The Mountain Spider's Aura

When the Tottori Prefectural Police arrived at the scene, only an elderly local patrol officer was present, carrying out basic scene preservation. As the officer stationed in the village, he had naturally arrived first.

Unlike the patrol officers at Beika Police Station—

It was obvious that this elderly village patrol officer had little experience with such matters. Though he had seen quite a few bodies, they had generally been people who died naturally at home, requiring only a basic inspection from the officer to confirm the natural cause of death.

But in a situation like this, the Tottori Prefectural Police had immediately instructed the local patrol officer not to touch the scene after receiving the report. Otherwise, he would only make things worse.

Upon arriving, Shiraishi saw several members of the Takeda family waiting outside with worried expressions.

Old Lady of the Takeda Family, Takeda Chie; the second son's wife, Takeda Yoko; the second son's twin daughters, Takeda Sae and Takeda Emi; the Takeda family's third son, Takeda Yuzo; and the maid, Shiotani Miyuki—one elderly woman, three adults,

and two children, making six people in total.

What puzzled Shiraishi was—

Neither the second son, Takeda Ryuji, who should have been home, nor the eldest son, Takeda Shinichi, whom Robert had said he saw earlier, was anywhere in sight.

While they were still on the road, Inspector Yamane had learned that the victim was Negishi Akio—the drug dealer arrested three years ago, who had apparently only recently been released on parole—

Since Shiraishi had worked with the prefectural police three years ago, Yamane had immediately pressed for details after hearing that a murder had taken place at the Takeda residence and learned the victim's identity.

"Chief Superintendent Shiraishi, what should we do now—?" Yamane politely asked.

"I'm only here on vacation