"That's right." Jiang Xia looked over the shaggy dog outside the window. "Before coming to Lawyer Tachibana's home, Johann had actually been the pet of Mr. Tsuruta, the man who hanged himself five years ago."
"The name 'Johann' was probably given to him by Tsuruta's younger brother, who went to Germany to study abroad. As for why he ended up being picked up by Mrs. Yae as a stray and brought to Lawyer Tachibana's home..."
He looked at the silent elderly maid. "For that part of the story, we'll have to ask Mrs. Tsuruta Tamiko."
"Tsuruta Tamiko?" The two officers froze, then slowly caught on. They stared at her in shock. "You mean this maid... is actually the mother of the victim from five years ago?!"
Jiang Xia nodded. "Johann was never a stray. After Mrs. Tsuruta changed her name and came to Lawyer Tachibana's home, she soon pretended to find him and brought him over."
"To Johann, Mrs. Tsuruta was probably his true owner. That was why, yesterday, when Mrs. Tsuruta wore a red baseball cap and disguised herself as Kumada as she passed by us, Johann kept chasing that fishing boat—because he realized that his owner was aboard."
Hearing this, Mrs. Tsuruta looked toward the shaggy dog outside and let out a helpless sigh. "Five years ago, my eldest son, Masahiko, was murdered by Kumada. Last year, my youngest son, Katsuhiko, also passed away... To me, Johann is my only family now. It was only because he kept me company that I could endure staying here to work."
"How ironic. Five years ago, in court, I fought Lawyer Tachibana with everything I had in order to make Kumada confess... Yet only a few years later, when I came here to apply for work, he had already forgotten me