New Year isn't a time when one would foresee where one gets murdered.

And yet, here they are. There is a body behind a fancy restaurant, police lights are flickering red and blue outside the chilly winterly December, and there are high officials who should've to been at home celebrating with their families and friends, now discussing violently on handling the dilemma at bay.

Said dilemma? Who is the killer?

The entire thing began when some lady decided to open the alley door out for a cloud of smoke through the bathroom hallway, only to find the said corpse and yelled out a huge scream that would later alert the patrons at the restaurant in some hotel. Upon search, the only item the homeless man had with him was an unusual expensive-looking ring in his shirt pocket. Only, the ring is said to have belonged to the Miyazaki family, a family of old money nobles who happens to run millions of yen worth of wine as their revenue around Japan.

At first glance, the motive the cops believe was simple: Since he owned an expensive ring belonging to a wealthy family, he probably attracted envy among his kind, leading to a robbery gone horribly wrong. However, his autopsy report stated that he was poisoned with arsenic based on his stomach content for almost a day, so tongues wag amongst cops that either someone could've spiked his food easily, or that the food or drink he consumed from the trash since he is a homeless person led to severe food poisoning and ultimately, ended his life.

Soon, rumours spread among the cops that maybe it wasn't as simple as it appears. Perhaps the owner of the ring this homeless man had wronged grew furious since he stole it, so they hired someone to tail this unfortunate thief, ultimately ending his life. After all, through their investigation, it appears that the family didn't report a missing ring in the police database system according to the only last surviving member of the family, Miyaza Kasumi.

Miyaza Kasumi is the only daughter/child of the Miyaza family in this case, also a suspect since the alleyway where the crime took place wasn't far off the restaurant where she was dining in earlier. Days ago she attended the funeral of her recently deceased father, who later joined in the afterlife with the mother she had heartbreakingly lost as a child.

Now, there are higher-ups among police officers who have been long-term friends with the Miyaza family. Since the family is worth millions of yen thanks to wise investments and business decisions made by the late patriarch, the family is rather influential. Influential to a point where they will not tolerate such rumours any other way.

Also, this case is ruining their New Year mood, since it is also eating up their plans for New Year with their families. Of course, this particular definition didn't loosely translate as in heading home to celebrate with their irritating in-laws, or nagging wives so to speak.

No, cause they have 'work shifts' to cover during the new year.

One would wonder does this not bring public backlash? Prioritizing partying over a murder incident?

The answer is obviously yes it does. But higher-ups couldn't give a damn, they had been under manpower since the scandal broke out last year December, and they were unfortunate to lose many police officers that used to be under the payroll in Japan's most talked about criminal mastermind, one named 'Echis'. The clean-up work is too much to handle, so they might as well go let go of some steam. After all, who would want to go solve some murder involving a rich family, knowing it would place a target on your back? Especially on a new year?

So when one policeman decided to bring this issue upfront, his colleague was not having it. "We are not having this conversation-"

"This isn't an option, we have to arrest someone, that's all. It's a matter of sooner or later."He hissed as he insisted to the policewoman while she rolled her eyes, staring back at the man.

They were in a brightly lit restaurant in some hotel, a rather fancy one that didn't match the uniforms worn by both adults as she goes, "You are not suggesting... arresting one of the suspects, are you?" she croaked, "we don't need to stoop that far. Considering....we have no strong solid evidence to do so."

"I don't want to do this, but times are desperate."The other one sighed, "The police morale right now is at an all-time low, and ever since we been exposed thanks to 'that man', the public barely trust us with anything, and the crimes have been increasing ever since." He huffs as he sighs, "If it wasn't for that bastard low life, that Echo guy-"

"You mean Echis right?"The woman corrected him.

"Whatever! I swear that ever since his criminal empire that has been running for almost a bloody year here in Japan, the morale has gone down so damn low, that bloody Echis bastard had his activities made it within the core of our police HQ for over a year! A bloody year! The worst part of it all was, that neither of us is capable of locating him!"

