The victim's body was found, and the nature of the case immediately changed from a common missing person case to a gruesome murder and dismemberment case. The short, thin detective immediately went to make a phone call for reinforcements while the tall, burly detective immediately asked everyone to leave the greenhouse and return to Tasuku Yamashita's apartment for a temporary rest, awaiting inquiry—primarily because Mrs. Takamatsu needed to rest. She had nearly fainted on the spot after seeing the severed hand and was still pale-faced, retching continuously.
Everyone headed back the way they had come, and when they passed room 803, Takeshi Nanahara paused, cocked his head towards the door of 803, and even leaned in to look through the peephole.
This time no one thought he was playing games or acting superstitiously. The accompanying tall, burly detective politely asked, "Nanahara... little master, did you sense something?"
Takeshi Nanahara smiled at this detective without a word and started knocking on the door. Seeing no response to the knocking, the detective promptly started to help, his tone very stern, "I am Okuno from Hirarano Police Station's Public Safety Division. Open the door immediately!"
The door finally opened, but only halfway, still secured by a chain lock. Through the crack, the half face of a man in his forties, balding on top, showed, asking with forced composure, "Officer, what's the matter?"
Okuno, the detective, was unceremoniously direct, "We have a case. Remove the chain lock and open the door to facilitate the search."
He didn't care whether he had a search warrant or whether it was legal. Before the rise of the internet, Japanese police were known for their brute force tactics in conducting investigations. As long as they didn't attract media attention, the public would be none the wiser, and with no public knowledge, there would be no public pressure. Without public pressure, everything was negotiable. Against the "large corporation" of the police force, with its nearly 296,000 personnel, an individual's power was utterly insignificant.
In that era, many Japanese detectives donned flat tops and pompadour hairstyles, wore black suits with shirts untucked, and their mouths were filled with "Koala, koala," coming off more yakuza than even the Yamaguchi-gumi. Okuno, in this regard, was actually among the more genteel in the detective ranks.
The middle-aged, balding man didn't dare resist and hesitantly opened the door, but Okuno didn't know what to look for and turned to look at Takeshi Nanahara.
Takeshi Nanahara reached out and grabbed the balding middle-aged man's wrist, getting straight to the point, "You killed Yamashita, didn't you?"
The man's Adam's apple bobbed, his mouth opened and closed like a dehydrated fish, and then he came to his senses, pulling away from Nanahara's hold, saying defensively and with a hint of panic, "What do you mean!?"
Takeshi Nanahara rubbed his hand and shook his head, "It really was you. Why would you kill someone..."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" The man stepped back two paces, a look of utter confusion on his face.
"You can't hide it," Takeshi Nanahara said, looking at him, "Going to the convenience store to buy a bone saw and an axe, buying a large quantity of bleach and toilet cleaner at the supermarket, plus the previous heavy water usage, the water meter must have gone crazy. You won't be able to explain it."
The man's face turned pale, and his legs started to tremble, looking as if he would not be able to stand much longer.
With his suspicions confirmed, Takeshi Nanahara's gaze left the man's face, and his tone softened as he patiently said, "Even if you were careful to dispose of all the tools and used a large amount of bleach and toilet cleaner to repeatedly wash the floor, it's impossible to completely erase all traces. With a major case like this, forensics won't mind chiselling up your floor, despite the hassle. They'll search inch by inch, they'll even dig through your sewer... So,
by the time I stand before you and the police begin to investigate, hiding it will be meaningless. It's better for you to confess honestly, a voluntary surrender might work out better for you."
The balding man's defenses were shattered.
He had been anxious and living in fear; now that the police were truly standing before him, suspecting him, it was nearly impossible to harbor any hope of luck. He indeed felt a sense of relief.
Leaning against the entrance wall, he slowly sat down and murmured, "I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to be so soon..."
"Why did you kill Mr. Yamashita!" Mrs. Takamatsu, having also understood what was happening behind them, was shocked that Takeshi Nanahara had so quickly found the true culprit, and she became furiously indignant—damn it, now her chief engineer was dead, and the research work would inevitably fall behind schedule; they would probably break the contract, and her company would end up paying a huge sum! It was such an unwarranted disaster that she couldn't even cry.
The balding man was startled, shrinking back, his face pale as he explained, "It's not my fault, I didn't mean to kill him, it was him... he was just too detestable! After the bubble burst, I lost my job, and my investments were all for nothing. The bank was pressing me, I just borrowed some money from him, and he... he..."
Kiyomi Liuli couldn't help but ask, "He pressured you to pay him back, and you didn't want to?"
"No, I would pay him back, as soon as housing prices went back up, I'd pay him back immediately!" the balding man became agitated, waving his hands as he shouted, "I would definitely pay back the money, I'm not trying to weasel out of it, it's just that I'm facing temporary difficulties, since I borrowed his money, he looked down on me!"
"How did he look down on you?"
"He looked down on me in every way. When he greeted me, it wasn't with the same eager attitude as before, sometimes giving me a chin-up nod, often waiting for me to greet him first, even though I'm clearly older. The night before last, I invited him over for drinks, and he said housing prices might not go back up for ten or twenty years. He told me not to worry, that I didn't have to rush to pay back the money... He always brought up the topic of paying back the money when he was around, acting all superior. He had previously received help from me too. In the moment, I couldn't control myself and hit him with the bottle, and then... then he died..."
