"What!?!"
"So you're saying that Mizuko Shibakusa lied about this?"
Upon receiving this news, the people present frowned again.
In the series of clues before, the more they investigated, the more it seemed like the victim had committed suicide. However, Mizuko Shibakusa's actions, combined with this lie, made people increasingly suspicious of her as the perpetrator.
After all, among the three people who had contact with Takaki Murakami on the day of the incident, she could be said to have the strongest motive, being the person who most likely to benefit from Murakami's death.
Now, the original plan to change the direction of the investigation to suicide or accident had been abandoned, and it had turned into a full-scale investigation of Mizuko Shibakusa.
However, even so, after the meeting, Yumi Miyamoto was still somewhat gloomy.
"What's wrong, Yumi?" Sato Miwako hugged her friend and said, "The investigation direction has changed from accident or suicide to investigating Mizuko Shibakusa, just as you wanted. Why are you still so unhappy?"
"I can't see any hope," Yumi Miyamoto sighed as she lay on the table, "We've basically investigated everything that needs to be investigated. Even if we suspect Mizuko Shibakusa of murder, what good is it without evidence? We can't arrest her."
Saying this, Yumi Miyamoto angrily pounded the table, "That infuriating woman, what method did she use to kill Mr. Murakami!"
As she spoke, she turned to look at Senichi, who was still deep in thought, "Officer Senichi, have you found anything?"
"Not at the moment."
Senichi was seated in front of Yumi Miyamoto, and upon hearing the question, he turned to face her and shook his head slightly, "Apart from lying about the sleeping pills, there's nothing suspicious about her."
"Damn it! Is there really no evidence at all?"
Yumi Miyamoto muttered as she reached into the drawer beneath the table and pulled out a manuscript. She flipped through it roughly while grumbling, "This fake! Such a tacky title! A work without a soul!"
"Even if the writing is superb, without a soul, it will forever remain a mere copy!"
Yumi Miyamoto's complaints gushed out like a machine gun, but Senichi's attention had already been drawn to the pages of the book that Yumi Miyamoto was flipping through continuously.
As the image entered his brain in an instant, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck through his mind, connecting all the fragmented pieces of information in the case, forming a perfect truth!
"I can't believe I overlooked such information," Senichi slapped his forehead and suddenly stood up, rushing towards the door.
Seeing this, Yumi Miyamoto and the others exchanged puzzled glances and quickly followed suit.
...
"Um... may I ask what you want to talk to me about?"
Inside the Murakami residence, Mizuko Shibakusa, the central figure of the media storm, looked at Senichi and the others politely and said, "Could you please hurry? I have a lot of things to attend to..."
"Miss Shibakusa, you are aware of Mr. Murakami's habit of taking sleeping pills to sleep, right?"
Senichi's words left Mizuko Shibakusa momentarily stunned, then she looked puzzled and said, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. The doctor at the hospital who prescribed sleeping pills to Mr. Murakami saw your face on TV and remembered that you once had helped Mr. Murakami get the medicine!"
Yumi Miyamoto, with a hostile expression, stared at Mizuko Shibakusa and said, "Are you still pretending even now!?"
Mizuko Shibakusa remained silent for a moment, bit her lip, and finally spoke, "Mr. Murakami made me promise not to tell anyone that he needed sleeping pills to sleep. He didn't want anyone to know."
"Why didn't you tell us after Mr. Murakami's death, and you were hiding it until just now!" Yumi Miyamoto questioned with suspicion.
"Because that was our agreement," Mizuko Shibakusa explained to the group, "Now that Mr. Murakami has passed away, I feel even more obligated to honor our agreement."
"I see, is that so..."
Upon hearing this, Senichi nodded and then, as if remembering something, quickly walked over to the desk and and picked up the light novel "The Heiress and the Famous Police Detective's Heart-Pounding Mystery Adventures" and asked, "Is this the book you saw Mr. Murakami reading before he left?"
"Yes, that's right," Mizuko Shibakusa nodded without hesitation. "It's this one."
"May I ask, Miss Shibakusa, have you read this book?"
Senichi casually flipped through the book and saw an illustration of an anime-like character who looked like himself with a mischievous smile, lifting the chin of the female lead. He couldn't help but close the book with a puzzled expression.
What on earth? Wasn't the female lead supposed to be the wealthy heiress? Why do I look like an overbearing CEO here?
"I haven't read it," Mizuko Shibakusa replied as she shook her head. "This was a book Mr. Murakami bought, and I haven't read it."
"Would you like to read it now? It's the last book Mr. Murakami read before his death."
"Huh? Why?"
Just as Mizuko Shibakusa was bewildered by Senichi's actions, Senichi had already handed her the book and said, "Please, take a look."
"Ha... I see..." Mizuko Shibakusa nodded and took the book, then carefully picked up the book and turned it over with her left hand.
"Stop!" Senichi looked at Mizuko Shibakusa's hand suspended in mid-air and asked the puzzled Mizuko Shibakusa, "What are you doing now?"
"Huh?" Mizuko Shibakusa shook her head in confusion. "I'm not doing anything, am I?"
"You just switched hands, didn't you?" Senichi looked at her with a smirk. "The book was originally in your left hand, but now you've switched to holding it in your right hand and are turning the pages with your left hand. Why?"
"Huh?" Mizuko Shibakusa looked at the book in her hand, turned another page in confusion, and said, "Because I need to turn the page."
"But you're using your left hand to turn the pages, right?" Senichi's lips curled into a sly smile. "Why is that, Mizuko Shibakusa?"
"Because the text in this book is horizontal," Mizuko Shibakusa gestured to the book.
"Bingo!" Senichi snapped his fingers and looked at Mizuko Shibakusa, who was confused and a little uneasy because of his words, and smiled: "Books with vertical text or openings on the right side are usually flipped with the right hand.
But this book has horizontal text, and the opening of the book is also on the left side, so it's more convenient to use the left hand for turning pages."
"Huh? What are you trying to say!?"
Feeling uneasy and unable to understand the situation, Mizuko Shibakusa became somewhat irritated. "If you keep making these strange remarks, I'm going to leave!"
"Strange remarks?"
Senichi looked at Mizuko Shibakusa with a half-smile and said, "Or should I say, you're the one who's acting strangely!"
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