The woman wanted to argue, but she knew he had a point. He wasn't wrong, after the recent crackdown on illegal activities within the police department, there was a huge public outcry since then. Although there was a major shakeup within the force, not all of the big fish were arrested. The one calling the shots were constantly pressuring the ones beneath them to make some sort of arrest, to distract from their mistakes as they tried to keep a low profile from the annoying press. Hence, the detectives here are treading on thin ice.

"Even so, you doing this won't make things any easier for us! If we do this, we are no different than the criminals we've thrown behind bars!!"

"Then what do you suppose we should do then?! Continued to be pressured by them?!"

"Oh, keiiji-san!"

A little girl's cheerful voice could be heard interrupting the two adults from afar as the adults turn to see her making her way over to them. The man's lips transform to annoyance as if he is outraged that the little brat is still here. If it was usual, he would've thrown the little brute out of the bloody restaurant for all he cares.

Then again, she is 'that man' daughter. One wrong move and kiss his job promotion goodbye.

Deciding he didn't want to blast his anger at her, he stormed off, leaving the policewoman to deal with the 6-year-old on her own as he ignore the woman yelling behind him 'Ooi! You can't be seriously leaving me to deal with Fox-san!?'

That's right, he wants nothing to do with looking after that troublesome little girl. If it were 'The Fox', he rather let his unfortunate colleague clean up her mess.

For the past 3 months, she has been present in almost every single crime scene he could think of. At first, everyone argued she should be out, and some adults would even go as far as to grab the child and make attempts to throw her out. In some cases, they even did a mass walkout in protest on having this child be involved in their line of work, as in their defence, they didn't like the idea of being bossed around by a 6-year-old little girl.

However, they underestimated that child.

Perhaps she was 'that man's' daughter, she probably got her witty intelligence from him, or perhaps it was her harsh words towards the adults, hell, perhaps she had already proven her point, the adults soon got tired of making attempts to remove her from the crime scene. Gradually, they shut up and let her do her thing.

It wasn't like he personally hated the little girl, if anything, she was very well behaved whenever she arrive at the crime scenes under 'that man's instructions. She asks questions, she doesn't destroy pieces of evidence or anything like that. She doesn't even get fazed when one tells her to leave at once and not tell her a thing about the investigation, cause she often finds unusual ways to obtain the information regardless of the adult's futile attempt.

The only issue he had with her is that she can be so unpredictable.

Take today, for instance, she kept on whining about wanting to play with the suspect's cat, a Persian which the suspect has brought along to the restaurant (it is pet friendly) as the suspect was going to take it to the vet. As soon as that little girl found out there was no cat since the woman lost it after hearing of the murder amid the screaming chaos behind the restaurant, she was whining in front of the suspect about wanting to play with it while shaking the cat carrier. If that wasn't bad enough, she asked her directly whether did the woman know of this homeless man since there were sightings of her being with him earlier at the V.i.P Room, and ask if that was her boyfriend.

How unprofessional, even for a child who wants to become a tantei like himself.

Then again, a child is still a child. Children throw tantrums without caring about the status of the other, let alone, considering the consequences they may get from the latter.

So you can imagine when The Fox threw her tantrum regarding wanting to play with the heiress' cat, the restaurant manager and police alike were horrified.

What The Fox did earlier, didn't make them look good at all, as it was unprofessional for them to bring an unpredictable and poorly discipline child into a crime scene. Also, The Fox's behaviour could've given the fancy restaurant a bad name. Luckily Miyaza Kasumi was understanding with the child, cause otherwise, the higher-ups are gonna kill the unfortunate policeman.

And a good thing too, given that Miss Miyaza was jilted by her blind date not long ago before the murder, as he has yet to return after the murder took place after promising he would return from the washroom. This was backed up by the restaurant manager's witness account, who described the date to be clean-shaven, dapper and kept to himself with a ponytail tied to the back.

