Chapter 58
Sagara put the hair into the evidence bag, and Sato asked, "Where were you on the night of the 27th?"
Baba's eyes showed unease and fear. After thinking for a moment, he said in a trembling voice, "I work at a bar, and my boss and colleagues can testify for me."
Sato frowned again, and asked thoughtfully, "What time do you get off work?"
“Three o’clock in the morning.” Baba’s gaze followed the evidence bag until it was handed to Rina.
Sato: "Where did you go after get off work?"
"Off work..." Baba's face showed a hint of confusion, his hands clenched tightly, unable to hide his nervousness. "I'm going home after get off work. Is there a problem with the wig?"
Sato's expression was cold as he warned, "Tell the truth if you don't want to be suspected of being the murderer."
"The murderer?!" Baba exclaimed in shock, "I haven't killed anyone!"
Rina raised her eyes slightly, "When was the last time you wore this wig?"
“I’ve never worn this wig in a bar. The last time was…” Maba Ran met her gaze and felt a strange sense of pressure. He bit his lip, finding it difficult to speak, “It was at Club Thirty-One.”
Sagara asked, "I've heard of it, but what exactly is that place for?"
“It’s a social circle for the upper class, very difficult for ordinary people to get into,” Sato frowned, his voice suddenly turning a few degrees deeper. “How did you get in?”
Baba tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Because there are very few homosexuals..."
Rina stared at his face for a while; his smooth, fair cheeks showed he was indeed a very handsome man.
"What did you and Zongfang talk about?"
Baba replied, "I just asked him why he was drinking alone, but he didn't answer me, so I walked away."
That being said, he is still highly suspicious.
Sato was determined to take the person back to the police station, and the red wig also needed to be sent for authentication.
Next, Sagara was put in charge of following up on this lead.
Rina and Sato then headed to their next destination.
Chiyo Momoyama still looked like she had just woken up, standing at the door with no intention of letting them in.
"Why are you here again?" she asked impatiently. "Do you really doubt that I, a woman, can kill nine men with my bare hands to complete my revenge? I am a person of principle."
“This has nothing to do with principles,” Sato said. “Please cooperate with the investigation.”
"My God, what's wrong with your brains, police? Suspecting a woman," Momoyama Chiyo stepped back, looking at the two with a mocking expression. "Are you really not doing this for money?"
Rina put on her gloves, glanced at her, and calmly said, "I am."
Chiyo Momoyama looked extremely surprised, sensing something was amiss. "People like you are nothing but parasites on humanity."
Rina gave a cryptic laugh, leaving her completely bewildered. "You guys aren't police officers, are you?"
Sato glanced at his watch and said, "She's a consultant hired by the police station, so of course she's doing her job for money."
"An advisor?" Momoyama Chiyo was skeptical.
Just as she closed the door, she heard footsteps on the stairs. Three thugs stood at the door and kicked it hard a few times, which startled her.
"You old bitch, stop pretending to be dead inside! You haven't even paid this month's interest yet!"
Chiyo Momoyama had a lot of debt, and these thugs would come and bang on her door every month, regardless of whether she paid her debts on time or not.
She cursed under her breath, opened the door, and said, "Isn't there still three days left?"
"Hey, taking care of a customer?" One of the thugs looked at Sato with a wicked grin, reached out and touched her face, and said suggestively, "Can you change the money this month?"
Chiyo Momoyama glared at him fiercely, but dared not resist. "I have been paying back the money on time!"
"Just trying to be helpful," the thug leaned down and got close to her face without any hesitation.
Chiyo Momoyama wanted to dodge, but her legs wouldn't obey her commands. Her whole body was tense to the limit, and if she dodged, she would definitely pay a greater price.
She dared not test the waters any further, but the other party was simply too disgusting, showing her no respect whatsoever in front of outsiders.
"You're just someone who sleeps with people—" the thug began, but didn't finish his sentence.
Sato stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, almost lifting him up. "If you want to collect a debt, collect it. What kind of hooliganism is this?"
The thug immediately cursed, "Who are you guys?!"
Sato said sternly, "I can send you to the police station for a few days."
"Cops!?" The thug blurted out the words without thinking.
Rina wandered around the messy house and heard a commotion coming from the entrance hall, so she went over to take a look.
The thug paused for a moment when he saw there was another person inside, then started yelling again, "Let me go, you son of a bitch! I haven't done anything wrong! Do you police officers just grab people like that?"
Sato released the man, kicked him out, and then closed the door.
Rina responded with a soft "uh".
Sato: "Don't just watch the show."
Rina responded with another "oh".
Sato: "..."
If there weren't outsiders present, they would have attacked her using "Little Rina".
Chiyo Momoyama withdrew her gaze from Sato, tore open the cigarette pack on the table, took out a cigarette, lit it, and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
Sato said, "Let me confirm your alibi for the night of the 27th."
Chiyo Momoyama exhaled a puff of smoke, leaned against the wall, and said, "Take out the photos and let's take a look."
Upon hearing this, Sato suspiciously handed over the item.
“Aren’t all the police in Yokohama government lackeys? I’ve never seen many of them do anything worthwhile,” Chiyo Momoyama said, pulling back the curtain to show the photo in the sunlight. After a moment of thought, she said, “I saw him on the night of the 20th, around 3 a.m.
Sato asked, "Weren't you at the Shinto Hotel?"
Chiyo Momoyama frowned and said, "That guy was terrible in bed. We had a fight halfway through and broke up. The Shinto Hotel and the bar are just across the street. I couldn't get a taxi at that time, so I could only wander around."
Sato: "Where did you see that?"
