After some time, a call came in from Officer Shiratori's side.
After some questioning, it was revealed that Mr. Yanagi did indeed have a conflict with the deceased.
The reason for their argument was that Mr. Murakami had decided not to continue working with their publishing house, and without Mr. Yanagi's knowledge, had arranged to have his novel published by another publishing company.
Certainly, this could indeed be the motive for Mr. Yanagi, which could have led to him committing murder in anger. However, he does have a strong alibi.
On the evening of the incident, Mr. Yanagi was in a bad mood due to the deceased's decision, so he went out for drinks with colleagues from the editorial department after work.
Starting from 8 PM, they went to a nightclub at 11 PM and stayed there until 2 AM.
Now, after questioning his colleagues, they have obtained concrete testimonies confirming that the two of them were together all night. Although further verification is needed to ensure they didn't provide false alibis for him.
But undoubtedly, Mr. Yanagi's suspicion has been minimized.
As an editor, Mr. Yanagi has a perfect alibi.
On the other hand, Mrs. Fukiko, the housekeeper, returned home early at 8 PM after finishing dinner.
When she left, the manager, Mizuko Shibakusa, was also having dinner with the deceased. So, this also serves as evidence that Mrs. Fukiko is not a suspect.
After all, if someone had randomly administered sleeping pills, there would be no guarantee that the deceased would obediently go to the study; it is more likely that he would go straight to his bedroom.
As for the final person, the manager Mizuko Shibakusa, her situation appears to be the most complex at the moment. After all, the deceased's wife divorced him because of her, and the reason for the deceased's decision is still unknown.
She had previously mentioned her sexual orientation issue, which has been confirmed. Not only does she have a girlfriend, but they are also openly living together.
According to neighbors, they have been living together for many years, without getting married. However, they have kept it a secret, and the neighbors only thought they were close friends, not suspecting anything beyond that.
And Mrs. Murakami had divorced the deceased a long time ago, and Mizuko Shibakusa showed no interest in taking her place. When Senichi investigated the deceased's house, he found no traces of a woman living there.
Moreover, killing Mr. Murakami would also be detrimental to her career as a writer. After all, after Murakami's death, she wouldn't be able to use his recommendations or connections anymore.
After a thorough investigation, the more they treated it as a murder case, the less they could see the shadow of a murder. Instead, everything seemed to suggest that the deceased might have died by suicide or accident.
And following this, there was another piece of information that increased the possibility of an accident.
The deceased was taking sleeping pills!
After verifying the initial testimony, Senichi asked Takagi and others to focus on investigating the hospitals around the deceased's residence.
In the end, they found out that Mr. Murakami had been going to the nearby Private Hospital every month to get a prescription for sleeping pills, and the amount prescribed was the dosage for daily use.
And they confirmed with the doctor that he had personally prescribed the medication.
If that was the case, considering the previous series of evidence, there was a high possibility that the deceased had fallen asleep at his desk after taking his usual sleeping pills, and he died from poisoning due to the poorly ventilated room with the fireplace.
"Is that so? So, he had been taking sleeping pills all along."
"Yes, that's right," Takagi nodded and reported to Inspector Megure: "And according to our questioning, it seems that the housekeeper and the manager were both unaware of this."
"Why..." Inspector Megure frowned, "It's understandable that Mr. Yanagi, the editor, didn't know, even though their relationship was long-lasting, he's still an outsider. But the other two are responsible for the deceased's daily life, and they didn't know that he was taking sleeping pills?"
"Well... maybe he wanted to hide it because being a best-selling author might also lead to insomnia due to the heavy pressure," Takagi speculated.
"The so-called male pride, huh..." Inspector Megure nodded, seeming to agree with that explanation.
"The person has already passed away, and we can't verify it now," Takagi sighed. "I never expected that such a renowned best-selling author would have these kinds of troubles."
"What about the medication? Where was it discovered?" Inspector Megure asked again.
"It was found behind the books in his study," Chiba reported. "After we learned about the deceased taking sleeping pills, we carefully checked the bookshelf and found a bottle of sleeping pills, obviously intentionally hidden."
"So you're saying Mr. Murakami's death was really an accident!?" Upon hearing the conversation and judging from the existing evidence, Yumi Miyamoto had an incredulous expression. "How is that even possible!?"
She anxiously ran her hands through her hair, making it look disheveled, and kept saying, "This is not funny at all! The great writer Takaki Murakami died in an accident? Just like that? People will laugh when they find out! Is Mr. Murakami going to be known as the 'accidentally deceased writer' in the future? I absolutely won't allow it!"
"Okay, calm down," Senichi told Yumi Miyamoto, who seemed to have a raging fire burning behind her, and he sighed while holding his forehead. "I have a serious question to ask you, so please focus."
"Oh no! Manager Mizuko Shibakusa is holding a press conference right now!" Just then, Shiratori burst in with this news.
"What? A press conference?" Inspector Megure quickly stood up and turned on the TV in the meeting room. After Shiratori tuning it to the designated channel, they saw Mizuko Shibakusa giving her statement.
"In fact, I, Mizuko Shibakusa, have been working as Teacher Takaki Murakami's ghostwriter for the past few years, writing works on his behalf. 'The Flowing Little River,' 'July Lovers,' 'Love in Wakkanai,' and several other works published in the last three years were all written by me."
As soon as she started her speech, Mizuko Shibakusa dropped a bombshell, causing a commotion among the reporters present.
In the face of the commotion among the reporters, Mizuko Shibakusa remained calm and said, "I've admired Mr. Murakami since my teenage years, so I feel genuinely fortunate to be able to publish works in his name.
Of course, for the vast majority of the royalties from the books, Mr. Murakami also gave them to me. Even Mrs. Murakami suspected Mr. Murakami had an affair with me because of my presence, and this jealousy ultimately forced Mr. Murakami to choose to get a divorce."
As soon as she said this, the commotion at the scene grew even more significant, and the frequency of camera flashes intensified.
Mizuko Shibakusa's words, at first glance, seemed to emphasize Mr. Murakami's appreciation for her. She not only received most of the royalties but also indirectly portrayed Mr. Murakami's character in a negative light, making it a double-edged statement.
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