"Freight driver? Do freight drivers need to find a special place to train? I thought a job that physically demanding would be enough exercise on its own..."
Wataru Takagi did not say it very loudly, but he could not help muttering while taking notes.
"Uh, marathons and stuff, I mean, anyway, my hobbies are somewhat related to sports..."
Though the explanation sounded forced no matter how one listened to it, it concerned personal hobbies, so others could not really criticize it.
In any case, the suspects had all tentatively given reasons for being there. Whether the police believed them was something to consider next.
"Even if he was timid and happened to be hiding in the restroom at that time, that is still rather suspicious."
"Being active in the food court is an easy excuse to come up with. The killer was not stupid—well, at least not completely stupid—so that reason does not hold up very well either."
"No, no, compared to those two, training to run away in a stairwell is still way too absurd..."
As several officers discussed the matter in hushed voices, Kazunobu Chiba, who had been checking the building floor by floor, returned with new information.
"A raincoat, gloves, and a handgun. These are probably the weapons used by the killer." Holding a paper bag found in a locker in the top-floor restroom, Kazunobu Chiba returned to the strangely tense scene. "They were in the restroom on the food court side. We also finished checking the elevator surveillance footage from that period and confirmed that no one who looked foreign—I mean, no possible suspects—used the elevator."
The mixed-race people at the scene all gave him subtle looks, and Chiba sturdily straightened his back and endured them.
"Did you not consider the possibility of Asian foreigners?" Tooru