svetikya Page 74
Page 74
Yuuki Takada looked at the road ahead illuminated by the car headlights, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.
"Ok, I know."
"With you outside providing support, I feel much more at ease."
Chapter 95 Meeting and Detailed Discussion
The following afternoon, Yuki Takada, having made some preparations, arrived as promised at Yusuke Mishima's private gallery in Minato Ward.
The gallery was quiet, displaying some modern artworks, with only a few scattered customers.
There were quite a few bodyguards in black around, guarding something inside.
Yusuke Mishima received Yuki Takada in a quiet reception room, where there was no one else besides the bodyguards in black.
Yusuke Mishima waved his hand, and the black-clad bodyguards quickly withdrew from the meeting room.
“First of all, Officer Takada…” Yusuke Mishima said bluntly, “I know nothing and can’t provide you with any evidence. I’m still in this family, and I don’t want to cause trouble.”
"Furthermore, I'm not interested in their business strategy. As for Yoshihiro Nakamura, he's just the accountant at my brother's company. Apart from seeing him a few times occasionally, he doesn't have much influence on me."
“I understand.” Yuuki Takada nodded repeatedly, then looked around and said:
"However... we found a memory card at Yoshihiro Nakamura's house. After deciphering it, the audio inside indirectly mentioned you. That's why I came to find you in person. As for whether you are related to Yoshihiro Nakamura's death, we still need to investigate and question you in detail."
“Officer Takada, I only know about Asahi…” Mishima Yusuke fiddled with a delicate lighter, his eyes somewhat unfocused: “Nakamura… he’s a smart man, but sometimes too smart, and not smart enough.”
He'd been helping his father, older brother, and that old man with the black rocks with shady accounting matters for so long that he'd come to believe he was one of the masters himself.
Yusuke Mishima paused, seemingly considering his words: "He's been under a lot of pressure in the last year or two."
"Some of the group's investments have run into problems, leaving a significant hole that requires constant patching up. Meanwhile, expenses have been increasing recently. Putting aside the matter of bribing your former deputy director, Yasunari Sawai, we've almost been unable to pay our employees' salaries recently."
“My older brother Ryunosuke was trying to reorganize the finances, and Yoshihiro Nakamura was caught in the middle. However, considering the old man’s previous unreasonable rules, Yoshihiro Nakamura still had some conflicts with my older brother Ryunosuke.”
"So, what kind of demand do you mean over there?" Yuki Takada suddenly asked.
Yusuke Mishima's face visibly stiffened for a moment, and he gave Yuki Takada a deep look: "It seems you really do know quite a lot..."
Yusuke Mishima's fingers unconsciously rubbed the metal surface of the lighter, making a soft clicking sound.
The air in the reception room seemed to freeze, and the abstract paintings on the wall seemed to be silently watching the conversation.
"What are their needs over there?" Yusuke Mishima repeated Yuki Takada's question, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Heh... Officer Takada, the less you know about some things, the more peacefully you sleep."
Yuki Takada didn't look away. "As a detective, my duty is to uncover the truth, no matter how much it keeps me up at night."
Yusuke Mishima sighed, stood up, and walked to the small liquor cabinet in the corner of the room. "Would you like something to drink? I think we need some time... to relax."
"It's during working hours, thank you," Yuuki Takada politely declined.
Yusuke Mishima poured himself a small glass of whiskey, without adding ice, and drank it all in one gulp.
He returned to his seat, his expression softening slightly.
“Yoshihiro Nakamura is responsible for more than just the company’s accounts,” Yusuke Mishima finally said. “He also handles the flow of funds for special projects.”
"Special project?" Yuki Takada pressed.
“Political donations, Officer Takada, but not the kind that can be made public.” Mishima tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair and said softly, “Some politicians need funds, but they can’t leave a trace. Some officials need incentives, but they can’t be directly associated with the Mishima family.”
"After all, the Mishima family is still considered a criminal organization in the eyes of many, and Yoshihiro Nakamura is good at making these fund flows appear legitimate."
Yuuki Takada pulled a notebook from his pocket and started taking notes, then casually asked, "Do you know any of these politicians' names?"
