Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

"What else can you see?"

"I don't know. I can't remember 0.3. But that's not what I want to say. I transferred my spiritual energy to this child. She can help you find the truth... I'm dead now. I'm leaving..."

Kato Megumi groaned slightly, opened her eyes, and slowly looked around with a confused look on her face.

"Officer Bai..."

Bai Quanyi nodded silently.

She sat up and put her hand to her forehead. Perhaps it was a headache, so she grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips were purple.

"Are you alright?"

"fine."

The voice that answered was trembling.

Then, another stream of sparkling tears flowed down the tear-stained cheek.

she cried.

"Ah..."

Kato Megumi groaned.

Baiquanyi stood up, took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

"Officer Bai..."

She raised her hands in the air, trying to grab something, but she caught nothing and they fell down helplessly.

407. The murderer is a woman

Kato Megumi suddenly became able to "see" things that ordinary people could not see.

"What are you looking for?" Kato Megumi asked.

"Ah?" Bai Quanyi thought she was asking him and couldn't help but answer.

But when he turned around, he found that Kato Megumi was not looking at him at all.

She looked at a point in the void with empty eyes.

For some reason, Bai Quanyi found this scene quite horrifying and couldn't help but shudder.

"Ms. Kato Megumi?"

Kato Megumi suddenly staggered.

Is she anemic? Bai Quanyi hurried over and supported her.

Kato Megumi knelt on the ground, her eyes closed, and she let out a slight moan.

"Are you OK?"

"Officer Bai."

Kato Megumi groaned and uttered a few words.

"The murderer is a woman..."

"and then?"

"what……"

Despite repeated inquiries, Kato Megumi offered no further answers. She simply stared at a single spot on the floor, panting timidly. Her gaze landed precisely on the spot near the head of Nagara Haruka's fallen body: a small object resting there. Shiraizumi Mashi had also noticed the object when he first examined the body, but he hadn't considered its significance.

"Mourner..."

It looked like a tear mark.

A drop of water, a small drop of transparent water.

After Kato Megumi called the police, Japanese police arrived to protect and investigate the scene.

Afterwards, Kato Megumi, as the first person to discover the crime, was recorded in a statement by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Shiraizumi Mashi also discussed the case with Inspector Shiratori, who was in charge of the case, in the Metropolitan Police Department office.

Police estimate Nagara Haruka's time of death to be between 10:30 PM and 12:00 PM. The cause of death was a depressed fracture at the back of the head. It is speculated that Nagara Haruka had been involved in a struggle and fell onto the corner of a table. There were no other injuries to her body. Although her clothing was disheveled, there were no signs of sexual assault.

Shiratori: "Reporting to Inspector Shiro, our speculation is this: the victim finished work around 10:00 PM that day - this is testified by other colleagues. She then took the train and arrived home around 10:30 PM. However, this time is only a guess. Assuming she went straight home after get off work, it would take her 30 minutes to get home from the office, that's all. If there were surveillance cameras at the station or nearby that captured her, we might be able to pinpoint the time, but unfortunately, there were none. In short, at 10:30 PM, after returning home, she had the misfortune of coming face to face with a burglar."

Bai Quanyi: "Breaking into an empty house?"

Shiratori: "Yes. The window on the balcony side was open, so he must have entered from there. There were no signs of the window being pried open, so he might have forgotten to lock it. There were no traces inside the room, but there were footprints on the drainpipe near the balcony. The footprints were only slightly recognizable, so it was difficult to determine the manufacturer of the shoes based on them. It is said that the area happened to be a high-incidence area for break-ins, and the Third Investigation Section [3] was targeting a habitual thief named "Tatematsu Goro". The victim's residence was exactly the target that this guy might have set his sights on, so this cautious method of taking off shoes before entering the house was a good choice. The method is also in line with Tatematsu's style. Since there is no solid evidence, let's call it a burglar - this burglar saw that the lights in Kuramochi Nagara Haruka's house were off at around 10:30 pm that night. Thinking no one was home, he climbed up the drainpipe to the second floor and broke into the house. Coincidentally, the victim had left the window unlocked, so he didn't need any tools. Then, while he was searching for valuables in the house, the victim returned. She walked into the pitch-black living room, took off her coat and hung it on the back of a chair, turned on the light, and then met the burglar's eyes, who dared not even breathe in the dark..."

Bai Quanyi: "So the two of them started fighting on the spot?"