The balding man broke down crying, seemingly full of regret, "I really didn't mean it, he just suddenly died, I didn't expect..."
"We'll talk about these things back at the police station!" Another detective who had gone to make a call had returned. With two detectives now present, a formal arrest could proceed.
Okuno, the detective, took out handcuffs and cuffed him. His partner checked the time and made a record, "On the 4th at 18:42, a criminal suspect was arrested in Nishitama Town."
......
The missing person was dead, and the murderer had been caught. The case had completely ended, but Mrs. Takamatsu was very sad, although it was hard to tell whether she was more upset about her employee being killed or about having to pay compensation.
Nanahara Takeshi consoled her, "I'm really sorry for how things turned out... my apologies, Mrs. Takamatsu."
Mrs. Takamatsu came to her senses, dabbed the corners of her eyes with a delicate handkerchief, wiped away her tears, and managed to regain her composure.
As a seasoned businesswoman, she naturally understood that Nanahara Takeshi was about to take his leave. She pulled out a checkbook, quickly wrote down a series of numbers, tore out the check, and handed it to him, even using respectful language, "Thank you for your hard work, Nanahara. This is the agreed remuneration, and the extra amount is a little token of my gratitude. Please don't mind it."
Although things hadn't gone as she hoped and the reality was far from her expectations, she had no intention of defaulting—she wasn't crazy enough to offend a "capable and extraordinary" person like Nanahara Takeshi over a small sum of money, and she even wanted to foster a good relationship, since she might need his help again someday.
In fact, she was already planning to seek out Nanahara Takeshi to have her fortune told for her future career once she got through this busy period, to see if there were any calamities ahead, as she had never seen such a powerful "spiritual medium" before.
Kiyomi Liuli, standing behind Nanahara Takeshi, tiptoed to sneak a quick glance at the check and was secretly astounded.
To her, a high school girl, 200,000 yen was definitely a large sum of money, and yet Nanahara Takeshi had earned it in just an hour—could being a swindler really be a good profession?
That's some pretty good earnings!
But she didn't say anything out of place. Both morally and reasonably, Nanahara Takeshi deserved that money.
After she waited for Nanahara Takeshi and Mrs. Takamatsu to exchange a few more courtesies and share contact information, she joined him on the journey home—they didn't need to make a statement or provide fingerprints or footprints for the investigation anymore, as the murderer had already confessed. They could just head back and push Nanahara's handcart.
By now, it had become completely dark outside, and the half-full moon had risen. Looking at the bright lunar light, Kiyomi Liuli felt as if she were in a dreamlike state.
Today, she had taken part in solving a murder case and had personally caught the murderer. Although the process lacked the complex twists often found in detective novels, it was still a real murder case!
More importantly, she... well, along with Nanahara Takeshi, had truly avenged a victim, upheld justice, and prevented the victim from descending into the netherworld full of resentment and dying with his eyes open—it was quite an achievement!
An hour ago, these were scenarios that would only appear in her dreams, but now they had become reality!
It was the most wonderful day of her life, at least there had never been a day so thrilling and fulfilling before this!
Musing on these thoughts, Kiyomi Liuli's gaze shifted to Nanahara Takeshi, and she suddenly felt a touch of admiration for him.
This guy was kind of amazing. If he hadn't discovered the body hidden in the flowerpot, the police might have written it off as a missing person case, sent out widespread notices for help, and perhaps never returned to the scene, which could have left Yamashita's remains hidden in that flowerpot forever.
At the very least, once things had quieted down, the murderer would have had more time to destroy the body and ensure that Yamashita truly, completely "disappeared."
No one could deny the crucial role he played in this case; if Yamashita had a spirit in heaven, he should be thanking him.
Although the guy was a swindler, he was genuinely quite impressive!
With this in mind, Kiyomi Liuli couldn't resist her curiosity any longer and asked Nanahara Takeshi, "How did you do it?"
Nanahara Takeshi was examining the bank check, feeling that it wouldn't be too difficult to forge, and responded absentmindedly, "What?"
"How did you discover that Yamashita's body was hidden in the flowerpot?" Kiyomi Liuli pressed on, looking expectantly at Nanahara Takeshi. "It's like a blind spot in reasoning—nobody would think a body could be buried in a small flowerpot. How did you think of it? Don't fob me off with stuff about sensing spiritual energy or grudges!"
Nanahara Takeshi neatly folded the check and put it into his pocket, patting it with satisfaction. With this unexpected windfall, he reckoned he could manage for a while longer, but small money shouldn't be passed up either—after all, even the smallest shrimp could offer a taste. He glanced at Kiyomi, who looked like a curious little lamb with her eyes shining brightly, and said in an indifferent tone, "As soon as I entered the greenhouse, I took a glance and used my knee to think a bit, and then I found it."
Kiyomi Liuli's eyebrows drooped and she squinted for a moment, took out her "cartoon pig wallet that was neither too fat nor too slim," and prepared to purchase a "problem-solving" service, as the slight admiration she had started to feel for him disappeared like smoke.
This greedy swindler, bound to fall into the netherworld, will be burnt by the fires of karma for a thousand years—he's not worth a shred of admiration!