Sato Miwako quickly understood what "Mr. Yamada" meant. She thought it over and said:
"In other words, the culprit most likely didn't 'put on a blood-resistant raincoat after committing the murder, flee from the bathroom outside, and discard the murder weapon,' but instead 'took off the raincoat after the murder, carried it from the bathroom outside, deliberately let blood drip onto the floor to make it look as though someone had passed through here, then discarded the murder weapon.'
"...Indeed, if it were an outside stalker, both psychologically and practically speaking, they should have waited until they were out of the apartment and away from here before taking off the raincoat that concealed their appearance.
"But if it was someone on the inside, wearing a bloodstained raincoat in a corridor where acquaintances might pass by at any moment would not only make it difficult to conceal their build, but would also make them stand out from the surroundings and leave them without a sense of security. It would be better to take it off and carry it—then, if they ran into someone, they could quickly distance themselves from it, such as by tossing it aside nearby the moment they heard footsteps."
"So..." Inspector Megure felt somewhat relieved after hearing this. "The killer is among the people at the scene?"
...Finding the killer among a designated group of people was far simpler than casting a net outside in search of a stalker.
Inspector Megure was much more familiar with the process for the former.
Especially when there was a detective at the scene.
Inspector Megure unconsciously straightened up and smoothly turned to the witnesses—or rather, the suspects—asking about their alibis. "While Miss Kusano was in the bathroom, where were all of you? Can anyone verify it?"
"We were all in the