En Prise

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Tatsumi followed all the way out to the mansion until Hansel went in his room.

"Now that no one is seeing us, tell me where the hell are we going?" he asked.

"To the police station. Inspector Krauss should be there. I was not able to get his number so we have to go there personally. I want to tell him what I saw on the crime scene when we checked there."

"What you saw? You mean the flat surface on the ground?"

"Yes, but it is not only that. When the murder happened, I think the victim was not killed by the rope. If you noticed the thin line after the rope's markings on the victim's neck, I think that was the cause of death. The real cause of death was either by killing the victim through a piano wire and disguised it by using the rope."

"So the rope markings are…"

"Right, they were caused postmortem."

"Speaking of which, Rook, have you noticed something in the crime scene?"

"What do you mean?"

"The windows were not locked."

A spark of idea came into Rook's mind.

"If my deduction is correct, then the killer might be that person, but I have no solid evidence that he is."

"It doesn't add up. What is the use of that flat surface on the ground, and the unlocked windows?" Tatsumi continued.

"I guess we can answer that after we visit Inspector Krauss."