As he spoke, Inspector Megure looked past the butler—such a large house obviously couldn't be managed by an elderly butler alone. Besides him, the Fujieda Family had hired several maids, and they had all been summoned here as well.
"Before the incident, while Jiang Xia and the others were in the Surveillance Room, Mr. Fujieda was shot and collapsed. After that, the group rushed to the Audio-Visual Room where Fujieda Mikio was, and while they were standing at the door, two more shots rang out inside..."
Inspector Megure studied the maids. As he organized his thoughts, his gaze gradually sharpened. "In other words, everyone who has no alibi for that period is a suspect!"
The old butler, Mrs. Suwa, and Fujieda Shigeru were all excluded from that category. That left only these maids.
Takamori Masumi was still lost in thought. When she looked up and saw the police officer staring straight at her, apparently saying something, she became a good listener and responded with an "Oh."
Torimaru Naoko: "..."
"?" Inspector Megure froze for a moment, then quickly came back to himself. "I'm asking what you were doing during that time!"
Takamori Masumi looked baffled. "We were chatting... Wait, why are you asking that? Do you think we're suspects?"
Inspector Megure's eyelid twitched. "..." Had everything he'd just said been for nothing?? This woman had actually been spacing out at a Murder Case scene! Suspicious. Very suspicious!
Beside her, Torimaru Naoko watched the suspicious look in the officer's eyes, and it felt as though a stone had dropped from her heart. It's here! The unexpected development has finally arrived... This situation where I'm under suspicion must be that person's doing.
Though she still didn't know the other party's ultimate purpose, Torimaru Naoko suddenly felt as though she had a direction