"Hah... saved..."
After entering the empty office, Takagi immediately patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
Obviously, he had never received such a warm welcome since joining, and he felt uncomfortable facing the sudden attentiveness of everyone.
At the same time, there was also a faint sadness.
After all, he knew why those usually fierce and intimidating individuals, who would readily resort to "harsh interrogation," were suddenly so courteous today.
It was entirely because of the interruption in his relationship with Sato Miwako yesterday.
Thinking about this, Takagi felt a moment of discomfort.
Everything had been going smoothly, and he had even made plans for a date afterward. As long as he took the initiative when the atmosphere was right, everything might have fallen into place.
However, just on the verge of success, he had failed.
"Sigh... why does it have to be like this!" With this in mind, Takagi couldn't help but sigh in sorrow.
On the other side, Senichi pulled out the key and sighed upon hearing Takagi's words and expressed his concern about Takagi's love IQ, "Haven't you figured out why you and Detective Sato had a falling out until now?"
"Huh?" Takagi was stunned at the words, then looked at Senichi with surprise. "Do you know?"
"Your reaction is really slow." Senichi said speechlessly, "Given the situation at that time and the information revealed by Shiratori and Miyamoto, it should have been enough for you to investigate the matter.
After all, investigating past cases is not a big deal for us, especially since the previous case is somewhat connected to the one we just solved. Otherwise, why would our Criminal Investigation Division be mobilized?"
"Uh..."
Upon hearing Senichi's words, Takagi couldn't help but smile brightly. "Detective Senichi, since you know..."
"I really can't do anything with you..." Senichi sighed, then slowly began to explain the case to Takagi.
It was November 7th three years ago when their Criminal Investigation Division welcomed a new detective transferred from Tokyo Police bomb squadron, Jinpei Matsuda.
At that time, he partnered with Detective Sato Miwako.
But he had been in the Criminal Investigation Division for six days, he still didn't integrate into it, appearing to outsiders as a peculiar character.
There is also a reason why Jinpei Matsuda came to the Criminal Investigation Division, a place he disliked.
At that time, every November 7th, someone would send a prank fax to the Metropolitan Police Department with a single digit.
Two years ago, it was "3"; the previous year was "2," and last year was "1."
The reason he came to the Criminal Investigation Division was that he heard about this message.
He firmly believed that the digit was a countdown for a bomb, and this year was the time for the criminal to act!
The reason for his certainty was that his good friend had sacrificed himself four years ago due to a series of bombings.
Sure enough, on November 7th, the Metropolitan Police Department received another fax, just as Jinpei Matsuda had anticipated. It wasn't a digit but a criminal warning letter.
While the detectives were still puzzled by the contents of the letter, Jinpei Matsuda had already deciphered the code, revealing that the explosive location was the large Ferris wheel in the Shopping Center.
For an expert in bomb disposal, dismantling a bomb was a relatively simple task.
However, the reason this criminal could kill Jinpei Matsuda's friend was not due to a highly difficult bomb but another despicable method.
The culprit had placed two bombs in different locations, and the liquid crystal display on the bomb would show a message.
Three seconds before the explosion, the LCD screen would reveal the hidden location of another bomb.
Faced with such a choice—sacrifice one's own life to save innocent people or selfishly survive while abandoning the lives of innocent people—Jinpei Matsuda chose the former.
It was a difficult decision, but not a philosophical one.
Because the "one" that Jinpei Matsuda chose to sacrifice was his own life.
In the moments before his death, he sent the location of the bomb to Sato Miwako's phone.
Thanks to this, the bomb disposal team successfully dismantled the other bomb.
"So that's how it is..." Takagi sighed after listening to Senichi's words. "So, I dressed up like that..."
"That's right, it must be because it looks too similar, triggering emotional memories." Senichi patted Takagi on the shoulder. "Now that we know the reason, let's think about how to remedy the situation."
"Remedy what..."
Takagi couldn't help but smile wryly at these words. Subconsciously, he took out his phone and checked the notes, where he had prepared a dating itinerary, but now there seemed to be no chance.
"Hmm?"
Just as Takagi was about to close his phone, he suddenly saw the date on the screen, and his expression froze.
"Hey... Senichi-kun..." Takagi looked at his phone in astonishment. "Today is November 7th!"
"Yes, not only that." Senichi remained calm. "It's also the fourth year, to put it bluntly, it's the year of the countdown to '0'."
"Which means..." Takagi's expression became serious. "Today, the criminal... will act again."
"That's right." Senichi nodded, but he wasn't overly concerned because he remembered the plot of the case including the location where the bombs were installed. The criminal couldn't escape.
With such a blatant setup, how could they lose?
In this somewhat heavy silence, Shiratori and others gradually arrived in the office. Perhaps because of this special day, Sato Miwako, as well as Shiratori and Inspector Megure, seemed a bit absent-minded.
However, their distractions focused on different things. Sato Miwako stared at the message from Jinpei Matsuda, which indicated the bomb location and included the message "I think I've fallen for you," while Shiratori and Inspector Megure seemed a bit uneasy.
Clearly, they all remembered that today was the fourth year, the year when the bomber would strike again.
In the midst of this somewhat somber atmosphere, the morning passed, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they hadn't received a fax.
However, after everyone had lunch the calm was abruptly shattered accompanied by a ringing phone.
After Inspector Megure got up to answer the phone and returned with a serious expression, he relayed the information to everyone.
It turned out that the receptionist had received an alarm, reporting that someone had placed a bomb on the commercial street of Beika town's Avenue.
Although such messages were likely pranks, considering the special day today, it was better to be cautious.
So, under Inspector Megure's orders, everyone immediately gathered and hastily convened an emergency meeting.