I’m looking for the truth, to put it simply.
The cafe had been burned down to the point where almost nothing remained. Now, assuming you yourself did not burn it down, that means there wasn’t a chance for this lighter to be used. The remains say that you and any other potential witnesses must have been quite a distance away when the fire started, since no one seemed to notice the smoke. At least until it was too late. It takes a fair bit of time for a building to be reduced to nothing but ashes.
Hattori-kun had mentioned the lighter, so I just wanted to verify it.
*She looked at the lighter closely, as if there was a chance of a tiny hidden message on it.
She hadn’t forgotten about Heiji’s cellphone, which was mostly unscathed despite being in that mess, but she wasn’t going to bring that up now.*
The lighter was on the small side and very well-kept. No scratches or scuffs, very clean and orderly. On one side was engraved an ornate crest with a lion and unicorn. On the other side was the inscription ’S. J. Hakuba’ in script. The tool was in perfect working condition, and the only sign of wear was the faintest groove where the thumb rests to flick it open.
Hakuba watched the detective with his lighter, doing his best to behave and not feel too territorial. After all, she was only doing research, and he didn’t need to explain why he owned a –
“Burned down?"
Startled, Hakuba straightened up in his chair, the fished in his pocket for his mobile phone. "I hadn’t heard that part. I must admit that I turned in my findings and left for London the next morning, withdrawing from the case. I’d intended to look back into it after visiting Hattori-san in the hospital, but other things have called my attention…”
Had Hattori burned it down? Had his lighter been part of that? It was true that it took quite a while to burn down a building of that size and, if done properly, could have quite the time delay between starting and becoming noticeable.
The half-brit detective looked deeply troubled as he pulled a hand to his chin, considering. But then, what of Hattori’s memory loss and injuries? It could have easily been caused by the very culprit that they were to track down..
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have left him there alone…"