Taki Foods
Hey, hey you!
C-call the police!
All right.
He was hit on the back of his head
but there's a high probability that the direct cause of death is strangulation.
There's a pronounced congestion in the face plus he has hemorrhaging.
The estimated time of death?
Probably around 9:00 pm last night.
The weapon is a string that's about 15 millimeters wide.
There's a clear trace of the string.
He was strangled this hard so some fiber were probably left on the skin.
We can probably identify the weapon right away.
Hm?
Taki Foods?
He's an executive director of that company.
His credit cards and money were untouched.
If it's not robbery then a grudge...
Don't presume!
Yes Sir.
- Kane-san. - Yeah?
Can you get another company ID for me?
You lost it?
The reissuing procedure is quite troublesome you know.
I looked for it but couldn't find it.
Sign: Taki Foods
Killed...?
Our executive director?
Yes.
We heard that he's also your son-in-law.
Our deepest condolences.
Ah Yurie!
- Are you all right? - Hey!
- Call an ambulance. - Okay.
Are you okay?
I'm sorry, she's always been weak.
She was worried sick because Hirohisa-san didn't come home last night.
Mama!
It's all right, everything is all right, okay?
The victim is 40 year old Taki Hirohisa,
son-in-law of Taki Ryuichiro, CEO of Taki Foods.
He was also expected to be the next CEO.
Taki Foods is a company that only uses domestic raw products and are known for its honest business practice.
It's a popular company in the industry.
Okay next.
Yes.
We asked his customers and the union about their impressions of him.
They were generally favorable.
He was diligent, modest, and cooperative.
Everyone thought that it was weird.
I guess its not work-related.
- Okay next. - Yes sir.
Recently, the victim frequently withdrew large amounts of money from his bank account.
There might be other financial problems in addition to work-related issues.
I see...
- Next. - Yes sir!
There were a large number of Abalone Meals, Taki Foods' popular product, inside the trunk of the company vehicle.
He was probably attacked during delivery.
- I don't need your guesses, just the facts. - Yes sir!
All right, starting tomorrow...
And one more thing...
What?
Regarding the victim's watch.
This has a pedometer function.
So what?
It's quite highly efficient.
Besides the pedometer, it even has a calorie counter
and past recorded footsteps.
Get to the point.
Yes.
The company vehicle was found in the crime scene,
which means that the victim moved around with a car.
But looking at this pedometer's records,
he would walk 10,000 to 15,000 steps per day.
Isn't that weird?
Maybe he liked walking?
Itomura.
We walk more than 10,000 steps per day.
Right?
This is the user's manual.
- And this is the warranty. - Yes.
Excuse me, can you get rid of this box please?
- Sure, no problem. - Thanks!
Thank you very much.
All right.
Timer, Translator: mhaellix
The fiber is 100% red dyed nylon.
It's the lanyard that's used for digital cameras, cellphones, and IDs.
- Got it. I'll narrow it down. - Yeah.
What's wrong?
Hm...
Feeling sorry for yourself?
No...
Walking 10,000 steps is too hard.
What?
Last night, I walked from Akihabara to here for about an hour
but I only got up to 4,000 steps.
Ah, t-that must've been difficult.
The 10,000 wall is high.
Hey Itomura-kun, I was waiting for you last night.
You know, next week...
If it's about golfing, I can't do it.
Please help me! We really need one more member!
I'm currently investigating!
Hey, I'll treat you to lunch!
A woman?
Yes.
Looking at the victim's cellphone records, it's mostly with customers and colleagues
but there's one woman that he frequently contacted.
Machiyama Chihiro, a reporter from Teito Newspaper.
Teito Newspaper? That's where the victim worked before he got married.
Yes, his junior.
And this lady suddenly took a vacation leave yesterday.
She can't be reached right now.
You can't reach her?
Yes.
Can a woman do that?
A lot of strength is needed to strangle someone.
It's not impossible if she hit him on the head first.
Find her immediately!
Yes sir!
We'll go.
Hiroguchi, get me a copy of that.
Okay.
An affair?
I didn't really confirm it with him but I just felt like he did.
Recently, he's been going home later than usual.
He even goes away by himself on his day-offs.
Yurie!
I'll buy something sweet, okay?
You met your husband in college, right?
Yes.
