Originally, Higashinohara only thought that this was an ordinary murder case, perhaps involving people with abilities, but he did not expect that it would develop into a serial murder case today.
At this time, after hearing the solemn reminder from his apprentice Morita Taku, Aragaki Satoru seemed to be struggling a little.
During this time, the Aragaki Detective Agency has been basically helping nearby neighbors find cats and dogs, or sending out Charlie, the catwoman, to secretly photograph some extramarital affairs and other affairs. Such serious murder cases, and they are serial.
I don’t know how long it has been since I received a homicide investigation commission.
Well, except for Aragaki Satoru, a retired police officer, regular employee Xia Li and temporary worker Higashinohara don't have any "professional ability".
But after pondering for a while, Aragaki Satoru gritted his teeth and said with a solemn expression, "A serial murder case? Sorry! I can't tolerate this kind of extrajudicial maniac! Our Aragaki Detective Agency has accepted this commission!"
"
Morita Taku glanced at Aragaki Satoru's "vanguard of justice" look with some discomfort. Fortunately, he knew Aragaki Satoru well enough, and after thinking about it, he calmed down and felt speechless.
Do not ask!
I asked if the other party gave me too much.
Morita Taku took a breath and reluctantly said, "Okay, I can't stop you from accepting this commission, but as far as I know, the victim's family should have contacted several detective agencies at the same time. Do you want to catch up with them?"
It won't be that easy in the front. Now I've brought you the files you want. Tell me, do you have any clues?"
Aragaki Satoru's face suddenly became embarrassed. He had just been confused and had not yet entered into the analysis of the case.
But when he turned his head, he saw Charlie with her hands folded in front of her chest in a "Folmore" posture, looking thoughtfully at the blood-stained photo.
"Okay! Charlie-chan, tell me." Aragaki Satoru immediately called his name.
When Charlie heard this, she couldn't help being slightly startled. She scratched her head, and the two furry ears on her short silver hair twitched. She turned her head curiously and said, "Ah! Is the boss calling me?"
"Yes, you come and analyze the case."
As Aragaki Satoru spoke, he turned to Morita Taku next to him and said with a smile, "Taku, you see, Charlie-chan hasn't been in the office for a long time, but she has been closely following her teacher and is very familiar with the case. I'm afraid she's not here.
Under those new elites in your Metropolitan Police Department."
"The murderer. The murderer is a pervert!"
Charlie said suddenly.
"That's right." Aragaki Satoru nodded appreciatively, "The murderer in this serial murder case did not cut off everyone's hands, but cruelly peeled off the victims' hands. It's perverted. It's really perverted.
Oh, I'm sorry, Charlie-chan, please continue."
However, after waiting for a long time, Charlie made no sound.
"Go on, did I interrupt your train of thought, Charlie-chan?" Aragaki Satoru wondered.
Charlie immediately shook his head and said in a somewhat embarrassed voice, "No. Boss, that's all I have to analyze."
Ah this?!
Higashinohara couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.
You have been thinking about your relationship for a long time and then you came up with something abnormal?
Next to him, Taku Morita couldn't help but twist his lips, and quickly returned to his original state.
Aragaki Satoru was a bit embarrassed and said angrily, "Then why did you keep nodding your head and looking thoughtful just now? Are you thinking about what to eat at night?"
"Eh? Boss, how do you know?" Charlie was quite shocked.
"Cough cough cough" Morita Taku finally couldn't hold it any longer.
"." Aragaki Satoru.
Higashinohara also felt a little sore.
Looking at this bloody scene, there is nothing else I can want to eat.
I didn't expect it to be even more painful.
Aragaki Satoru's eyes turned to Higashinohara who was standing at the door, and he immediately said to Higashinohara with a kind face, "Fortunately, Higashino-kun is here. Higashino-kun has also read the file just now. If you have any ideas, let's talk! Let's just chat casually.
"
Morita Taku from the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Section 2 didn't laugh when he heard this. The high school student next to him helped them find the suspect in the Sakura Crossing suicide case last year.
"Shall I analyze it?"
Higashinohara pondered for two seconds, and without hiding his clumsiness, he said directly, "The abnormality that Charlie just mentioned, I think it can be regarded as a possibility, and it is also the possibility that is least conducive to the investigation, and that is the randomness of abnormal murder cases.
But I don’t think we can rule out another possibility.”
"Vendetta."
Higashinohara paused after speaking here.
He turned his head and looked at the bloody and terrifying photos on the projector, and continued, "Everyone has his own purpose in doing anything. If there is no hatred, it is hard to imagine that a person would put so much effort into killing a corpse."
His hands were peeled off until only the bones and joints of his hands were left."
"That's right!"
