After finding an empty lounge and dealing with the bleeding from his wounds, Ritsu returned to the interrogation room.
Perhaps he was simply too suspicious by nature, but something felt off. Teiji had confessed without offering any resistance or argument.
That alone was strange.
Hayasaka wasn't inside the interrogation room. The questioning was being handled by the higher-ranking Inspector Megure.
When she saw Ritsu approaching, she crossed her arms and coldly said, "Take off your clothes."
No matter how one listened to it, that sentence sounded a little strange. Ritsu could only smile bitterly as he removed his suit jacket.
Carefully moving his right arm twice, he asked, "Do you need to continue the examination, Dr. Hayasaka?"
Hearing the teasing in his voice, Hayasaka rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Instead, she pulled out a box of her favorite strawberry Baumkuchen and stuffed it into the hands of the injured child-sized patient.
"I'm not really a fan of—"
"You barely ate anything all day. Sweets restore energy quickly."
"...Okay."
Ritsu obediently stood outside the interrogation room, eating strawberry Baumkuchen while observing Teiji inside.
He carefully analyzed every word, expression, and subtle change in demeanor. Yet no matter how closely he watched, he found no signs of deception.
Teiji was simply recounting the entire crime calmly.
"Did he mention a motive?"
Hayasaka nodded.
"He said his motive was that two cases solved by Kudo-kun were connected to buildings he designed. He wanted revenge."
"Then he's really insane." Ritsu frowned.
"Taking revenge over something like that... someone should arrange a full psychiatric evaluation for him. Otherwise he'll just do something crazy again after getting out."
"Getting out?" Hayasaka looked at him oddly.
"Even with the best legal team in Japan, he'll probably get at least thirty years. By then he'll be in his seventies. How would he still have the energy to commit crimes?"
Swallowing the last bite of Baumkuchen, Ritsu wagged his index finger.
"That's where you're wrong."
"People like him will keep acting insane as long as they have a single breath left. And don't underestimate crazy people."
"When they really go crazy, they can get people killed."
...
After more than an hour, the interrogation finally ended.
As the lead investigator on the case, Ritsu naturally returned to his office to organize the evidence and prepare a detailed case report.
Curled up in his chair, he ate the pork cutlet bento Takagi had bought for him.
His hopes of getting off work early had been crushed once again. Being forced into becoming a model worker really sucked.
"WHAAAT?!"
A sudden shout nearly caused Ritsu to choke on his rice. Helplessly, he looked toward Takagi, who had jumped up from his seat.
"Takagi, what are you doing? You really need to stop startling people all the time."
"S-Sorry!"
Curious, Miwako glanced at Takagi's computer screen. "Oh? I didn't know you followed male celebrities."
"'Shawn Rahovski'..." She tilted her head.
"Foreign names really are long."
"No, it's not that."
Takagi scratched his head. "I don't really follow Shawn. I'm just surprised he's won so many awards at such a young age."
"And apparently his ideal type is actress Chris Vineyard, who I happen to like too. He has excellent taste."
"PFFT—COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!"
The violent coughing instantly interrupted their conversation. Ritsu had accidentally choked on his miso soup. His handsome face turned bright red as the coughing aggravated his wounds.
It hurt like hell.
"Inspector Onizawa, are you okay?"
"I... cough cough cough... I'm fine. Continue."
After finally calming down, Ritsu shot the pair a rather strange look.
Especially when Hayasaka later joined the conversation and the three of them began discussing Chris Vineyard's mother, Sharon Vineyard.
Pulling out a few tissues, Ritsu wiped off his desk.
Just as he picked up his chopsticks to resume eating—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out.
Realizing immediately what it was, he dropped his chopsticks and rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window.
"What happened?!"
"That was an explosion! Why would there be an explosion?!"
Ritsu looked toward the column of smoke rising into the sky.
The building that had exploded appeared to be an unfinished office tower, a failed construction project abandoned halfway through development.
If he remembered correctly, it had been one of former Mayor Okamoto's projects.
'Wait... Former Mayor Okamoto Yuki?!'
"Damn it!" Ritsu cursed and immediately sprinted out of the office toward the detention center.
He should have realized it earlier. He had already reviewed the arson cases.
Why hadn't he connected them to Teiji? Why hadn't he realized that Teiji's targets weren't just Shinichi but also the buildings he considered failed creations?
"Onizawa! Where are you going?!"
"Hayasaka!"
Without slowing down, he shouted, "Contact the Bomb Disposal Squad and have them head to Beika City Hall immediately! Hurry!"
"Huh? O-Okay! I'll do it right now!"
...
Reaching the detention center as quickly as possible, Ritsu found Teiji sitting on a chair and humming to himself.
The architect slowly raised his head.
As though he had already expected this visit.
"Officer Onizawa."
His smile widened. "You're injured. Running around like that isn't good for you. There was no need to rush all the way here."
Ritsu gripped the iron bars tightly. "There's another bomb, isn't there?! Tell me where it is!"
Teiji burst into laughter. Seeing Ritsu this agitated clearly delighted him.
"Aren't you a genius detective, Officer? If you're so smart, why don't you go find it yourself?"
Ritsu's expression darkened. He knew Teiji had no intention of talking. His own involvement had been an unexpected variable.
That meant Teiji's true targets weren't limited to Shinichi. The architect also wanted to destroy what he viewed as his failures. Therefore, the bomb's location had to satisfy both conditions.
As he gradually calmed down, Ritsu suddenly remembered something Ran had mentioned.
Of course. How could he have forgotten?
Beika City Hall.
It perfectly fit both requirements.
When Teiji saw the look of realization appear on Ritsu's face, he smiled.
"Looks like Officer has figured out where the grand fireworks display will take place."
"You're never getting out of prison."
Throwing those words behind him, Ritsu turned and rushed toward the elevator.
Fortunately, Shinichi had already had his car returned to the MPD. Jumping into the driver's seat, he accelerated away at top speed toward Beika City Hall.
Based on the information Teiji had obtained, the bomb's detonation time was probably set for 10:00 PM.
'That meant—'
Ritsu glanced at the dashboard clock.
Twelve minutes left.
'That should still be enough.'
Once his phone connected to the car's Bluetooth system, he immediately dialed Shinichi's number. At this hour, Shinichi and Ran were probably either waiting outside the movie theater or having dinner.
If he could reach them now, he could get them away from the blast zone.
As the ringing echoed through the car speakers, Ritsu reached out the window and mounted the activated emergency beacon on the roof.
After confirming there were no pedestrians or vehicles, he ran a red light to save precious seconds.
"What the hell is this idiot doing? Why isn't he answering?!"
Irritably tapping the steering wheel with his fingers, Ritsu felt increasingly frustrated.
This was somehow even worse than having someone hang up on him. For the first time in his life, waiting for someone to answer a call felt unbearable.
Fortunately, when the fourth ring sounded, the call finally connected.
Along with Shinichi's immediate complaint.
"Sensei, why are you suddenly calling me?! I was so startled I almost peed in the wrong direction!"