"Let's go check it out," Inspector Samezaki ordered.
Though it wasn't under the First Division's jurisdiction, they couldn't ignore the situation.
"Women fighting? Shuichi, let's go see!" Kogoro Mouri grabbed Hayashi Shuichi and dashed out.
Eri Kisaki shook her head but followed them outside.
Stepping out of the izakaya, the trio saw two women grappling on the fourth-floor balcony of the apartment building across the street. Shattered glass littered the ground below, caused by their scuffle.
"What an intense fight!" Kogoro exclaimed, wishing for binoculars to get a better view.
Samezaki and the other officers had already entered the apartment building to intervene.
But at that moment, one of the women, with black hair, was shoved and fell over the balcony railing.
Fortunately, someone leaned out and grabbed her at the last second.
The rescuer, another woman, held on tightly but lacked the strength to pull the black-haired woman back up.
"Save me! I don't want to die! Pull me up!" the black-haired woman cried, her voice piercing the quiet night.
"Oh no!"
Shuichi, Kogoro, and Eri abandoned their spectating and raced toward the apartment building.
Inside, Shuichi told Eri to find the apartment manager while he and Kogoro ran upstairs, catching up with Samezaki and the officers on the third floor.
"One of the women fighting was pushed off the balcony and is hanging outside," Shuichi explained quickly.
"Megure, find the apartment manager!" Samezaki ordered, rushing toward the fourth floor.
"No need, I've already sent Eri," Shuichi said, stopping Megure.
They reached the fourth floor and found the room where the incident was happening.
"We're the police! Open the door!" Officer Matsumoto shouted, pounding on it.
No response came from inside, either because they refused to open or didn't hear.
"Ram it down!" Samezaki commanded.
The four officers took turns slamming their shoulders against the door, but it was surprisingly sturdy and wouldn't budge.
Fortunately, Eri arrived with the apartment manager.
The manager unlocked the door with a key. Samezaki and the officers rushed in, followed by Shuichi, Kogoro, and Eri.
The black-haired woman, still dangling over the balcony's edge, would have fallen to her death if not for a short-haired woman desperately holding her.
In the balcony's corner, two other women stood, panicked and helpless.
One, with brown hair and disheveled clothes, was likely the other fighter. The second reeked of alcohol, clearly drunk earlier.
Samezaki and Matsumoto worked together to pull the black-haired woman, Rina Nagatani, back onto the balcony. She collapsed, her face pale with lingering fear.
The short-haired woman who'd held her sighed in relief, leaning against the wall, panting.
"Police," Samezaki said, flashing his badge. "What happened here? Why were you fighting?"
"Police?" The black-haired woman, Rina Nagatani, froze, then pointed at the brown-haired woman. "Officer, I want to report a crime! She stole my family heirloom ring and pushed me off the balcony, trying to kill me!"
"I didn't mean to push you!" the brown-haired woman shot back. "And I didn't steal your ring! Why would I need to?"
"Why not?" Rina sneered. "Your husband's investment failed, leaving him in huge debt. Don't think I don't know!"
"You wanted to steal my ring to sell it and pay off his debts!"
"I said I didn't steal it!" the brown-haired woman, Saki Imagawa, said slowly, her face ashen. "Even if my husband's business failed, my family isn't broke."
"If needing money is a motive, then Keiko Kawamura's the most suspicious!"
"What?" Keiko Kawamura, the drunken woman, snapped. "Since when am I broke?"
"Stop pretending!" Saki Imagawa scoffed. "We all know your husband misappropriated company funds and is about to get caught."
"You must've stolen the ring to cover his shortfall!"
"Rina Nagatani, I only told you about this! How does Saki know?" Keiko glared at Rina, furious. "You told her, didn't you?"
"You told Rina to borrow money, didn't you?" Saki sneered. "Too bad Rina blabbed your secret. All our classmates probably know by now."
"Rina Nagatani, you traitor!" Keiko lunged at Rina. "I was blind to call you my best friend!"
"You're no better!" Rina shouted back. "Didn't you spread the word about my husband's affair and divorce?"
The two women started wrestling again, right in front of the First Division officers.
Morimura and Megure quickly stepped in to pull them apart.
"Women's friendships are so complicated," Kogoro murmured. "My head hurts just listening."
"Same," Shuichi nodded.
"You two!" Eri glared at them, annoyed, but didn't defend the women.
…
After Samezaki's questioning, the situation became clearer.
The black-haired woman who nearly fell was Rina Nagatani.
The brown-haired woman who pushed her was Saki Imagawa.
The drunken woman who froze during the incident was Keiko Kawamura.
The short-haired woman who saved Rina, with a low presence, was Mika Hirata.
The four were college classmates and close friends who often hung out.
Tonight, they'd gathered at Rina Nagatani's apartment.
During the party, Rina, eager to show off, displayed a sapphire ring worth over a hundred million yen—a Nagatani family heirloom. Legend said many in the family died fighting over it, cursing its owner.
To ward off the curse, the Nagatanis had a Shinto priest make a talisman-sealed wooden box to store the ring.