When getting off the car, Fujiwara Yu did not forget to raise his right hand to check the time displayed on his watch. It was already noon, and the restaurant should be at its peak time of receiving guests.
When he and Takagi Wataru walked into the Western restaurant, the waitress at the door greeted them warmly, but when she saw the police officer IDs they presented, she realized that something seemed amiss.
"We are the police. Can we ask your manager or store manager to come outside and talk?"
"Okay, I'll go find the manager right away."
In less than three minutes, a thin man in a black suit with black hair in a slicked-back style appeared in Fujiwara Yu's field of vision. His first reaction was: except for his hair color, this man fits the description of the murderer quite well.
The shop manager with slicked-back hair showed a gentle smile. He politely took out his business card and said:
"Hello, officers. I'm the store manager, Seishi Ichihara. May I ask what brings you to my store?"
"We're here to investigate a missing person case." Takagi pulled out a photo of Maeda Fumika and asked, "Manager Ichihara, do you have any recollection of this woman? She dined at your restaurant on the evening of January 10th."
Ichihara Seishi squinted his eyes for a moment, then shook his head and said with a hint of regret:
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any impression of this girl. However, I can ask the store staff to come out and help investigate. They have more opportunities to interact with customers, so I think they should have an impression of her."
"Thank you for your cooperation." Takagi Shigeru glanced at the surveillance camera at the store entrance and instructed, "By the way, Manager Ichihara, please let us see all the surveillance cameras in the store. Thank you for your help."
"No problem. Please follow me to the second floor. There is a staff rest area there."
"OK, thanks."
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