"I don't, actually."
The man looked a little guilty, then continued, "But given the current situation, she's the only suspect."
"If you have no evidence, what makes you think she's the thief?"
Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly, his imposing presence bearing down on the man as he asked again, "Since there are surveillance cameras, what about the nighttime footage? Is there any evidence proving that she stole anything?"
"Well..."
The man grew somewhat uneasy under Fujino's tone. "The cameras automatically stop operating after business hours. Electricity is expensive, after all..."
"Hey, how much could that little bit of electricity possibly cost?"
Sonoko was speechless. She glanced up at the light on the warehouse ceiling. "So you don't turn on the lights here to save electricity too?"
"Of course. Every cent the store makes has to be carefully budgeted."
The middle-aged manager folded his arms proudly. "No one normally comes into the warehouse anyway. Even if they do, it's only to pass through here on their way to the restroom. And the people who borrow the restroom are regular customers, so it doesn't matter if it's a little dark."
Seeing the conversation drifting further and further off topic, Fujino said, "So, you have no evidence that Miss Nanase stole anything?"
"What evidence do I need...?"
The man folded his arms. "The stolen items were game software, DVDs, CDs, rice balls, boxed meals, mineral water, oolong tea, cola, chocolate, candy, snacks, and things like that... It's easy to picture a group of young people gathering together, playing music and games, and having a good time with all that stuff, isn't it?"
"Isn't that far too unreasonable?"
Ran frowned at that. Having been exposed to so many cases, she had gained some understanding of detective work.
She knew Nanase Aya well. Even if