As a Police Officer, I'm Always Worrying About Something - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Ten Years Before Ke Yuan

Chinna watched as Shinichi dragged Ran around, already knowing what the restless little detective was up to.

As usual, he was grabbing random people and guessing their professions.

After Yukiko and Yusaku left Shinichi and Ran in Chinna’s care, they went off to enjoy some time alone together.

Chinna watched Shinichi running around with Ran and, with a flat expression, thought to herself, “Yep, I really am just a soulless babysitting machine.”

“Brat! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been found out!” a loud, angry voice sliced through the crowd and hit Chinna’s ears.

She looked up to see Shinichi shielding Ran. The person who shouted was the man directly in front of them.

Just as that man raised his hand to hit Shinichi, Chinna stood up and chucked the coconut next to her. At the same time, a man lounging nearby stood abruptly.

Chinna could only see the man’s back, but whatever she did clearly startled the three guys facing him. They froze right as Chinna’s coconut flew in.

With a loud thud, the leader collapsed to the ground, the green coconut rolling past his head.

The man who had stood up to help looked a bit surprised too. He turned around, seemingly trying to find out who had thrown the coconut.

Chinna rushed over and apologized quickly to the man who had gotten hit. “Sorry, sorry! It slipped out of my hand!”

“Who the heck slips and throws it that far?!” the guy next to him snapped.  Getting scared like that was already humiliating, and now some woman had knocked out his friend with a ‘slip’? His face was practically green from frustration.

“Big sis, that lie was way too weak,” Shinichi popped up from behind the man’s leg.

“Hah? Then you come up with something better,” Chinna raised her eyebrow. “Why’d I throw it, huh?”

Even though she didn’t say it directly, Shinichi caught her meaning right away and started explaining.

“They tried to eat at the yakisoba stall without paying by putting a fly in their finished plate.” He hadn’t even finished when the other two men got heated again.

“We wouldn’t have gotten caught if it weren’t for you, you little brat!” one of them shouted and lifted his hand.

Chinna thought, Uh-oh, and borrowed another coconut from a bystander. She threw it—*thud*, *crash*—another one down.

“Terribly sorry,” Chinna muttered as she massaged her sore wrist. Throwing two coconuts in a row had made it ache. “I can’t help it whenever someone lifts their hand, mine tends to slip.”

The one remaining guy stepped back in fear, grabbed his two dazed buddies, and ran off.

Once they were gone, Chinna ruffled Shinichi’s hair and sighed. Shinichi had done the right thing, it’s just that he was too young to protect himself.

While still ruffling his hair, she turned to the man who had helped earlier and thanked him. “Fujimine Chinna. Thanks for helping out with my little troublemaker.”

“Akai Shuichi,” the man replied, squinting behind his sunglasses. “No thanks needed. Even without me, Miss, your hand just ‘accidentally’ slipped, didn’t it?”

Chinna opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes suddenly widened as she caught something in her peripheral vision.

Akai was just about to ask what was wrong, but before he could fully turn to look, there was a loud splash and metal crash.  A car had driven straight off the road and plunged into the sea, spraying water everywhere as it sank slowly into the waves.

Chinna was about to jump in and help, but Akai Shuichi had already sprinted to the shore and dove into the water headfirst.

Chinna sighed. ‘As expected of the Reaper’s world—even as a kid, the chaos is strong.’

Seeing that Akai had already gone in, she pulled out her phone and called the police.

Just as she finished explaining the situation and was about to call for an ambulance, she saw Akai dragging someone out of the water.

She noticed the person’s chest wasn’t moving and lowered her phone, walking toward Akai.

“Is there still hope?” she asked.

“He wasn’t breathing when I reached him,” Akai said, laying the man flat and placing a bag he had retrieved from the car next to him.

“Mind checking the evidence and calling the police?” Akai said, turning toward a nearby clothing store. “I’m going to look for the suspect. It looked like someone else was in the vehicle before it sank.”

“I already contacted the police,” Chinna answered. “Go ahead, I’ll watch things here.”

“Ah la la, so this is where you two are.” Just as Akai left, Chinna heard a familiar voice.

“Yukiko… sis,” Chinna turned to see Yukiko nearby. “Why are you here? Weren’t you with Uncle Yusaku?”

“Yusaku’s working on his manuscript,” Yukiko said, wrapping an arm around Chinna’s shoulder. “If he doesn’t finish, he’ll be thrown in the ‘black room.'”

