Jiang Xia subconsciously tightened his grip on the phone, unwilling to give it up.
But after a moment's thought, he realized that no matter how murderous Gin's tone was, there was no way he'd be able to get to him through a phone call. So, reluctantly, Jiang Xia handed the phone over.
Amuro took the phone. "Jiang Xia is working for me now. If you're short on people, go recruit someone else. Stop bothering my subordinates. Also, how long are you planning to stick with this simple 'look for accomplices' tactic?"
Gin sneered on the other end. "Simple methods are the most effective, and starting with interpersonal relationships is the most basic investigative technique. Also, I'm asking Jiang Xia, why are you mixed up in this? Are you afraid he'll leak something? Oh, I was just asking, but now, I doubt your position."
Amuro paused for a beat, then sneered right back in that same mocking way Gin had, shifting his stance to strike a blow:
"Since you're so insistent, why don't we make a bet? You can take him back for questioning, but if Jiang Xia isn't involved, you'll give me your new potion—the precious assassination poison. What a waste, keeping it in the hands of someone like you, a hunter who just loves to shoot."
Gin stayed silent for a moment, not agreeing. Instead, he scoffed disdainfully and hung up the phone with a sharp click.
In Gin's eyes, after the death of Akemi Miyano, Jiang Xia's suspicion wasn't nearly as high as it had been before.
Gin thought that Jiang Xia must've been involved with Sherry's defection somehow. But Jiang Xia had been in his office during the time the investigation was taking place—therefore, there was no way he could've been working against the organization. Still, Gin had called Jiang Xia just to make sure.
After hanging up, Gin scrolled through his notes.
He found two other cases linked to Jiang Xia: one was a murder involving a potter in Izu, the other was an old case in a castle. Gin glanced at the time and place, and the dots started to connect.
Due to Miyano Akemi's death, the relationship between Sherry and the organization had been growing tense. If Jiang Xia had been Sherry's ally, he wouldn't have been casually solving cases away from the city during such a delicate time.
As for Bourbon, if he were to force Jiang Xia to go with him, it would be hard for Jiang Xia to hide any clues. But since Bourbon had been in Tokyo and wasn't interested in the case at all, it made sense that he wasn't involved with Sherry's defection.
With all this considered, Gin checked his notes once again and crossed out both Bourbon and Jiang Xia from the suspect list.
Gin's gaze shifted to the next name on his list. Picking up the phone again, his voice was brewing with murderous intent as he continued his investigation.
Meanwhile, back at Amuro Toru's detective office, Jiang Xia grabbed the phone he had just handed back, a little more alert than before.
—Amuro hadn't been in the office today, so he shouldn't know Jiang Xia's whereabouts. But when Amuro had just called Gin and casually told him "Jiang Xia is in the office"... Jiang Xia felt that Amuro was being too friendly. It didn't make sense to throw out an olive branch so openly if he was going to turn against him.
Sure, people in this world often had weird thought processes, and logic couldn't always be assumed... But this sudden shift in the investigation made Jiang Xia uneasy.
He started to worry that Amuro might suddenly slam a gun onto the table and declare, "Choose the light side or be thrown in juvenile detention."
Jiang Xia didn't mind helping either Red side or Black side, as long as the deal involved good ghosts and a bit of murderous intent. But the police... he wasn't about to officially join them. If he did, the organization might mistake him for an undercover agent. That would totally clash with his goal of growing steadily and casually picking up ghosts.
Jiang Xia eyed Amuro, trying to gauge his next move.
But luckily, the temporary boss didn't say anything for now. Instead, Amuro walked over to the computer and pulled up the latest surveillance footage.
Sherry's defection had been a big deal, and Bourbon had been assigned to capture her. But Amuro didn't seem too focused on the task. He wasn't trying to find Sherry—he had other plans. He had sent out the task to a group of peripheral members, but instead of going after her himself, he simply made a quick stop, then secretly left early.
Amuro was aware of the timing when Sherry disappeared, so he reviewed the surveillance footage to figure out exactly where Jiang Xia was during that time.
He adjusted the video to a specific time, fast-forwarded it, and paused when Jiang Xia wasn't in frame. Jiang Xia had left the office briefly to chase a client's cat, and after just ten minutes, he had returned with the cat in tow. There was no time during that short window for him to have gone to help Sherry defect.
Jiang Xia watched, feeling like Amuro's scrutiny was hanging over him like a blade.
But Amuro didn't say anything yet, which made Jiang Xia more suspicious. He hesitated before asking, "You're checking the surveillance now... haven't you already seen this footage before you came here? What if I had left the office?"
Amuro glanced at him, a little confused, and answered casually, "Then I'd hand over you and the footage to the organization. No Gin to deal with, and I'd earn some credit for it."
This was just a cover, of course.
Amuro had already concluded that Jiang Xia wasn't involved with Sherry, since they had been out of Tokyo together for the past few days. As for the timing when Sherry disappeared, it just didn't line up with Jiang Xia being the culprit.
Therefore, Amuro had quietly protected Jiang Xia, gave him a little leeway, and made sure no one would suspect him.
With a senior's tone, Amuro added, "There's some internal competition in the organization. You haven't seen much of it yet, but you'll have to pay more attention in the future. Realize that not all bosses are the same. I'm more likely to side with you than Gin is."
Jiang Xia couldn't help but think, ...Oh.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 46/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*