Jiang Xia flipped through the materials collected by the police as if reading a book. The input consisted of scattered clues and fragments, yet what he narrated sounded like a story he had witnessed firsthand:
"After Mr. Haitang died, at around midnight, Mrs. Haitang finished taking a bath and returned to her bedroom.
"At that moment, she received a call from Editor Toda. When she bent down to answer it, Mrs. Haitang accidentally knocked over the water bottle beside her."
Suzuki Sonoko suddenly remembered something and blurted out, "No wonder the carpet beside the desk was all wet! Was that when the water from the bottle spilled out?"
Jiang Xia nodded. "After hanging up, Mrs. Haitang habitually wanted a drink of water, but the water bottle had been knocked over. She had no choice but to go to the kitchen for more water, but as she passed the refrigerator, she suddenly changed her mind.
"There was plenty of chilled beer in the refrigerator. For the sake of her health, Mrs. Haitang had previously followed her doctor's orders and given it up. But now that she was about to die anyway, having a couple of drinks wouldn't matter. Having resolved to commit suicide, she instead took two cans of beer and happily carried them upstairs.
"As for the empty porcelain cup Mrs. Haitang had brought downstairs earlier, she casually left it beside the sink—it was no ordinary cup. It was the very one Mr. Haitang had poisoned.
"After Mrs. Haitang returned to the study and drank her beer, some time passed. Unable to sleep, the secretary got up and went to the kitchen, intending to drink some water.
"She saw the cup by the sink and casually used it to pour herself some water. After drinking it, she unfortunately became the