bookbashuk Page 155
Page 155
Matsuda barged into the Metropolitan Police Department press conference.
Everyone was stunned when they saw him come in.
"Matsuda, what brings you here?" Megure asked in surprise, his eyes wide.
"Inspector, what happened a few days ago wasn't solely your responsibility!"
Matsuda snatched the microphone from Megure and shouted at the reporters present,
"I'm sorry, everyone, Inspector Megure lied just now. In the case of Teiji Moriya, the only time he withheld information from me was because he was threatened with a bomb by Teiji Moriya."
"At that time, the investigation was nearing its end, so there was no reason why I failed to solve the case in time because of Inspector Megure's cover-up."
Matsuda's words immediately caused a huge uproar at the scene.
The two men standing in front, one with a ponytail and the other with shoulder-length short hair, stood up at the same time.
"Officer Matsuda, are you admitting that your mistake led to the Beika City Tower bombing?"
"Officer Matsuda, because of your dereliction of duty, the Beika City Tower explosion caused numerous casualties. I wonder how you plan to take responsibility for this?"
The two of them eagerly took turns asking the questions.
Their question caused Rena Mizunashi, who was standing nearby, to frown.
On the day the Beika City Tower exploded, Rena Mizunashi was the first reporter to arrive at the scene.
Chapter 191 Rena Mizunashi's Help
Rena Mizunashi witnessed Matsuda risking his life to climb the exterior wall of the building in order to defuse the last bomb.
Because of this, Rena Mizunashi already held Matsuda in the highest esteem, and naturally did not want to see him embarrassed.
She was about to stand up and ask other questions, to cover for Matsuda's questions.
Unexpectedly, Matsuda spoke first: "Responsibility? I'm sorry, gentlemen, I really don't know what responsibility I could possibly bear in Moriya Teiji's case?"
"So, Officer Matsuda is denying it?" the ponytail reporter sneered. "As far as we know, before the Beika City Tower explosion, Moriya Teiji had already revealed many clues, but Officer Matsuda, you turned a blind eye to them, and in the end..."
"A lot of clues have been exposed?" Matsuda interrupted him directly. "Where did you hear this news from? And what clues did Teiji Moriya expose back then? Can you tell me? After all, I still don't understand it."
"This..." The reporter with the ponytail was speechless for a moment.
The reporter standing next to him, with shoulder-length short hair, quickly interjected, "We naturally have our own channels of information. Officer Matsuda, please don't change the subject."
"I'm changing the subject?" Matsuda chuckled. "You're questioning whether I ignored the clues left behind by Teiji Moriya, but I don't even know what these so-called clues are. Am I not allowed to ask?"
"Actually, it's not just Officer Matsuda; our entire Nichiri TV station is also very curious,"
Rena Mizunashi also stood up and asked her two companions,
"As far as I know, the newspapers you two work for were the first to report that Inspector Matsuda overlooked an important clue, which allowed Teiji Moriya to commit a series of crimes. We at Nichiri TV, on the other hand, knew nothing about this. So, we are a bit curious about the source of your information."
"I'm sorry, this is a confidential matter for our newspaper, so I cannot disclose it," the reporter with shoulder-length short hair replied directly.
“I’ve also read your reports, Reporter Nakai and Reporter Yanase,”
Rena Mizunashi ignored their rejections and continued to press for answers.
"Since the person who provided you with this information is certain that Moriya Teiji had already leaked a lot of clues, does that mean that he actually knew about those clues all along?"
"If that's the case, why didn't he expose Moriya Teiji's true colors sooner? Why did he wait until Moriya Teiji blew up the Beika City Tower before saying all this?"
"Because the Beika City Tower bombing occurred at night, and because it happened so suddenly, most of the newspapers and media outlets the following morning only provided a brief overview of the scene, without revealing any specific details. They were all waiting for the Metropolitan Police Department to release its report,"
"But your newspapers provided a detailed account of all the case details in the morning edition, which gave me the wrong impression."
"Did your respective newspapers also know long ago that Teiji Moriya was going to take action against the Beika City Building, but simply kept it a secret?"
……
Rena Mizunashi's barrage of questions left the two male reporters speechless.
Especially the last phrase, "concealing and failing to report," if it were truly accepted by the public, then the newspaper's concern wouldn't be about sales figures.
Rather, it's whether the victims of the Beika City Tower bombing will, out of anger, directly demolish their newspaper office.
"That's slander! What evidence do you have to prove that our newspaper knew about this in advance?" the short-haired reporter retorted sharply.
"Then what evidence do you have to prove that Officer Matsuda really ignored Teiji Moriya's important clues?" Rena Mizunashi retorted.
"Your question is irrelevant to today's press conference!" a reporter with shoulder-length short hair hurriedly said. "The focus today should be on the Metropolitan Police Department! Not us!"
"Today's press conference is precisely for the Metropolitan Police Department to release a detailed account of the investigation into the Beika City bombing. If your newspaper really did know about the news in advance, then that should naturally be included in the scope of the Beika City bombing!"
Rena Mizunashi pressed on relentlessly, the two male reporters having already attacked Matsuda with baseless accusations.
Now, Rena Mizunashi retaliated in the same way.
The heated exchange between the two sides caused quite a stir among the reporters in the venue.
