Enigmatic

Shiraishi returned to the police station for work as usual that afternoon after sitting in on the trial.

After changing into uniform, Shiraishi ignored the other paperwork and headed straight for the Interrogation Room...

"Chief, how did the trial go?" Akasaka hurriedly asked when he saw Shiraishi.

"Supplementary investigation. The next hearing is in a week," Shiraishi said succinctly as he looked through the one-way glass into the room.

"I see... I understand, I understand. That must have been unbearable!"

"Ma'am, you've really had it hard too."

"Whatever happens, your new life can finally begin now. Congratulations."

"However... ma'am, my colleagues have already checked your driving records. You did go to Mr. Hayashida's apartment that day, didn't you?"

Gen had finally gotten Ms. Rin-da to open up somewhat by constantly agreeing with her complaints. At that moment, Yamada came in and whispered to him that the GPS records had been confirmed, so Gen began questioning her!

Meanwhile, Akasaka and Aoki outside remained silent, and the atmosphere was a little awkward—strictly speaking, checking someone's in-car GPS without a Search Warrant was against procedure.

Checking traffic cameras was one thing; directly looking at something inside someone else's car was another!

But Shiraishi said nothing either—though Shiraishi's [principles] had never been quantified, by his own assessment they were probably only in the sixties. He did not reject certain improper yet effective investigative methods.

Shiraishi's standard was simple: as long as he could take responsibility for it, it was acceptable!

If it could lead to a major miscarriage of justice, then it was an unforgivable mistake; if getting it wrong only meant a complaint, writing a self-criticism, and being confined to quarters, then he could "take responsibility" for it.

In the Interrogation Room, seeing that the evidence was conclusive, Ms. Rin-da had no choice but to admit it. "That's right. I did go to that bastard's place that day. I originally wanted to discuss the divorce, but he kept pestering me, so we argued a little... But his death had nothing to do with me!"

The earlier case file replayed in Shiraishi's mind—the neighbor had heard arguing and smashing sounds from Hayashida's room sometime after one o'clock. When the neighbor knocked to check on him, Hayashida claimed he was on the phone and had accidentally knocked something over...

That had also become evidence that "up until one o'clock, Hayashida was still alive, and there was no one else in the house."

Now it seemed that there had not truly been no one there. Rather... Hayashida had felt that family shame should not be aired in public, so he had brushed off the neighbor?

Yet Ms. Rin-da still insisted that she had not killed anyone!

After carefully observing her expression, Shiraishi frowned slightly but said nothing...

"Ma'am, it's understandable that you don't want to be involved in this case, but... you didn't leave until after three, did you? So you saw Mr. Hayashida being murdered?" Gen pressed her on the biggest inconsistency.

The car had left after the estimated time of the crime...

"No, the car drove away after three, but I left before two to buy some unusual seasonings at the supermarket." Ms. Rin-da had previously explained that the deceased had promised to agree to the divorce if he ate one more meal she cooked.

"I see. So when you went back..." Gen probed.

"That's right. I saw his body, and... I was too scared, so I left," Ms. Rin-da said impatiently.

However...

That impatience was a self-protective reaction born of guilt.

"Ma'am, you don't need to be nervous. Did Mr. Hayashida mention anything before, such as planning to meet someone?"

"No." After thinking briefly, Ms. Rin-da shook her head.

Watching Ms. Rin-da, Akasaka could not help saying, "This woman... is very suspicious..."

He could tell as well that even now, Ms. Rin-da's words were only half true—but that was merely a feeling, not evidence.

"Chief, how did the trial situation look? Tsubokura's alibi..." Aoki asked Shiraishi for guidance.

"The proof was real... but it was also fake," Shiraishi said in a roundabout manner.

Everyone outside the Soundproof Room turned to look at him.

After briefly explaining what had happened in court, Shiraishi mentioned questioning the clerk afterward. Then he took out the small tablet from his pocket—to Shiraishi, a small tablet was just a slightly larger phone.

"Here, this was Blogger Lady's blog from that day. Comparing the sleeve showing here with the hat visible in her selfie, she should have been wearing this outfit that day..." As Shiraishi spoke, he flipped to another full-body photo.

In the photo, she wore a white coat over a pale yellow top, along with a white hat...

"Huh? Could he have remembered the wrong person?" Yamada showed a speechless expression—this outfit resembled what the clerk had described Tsubokura as wearing.

"Remembered wrong? I think... he really did have an outfit like that." Shiraishi's expression turned grave.

Aoki understood what Shiraishi meant. "Chief, you're saying... he deliberately misled them?"

"Expressions can't be used as evidence, but... when Blogger Lady appeared, that look on Tsubokura's face... yeah." Shiraishi more or less accepted the speculation, though he did not say it aloud.

"In other words... Tsubokura knew that the female blogger had posted a blog entry that day, and knew its contents. Then... probably the next day, before he was arrested, he wore similar clothes, bought the same coffee during the same time period, and only revealed this after holding out for more than half a month after his arrest, when the clerk's memory had become fuzzy?"

Yamada understood as well.

"Damn it! This bastard... But both the clerk and the blogger..." Akasaka was furious, yet helpless.

There was no point asking again. The clerk no longer remembered clearly, and once the female blogger was questioned about the date of her post, there was a very good chance she would not give definite testimony either.

In other words...

The alibi was real, yet it was also highly likely to be fake. It had exploited the inaccuracy of human memory itself!

At this point, unilaterally denying eyewitness testimony would also risk being seen as leading the witness. Procedurally speaking, the alibi stood, and the witnesses had not lied.

"Wait! If that's the case, then let's think about it the other way around... Assuming this blogger really was used by Tsubokura, then Tsubokura first needed to know about her, know that she would go to Beika Park on September 3, and know that she would order a Signature Iced Latte!" Yamada suddenly realized.

Yamada then volunteered, "I'll screen this blogger's followers, then contact the platform to verify the information of users who frequently viewed her blog on the day of the crime!"

With Shiraishi's hint, Yamada had also thought of approaching it from the other direction—if their speculation was correct, Tsubokura should have identified the blog first, then committed the crime, and the next day worn similar clothes and ordered the same coffee to muddle the clerk's memory.

Then the blog viewing records might be where he had left a trace.

Likewise...

"I'll look for surveillance footage from the day after the crime... and the day before it!" Makita Miwa volunteered as well.

(Add a picture of Makitaka; it didn't show up earlier.)

"Mm, watch out for your eye drops... buy some good ones, they'll be reimbursed," Shiraishi said considerately—he had noticed that her dry eyes had only eased somewhat, receding a few spots rather than disappearing.

But with so few hands available, Shiraishi could only maintain a limited degree of humanity.

The two young officers left, but the two veteran detectives, Akasaka and Aoki, still looked grave.

"But... this Ms. Rin-da also seems..." Akasaka was a little bewildered—how was it that while a new suspect had emerged, the previous suspect's level of suspicion was also rapidly rising?