Sakume and Hirata reached the Yokoyama mansion by carriage.
"This is bigger than I expected." Sakume said, referring to the house.
"You talking about the house, or the case?"
"Both."
Knock knock. One of the house servants answered. "Oh greetings, officers. Right this way, please" He leads them to the living room, where Yokoyama was sitting there, sipping tea. He was wearing a top hat, a business suit, and holding a cane in one hand.
"Welcome, gentlemen." he said in a friendly tone.
Then they introduced themselves. "I am Detective Sakume." They shook hands.
"And I am Hirata." They shook hands.
"Please, sit."
They sat. The servant brought them tea and left.
"Thank you, Mr. Yokoyama." Sakume said, sipping his tea. "As you know, we are to discuss the homicide of Ms. Murai and Mr. Tatekawa."
Yokoyama said, "Oh yes...I know. I am greatly saddened by their deaths."
Sakume said, "They died about 2 days ago. In Ryoji cemetery. We could not determine the exact time of their deaths, but we do know they died anywhere between midnight and 4 am."
"Have you found the murderer yet?"
"Not yet. We are currently investigating. You are engaged to Ms. Murai, correct?"
"Oh yes. It was an arranged marriage set up by her parents and my parents. And I had bene looking forward to it too. Please, if there is anything I can do to help, I will, so you officers can put this sick son of a bitch behind bars." He sipped his tea.
"We want to ask you, Mr. Yokoyama," said Hirata, "Does Ms. Murai or Mr. Tatekawa have any enemies, or have they offended anybody?"
"Oh heavens no. Nabiki is...was one of the nicest women I have ever met. I fell in love with her the very first time I saw her. There is no way she could make as hateful an enemy who'd want to kill her. The same for her butler, Mr. Tatekawa. I do not know him as well as my fiancé, but she told me that he is a very kind person, and I think so too, from the few times I have interacted with him. The only hate or spite that can ever arise is if someone is jealous of them...or myself."
"I see." Sakume said. "But as you know, Mr. Yokayama, murder does not occur in our town often."
"Yes, thanks to your splendid work you did as police officers. Mistle Town has one of the finest law enforcement agencies out there."
"Thank you for your compliments." Hirata replied, almost blushing.
"Can I ask you something, Mr. Yokayama." Sakume said. "Did you know that Ms. Murai and her butler were having an affair?"
Yokayama's face changed. His glasses shined. "No, I did not. Only did I realize this after their deaths, that they were together in the cemetery in the middle of the night. But I do not believe this has to do anything with their deaths."
"On the contrary, it may have everything to do with it. You really did not know that they were having an affair? Some of the other butlers discovered that as well. They made their statements as we did the investigation. You were living in the same house, how could you not know something so blatantly obvious?"
Hirata was growing concerned. "Sakume..."
"I might have known...I might not. I know they are very close. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Mr. Yokoyama, where were you on July the 18th, from midnight to 4 am?"
"Detective, are you suspecting me of killing them? My own fiancé?"
"Answer my question, please."
"This is ridiculous! You police are supposed to come here and help me, not to question me!"
Hirata was getting worried. He kept nudging his partner to stop, but he wouldn't.
"Our job here is to find out the murderer. Please answer the question..."
"On July 18th I was right here in my own home, reading some books. I have witnesses. All of my servants can attest to that."
Hirata dragged Sakume up. "I am very sorry, Mr. Yokoyama, I think we have overstayed our welcome. Let us be on our way." So they left.
As they were walking in the backyard towards the exit, they were arguing.
"What was that, man? You kept interrupting me?"
"Sakume, be reasonable. We can't just accuse Mr. Yokoyama like that without any evidence. We are not even sure if he's the murderer."
"I'm pretty damn sure of it! Did you see his reaction when I mentioned about the affair? His whole physiology changed. And when I asked him where he was on the night the murders took place, he got angry all of a sudden, and very defensive. These are obvious signs that he's the culprit, or maybe he sent someone to kill them."
"Well...that's true, but you shouldn't provoke him like that. We do not need unnecessary trouble."
"Hmmph. I don't care how rich this guy this." Sakume said. "I am pretty sure he's the one responsible. And I will find the evidence to persecute him."
Meanwhile, back inside the mansion...
Yokoyama sipped his tea angrily. "Ritoshi!" he yelled out.
A ninja dropped from the ceiling, landing in a crouch position. The room was dark, so no one noticed him around. "Yes, master?"
"Did you just see what happened?"
"Yes master, I saw everything."
"That blasted detective...what's his name? Sakume, yes? He's accusing me of committing the murders. I do not want him to be nosing around in my business. I am sure he will continue to investigate me by any means necessary. So I want you to follow him, and find out if he's still suspicious of me. Tell me exactly what he's doing and why. You got it?"
"Yes sir." Ritoshi stood up and left the room, leaving Yokayama alone.
(I swear, Sakume, if you do anything to upset me, you will regret it.)