Haruka's sudden appearance in the deceased's apartment cast a shadow over Takagi's heart.
Even if he didn't want to doubt her and was willing to trust her as a fellow detective. She should have refrained from such actions.
The seeds of suspicion had been sown. Once planted, it grows involuntarily, and suspicion would continuously interpret objective judgments, making every move of the other party seem meaningful.
For example, now, after hearing Haruka's explanation, Takagi, considering it from her perspective, indeed felt that if his team focused the main investigation on Miyako Miura and the others. Haruka, to avoid wrongful accusations to others, would investigate other leads. This seemed in line with Haruka's character, and it felt like something she would do.
However, even with this in mind, due to preconceived notions, the thought that it might just be an excuse and her real motive could be searching for something in the deceased's apartment to destroy evidence against herself lingered in his mind.
After Haruka's apology, a strange silence fell over the room. Eventually, Haruka couldn't contain herself and asked, "How is it? Have you found any clues?"
"Unfortunately, there were no clues in Yoshiko Terazumi's room," Senichi shrugged in response. "No gains whatsoever."
"Is that so..." Haruka, looking at Senichi, who was silently watching her, lowered her head slightly. "Then, I'll take my leave..."
"Wait a moment..." Senichi was about to call out to her as she turned to leave, but his phone suddenly rang. After answering the call and listening to the report from Officer Tome, Senichi's brows furrowed even tighter. "Alright, I understand. Also, Officer Tome, please check Haruka's computer search records within the Police Affairs Bureau and send them to me later."
"What's going on?"
Takagi, seeing Senichi's gloomy expression, couldn't help but ask, "Who called just now? And why investigate Haruka's computer search records?"
"What Officer Tome just told me made me think of something." Senichi put away his phone and exhaled slowly. "According to the forensic team, the button we found at the crime scene earlier belongs to Haruka!"
"What!? How is that possible!" Takagi was shocked. "Could it be! Does it have Haruka's fingerprints on it!?"
"No, that's not it. Officer Tome just said that the button is from a specific brand, the same brand as the suits Haruka usually wears."
"Doesn't that mean there's a high possibility that the button belongs to Haruka?"
Takagi turned to look at the door after hearing this, only to find that Haruka had already disappeared. His expression turned somewhat unpleasant as he said, "And Haruka didn't heed your advice, she entered the deceased's apartment for a search on her own."
"Not only that, she also used the bureau's computer to investigate Yoshiko Terazumi's blog and chat room history," Senichi frowned as he looked at the text message that had just arrived on his phone.
"Online records!?" Takagi, upon hearing Senichi's words, couldn't help but pale. "You mentioned it just now, Senichi-kun—the computer in Yoshiko Terazumi's room was taken."
"Yeah, for that reason exactly. So, after Officer Tome informed me of this information, I asked him to investigate Haruka's computer usage records," Senichi explained, holding his head in frustration with his right hand on his left. "It seems like all the elements that make people suspicious have come together..."
"Then... Detective Haruka..." Takagi looked at Senichi, hesitated, and then asked, "What should we do?"
"What are you thinking?" Senichi chuckled, patting Takagi on the shoulder. "We only need to consider the case. Our job is to let the facts speak, and the rest are just speculations. Don't be misled."
"Let's go. We didn't manage to stop Haruka just now, and now, in a short time, that idiot has already turned off her phone. If that's the case, we can only be slightly offensive."
"What? Offensive!?" Takagi looked puzzled at Senichi's words and quickly caught up with him towards the car. "What are you talking about? Offense? What are you referring to?"
Starting the car, accompanied by the roar of the engine, Senichi smiled and said, "Naturally, it's about the matter of entering a lady's home without permission."
"Huh!?" Takagi looked panicked. "Huh huh huh!? Ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
Gentlemen, please don't misunderstand. The astonishment on Takagi's face and the shouting from behind are entirely unrelated. It's not the excited shout one would make when about to enter a lady's room, as Takagi is a proper and respectful person, especially fond of Sato Miwako.
The reason for the scream halfway through was due to Senichi's fast driving causing an instinctive panic. Since he reached A-level in his driving skills and became an experienced driver, Senichi no longer felt the thrill of Sato Miwako's fast driving. He quickly adapted and even started to enjoy the speed and excitement.
However, Takagi, as a normal person, still hasn't gotten used to this terrifying roller coaster-like speed. Despite developing resistance, he still reacts with screams to this speed and its ferocity.
Once again, they entered an unfamiliar room, but this time the owner was a colleague familiar to Senichi and Takagi.
"Hey, Senichi-kun..." Takagi poked his head in, fiddling with the door of the room. "Is it really okay for us to do this?"
"We're already here. Are you suggesting we leave now?"
Senichi opened the door and gestured for Takagi to step aside, stepping into the room. "We're just here to confirm some things, and if you really want to clear Haruka's name, then these steps are necessary."
Inside Haruka's apartment, the room presented itself as clean and tidy. However, beyond this neatness, the overall feminine atmosphere of the room was significantly reduced.
Typically, a girl's room would have some cute decorations, but Haruka's room had books on criminal psychology and some new but well-read books on propaganda scattered on the desk.
It was evident that she was ambitious and genuinely aspired to be an outstanding detective. However, due to the incident, she eventually changed her initial aspirations and took up a different position.
As for someone like her, discovering the betrayal, would she stick to her initial aspirations as a detective or choose revenge? Senichi and Takagi didn't know.
But what they needed to do was uncover the truth!
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