delighted. How’s the data investigation going ?”
Akechi chuckled and took another bite of the scone before beginning to speak.
“I looked into the Defense Ministry’s facility construction budget in published materials. It varies, but it’s generally around 100 to 200 billion yen annually based on contracts. The number of orders is around 800 per year, based on slightly outdated data. On the other hand, when it comes to government expenditures from the general account, related to public projects, it’s roughly 8 trillion yen annually, even just considering the spent amounts. It’s on a completely different scale, isn’t it?”
“Moreover, as unique as it may be, a large portion of the construction work for Self-Defense Force facilities isn’t significantly different from standard public projects. So, it’s hard to believe that a decrease in orders for construction work on Self-Defense Force facilities would be linked to contractors resorting to the assassination of policymakers,”
“I think you’re right.”
The elderly butler nodded in agreement as he poured tea into a teacup. Akechi then picked up his teacup.
“In that case, I think there’s a high possibility that Kadono’s statement at the restaurant the other day was either a result of being deceived by someone or a misunderstanding on his part. But if that’s the case, then why were Staff Yoshida and Vice Director Nagayama killed?”
After taking a sip of tea and placing the teacup on the table, Akechi looked up at the ceiling. The chandelier was sparkling brightly. He then turned his gaze towards the elderly butler who stood beside him.
“What do you think, Jiiya ?”
The elderly butler responded with a kind expression.
“I apologize. I cannot say for sure. However, the act of taking someone’s life is not something that can be done lightly. There must have been a very good reason, right ?”
“A good reason….”
Akechi reached for another scone as the elderly butler continued speaking.
“However, that reason may not be absolute for everyone. What might be a small matter to one person could be significant to another, or it might be related to one’s own dignity.”
“The significance and dignity to the individual, huh? If we assume that Haruki is the culprit, I wonder what might be important to him and related to his dignity.”
“If it’s not about money or personal feelings, it might be related to his work.”
“I guess it has something to do with protection performance.”
“It’s possible that there’s something they want to keep incomplete in terms of protective performance, even if it means resorting to murder,”
The elderly butler placed some chocolate confections onto a small plate for Akechi.
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Translated by : Cutae30