My husband wanted to be a journalist
and he started working for a newspaper company right after graduation.
But wedding talks were started
and my father convinced my husband
to marry into our family and succeed the company.
But I think, that became a burden for him.
Your husband had a pedometer, didn't he?
Itomura-san!
I'm sorry, we're in the middle of investigation.
Oh, don't worry about it.
Nice to meet you. I'm Itomura.
I'm talking about this kind of pedometer.
Yes, I bought it for him quite a while back.
He said he hasn't been exercising since we got married,
so I thought he should at least walk.
So that's why he was walking everyday.
Not really. At the beginning he said that he'd walk 10,000 steps
but I'm sure that he didn't have that much time at work.
I've already forgotten about that verbal promise.
But he actually walked quite a bit.
Is that so?
Then that means he really was going to places I didn't know about.
Was your husband home last Sunday?
- Sunday? - Yes.
He said he had to go golfing because the CEO of Yoneyama Fisheries invited him.
But who knows if he actually did...
If he didn't go golfing then where...
She's probably tired already so we'll take our leave for now.
- But I haven't.... - Itomura-san.
Okay.
What?
I'm begging you, please don't interfere with our work.
We have our own plans too.
I'm sorry.
Too selfish.
That's why I'm apologizing...
That's not what I meant. I was saying that men are selfish.
Even if he's stressed because he married into her family...
An affair is...
But it's not like it's confirmed.
Women are always the ones in pain.
We've tried contacting her through her cellphone and email
but there's absolutely no news about Chihiro.
- I see. - Please sit down.
Ah, thanks.
By the way, the late Taki-san worked here too, didn't he?
Yes...
He was an excellent journalist.
After all, he's the man who wrote a top article exposing the bribery of the Democratic Party's chief secretary.
And Chihiro was the person trained by Taki.
I see.
Did they meet up privately?
They probably did.
After all, they were pretty close.
Kane-san, excuse me for a bit.
Yeah.
Here's the documents you requested.
Thanks.
Can I give you Machiyama-san's ID too?
Oh...
Please.
Ah excuse me, can I borrow that for a bit?
Nice shot!
Thank you.
- Great as usual, Oishi-san. - Nice shot.
- Nice shot! - You!
- Yes? - Aren't you investigating?
Should you be playing golf?
You were the one who invited me.
You're always so sudden.
Itomura, you're too slow!
Sorry for the wait! Excuse me!
Wait a minute! Don't bring the cart onto the green.
But the ball is right there.
Go around there.
- Okay... - Go and run!
Oishi-san changes when it comes to golf.
Certificate of Commendation
Hey Mommy, play with me!
She still looks in pain even though she was already released from the hospital.
Excuse me.
Yes, this is Oda.
At the scene of the crime?
It's true that I've been in contact with Taki-san lately.
But it has nothing to do with the case.
Why did you take a sudden leave?
I was shocked when Taki-san was killed.
Where and what were you doing on the day of the crime?
I went to the countryside for an interview.
It was at Okayama.
I can't say anything more than that.
My article is not done yet.
It might cause problems to the subject.
Well this is only a voluntary questioning
so you don't have to talk if you don't want to.
Thanks for coming.
Recently, Taki-san had been withdrawing large amounts of money from the bank.
Any ideas?
Hey!
We heard that you had your ID reissued.
Taki-san was killed with a lanyard.
Oda!
I don't know anything about the money.
And I simply lost my ID.
Who told you to ask those questions?
Were you influenced by Itomura?
I thought it was weird that she was concerned about her subject when someone was killed.
We're talking about someone from the media.
Will you be able to take responsibility if she's provoked enough to write an article?
But I really think that she's hiding something.
That's just your intuition.
We're not playing a word association game.
If that's how you feel, then use your legs and get to the bottom of it.
(Yoneyama Fisheries)
It must've been hard for the CEO to lose the successor he's so proud of.
Yesterday, I even told the detectives that there aren't many young men like him.
Is that so...
Boss, can I get you to sign this?
Yeah.
Ah, excuse me for asking,
but you went golfing with Taki-san last Sunday, didn't you?
Yes I did.
The truth is, Taki-san has a pedometer like this.
It seems like he walked anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 per day.
Oh.
But when I investigated his latest pedometer records,
there was just one day he didn't walk as much.
