Within the restaurant, the original harmonious atmosphere became heavy in an instant after Senichi's words.
It felt as though a bottle of liquid nitrogen had been poured into a boiling hotpot, turning the once heartwarming atmosphere into a bone-chilling coldness that penetrated to the marrow.
Looking at the solemn atmosphere before him, although Senichi wore a facade of embarrassment for saying the wrong thing, deep down, he remained calm.
"I'm really sorry..."
Seeing the almost solidified atmosphere, Senichi took the initiative to steer the conversation: "If you don't mind, could you please tell me the details of what happened?
I guess it must be related to that TV series, right?"
Senichi's sudden interjection felt abrupt, yet it forced the three of them to suppress their negative emotions.
After all, no matter the conflicts among them, they couldn't involve an outsider like Senichi.
Moreover, Senichi had invited them to dinner, and as the saying goes, "A soft answer turns away wrath," they couldn't afford to cause trouble for their "host".
At this moment, the identity of an outsider became more useful than that of a familiar acquaintance because everyone had to consider saving face for Senichi. Even if they felt anger due to this topic, it wasn't appropriate to express it.
Senichi clearly understood and reasonably utilized this point, hence he appeared so confident and smoothly transitioned to this topic under the guise of casual conversation.
It could be considered a small conspiracy. From the moment they agreed to dine with Senichi, this topic was bound to be revealed under Senichi's guidance.
"Sorry, it was our fault." Akira Hojima smiled apologetically, taking the lead to speak.
Seeing his colleague take the initiative, Yoshihiko Negami and Furumura also apologized to Senichi.
"It's okay, the one who should apologize is me..." Senichi waved his hand, "I didn't know this topic was off-limits..."
"It's just because it's a sore spot for us." Akira Hojima quickly added, "Every time it's brought up, everyone feels uncomfortable..."
"Was there some hidden story behind it?" Senichi's expression turned serious, "To be frank, I'm a criminal investigator. Could there be more to that car accident?"
"No, no!!" Akira Hojima hurriedly waved his hand when he heard Senichi's words. "The car accident has nothing to do with the movie reshoot, it's just a pure accident!"
"Hmm?" Senichi pretended not to believe it and joked, "Mr. Hojima, saying it like that makes it even more suspicious, you know? Such scenes often happen in movies..."
"It's really not..."
Seeing even this criminal investigator Senichi beginning to suspect if the case was related to that actor's accident, Akira Hojima glanced at Yoshihiko Negami and Furumura, then sighed and said, "Well, in that case, I'll tell you..."
"Never mind, let me explain." Yoshihiko Negami said somewhat gloomily, "The TV series you mentioned, the one whose name you can't recall, is the final installment of 'A Parent's Heart.'
Actually, we had already finished developing the film for this final installment, but there was a mistake in the last step of inspecting the film."
Yoshihiko Negami glanced at the silent Furumura and continued, "As a film developer, our job of inspecting the film rolls must be extremely meticulous and careful, because we can't see anything in the darkroom, we rely solely on the sense of touch from our fingertips.
But at that time, Furumura was too tired from staying up late playing mahjong, he didn't have that keen sense..."
"The result was that during inspection, he didn't notice the damage on the film roll, and it was placed into the developing machine like that. As a result, the film was completely ruined, and we had to bear the considerable cost of reshooting, which was a very severe loss...
If that was the only problem, it would have been tolerable, but during our reshooting, one of the important actors in the movie had a real-life car accident..."
At this point, Yoshihiko Negami downed a large glass of beer. Perhaps due to the alcohol, the resentment on his face was evident. "You should know that 'A Parent's Heart' was initially produced and filmed right here at our Tohto Film Development Studio.
It was our pride, all of us workers', but in the end, it got damaged... He probably didn't even care about that movie at the time!"
"That's all in the past, I admit I was wrong. What more do you want from me!"
Furumura, who had been silent all this while, also downed a glass of beer and wiped his mouth, and said irritably. "And besides, I don't work as a film developer anymore. There won't be any more cases of me ruining film rolls. Isn't that enough?"
"But the movie can never reach perfection again!" Yoshihiko Negami slammed his glass onto the table, glaring at Furumura.
"It's not necessarily hopeless!"
Just as Furumura was about to speak, Senichi suddenly interrupted their argument and spoke directly.
And this sentence instantly grabbed the attention of the three, who all turned their gaze towards Senichi.
"Senichi-san, this isn't a joking matter," Akira Hojima said, looking at Senichi. "The person is already dead, how could there be a way..."
"Well, it's not certain," Senichi picked up a skewer of grilled chicken, took a bite, then leisurely continued under the inquiring gazes of the others, "I don't know if you've heard of disguises?"
"Disguises?"
The three exchanged glances, somewhat puzzled. Akira Hojima then looked at Senichi, "Are you talking about disguises like in the movies?"
"Yes, exactly that kind of disguise," Senichi nodded and smiled, "With disguises, if we can find someone with a similar physique to dress up as that person, we should be able to successfully recreate that scene, right?"
"You make it sound easy, but where can we find such a highly skilled individual..."
Yoshihiko Negami said with some frustration, "We've only heard about disguise skill. It seems only that elusive phantom thief, Kaito Kid, knows this technique...
As for others, we've never even heard of it..."
"You don't have to worry about that. If I didn't know someone proficient in this field, how could I have suggested it?"
Senichi chuckled and said, "Luckily, I have a friend who knows this craft. Creating a perfect disguise is absolutely not a problem; it's guaranteed to be indistinguishable from the real person.
I've introduced her to many film crews before, and she's gained some reputation in the industry now. Many people who require specific makeup looks would request her services."
"Really!?" Yoshihiko Negami was briefly surprised, then deflated, "But what's the use of saying this now? It's too late...
The movie has already been released, there's no chance for a do-over, and the studio can't possibly allocate more money for us to reshoot..."
Senichi couldn't help but smile faintly upon hearing Yoshihiko Negami's words.
This is what I've been waiting for!