Takagi's question wasn't entirely unreasonable. Kōyū paused to think for a moment before saying, "Perhaps he wasn't wearing these clothes when he came in."

“It’s not impossible. He might have hidden after committing the crime and waited for us to call him, then arrived at the scene at the exact time.”

Takagi could guess that too, but that meant there was a new breakthrough in the case. He said, "In other words, there might still be his clothes in this haunted house."

"Well, given the current conditions, he probably won't have a chance to destroy it."

Guangyou remembered the missing toad, and a thought struck him. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight and murmured, "Perhaps his original plan wasn't to burn him, but to poison him?"

In his original plan, Sonoda Satoshi's plan was to have Misa ingest a large amount of toad venom and then frame the haunted house. As long as he was careful, even if he was suspected, there would be no substantial evidence.

As for the surveillance cameras in the haunted house?

If we just bundle up properly and deliberately find blind spots to move around, wouldn't that be enough?

If this hypothesis is true, then the broken jar in the room earlier is easily explained. Simply wrap the jar in clothes or something similar and then break it; it won't make too much noise and won't attract anyone's attention.

Create the illusion that a toad escaped from a jar, then blame it all on a haunted house.

But how could a haunted house release a poisonous toad? It's only meant to create an atmosphere and disgust people, so it must have been treated before being placed in the scene.

A live toad is difficult to handle; there might still be some residue inside it, but it's definitely not life-threatening. Sonoda Satoshi clearly realized this, so he had to temporarily change his plans.

After completing his plan, Sonoda Satoshi disguised himself as the werewolf, then took the opportunity to slip away, changed back into his original suit, and quietly waited for the police to call him.

Then, arrive at the scene at the appointed time, pretend to be heartbroken, and when the opportunity arises, take the backpack or something else that he has hidden in a corner of the haunted house. Finally, destroy the clothes and other items related to the case hidden in the backpack.

Finding a few more people to provide alibis would be sufficient; as the president of a company, this shouldn't be difficult for him.

"Then I'll send people to search the entire haunted house right away."

Takagi immediately walked over to an older police officer and whispered, "Please have someone search the entire haunted house. Remember, the whole process must not be known to any unrelated personnel."

"good."

The officer responded and then turned and left to carry out the task Takagi had given him.

Looking at Takagi's serious face, Kōyū teased, "Officer Takagi, how does it feel to give orders to someone?"

"It feels pretty good."

A sheepish smile instantly appeared on Takagi's dark face. He chuckled sheepishly and said, "If it weren't for the inspector getting the nearby precincts to cooperate with me this time, I probably wouldn't have had this opportunity for several years, no, more than a decade."

The lack of confidence in her words was quite obvious, and Guangyou felt somewhat helpless. After all, mindset is something that can't be changed overnight, and all he could do was offer comfort.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time ahead."

Guangyou stood beside him and said, "Maybe in a few years you'll be promoted to assistant inspector."

Takagi scratched his head and chuckled, "I hope so."

"Alright, I'll be going now. You should be able to handle this, right?"

Kōyū looked at Takagi with eyes full of trust and said, "Officer Takagi, you must show your abilities well in front of Miwako-nee this time."

"Miwako?"

Suddenly, Takagi's mouth dropped open, and he said in a panic, "I forgot Officer Sato at the restaurant!"

Mitsuyu had foreseen this outcome, but he hadn't expected Takagi to have completely forgotten about it. He really wanted to see the expression on Miwako's face now.

When he first met Takagi, Kousuke knew that he was out having fun.

She was wearing casual clothes, something she rarely wears on a normal day, and her hair was styled, though it looked almost the same as not styled at all. But at least she had made some preparations.

If this wasn't prepared for Miwako, then Mitsuyu must have misjudged Takagi.

Guangyou, always eager for drama, took a bite of his lollipop and asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Let's solve the case first, then I'll apologize to Officer Sato later."

Takagi didn't think too much about it. Although he was flustered, he had to solve the case at hand, otherwise he would have let down Inspector Megure's trust in him.

Kōyū nodded and said approvingly, "Officer Takagi, although you are very honest and always doubt yourself, you are still a competent and good police officer."

This was the first time Gao Mutou had been praised like this, and a visible blush rose on his dark face. He smiled shyly and said, "Thank you."

Guangyou chuckled at him and said, "It's nothing. I'll be going now. Good luck. Miwako-neechan is still waiting for you."

"this..."

Takagi's face flushed even more, her cheeks almost completely covered in crimson. Seeing this, Mitsuhiro didn't tease her any further, but turned around and walked to Ai's side, saying softly, "Let's go, I'm hungry."

"Um."

Ai glanced at the still slightly rosy hand that Kousuke was extending to her, pursed her lips, and reached out to shake it. However, unlike before, she didn't dare to use force now.

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