Inspector Otaki: "..." Listen to that. Was that something a police officer should say?
He had wanted to reprimand him like that.
But then he worried his subordinate would ask, "Then what do you think?"
So in the end, Inspector Otaki merely cleared his throat as if nothing had happened. "We currently lack evidence, so it would be hard to combine the cases. Let's treat them as two separate cases and investigate them independently for now—what have you found out about the victim at this conveyor-belt Sushi Restaurant?"
The young officer sensed that Inspector Otaki did not really understand either, so he cautiously refrained from asking further questions.
He flipped through the notebook in his hand and reported, "Besides running the Housekeeping Agency, Mr. Wagatsuma also seemed to be a food writer known for his sharp critiques. The places he recommended really were delicious, so he had a good reputation. But accordingly, the places he gave bad reviews to would see their customer numbers plummet, and several restaurants even went out of business because of him."
Inspector Otaki sighed. It sounded like the victim must have had many enemies, and narrowing them down would probably not be easy. Still, "Fortunately, the time of poisoning is very clear. Let's focus our investigation on the people in the restaurant first."
As he spoke, Inspector Otaki noticed something and looked toward the entrance.
—The restaurant had transparent glass doors, and it was not far from a tourist attraction. A large crowd of onlookers had gathered outside, and on closer inspection, there were even reporters barging in with Video Cameras.
Inspector Otaki frowned and quietly told the subordinate beside him, "Draw the curtains first—we can't rule out the possibility that the culprit is among those customers who just left. Don't let them see the