Now everyone has their personal opinions of the murder, that the supposed blind date was the true murderer behind this homeless man's death since upon the corpse's discovery, he has yet to return since then.

"Yes?" She too was not the biggest fan of the little girl wearing the fox mask, as she has already stated that a little girl like her shouldn't be allowed on crime scenes, but so far she's answered The Fox's questions without too many complaints. "What is it now, Fox?"

"I wanna know something."

Of course, this girl always wanna know anything."What is it?"

"The ring the homeless man stole from, belonged to Miss Kasumi's family, correct?" The Fox pointed her finger at the heiress, who is being interviewed by other detectives alongside the family butler, lawyer, maid plus restaurant manager.

"That's right. It is a prized family heirloom."The policewoman nodded to her.

"Then that heiress's dad who passed away, he was married to someone else before he married Miss Kasumi's real mom, deshou?"

Her expression shifts, now The Fox is digging around that family's background of all people!? Has she lost her damn mind?! Ain't she afraid she get sued?!

Despite the strained smile her lips adopt, her eyes grow cold, as she glances at the murder suspects, whom she feared may have overheard the little girl's insensitive question. She bites her lip, looking down at the little fox."What about it?"

"Was he a divorcee before marrying Miss Kasumi's mom?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Why did he divorce her? The first one?"

"Eh?!"

The Fox then fires one question after another, "Is it because she ain't prettier than Kasumi's mom? Or is it because Miss Kasumi's mom is richer than the first one? People can be greedy when it ain't enough."

The woman was gonna tell her off about poking into people's personal affairs, but she decided against it, given that this little girl has a reputation for getting adults into serious trouble."It ain't the money."

"Then what is it? The reason behind the divorce?"

"It's...."The policewoman was hesitant to answer the little girl as she was in dilemma, how does one explain to a child that this complicated adult matter can result in divorce? Finally, she replies, "She can't have children."

"Eh!? Just like that!?" the little girl sounded surprised.

"What do you mean just like that!?" the woman was not expecting this kind of reaction.

The little girl frowns a little, before she asks, "How does he know she can't have children? Maybe he is the one who can't have kids."This little girl....she just disrespected a dead man of that family....."Can't they just adopt? Do surrogacy and stuff?"

For a moment, the policewoman was stunned. What sort of life did this child go through to learn such things? Did she have a dysfunctional upbringing?

Serious, who the hell raise her to be taught this sort of stuff? Oh right, she almost forgot. It was 'that man' and that vicious pretentious wife of his who raised her."Anyway, that is what butler-san said."

"Is that all? If I think of it....that is a childish reason for divorce just because she can't have kids."

"Childish!?"

"I mean doesn't one marry for love? Is he trying to marry a baby factory in the first place?"

Ok, this is where she has to draw the line, "Miss Kudo, things ain't easy as it sounds when it comes to being in the adult world. Alright? Not everything you say gives out a straightforward solution."The woman sighs as she explains, "Back in the early years, there were not many options on having kids like you nowadays then unlike in the past." the woman admits, "Adopting is a solution, but you have to remember....no matter what, that kid you took in will forever be someone else's child, and that child will never be connected to you by blood."

"...is that so?"

"You see....some adults would rather prefer raising their own rather than someone's kid. Cause to them, those who aren't connected to you in their world, can just easily stray away and cut ties at ease."The policewoman shrugs."That is the reality nowadays."

But The Fox doubts it.

In this case, while the crime scene seems to be the result of a robber's luck had finally run out in appearance, the truth isn't what it seems.

The woman left to do her job as the 6-year-old then gave a glance to the suspects who happen to be chatting with the officers. There is the only surviving heiress to the family, Miyaza Kasumi, who arrived here on a blind date. There is her butler and the maid, who happened to be here running the usual errands for the said mistress, the restaurant manager who had personally known the Miyaza's late master for almost 20 years as he was a regular here, and then there is the family lawyer of the family who knew them for 10 years, who arrived here to speak to a client.

Out of the 5 of them, two of them are rather suspicious.