“What happened here?” Yukiko finally noticed the man lying on the ground and crouched down to check on him.

“Nothing much,” Chinna said, pointing at the unknown man. “Just a dead thief.”

“?” Yukiko froze mid-motion, giving Chinna a puzzled look. Realizing she’d been too vague, Chinna ended up explaining everything that had just happened.

Not long after, the police arrived—just as Akai Shuichi returned with three suspects.

Naturally, the police wanted a report from whoever had called it in. Chinna had no choice but to repeat the entire story again.

“…So you’re saying you saw the car wobble off the road and plunge into the sea?” the chubby detective squatted beside the body, repeating Chinna’s words.

“And you’re the one who pulled this man out?” he asked, looking up at her.

“No”, Chinna said, pointing at Akai Shuichi. “That man rescued him.” Then she gestured at the bag. “He also brought that”.

The detective followed her gesture toward Akai and asked, “And who might you be?”

“I’m just an ordinary American exchange student,” Akai replied with his hands in his pockets. “I haven’t been back in Japan for a long time. My family and I just happened to be here today.”

After that, the officer stood up and pointed at the three people Akai had brought. “What’s the story with these three?”

“Well,” Akai said, “when I checked the car, I noticed the passenger-side window was rolled down. There could’ve been someone else in the car. So I went to the nearby beach shop and brought back the people who had just bought clothes.”

“But if it was just a traffic accident, why would someone run away?” the detective asked, confused.

“What if it wasn’t an accident?” Chinna interjected before she could stop herself.

Seeing both men look at her, she added, “Sorry, I peeked inside the bag. It’s full of branded wristwatches from a nearby store. No boxes, just tossed it there. Looks like a robbery.”

The detective froze. “That’s right. A store nearby called an hour ago to report a robbery. We haven’t released the report yet.”

Chinna turned her attention to the three suspects. “What did they buy?”

One of them, a young man with glasses and spiky hair, stepped forward and introduced himself. “I’m Haneda Shukichi, a shogi player. I’ve got a pretty good memory.”

He pointed to the slightly chubby man. “This guy bought a T-shirt and swim trunks.” Then to the woman, “She bought flip-flops.” Lastly, to the skinny guy, “And this guy bought a Hawaiian shirt.”

“So what?!” the man in the Hawaiian shirt suddenly snapped. “The person who drove into the sea might’ve had an accomplice,” the detective said, eyeing the three of them.”Alright, I’m going to ask each of you for a statement.”

“I—I’m Fukumizu Shigekatsu. I came here with my girlfriend. While we were on a rubber boat, she suddenly proposed. I hesitated—I thought it was too soon to get married. She got mad and pushed me into the sea. By the time I climbed back onto the boat, only my wallet was left.” He looked at the clothes draped over his arm and continued, “So I took off my soaked clothes and went to buy a T-shirt and swim trunks.”

“What about your girlfriend?” the detective asked seriously. “She probably stormed off in anger,” Fukumizu replied. “That car was hers, after all.”

“And the rubber boat?” Akai asked from the side.

“No idea. Probably drifted off. I didn’t bother chasing it. It was too much trouble,” Fukumizu answered.

‘It’s not him,’ Chinna thought, turning her attention to the second person, a sexy-looking woman.

“I’m Kitamori Yasue. I came here to flirt with guys, but none of them caught my eye. My flip-flop strap broke, so I bought a new pair and was about to leave,” she said, flipping her hair and winking at Akai. “But before I could go, this handsome guy stopped me.”

“Where did the broken flip-flops go?”

“I tossed them out, obviously~” Kitamori Yasue replied with a teasing lilt, maybe because it was Akai Shuichi who asked.

“You came here with nothing but a wallet?” The detective gave a couple of pointed coughs, clearly hoping Yasue would take the situation more seriously.

“As long as you lock your wallet in a beach locker while swimming, it’s fine,” Yasue said, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward Akai. “That way it’s easier to go straight to the handsome guy’s place afterward.”

Chinna glanced at Yasue’s flip-flops, crouched beside Shinichi, and patted his head. “Hey Shinichi, did you catch the price tag on those flip-flops?”

“About 500 yen, I think. Why?” he answered—only to be interrupted by the third suspect’s sudden outburst.

