"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Inside the wine cellar, Officer Takagi, with a panicked cry, landed smoothly on the spot where the victim had been.
"Bang!"
Poor Officer Takagi, who played the role of a tool, slammed heavily into the wine cabinet, causing it to shake. If there were any red wines placed on top, they would have surely fallen and shattered by now.
"All right, with this step completed, most of the trick is done. All that remains is to remove the laundry pole. At this point, you would use a thin string like a fishing line to hook onto the latch of the window and close it," Senichi explained.
Senichi held onto Officer Takagi, preventing him from being suddenly removed from the laundry pole underneath him and hitting his head. Then, as Officer Chiba followed his instructions and closed the window, Senichi smiled at everyone. "In this way, the body can be placed in the middle of the wine cabinet without the need to enter or exit the wine cellar."
"Nonsense! It's all nonsense!" Bald-headed Mr. Nonaka shouted in frustration. "Why am I the only suspect? The other two could have done it too! What evidence do you have to prove it was me?"
"Then take out the handkerchief from your pocket and show it to us," Senichi smiled and said. "When Mr. Kusaka's body fell, causing the wine bottles on the cabinet to shatter, that was probably an unexpected situation for you. The shattered red wine would naturally have splashed onto the laundry pole. And now, the pole is so clean, I assume you used a handkerchief to wipe it clean to avoid suspicion."
In Japan, people typically carry handkerchiefs with them, which is why Senichi speculated that the culprit might have used a handkerchief to wipe away the red wine stains.
"So, Mr. Nonaka, please take out the handkerchief."
Senichi extended his hand with a smile and said, "Even if you claim to have lost it or used something else to wipe, it doesn't matter. We will dig three feet deep to find it."
"Clearly, you didn't have the time to leave the villa to dispose of the red wine evidence you wiped, and I don't think you would have thrown the evidence too far away. Sooner or later, it will all come to light!"
"It's all Kusaka's fault!! It's all his fault!!"
Facing Senichi's words, Mr. Nonaka knew he had no more strength to resist. His defenses had finally crumbled, and he shouted in despair, "He lent me money with outrageous interest rates!! It was beyond unreasonable!!
And every time something upset him, he would immediately demand repayment, treating me like a dog!!
Are you kidding me?! I couldn't let the company go bankrupt so easily!!
He forced me into this!! I had no choice but to do this!!"
"Shut up!! That's utter nonsense!!"
Upon hearing Mr. Nonaka's blunt rebuke, Kogoro Mouri retorted, "You never changed your gambling habit. You thought you could save the company through your schemes, but you ended up killing Mr. Kusaka, who lent you money!
Even though his interest rates were exorbitant, the root cause of all this was your own actions!!
And no matter what, there is no excuse that justifies taking someone's life!!
The fact that you committed murder is something that cannot be changed!! In the days to come, you will have to reflect on your sins in your prison cell!!"
After this impassioned speech, Kogoro Mouri, who hadn't participated in the deduction, transformed into the "Beacon of Justice," instantly capturing everyone's attention.
And after Mr. Nonaka's spirit completely broke, he couldn't help but kneel on both knees, assuming the classic ORZ(dogeza) position of defeat.
Subsequently, after briefly comforting Mrs. Kusaka, who kept expressing her gratitude, Senichi wrapped up the case and took Mr. Nonaka into custody, leading him back to the police headquarters.
While Officers Takagi and Chiba were recording statements from Mr. Nonaka, Senichi finally found a moment to check the rewards for this case.
["The Locked Wine Cellar Murder Case"]
[Congratulations to the host for gaining 300 Fate Points]
All in all, it didn't exceed Senichi's expectations.
And Senichi's Fate Points were once again replenished, reaching 500 Fate Points.
After solving the wine cellar locked-room murder case, it was as if Senichi had entered a sage mode, peacefully passing the week.
As the weekend approached, it was their turn to be on duty as Officers Megure and Shiratori took their days off.
Although, considering Senichi's current status, he had the privilege to ignore such free-time rotations. However, if there wasn't anything pressing, Senichi preferred to avoid special treatment.
Of course, the primary reason was work-related. This week was somewhat special as they had to travel to Osaka to escort a drug dealer named Senzo Ogura back to Tokyo.
Originally, they planned to arrest him in Tokyo after obtaining an arrest warrant, but he sensed something was wrong and promptly fled.
Subsequently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department collaborated across regions with Osaka Prefecture to set up surveillance in the Kansai region, eventually leading to Ogura's arrest.
The personnel responsible for the handover in Osaka were Officers Takagi and Sato.
Upon learning that these two were handling the escort, Senichi became concerned. Although Takagi and Satou were supporting characters, they were still vital to the storyline, with many cases interwoven into their relationship. So, the fact that they were going on a business trip together made Senichi anticipate the scent of a case and rewards.
To be on the safe side, Senichi proactively requested to accompany them.
Of course, Senichi had legitimate reasons for making this request.
This drug dealer, Senzo Ogura, was indeed worth paying attention to. After he escaped to the Kansai region, the police dismantled his base of operations in Tokyo and found a large quantity of drugs in his house.
However, the arrest of Ogura was not the end of the case; it was a significant step forward.
He wasn't the source of these drugs; there was a more significant supplier above him.
Upon seeing the information about the case, Senichi increasingly felt that it resembled the one from his memory. So, he proposed the idea that there might be trouble during the escort of Ogura, considering his connections and the potential involvement of his organization.
In any case, there was no harm, and if he was right, it could lead to another brilliant deduction. Why not give it a try?
Senichi was gradually becoming a leader of the younger generation, and discerning individuals knew that it was only a matter of time.
Therefore, when Senichi presented his opinion, the higher-ups in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department couldn't overlook its influence.
After all, if something went wrong and they had to investigate later, the one who ignored the subordinates' opinions would become the unlucky scapegoat.
But if the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department launched a massive operation based solely on Senichi's words, without concrete evidence and reasons, just for a guess, and it turned out to be a wild goose chase, that would also be quite embarrassing.
So, in this situation, the best approach was to play a little game of Tai Chi~
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