Yusuke Mishima shook his head. "I know only so much. That old man, Father, never puts all his eggs in one basket, nor does he let anyone know everything. And even if I did know these things, I couldn't possibly tell you."
“Yoshihiro Nakamura may know some of it, but things got complicated after my older brother Ryunosuke took over.”
"What kind of complicated method?"
“Ryunosuke wants to standardize management and make all transactions transparent.” Mishima Yusuke chuckled, with a hint of sarcasm. “He thought he could remain innocent in this quagmire, but there are still quite a few people who support the old practices, including, of course, Nakamura Yoshihiro.”
"Therefore, Yoshihiro Nakamura had two plans. On the surface, he submitted to his elder brother Ryunosuke's management, but in reality, he maintained his usual style."
Yuuki Takada recalled some rumors circulating within the Metropolitan Police Department.
It is no secret that the Mishima Group has close ties with many high-ranking officials, but there has always been a lack of evidence as to who received what.
"Is Yoshihiro Nakamura's death related to your older brother, Chairman Mishima, Ryunosuke Mishima?"
Yusuke Mishima's expression turned serious. He said, "Officer Takada, I have no evidence and cannot accuse anyone. But I can tell you that Yoshihiro Nakamura has been very nervous lately. He came to see me two weeks ago."
Yuuki Takada leaned forward slightly. "He's looking for you? Why?"
“He knew I loved art and wanted to stay away from the family business,” Yusuke Mishima explained. “He said something was keeping him up at night and asked if I knew any reliable lawyers. Not corporate lawyers, but independent ones.”
Did you help him?
“I gave him a few names,” Yusuke Mishima said. “But looking back now, he probably wasn’t looking for a lawyer for himself.”
Yuuki Takada astutely grasped the implied meaning of those words: "You think he's gathering information for someone else? Preparing to report them?"
Yusuke Mishima did not answer directly, but smiled faintly: "Yoshihiro Nakamura has been with the company for twenty years. He knows all the secrets of our Mishima family. If he decides to speak out, many people will get into trouble."
The conversation lasted for half an hour, but Yusuke Mishima did not provide any further substantive information.
Yuki Takada could sense that the other party was holding back, but pushing too hard might backfire.
After chatting for only a short while, they prepared to leave.
As Yuki Takada was leaving the gallery, he received a message on his phone from Miwako Sato: "Takada-senpai, we've made some new discoveries about Yoshihiro Nakamura's bank statements. There are several unusual remittances from overseas accounts."
Yuki Takada replied, "I'll be right back."
Back at the Metropolitan Police Department, Yuki Takada immediately convened a meeting with his team based on the leads they had gathered.
“Yoshihiro Nakamura’s account has received three remittances from the Cayman Islands in the past six months, totaling approximately 50 million yen,” Miwako Sato said earnestly, pointing to the data on the projection screen.
"The source account?" Yuki Takada looked sharply at Miwako Sato.
“Shell companies, so the actual controller cannot be traced.” Sato Miwako looked at the documents in her hand and replied, “But what’s interesting is that during the same period, funds from the Mishima Group also flowed to another account on the same island.”
Yuki Takada pondered for a moment and guessed, "Yoshihiro Nakamura might be receiving dirty money, but it's also possible that he was set up to make these remittances look like bribes."
A moment of silence fell over the conference room.
If Yoshihiro Nakamura was accepting bribes, then his death might be related to a double-cross, specifically involving the Mishima family. If he was framed, then someone wanted to give him leverage over others.
Yuuki Takada looked at Nishikawa from the technical department. "Nishikawa, I heard you say you made a new discovery on that memory card?"
Nishikawa nodded, adjusted his glasses, and said, "That audio was encrypted and edited; the original file should be even longer. We recovered a small portion of the deleted content."
He played an audio clip, first with static noise, then a muffled male voice: "...We can't continue, the risk is too great..."
Another voice responded, but more vaguely: "...Too much has been invested; it must be completed."
Then came a clear line: "...Does Yusuke know?"
The first voice replied, "It doesn't matter, proceed as planned."