And that's the day he went golfing with you.
Actually, I had my golf debut today,
and it's the first time I reached 10,000 steps.
I was shocked that I was able to make that many steps.
That's why I got interested on that day's record.
Ah, but we used golf carts.
G-golf carts?
Those carts.
You don't have to walk too much if you ride that.
Ah!
Like the ones at the amusement park?
Oh that.
(Teito Newspaper)
Yes.
Yes, I understand.
- I'm back! - Welcome back.
Huh?
The murder weapon has been determined.
You did it?
All my superiors went golfing so I had no choice, did I?
Huh?
Ah, according to headquarters,
they want the Abalone Meals inside the company vehicle discarded because they'll go bad.
Ah, I'll go.
- W-wait! - Huh?
Are you trying to erase the whole golf issue?
W-what are you talking about...
Of course not.
- I'll go - No, I'll...
An argument?
Yes.
There were some workers who witnessed you and the late Hirohisa-san arguing.
Well, we are father and son plus CEO and director.
Of course we argue.
I heard that you argued a couple of days before too.
What was it about?
Are you trying to say that I killed my own son?
- No no, that's not it... - Get out!
I just lost my successor you know.
What do you think of the bereaved family's feelings!!
All right.
I apologize if I hurt your feelings.
We'll excuse ourselves for now.
Excuse me.
There we go.
These Abalone meal seems quite popular.
You are?
Ah, yes.
I'm Itomura, like those two, I'm also a part of the MPD.
The questioning isn't done yet?
No, that's not it.
I came to return these personal effects.
- Personal effects? - Yes.
These were all stacked in Hirohisa's company vehicle.
We can't keep them in the station since they'll all go bad.
These were in his car?
Yes. He was probably in the middle of a delivery.
Well, we transport our products using a delivery truck.
So the executive director can't possibly carry them in the company vehicle.
What?
Taki Foods was in some kind of financial trouble after all.
They were too fixated on using domestic products so they couldn't lower the retail price.
Everything aside from this popular Abalone meal is in the red.
Several employees witnessed the CEO and the victim quarreling about management policies.
Meaning it was discord between the CEO who protected the company through traditional means
and the heir who wants a reformation.
There's a possibility.
The CEO doesn't have an alibi.
All right, go with Noguchi and investigate around the CEO some more.
Yes sir!
- All right, let's go! - Yes sir!
Don't spare any effort!
Listen.
This is what it means to get to the bottom of things.
If you'll only rely on your intuition, then just quit already.
Excuse me Sone-san.
I don't have time for your intuition too.
I read last night's investigation report.
There were reports that a Taki Foods' company vehicle was seen here.
A coin parking has security cameras installed, right?
Can you get a hold of the videos?
What's the point?
I think it might provide a hint to Taki-san's pedometer mystery.
You're still obsessing about that...
Get it for him!
Thanks!
What?
Good job today.
Why are you here so late?
Itomura-san asked me for this.
Huh? Is it an x-rated movie?
What are you saying?
It's the security camera video from the coin parking.
I've taken down the parts were the victim is seen.
Oh, is that the exciting thing I asked for?
I don't get it.
Thanks so much!
All right.
Will it be exciting?
Yeah, it's irresistible.
Was the victim recorded?
Seems like it.
Ah, there he is. Okay.
That's it?
Next is... Go.
He bought quite a lot. What are those?
It's Abalone meals of course.
Huh? His own company's products?
Yeah.
Forensics caught this drifting in the canal while on a different case yesterday.
They didn't find any pass or ID with it?
Yes, everything aside from this drifted away.
- Good morning! Sorry I'm late.
Where's Itomura?
Ah, I'm sorry. He said he's going to make some rounds outside today.
What the heck is he doing?
Well, send this to the crime lab, this might be the murder weapon.
Yes sir!
Guys, get DNA samples from everyone involved.
Isn't this meal delicious? My husband loves them too!
Ah.
Don't you think it's cheap for a domestic abalone?
That's true~
Oh. I'm surprised you found it.
It was a coincidence, it was found from a different case.
Sometimes good results actually come during then.
That's true.
Can you do this right away?
Yes, I'll do it after this.
Yeah thanks.
- Thanks. - Yup.
Here's your request.
Thank you!
