Sato Miwako was currently watching the recording, her gaze fixed on the screen with intense concentration.
"Takagi, go to the area around Teitan High School immediately and see if anyone noticed any suspicious people."
"Chiba, go ask the leader of the Okino Yoko fan club who exactly sent them that message."
Inspector Megure was assigning tasks to the others.
Officer Takagi and Officer Chiba nodded and turned to leave.
Then both of them stopped in their tracks, eyes wide, faces full of surprise.
Sato Miwako turned around at once. When she saw the figure at the door—the one she had been thinking about nonstop—her eyes brightened. She stood up and walked over quickly to greet him.
Officer Shiratori had been watching Sato Miwako's movements the entire time, his brows knitting immediately: Officer Sato and this Hattori Heiji… their relationship clearly wasn't just "a little ambiguous."
Sato Miwako came closer, her eyes carrying an unmistakable trace of excitement.
Heiji gave Sato Miwako a gentle smile.
"Oh? Hattori, why are you here?"
Seeing Heiji, Inspector Megure called out in pleasant surprise and strode over.
"I was discharged today. I was going to head home, but Officer Shiratori said he wanted to invite me here for a drink… I figured maybe you had something you wanted to ask me, Inspector Megure, so I came." Heiji spoke casually.
"Heiji, you were discharged today?"
Sato Miwako's heart trembled.
"Mm. You didn't get my text?"
To keep Sato Miwako from making a wasted trip, he had specifically sent her a message yesterday.
"Text message?"
Sato Miwako froze, quickly returned to her seat, picked up her phone, and checked. Her messages were packed—yet there was no message from Heiji at all.
[Must be Heiji sent it wrong.]
She felt a quiet disappointment.
Everyone in the room had a different reaction to Heiji's sudden arrival—different thoughts, different angles of focus.
Sato Miwako's concern for Heiji came from personal feelings, so her attention went straight to his discharge.
But Inspector Megure's focus was elsewhere.
"Officer Shiratori, what is going on? Why did you bring Hattori here?" he demanded, his expression dark.
"That's right! Heiji was just discharged—what exactly do you think you're doing?" Sato Miwako demanded, shoving her personal feelings aside. She frowned at Officer Shiratori, her tone turning icy.
Officer Shiratori frowned.
"I'm following procedure. And Mr. Heiji came voluntarily. Officer Sato, there's no need for you to react so strongly."
Sato Miwako's reaction wasn't the neutral response of an ordinary officer—it was obvious she had personal feelings involved. But who cared…
"Officer Shiratori, do you have any idea how much help Hattori has given us? Without him, progress on many cases would have been extremely difficult. You have no evidence, yet you still called him in—this is basically slander against Hattori." Inspector Megure said angrily.
"And Heiji can sue you," Sato Miwako added, even angrier.
Even though she was an officer, first and foremost she was still a woman. No woman would stay calm when the person she liked was being treated like a murderer.
"Miwako. Get back to work," Inspector Megure said sharply, glaring at her. What was going on with Miwako today? Her tone was unusually aggressive.
Sato Miwako hesitated, glanced at Heiji, then answered reluctantly, "Yes."
Watching Sato Miwako's back, Heiji shook his head slightly. A trace of tenderness flickered in his eyes.
"Inspector Megure, I have evidence."
In an instant, the entire Search Division 3 fell silent. Everyone's gaze snapped to Officer Shiratori, staring at him blankly.
Heiji didn't speak. He simply looked at Officer Shiratori indifferently, without the slightest change in expression.
"Officer Shiratori," Inspector Megure said seriously, "as a police officer you should understand that every word and action must be careful. Very often, they become evidence in court."
Officer Shiratori had been watching Heiji's face from the moment he entered. Yet from beginning to end, he hadn't found a single opening.
Hearing Inspector Megure's words, he finally stopped studying Heiji and said, "It may not count as definitive evidence, but many clues point to Mr. Hattori."
"Then show us the evidence," Inspector Megure said, frowning.
Officer Shiratori smiled confidently and turned to Heiji.
"Mr. Hattori doesn't seem to have any intention of defending himself at all."
"Officer Shiratori," Heiji said calmly, "from the moment I saw you today, you've looked at me eighteen times without realizing it. That alone suggests you don't have full confidence that I'm the murderer. Also, when you were driving, your fingers kept tapping the steering wheel—once every three seconds, very steadily. That means you were rehearsing what to say. After we arrived at the MPD, when Inspector Megure and Miwako questioned you, the corners of your mouth kept lifting into a smile. On the surface it looks like confidence, but in reality it's a sign of guilt."
The smile on Officer Shiratori's face stiffened.
Heiji gave a faint smile, not even looking at him.
"I know a bit about micro-expressions."
Search Division 3 went completely quiet. From Officer Shiratori's reaction, it was obvious Heiji had hit the mark.
Inspector Megure shook his head inwardly. How did Shiratori dare provoke Hattori?
Sato Miwako's lips curved into a smile, and a flash of pride crossed her eyes.
"Still," Heiji continued, "I'm curious what 'evidence' you're talking about."
Staring at Heiji's indifferent expression, Officer Shiratori's brows tightened. He walked back to his seat and opened a video recording.
"This video was recorded by a camera behind Beika Central Hospital."
On screen, a person wearing a peaked cap stepped out from behind a corner, head lowered, as if holding something, moving hurriedly past the camera.
The entire clip was only five seconds long.
Everyone looked at Officer Shiratori, waiting for him to explain.
"The location of this footage is behind Beika Central Hospital—right here."
Officer Shiratori took out a map. With a pen, he pointed at a building on it, then glanced at Heiji.
"Behind Beika Central Hospital there's an abandoned building. No one lives there. But at ten-thirty, someone wearing a hat walked out from that building. And Mr. Hattori's special care ward is right here."
"Officer Shiratori," Officer Takagi frowned, "Mr. Heiji's special care ward is on the fifth floor. How could he get down?"
"Coincidentally," Officer Shiratori said, "Mr. Hattori's window faces a large tree directly…"
"But that tree is five meters from the window," Heiji cut in. "Officer Shiratori, are you suggesting I can fly?"
Officer Shiratori froze, then forced a smile.
"Mr. Hattori isn't a bird—of course you can't fly. But if a rope were tied to that tree and someone climbed across using it, five meters wouldn't be a problem."
"To hold a person's weight, the rope would have to bite tightly into the trunk," Heiji replied. "So tell me, Officer Shiratori—did you find any marks on the tree where a rope had been cinched around it?"
Heiji's question made Officer Shiratori freeze. A flicker of discomfort crossed his face.
"Mr. Hattori's special care room hasn't been checked out yet. The hospital won't allow entry, so I had no way to verify."
In an instant, everyone fell silent.
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