"He's awake! The president is awake!"
The other man stared at the figure on the ground, his face lighting up with relief.
But the man hadn't truly come to yet.
Heiji straightened and looked at the two men calmly. "You can take him to the hospital now. And also, Miss Okino…"
"Just call me Yoko," Okino Yoko said quietly.
Even with a light disguise, her voice was unmistakable. If anyone recognized her, she wouldn't be able to stay in this villa anymore—by tomorrow, the place would be swarmed by the media.
Heiji glanced at her and gave a helpless nod. "Yoko, go notify the police."
Okino Yoko hurried back toward the villa, practically buoyant.
Heiji watched her retreating figure, puzzled. Why did a superstar act like an excited kid?
"The president nearly drowned! Why are you calling the police instead of an ambulance?" the middle-aged man shouted.
"He did fall into the water, that's true. But he also took a heavy blow to the back of the head. That impact is what made him end up in the pond," Heiji replied evenly.
"A blow to the head? Are you saying my husband was attacked?"
An elderly woman came out of the villa, shock written all over her face.
"Ma'am, don't listen to him. The president must've hooked a big one and, in the excitement, lost his footing and slipped into the pond. There was no attack. Mr. Ueno, you agree, don't you?" the middle-aged man said quickly, trying to smooth it over.
"I don't know. I was fishing the whole time. The president suddenly fell in. I can't swim, so all I could do was shout from the bank. Then you came out, Mr. Yokota," said the other middle-aged man—the one with glasses.
"This is an assault case," Heiji said, his tone unchanged. "If you're not worried about a second incident, then feel free to ignore me. Also, it's best to leave the scene untouched—otherwise anything useful will be gone by the time the police arrive."
Heiji gave the three of them a pointed look, then turned and headed back toward Okino Yoko's villa.
"Heiji, did someone die again?"
Kazuha—already changed into shorts and a shirt—threw herself into his arms. Her long legs were bare and pale, and her black hair was still speckled with water droplets that slid down in tiny streams.
Heiji wrapped an arm around her and gently wiped the water from her hair. "Attempted murder."
"Heiji, Kazuha, stop flirting. Ran's already cooked something," Sonoko called, poking her head out from the living room. Her hair was damp too.
"Come on. It's not our problem anyway. Let's eat—I'm starving," Kazuha said, clinging to Heiji's arm and pouting.
In the dining room, the girls laughed and chatted animatedly.
Heiji ate in silence. Women's conversations were always unpredictable—one moment it was cosmetics, the next it jumped to which tourist spot in the world was the most fun.
A police siren wailed outside, and several officers appeared at the neighboring villa.
"Why isn't it Inspector Megure?" Kazuha asked, genuinely curious.
"Don't be silly. This is Saitama Prefecture. Inspector Megure's jurisdiction doesn't reach here," Heiji said with a weary look.
"That's right. In Saitama, it should be Inspector Sango Yokomizo," Okino Yoko added.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
The doorbell suddenly rang.
"What do we do? That has to be Inspector Yokomizo. If he finds out Sister Yoko is here, this place will be exposed," Sonoko said anxiously.
"There's no choice. I'll go out and deal with it first," Okino Yoko said, standing up.
"Sister Yoko, you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt right now…" Ran reminded her.
In her current outfit, Okino Yoko looked stunning. Her long legs were shapely, and the loose top gaped at the sides—through the armholes, you could even catch a glimpse of her pink bra.
"I'll change right away."
Obviously, she couldn't appear in front of outsiders like that. Prompted by Ran, she hurried upstairs.
The sound of her footsteps faded as she went.
Heiji set down his utensils. "Tell Yoko not to bother. I'll handle it."
If the alternative was listening to the girls' chatter, he would much rather work a case.
Click!
"Good evening. I'm Sango Yokomizo," said the man outside the door. "There's been an assault at the Nohara residence next door. I'd like to ask a few questions."
The Saitama police inspector, Sango Yokomizo, stood on the threshold.
"The Nohara residence?"
"That's right. Mrs. Nohara said you warned her that Mr. Nohara was attacked. I came to confirm what you saw," Inspector Yokomizo explained.
Heiji nodded calmly. "That was me. But it doesn't really involve me, does it? Are you suspecting me?"
"Of course not. I'm only trying to understand what happened."
Inspector Yokomizo waved his hands quickly. People in this neighborhood often had influence. If misunderstandings spread, it would be a headache.
Footsteps sounded behind Heiji, coming down the stairs.
"I'll go with you."
Heiji stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
"Excuse me—are you saying you want to go to the scene?" Inspector Yokomizo asked, studying him seriously.
Heiji paused. "I should introduce myself. I'm Heiji Hattori. I'm a detective, and cases like this interest me."
"Heiji Hattori? The genius high school detective from Osaka?" Inspector Yokomizo blurted out in shock.
Heiji didn't confirm it or deny it. He simply started walking toward the Nohara residence.
Taking the silence as confirmation, Inspector Yokomizo felt a surge of excitement. With a prodigy like this on hand, the case should be manageable.
They reached the Nohara residence.
The three people were still gathered outside. Heiji scanned the area and nodded, satisfied—nothing had been disturbed.
That was probably the old woman's doing.
[In that case, I'll just treat this as a good deed for today.]
"Officer, the president's been taken to the hospital. We've answered your questions, so we can go home now, right?" the middle-aged man named Yokota asked.
"I was going to compete with the president to see who could catch the bigger fish. I never imagined something like this would happen. What a shame," Mr. Ueno—the man with glasses—said with a sigh.
"You two are not free to leave yet. There are still points I need to clarify," Inspector Yokomizo said sternly.
"What is your relationship with the victim?"
"My name is Chika Nohara. Akio Nohara is my husband," the elderly woman said.
"My name is Josaku Yokota. I'm an editor at Akechi Publishing. I visited today because I wanted to ask the president to lend me a book," the middle-aged man said.
"My name is Yokohama Ueno. I'm an author with Akechi Publishing—an adventure writer," the bespectacled man said.
"An adventure writer?" Inspector Yokomizo repeated, confused.
"It means I go to places most people wouldn't dare go—volcanoes, glaciers, that sort of thing," Yokohama Ueno said with a light chuckle.
"I see," Inspector Yokomizo said, nodding.
"At the time of the incident, where were all of you?"
"What incident?" Josaku Yokota asked, blinking.
"This is an assault case."
"An assault case?"
At Inspector Yokomizo's words, all three faces shifted, staring at him in disbelief.
"To be precise," Inspector Yokomizo began—
"This is an attempted murder case," Heiji cut in, hands in his pockets, his eyes resting calmly on the pond.