Chiyo Momoyama raised her eyes, her eyebrows slightly arched, and with a flicker of her gaze, asked, "Are you single?"
Sato replied without hesitation, "I'm married."
“It does look like her,” Momoyama Chiyo gestured with her chin toward Rina. “Is it her?”
Rina: "..."
Sato was speechless: "Answer the question."
“It’s only a short distance from the hotel. I remember there was a noodle shop nearby,” Momoyama Chiyo rubbed her temples. “I drank too much that night and didn’t see his face clearly, but he did get into a car with a woman.”
Sato softened his tone: "Do you remember the car model? The color and license plate number are also fine."
Chiyo Momoyama said, "Officer, it was three in the morning, and it was pitch black all around. If it weren't for the woman wearing a sparkly dress, I wouldn't have noticed them at all."
Miyako deduced that Munakata's time of death was between midnight and 4 a.m., meaning that Munakata was very likely involved in the accident while riding in that car.
Sato glanced at the time. "Which direction did they go?"
Chiyo Momoyama: "I'm not quite sure. After the two of them got in the car, they didn't drive away immediately. I was the one who left."
Sato glanced at the time again and said, "This is my phone number. Call me immediately if you remember anything."
It was already 5 p.m., and neither of them had had lunch yet.
After leaving the neighborhood, Sato suggested that they go get something to eat first.
Rina noticed he was constantly looking at his phone. "What happened?"
Sato sighed deeply, "My neighbor called me this morning and said that Yukiho twisted her ankle when she went downstairs. I called her several times just now but she didn't answer."
He worked overtime last night investigating the direction Zongfang had been looking in after leaving the bar, trying to find out what he was looking at. By the time he finished, it was already 2 a.m., and by the time he got home it was already dawn. He slept for only a few hours before going to the police station.
Lina paused in surprise, then waved her hand: "Then you go back and take a look first, anyway I have other things to do later."
Sato pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and quickly gave instructions on the next key areas of investigation.
Upon hearing her name called, Rina replied, "I don't work overtime, thank you."
Sato covered the phone and whispered to her, "Do you know how the media is reporting on this case right now?"
In an effort to grab attention and generate buzz, they've already created biographical sketches for all nine victims.
A married man who lost desire for his wife committed a grave mistake and was dragged into the water by the red-clad female ghost of Lover's Lake. A man who was two-timing couldn't resist temptation, had his life force drained, and committed suicide by drowning.
Even more outrageous is the case of a woman who squandered her precious youth, refused to keep her promises, and after having an affair, was drowned in a pig cage.
Unscrupulous media outlets only care about whether the headlines are sensational enough and whether they generate enough traffic; they don't care at all that these reports have created panic.
Now, Zongfang's parents have seen the newspaper and have taken the matter to the police station.
Rina's long, thick eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly for a moment. "I'm really sorry, but I have no ideas about this case right now."
Sato asked, "Isn't it obvious? If it can be confirmed that the hair in Munakata's mouth matches the wig found at Baba's house, can he still clear his name?"
Rina: "He is indeed lying."
Baba had something he was willing to conceal, even if it meant bearing the stigma of serial murder.
Sato drove away from the residential area.
Rina didn't leave with Sato; she planned to wander around the neighborhood and grab something to eat first.
She went into a nearby convenience store and bought a carton of hot milk to relieve her fatigue.
As she was paying, she heard a slight clattering sound from the shelf behind her. Rina glanced at the reflection in the glass doorway and saw a figure in a black hoodie quickly hide behind the shelf.
As Rina left the supermarket, she deliberately slowed her pace. Sure enough, she heard footsteps behind her, neither too close nor too far, following her like a shadow.
The other person's right hand was always in his pocket, perhaps with a gun.
Rina's heart tightened, and she quickened her pace toward the street corner intersection. When she reached the alley entrance, she suddenly turned into a narrow alley next to it. After walking a short distance, she turned into another alley and leaned against the wall, holding her breath.
Footsteps followed.
Rina watched the commotion at the alley entrance warily, then quietly backed away.
As a result, I didn't get very far back before my back hit a wall, which startled me, but that might not be it.
After all, a wall won't suddenly have a pair of strong arms reach out from behind and pull her into their arms.
"That's so mean, how could you bear to be apart from me for so long?" Kurosawa Shiran gently brushed her chin against the top of her head, her voice filled with unmistakable intimacy, and said with a pitiful expression, "I haven't received a kiss from you for a whole day."
Lina's back was pressed against his chest, and a little color returned to her face. The calm she had shown when dealing with the stalker disappeared, replaced by a strange sense of security.
Hearing the commotion, the stalker quickened his pace to find the target. However, instead of feeling happy to have found his target, he froze on the spot as if he had seen a demon, his whole body turning cold. It took him a full thirty seconds to react before he thought of running away.
Kurosawa Shiran lowered her face and gently kissed Rina's nape. The next moment, smelling the cigarette smoke on her, she hummed, "Sister promised to quit smoking."
"......"
Rina broke free from his embrace and asked, "How did you find your way here?"
"Of course I miss my sister," Kurosawa Shiran put on a simple and innocent expression. "Sister, you haven't talked about quitting smoking yet."
He wouldn't mention the location tracking device on his phone, which almost made Lina laugh in exasperation. "What are you trying to say now?"
Kurosawa Shiran: "My sister didn't keep her promise to me. Shouldn't she be punished?"
Rina squinted at him: "What punishment?"
No matter what the punishment is, just don't agree.
Kurosawa Shiran gave a particularly intriguing smile, revealing a hidden aggression and a strong, sharp desire for control.
"Keep it a secret."
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