Shiratori: "I guess the thief had no intention of killing anyone. He thought it would be easier to just push her away and run out the door than to jump off the balcony. But the victim was unlucky and bumped her head against the corner of the table. What an unfortunate location. The murderer fled in panic, but he didn't forget to take the cash and cards from the wallet."

Bai Quanyi: "The cash was stolen?"

Shiratori: "I don't know the exact amount that was stolen. It was empty, with only coupons and some change left."

Bai Quanyi: "Are there any fingerprints?"

Shiratori: "Yes, there are a few fingerprints that don't belong to Kuramochi Nagara Haruka. But there are no fingerprints of ex-convicts. The victim sometimes invited friends over and stayed overnight, so they could have been friends. Also, the fingerprints on the inside handle of the main door were smeared. Not the kind that were wiped clean, but it's as if someone turned the handle with gloves on, erasing all the previous fingerprints."

"If it was a burglary, wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints does make sense," Shiraizumi said in a low voice, resting his chin on his hand. "By the way, there's a broken glass. Do you think it broke during the struggle with the murderer?"

"It seems so. It was filled with coffee. There were broken glass and traces of spilled liquid that looked like coffee on the floor under the table. The autopsy results showed no trace of coffee in the victim's stomach, so it must have been an unfinished coffee cup from the previous day that was placed on the table. The coffee making utensils, leftover food, and used cups were not collected and are piled up in the kitchen. It seems that this girl is not very good at cleaning up."

Shiraizumi Mashi: "So, the suspect must be the man called Tatematsu Goro?"

Shiratori: "Yes, but it's just a suspicion right now, there's no physical evidence. We're checking the surrounding surveillance footage and questioning witnesses, but we haven't found anything yet. However, if we can catch him in the act of trespassing or stealing, we can investigate him. For now, we can only hope that he confesses during interrogation. We're working closely with the Third Investigation Division to confirm his whereabouts."

Shiraizumi: "It's so frustrating to just sit there and wait...Are there no other suspects?"

Shiratori: "Officer Bai, don't worry. We have also investigated the victim's social relationships."

During the investigation, they discovered a man named Nishimura Jiuxiang, who worked for a well-known wedding planning company and seemed to have started pursuing Kuramochi Nagara Haruka a week ago.

Shiratori: "We found a passionate love letter from that guy in the trash can of the victim's house. The content seems a bit like stalking, but the guy's fingerprints don't match the ones we found, and he said he didn't even know where the victim lived. There is no evidence at the moment, but he doesn't have an alibi, so calling him suspicious is quite suspicious."

Bai Quanyi: "If this person is the murderer, what will the case be like?"

Shiratori: "Well, he must have gone to the victim's residence during the estimated time of her death to confront her. They got into an argument, and he lost his temper and pushed her down. Then, horrified by the thought of accidentally killing her, he staged a robbery, opened the window, and stole her cash and credit cards... Doesn't that make sense?"

Bai Quanyi: "Then how do you explain the footprints on the drainpipe?"

Shiratori: "That footprint is very likely unrelated to this case. For example, it's possible that Tatematsu Goro left it when he climbed to another floor, and because the residents didn't notice it, they didn't report it."

Shiraizumi: "But there are still some doubts. Her estimated time of death is between 10:30 PM and 12:00 AM, right? How could a woman living alone allow a man who was pestering her into her home?"

Shiratori: "That's true, but it's also possible that he forced his way in."

Shiraizumi: "If they had forced their way in, the victim would have screamed, right? But there doesn't seem to be any evidence of that."

Shiratori: "Yes. There's no evidence of any suspicious screams or noises that night. But the apartment's soundproofing is pretty good, and the house next door is empty, so it's not surprising that the neighbors didn't hear anything."

Shiraizumi Mashi: "But if someone forced their way into the house, the entrance should be messier. If I remember correctly, her high heels were neatly placed by the door. Also, the corner of the table her head hit was the one near the center of the living room, and she fell on her back with her head facing the entrance. So I think it's more likely that she was pushed from inside the room, that is, through the window."

Shiratori: "Well, it's also possible that Nishimura's attitude has changed, that he's expressed remorse, and that the victim has forgiven him and feels it's okay to let him in to talk—that's not impossible. That would contradict the circumstances at the scene. The broken glass could have been taken out to entertain the guests. We have a motive, and the suspicions are strong."

Shiraizumi Mashi: "How did she and Nishimura know each other?"

