Everyone Was Lying

Because the formal dinner was scheduled for five thirty, there was still time to rest and take photos before the banquet began.

"Councilor's weddings really are particular. There are tea breaks and photo breaks. It's such a hassle just to get to the banquet."

In response to Yamada's complaint, Fuji said disdainfully, "Do you think these important people came here to eat?"

"Hey, forget the pointless stuff. Amaki's back." Gen tugged on Yamada's sleeve.

"How is it?" Haitani asked. Amaki promptly shared the latest information with the other colleagues at the venue: "The fire where the newlyweds met was the same fire three years ago, when Hirose and his accomplices committed a robbery and then set the place ablaze."

"Could the other two robbers be among the groom, the bride, or their friends?" Yamada immediately realized.

"Ah! Could the groom have staged it himself? Then... the third accomplice was Anato? Afterward, they pretended not to know each other so the robbery wouldn't be exposed?" Suzuki Atsushi spun out a theory.

"Wait, then there's one woman missing. Didn't they say Hirose had a suspicious woman around him recently? At least one of the three robbers had to be a woman," Haitani reminded them.

"Then... on the bride's side? The other two robbers were Suzuki Hinata and the bride?" Suzuki immediately revised his theory.

"No, no, it couldn't be the bride, right? What kind of robber gets overcome by smoke herself? And if she were a robber, she should have been wearing the robbers' clothes when she was rescued. They would have recognized her at a glance," Yamada said at once.

"It's not necessarily true that both robbers are still here. Maybe only one of them is," Fuji said objectively.

"That's right. They might not even be robbers. Maybe they saw something