Tokyo, the shady intelligence of private detectives

Masahiro Hanyu was somewhat surprised that the police had come to his door. What was the matter?

He calmly got up, opened the door, and saw two police officers standing there.

They all wore blue summer uniforms with dark police belts, simple and neat, without any unnecessary equipment. This was the standard uniform of the Tokyo police in the 1990s.

The person who spoke just now was probably an older police officer, around forty years old, who was holding a book with a kraft paper cover.

Another police officer, about the same age as Masahiro Hanyu, was looking him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Are you the tenant of 502, Masahiro Hanyu?" The older police officer bowed slightly and was very polite. "I am Yamamoto from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Nishi-Arai Police Station, and this is Patrol Officer Nakamura."

Masahiro Yuzuru nodded slightly. "Yes, Officer Yamamoto, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Mr. Hanyu, you must have heard about Keiko Tanaka's death. We've come to you to ask about some related matters." The older police officer spoke at a steady, unhurried pace.

Masahiro Hanyu stepped aside to let the two into the house, and the young police officer closed the door behind him.

After sitting down, the older officer opened the casebook:

"Did Keiko Tanaka meet with Mr. Hanyu before her death?"

The fact that the police came to our door means they must have some information.

"Yes, Mrs. Tanaka came to see me at night, right downstairs at the apartment building."

"She wants me to move out and offers me compensation."

"I just felt the compensation wasn't enough, so I didn't accept it immediately. Mrs. Tanaka said she would go back and think about it."

It's not surprising that someone overheard him and Keiko Tanaka talking outside the apartment building; there's no need to hide it to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion.

The young police officer took out a pen and notebook from his pocket. "Mr. Yuzuru, please tell me what happened."

Masahiro Hanyu glanced at him. "Is there something suspicious about Mrs. Tanaka's death?"

If a murder occurs at the police station and is determined to be a homicide, the case will be handed over to the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division.

The Nishi-Arai Police Station is under the jurisdiction of Adachi Ward, so the current determination of Mrs. Tanaka's death is suicide.

The older police officer said gently, "Please forgive me, Mr. Yuzuru, but there are some things that are not convenient to disclose."

Masahiro Hanyu didn't ask any more questions. He recounted in detail the content and process of his conversation with Mrs. Tanaka, but he didn't mention that he had followed Mrs. Tanaka.

Some speculate that he didn't want to talk to the police, fearing that saying anything unnecessary would cause him trouble.

After taking the notes, the two officers stood up to leave. Before leaving, the older officer turned back:

"Mr. Yuzuru, there is no need to worry. We are just conducting a routine investigation."

Mrs. Tanaka had just asked him to move out when she hanged herself. Thinking about it carefully, it's a bit of a coincidence.

He understood when the police asked him to explain the situation.

Masahiro Hanyu smiled. "Thank you, Officer Yamamoto. Of course, I have no reservations."

Not long after the two police officers left, Masahiro Hanyu heard the sound of a door opening next door. Judging from the footsteps, it was his young female neighbor returning.

What connection could there be between the middle-aged man with a scar on his forehead, the female neighbor, and Mrs. Tanaka's death?

The thought only flashed through his mind, and Masahiro Hanyu didn't give it much thought.

What he needs to do now is to find Mrs. Yayoi as soon as possible and complete the investigation commission.

The next day, Masahiro Hanyu got up early and went to a convenience store to buy enough water and food for five days.

Then we took a car to Mount Atago, and there was a public phone booth not far from the shrine.

He first spoke to Reika Takizawa by phone, and then walked to the warehouse behind the shrine.

Throughout the journey, Masahiro Hanyu carefully observed the surroundings, making sure no one was paying attention before quietly approaching the warehouse.

The door was still locked. He went around to the side of the warehouse and, following the path he had explored the day before, climbed up the vines and entered through the window.

Behind the restroom on the second floor of the warehouse, there is a storage space for miscellaneous items, and one of the cabinets contains some old clothes.

Yesterday, when Masahiro Hanyu was looking around the warehouse, he noticed this place; it was a suitable hiding space.

Even if Yamagami Tomoo opens the closet, he can still hide behind the old clothes, and unless someone is intentionally searching, it is difficult to find him.

Masahiro Hanyu planned to hide here and patiently wait for the arrival of Tomoo Yamagami and Mrs. Yayoi.

During our phone call just now, he had already instructed Takizawa Reika not to come to Mount Atago these next few days, so as not to arouse the suspicion of Tomoo on the mountain.

He believes that, as long as there is no risk of being disturbed, the filming of Tomoo Yamagami and Mrs. Yayoi will officially begin within the next few days.

Masahiro Hanyu waited in the warehouse all day, but no one showed up.

As night fell, he crawled into the closet, placed the powerful flashlight he had brought with him beside him, and rested peacefully.

In a daze, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the warehouse.

Masahiro Yuzuru gently pushed open the cabinet door, revealing a crack through which the faint light of a flashlight could be seen flickering.

Judging from the footsteps, it was just one person.

Not long after, footsteps approached, and the person went into the second-floor bathroom. After a while, the sound of flushing water could be heard.

The footsteps passed by the cabinet without stopping, gradually fading away as they went downstairs.

Masahiro Hanyu quietly climbed out of the closet and peered down to the first floor from close to the railing.

It was a bald man holding a flashlight, fiddling with a tripod, and straightening the messy wires on the ground.

Upon seeing the bald head, Masahiro Hanyu immediately recognized the man as the monk Shinryo, Yamakami Tomoo.

Mrs. Yayoi did not appear, but Yamagami Tomoo was able to come to the warehouse at night to check, indicating that filming was about to begin.

After working for nearly an hour, Yamagami Tomoo finally left the warehouse.

Masahiro Hanyu continued to wait, but no one came to the warehouse until dawn.

He waited for another two days and two nights, but still no one appeared.

On the third day of his infiltration of the warehouse, as the sun rose, Masahiro Hanyu was quite exhausted.

He crawled deep into the closet, covered himself with old clothes, intending to sleep for only a few hours and soon fall asleep.

In a daze, Masahiro Hanyu was suddenly awakened by a strange sound.

His heart tightened, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

The sound was like a painful groan, yet also like an excited growl, a mixture that was somewhat heart-wrenching to hear.

Masahiro Hanyu sat up; he had been sleeping too soundly.

Judging from the sounds, the intense filming should have started, yet he only just heard it.

Pushing open the cabinet door, the sunlight was bright; it must have been around noon.

He listened intently; the sound was coming from the east side of the second floor, where there was a photography studio.

Masahiro Hanyu quietly slipped out of the closet and crept stealthily towards the photography studio. The sound of that noise indicated that Mrs. Yayoi was still safe and sound.

The heart-wrenching sound stopped, and the sound of whips cracking came through.

He doesn't appreciate or watch many sadomasochistic AVs, but he understands the general plot.

The studio door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a crack, and Masahiro Hanyu peered inside.

The windows inside the shed were completely blocked off, and the only source of light was three shaky 1000W red lamps.

There was a cheap film smell in the air, wafting out from under the door.

On the peeling aluminum alloy stand sits a bulky Panasonic M9000 camcorder, an old piece of cinematic equipment.

The monitor screen had a slight noise, but no one was sitting at the monitor.

From his perspective, he could only see these scenes from the side.

"Ah!" A woman screamed as a whip cracked.

That's Mrs. Yayoi's voice!

Without further hesitation, Masahiro Yuzuru opened the door and rushed in, but the scene before him suddenly stunned him!