After leaving the conference room, Bei Dao was waiting outside the door. Administrator Murata had disappeared.
Seeing Lu Ren walking out of the room, Bei Dao asked softly: "How is the progress?"
"It's not going very well. Shimazaki Yasunobu has a clear alibi, and there will be a lot of people to investigate next."
Lu Ren informed Bei Dao of his conjectures and subsequent investigation directions.
"Killing for ideals? It's possible, but I don't think it's very convincing."
"Yes." Lu Ren also admitted this, "So the focus of the police investigation is still Murata and Tono, the two first witnesses."
"Murata said that he stayed in the management room last night, but no one could prove it for him. But he must be lying, but he just doesn't know what he is hiding."
"In addition, someone clearly witnessed him arguing with Ms. Qichuan a few days ago, but he denied it. His suspicion is the highest now."
"As for Tono..." Lu Ren glanced at the still closed conference room door and whispered, "To be honest, I didn't see anything wrong with him."
"He came to visit at six-thirty and stayed until he left at eight in the evening. After that, he spent time drinking with friends at an izakaya next to the station. The police have sent people to confirm this, and he should not lie in this regard."
Bei Dao thought for a moment and asked a question, "Brother Ren, you said that the president of Labyrinth Publishing House is taking the lead in working overtime, but Tono went to drink with friends alone. Isn't this wrong?"
Lu Ren shook his head, "There is a point, but it doesn't mean anything. It's too far-fetched to doubt his words because of this point."
"Too."
"Now we are waiting for the autopsy results to come out and find out the specific time of Ms. Qichuan's death."
Considering that Bei Dao probably didn't know this knowledge, Lu Ren added a few more sentences.
"If there is only a small amount or even no food residue in her stomach, then Ms. Qichuan was killed before dinner. If there is residue, based on the degree of digestion of the food in the stomach, it can be roughly inferred that Ms. Qichuan was killed a few days after the meal. Killed in hours.”
"If it's the former, then the murderer can basically be identified as Tono, but this possibility is very low."
"Because we found pickled ginger, a side dish of sushi, in the sink. Since this thing exists, it means that Saikawa finished the sushi. At least that's what Tono said."
"If it is found after the autopsy that there are no such things in Qichuan's stomach, Tono's lies will be exposed instantly. There should not be such a stupid murderer."
"Yeah." Bei Dao nodded.
"If it's the latter, and Tono asked Takara Sushi to deliver a special sushi at eight o'clock in the evening, then her death time would be at least after eight o'clock..."
And Bei Dao has no alibi since 8:30...
Thinking of this, Lu Ren felt a little heavy.
This is really not good news.
Why is Qichuan eating so late? I can't eat my meal honestly after six o'clock.
The same goes for these Japanese people, so they can't chat while eating at the dinner table. I have to finish my work before eating, which is really a way to resist hunger.
Just as Lu Ren was complaining crazily in his mind, Bei Dao's voice suddenly became louder.
"Takara Sushi? Brother Ren, are you sure he ordered Takara Sushi's premium sushi?"
"Yes. I also confirmed it specifically. What's wrong?"
Lu Ren also thought of the sushi restaurant owner who specifically mentioned that Qi Chuan particularly liked his sushi last night, so he asked an extra question.
"You come with me."
Bei Dao grabbed Lu Ren's arm, turned around and walked forward. The two returned to Qichuan's home all the way.
Standing by the kitchen sink, Bei Dao pointed to the plate of pickled ginger and said firmly: "This is not the pickled ginger of Takara Sushi at all."
"What?!"
Lu Ren subconsciously raised his voice, but then he immediately reacted and whispered: "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I often eat sushi at his restaurant, and I especially like the ginger slices. The color of the ginger slices on this plate is too heavy. The ginger slices at Takara Sushi are lighter in color. The knife skills are also poor, and the quality of the ginger slices is also poor. not too good."
"We just ordered sushi at Takara Sushi last night, and the quality of his pickled ginger was as good as before. How could the quality of ginger slices be so different for a takeout on the same day, especially when Ms. Qikawa ordered it? takeout."
"That boss will only prepare more carefully, and will never shoddy things like this."
Lu Ren nodded, and then asked: "Is it possible that because Qichuan is a regular customer of that store, the boss knows that she doesn't eat ginger slices, so the quality of the ginger slices sent is not very good."
"No. If that's the case, he doesn't have to give it away, but he will never give it away with a low-quality self-defeating sign."
"Okay, let's go over and ask this boss now."
Lu Ren first took out his mobile phone and took a few photos of Jiang Pian, but then felt that it was not enough. I took out my handkerchief and wrapped it in two pieces of pickled ginger and took it away.
Fifteen minutes later, the two arrived at the door of Takara Sushi.
It was already one o'clock in the afternoon, and there were no customers in the store. Boss Mizushima was sitting behind the counter, looking a little listless.
When he heard someone coming, he didn't even raise his head, but said feebly: "Our store is closed now."
"Boss, it's me."
"Hey, Bei Dao." Mizushima felt a little more energetic now. "Are you here to eat sushi? There are some ingredients left in the store. I'll make one for you now."
Hearing this, Lu Ren was really hungry. In order to solve the case, he hasn't eaten lunch yet, but just drank a few drinks of water.
"Don't worry, I have something to ask the boss about."
"Oh, you say."
Lu Ren spread out his handkerchief and pointed at the ginger slices inside, "Is this pickled ginger from your house, boss?"
Mizushima glanced twice, his face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, but for Bei Dao's sake, he didn't attack immediately.
Mizushima took a plate, filled a bowl of ginger slices, and placed it next to the handkerchief, "You can see for yourself."
Lu Ren looked at the two ginger slices and found that, as Bei Dao said, the ginger slices from Takara Sushi were lighter in color.
As for the knife skills, I forgive his blindness for not being able to tell. Not to mention quality.
Mizushima pointed to the pickled ginger on the handkerchief, "Let's not talk about anything else. You can always tell the depth of the color of these two ginger slices, right?"
Lu Ren nodded.
"The color of my pickled ginger is light because my ginger slices are naturally pickled. If you go to other premium sushi restaurants, the color of their pickled ginger will be the same."
"As for the two dark-colored ones, that's because they have been dyed! They are industrial canned goods sold in stores. This gentleman, my store has been passed down for three generations. There is no way our century-old store would do this to ruin its reputation. thing!"
"I'm so sorry." Lu Ren apologized angrily, and then told the Mizushima shop owner the whole story.
"What?!" Mizushima slapped his hands on the table, almost knocking over the pickled ginger on the counter. "how so?"