Fox didn't need to think hard, narrowing down the number of suspects was easy due to the motive of one of the suspects she has uncovered. Though she thinks the maid and butler are capable of killing the homeless vagrant to protect their mistress, overall, based on the evidence she had gathered, it doesn't seem likely based on timing, witness account, and alibi. As for the restaurant manager, he was too busy dealing with two drunkard idiots who were arguing in the restaurant earlier so it couldn't be him.

The other two she suspects strongly is either the lawyer or the mistress.

A sense of foreboding overcomes her, but the little girl decidedly comes to a conclusion and decides she is gonna text someone first. Fishing out her smartphone, she types down: "You wanna do it, or I do it?"

She sends a text back to the receiver. The response is instant."I am busy now, you can do it."

The little child, who had kept a low profile decided, "Alright," Fox mutters to herself, replaying the case in her head, "That person put on quite a show, time to turn the spotlight a little."

"Sorry to interrupt sir, but can we leave now? I have to take my cat to the vet, though I have no idea what happens to Mittens."

The woman spoke with a sigh as the family butler, Kajiwara Daisuke goes on to say, "Miss Miyaza is right, it's getting late, and we are gonna miss the appointment with the vet. Poor Mittens."

"Where are Mittens by the way? I can't seem to find the cat anywhere."The maid who was with them turned to look around at their surroundings.

"When can we leave? I have to go to work tomorrow."The lawyer spoke impatiently.

"I agree, I have to post to everyone on Fb that our restaurant had to be closed down all thanks to a bloody murder! Our business is gonna be gone thanks to some insensitive bastard who chose to murder someone behind the restaurant of all things!"The restaurant manager groaned.

"Mittens fled after everyone at the restaurant screamed on finding the corpse when Miss Miyaza took the pet to the toilet to let it pee. Oh, why did that bastard have to commit murder? Let alone, on a New Year's day."The butler sighs, "Don't worry, I am certain the cat hasn't wandered off far, and it should be in the cat carrier we placed back in the toilet."

"Thank God that cat is trained to go back to the cat carrier whenever it goes missing."The noble lady breathes a sigh of relief, "Otherwise, I will be worried sick for poor mittens."

"Unfortunately, neither of you are leaving. Neither is Mittens."A tone of a child unexpectedly boomed.

"Hah?!"The four suspects turned to the source of the unexpected voice, as well as the cops and detectives in charge."Who said that?"The maid says.

"I did."

Heads turned much to their surprise, it was the little girl in a fox mask, "Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you just a child!?"The lawyer reacted in shock.

"I ain't just a child, I notice things that shouldn't."Before the lawyer could tell her off about being rude to adults, she went over to the mistress of the family, "You are a clever liar."That little girl chuckled at the woman as if she was mocking her."You can fool adults, you can fool kids, but not to me. Anyone but me."

Those words later made the male detective snap at the child, "You! What have I told you about jumping to conclusions without evidence!?"

"Ma.....just let things be. She is after all 'The Fox." the woman shakes her head, already used to such gibberish scenario.

"Eh!? The Fox!?"The maid who overheard this was stunned, "You meant to say the one that I read on the news...." she pointed with her finger at the little girl," the legendary detective Fox, was a legit little girl!?"

"What? My name made it on the news already!? So much for low profile. Damn those bastards, never catching a break. I need to have this sorted out after this."The discussion came to a halt when the little girl in a fox mask answered in a huff.

"What is everyone so excited about this....fox you mentioned?"Kasumi asked, "You guys are not usually this....excited?"

"How can we not!? The adventures of what 'The Fox' did on the news column in terms of solving all sorts of murders...I never thought I would meet her in person."The butler said excitedly.

The woman then laughed mockingly as if it was a joke and pointed to the little girl, "So you are saying, this little girl solves murder!? Hah! What a joke! What sort of police department of Japan be that stupid to hire a 6-year-old school going kid to solve crimes that they can't even solve?! My God! The Police department of Japan...I knew they sunk an all-time low due to the corruption incident, but I didn't think it is this bad!"