Shiratori: "It seems that they got to know each other through a mutual friend, a woman named Mai Kobayashi, who was Nishimura's colleague and attended the same university as Haruka Nagara. This woman named Kobayashi called Haruka Kuramochi at 10:23 PM on the day of the incident, so we were able to trace her back and ask her some questions."

Bai Quanyi: "Phone?"

Shiratori: "She said she'd planned to visit the victim's house next month and was calling to confirm the exact time. They seemed quite close and sometimes stayed overnight. Was it a girls' get-together? She said they'd get together once a month to watch foreign TV series all night. Kobayashi said the victim didn't show any signs of abnormality during the call."

Shiraizumi Mashi: "So, it was Ms. Kobayashi who introduced Nagara Haruka to her colleague?"

Shiratori: "To be more precise, it was a sex party. Over a month ago, Kobayashi Mai planned a sex party, and the victim and Nishimura met at the party. From there, Nishimura began pursuing the victim, hoping for a relationship."

Shiraizumi Masu: "Speaking of dating... Doesn't Nagara Haruka have a boyfriend now?"

Shiratori: "As far as our investigation is concerned, there are no signs. Although she lives alone, her furniture is unusually complete, so we also checked to see if there is anyone living with her. Inspector Shiro, what are your thoughts?"

Bai Quanyi said: "Indeed, I haven't heard her mention this. But even if she did, I wouldn't be surprised."

Shiratori nodded. "We haven't heard of the victim being the target of any jealousy. From her daily interactions and motives, these are the only clues we have. Oh, by the way, that little girl named Kato Megumi—"

Shiraizumi Masu said, "She is not a suspect. I will accompany her to visit Nagara Haruka."

"In that case, the most likely hypothesis at the moment is that the burglar, Li Song, committed the murder."

"Yes, it's only a matter of time before he's caught. As long as we catch the thief in the act and interrogate him, we should be able to get him to reveal the truth about the case."

Indeed, the case seemed to be about to be solved.

However, Shiraizumi Mashi secretly felt that just staring at Tatematsu Goro was not enough.

Tatematsu Goro is certainly suspicious, but Nishimura Kyushu is also questionable.

Who killed Haruka Nagara?

correct--

"Among the clues you've been searching for...are there any female suspects? Is it possible that a woman committed the crime?"

Shiratori was surprised by Baiquanyi's question.

"No, the Kobayashi Mai I mentioned earlier, friends at work, classmates from school... although there were many female friends close to the victim, no one seems to have mentioned that she was envied. She was a very likable girl. What do you mean by that?"

"nothing."

Baiquanyi fell silent.

mourners...

What does that mean?

Kato Megumi's eyes flashed through Baiquan Yi's mind, flickering enchantingly in the darkness.

Kato Megumi.

What exactly is it that you see?

408. The Strange Story of the Mourning Woman

After Kato Megumi finished recording her confession, Shiraizumi Mashi took her to a cafe and ordered drinks and sweets, hoping to improve her mood.

Since the incident, Kato Megumi has been blaming herself, believing that she was the one who killed the psychic master Yoshiharu Kazuka.

She wore a white shirt with a bow at the collar and a navy blue skirt with embroidery. Her makeup was natural and elegant, with a bright orange base. Her emerald eyes, beneath her neat bangs, seemed to conceal a hint of nervousness.

Bai Quanyi gestured for her to sit opposite him and asked:

"Is it okay here?"

“It’s OK. This store is really good.”

She looked around and answered, but her expression was still a little stiff.

“The coffee here is delicious.”

"Thank you." Kato Megumi looked at the coffee and desserts on the table, which looked delicious.

"Well... first of all, please allow me to apologize to Officer Bai."

Her emerald green eyes were slightly moist as she looked directly at Bai Quanyi.

"I don't seem to remember you doing anything that requires an apology."

"It's about Miss Nagara Haruka. Back then, I should have told you directly how I felt after 'seeing' her. At least, I should have told you... more accurately, to you, Officer."

"Ms. Kato Megumi, you—did you finally see something?"

"Yes."

She lowered her head, her bangs hanging low, almost hiding her expression.

"It's a mourner. The mourner has moved to Nagara Haruka."

"What does wailing woman mean?"

Bai Quanyi finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

Kato Megumi raised her head, her eyes wandering and showing hesitation.

She might be worried whether Bai Quanyi would believe what she said.