Miwako was very embarrassed, but she had no choice. Her face flushed, she said, "If the people in Section 1 find out, I'll be so embarrassed! So, could you help me secretly get the key?"
Takagi asked helplessly, "How can you take it secretly? The fact that the suspect escaped has already alarmed the entire headquarters."
Miwako had already prepared a response to Takagi's words. She reached out and pinched Takagi's chin, making him look at her: "What? Is this how you talk to your senior? Besides, when you look at the matter, isn't it because you didn't keep a close eye on the suspect that he got away?"
Takagi felt a little shy because of Miwako's antics, but still wanted to refuse: "But..."
"Takagi-kun~" Miwako interrupted Takagi before he could finish speaking.
Hearing Miwako's tone, so different from usual, Takagi swallowed hard, feeling a slight tingling sensation all over his body. Looking at her pretty face, less than an arm's length away, Takagi felt he could no longer control himself and nodded heavily.
Seeing this, Miwako released Takagi and smiled brightly: "Then I'll leave everything to you, Takagi-kun."
The suspect, trapped in the toilet stall, shouted to the two men, "I am not the murderer."
"I'm definitely not the culprit! I don't know what happened either; when I woke up this morning, Ms. Muranishi was already dead!"
Miwako said with a wry smile, "From the beginning, this suspect has been insisting that he is innocent."
Takagi was also somewhat skeptical, but he phrased it tactfully: "Don't joke around, Mr. Higashida."
Next, Takagi briefly recalled the course of the case. It was roughly that the suspect's boss, who lived in the same building, died in her own bathroom. When he was found, Mr. Higashida was drunk and lying on his boss's bed.
The doors were all locked, making it a closed room. The murder weapon and other places clearly showed Higashida's fingerprints. Furthermore, Higashida frequently clashed with his superiors at work.
Most importantly, the investigation revealed that on the day of the incident, Higashida was in an agitated state at the izakaya, saying he was going to teach his boss a lesson.
With the murder weapon, motive, time, location, and fingerprints, Dongtian is basically the culprit with no way out.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Dongtian still tried to defend himself: "It really wasn't me. I really don't remember anything that happened that night."
Miwako explained to him that he was so drunk that it was normal for him not to remember.
Dongtian, still agitated, said he had some conflict with the deceased, but it was really not enough to kill her.
"Then tell me, why did you run away? Isn't this just like trying to hide something obvious?"
“Because I have to go somewhere.” Dongtian’s emotions gradually calmed down. “Because of my daughter in Chicago. After my divorce, my daughter was raised by my ex-wife.”
"But just recently, my daughter sent me a wedding invitation!"
“I thought, I thought my daughter hated me all along. How could I not attend such an important day!”
Tears welled up in the eyes of Dongtian, a middle-aged man.
These emotionally charged words made Miwako and Takagi wonder if the man crying so hard in front of them was really the murderer.
"This uncle is definitely not a bad person!"
Ayumi called out to Takagi and Miwako, and seeing their puzzled looks, she explained, "Because this uncle not only let me go, but also apologized to me. I don't think he's a bad person!"
Dongtian was delighted to hear that someone finally believed him.
Miwako was also moved by these words and turned to ask Higashida, "Hey, what time does the plane take off tomorrow?"
"It will take off from Narita Airport at 12:30 pm tomorrow."
Miwako turned to Takagi and said, "Takagi-kun, I hope you can find out the truth of the matter by tomorrow noon. If Mr. Higashida is innocent, we can't let him miss his daughter's wedding."
Takagi was uneasy; he doubted his ability to solve the case in such a short time.
Miwako raised her hand to indicate her handcuffed hands: "Do you think I can still move my hands?"
"Tch." Kwang-woo, who was chewing on a lollipop behind him, made a disdainful sound. "I'll do it."
As he spoke, Guangyou took out the lollipop from his mouth. The candy had already been eaten, leaving only the stick, which had been bitten flat. He took the stick and walked forward, working on the keyhole.
Within seconds, with a "click," the handcuffs were unlocked. Guangyou tossed aside the stick and muttered, "Thank goodness it's the old-style lock cylinder."
Takagi gaped in surprise, and Miwako was also taken aback: "Kuou, what do you do? How do you know how to pick locks?"
Such a young and adorable child already possesses such formidable lock-picking skills. When he grows up, he'll be able to unlock an entire neighborhood with just a single instant noodle.
Miwako felt she should find out the details and, while she was at it, learn this cool skill.
"Actually, I just watch TV. For example, the phantom thief in the popular show 'The Phantom Thief Chronicles' often picks locks, right?" Guangyou explained calmly. "It talks about some knowledge about locks, and I got interested, so I read some books and just messed around with it for a bit and I learned how to do it."
Upon hearing Guangyou's answer, both detectives were speechless: "Just messing around with it?"
It was quite a coincidence that, because of the immense popularity of Kaito Kid, some investors seized the opportunity to create a TV series to capitalize on his fame.
Given the unique nature of this subject matter, the TV series also includes information about locks and methods for picking them, intended to remind residents to take precautions.
Although Miwako was speechless at the casual tinkering, she was relieved and said with a smile, "Kuangyou~ can you teach me, Miwako-neechan, later?"
Kōyū pointed at Higashida, who had just stood up: "Shouldn't you guys hurry up and investigate the case, and try to get it sorted out before noon tomorrow?"
The two of them understood the priorities and nodded, agreeing that it was better to investigate first.
Takagi wanted to call on the Metropolitan Police Department for help, but Miwako stopped him. The reason was that if the Metropolitan Police Department was involved, whether or not an investigation would be conducted was another matter, but Takagi would also have to write a report, which would undoubtedly slow down the investigation.
Because only the police can release a suspect who has been cleared of suspicion based on their own judgment of the case, before the suspect is sent to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Higashida saw hope and smiled. He was grateful to Miwako for believing in him. He also felt that good people are rewarded for abandoning Ayumi and apologizing.
It may not succeed, but at least there is a glimmer of hope.
Meanwhile, Inspector Megure, who was at the Metropolitan Police Department, was puzzled: "Inspector Shiratori, could you contact Inspectors Takagi and Sato? Why aren't they back yet? Haven't they caught the suspect yet?"
After a while, Shiratori replied, "We can't get in touch with them."
Inspector Megure slammed his hand on the table: "Quickly, set off to find them! They might have been attacked by the suspect!"
"yes!"
Shiratori responded and then turned to instruct the police officers to set off quickly to search for Miwako and Takagi separately.
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