The girl in the fox mask ignored her mockery, as she decided to counter the adult male detective, "Let's start with what we know. According to the coroner," she folded her arms as she went on," the contents of this homeless man's stomach reads that he drank a 156 US dollar with of Apple Cognac, do you not recall that?"

This again?"What is there to be odd about? A homeless man can afford to eat it for free through scavenging the trash of-!"

"....any fancy restaurants, "The little girl finished the sentence before the male detective could end hers, "Not like I ain't aware of it. The ones in the U.K is no different than the one here. Even if that is the case, "the little girl approached the woman, "how many homeless man in the whole of Japan, are lucky enough to locate and drink such large amount of Cognac, let alone, Envy Cognac 1432 that he finds from the dumpster according to autopsy?"

"What is it you just said!?"One of the officials reacted in shock.

"Wait, what is an Envy Cognac 1432?!"The policewoman became confused, and so does the other officers.

Are they serious!?

Ranran swore her mask almost slipped out of her face out of shock, are the cops here really that incompetent!? "Do you guys not drink Cognac, let alone, know what a Cognac is!?"

"We do!"The policeman answered in a haste, not wanting to be humiliated by a child for not knowing what sort of drink is this, "It's a brandy! We just never heard of one that is produced around 1432, that's all! Also, aren't you too young to know about alcohol!?"

"I learn things."Ranran shrugs, feeling sceptical and certain that they had no idea what she was talking about. "It was a drink met with controversy thanks to an ingredient they added, which happens to be envy apple."The little girl huffed, wondering why these adults who drink a lot have no idea of this cognac's existence?

Deciding that these police officers are too dumb to understand, she decided to give them some history lessons about the drink.

"In the early days, a traditional Cognac usually requires white grapes to be made. Back then, a time when Cognac grew in popularity, the unthinkable happened, "Ranran paced around the restaurant, "Hoping to cash in on the craze, a man decided to come up with a rare Cognac that no one has ever done before: by adding Envy apples in and daringly proclaim it as a rare of its kind."

With all eyes on her as they are hooked to her tale, Ranran continued.

"Although lots of people called it a scam due to the change of fruit, the extraordinary taste for this drink was something no one could deny...worth the yen spent. Nonetheless," she unfolded her arms as she went on," this Cognac would eventually turn many of his rivals green with envy over its success, resulting in them making attempts on duplicating it."

She then turns her gaze onto the suspects and polices officers plus detectives alike, "Back then, food and drinks are unlike today, there is not many rules and regulation for selling this sort. So even selling a fake Envy Cognag 1432 drink is possible. However, it's because of its loose laws....it causes such massive death in the midst as people tend to put questionable ingredients, thus, the actual product was later removed from the shelf."

The adults were in awe that this little girl was so knowledgeable about cognac, considering she was too young to even drink.

"This one was said to be the world's most expensive Cognac, let alone, the rarest of them all. Only 6 of them were left following the ban, and after making several calls, I only discovered one was sold in Japan by auction. Guess which merchant bought it?"

Everyone's pupils dilated as they gasp.

"You guess it. This restaurant is here. Problem is, after contacting the restaurant owner, there was no paper trail, let alone, any purchasing history to proof of its existence here. Either the restaurant owner lied to me, or..."She grins with her red lips pointing at the manager, who is caught like a deer with headlights on as she went on, "I found it odd while browsing through the inventory records of the said restaurant. In addition to a cognac having mysteriously gone missing, there has been a discrepancy of booze gone missing since the restaurant manager got hired. I am wondering.....why is that?"

Now it is time for the restaurant manager to turn pale.

"Maybe you have gone too bold with the owner having gone overseas for about 4 months with his Cancer treatment, maybe the owner may have trusted you too much. But perhaps...." she gave a sinister grin, which is very unchildlike," the real reason why it was so is simple. You decided why not sell it and pocketed the money while faking those records, right?"

