Seeing her mother so intimate with a man, Ran—hiding behind them—grew paler by the second. Pain flashed through her eyes.
Mom really has a new boyfriend… what am I supposed to do?
From her angle, she could clearly see the sweet smile on Eri Kisaki's face.
[Could I be mistaken? Mom's a lawyer—maybe she's collecting evidence.]
[Mom never gets this physically close to men.]
[Maybe she's being pressured into it…]
[No. I'm overthinking it. Mom is an incredible lawyer—who would dare pressure her?]
[What do I do… what do I do?]
[Should I run up and ask her directly?]
[But if it's a misunderstanding, I'll embarrass her.]
[It's all Dad's fault—always smoking and drinking, making everyone worry.]
Ran's thoughts churned in a mess of emotions, her expression shifting from doubt to fear to anger.
By then, the two of them had already arrived in front of a building.
Are they… looking at houses together?
Ran's face drained of color again.
"This is the household that helped Prosecutor Kujo with the statements," Eri said softly, leaning in close to Heiji. "The woman who lives here is Asami Masako. She's the vice-chair of the local Women's Association. If we get her on our side, it will help us a lot."
Then, still close to him, she added quietly, "You speak in a moment."
Heiji turned his head to look at her—and, from the corner of his eye, calmly noted a corner behind them.
Eri smiled elegantly, her mind working quickly as she prepared her words.
The gate opened, and a middle-aged woman—around her fifties—stepped out.
"Hello," Eri said warmly. "My name is Kisaki Eri. This is my boyfriend, Heiji."
"Hello," the woman replied, suspicion in her eyes. "What is this about?"
"We're looking for a police officer named Shiratori Ninzaburo," Eri said. "Do you happen to know where he lives?"
"Shiratori Ninzaburo?" The woman's eyes brightened at once. "Why are you looking for him?"
Eri's expression turned shy on cue.
"Heiji and I are only together because Officer Shiratori introduced us."
Heiji watched from the side and nodded inwardly.
Women really are natural actresses… that was award-level.
"So Officer Shiratori is your matchmaker?"
Eri held Heiji's arm even tighter, looking genuinely happy.
"In that case…" The woman sighed suddenly. "That's really unfortunate."
Eri loosened her hold at just the right moment, keeping only a light, symbolic grip.
The hook was set. No need to overdo it.
"Your matchmaker killed someone."
"What?" Eri's eyes widened in shock. "Officer Shiratori killed someone? How could that be?"
"It's true. Everyone in this neighborhood knows."
"Impossible," Eri insisted, frowning. "Officer Shiratori is a police officer. How could he kill someone?" She turned to Heiji with a tense look. "Say something."
Her voice was soft—almost coaxing. And it carried clearly to Ran, not far away.
Ran went even paler.
Mom has never spoken to Dad in that tone…
Heiji felt a flicker of helplessness.
We're just collecting evidence. Do we really need to act this hard?
But he understood Eri's approach. If they revealed their identities outright, these people would never cooperate so easily.
And people were instinctively wary of the police, lawyers, doctors—any profession that made them feel exposed.
So the "couple" act was, in its own way, a necessary tactic.
"Ma'am," Heiji said, putting disbelief on his face, "Officer Shiratori is an Assistant Inspector with the MPD. There's no way he killed someone."
"Oh?" The woman's expression soured. "Are you saying I'm lying?"
"No—please don't misunderstand," Eri said quickly, smiling. "That's not what we meant."
"Right," Heiji added with a shrug. "We didn't mean that."
The woman looked at Heiji, clearly annoyed.
"Your face says you don't believe me. Fine. I'll let you hear what other people have said."
She pulled out her phone and began calling.
"Hello, this is Masako…"
"It's me…"
"Auntie Masako here…"
"Sis, it's Masako…"
Heiji and Eri watched quietly as she made call after call.
A short time later, several people came out from nearby buildings, all walking over.
"Everyone I called is a witness," Masako said proudly. "They gave statements to the prosecutor. Once you hear them, you won't have any excuse not to believe it."
Heiji and Eri exchanged a look. Both saw the same flicker of satisfaction in the other's eyes.
They nodded calmly.
"Ma'am," Eri said—still playing it perfectly—"how did you gather so many people so quickly?"
Even as she asked, she let just the right amount of surprise show, feeding Masako's vanity.
"I'm the vice-chair of the local Women's Association," Masako said, chin lifting. "The prosecutor's case went as smoothly as it did because I gathered everyone."
"Ma'am, you're amazing," Eri said warmly.
As Eri held Heiji's arm, her hand slipped subtly into her pocket. She took out a small recording pen and, without changing her expression, clicked it on.
From this moment, everything would be recorded.
"Masako, why did you call us here?"
A woman even older than Masako arrived, leading a group of women behind her.
"Sis," Masako said, "these two came looking for Shiratori Ninzaburo."
Instantly, every gaze focused on Heiji and Eri.
Eri hugged Heiji again, looking embarrassed—just the right amount.
Heiji offered the group a polite smile.
"Hello, everyone. My girlfriend, Kisaki Eri, and I came to give Officer Shiratori an invitation. We didn't expect to hear from Ms. Masako that he killed someone. To be honest, we can't quite believe it. Of course, we're not doubting Ms. Masako—we're just… shocked."
"An invitation?"
"You mean… you're getting married?"
"So you came to deliver wedding invitations?"
The women, who had looked unfriendly at first, were immediately drawn in. They stared at the two of them, surprised and curious.
Eri looked momentarily stunned—then recovered instantly, smiling shyly.
"We're planning to get married next month. We just didn't expect to hear news like this."
An invitation…?
Getting married…?
Next month…?
Behind them, Ran went rigid. She sagged weakly against the wall, her eyes unfocused, stunned into silence.