The missing homeowner is named Tominaga Yousuke, who owned a two-story single-family home with both front and back yards. The place was quite sizable, but it wasn't a custom-built house; instead, it looked like one of the uniform relocations houses built during the bubble economy era, identical to the neighboring residences.
Now, the door of the Tominaga Residence was sealed with police tape, and the lock had been broken by the police during their first entry. Okuno and Hidaka didn't bother to contact the local Police Box this time and went straight inside, then expectantly looked at Nanahara Takeshi.
They were completely clueless at the moment, so it would be best if Nanahara Takeshi could find Tominaga Yousuke. Otherwise, the case might rot in their hands.
Having too many unresolved cases on their hands could negatively affect their performance reviews, promotions, and bonuses. It was a troublesome matter indeed.
Kiyomi Liuli's "soul of deduction" had already reignited fiercely. Narrowing her almond eyes, emitting a slight chill, she meticulously observed everything inside the house, not missing a single clue.
The entryway looked normal, with slippers, leather shoes, and sneakers neatly arranged on the rack;
The living room had a wooden floor, freshly waxed, reflecting a soft sheen;
The tables, chairs, and curio shelves were all neatly organized, as were the teapot and cups placed perfectly on the tray on the table.
Well, it really didn't seem like there were any suspicious spots. It didn't look at all like a crime scene...
After scanning the room Kiyomi Liuli's thoughts suddenly stirred.
In detective novels, the clocks at the crime scene are very important; they often reveal the time of the crime, allowing the detective to see through the trap and find the real culprit!
With this in mind, she quickly turned around and looked at the wall clock in the living room. Upon closer examination, her hopes were dashed—4:02, which was the current time; it seemed the clock was working fine.
"The person who reported the incident, they looked through this window, didn't they?"
While she was quietly disappointed, she heard Nanahara Takeshi speaking in front of a narrow window and hurried over to join him, looking out of the same window. The window was only a small ventilation window, offering a very limited view, but just enough to see an electric pole—it was likely the same one the witness was urinating on at the time.
Okuno Yasuharu pulled out a palm-sized notepad, glanced at it, and pointed at the yard's wall. "Yes, Nanahara, that guy was peeing by the electric pole, and then he vaguely heard something and climbed up to take a look," he spoke.
Nanahara Takeshi turned back, examining a slightly off-center spot in the living room. "So, you're saying the victim was tied up there?"
"Precisely," confirmed Okuno Yasuharu, who, along with Hidaka Tsukasa, had indeed earned their pay today by questioning people meticulously. Flipping through his notepad, he said, "If he wasn't hallucinating from being drunk, the victim was indeed tied firmly to a chair, covered in blood on his face and body, and there was blood splattered all over the floor as well. He probably suffered a long time of brutal beating. Hmm, he recalls that the table was overturned, and it seemed like a couple of chairs had also fallen over, the teapot and cups were shattered on the floor—there appeared to be shards, but he couldn't be sure..."
Continuing, he flipped a page and added, "There isn't much else—due to the small window and limited view, plus being very drunk and weak in the limbs, he only glanced once before getting scared and falling back down, right into his own urine. Apart from a vivid memory of the victim, he couldn't make out anything else."
Such an unreliable witness—he should have just avoided drinking...
Internally scoffing, Kiyomi Liuli then focused on the four chairs in the living room, beginning to inspect them one by one, hoping to find some leads. However, after a few moments she couldn't help murmuring, "There doesn't seem to be any sign of impact..."
Okuno Yasuharu signaled, and Hidaka Tsukasa immediately used a powerful ultraviolet light to scan. There were no brownish-black spots on any of the four chairs, and even the crevices were spotless. If there had been blood, it was impossible for it to have been cleaned perfectly in seven or eight minutes.
Same for the floor; the wax was so polished that it shone, with absolutely no reaction to bloodstains—not even a trace.
Nanahara Takeshi bent down and carefully inspected a chair before rubbing his finger on the seat and then tasting it thoughtfully.
Kiyomi Liuli watched him, then did the same—rubbing a finger across the seat and tasting it, her expression equally pensive. Odd, it tasted of nothing at all—what's this guy thinking?
"Did you taste anything?" Nanahara Takeshi inquired lightly.
"There's no taste..." Kiyomi Liuli replied, puzzled.
"Any odors like detergent or bleach, some kind of chemical smell?"
"No," she shook her head looking at Nanahara Takeshi, curious, "What about you? What did you taste?"
"I don't know," replied Nanahara Takeshi as he stood up and looked elsewhere.
Not understanding his intentions, Kiyomi Liuli asked in confusion, "What do you mean you don't know? Does it mean you also didn't taste any strange flavors?"
Glancing at her sidelong, Nanahara Takeshi wiped the back of the chair with his index finger and then licked his middle finger. He offhandedly remarked, "I didn't taste, so of course I don't know. That spot was where people sit with their butts; what if it tasted really bad?"
Jerk!
Kiyomi Liuli trembled with rage, her nostrils blasting hot air as she felt like she was tearing apart. Unperturbed, Nanahara Takeshi said, "Watch your attitude, assistant. I'm the BOSS here, after all."
BOSS? Sooner or later I'll turn you into a ball and kick you to death!
