Kameda Atsushi's family conditions were obviously much worse than Kiyomi Ruri's wealthy family. They lived in an ordinary apartment building that looked quite old and worn.

Kiyomi Ruri pressed the doorbell several times, but there was no response from inside.

She felt a little disappointed and looked directly at Nanahara Takeshi. "It seems like no one is home. What should we do? It might be difficult to solve the mystery today if we have to wait for a long time."

"It's okay if no one is home. Today is Kameda Atsushi's seventh day after death, which involves the funeral, cremation, and memorial service. There are a lot of things to do, and the Kameda family members won't be able to come back until tonight." Nanahara Takeshi wasn't surprised and directly took out two iron wires from his sleeve and inserted them into the door lock.

In Japan, the concept of the "seventh day" is also observed in funerals, which is a modified version of Chinese customs. Due to the long history of adoption, there have been various evolutions and differences in this custom in different parts of Japan.

For example, some places hold the funeral, cremation, and memorial service on the same day, while others only hold the memorial service. Some places count the seventh day from the day before the death, while others count it from the day of death. Even the size of the urn for the ashes has developed differently. Some places only keep a portion of the ashes, while others require all the ashes to be stored in the urn.

So it's not strange that no one is home in the Kameda family today. Nanahara Takeshi didn't have the patience to wait until tomorrow either. He inserted the two iron wires into the door lock and easily opened it with a twist. The door lock made a soft click and popped open.

As soon as the door opened, he was about to enter, but Kiyomi Ruri only just realized and quickly grabbed his arm, surprised. "How did you open the lock? And we can't just enter like this, it's illegal!"

"I've told you before, I used to be a magician for a while. All magicians learn lock picking, so it's natural for me to deal with this kind of household lock. Besides, I'm not a thief, I won't steal anything. I just want to take a look, there's nothing wrong with that. If you're afraid, you can wait outside and keep watch for me."

After saying that, Nanahara Takeshi shook off her hand and went in. He politely said, "Excuse me," as if the owner was at home. This behavior was very different from the education Kiyomi Ruri had received, so she hesitated.

But...

She stood at the doorway and looked around. The hallway was quiet, but it felt like there was danger lurking, as if hundreds of people could rush out at any moment and take her to the police station. Her heart became even more anxious, so she quickly followed inside, closed the door, and muttered under her breath, "No, I have to keep an eye on you. I can't let you do anything bad..."

Nanahara Takeshi didn't care about what she said and went straight to the living room of the Kameda family.

Kiyomi Ruri wanted to follow him, but she noticed a Buddhist altar in the corner of the living room. It seemed that the Kameda family was too small to have a dedicated space for it, so it was placed here. At the moment, there were only black and white memorial photos, water, incense, and fresh flowers on the altar.

Kiyomi Ruri quickly bowed to the memorial photos and said, "I'm sorry," apologizing on behalf of Nanahara Takeshi and herself, before following him into the inner room.

Kameda Atsushi's family consisted of four members: a wife, a daughter, and a son. However, their apartment only had two bedrooms, so the living space was very cramped. There weren't many decent furniture or appliances, but the whole house was very clean and tidy. It seemed that the wife was very responsible and loved this home very much.

Kiyomi Ruri followed Nanahara Takeshi and first went through the rooms of the Kameda children. They also looked at the kitchen and the bathroom that doubled as a shower room. Then they entered the bedroom of the Kameda couple. Kiyomi Ruri noticed that Nanahara Takeshi had a talent for being a thief. He searched the room and found a large leather wallet under the bedside table. When he opened it, he saw the property deeds of the Kameda family and some bankbooks and a small amount of cash.

Nanahara Takeshi didn't touch the cash and only briefly looked at the bankbooks. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything and put them back. He stuffed the large wallet back under the bedside table and picked up a few medicine bottles on the bedside table. He frowned again after looking at the labels and then went to open the wardrobe to look at the clothes. As he turned around, he suddenly paused and leaned against a bookcase to observe carefully.

"Do you see anything?" Kiyomi Ruri approached and took a few glances, but Kameda Atsushi didn't seem interested in books. The bookcase was more for decoration, filled with expired magazines, electrical manuals, disaster relief manuals, dictionaries, and other reference books and reading materials that most families would have. There didn't seem to be anything worth paying attention to.

Nanahara Takeshi pointed to a partition on the bookcase and pondered, "Something used to be placed here, and it was recently taken away."

Kiyomi Ruri tiptoed and looked carefully for a moment. She noticed a faint trace on the partition. It seemed that there used to be a rectangular box here, blocking the sunlight from outside and causing a slight color difference on the partition. But...

She curiously asked, "Is this important?"

"I don't know." Nanahara Takeshi shook his head. "But from what I've seen so far, there's nothing in the Kameda family that could have been placed here and left such a trace."

Kiyomi Ruri hadn't thought of that and suspected that something had been broken and thrown away as garbage or sold as second-hand goods. She then asked, "Now that we've finished looking, did you find anything else? Can we decipher Kameda-san's secret language now?"Nanahara Takeshi turned around and looked around the bedroom. His gaze finally fell on a family photo on the bedside table. It was taken under a cherry blossom tree during a spring outing with the Kameda family. It must have been taken many years ago. Kameda Atsushi looked to be in his early thirties, with young children and a young wife. Although she looked frail and pale, she leaned against her husband and smiled happily.

