The entire Search Division 3 was completely silent, as if even a needle dropping to the floor could be heard.
"Actually, if Officer Shiratori wants to verify it, I can ask the hospital to open the special care room and cooperate with your investigation."
Heiji's voice broke the stillness.
Everyone looked at Officer Shiratori.
Officer Shiratori ignored the surrounding gazes outright.
"No need to trouble Mr. Hattori. Even though I didn't enter the special care room, I happen to have a witness statement on record."
He picked up a recorder beside the desk and pressed the button.
"Hello, I'm Officer Shiratori from the MPD. May I ask what your job is?"
"Officer, I haven't done anything wrong."
"Please don't worry. I'm just following procedure. I need to confirm a few things about this special care room."
"Oh, okay. Then what does the officer want to know?"
"May I ask your name?"
"My name is Asamiya Ichihei. I work as a cleaner in this hospital."
"On March 12th,—which was yesterday—did you enter this special care room to clean?"
"This room… I remember it was reserved by a young miss. She asked me to clean it on time every day, like she didn't want the patient inside to be touched by even a speck of dust."
"When do you usually clean?"
"Between eight and eleven in the morning."
"When did you clean this special care room?"
"Usually around ten-thirty."
Officer Shiratori pressed stop and looked up at Heiji.
"Mr. Hattori, may I ask what you were doing at ten-thirty?"
Heiji glanced at Officer Shiratori, and there was something chilling in his eyes.
Officer Shiratori's scalp prickled instantly. Heiji's gaze gave him the uncomfortable sense of being seen through. But on the surface, he remained calm and composed.
A heavy atmosphere spread through Search Division 3. Everyone's eyes unconsciously gathered on Heiji, waiting for his answer.
"I'm sorry. At ten-thirty yesterday, I fell asleep. I don't know whether anyone came or not. However, if nothing unexpected happened, Mr. Ichihei shouldn't have come in to disturb me. Before I went to sleep, I had already told the nurse not to let anyone disturb me."
Hearing Heiji's answer, several officers' expressions shifted, brows tightening. The situation didn't look good for Mr. Heiji.
"So you're saying Mr. Hattori has no alibi at all between ten and twelve. Am I correct?"
Officer Shiratori felt a weight lift off his chest, secretly exhaling in relief. Finally—an opening.
Heiji nodded.
"Mm. I don't have an alibi."
After that, the room fell silent again.
Officer Shiratori frowned. This wasn't how he expected it to go.
With no choice, he spoke again.
"Mr. Hattori, do you not plan to explain further?"
Heiji smiled faintly.
"I already did. I was asleep at that time. If Mr. Ichihei really came, there's nothing I can do about it—I genuinely didn't hear anything."
"Officer Shiratori," Inspector Megure said, "play the rest of the recording."
Officer Shiratori stared at Heiji for a moment, then pressed the button again.
"Did you also clean this special care room at ten-thirty yesterday?"
"No. I received a notice saying to clean it in the afternoon."
"Then what about the afternoon? Did you go?"
"No, because the notice said there was no need."
"Sonoko came that day. She already cleaned, so I told the nurses there was no need to call Mr. Ichihei," Heiji interjected from the side.
That sentence was also the final line of the recording.
"That's it?" Inspector Megure asked.
"That's it," Officer Shiratori answered.
Officer Shiratori's reply left everyone speechless.
"This is the 'evidence' you were talking about?" Sato Miwako asked, frowning.
"Nonsense. Utter nonsense."
Inspector Megure waved his hand angrily, glaring hard at Officer Shiratori.
"This matter is not to be brought up again in the future."
Officer Shiratori quietly put his things away without a word.
Heiji smiled faintly and walked over to Officer Shiratori's desk.
"Officer Shiratori, can I use your computer for a moment?"
"Hattori, this was a misunderstanding. Come on, I'll treat you to coffee."
Inspector Megure looked awkward, and inwardly, he was exasperated. Shiratori had deliberately stirred up trouble—how could Hattori possibly be the killer? How was Megure supposed to face him after this?
Complaining to himself, he could only try to smooth things over.
Heiji shook his head.
"Inspector Megure, I don't like being suspected."
He took the mouse, clicked a few times, and opened the earlier video again.
"Officer Shiratori, this footage you found from the hospital—it's from that day, right?"
Officer Shiratori frowned.
"What are you trying to do?"
"To make you drop your suspicion of me."
Heiji dragged the progress bar to the three-second mark and froze the frame.
The person in the peaked cap had just stepped out from the corner. Sunlight happened to fall across the body. The head was turned slightly to the right, the right hand held forward, the left hand was blocked by the wall, the left foot was visible, the right foot obscured…
"Hattori, what are you getting at?" Inspector Megure asked, puzzled.
Officer Shiratori stared at the frozen frame for a long time. Doubt flickered in his eyes. What was Hattori Heiji trying to show? What was strange about this image?
"Everyone," Heiji said, "what can you tell from this?"
At his words, every gaze concentrated on the screen.
Sato Miwako seized the chance to step up beside Heiji, staring closely.
Search Division 3 fell silent again.
Many officers shook their heads, looking confused.
Officer Shiratori rested his chin on his hand, mind racing. What exactly was Hattori Heiji pointing at? What detail was hidden in this frame?
"I give up," Inspector Megure said, shaking his head.
One after another, others admitted the same.
Suddenly, a faint perfume reached him. Sato Miwako bent down and pointed at a spot on the screen with a pale, slender finger.
"Heiji… are you saying there's something wrong with her watch?"
[Watch?]
At Sato Miwako's words, Inspector Megure and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Miwako, what do you mean?"
Sato Miwako straightened up, her hand resting naturally on Heiji's shoulder as she looked at Inspector Megure.
"This is a habit many women have. When wearing a watch, they often wear it on the right hand, and the watch face turns inward—just like in the footage."
Everyone focused on the screen again, eyes widening more and more.
"It really is like Miwako said. So you're saying this person is a woman?" Inspector Megure exclaimed in surprise.
"It's also possible someone is deliberately disguising themselves as a woman," Officer Shiratori said coolly.
Sato Miwako shot him a cold glance and ignored him.
Heiji smiled faintly.
"Actually, what I wanted you to notice is something else. Of course, Miwako's inference isn't wrong either—this person in the footage is indeed a woman."
Ignoring the others' reactions, Heiji pointed directly at another spot on the screen.
"From this angle, the sunlight hits her face. If you look carefully, you can see her ear catching the light—that means she's wearing earrings. Also, you can see she doesn't have an Adam's apple."
Listening to Heiji's deductions, Inspector Megure and the others were stunned.
"Heiji," Inspector Megure asked, shocked, "this video is only five seconds long—how did you spot all of that?"
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