Kiyomi Liuli still had to rely on Nanahara Takeshi to "show her the ropes," and even though she was quite angry, she dared not offend him. She forcefully swallowed her rage, took half a minute to psych herself up, and finally calmed down enough to whisper, "Looking at it now, the police's judgment seems correct. The person who reported the crime was probably drunk and had hallucinations, so you better start guessing where the homeowner has gone off to, instead of thinking about a robbery."
Nanahara Takeshi pondered for a moment, took another look around the living room, and slightly shook his head, "Maybe, but it's hard to say; it's too clean here, everything looks as if it's just been washed."
"There isn't a single stain on the furniture or the floor, nor is there any odd smell—almost as if it's been cleaned with chemicals and then repeatedly scrubbed with water. It's so out of place, like it's prepared for a surprise inspection by a superior."
However, it is indeed impossible to achieve such cleanliness over so many pieces of furniture and such a large area in just seven or eight minutes.
It's strange, contradictory.
"But there was definitely no fight here because the teacups and teapot on the table are intact, as are the chairs and tables. Based on the witness's recollection, most of the furniture was overturned at the time, and the teacups and teapot were shattered on the ground. Even if he remembered incorrectly and nothing was broken, it is impossible that not a single trace was left."Kiyomi Liuli had almost reached the same conclusion as Okuno and Hidaka—that homeowner Tominaga Yousuke had disappeared for other reasons and the person who reported the crime was just drunk and hallucinating.
Nanahara Takeshi picked up the teapot and teacup to take a look, noticing that they were very ordinary household items and clearly well-used—by the looks of a small chip on one of the cups, it seemed to be at least three to five years old—and the whole tea set was spotless, without a single stain.
That's quite normal. Who doesn't keep their tea sets clean?
He nodded and said, "You make a good point; at least this isn't a case of burglary."
"Are you so sure of that?" Kiyomi Liuli asked curiously.
Nanahara Takeshi gestured toward the display shelves and said, "See those decorations? They're natural amber and pink coral, quite valuable and beautifully colorful, plus easy to carry. If someone broke in for money, they wouldn't have left them untouched like that."
Kiyomi Liuli didn't know the first thing about amber or coral, but her confidence soared, "I knew it; a drunk's report is never reliable. Now, quit dawdling and start looking for the person. See where Tominaga-san might have likely gone."
Her words weren't wrong—Nanahara Takeshi was being paid to find a person, and it was none of his concern if Tominaga Yousuke was dead. He signaled to Okuno and Hidaka that he would look around the house.
Okuno Yasuharu and Hidaka Tsukasa had already been wandering around the house all day, without any hope of finding anything new. They didn't follow him but stood there, speaking in low voices about what to do if this case ended up going cold in their hands.
...
No clues were found in the kitchen, which boasted a luxurious upright fridge paired with a small freezer unit. The stove was clean and orderly, the gas valve properly shut off, with pots and pans right in their places, even the set of German-imported kitchen knives on the rack—Kiyomi Liuli checked them all, not a single one was missing and all were impeccably clean.
The washroom and the bathroom were also normal; nothing suspicious in the backyard either. Kiyomi Liuli tried to find some clue like footprints, but like everything else, it was spotlessly clean.
Having found nothing on the first floor, they headed to the second floor. But as Nanahara Takeshi set foot on the stairs, he suddenly stopped and stared thoughtfully at a row of decorative picture frames on the wall.
Kiyomi Liuli tensed, immediately looking at the frames and saw they were just butterfly specimens. She didn't understand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Nanahara Takeshi focused on the exceptionally beautiful butterfly specimens and said, "These are Kumamoto Large-winged Pink Butterflies."
"So what? They're just decorations, right?" she replied.
"These are genuine, and in such good condition, they must have been made by someone very skilled, and they are valuable," he explained.
Kiyomi Liuli became alert, looking at him suspiciously, "You're not getting any greedy ideas, are you?"
With a tone of annoyance, Nanahara Takeshi retorted, "What nonsense are you thinking about? I'm not a thief!"
Of course, you're not a thief; you're a swindler!
Kiyomi Liuli couldn't help but think to herself, though she dared not confront him directly, and instead urged him, "Then don't get distracted by anything valuable you see. Keep looking for the person!"
Nanahara Takeshi finally moved on, but as he walked down the hallway, he inspected each of the butterfly specimens hung there, finding that although not all were valuable, they were all beautiful and made from real butterflies—not all specimens are genuine, especially the rare types of butterflies. There are many artificial replicas on the market that the average person simply cannot differentiate.
For example, the "Goddess of Light Flash Butterfly" species is nearly extinct with an estimated remaining population of only ten to twenty, making it extremely difficult to fake. Nonetheless, a large number of "specimens" appear on the market every year. Even if all the remaining "Goddess of Light Flash Butterflies" were killed, it still wouldn't be enough, yet people are still deceived.
This business is similar to antiques, with low costs and high profits, mercilessly swindling newcomers.
For Tominaga Yousuke to collect so many perfect genuine specimens was not an easy task, and if he made them himself, that would be even more impressive as it shows an extraordinary level of skill.
Kiyomi Liuli, however, had no interest in whether or not the butterfly specimens were rare. In her view, they were not unusual as she had done similar projects for her holiday homework as a kid and still had them stored in the attic at home!
Her primary goal now was to find Tominaga Yousuke. She hurried up the stairs, took the lead, and pushed open a door. But with just one glance, she let out a shriek, stumbled back two steps, and almost knocked Nanahara Takeshi down the stairs with her rear end.
What a peculiar hobby this person has, frightfully so!