"Moving a corpse was already strenuous enough, let alone one hidden inside a sofa." Under Jiang Xia's encouraging gaze, Hashimoto Maya forced himself to estimate the combined weight of the corpse and sofa, then reached a conclusion like a proper detective's assistant:
"The culprit probably never expected the sofa he threw away to be taken and resold. Normally, it would have been hauled off by a garbage truck and disposed of. In that case, he wouldn't deliberately dump it far away—I think he actually lived nearby, perhaps even in this building."
As they spoke, two middle-aged housewives came out of the apartment building, chatting as they walked. "Mr. Tokunaga was so creepy. When I got home this afternoon, I saw him opening his door while chuckling to himself. I nearly thought that burglar was picking his lock."
Jiang Xia's ears twitched as he looked toward them—the "Mr. Tokunaga" they mentioned was the buyer's neighbor.
Hearing her friend, the other housewife said in surprise, "He can actually laugh? I thought he was born with that wooden face."
Housewife Number One muttered, "Looks like something good happened to him. Do you think he won the lottery?"
Housewife Number Two waved a hand. "Someone as cautious as him checks his keys three times before leaving home. He'd never get involved in something as luck-based as the lottery."
Housewife Number One said, "Sigh, forget about him. He's boring. More importantly, have they caught that thief yet? He keeps stealing around here. If he doesn't get caught soon, I'll have to install a few more locks at home."
The two continued chatting about trivial things as they strolled off to a nearby Izakaya for drinks.
Officer Takagi did not pay much attention to the minor interruption. Thinking over Hashimoto Maya's words, he suddenly understood. "Speaking