Hirano Police Station still had a very old and dilapidated appearance. Nanahara Takeshi got out of the taxi and casually took out a black notebook from his pocket, waving it in front of the uniformed old police officer. Leading Kiyomi Ruri, who was carrying a suitcase, they walked inside as if they were returning home.

The old police officer was momentarily stunned but still stopped them. It was mainly because Nanahara Takeshi was wearing a private high school uniform and had a JK with a 90-point appearance. Even if his attitude was calm, he didn't look like a detective. He had to check their identification.

But after just one glance, he understood. He politely bowed and said, "So you're the psychic detective Nanahara-kōhai. Please come in. I saw the news about you solving puzzles in the newspaper before. It was very impressive."

Nanahara Takeshi also nodded and smiled in return. "It was just luck. Thank you for your praise."

If he came a few more times, he could probably wander around Hirano Police Station just by showing his face. After entering the building, Kiyomi Ruri asked in confusion, "When did Nakano Miss give you the identification? Why didn't I know?"

"She didn't give it to me. I made one myself."

"What? Can you make your own identification?"

Nanahara Takeshi didn't mind at all and said, "Of course you can. It's not a fake identification. If I call Nakano Eri to verify, would she say that I'm not a special criminal case consultant for the police station? Having identification saves a lot of time when talking, so I just made one when I had nothing else to do."

You're really idle, Kiyomi Ruri thought to herself, secretly rolling her eyes. She confirmed once again that Nanahara Takeshi definitely didn't do anything good at home in the evening. He might even be preparing to engage in the business of making fake identifications. It wouldn't be surprising if he started posting small advertisements on telephone poles in a couple of days. However, she couldn't help but feel a bit envious. She also wanted an identification to show off, but she felt embarrassed to ask for one.

They chatted and quickly found Nakano Eri on the fourth floor. The police station was currently short of detectives, so someone like her, who had qualifications and a police rank but no practical experience, was also put on the front line. She was currently discussing the case with Okuno Taiji, Hidaka Tsukasa, and other detectives.

Nanahara Takeshi knocked on the door, and Nakano Eri came out. She wasn't surprised to see them and said directly, "Come to my office and take a look."

The police station still strictly enforced confidentiality regulations. Case information and evidence couldn't be taken out of the building without a valid reason. But Nanahara Takeshi was at least an honorary consultant, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to look through the files in her office.

She led Nanahara Takeshi to her small office. On the way, Kiyomi Ruri curiously asked, "What case was that just now, Nakano Miss?"

"It was a small case. Two housewives had been comparing themselves for over ten years, from home renovations to their husbands' positions, and even to which school their children attended. Finally, one of them lost and became so angry that she poisoned the other, who is now in the ICU." Nakano Eri didn't hide anything and briefly explained. For this kind of case, the motive could easily be found by asking around in the town, and evidence could be obtained through a thorough search. There was no need to seek outside help.

As she spoke, she entered her office and took out a file folder from a drawer, handing it to Nanahara Takeshi. She asked with concern, "Is Mariko's grandmother okay?"

"Don't worry, I just need some time to figure out a few things, and I can guarantee that she won't have nightmares anymore." Nanahara Takeshi made a promise directly to the client. He had just arrived in Hirano, and he needed to build a good reputation. Regardless, he had to handle this matter properly and seek a good reputation.

As for precognitive dreams, he didn't believe in them too much. He had heard of precognitive dreams before and couldn't rule out that possibility. After all, he himself had been unlucky enough to be struck by lightning and sent to this world. It wouldn't be surprising if others encountered strange things. But Fumie's dreams were becoming clearer and she had them every other day, especially since Kameda Atsushi had died. The case had already happened, so why was she still having precognitive dreams?

Did the cassette tape get stuck?

Something didn't seem right no matter how he thought about it. There must be something wrong inside.