Everyone was shocked, except the manager who looks like he is being sent to the slaughterhouse any moment now.

"Which explains why even this apple Cognac, the very one the owner's wife mentioned had bought it here and no one purchased for the past 6 years.....was easily sold to the killer without having any records, to begin with. Probably with cash, since using a credit card would leave a trail of paperwork." Ranran pointed out.

Out of curiosity and for the sake of the investigation, the policeman then confronts the restaurant manager, "Why did you try to erase the existence of the drink?! Are you in cahoots with the killer?!"

"I-"

"I don't think he is capable of the murder," All eyes were back on the little girl interrupting their interactions," I interviewed the staff here, you had a huge OCD towards anyone with unkempt appearances, especially homeless vagrants." Confusion etched on the adults' faces, Ranran went on to explain, "Earlier when he thought no one was watching, I overheard the manager busily ranting at the corner with your co-workers over how that 'dirty rat of a vagrant' is going to sully the restaurant's value since he may have carried all sorts of diseases, then went in about sales falling short now that he is dead on a New Year. If he was going to kill him, he would've preferred a better location to kill him, anywhere away from the restaurant."

By this point, the rest of the adults — suspects and police alike could not help but gave the manager a judgemental look, not knowing whether to criticise him for his rude behaviour or to be slightly relieved that he ain't the killer thanks to his rude perception of homeless people.

And the restaurant manager must have felt the look of detest they were directed at him, because he later retaliated by yelling, "It's the truth anyway! Homeless people do carry diseases with their lifestyle! We are trying to make a living here."

"Putting aside your opinion, I have to ask: Who did you sell the booze to that you have to erase its mere existence, Mr Yoshito?" The policewoman pinches her nose bridge, as she felt like she had enough with The Fox nosing around people's affairs for the day.

For a moment, tensions were high as the anticipated the manager who is holding his breath, as if he was refraining from uttering a single word, knowing it would breathe in his death.

Noting that his hand is trembling, The Fox states, "Are you not stating this because you were silenced from revealing it?"

His hands immediately stopped.

As The Fox suspected, he was being blackmailed.

"What do you mean, Fox?"The policeman demanded an explanation from the little girl, but her attention remained on the manager.

"How much did you sell that Cognac, Mr Yoshito? Is it worth the price of your freedom?"

"Fox-kun! Don't be rude!"

Again, she went into confronting mode while the manager is sweating bullets while ignoring the police officials calling out to her, "Mr Yoshito, if I can come up with a better deal for your nephew's surgery, will you give me the name of the killer you sold the drink to?"

Eyebrows from the manager shot up, and so did the others hearing this. "Surgery? What surgery!?" The lawyer couldn't help but wonder.

"I can offer a better deal than the killer would, a better hospital and surgeon for your nephew's failing heart. Plus, you won't even need to sacrifice your freedom for what the killer offered, Mr Yoshito."

"B-but..."The manager stuttered, struggling as a lot was going through his mind.

"Think of your nephew at the hospital, how would he feel if he finds out what you are about to do? Do you want him to be labelled and be bullied in school for having a convict uncle?"

For a long while, everyone watched as they were sceptical that he would reveal the identity of the killer to a mere little girl since she is offering nothing but mere words to go by.

Much to everyone's surprise, he ended up saying, "I sold it to Miss Miyaza."That's when everyone gasped as the manager pointed at a horrified Miyaza Kasumi.

"Bullshit!!!!!"The woman screeched, but the little girl was undeterred, while it was the manager's turn to admit, "I am telling the truth!"

The noblewoman turned to the manager in shock, "Tsuda Yoshito!"

"I can lie of many things, but not murder! Anything but that!"The manager then turned to the noblewoman in anger, "My nephew desperately needing heart is something I am willing to go through all lengths to keep him alive, and if The Fox said she can offer a better deal that includes freedom and a heart, so be it!"

"Hey!"

