"Can we confirm that the deceased is Sindo Sumire?"
"No, we still can't even confirm whether there is a deceased person."
"With that amount of blood loss, if all the blood came from one person, there's no way she could still be alive..."
"I don't think we can be that absolute. The forensics department has already gone to her home to collect evidence like hair with follicles. We'll know whether it's her or not within a day or two."
Takagi Morofushi listened to the arguments and discussion in the conference room as he turned the pen in his hand.
"Has the mahjong tile found at the scene been examined?" He turned and asked Yokomizo Sango, who was sitting beside him.
"Your question is more or less the same as my brother's." Yokomizo Sango scratched his head. "It does seem to be from the same set. The composition of the red paint on it appears similar to the previous tiles."
The scene where Sindo Sumire was suspected of being murdered had been discovered in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Naturally, the one who had gone to investigate was Jugo Yokomizo from Kanagawa—the younger of the Yokomizo brothers.
"Mahjong tiles from the same series, but the killer suddenly changed methods..." He propped up his chin, his brows tightly furrowed.
"That's too strange. Based on our previous analysis, this killer shouldn't change his methods so casually." Yamato Kōsuke picked up the photographs and map at hand. "Do you think something unexpected happened during the crime, or was there some other circumstance?"
"Not necessarily. That victim who left a dying message, didn't he die in a car accident?" Yokomizo Sango scratched his head and said uncertainly, "Well, maybe the killer isn't particularly attached to the format? Or perhaps this Sindo Sumire is different from the