Upon hearing the Female student's words, Takato immediately stood up and approached the Female student who was anxiously speaking to the teacher.
"Hello, student. I am Suzuki Sonoko's friend and also a Detective. What do you mean by 'Sonoko is missing'?"
The Female student looked at Takato, who had come over to speak to her. Remembering that he was the man who had been sitting next to Suzuki Sonoko earlier, she repeated what she had just told the teacher.
"Just now, I asked Sonoko to help out in the art club classroom. But when I went out for a bit and came back, Sonoko was gone."
The Female student spoke very anxiously, but perhaps because she was too flustered, she had been repeating the same statement since earlier.
"So, I said, Sonoko might have gone out for something. There's no need to make such a fuss, right?"
The teacher beside them said with some impatience. However, seeing the Female student's anxious demeanor, Takato felt that she wasn't making a fuss over nothing. So, he pulled her out of the gymnasium.
"Where is the art club classroom? Take me there!"
Outside the gymnasium, Takato said this to the Female student, which made her momentarily stunned. But soon, the Female student quickly led Takato towards the old school building where the art club classroom was located.
"Tell me the whole story from beginning to end."
Takato asked. The Female student had only been repeatedly emphasizing the result that Sonoko was missing, but she was too flustered to explain why she had made that judgment. So, Takato began to inquire about the entire incident.
However, the Female student was already flustered and spoke incoherently and illogically. Takato stopped and let her calm down, allowing her to reorganize her thoughts.
"Just now, I asked Sonoko to help out in the art classroom. In the middle of it, I went out to the Toilet with another art club member, Nakagawa Moemi. When we went back, we found that the art club door was locked from the inside. At that time, Sonoko should have been the only one in the art club classroom. Moemi and I knocked on the door from outside, but there was no response. So, Moemi asked me to get the key from the gatekeeper at the school gate to open the door. But when I got the key and opened the door, Sonoko wasn't inside!"
"So you two concluded that Sonoko was missing?"
"Yes."
"But according to your description, it's more accurate to say that Sonoko seemed to have vanished into thin air from a sealed room."
Takato summarized the Female student's account of the incident and came to this conclusion, "Are you sure Sonoko was still in the classroom after you and Nakagawa left?"
"Definitely! We even greeted Sonoko when we left, and she said she wouldn't leave the classroom until we returned. Besides, there's only one key to the classroom, and it's always kept with the gatekeeper at the school gate. Without a key, the only way to lock the door is to lock it from the inside!"
The Female student said firmly.
After understanding the situation, the two continued towards the art club classroom. Along the way, Takato didn't ask much, as everything had to be seen at the scene first—but, a disappearance in a locked room, huh?
Meanwhile, after hearing the woman's scream, the loud music playing in that household abruptly stopped.
"Excuse me! Is anyone there! Is anyone there!"
Shinichi Kudo placed his hands on the large gate of the household's fence and shouted loudly inside. The commotion from inside the house had clearly startled Hattori, who had just subdued the bicycle thief.
"You're here! Heiji, you're heavy!"
Toyama Kazuha, carrying a backpack full of items, Ran panting to Hattori Heiji's side, dropped her things on the ground, and said with effort.
"Kazuha, I'll leave this guy to you!"
Hattori saw Kazuha arrive, immediately let go of the thief he had just subdued, and turned to run towards the household.
Seeing this opportunity, the thief immediately got up and Ran forward, but Kazuha stepped forward and threw him to the ground again using Aikido techniques.
Kazuha, who was firmly holding down the thief, saw Ran standing at the household's entrance and shouted loudly, "Hey, student over there, don't just stand there! Can you call the police for me!"
Ran heard Kazuha's words and didn't react immediately. She repeatedly confirmed that there was no one else nearby, then wondered, muttering, "Me?"
"Hurry! Call the police!"
Seeing that Ran was still standing there, Kazuha shouted again.
On the other side, Shinichi Kudo kept pressing the doorbell of the household, shouting and asking if anyone was inside. But after several attempts, he received no response from inside. Looking at the gate that only reached his neck, he helplessly cursed, "Damn it!" and intended to climb over the gate.
Just then, Hattori Heiji arrived and stopped Shinichi Kudo, who was about to step up and climb the gate.
"Brother, leave the rest to me."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Kudo expressed his inability to understand Hattori's request.
"Alright, just watch quietly."
Hattori didn't let Kudo continue speaking. He put his hands on the door frame and, with a push, flipped himself over the gate.
"Excuse me, is there something you need at our house?"
It was then that a woman's voice came from behind them.
The two turned their heads and saw a woman wearing rimless glasses, carrying a bag, looking at them with a puzzled expression.
"You're a resident here, right?"
Seeing the woman speak, Kudo immediately stepped forward and asked.
"We just heard a woman's scream."
Just as Kudo was about to continue, Hattori immediately leaned in and added.
"Something must have happened inside, open the door quickly!"
Looking at the serious expressions of the two young men, the woman clearly realized the gravity of the situation and immediately stepped forward to open the door.
The household's nameplate read "Fujimaru Family." The three walked through the courtyard to the main entrance of the residence. The woman kept pressing the doorbell at the main entrance, appearing very anxious.
"Husband, you're inside, right! Husband!"
"Besides your husband, who else is inside?"
Hattori listened to the woman's words and suddenly stepped forward to ask.
"Miss Hidetsuko, the assistant!"
Mrs. Fujimaru replied, then seemed to remember something.
"Could it be that both of them are seriously injured and can't respond?"
As she spoke, Mrs. Fujimaru became even more anxious. Seeing this, Hattori couldn't wait any longer.
"Alright, let's kick the door in!"
Saying this, Hattori stepped back a few paces to create some buffer distance. "Here I go!"
Just as he rushed to the door and was about to raise his leg to kick, the door opened.
A man in a red and black plaid shirt, looking a bit tired, came out and opened the door.
"Husband, it couldn't be that you… Miss Hidetsuko…"
Seeing the man who opened the door, Mrs. Fujimaru stepped forward and asked in a disbelieving tone. Then, ignoring the man, the three immediately rushed into the house.
Then, upon reaching the living room and seeing the woman lying on the sofa, Mrs. Fujimaru screamed in terror, retreated to a nearby mixing console, and caught her breath.
Kudo, seeing this scene, first went to Mrs. Fujimaru's side, comforting her and telling her to calm down. Meanwhile, Hattori looked at the woman on the sofa and told Kudo to call the police.
On the sofa, scattered glass shards lay about, and the woman was clearly dead. She lay supine on the sofa, her neck pierced by a piece of broken glass. Her hand dangled off the sofa, and flowing blood dripped down her wrist onto a sheet of music titled "Kizuna" on the floor.