Having been invited out to dinner with Kudo, Yasuko feels genuinely happy. Despite this, she is still uneasy about meeting with Kudo, worrying that Ishigami's help in the matter of the cover up might entail obligations on her part. She can't be certain whether or not Ishigami will eventually demand something of her in return for having helped her.

It felt wrong, somehow, to go out to dinner at a time like this...There was also the matter of Ishigami, and his help in covering up Togashi's death. She wondered how long his assistance would remain unconditional. Yasuko tries to justify to herself going out with Kudo by telling herself that it would be more suspicious of her not to go out and enjoy herself. Despite this, she realizes that this just her excuse to fulfill her longings for fun and romance. Her inner conflict is further underscored in the following quote:

Though she couldn't help feeling like she was sneaking away from something else she should have been doing, it was undeniable she was having fun. Kudo not only makes Yasuko feel genuinely lively and content, he also cares about her daugther, Misato, and is eager to meet her, which Yasuko does not allow for fear that Misato might act unpredictably and accidentally reveal information about the murder cover-up.

Kudo also shares the fact that his wife died of cancer, which makes him available for a relationship with Yasuko, whereas previously such a relationship would have been unthinkable because of worries about infidelity. Furthermore, having sent his son to stay with his mother, Kudo lives alone and is serious about eventually getting married to Yasuko.

While Yasuko is out with Kudo with her phone turned off, Ishigami is in and out of his apartment, probably hoping to get in touch with Yasuko. This only adds to her sense of guilt for having gone on a date at sensitive time.

Next, Yasuko is visited by Detective Kishitani. First, he asks for the ticket stubs from Yasuko and Misato's trip to the movies on March 10. Then, he asks about her kotatsu. Finally, he inquires about her whereabouts after work and asks about Kudo, inquiring about his contact information, how they came to be friends, just about everything else she knows about him.

After Yasuko leaves, Misato emerges from her room. Having overheard Misato divulge the details of her date with Kudo, Misato chastises Yasuko for going on a casual date when they are the middle of a murder cover-up. Just then, as if on cue, they receive a phone call from Ishigami.

Ishigami helps explains why the police are interested in information about the kotatsu. As Ishigami had predicted, the police were able to identify the murder weapon. Since Ishigami exchanged his own kotatsu table with that of Yusako's, the issue of the kotatsu table cord cannot incriminate Yasuko. He further explains that the police wish to examine Yasuko's ticket stubs so as to find fingerprints that will match those on the other half of the stubs. Having shared all this, Ishigami refrains from asking about Kudo despite his curiosity and despite having seen him drop off Yasuko.

At the station, Chief Mamiya wishes for Kusanagi to question Kudo, whom the police think may be a possible suspect. His appearance immediately after the murder raises suspicion and suggests that he and Yasuko may have been colluding. Ever sensitive about the issue of Yasuko's innocence, Kishitani is quick to come to Yasuko's defense, remarking how unusual it would be for Kudo and Yasuko to meet openly had they actually been working together. This earns a rebuke from Kusanagi, who shows his cynicism towards human nature as he warns Kishitani about making oversimplifying assumptions about people and for lacking the skepticism and critical thinking needed to suspect the ulterior motives and hidden agendas that usually get concealed by the various pretenses that people use to appear normal in front of others.

Kusanagi also corrects Kishitani for being too quick to exonerate Yasuko for having a kotatsu cord that fails to match the type of cord determined by forensics as being the actual murder weapon. Such simplifying assumptions as those made Kishitani fail to consider a host of other possibilities that would account for this discrepancy.

It turns out that the police are intent on looking into Kudo's role in the murder, as they suspect that Yasuko had probably received help if was indeed responsible for carrying out the murder. Despite this, Kusanagi is skeptical and more intrigued by the fact that Yukawa and Ishigami made a visit to the lunch box shop together, a fact they ascertained while placing Yasuko under surveillance.