Conversation is an art.
Since it is an "art," it naturally requires skills.
In the conversation where Senichi and the others inquire about information from relevant individuals, conversation skills are particularly important.
Many pieces of information are revealed through casual conversation. That's why Senichi and Takagi didn't rush to ask the main questions but instead collected intelligence through casual chat.
In this process, their cooperation is essential to guide the conversation smoothly.
Moreover, it helps to reduce the other person's vigilance when asking crucial questions, so they won't refuse to answer.
Therefore, in the previous chat, Takagi and Senichi smoothly guided the topics.
The basic strategy is to start with small talk, then subtly gather information about other people, and finally move on to the main topic.
Even if the other party reacts strongly and is unwilling to answer, attempting to "escort" them out, the two of them wouldn't leave empty-handed.
Of course, these measures are applicable in general situations. Fortunately, Mrs. Katori belongs to this "general" category, and she unintentionally revealed a lot of information during the conversation.
As the conversation was nearing its end, Senichi and Takagi exchanged a glance. Then, the ever-friendly Takagi turned to Mrs. Katori and said, "Um... I heard that it was you who introduced Mrs. Sannitori to everyone, right?"
"Well... Actually, Mrs. Sannitori and I only know each other from the Seizon Department Store..."
As the conversation reached the main point, Mrs. Katori hesitated a bit but slowly began to speak.
"The Seizon Department Store?" Senichi didn't quite understand the name. "Can you please explain the situation in detail?"
"Yes, it's a place near here, like a flea market or bazaar." Mrs. Katori explained, "We met there, but our relationship was never close..."
"Don't touch it!!"
"But!"
Just as the atmosphere became somewhat silent, the two children playing in the adjacent room started to have a small argument.
"Hehe, do you both like trains?"
Seeing the tendency for the two children to quarrel, Takagi approached them with a smile, diverting their attention.
When they went to pick up the two children from school earlier, they had already revealed their identities, so the two boys weren't afraid of them.
"It's the Vanguard No. 1." Takagi approached the children and pointed to the running train, saying with a smile.
"Wow, that's amazing! It's Detective-san after all!" The older child praised while standing up from the ground and took out a sign from a nearby box, showing it to both of them.
"Look!"
"This is really cool, it's the sign of Vanguard No. 1!" Takagi seemed to be quite knowledgeable about railways, took the sign from the child, and explained to Senichi with admiration.
Vanguard No. 1 was a train from a long time ago, and this sign was its license plate at the time.
"Is it authentic?" Senichi received the sign handed over by Takagi. Its weight in his hand indicated that it was not a replica. "That's really impressive."
Mrs. Katori, who had been watching the two people playing with the children, also smiled and walked over.
However, when she saw the pile of miscellaneous items on the ground, she immediately panicked. "Ah, I told you two!!"
Saying that, Mrs. Katori carefully picked up a small vase from the ground and scolded the two children, "Hey! Didn't I tell you not to play with this? What if it breaks?!"
She kept turning the small vase around, relieved to see that it was undamaged.
"Um... may I ask about this..." Senichi curiously asked, "Is it an antique?"
Judging from the other party's reaction, it seemed to be an expensive vase. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a big response.
Unfortunately, he knew nothing about antiques in his past life, let alone antique vases, so he had no choice but to ask.
"Well, according to Mrs. Matsushita, this vase was bought by her grandfather when he was appointed ambassador." Mrs. Katori touched the small vase and said, "This vase used to be casually placed in her home without much attention."
"Afterward, she gave this small vase to you?" Takagi exclaimed, "She truly lives up to her reputation."
"Miss Matsushita is actually very generous." Mrs. Katori smiled with a hint of embarrassment. "But perhaps it's also because I had a very eager expression of wanting it."
"Oh, of course, just because she said 'to you,' I didn't accept everything," she continued. "I just really liked this particular item, so I accepted it."
At this point, Mrs. Katori seemed to recall something, and her expression became somewhat unnatural.
Understanding the implications of her words, Senichi spoke up, "So, someone took advantage of Mrs. Matsushita's generosity and accepted all her kind gestures without hesitation?"
"Well..." Mrs. Katori's expression turned sour as she continued, "Although I shouldn't speak ill of the deceased..."
Although she didn't explicitly say it, everyone present knew who she was referring to.
"So, you're talking about Sannitori Sanae?"
"It's Mrs. Sannitori. She didn't refuse Mrs. Matsushita's kindness and even acted greedily without any conscience."
Finally, Mrs. Katori opened up to Senichi and Takagi, revealing the burden she had been carrying.
Shortly after the other party came to Mrs. Matsushita's mansion, she developed a liking for an item, just like Mrs. Katori.
But after receiving the item from Mrs. Matsushita, the other party's behavior became increasingly unreasonable.
She even intentionally mentioned wanting Mrs. Matsushita's necklace, creating an unpleasant scene. Despite that, Mrs. Matsushita still gave her the necklace, and the other party sarcastically remarked, "Is this okay? Don't you mind?"
Such words were almost equivalent to mockery. As the saying goes, "Bite the hand that feeds you." Not only did she take advantage of someone's kindness, but she also ridiculed them.
And this was also the reason why Mrs. Katori had been visibly upset during her time at Mrs. Matsushita's mansion. She blamed herself for introducing Mrs. Sannitori and causing the originally harmonious gathering to turn sour.
Furthermore, Mrs. Sannitori had passed away since then. When Senichi and the others visited, Mrs. Katori remained silent, not wanting to bring up the matter.
It made her feel guilty towards Mrs. Matsushita because the person she recommended had caused so much trouble and made her feel unworthy of someone as kind as Mrs. Matsushita.