Charlie's eyes lit up at the side, and she said by analogy, "When I was in my hometown in Okinawa, a pheasant came to my house to eat millet. I went up the mountain to look for it all day for revenge, and I caught it when it was almost dark, and then
I ruthlessly stripped it of all its fur to let out the hatred in my heart."
Higashinohara glanced at Charlie.
That pheasant should have ended up in your stomach.
"Vendetta?"
After hearing this, Taku Morita pondered for two seconds and slowly analyzed, "This possibility cannot be ruled out, but the current analysis results of colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division are that vendettas are generally individual cases, and the murderer targets a single person.
Revenge, the murders we are experiencing now have occurred five times in a row from a week ago to now. The victims have no connection with each other, so it is difficult to infer from vendetta."
The people in the Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation Division are really thoughtful, and Taku Morita’s rebuttal did point out a very obvious flaw in Higashinohara’s deduction.
But Higashinohara looked at those horrific photos, and for some reason, he still felt an extremely strong feeling of hatred from the victims whose hands were left with only weird and gloomy bones.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Higashinohara spoke again, "If that's the case, then I think there is another possibility."
"What's the possibility?" Morita Taku asked.
On the side, Charlie also looked curious, but Aragaki Satoru had a thoughtful look on his face.
Higashinohara said calmly, "Perhaps the target of the murderer's revenge was never a single person, but a certain group."
Aragaki Satoru's eyes suddenly lit up and he continued, "If this hypothesis is true, revenge against a certain group should start from the individual."
"Then the murderer must have some special reason for choosing the first person to die, and the scope of our investigation has been narrowed again."
Morita Taku wants to say that your hypothesis may not be true, but he is inexplicably infected by Higashinohara's calm and indifferent aura. This high school student has an aura that is inexplicably like that of a famous detective in film and television animation works, which makes people unconsciously
Will choose to believe his inference.
In fact, this was because he was overthinking it. Higashinohara simply had the confidence that he had never had before due to the improvement of his strength under normal conditions, and it turned into an invisible appeal.
Finally, Taku Morita took a breath and pressed the button on the remote control in his hand. The photo on the projector flashed quickly, returning to the body of the slightly bald middle-aged man in the first photo.
Taro Nagakichi, 47 years old, convenience store owner.
"Everyone! It seems we already have a target."
Aragaki Satoru immediately clapped his hands with high spirits, looked at Higashinohara with relief and said, "Tomorrow morning we will set off to officially start the investigation. I have a hunch that this case will definitely regain the reputation of our firm! Tell me loudly, is there any
Confidence?! Oh, Charlie raised her hand, do you still have any questions?"
"Boss, will there be a working meal for the meeting tonight?" Charlie asked expectantly.
Aragaki Satoru suddenly choked and said angrily, "You applied for a day off today. Where can you get a working meal on a day off?"
"Okay, there are no other questions. Let's meet at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Do you have any questions, Mr. Higashikata?"
Aragaki Satoru's attitude toward Higashinohara immediately changed. Although he couldn't understand why this dull, silly boy who rented in his apartment building suddenly became enlightened, but enlightenment was enlightenment, and now he naturally looked at him differently.
"I can do it." Higashinohara smiled and nodded, "If there's nothing else to do, I'll go back first. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow!"
"Uh, let me go too." Morita Taku said.
He was brought here by this unreliable master, and Xia Li didn't have the intention to be shy and enjoy the meal, so he naturally wouldn't stay here any longer after he was done.
So the two of them went out together. When they reached the corner of the corridor, Morita Taku, who was about to go downstairs, thought for a moment and couldn't help but raised his head and shouted to Higashinohara who was going upstairs, "Higashino-kun."
"Huh? What's wrong? Mr. Morita?" Higashinohara lowered his head and asked.
"Well, my master, Aragaki, is not very reliable." Morita Taku smiled helplessly, and then reminded him in a serious tone, "This murder may involve an esper. I know you are also studying at an esper academy.
But you still have to be careful during the investigation."
Higashinohara was stunned for a moment, nodded and said, "Thank you, I will pay attention to it."
After saying that, the two of them said goodbye.
The next day, Saturday.
Edogawa Ward, Kosenori convenience store.
The rain fell pattering outside the window, leaving winding and mottled rain tracks on the glass.
For two clerks in a convenience store, a man and a woman, a convenience store with few people on rainy days is a rare "good weather" for them to fish in a service-oriented industry.
Behind the checkout counter of Kobayashi Convenience Store, a female clerk named Kaori Umekoji was bored, holding her chin in her hands, staring at the rain marks falling on the window in a daze;
The male clerk next to him, Miura Yuki, was holding his mobile phone with both hands attentively, as if he was engaged in a game battle.
At this time, three figures in black trench coats walked up the rainy street not far away, holding a black umbrella in their hands. Every step the man walking in front took seemed to be pressing the beat of falling raindrops.
Rhythm abruptly turned the deserted rainy streets into a fashion week show.
