Leaving the eucalyptus scene and coming outside, the fresh air flowing around me successfully blew away the depression that was blocking my heart.
Otaki Goro, who had left first, ran back in a hurry. He was obviously very good at handling human relationships. He took the warm tea and simple food that he had entrusted his subordinates to buy, and helped the old lady who had not eaten lunch to solve the problem of food and clothing.
But the old lady didn't appreciate it. She shook her head dejectedly to indicate that she was not hungry. The scene of her precious daughter's tragic death at home was still vivid in her mind. She really had no appetite and chose to reject the police officer's kindness.
Through the confession recorded by the police, it was learned that the old lady's name was Mari Akashi, and the victim was her only daughter, Hoko Akashi, who was also one of the people she cared about most in the world after her husband passed away.
The other person is naturally the grandson whose whereabouts are still unknown, the little boy who appears in the photo.
Fujiwara Yu noticed that Mari Akashi refused to eat. He reached out and took the plastic bag from Officer Otaki's hand, walked to the old lady and squatted down. Perhaps because he was tall enough, he could easily look at the old lady sitting on the chair at eye level even if he squatted on the ground.
He changed his usual stern look, with warm colors smudged over his eyes and eyebrows, his thin lips curved into an arc, and his voice was clear:
"Grandma Mari, how can you not eat well? We still have to bring the bad guys to justice, right? If you don't eat enough, you won't have the energy to witness this scene. You don't want the progress of this case to stop at this step, do you?"
Mari Akashi didn't expect the young police officer to say these words to her. She lowered her eyes and thought that the murderer was still at large. Yes, the young police officer was right. Her daughter would never come back. She had to at least see the murderer caught with her own eyes.
At a time like this, we must not have a pessimistic attitude of giving up on ourselves.
"Thank you, little officer."
Akashi Mari accepted the hot tea and the miso-simmered mackerel bento, savoring it in small sips. Fujiwara Yuu and Otaki Goro were relieved to see this. They waited until Mari's grandmother had finished her meal before speaking.
"Grandma Mari, do you know much about your daughter's social relationships? Since you don't live together, you probably talk on the phone often. Has she mentioned anything that's bothering her lately during these conversations?"
"Hey, Suzuko has been a very sensible child since she was young. I have never heard of her making enemies with anyone, whether in school or at work. She always reports good news to me but not bad news, so... I may not be able to help." Mari Akashi showed a guilty expression at the end of her words. She probably felt in her heart that she did not know her daughter well enough.
Be sensible, don't make enemies with others, and only report good news but not bad news.
Humiliation, photo-taking, and the disappearing boy.
Fujiwara Yu closed his eyes and his brain started working rapidly, combining these key words. He rubbed the five-yen coin in his hand with his fingertips. A silver light flashed through his mind. Realizing that a key clue had been overlooked, he left Otaki Goro, who was full of questions, behind without saying a word and ran to the crime scene.
He put on his gloves again and snatched the photo on the dressing table from his female colleague's hand, completely ignoring her speechless expression and focusing all his attention on the photo of the victim, Akashi Hoko, and her son, Akashi Shinji.
In the background of the photo, there are two other little boys who won awards, and they are holding trophies in their hands, but why doesn’t the champion Shinji Akashi have a trophy in his hand?
And if you look closely, you can see that Shinji Akashi's eyes are not looking at the camera. He seems unwilling to look directly at the person who took the photo for them. Could it be that the photographer took away his trophy, which made Shinji feel dissatisfied, so he refused to look out of spite?
Fujiwara Yu couldn't figure it out, so he quickly left under the speechless gaze of his female colleague from the Scientific Research Institute. He handed the photo directly to Akashi Mari and leaned over to ask:
"Grandma Mari, the boy in the photo is your grandson, Shinji Akashi, right?"
"Yes, Shinji is very similar to Suko. He was very obedient when he was in kindergarten and never gave Suko any worries."
"Then I want to ask a question, why is Shinji Akashi not at home? Where did he go?"
Fujiwara Yu felt that this was a key point, because according to the clues currently available, it can be concluded that the possibility of an acquaintance committing the crime is as high as more than 80%, so Shinji Akashi is a more critical point. Why was he not at home and who took him away?
Mari Akashi was not worried because her grandson was not at home. She took a sip of hot tea to moisten her throat and said slowly:
"You can rest assured about this, little officer. Shinji was picked up by his father the day before yesterday. Hoko told me that Shinji would take Shinji home this evening... Well, I'm afraid there's no other way now. Shinji will have to raise the child."
"Shinji?"
"He is Suoko's ex-husband. They divorced six years ago. He is actually a nice person, but Suoko said that they are more used to being friends, so they decided to get married after careful consideration." Mari Akashi thought for a while and replied.
Shinji Akashi is only seven years old this year. If it was a peaceful divorce, why would they choose to do so when the child is just one year old? You know, raising an infant alone is very tiring. Hoko Akashi even has to find a way to make a living. Without financial resources, the child will be awarded to her ex-husband.
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Wait a minute, change the verdict?
A terrifying thought welled up in Fujiwara Yuu's mind. He didn't want his deduction to be correct, so he wanted to quickly prove it wrong. He returned to the scene of the crime and looked at the female colleague from the scientific research team who was looking in his direction. He glanced at her badge and asked bluntly:
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