He had to figure out the reason in order to ensure that Fumie's grandmother wouldn't have nightmares again and to guarantee that Aokawa Mariko could safely return to her cozy ancestral home. He wanted to receive a five-star review for exorcising demons and in the future, introduce him to other wealthy clients. It would be best if he could make a fortune from those bastards, but even if they just gave him some hard-earned money, he would accept it. However, at this early stage of his career, he couldn't afford any mistakes, even if it meant working harder.

He occupied Nakano Eri's desk and started reading the case files carefully. Kiyomi Ruri also leaned over to read with him. After checking the time, she discovered that the incident did happen about six days ago, around three o'clock in the afternoon. Kameda Atsushi was stabbed on the spot and was pronounced dead as soon as he was lifted onto the ambulance due to excessive blood loss. Now that she thought about it, Fumie's grandmother wasn't right that morning. It seemed that the precognitive dream was indeed correct!

She was a bit shaken and then went to look at the specific details of the case. She found that the case was very simple. Kameda Atsushi had made an appointment with Aiomari Harumitsu to discuss something. The two of them had a dispute and a fight, and then Kameda Atsushi was stabbed multiple times, resulting in severe blood loss.At that time, there were six or seven fishermen nearby. They heard the argument from the beginning, but fishermen like them didn't like to meddle in other people's business, so they ignored it and continued fishing. It wasn't until they heard the sounds of fighting, begging for mercy, and screams that they realized something was wrong. They hurried over and found Kameda Atsushi lying in a pool of blood, on the verge of death. They quickly called the police and an ambulance, and incidentally gave the Air Force a perfect reason for today.

Based on their testimonies and Kameda Atsushi's social connections, the police immediately identified Aiomari Harumitsu, Kameda Atsushi's superior, as the prime suspect. They promptly arrested him and interrogated him rigorously at the police station.

Aiomari Harumitsu naturally protested his innocence, only admitting to having been to Kotani Park and refusing to admit to the murder. He quickly called for a lawyer, but the police found his hair at the scene, as well as a large number of his fingerprints on a broken pair of glasses found at the scene. There was both eyewitness and physical evidence, all of which were ironclad. He couldn't provide an alibi, so it was confirmed that he was the killer and couldn't escape. The lawyer was of no use, and that night, an arrest warrant was issued and he was thrown into the detention center, waiting for the prosecutor to take over. The achievement score +1.

After reading it, Kiyomi Ruri felt that the case was handled without any problems. The Japanese police had an unusually high efficiency and accuracy, although she could imagine some things, deduction was not guesswork or random speculation. It was about logic and evidence, and she hadn't found any logical flaws so far.

Even if she tried to forcefully imagine, it was difficult to make sense of it. Kameda and Aiomari argued before his death, and the sounds of arguing, fighting, begging for mercy, and screaming were all connected. There was no gap for someone else to commit the crime. Moreover, the witnesses identified Aiomari Harumitsu's voice, and all six fishermen pointed to him without exception. Unless Kameda committed suicide and framed him, it couldn't have been done by anyone else. At least Aiomari couldn't escape the charge of being an accomplice.

As for Kameda committing suicide and framing him, what was his motive? Did he sacrifice his life to make Aiomari Harumitsu go to prison for a few years?

Moreover, the forensics class thoroughly searched the crime scene and found Aiomari's hair and damaged glasses. Although they didn't find the murder weapon, it was judged that Aiomari took it away and discarded it. But it also proved that Kameda Atsushi didn't commit suicide. Even if he wanted to frame someone, he didn't have a knife. How did he stab himself to death?

Kiyomi Ruri's deduction spirit burned fiercely, fueled by the powerful deductive ability accumulated from reading hundreds of detective novels. In just a minute or two, thick smoke of deduction filled her mind, but she couldn't find any loopholes.

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After reading the file, Nanahara Takeshi flipped through the personal information, scene photos, and autopsy report of Kameda and Aiomari. After thinking for a moment, he asked Nakano Eri, "Are Kameda Atsushi's personal belongings still there?"

