"Uh, I understand. Then I'll leave this to you for now," Senichi nodded and said, "We'll go check elsewhere first."
After a preliminary examination of the body and obtaining an approximate time of death, Senichi and Takagi left the vicinity of the corpse, leaving the "battlefield" to the forensics personnel in charge of intelligence collection.
Considering the limited space near the body, it would take some time for the forensics team to gather evidence, and Senichi felt it would be better for him not to get in their way.
Soon, Senichi noticed something hanging on the wall next to the sofa—a display of items. On the rightmost side, on a coat rack with no clothes hanging, were several blue hats.
Senichi reached out and took one down, recognizing the familiar emblem on the hat. It turned out to be the uniform of a railway bureau employee.
There were various other railway-related items placed nearby, including some railway station signs on the floor, and a display board hanging on the wall.
However, it seemed that a rectangular sign was missing from the display board, as the hooks for hanging the sign were visible at the corners but there was nothing hanging on it.
That particular area appeared much cleaner compared to its surroundings, and it had the shape of a rectangle.
On the left wall, there was a small square display board with a horizontal bar at the top, from which four different-colored ties were hanging.
However, Senichi noticed that the ties were tightly packed, and there was an obvious empty space on the right, suggesting that one of the ties was missing, presumably taken by the owner for personal use.
On the tabletop in front of the sofa where the body lay, there were scattered tissues, seemingly used and not thrown into the trash bin but left carelessly on the table. It seemed that the deceased was a messy person.
Beside the tissues, there was also a white mask. Senichi picked it up and noticed a small cluster of fine fibers stuck to the mask. Although they were mixed together and not easily noticeable, Senichi only discovered them when he pinched the mask and examined it under the light.
"I found something here. There are some fine fiber clusters on the mask. We'll need to analyze them after collecting the evidence," Senichi put the mask back on the table and called over one of the forensics personnel to collect it.
"Hey!"
Upon hearing Senichi's instructions, one of the forensics personnel immediately came over to collect the evidence.
It was not only because Senichi was currently in charge of the case but also because of his reputation and special status.
After rising to fame, although Senichi was still a provisional Police Inspector, everyone knew that this was just a formality during his probationary period.
It was certain that he would be formally promoted soon, and he already held a special position similar to that of an advisor to the First Investigation Division, allowing him to intervene in challenging cases.
This was a privilege granted to him as a figurehead, a right given by those who tasted the benefits of his success.
Somehow, it happened. After all, Senichi was young, handsome, and talented, which attracted a considerable number of fans and reversed the declining reputation of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Of course, the internal members didn't care about these things; Senichi had completely won over his colleagues with his abilities.
"Detective Takagi, let's go and take a statement from the first discoverer."
The forensic personnel were entrusted with this area, and Senichi and Officer Takagi entered another room where the husband of the deceased, Sannitori Shuji, who was also the first discoverer, was sitting.
After initial questioning by Officer Takagi, the husband explained that when he returned home from work in the evening, the front door was locked and everything seemed normal.
However, upon entering the house, he discovered his wife dead on the sofa, and the sliding glass door next to it was open.
This implied that perhaps someone had invaded from the outside, as Sannitori's house had a layout where one could easily enter through the sliding glass door in the living room next to the front door.
"After seeing your deceased wife, you immediately called the police, right?"
After Sannitori Shuji finished explaining the situation upon entering the house, Officer Takagi began questioning with a notebook in hand.
Facing Officer Takagi's questions, Sannitori Shuji remained silent with a calm expression and only nodded.
At this moment, he appeared somewhat silent and absent-minded, without any facial expression, and mostly responded to Officer Takagi's questions with nods, without speaking.
This was expected, as encountering such a situation was a normal human reaction.
Senichi also observed the man's demeanor from the side. Sannitori Shuji was still dressed in formal attire, giving the impression that he had just finished work.
However, some details on him also indicated that he wasn't as clean and tidy as he appeared on the surface.
For example, the collar of his white shirt inside his coat was a bit dirty, his tie was still around his neck, and there were some wrinkled folds. Senichi looked down at his tie and found the symbol of the railway on it.
This matched the conspicuous empty space on the tie display board.
Looking at the disorderly arrangement in his home, his appearance truly gave the feeling of "a person's character reflected in their dwelling."
A messy person's house would definitely not be clean and tidy. This couple didn't seem to have any diligent individuals, as their single-family home was arranged like a warehouse, with all sorts of miscellaneous items piled up.
"Officer Senichi, I've asked almost everything here. Do you have any further questions?" Officer Takagi looked at Senichi, who was lost in thought, and asked.
"Ah, oh, indeed, I have two or three more questions to ask." Senichi snapped out of his observation and then looked at Sannitori Shuji, saying, "Have you been feeling sick lately?"
"Huh?"
Seemingly surprised that Senichi would ask such a question, Sannitori Shuji looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Even Officer Takagi next to him was a bit bewildered. Why are you asking if someone has a cold? We're here to investigate a case, not to give medical advice...
"Have you or your wife been feeling sick recently?" Ignoring their surprise, Senichi asked again.
"Uh..." Sannitori Shuji thought for a moment and replied, "Uh, yeah, my wife had a cold."
"So it was your wife. When did it start?" Senichi continued his questioning.
"Well... It started probably the day before yesterday."
"I see. Then one more question." Senichi nodded and said, "Did you and your wife have any pets?"
"Pets?"
Sannitori Shuji repeated the question, then shook his head blankly and said, "No."