Case NOT Closed

“…”

“…”

Haibara scowled, watching the rocking machine in front of her.

“What’s the meaning of this? You want me to sit on this?”

“Of course. What else could you do? Sit here and wait for me.”

“I’m already eighteen, thank you very much.”

“It’s okay. This is a rare chance for you to relive your childhood, old hag, just enjoy some youthful fun— Ah!”

Before Kensuke could finish, Haibara, expressionless, bit his arm.

It seemed she really hated the term “old hag.”

Every time Kensuke said that word, she would lose her temper.

“I’m really amazed by you. You’re truly a dog!”

“If you call me ‘old hag’ again, I’ll bite you to death!”

“Okay, okay, I’m afraid of you!”

Kensuke gritted his teeth, shook off Haibara’s mouth like shaking off a small cat, and ran towards the entrance of the police station as if fleeing.

Inside the police station, Kensuke straightened his collar and tidied up his appearance.

“This is my lawyer’s license.”

Approaching the front desk, he went straight to the point, explaining his purpose to the police inside and presenting his lawyer credentials along with the pre-printed court hearing application form.

In litigation cases, lawyers have the right to investigate and collect evidence. If it’s information controlled by administrative units, they have the right to apply for access.

After verifying the authenticity, the officer at the front desk nodded, asking Kensuke to wait a moment while informing their colleague inside.

“It’s you!”

At that moment, there was a sudden voice behind him, filled with surprise and anger.

Kensuke turned around to see several police officers standing behind him, looking displeased.

“Oh, it’s Inspector Megure. Long time no see!” Kensuke flashed his classic smile.

“What are you doing here?” Inspector Megure recalled the incident with the dog’s lawsuit that happened before and remembered Kensuke’s infuriating attitude at the time, feeling angry.

“The police station doesn’t welcome you! If you’re here to cause trouble, please go elsewhere! Takagi, Chiba!” Inspector Megure signaled to the two officers beside him.

The two officers, one fat and one thin, immediately moved to apprehend him and escort him out.

Kensuke agilely dodged the grasp of the two officers. “Hey, get it straight, sir. I’m here for legitimate business. You don’t have the authority to arrest me.”

He waved the court hearing application form in front of them, his attitude appearing very arrogant to the other officers.

“Darn it—” Inspector Megure gritted his teeth.

Indeed, he knew that lawyers had the right to investigate and collect evidence.

If he drove the person away at this moment, he would fall into the other party’s trap and might even face a counterclaim.

As a low-ranking officer like Megure, working outside of the professional groups, he could get into anything, except messing with lawyers.

Because lawyers understood the law better than anyone else, and if you provoked them and couldn’t get rid of them, they would find ways to get back at you.

“What else do you want?” Inspector Megure asked angrily. “Last time, you let a real criminal escape, and you also defended Kogoro’s classmate, the murderer. Are you going to defend another criminal this time?”

“What criminal? Don’t twist the facts, sir. Clearly, they’re the victim.”

Kensuke clicked his tongue twice and took out a photo from his briefcase.

The photo was left by Nishitani Miho at the law firm.

“Do you know this girl?”

Hearing his question, Megure stared at the photo, furrowing his brows as if trying to recall.

“I remember this girl,” Chiba said after a moment of thought. “She came here before to report a case of being stalked. We caught the man afterward, but due to insufficient evidence, we had to let him go.”

“I see.” Megure glanced at Kensuke. “So, are you here to file a lawsuit on behalf of this girl?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kensuke smiled. “This girl is in danger, and she can only rely on me now. Do you understand? I’m just doing justice here, sir.”

Hearing Kensuke’s words, Megure’s expression softened slightly. “But, without evidence in this case, how can you help her?”

“No evidence? Isn’t that because of the incompetence of your police department? Taking taxpayers’ money for doing nothing?” Kensuke raised an eyebrow.

“What did you say?”

“Say it again if you dare!”

With that remark, Megure’s face, which had just relaxed, darkened again. Both Chiba and Takagi, the other officers, also became enraged.

Kensuke’s words were harsh, almost like he was directly pointing fingers and cursing.

“My words are harsh, but not untrue.” Kensuke lifted his head, showing no fear of the angry police officers around him.

“You cops are all the same, shouting about justice, protecting the people, catching every criminal, yet you can’t even protect a vulnerable woman? Do you know that she’s under immense psychological pressure every day, afraid on her way home, unable to eat or sleep properly, fearing she might become the next victim? And when she found the police useless, she had no choice but to come to me, a lawyer, someone completely unrelated to law enforcement.”

“You can’t imagine the expression on her face when she came to me. If I didn’t intervene, given her current state on the verge of collapse, she might end up like other criminals, perhaps even committing a crime and embarking on a path of no return.”

“You can’t imagine it. You sit passively in your offices, waiting for cases to happen, then rely on those so-called detectives to catch the so-called criminals, all in the name of justice, claiming to bring criminals to justice.”

“I want to ask you, what right do you have to eat the public’s food? What face do you have to sit here?”

The hall fell silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Kensuke’s words were sharp, each one a gem of wisdom.

Like sharp knives, they deeply pierced the hearts of every police officer present.

Chiba and Takagi, who were initially impulsive, fell silent.

Megure lowered his head, saying nothing.

After a long while, he raised his head.

“We understand what you’re saying, but… we have no choice. We can only do what is within our duty. We are police officers, and there are lines we cannot cross.”

He shook his head, his tone heavy, tinged with a profound sense of helplessness, lacking the emotion and anger from earlier.

Kensuke looked at him, smirked disdainfully.

“If this is what you call duty, then this duty is too cheap, too easily believed.”

Pausing for a moment, he looked at the police officers present.

“If you can’t do your job properly, then let us lawyers handle it.”

“Protecting our clients, safeguarding the interests of a poor girl, even if it seems insignificant, is also my duty as a lawyer.”