Ah, I made a mistake.
I shouldn't have run.
Excuse me.
- Ah, excuse me. - Yes?
- Can I get a receipt? - Sure.
Only 7,000?
Here.
The ones I got before were delicious.
Do you still have some of those?
I'll bring some again. Here.
Thanks.
Ah, excuse me!
Wait!
Excuse...
I'm so thankful.
Excuse me!
Ah, excuse me.
Um... I'd like to talk to you for a bit.
May I?
Sorry for bothering you.
About this Abalone meal's packaging...
The victim's DNA was found in the lanyard.
No doubt that it's the murder weapon.
We also found another DNA which is probably the perpetrator's.
It was a male's DNA.
How about the comparison with the samples?
It'll take four days at least.
- Just get them to hurry up. - Yes sir!
- Good job today~ - You too.
Thanks for working so hard. There we go.
What are those?
Ah these?
Meals that I bought from the supermarket.
Oh? For us?
Ah, but we can't eat all of these.
And this one is from crime scene.
H-hey wait! That's gone bad already, right?
Of course, it has abalone after all.
That makes it worse!
I'd like you to investigate something, so here you go.
What?
I'll leave them here, all right?
What's with the sudden request?
Oh, I wanted to talk to that journalist.
I heard you were in charge.
The DNA was from a man, so she's clean.
That's true.
What happened?
- Fifth floor. - Thanks.
Okay, let's go.
Me too?
Ah, excuse me.
What can I do for you?
I'm pretty sure that I've been cleared of suspicion.
But Oda-kun, you think that she's hiding something, aren't you?
What are you saying?
Was that... related to this?
Excuse me.
Huh? Where's Itomura-san?
I don't know.
I've given up on him already.
What's this?
The analysis report for the abalone.
I was quite surprised. The newer meal used authentic abalone
but the older one was a complete imitation.
Imitation?
You mean food fraud?
The late Taki Hirohisa noticed that.
Taki Foods is a company that only uses domestic products.
That's why Taki-san started questioning things.
So he asked me to investigate.
And the result?
I believe that the fraud actually occurred.
But I'm not completely sure.
You went to Okayama on the day of the incident
because you wanted to investigate the abalone shipments, right?
Yes.
But even when I interviewed people in the fishing industry,
I couldn't find that shipper.
A false merchant...
Why didn't you say something that important during the investigation?
He suspected that his father-in-law conspired with the fraud.
Taki Foods' CEO?
If that's the case, then he'll be suing his own family.
He said that he wanted to expose the truth using his own power,
so he asked me to keep quiet about the investigation.
But Taki-san has passed away.
I couldn't decide whether to expose it or not!
But to expose incomplete facts...
I can't cause any more pain to the bereaved family.
That's why I couldn't tell the police until I have all the facts.
After all, I'm a journalist that Taki-san himself has mentored.
Yoneyama Fisheries?
Yes. The abalone that Taki Foods uses was apparently not a domestic product.
There's a possibility that he was killed while investigating that.
But Yoneyama Fisheries is a distributor.
He was wholesaling the fake abalones to food companies.
According to Itomura-san, there's a possibility
that Yoneyama Fisheries exchanged the abalones after the incident
in order to destroy evidence.
Excuse me.
I came to return this.
Here you go.
- Thank you for going to the trouble. - It's nothing.
I'll bring out some tea, okay?
Oh, don't worry about it.
Ryuta, Mama has to talk with the detectives
so can you go home first?
I don't want to~
Don't be selfish.
What's this? This is Papa's treasure.
- Papa gave it to me. - He did?
What's wrong?
Ah, this was my husband's first front-page story
and he was keeping this as an important souvenir.
(Chief Secretary Eno's Stock Corruption)
Um...
Excuse me.
Won't you give me just three minutes?
(Yoneyama Fisheries)
What is it?
Hello.
I'm sorry to trouble you but will you please cooperate with the DNA sampling?
Me?
Yes.
This is the police!
We will now be investigating your workplace.
- Please move back. - Move back.
Sorry.
Hirohisa-san noticed that the abalone of their popular product Abalone Meal
was exchanged with a foreign product of a different variety of shellfish.
I'm sure that you were the first person he talked to about this.
Then the dispute was about...
There's no way that you didn't notice the difference between these abalones!
