Inspector Megure had long since grown used to his subordinates being directed all over the place by Jiang Xia.
He glanced at Officer Takagi, then quickly turned his curious gaze to the statue. "What are we looking for this for?"
Jiang Xia pointed toward one of the rooms. "We need to consider it together with Mrs. Kana's room."
The group went to Mrs. Kana's guest room and stepped onto the balcony. Shining a flashlight upward from below, they saw two long, narrow cuts beneath the balcony's stone railing. The marks looked quite fresh.
Though Inspector Megure was not skilled at deduction, he had seen plenty of cases. Recalling his past investigations, he quickly guessed the source of those thin marks. "These were probably worn by fishing line or a cable, right? And whatever caused the friction must have been moving very quickly."
At Jiang Xia's signal, a Forensics Department officer came over with a Camera to take pictures. But as soon as he stepped onto the balcony, his foot twisted, and the Camera nearly flew out of his hand.
Jiang Xia caught him. The Forensics Department officer looked down at the ground and let out a surprised sound. "Why is there a stone here?"
Jiang Xia said, "Photograph that too."
"Got it!" The Forensics Department officer immediately raised his camera and snapped away, taking pictures of the stone that had nearly tripped him from every angle.
Once he was done, he turned around and took another flurry of photos of the scratched railing.
Seeing this, Officer Takagi hurried in, shouting, "Make way!" He carried the solemn-looking Beethoven Statue in his arms.
"Photograph this too." He set the statue down beside them, panting heavily as he pointed at it. "There's a huge bundle of fishing line wrapped around this statue, along