After inquiring about the specific location of Masahiko Arima's Italian restaurant from Takuya Akiyama, the two didn't use a car and walked directly to the nearby restaurant.
Without revealing their identities, the two chose a seat and began ordering normally, appearing no different from the other customers around them.
"Detective Senichi, aren't you planning to call Masahiko Arima over for questioning?" Sato Miwako couldn't help but ask when the waiter left.
"Of course, I will call him, but not now," Senichi shook his head. "Before that, we need to confirm something. If we call him out later, it will be as a suspect."
"What!?" Sato Miwako exclaimed in surprise. "Detective Senichi, do you suspect that Takuya Akiyama is the real culprit!?"
"Yes," Senichi nodded. "Although it's not fully confirmed yet, I've essentially identified him as the culprit."
"Then what are we waiting for now?" Sato Miwako couldn't help urging, "Don't keep me in suspense!"
"Isn't it here?" Senichi turned his head to signal Sato Miwako to look at the waiter who was approaching with dishes, and said, "I've been waiting for this!"
"Dishes?"
Sato Miwako looked at the waiter placing dishes on the table, and as she watched Senichi, who had already picked up his fork and was skillfully twirling the spaghetti, she couldn't help but complain, "How is this supposed to be a crucial piece of evidence? It seems like you just wanted to eat."
"No, no, although I also wanted to eat spaghetti, that's not the only reason." Senichi tapped his nose, "You probably forgot, but my sense of smell is sometimes more reliable, right?"
Hearing Senichi's reminder, Sato Miwako, who only realized this now, looked at the dishes on the table and said with a bit of astonishment, "Could it be... these dishes are your target?"
"Yes, but to be precise, it's not the dishes, but the oil."
Senichi put the fork with twirled spaghetti into his mouth, savoring the taste of the spaghetti. "The taste is good, but the flavor of the olive oil is a bit heavy..."
"Oil..."
Hearing Senichi's meaningful words, Sato Miwako suddenly remembered their actions before they started the investigation—how they went to the forensics lab to check the evidence.
She lowered her head, looked at the exquisitely plated spaghetti in front of her, and exclaimed, "Are you saying that the oil on the weapon, that was wiped after the crime, is the olive oil from this restaurant!?"
"That's right." Senichi nodded with a smile. "The smell of this olive oil is completely consistent with the oil traces on the victim's chest."
"What are we waiting for!"
Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako immediately wanted to stand up and arrest him, but Senichi stopped her. "Don't panic. At least finish the meal before we talk. Otherwise, we won't have this gap later. I don't want to work on an empty stomach."
"Then tell me the whole story of the case."
Staring at Senichi angrily, Sato Miwako immediately hastened her pace of eating. With Senichi's explanation, Sato Miwako also understood the entire picture of the case.
"Check, please."
As the case was explained, the dishes were also finished.
After calling the waiter to settle the bill, Senichi smiled and said, "Could you please summon your boss? I have something about the dishes that I'd like to discuss with him."
"I understand, please wait." Hearing Senichi's words, thinking it might be a gourmet or someone looking for trouble, the waiter bowed and hurried towards the kitchen.
In no time, a handsome guy with medium-length hair, wearing an apron and glasses, came out under the guidance of the waiter.
"Um... Excuse me, did you call me?" Masahiko Arima looked at the two and said politely, "I wonder what the two of you need? Do you have any dissatisfaction with the dishes, or is there anything else?"
"No, we're satisfied with the dishes. It's just that there are some other matters we'd like to discuss with you." Senichi took out his detective badge and showed it to him.
"Ah, I didn't expect it to be Mr. Detective."
Masahiko Arima, after seeing the detective badges shown by Senichi and Sato, suddenly realized, "Is it about my father-in-law's case? But I've already talked to the detectives about this... and I've promised to testify as a witness..."
"As a witness in court?" Senichi shook his index finger and smiled meaningfully. "Testifying in court is a matter of course, but not as a witness. It's the defendant facing the court's judgment!"
Hearing Senichi's words, Masahiko Arima's face changed. He immediately turned gloomy and said, "Mr. Detective, please don't speak nonsense! Isn't it Takashi Inoue who is the murderer? And you've already arrested him!"
"While Takashi Inoue did commit breaking and entering, he is not the murderer." Senichi looked at Masahiko Arima with sharp eyes and said, "The real killer who murdered Toshiyuki Ootsu is you, isn't it?"
"Ha!? Don't joke around!" Masahiko Arima said with an unpleasant tone. "Even if you're a detective, you can't speak recklessly. Mr. Akiyama and I experienced this together. Moreover, when he saw the criminal assaulting my father-in-law, I was right there with him. How could I have entered the office and killed my father-in-law?"
"Regarding this, I already have asked Mr. Akiyama in detail, and the testimony I got is that he did not personally witness Takashi Inoue assaulting President Ootsu. He only saw the shadow of someone beating another person projected on the wall through the neon lights."
Senichi raised his hand to stop Masahiko Arima, who was about to retort, and said with a playful tone, "If you want to argue that these two concepts are the same, then you're completely wrong. I don't know if you remember the golden clock with a little person striking the bell placed on President Ootsu's room cabinet?"
"If it's in a dark room with faint neon light from outside, the little person on the clock can create the same shadow on the wall, producing the same effect as someone beating another person."
"What about the noise we heard from outside the door when my father-in-law fell?" Masahiko Arima retorted. "That can't be fake, right?"
"Regarding this matter, it's also quite simple. Just place a golf ball under the corner of the president's office cabinet, and then tie it with a string."
Senichi remained composed and said, "When panicked Mr. Akiyama saw the shadow of someone beating another person through the small window, you just needed to take the opportunity to pull away the golf ball to create that sound."
"As a side note, having a golf ball in the room is quite normal. After all, Mr. Ootsu loves playing golf."
Sato Miwako added, "And that clock, I had my colleagues in the forensics department confirm it. It's a memento from a golf championship."
"Even if that's the case, so what?!" Masahiko Arima grumbled discontentedly. "Anyone could use the method you mentioned. Why is it me? If you say I'm the culprit, then show me the evidence!"
"Evidence?" Senichi leaned back on the sofa with a tactical "sigh" and said indifferently, "There are two ironclad pieces of evidence that identify you as the culprit. Which one do you want to hear first?"
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