“No, you’ve got it wrong!” the man cried out, visibly flustered. “I’m Oami Raiya. I was taking a shower when someone stole my bag, so I had no choice but spent 3,000 yen on this Hawaiian shirt!”

“If your bag got stolen, how’d you buy that shirt?” the detective asked, pointing right at the one Oami was wearing.

“My wallet was wrapped up in my towel, so it didn’t get taken,” Oami said with a sigh of relief, still grateful for that bit of luck.

“What brought you to the beach, then?” the detective pressed. “I was here to pick up women,” Oami admitted with a shrug.

‘So that explains the two watches,’ Chinna thought, arms crossed and chin propped on one hand as she studied his wrists. ‘They show different times too—one must be set to Tokyo time, and the other… New York, maybe?’

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yukiko turning away to make a phone call. Chinna turned her head and saw Yukiko trying to discreetly cover the receiver while talking.

‘Calling for backup, huh…’ Chinna thought with a half-lidded stare. ‘Aunt Yukiko really is endlessly curious.’

She turned back to the suspects, her eyes scanning them thoughtfully. ‘But yeah, the real culprit has to be—’

“The culprit is you, Miss Kitamori Yasue,” Akai Shuichi suddenly declared, cutting off Chinna’s train of thought. She even heard Yukiko gasp in surprise.

“Someone at the scene just said the same thing…” Yukiko whispered into the phone. “No, not Chinna, a guy I don’t know. He was wearing sunglasses, but he looked pretty handsome.”

Hearing that, Chinna twitched. ‘Classic Aunt Yukiko, always focused on the important details.’

“How do I not look like just another beachgoer?!” Yasue exclaimed, throwing out her arms, baffled.

“You probably escaped from the car, realized you were at a beach, and used whatever was around to disguise yourself,” Akai said, adjusting his sunglasses.

“But couldn’t the others have done that too?” Shinichi asked skeptically.

“Sure,” Akai replied calmly, “but Miss Kitamori’s money was wet when she came out of the sea. Using wet bills to buy something is memorable, and you can’t use a bank card. Since it’s hot on the beach, the only thing she could afford with 500 yen was a pair of flip-flops.”

“So that’s why you asked me how much they cost,” Shinichi muttered, tugging on Chinna’s sleeve and giving her a knowing look. “You figured it out already, didn’t you?”

Chinna gave him a wink instead of answering, which earned her a dramatic eye roll from Shinichi.

“I’m right, aren’t I, Miss Kitamori?” Akai stepped forward. “Though I bet that’s not your real name, is it?”

Watching him close the distance, Chinna had the passing suspicion that he was using his looks as a tactic but no proof.

“Well, I knew she was the thief too,” Shinichi added, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You’re still wearing one of the stolen watches, after all.”

“What are you babbling about, kid?” Yasue bent down, sneering.

“That watch is identical to the ones in the shop,” Shinichi retorted confidently.

“Well, duh—it came from the shop. Of course it looks the same,” Yasue shot back, as if it were obvious.

“But it’s frozen at 10:10, isn’t it?” Shinichi pressed. “Display watches in stores are always set to 10:10 so customers can clearly see the brand.”

“…So that’s how he figured it out…” Yasue mumbled under her breath, stunned.

“Luxury watches all have serial numbers,” Chinna added, resting her chin on her hand. “It’s easy to check if one’s stolen.”

Case closed. The thief didn’t break down crying on her knees, but she did go quietly with the officers. Once again, Chinna felt sure that becoming a cop was the right idea—after all, that officer barely asked a few questions and got to escort the culprit away, no drama required.

“You satisfied now?” a woman said as she approached Akai Shuichi. “We’re heading home.”

With that, Akai, the girl beside him, Haneda Shukichi, and the woman all began walking away together.

“Wait, don’t go too far—we still need to take your statements!” the detective finally realized, calling after them.

The four didn’t seem to hear, but Shinichi ran after them on his short legs and called out.

Chinna caught bits of conversation, something about being Sherlock Holmes’ apprentice, Akai’s hearty laugh, and the little girl exclaiming “magician!” But she didn’t pay much attention. It wasn’t really her kind of topic.

When Shinichi returned alone, Chinna knew what that meant. Just the four of them would give statements. And as the one who reported it, she’d have the most to deal with.

Letting out a deep sigh, Chinna followed silently behind Aunt Yukiko toward the police car.