Yuki Takada perked up; the audio clearly referred to Yusuke Mishima. The conversation on Yoshihiro Nakamura's memory card did indeed mention him.
"Can it recognize the sound?" Yuuki Takada asked instinctively.
Xi Chuan shook his head and said, "The audio quality is too poor and there is obvious voice distortion. With our current methods, it is difficult to restore it. We need more samples for comparison."
After the meeting, Yuki Takada remained alone in the conference room, staring at the relationship diagram on the whiteboard in deep thought.
Perhaps Ryunosuke Mishima wanted to atone for the grave sins he had committed in the past, which led to this major change. Yoshihiro Nakamura was caught in the middle, received a mysterious remittance, secretly recorded the conversation, and was then killed.
Yusuke Mishima appears to be an outsider, yet he is present in the recording.
Perhaps even the whole of Yusuke Mishima is far more complex than it appears on the surface.
Just then, his phone rang; it was an unknown number.
“Officer Takada? This is Yusuke Mishima.” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded a little nervous. “There are some things I can’t say at the gallery. Tonight at 10 p.m., Yoyogi Park, second parking lot. I’ll come alone.”
Before Yuki Takada could respond, the call was disconnected.
Yuki Takada immediately instructed his colleagues in the technical department to trace the incoming call, and they discovered that it was a prepaid phone card, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.
Of course, judging from the emergency situation that Mishima Yusuke was in, there must have been an accident. Otherwise, given Mishima Yusuke's personality, he would never have done such a thing.
After planning the operation with his colleagues at the Metropolitan Police Department, Yuki Takada arrived at the agreed location at 9:50 p.m. that evening.
He arranged for a support team to stand by not far away, and instructed the team not to approach easily. Without his orders, they were not to take any rash action to provide support.
At 10:00 AM sharp, a black sedan drove into the parking lot.
Yusuke Mishima got out of the driver's seat, looked around, and walked towards Yuki Takada's car, which was not far away.
"Thank you for coming, Officer Takada." Yusuke Mishima sat in the passenger seat, looking nervous.
"Mr. Yusuke Mishima, would you like one?" Yuki Takada took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and handed one over to him.
"Thank you..." Yusuke Mishima took the cigarette, lit it with the lighter in Yuuki Takada's hand, and then gently exhaled a puff of smoke, feeling much refreshed.
"So, you came to see me so late at night, is there something you need?" Yuki Takada asked casually, looking at Yusuke Mishima in the passenger seat.
Yusuke Mishima took a deep breath and said, "After you left, Officer Takada this afternoon, I received a phone call. It was from my brother's assistant, asking what we had talked about."
"After my brief conversation with him, I felt something was off. Ever since Yoshihiro Nakamura died, I've had this feeling of being watched..."
Yuki Takada noticed that Yusuke Mishima's hands were trembling slightly.
“A week before Yoshihiro Nakamura died, he gave me an envelope,” Yusuke Mishima continued. “He said if anything happened to him, I should give the envelope to a trustworthy investigator. At the time, I thought he was being dramatic, but now…”
"What's in the envelope?" Yuuki Takada asked, feigning indifference.
“A key.” Yusuke Mishima took a small envelope out of his pocket and handed it over: “A key to a bank safe deposit box, from Shinjuku Central Bank.”
Yuuki Takada took the envelope and said, "Why did you only take it out now?"
“I’m scared, Officer Takada,” Yusuke Mishima said frankly. “First of all, I don’t really trust your police force’s capabilities.”
"Firstly, as you know, I still vividly remember the deaths of Officer Kobayashi and Inspector Nakano during the investigation of this case."
"I know that the officers who take over this case will eventually meet the same end: death."
"If it weren't for the fact that I learned about Inspector Takada's deeds through a friend, I wouldn't have been prepared to tell you the truth. But I thought about it for a long time and felt that I couldn't let it sink without a trace."
Yuuki Takada examined the key and then said, "Do you know the safe's number?"
Yusuke Mishima shook his head and said, "Yoshihiro Nakamura didn't say. But I guess only one branch of Shinjuku Central Bank has safe deposit box service, right in the headquarters building."