Jiang Xia said, "The course of the entire case was probably this: One day, Himuro Reiji happened upon that Abandoned Building and decided it would make an excellent 'execution site.' So he acquired some corrosive liquid and tampered with the stair railings, ensuring that anyone who passed through in a panic would lean on one and fall.
"After making those preparations, Himuro lured the victim to that building. After all, they had once been accomplices. Himuro may have held some evidence of the victim's crimes, and I heard the victim had always been rather indecisive, so getting him there wouldn't have been too difficult."
Hearing this, Officer Takagi suddenly remembered something. "Right, speaking of that, I looked through the records on Himuro Reiji and the victim earlier. Although there's no evidence, there was an unsolved robbery-murder case that they were suspected of being connected to.
"At the time, two robbers broke into the Credit Union in 2-Chome, Beika Town, and killed a security guard. They had tampered with the direction of the surveillance cameras beforehand, so the surveillance footage only captured their shadows, not their faces. But the timing, number of people, and approximate builds all match Himuro and the victim. If those two really were the culprits, then they may both have been involved in a Murder Case. The victim was timid and fearful, so Himuro really could have threatened him with this."
Jiang Xia nodded, privately marveling at how useful this tool guy was. No wonder Inspector Megure liked bringing him everywhere.
"After receiving Himuro's invitation, the victim went to the Abandoned Building for the appointment in order to keep his crimes from being exposed. But at the same time, Himuro Reiji did not go to meet him as promised. Instead, he came to this Department Store and