The Logmaster - Chapter 28
Assuming that Ayumaru is the culprit, Mikaku devises a plan.
Mitaka Tadashi’s intuition as a detective continued to sound a strong alarm that Ayumaru was hiding something.
(…Is there any way to directly shake Ayumaru?)
“Kakuta, can I ask you something?”
Mikata called out to Kakuta.
“Yes! What is it, senpai? Is it finally my turn?”
Kakuta’s eyes lit up as he answered eagerly.
This man’s simplicity, in a sense, is something I find reassuring now.
Mikata gave instructions to Kakuta.
He visits Ayumaru’s workplace, contacts him directly without an appointment, and requests that he be questioned voluntarily as a witness in the case of Tomaru Shizuka’s suicide.
Be polite and ask for their cooperation. It is best to do it at a police station, but if they refuse, it is fine to do it outside, such as at a cafe.
“Listen, Tsunoda. Our goal is to gauge Ayumaru’s reaction.
In particular, when you identify yourself as a police officer, don’t miss any subtle changes in their facial expressions or changes in the way they speak. Also, try to probe them as naturally as possible.”
“Got it! Leave it to me!”
Kakuta ran out of the counseling room in high spirits.
A few hours later, Tsunoda returned, looking a little excited.
“Senpai! It seems he will be coming to the police station later! Ayumaru, you’ve been caught!”
According to Kakuta’s report, when he visited Ayumaru’s company and was called in at the reception desk, Ayumaru initially looked puzzled.
However, the moment Kakuta showed him his police ID and introduced himself as “Kakuta from the Metropolitan Police Department,” Ayumaru’s face stiffened for a moment, and he appeared to be shaken.
“As soon as they found out I was a police officer, they started acting suspicious.”
It seems that Kakuta has always offered to peacefully change the date and time.
“Could you spare some time today regarding the matter of Tomaru Shizuka? Of course, it’s voluntary.”
After hesitating for a while, Ayumaru spoke.
“I have plans today, so maybe later…”
Kakuta arranged to meet a few days later, thanked the man, and left.
“…Okay. Let’s clear the first stage.”
Misumi nodded. Ayumaru seemed shaken by the police’s contact and was concerned about his smartphone.
That alone is enough of a harvest.
–And then, the promised day arrived.
When Ayumaru Omiichi appeared in the interrogation room at the police station, he was a completely different person from when Kakuta had met him at the office a few days earlier. He was calm and even exuded an eerie sense of ease.
Kakuta starts by asking a harmless question about his relationship with Tomaru.
“I heard that you and Tomaru were in the same department, Ayumaru-san, but were you usually close?”
Ayumaru looked straight into Kakuta’s eyes and answered calmly and smoothly, as if he knew all of the questions beforehand.
“Yes, well, she was a cheerful junior who didn’t hesitate to talk to an older person like me.”
His tone is flat, with almost no trace of emotion.
“What kind of person was Tomaru-san to you, Ayumaru-san?”
At that moment, Ayumaru’s expression seemed to waver just a little.
“…She’s… well…”
There was a brief silence as he searched for words.
“…In this boring, unchanging everyday life of mine…you were one of the few people who truly shone brightly…”
It was painfully clear to Kakuta that he had special feelings for Tomaru that went beyond those of a mere colleague.
When talking about his memories with Tomaru, Kakuta said he was impressed by the way he would occasionally look off into the distance and show a lonely expression.
Once the conversation about Tomaru had finished, Kakuta casually brought up a new topic as if they were just chatting.
“Well, even so, it seems like there have been a lot of scary incidents in the tent villages around here recently, it’s quite troubling.”
“…Is that so? I don’t know much about that sort of thing…”
Ayumaru just frowned slightly, showed no particular interest, and acted as if he didn’t know anything.
“Ah!”
Ayumaru exaggeratedly raised his voice.
“I was sitting on a bench recently and was using my smartphone when I saw a homeless person get crushed by a car right in front of me, which shocked me.”
Ayumaru spoke to Kakuta as if he had just remembered.
–The room next to the interrogation room.
Through the one-way mirror, Misumi stared at the entire exchange.
Ayumaru’s responses were so smooth, it was as if he was reading from a prepared script.
And the slight stiffening of his expression as he recounts the story of the accident involving the homeless man.
Sankaku’s detective instincts once again sound a strong alarm.
(…This guy is hiding something…)
At that moment, Kakuta cut in from an unexpected angle.
“By the way, Ayumaru-san, you seem to be so absorbed in your smartphone. Are you playing any interesting games?”
He spoke in a carefree tone, as if he were talking to a friend.
He even started talking about himself, even though no one asked him about it.
“I’ve been playing Puzzle & Dragons for a long time, and it’s become a part of my daily routine. I feel like all the effort I’ve put in will go away, so I can’t delete the app! Does that happen to you, Ayumaru?”
Even Ayumaru hadn’t expected this extremely out-of-place, casual question, and for the first time, his perfect poker face faltered just a little.
“Ah, well, um… games, you know… well, I enjoy them a little… MMORPG… a little bit…”
The answer was halting, and his eyes wandered.
(…That’s a lie.)
On the other side of the one-way mirror, Mikata became convinced. Ayumaru Shinichi had lied on impulse to hide something. And that “something” was deeply connected to the smartphone he always had in his hand.
(…All the answers might be in that smartphone…)
Mikata felt the urge to ask other questions from various angles, but for some reason, Kakuta continued to get excited about smartphone games on his own, and the conversation gradually strayed from the main topic.
After a while, Ayumaru seemed to have grown impatient and spoke with a wry smile.
“It seems there is nothing more to say about Tomaru-san’s case… May I excuse myself now?”
Kakuta made a face that said, “Ah, damn it!” and frantically looked towards the magic mirror.
However, Kakuta no longer had any legitimate reason to keep Ayumaru.
He bowed deeply and guided Ayumaru to the exit.
After Ayumaru left the police station, Mikata and Kakuta met at the Unidentified Persons Consultation Room.
“In the end! We didn’t find out anything! That guy never gives a damn!”
Kakuta said this while laughing out loud for some reason.
“…”
Mikaku looked at Kakuta with a truly astonished expression, then began to speak gravely.
“Well… there was some benefit. His reaction to the smartphone was abnormal.”
“That’s right! It’s suspicious that someone who is so uninterested in everything can’t talk like that about games! If he liked games, he would talk about them more enthusiastically!”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Mikaku sighed.
“Well, whatever. Anyway, I need to know what he was looking at, what he was doing.”
“Eh? That’s why I said it was a game, right? An MMORPG! Senpai, you don’t know what an MMORPG is, do you? You probably thought it was a rocket launcher again, didn’t you?”
Kakuta is still saying things that are off the mark.
Mikata completely ignored Kakuta’s joke and continued speaking.
“…We need to make an ‘investigation-related inquiry’ to the telecommunications company to find out Ayumaru’s smartphone’s communication history, the IP addresses and domains he accessed. It will take time, but I think I should at least submit the request now…”
–And then, Triangle stood up.
“Well, now we just have to get our feet wet, Tsunoda! First, let’s go to that tent village by the riverbank once again! We might find some new information there!”
With their thoughts in mind, the two of them once again left the dimly lit counseling room.
The truth of the incident is still shrouded in mystery. But little by little, we are getting closer to the “something” hidden beneath the thick mask of the man known as Ayumaru Shinichi.
Sankaku felt that this was the answer.