He looked at the photo for a while and shook his head again. "Kameda is just an ordinary person, one of the many in this world. He seems to have a difficult life, but the family atmosphere should be good. The children are well-behaved and ambitious, and his wife, despite her health issues, should be a good person and a good homemaker. Someone like him shouldn't be so cautious, unless..."

Kiyomi Ruri quickly asked, "Unless what?"

Nanahara Takeshi looked at the photo in silence for a moment and whispered, "Unless he is guarding against the person closest to him and accidentally discovered something."

...

Why would someone guard against their closest person? In a sense, wouldn't that be considered betrayal?

Kiyomi Ruri had asked Nanahara Takeshi this question before, but he refused to answer, saying it was just a guess. Now, she couldn't help but wonder what other secrets, besides infidelity or failing an exam, would require such caution to be kept from their family. By the time she realized it, Nanahara Takeshi had already led her away from the Kameda family.

She breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't arrested for trespassing, but she couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement about secretly infiltrating. She quickly suppressed these thoughts and asked Nanahara Takeshi, "What do we do now?"

We've checked the house and didn't find any major issues, but instead, the mystery surrounding Kameda Atsushi has become even greater, and we're even more clueless.

Nanahara Takeshi stroked his chin and said, "In theory, we should go and meet the murder suspect, Aiomari Harumitsu, but it's inconvenient to visit him in jail. I'll ask Kinshi Glasses to make an appointment later. Also... I had a speculation last night that didn't make much sense at the time, but after looking at Kameda's house, it seems possible now. I feel like we should investigate."

"What speculation?" Kiyomi Ruri immediately asked eagerly, "Let me help you think."

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

"No need, thanks." Nanahara Takeshi glanced at her sideways, "Just help me hold my backpack."

Kiyomi Ruri secretly rolled her eyes. This annoying guy always looked down on others because he thought he was a little clever. But she had gotten used to it to some extent. It didn't matter. As long as she could follow Nanahara Takeshi, she would always find the truth.

She immediately asked, "Where are we going now?"

"Let me make a phone call first." Nanahara Takeshi went into a public telephone booth and started flipping through the phone book, seemingly recalling something. He quickly started making calls after inserting coins.

Kiyomi Ruri felt awkward squeezing into the booth with him, so she had to wait outside. Nanahara Takeshi made seven or eight calls before he finished and came out, saying, "Alright, we've locked down the first suspected location. Let's go!"

"What do you mean by the first suspected location? Who were you calling just now?" Kiyomi Ruri followed behind him, slightly displeased. "Can't you tell me first? We're partners, you should tell me."

"Let's find it first, then I'll tell you." Nanahara Takeshi only had suspicions at the moment and couldn't be sure. He hailed a taxi and got in, directly giving the address and setting off. Kiyomi Ruri didn't bother talking to him along the way and took out pen and paper to sketch a portrait of Kameda Atsushi.

The taxi sped along, getting farther and farther away from the Kameda family's house. Just as they were about to reach the outskirts of the city, the taxi stopped. Kiyomi Ruri got out of the car and found herself on a bustling commercial street. The houses in front or behind were all accompanied by shops. There were even two chain supermarkets at both ends. It was quite large, and it seemed that several nearby towns came here for daily shopping.

She looked at the layout of this commercial street, which resembled the character "田" (town), and suddenly thought of the two pages of boxes in the "Kameda Secret Code Book." She couldn't help but be amazed, "Is this...?"

Nanahara Takeshi nodded gently, "Yes, there is a high possibility that this is where Kameda Atsushi often mooches food and drinks."

"Because... because of the scent on his handkerchief?" Kiyomi Ruri looked incredulous. What kind of thought process led to this? And he found it just by making a phone call.

Nanahara Takeshi smiled and pointed to the scattered pagoda trees on both sides of the commercial street, saying, "And these pagoda flowers. This is not Sapporo, where cherry blossoms are the common sight. There are many pagoda trees planted here, and there are only five or six places in full bloom right now. Moreover, they have Thai basil sauce here, as well as a newly opened tofu bun shop and fish cake shop. They organized a tasting event last week. So, this place has the highest suspicion."

You really are a dog, aren't you?

Kiyomi Ruri looked at Nanahara Takeshi in disbelief. She suspected that even if he couldn't become a good detective (his values were too messed up), he could still become an excellent police dog.

Really, this is not something a human can do. Besides the sour smell on the handkerchief, she couldn't smell anything else before.

She was too shocked to say anything for a moment. Nanahara Takeshi tilted his head and looked at her expression, smiling, "Are you cursing me in your mind?"

"Of course not." Kiyomi Ruri quickly reacted and changed the subject, "Why did Kameda-san come here to mooch food and drinks? He could bring a lunchbox for lunch and go home for dinner!""It's still unclear for now, but it's probably a money issue. Aiomari Harumitsu probably knows something, so I'll go ask him later," Nanahara Takeshi pondered. "According to the police interrogation transcript, before Aiomari Harumitsu killed him, they had two arguments, each one more intense than the last. There must be something wrong in there, possibly more than just work conflicts. But for now, let's first confirm if he often comes here to freeload before eating and drinking."

After saying that, he pointed to several boxes in the "Secret Whisper Chart" and added, "These few places have the most marks, indicating that he would come here to freeload and try their food from time to time. These shops should have some impression of him."

Kiyomi Ruri nodded, feeling a bit dumbfounded. It turns out that the incomprehensible "Secret Whisper Chart" was just a record of a white-collar worker freeloading on food and drinks, to avoid being looked down upon for continuously eating for free at one place. She had thought too much about it last night.

(End of this chapter)