We've always been using Yoneyama Fisheries.
If their CEO says that it's a domestic product then I'll believe him.
You have no say in this!
Hirohisa-san used to be a journalist.
I'm sure that he was quite conflicted.
If he exposes the fraud then this company will be destroyed.
After worrying, he decided to go around walking to all the supermarkets in the city.
Each of those steps were recorded in that pedometer.
What do you mean?
It's in order to retrieve the products.
I'm sure he also knew that there was no point in doing that.
It'll just increase the sales and the orders will also increase.
But he couldn't simply tolerate the fraud before his eyes without doing anything.
He frequently withdrew large amounts of money from the bank to buy these meals?
Yeah.
He'll stand out in a company car so he used a coin parking
and walked to the supermarkets.
He didn't walk that much on the day he went golfing
because he ignored the game and questioned CEO Yoneyama about the truth.
But CEO Yoneyama didn't admit the fraud.
So he asked Machiyama Chihiro, his junior,
to investigate the shipper.
And he found out that the shipper was completely non-existent.
Evidence on hand, he called CEO Yoneyama to the underpass.
He said that he was going to reveal everything.
I told him that he'll destroy his father's company if he did that.
But he didn't care.
He can't let injustice go.
That's why I suddenly lost my temper.
I'm sure the people at Taki Foods noticed that they weren't domestic products.
But everyone's desperate to produce a profit.
That's why I dirtied my hands.
Did you know about it, Father?
I've noticed it for some time now.
After all, I've put food on the table because of this industry.
But since recession continued,
I didn't have a choice but to look away.
Why did you do that?
I know.
It's all my fault!
But when I think about your husband, I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.
He's just become a journalist that he's been aspiring for...
But he told me that he'll give up on that and succeed this company that's buried in debt.
I couldn't give him this company while it's in the red.
My husband was prepared to abandon his family, wasn't he?
He was going to expose the fraud, part with the Taki household that he married into,
and then become a journalist again.
That's why he gave this article to our son.
That's not true.
I also walked the path that he took.
While walking I thought...
What did Hirohisa-san do with all these meals that he bought from the supermarket?
I went to an organization called Food Share to inquire.
Food Share is an organization that distributes food that weren't sold in supermarkets to homeless and needy people.
Deeply impressed with the mutual aid mentality,
he said that once he becomes the CEO of Taki Foods,
he would like to join hands with the Food Share organization.
That means that even after exposing the truth about the fraud,
he had no intention of leaving Taki Foods.
He handed the article to Ryuta not because he wanted to part with you
but maybe because he wanted to put a period to his past as a journalist,
and have the determination to live with his family.
I noticed another thing.
It's the incredible amount of steps that Hirohisa-san walked.
I walked the same path.
I aimed for 10,000 steps but couldn't even reach 8,000.
But Hirohisa-san was walking more than 10,000 steps per day.
It's weird no matter how you look at it.
In short, he kept adding detour after detour trying to increase the number of his steps.
What do you mean?
You'll probably become sad if the fraud gets exposed.
He was worried about that.
So he at least wanted to keep the promise he made with you.
Promise?
He promised that he'd walk 10,000 steps per day, didn't he?
For Hirohisa-san who was worried about his family,
walking might have been his way of atoning for his sins.
He didn't want you to worry by telling you about the fraud.
So what can he do as a husband?
At that time, he remembered that he hasn't been using the pedometer you gave him well enough.
Everyday, while going around the supermarkets, he tried his best to keep the small promise he made with you.
"I'm almost at 10,000 so I'll go around a bit more."
"That's the least I can do."
As he tried to increase his steps, Hirohisa-san was trying to fulfill his responsibility as a husband.
Each step that Hirohisa-san left behind...
were proof of his love for you.
That's what I think.
I'll have some.
It's good.
But it was crumpled and thrown away.
Why did the victim have this...
Who drew this...
As long as we have this, the family will be happy someday.
We can't do all these!
So we have to be obsessed with their belongings and never handle them recklessly.
Something good will happen if you have this.
Carnelian is a power stone.
I don't care if you're in charge of the scientific crime unit but are you having fun bothering us?
That ungrateful kid is no longer my child.
I drew that just recently.
Did that lady called Eto say something?
Then why don't you ask her? I won't say anything.