In the cluttered room, the two sides confronted each other with tension and hostility.
Of course, the so-called tense atmosphere was only for the sake of Sannitori Shuji alone.
Senichi and Takagi, on the other hand, faced the fierce opponent without any concern and appeared full of confidence.
However, the more confident they seemed, the more unsettled Sannitori Shuji became.
"Sannitori Sanae was strangled to death with a rope-like weapon. And that weapon is this!" Senichi stared coldly at the other person and said, pointing precisely at the tie hanging on the display board, which was still slightly wrinkled from being worn on his chest earlier!
Upon seeing Takagi's action, Sannitori Shuji's pupils involuntarily contracted, and his body trembled uncontrollably as he instinctively moved backward.
"On the night of the crime, you were wearing this tie, right?" Although it was a question, Senichi's tone was extremely confident.
Senichi looked at Sannitori Shuji, whose expression seemed unnatural, and continued, "That tie is one of your collectibles related to the railway hobby, right? But why did you wear it on the night of the crime?
Most collectors who are obsessed with a particular field tend to take good care of their collectibles, and the way you specially store these items also proves this point.
So no matter what, I can't believe that you would casually wear such a precious collectible tie to work."
Senichi's words were like a sharp surgical knife, precisely cutting through the other person's psychology, making Sannitori Shuji's face turn pale. His direct outburst of anger and hostility turned into a guilty expression, and he couldn't even look directly at Senichi and Takagi.
While Sannitori Shuji remained silent, Senichi took off his own tie and held it in his hand, and Takagi picked up a drink bottle from the coffee table and held it up in the air.
Senichi wrapped the tie around the bottle and then grabbed both ends of the tie, tightly pulling on them to demonstrate.
Seeing Senichi exerting force on the bottle right in front of him, Sannitori Shuji's face filled with a terrified expression as if recalling the scene of strangling his wife.
His face turned pale, his facial muscles involuntarily trembled, and he looked ahead with fear.
Meanwhile, Senichi had stopped his movements and removed the tie from the bottle. He displayed it in front of Sannitori Shuji.
"A tie that has been tightly knotted and strangled, even if you try to flatten it, it will still look like this. It is noticeably different from other ties.
But as a precious collectible, you wouldn't want to throw it away. After the search was over and you felt safe, and your plan to frame Mrs. Matsushita succeeded, you put it back there."
At this moment, the tie in Senichi's hand no longer had the previous flat appearance. No matter how Senichi tried to smooth out the wrinkles with his hands, the tie remained creased.
Just like the tie hanging on the exhibition board next to the other four brand new ties, it stood out prominently.
"You used this tie to strangle Sannitori Sanae. And to conceal the murder weapon, you deliberately wore it!" Takagi stared at Sannitori Shuji with anger. "She was your wife, for heaven's sake!"
"That's utter nonsense!" Sannitori Shuji shouted while leaning against the display board. "You're just spouting nonsense!"
Senichi sneered and didn't mince his words as he retorted, "Whether it's nonsense or not, you can bark at us after we compare the tie and the strangulation marks on Sannitori Sanae's neck."
"Oh, and we might even find Sannitori Sanae's skin tissue on this tie. We have you to thank for preserving it so well."
Clearly, even the typically kind-hearted Takagi was infuriated by Sannitori Shuji's attitude, and he didn't hesitate to mock him.
Although criminal investigators were accustomed to dealing with "evil," they could never get used to it. When faced with despicable individuals, no one could maintain a calm demeanor.
"Well then, we'll take this tie back for forensic examination," Senichi said as he prepared to remove the tie while wearing gloves.
"W-Wait... it's not..."
Sannitori Shuji hurriedly stepped forward, trying to stop them. Resentment erupted in his tone, "That woman always treated my treasures like garbage!! She even took them to that self-selected mall to sell!!!"
...
"I'm back."
On that day, Sannitori Shuji, known as Sanniao, returned home early as he had finished his work quickly and before it got dark.
Upon arriving home, he found his wife lying on the couch, looking somewhat disturbed.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Sannitori Shuji took off his coat while asking his wife.
"I... I was choked by that arrogant woman." Sannitori Sanae, lying on the couch, didn't answer Sannitori Shuji's question and spoke indifferently.
"What? Choked?" Sannitori Shuji was taken aback by his wife's words and quickly approached her. "What happened?"
"I almost got killed by that arrogant woman!" Sannitori Sanae continued lying on the couch, not answering his questions, and said it in a detached manner.
"Who is this woman you're talking about?"
Sannitori Shuji's question seemed to ignite Sannitori Sanae's anger, and her rage instantly erupted. "In the end, it's all your fault!!"
"Huh?"
Sannitori Shuji looked at his wife, who was inexplicably furious, with a bewildered expression. "What are you talking about? I just came back from work, calm down, stop making a fuss for no reason."
Saying that, Sannitori Shuji sat next to his wife and reached out to embrace her, trying to console her for her inexplicable outburst.
From his wife's previous words, Sannitori Shuji probably understood the situation and felt that she was venting her anger on him, so he wanted to comfort her.
"Don't touch me!!" Sannitori Sanae's pent-up resentment burst out. She pushed her husband, who hadn't even settled down properly, away.
"Do you know how people around me see me because of you?!"
With this trigger, Sannitori Sanae's long-held anger poured out like a barrel of explosives at that moment.
"It's all because of the junk you've collected!! I'm even looked down upon by others! They treat me like a fool!!"
She swept everything off the table with one motion and then stood up, heading towards the magazines and items piled up on the nearby cabinet.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Sannitori Shuji reached out to try to stop her. "These are my precious collections!"
"To me, all of this is just garbage!!"
Sannitori Sanae reached out to hit Sannitori Shuji, cursing and lunging at the valuable collections displayed on the exhibition wall from his perspective.