Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Soundtrack: [Leona Lewis Cover] Popstars 2009 - Run
Yamashita had hoped for a good alibi, something he really could believe in. But all he had was Toma drinking all night. He somehow knew Toma hadn't killed Kitagawa but he had to make Jun believe it as well. How could he do that with a drunk-alone Toma?
“I'm sorry to say that... I really am, but would you accompany me to the headquarters?”
Yamashita didn't know how he was able to say that since he didn't want to do this by all means, but there was no other possibility than that.
He could understand Toma getting angry over this.
He saw Toma approaching him and then looked into his eyes.
“Tomohisa...”, Toma said very slowly. “I didn't do it! I swear! How... how can you not believe me?”
“I-I know. I believe you. But that's my job. I'll try to get you out as soon as I can, but first we have to interrogate you and I'll think of a way to get you out there as soon as possible, okay?” Yamashita looked at him, trying to find any trust in his eyes. “I believe you, and you believe me, don't you?”
Toma stared at him for a while. He maybe tried to figure out if he spoke the truth.
Then finally his expression softened.
“Yes. I believe you. And thank you for believing in me.”, Toma said, smiling a little.
And again Yamashita's heart skipped a beat as he saw him smiling like that.
“You know, I... I'm sorry about... hugging you last time. I don't know why I did that.”, Yamashita said, looking to the ground.
“Oh... is that why you didn't come to meet me since then?” Toma grinned. Then he took a step towards Yamashita and laid his arms around the officer.
“Now we're even, right? So no need to worry about this any more.”
Yamashita wanted to see Toma's face but he already felt like falling if Toma let go of him now.
“Why's life so complicated?”, Yamashita asked, sighing.
“What do you mean?”, Toma asked.
“N-Nothing. It's nothing. Can I... stay a little longer like this? I don't feel well.”, Yamashita said. He was lying, but whatever.
“Sure.”, Toma whispered, tightening his arms around the other guy.
Suddenly the door opened and Jun stepped inside.
Yamashita turned around and looked at him, uncomfortable that Hasegawa saw them like that. Thought there was actually nothing going on.
Jun looked like he'd just seen a ghost or something.
“What the fuck are you doing here?!”, he said, his voice shaking in anger.
“N-Nothing...”, Yamashita said and drew away from Toma again. “I didn't feel well and...”
“Stop this!”, Jun cried. “O whatever...” He paused. “So?”, he asked, looking really angry.
“'So' what?”, Yamashita asked confused.
“So, did you at least talk to him?”
“Yes, I did. We'll... take him with us.”, Yamashita said in a low voice.
“Is that so?”, Jun said, smiling for an instant before his face went all serious again. “Then let's go.”, he said, turned and left again.
“Seems like he doesn't like me. Well, I'm suspected, am I not?”, Toma said.
“Y-Yes, you are, but... I will fix that for sure. So... please come with us now.”, Yamashita said with a serious expression on his face.
In the headquarters Yamashita and Hasegawa took Toma to an interrogation room and Yamashita closed the door behind them for he was the last one to go inside.
“Have a seat, please.”, he said and all of them sat down.
“So, you did it, didn't you?”, Hasegawa said with an evil grin on his face.
“Hasegawa! Stop it!”, Yamashita demanded.
“But that's why he's here, no? Because he's a suspect. So, what did you do last night?” He turned to face Toma.
“I was at home, alone. I was drinking some wine and then slept all night.”, Toma answered calmly. Yamashita watched their strange fight. He could feel the tension between them. He had to do something about it.
“So, Ikuta-san...”, he began. “The murderer is suspected to have found a way into the office without breaking anything. Which means Kitagawa knew him and opened the door for him... or her. Or the murderer himself has a key. Which is quite certain since the victim still had the key in his pocket and the office was locked when the secretary arrived and found him. So the victim knew said person and the murderer also was in possession of a key. Do you call a key to the office your own?”
Toma looked at him for a second, then said: “No, I don't. I only know of the boss having a key.”
“Did you like your boss?”, Hasegawa asked.
“Well... he did a great job...”
“I asked if you liked him.”, Hasegawa said angrily.
Toma sighed, then said: “No, I didn't. He was hard to get along with and shouted a lot at everything we did. Sometimes he was a real pai-” But he stopped talking when he saw Yamashita's shocked face. How could he say something like that when he was suspected for murder?
“It's the truth, Tomohisa.”, Toma said. “But still I didn't do it.”
“Okay, but that doesn't mean he did it.”, Yamashita said to Hasegawa.
And just as Hasegawa wanted to speak up: “AND there is also no evidence yet, so we have to let him go now.” He turned to Toma again. “Thank you for your time and please stay in town, so that we can contact you.”
“Sure...”, Toma said, looking somewhat relieved.
“But...!”, Hasegawa tried to go again, but he was cut off by Yamashita's gaze.
“No evidence, no jail.”
