"Welcome."
The automatic glass doors of the fast-food restaurant slid open with an electronic chime.
Before they even stepped inside, the rich aroma of fried food wafted out, instantly awakening everyone's appetite.
Hayasaka very naturally pulled out her newly purchased Fusae wallet from her handbag. She turned to ask what the others wanted to eat, only to discover that the white-haired man who had supposedly wanted a hamburger had already wandered off to strike up a conversation with...
An older man?
The moment he entered, Ritsu didn't even glance at the menu.
Instead, he walked straight to the counter seats facing the window and sat down. Without directly looking at the bespectacled man wearing a bucket hat beside him, he spoke as if talking to himself.
"Ever since I started heading toward the convenience store to check the surveillance footage, I've felt your eyes on me."
He leaned back slightly.
"Would this journalist be willing to explain his behavior?"
The man in the bucket hat paused halfway through raising his water glass to conceal his expression.
Surprised, he turned to look at the young white-haired man. He had assumed their arrival at the restaurant was a coincidence. He hadn't expected the other party to notice his gaze and immediately identify his profession.
Opening his mouth slightly, he set down the glass and asked, "What makes you think I'm a journalist?"
"The camera bag and notebook."
Ritsu replied calmly. "More importantly, the voice recorder hidden inside your right sleeve. Put those pieces together, and your profession becomes fairly easy to guess."
He continued,
"And you're sitting here because you've been monitoring whether anyone is investigating Atsuko Kosaka's case. You didn't approach us directly because you were worried we might be connected to the Ibaraki police."
After hearing Ritsu's analysis, the man pulled the hidden recorder from his sleeve and laughed.
"As expected of the MPD's genius detective."
He extended a hand. "My name is Kippei Kamio. I'm a journalist."
"Onizawa, what exactly are you doing over here? Weren't you supposed to be eating a hamburger?"
Hayasaka walked over in confusion.
How had these two started chatting?
"This is Hayasaka Yuna."
Ritsu gestured toward her.
"As for the boy behind her, I'm sure you're already familiar with him, Kamio-san."
Kamio adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"Naturally. Nice to meet you, Officer Hayasaka."
"O-Oh, nice to meet you too."
After Ritsu briefly explained Kamio's identity, Hayasaka finally understood why he had come to this fast-food restaurant.
So wanting a hamburger had merely been an excuse.
"There are too many people here."
Ritsu stood up.
"Hayasaka, buy a few combo meals to go. We'll talk in your car."
He then looked toward Eita.
"Eita, stay with Hayasaka-onee-san for now, okay?"
"Okay."
A crowded fast-food restaurant obviously wasn't the ideal place to discuss a murder investigation.
Ritsu opened the door of a white Land Rover.
It was Hayasaka's new car.
He still couldn't understand how she'd gone from driving a tiny, adorable Volkswagen Beetle to owning a comfortable Land Rover Defender.
After both men climbed into the back seat, Ritsu got straight to the point.
"Can I see the information you've gathered now?"
Kamio opened his camera bag and pulled out a handwritten file. "I'm still a rookie reporter, so I don't have many connections."
He sighed.
"This is everything I've managed to collect."
Ritsu flipped through the notebook.
Inside was a rough description of the killer based on eyewitness accounts.
The suspect was a scruffy middle-aged man around forty years old. He wore a black baseball cap during the crime, stood approximately 170 centimeters tall, and had a stocky build. According to witnesses, the killer carried a strong petroleum-like odor.
After stabbing the victim, he had even smiled strangely while looking down at her body.
"This is all I managed to learn about the killer."
Kamio let out a weary sigh. "I also visited her university, but nobody seemed willing to talk about Atsuko's case."
He shook his head.
"And now that the police have already found a scapegoat, nobody wants to speak up for the victim anymore."
"There's no need to sigh."
Ritsu closed the notebook. "These clues are enough for us to keep investigating."
The car door opened, and the enticing smell of fried food drifted inside.
Hayasaka looked toward the two men in the back seat. "Want to eat first and investigate afterward? It's getting pretty late."
"You two go ahead."
Ritsu opened the door again. "I'm going to take a look around the area."
Hayasaka already knew his habits. Once he found something worth investigating, everything else became secondary.
Pulling out a meal set, she handed it to Kamio.
"Kamio-san, have something to eat first. The Superintendent is always like this whenever a case catches his attention."
"Thank you, Officer Hayasaka."
As Hayasaka prepared to eat her own meal, she noticed Eita sitting quietly in the passenger seat, staring blankly at the box of chicken nuggets in his hands.
Perceptive as ever, she immediately understood why.
"If you miss your sister, it's okay to cry."
Her voice softened. "Sometimes crying makes you feel a little better."
Eita froze.
Then he lowered his head and bit into a familiar-tasting chicken nugget. The moment the flavor hit his tongue, tears burst uncontrollably from his eyes.
He remembered all the times he had complained to his sister. Every dinner had been leftover chicken nuggets.
And after she died...
There had been many nights when he went to bed hungry. The familiar taste made it feel as though she was still beside him.
He missed her so much.
If only time could turn back.
Hayasaka stared out the car window. She didn't even notice that she'd accidentally crushed her hamburger in her hand.
No matter how difficult this case became, she wouldn't back down.
She would stay by Onizawa's side...
And see it through to the very end.
...
Meanwhile, outside the car,
Ritsu shivered.
Back during the summer, he'd thought wearing a suit to work was unbearably hot. Now he wished he could wear a down jacket over it.
Quickening his pace to warm himself up, he followed the route the killer had taken when leaving the crime scene.
There were plenty of surveillance cameras along the way. Unfortunately, many of them were the same model as the convenience store's cameras.
He needed to find a different system.
Fortunately, persistence paid off.
At the entrance of a bookstore around a corner, Ritsu finally spotted a different model of surveillance camera.
The owner was preparing to close for the night, so he hurried over and presented his police identification.
"Sir, could I borrow a little of your time? I'm an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department."
The bookstore owner looked surprised.
"A police officer?"
Squinting slightly, he asked, "And what can I help you with?"
"I'd like to check the surveillance footage outside your store."
The elderly owner didn't refuse. Instead, he offered a gentle smile and invited him inside.
"The computer's over there by the register."
He pointed.
"You can look through it yourself. I don't really understand those machines. After installing it, I never touched it again."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Ritsu sat down and quickly began operating the computer.
The hard drive was nearly full. Opening the storage folders immediately revealed the culprit. The surveillance footage hadn't been cleaned up for over six months.
Scrolling through the files, he located the footage from October 31st. He dragged the timeline to 3:30 PM, the approximate time of the murder.
Activating fast-forward playback, he carefully watched every pedestrian who passed the bookstore.
Then—
Click!
The sharp sound of a spacebar being pressed echoed through the store. A smile appeared on Ritsu's face.
Persistence really did pay off.
The investigation had finally moved forward again.
Frozen on the screen was a man wearing a black baseball cap. His build matched the witness descriptions. His clothing matched as well.
It seemed the killer had made absolutely no effort to disguise himself.
He had been fully aware that the forces backing him would ensure he never faced punishment.
Turning toward the owner, Ritsu asked, "Sir, would you mind if I copied this footage?"
"Not at all, Officer. Help yourself."
Ritsu transferred the video file onto his foldable laptop. Afterward, he patiently taught the elderly owner how to delete old surveillance recordings.
"Do you understand now, sir?"
"Every six months, you should clear out these old files if you don't need them."
He smiled.
"If you don't, your computer's storage will eventually fill up and affect its performance."
"I see, got it."
The elderly owner nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Officer."
"You're welcome."