These people, all working in the media industry, could immediately tell who was telling the truth and who was lying just by looking at the panicked expressions of the two male reporters under Mizunashi Rena's questioning.
But the problem is, who cares if it's true or false when you're in the news?
Isn't it all about whatever topic comes up?
Isn't this the perfect topic of conversation?
A famous female reporter stepped forward when a police detective was framed!
Some reporters already have the headlines for tonight's evening paper in mind.
Seeing that the meeting room was becoming somewhat chaotic, the leaders of the Metropolitan Police Department exchanged glances.
Inspector Matsumoto then announced that today's press conference was temporarily adjourned and would continue when time permits.
The leaders of the Metropolitan Police Department, their faces dark, left the meeting room one by one.
When Inspector Megure left, he also dragged Matsuda away.
The two walked out of the meeting room and into the Metropolitan Police Department's conference room, where a group of leaders were already waiting for them.
"This is ridiculous! Why did things turn out like this when everything was already decided?" Department Head Odagiri said angrily.
"I'm sorry, Minister, it's all my fault..." Inspector Megure stood in front of Matsuda.
“This has nothing to do with the police inspector,” Matsuda pushed Megure away. “Even if Moriya Teiji is responsible for the case, it should be the Toyo Gunpowder Depot that bears the responsibility. If it weren’t for their management problems, how could so many octogens have been stolen!”
"Those reporters are making baseless accusations; surely the leaders are aware of that?"
"Of course we know the truth!" Chief Odagiri looked at Matsuda, "but for the Metropolitan Police Department, the top priority should be to immediately quell the impact of this incident, rather than letting a bunch of reporters and media continue to argue about it!"
Matsuda questioned, "So you're just going to make Inspector Megure the scapegoat?"
“Matsuda, don’t talk to the minister like that,” Megure hurriedly pulled Matsuda aside. “It was all my own choice.”
"Matsuda, do you know that we did this for your sake?" Inspector Matsumoto sighed. "The higher-ups in the Metropolitan Police Department have always thought highly of you. We originally wanted to take this opportunity to have Megure temporarily step down and have you promoted to take over the management of the Third Violent Crimes Investigation Division of the First Investigation Division!"
“The First Investigation Division is already full of inspectors. Megure only stepped down voluntarily because of you,” the chief inspector said with a helpless expression.
“Inspector, this…” Matsuda looked at Megure in disbelief.
Chapter 192 Did I do a good job acting out my loyal and righteous act?
“That’s right, Brother Matsuda, what Inspector Matsumoto and Senior Takagi said is true,” Megure said with a wry smile. “You are more capable than me in investigating criminal cases, and you are much younger than me. You have a bright future in the Metropolitan Police Department, so I can’t be so shameless as to stand in your way.”
“If I retire now, the Metropolitan Police Department will give me an extra pension as compensation.”
Matsuda looked around and finally understood all his previous questions.
However, although these people, including Megure, meant well, Matsuda simply couldn't accept sacrificing innocent people to pave the way for his own promotion.
"I'm sorry, Chief Odagiri, Inspector Matsumoto, Inspector Megure, Chief Inspector, I really acted impulsively."
Matsuda first expressed his apologies, but then firmly refused.
"I appreciate everyone's consideration for me, but if my promotion comes at the cost of Inspector Megure's sacrifice, I will absolutely not accept it!"
After saying that, Matsuda turned around and walked out of the conference room.
The remaining four looked at each other, and after a while, Department Head Odagiri burst out laughing.
"This kid's temper is really stubborn!"
"To offend so many superiors for the sake of your boss," Inspector Matsumoto said with a smile that also appeared on his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face, "Megure, you have a good subordinate!"
“Minister, Inspector, Matsuda acted impulsively,” Megure said with a forced laugh, trying to explain for Matsuda. “He didn’t mean to offend you.”
"Don't worry, Inspector Megure, Chief Odagiri and Inspector Matsumoto aren't angry," the officer next to him said with amusement.
"And Matsuda's promotion..." Megure asked tentatively.
“Let’s wait a couple of days,” said Department Head Odagiri. “Once this media frenzy has died down, we can promote him and have him manage the three departments with you.”
"Yes! Thank you, Minister!" Inspector Megure smiled.
Chief Odagiri's words were undoubtedly a guarantee that even though the First Investigation Division was already full of inspectors, they would still find a way to promote Matsuda.
In this way, Megure won't have to step down, and Matsuda can get promoted normally. It's a win-win situation for everyone!
……
Matsuda left the meeting room and headed towards the First Division office.
All the way there, he kept thinking about what had just happened.
Matsuda's actions just now were not impulsive, but rather a decision he made after careful consideration.
The first reason why Matsuda was so resolute was...
I really don't want my promotion to implicate Megure.
After all, ever since he joined the First Division, Inspector Megure has always made sure to call on him whenever a case arises.
But in other respects, Matsuda has never been treated unfairly.
Matsuda's ability to earn the title of a renowned detective in the Metropolitan Police Department was due not only to his own efforts but also to Inspector Megure's efforts in promoting him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been promoted so quickly.
The second reason was that Matsuda was considering his future career.
In Japan, although there was a tradition of gekokujo (overthrowing superiors), that is a thing of the past.