"Something was holding him down?" Inspector Yokomizo nodded repeatedly. "Wrapped head to toe in fishing nets and pinned beneath a heavy object, he definitely wouldn't have been able to outrun the rising tide... But to pin down a fairly large man, it would have had to be something huge and heavy."
He suddenly turned to the three fishermen and demanded in a stern voice, "Speak! After you arrived at the scene, where did you secretly throw the thing that was pinning down the victim?"
The man in the blue vest's eyes widened in panic. "Don't you dare slander us! We called the police immediately after finding the body. We didn't touch anything at the scene! If you don't believe us, ask the other people who passed by!"
Inspector Yokomizo narrowed his eyes. "If you didn't take it, how could the thing pinning down the victim have suddenly vanished?"
Red Vest snapped, "You believe whatever that brat says? Maybe he was just guessing! You're a cop—why do you listen to just anyone?!"
"'Listen to just anyone'?" A blue vein throbbed at Suzuki Sonoko's temple. "Do you not read the newspaper or something? This is Jiang Xia! He's solved more cases than you've read news stories!"
She had said what Inspector Yokomizo wanted to say. However, he had to admit that the man's doubts made some sense: where was the thing that had pinned down the victim?
Inspector Yokomizo secretly glanced at Jiang Xia again.
Jiang Xia did not disappoint his expectant little look. "There was no need to move it deliberately. Once the tide came in and the victim drowned, the heavy object would move away on its own."
"Move away on its own? Are you saying an accomplice stayed behind and kept pressing down on the victim?" Inspector Yokomizo was