He still couldn't figure out how this case was predicted by Fumie, the old lady. Even if he imagined, there were too many things that didn't make sense. He could only turn to understand Kameda as a person and see if there was a breakthrough.

"They should still be at the forensics class. They probably haven't returned them to the family so quickly," Nakano Eri said, and then made an internal call to inquire. Soon, a forensic officer wearing a blue cap brought several evidence bags, containing Kameda Atsushi's wallet, personal notepad and ballpoint pen, a keychain, and a handkerchief. They were all normal items that office workers would carry, nothing special.

Nanahara Takeshi casually put on a pair of white gloves, took a quick look at the keychain, flipped through Kameda Atsushi's wallet, and then examined the handkerchief. He noticed some stains on it and asked Kiyomi Ruri, "Does it smell strange?"

Kiyomi Ruri sniffed it and shook her head, saying, "No."

Only then did Nanahara Takeshi breathe a sigh of relief, and he took a distant sniff, pondering, "No, there's a strange smell."

Kiyomi Ruri became curious and couldn't help but think that Nanahara Takeshi was like a detective who wasn't afraid of dirt or smell, even daring to touch a corpse infested with maggots. She carefully sniffed the handkerchief and said in confusion, "Apart from smelling a bit sour from being covered, there's nothing strange..."

Nanahara Takeshi shook his head and identified the color of the stains on the handkerchief, pondering, "There is a strange smell, yes. It's a combination of fish cake, chocolate, matcha soy milk, cheese, bean bun, egg yolk sauce, sesame salad dressing, basil green sauce, and mixed locust flowers. Most of them are food, and the autopsy report also found some strange residues in his stomach, with a complex composition that doesn't resemble a normal diet."

Kiyomi Ruri subconsciously looked behind Nanahara Takeshi, suspecting that he had a tail wagging behind him. On the surface, he was human, but in reality, he was a dog that had become enlightened. Otherwise, his nose wouldn't be so sensitive. Yes, he was highly suspicious. He was always like a dog, and his nose was so sensitive. It wouldn't be surprising if he really was a dog that had become enlightened.

She speculated about Nanahara Takeshi's true identity in her mind, but answered, "Maybe he just likes to eat snacks. I have two friends who eat all sorts of random things."Nanahara Takeshi looked at the photo of Kameda Atsushi and pondered, "Although it's not impossible, does a middle-aged man in his forties really snack all the time? Judging from his wallet, notebook style, and his attire, he seems to have a more conservative and serious personality. He seems like an old-fashioned person, which doesn't make much sense."

"Why do you say that?" Kiyomi Ruri objected, "And what does this have to do with the commission?"

"I don't know, I just find it strange." With so little information at the moment, Nanahara Takeshi hadn't thought it through yet. He put it aside for now and went to flip through Kameda Atsushi's personal notebook. However, as soon as he opened it, he frowned.

Kiyomi Ruri quickly took a look as well and found that the notebook had quite a few entries, but she could only recognize the dates and times. After the time, there were various symbols like triangles, circles, diamonds, and some strange characters. Many of the entries in the notebook were also heavily crossed out, and the pages were slightly damaged.

Flipping through further, they even came across a two-page spread with a large number of boxes arranged in three columns, each filled with different colored symbols of varying quantities. It was still very confusing.

Kiyomi Ruri was puzzled and hesitated, "Is this some kind of secret code? It's just a personal notebook, why would he use a secret code to record things?"

She couldn't understand it anymore. This whole situation was getting stranger and stranger. First, there was a dream about an old lady twenty kilometers away, predicting Kameda Atsushi's murder the next day. And now, Kameda Atsushi, an ordinary victim, seemed to have some huge secret, making it seem like something out of a spy movie. The things written in his personal notebook were completely incomprehensible.

It was strange, too strange.

(End of this chapter)