"Ding bell! Welcome to the Little Forest Convenience Store. I wish you a happy shopping."
The sensor door opened and when the three figures stepped in, the convenience store's welcome sound also sounded.
The three uninvited guests in the rain stepped in and put their umbrellas on the drain rack at the entrance of the convenience store. Aragaki Satoru scratched the wet strand of hair in front of his forehead and said angrily, "Damn it! New Tokyo
Are all the meteorological stations in the country a fool? Every time they say it won’t rain, it will definitely rain. It’s a waste of the ‘work clothes’ I prepared for you.”
"Boss, is there a possibility that you read the weather forecast wrong?" Charlie shook her head after entering the door, shaking off the rainwater on her short, fluffy, milky-white ears.
"Absolutely impossible!"
Aragaki Satoru said loudly with a guilty conscience.
Beside the two of them, Higashinohara put his umbrella on the drain rack and looked at the convenience store calmly.
Cameras are placed in several key places on the ceiling inside the convenience store, and the TV screen behind the cashier is divided into nine small squares to monitor the situation in the store in real time.
However, there are only eight cameras with pictures on the TV screen. The one in the lower right corner is probably malfunctioning, and the picture is completely black.
Seeing customers coming in on a rainy day, the female clerk Umekoji Kaori behind the cashier cheered up and said with a smile on her face, "Welcome, our store recently has a promotion for oden, buy three and get one free, it's great to have a cup of oden on a rainy day.
Oh!"
The girl smiled with squinting crescent-shaped eyes, and her baby-fat cheeks revealed shallow, sweet dimples.
The male clerk next to him, Miura Yuki, seemed to have not finished playing a game. In the past, he would not dare to play on his mobile phone during working hours.
But the situation is special recently. The owner of the convenience store has just been killed, and the wife of the convenience store is busy chasing the murderer. Who can bother to check the convenience store's camera every day.
So Miura Yuki glanced around furtively, coughed, and walked into the storage room and changing room of the convenience store.
You can't cheat your teammates by cheating anyone.
The camera in the storage room and dressing room seems to be malfunctioning. Miura Yuki usually hides here to fish when he is lazy and playing games. The job in the convenience store is very easy, and there is no problem if there is a person outside to look after him.
Hearing the sweet sales pitch from female salesperson Umekoji Kaori, Aragaki Satoru stepped forward, clenched his fists and coughed dryly, "Thank you, but no need."
"Boss, buy three and get one free!"
Charlie's eyes sparkled.
The female salesperson Umekoji Kaori glanced at Charlie, the smile on her face became sweeter, and she continued to sell, "Yes, if you buy two copies, you can exchange for a bottle of Coke for an additional 50 yen."
“Boss! I’m also giving you Coke!”
The expression on Charlie's face became even more excited.
That look seemed to say that if you don't take advantage of such a huge advantage, you deserve to be struck by lightning when you go out.
Aragaki Satoru then thought about it. Next, they would use these two store clerks as a breakthrough strategy. It seemed a bit unreasonable not to buy something.
So he took out his wallet and said to Umekoji Kaori very generously, "Then give me two oden dishes, and buy a bottle of drink for 50 yen. You don't need to find the remaining 150. It's a tip from the uncle."
tip?
The corners of Higashinohara's eyes twitched.
When Satoru Aragaki goes to the supermarket downstairs to buy cigarettes, he has to bargain with others for discounts, and one day he even takes the initiative to tip. I can only say that the world is really amazing.
The female shop assistant Kaori Umekoji was used to giving change, and it seemed that this was her first time accepting a tip. After being stunned for a moment, she bowed politely and said, "Thank you very much."
After saying that, she put the money away with both hands, turned around and quickly picked up the cup to serve the oden.
"You're welcome, your smile has dispelled the gloom of the rainy day for me, uncle, and you deserve it." Aragaki Satoru, who had a swollen face and looked fat, said in a gentlemanly manner.
After a pause, just as the female clerk Umekoji Kaori bent down to serve the oden, Aragaki Satoru, holding the oden counter, suddenly bent down through the window and asked, "By the way, I heard that the owner of your store met last week.
Unfortunately, do you know anything about this? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I am a police officer from the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department."
As he spoke, Aragaki opened the folded wallet in his hand, revealing the Metropolitan Police Department ID he had just forged in the morning, and then calmly put it away in his arms, "They are all my colleagues."
The female store clerk Umekoji Kaori raised her head and glanced at Aragaki Satoru. She suddenly looked past Aragaki Satoru and looked at Charlie, who was always staring at the oden in her hand, and behind them, Higashinohara, who had his hands in his pockets and looked like a "cold Tokyo handsome guy".
Her slightly baby-fat cheeks suddenly revealed a sly smile.
"Uncle, you are actually from the detective agency, right?"