"You were the one who blackmailed me into selling you that cognac after learning of my activities because you claim you wanted to get over the grief over your dad! Who knew...who knew you would end up using this for such devious acts!"

"That's a lie!"The heiress yelled in retaliation as she pointed the finger at him while she told the officials," this man is lying to save his skin!"

"All of you! Keep your voices down! Unless you both wanna share the same cell, I won't hesitate!"The angry detective's booming voice was enough to silence their 'he says, she says'.

"When did you figure out the poison was added into the Apple Cognac, Fox!? Also, you are lucky that the restaurant owner you contacted suddenly brought up this brandy. Had they not said it, you probably wouldn't have known where to look."The Policewoman questioned the little girl.

"It wasn't based on luck, I had to contact the restaurant owner to confirm whether it exist, since I learn from one of the restaurant staff members whining about the restaurant manager being fussy, for having to dispose of all of the menus they have been using here for the past 6 years and print new one's today, so I manage to obtain the old one from them and compare the new ones, that's when I notice the Envy Cognac was erased and I wanted to know why."The Fox admits.

"EH?!" Everyone's eyes grew wide open.

"Also, although restaurant manager Mr Yoshito had a history of stealing, he had never bothered to completely erase the records of the boozes' existence in the documents, as he only tempered with the number of drinks he allegedly sold secretly. When I learn that he was quite close to Miss Kasumi's parents as the two were regulars here, that's when I began to suspect something was amiss," the masked fox girl explained, "If her late dad is close with him the manager, I am certain the same goes for all members, including Kasumi. There is a possibility Kasumi may have been aware after dining here for so long. After all, ain't it normal for us to recognize the habits of our loved ones during the long term?"

Kasumi is sweating nervously while eyes were on her.

"But Fox, ain't there a possibility that the vagrant could've picked it up from the trash? This envy drink?"

"Although not impossible that any of those restaurants would throw such drink into the bin, the volume of Cognac this man had drunk is almost equivalent to an actual bottle based on the report....so even if you are saying he happens to find some free bottle of cognac that some restaurant threw it, it wouldn't have made sense financially, at least in the standpoint of a luxury restaurant. After all...."She gave the woman a look, as realization sank in, "it would be stupidly wasteful. Since Cognac also has an indefinite shelf life."

The woman grew pale as the male detective mentioned, "Now hold on a minute. Manager Yoshito has only his word to go on about that he sold the bottle to her, how are you to prove whether the poison is added since neither of us could find it? Also, Fox-Kun, "the detective man turned to the Fox, "Even if that were the case, even if she was the one who bought the bottle, I doubt she is stupid enough to keep it in her house!"

"Exactly! When I sent the bottle to her, it was around 2 days ago! I too would be stupid if I were to keep the bloody bottle for poisoning a person of all people!" The restaurant manager pointed out.

"You are right, but what if she had to keep it cause she had no choice."

"Eh?"

Sweats grew behind Miyaza as the little girl gave a Cheshire grin, "Poison can be unpredictable, like that homeless man's death, he could've survived. Which is why.....if one wants to murder someone with a guarantee...I made sure to keep the murder weapon with me to ensure he dies no matter what."

"What did you just say!?"

"I can keep it, hide it, and even hide it in plain sight here. Make sure he consumes the poison till he passes away."

"But we inspect it everywhere!"The policewoman sighs.

"Did you? Now, where is that cat carrier I played the whole lot of you didn't bother to check since she is quoted 'a powerful family' that doesn't require searching?"

"You-hey! Fox, where are you going!?"

The Fox then headed over to the female toilet, ignoring the policewoman calling out to her, only to rush back with the cat carrier, much to the woman's shock as she shouted, "How dare you-"

"Watch and learn! The exposure of a liar!"

The woman nearly bit his tongue in surprise as the little girl cut off what she was saying, her eyes wide as she have her hand reach for a zip hidden in the top, only to reveal a compartment in between the top as she held a cloth in her hand, to hold it high as she revealed the said object, right in front of stunned adults.

There was the cognac bottle.