Chapter 18: Chapter 1 - Investigation (2)

Our two shadows fell across Karafuru's corpse.

"Karafuru..."

"It's horrific... Truly..."

As though he were lying in a bed of blood, his pure-white clothes and hair had been stained red.

The complexion that had always looked gaunt was now so pale and lifeless that I found myself missing how it had been before.

"Tch... Are you two still planning to wallow in sentiment? At the very least, I'd hoped you two wouldn't be like this."

"...I know. Just don't interfere."

It wasn't as though I had fallen for Hiranui's provocation, but I knew how pathetic we must have looked nonetheless.

"Karafuru... Excuse me for a moment."

I slowly approached him.

"...!"

The first thing that caught my eye was his forehead.

There was a small wound there, but one that had definitely bled.

"A wound on his forehead... Could this be the bruise described in the Monotwins File?"

"Hm... It could be, but for such a minor wound to have been caused by a fall..."

He had definitely fallen on his back. Put simply, for that wound on his forehead to make sense, he would have had to fall forward...

"...Urgh."

In that case, he would have been left in an even more horrifying state.

'Still, I should record it for now.'

[Recorded [Forehead Wound] in the detective's notebook.]

"Huh? Shu, look over here!"

"Huh...? That's...!"

Our attention shifted to his neck.

"This is... wire, I think? It's so thin and transparent that it's hard to notice, but..."

Just as she said, thin, fine wire was tightly wrapped around his neck.

Wondering what it was, I cautiously touched it.

"This is... Right, I think it's the same kind used for piano wire. In other words, it's extremely strong."

"But why would something like that be tied around his neck? Huh...?"

Then Shu glanced behind her for some reason.

"Sho, Shoko...! Look over there!"

"Huh? Ah...!"

Her startled expression drew my attention there.

There was more wire there.

No, more precisely, it was connected to the wire tied around Karafuru.

"I see... It looks like he was tied up with an awfully long length of wire. More importantly, it's pretty long, isn't it?"

"It's more than pretty long... It has to be at least 6.5 meters, even if it's not quite 7 meters!"

"At least 6.5 meters...?"

I had no idea what anyone would need such a long wire for, but—

[Recorded [Tied Wire] in the detective's notebook.]

At the very least, I was certain it needed to be recorded.

"Wire... Hm?"

As I observed the wire tied around his neck a little more closely—

"W-what is this...?"

I discovered another suspicious detail on his neck.

It was a faintly lingering bruise.

"A bruise...? Why does he have bruising on his neck?"

"Ah, the Monotwins File said he lost consciousness before he died. Could someone have subdued him?"

"Maybe... Look here. It's faint, but there are handprints."

"Huh...? Really? You can see that?"

"Trust me. As a detective, I'm confident in my ability to identify things like this."

It was certainly faint, but there were marks in the bruise where someone's hand had pressed down hard.

"In other words, Karafuru may have... been strangled unconscious by someone."

[Recorded [Signs of Strangulation] in the detective's notebook.]

Just as I was about to think there was nothing more to investigate—

"...? Shu, look here!"

This time, the corner of his mouth entered my field of vision.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Look closely at his lips... Isn't there something on them?"

"Huh...? You're right...? What is this?"

On his lower lip was purple powder, slowly dissolving in his saliva.

"...Sleeping pills."

And I knew exactly what it was.

"Sleeping pills...?"

"The faint lavender scent... and the fact that it's still lingering around his mouth... Yes, it seems to be a common sleeping powder."

"Th-that's amazing... Can detectives tell even that?"

"Well, this is a kind of sleeping pill you need to know as a basic matter. Ordinary people can get it easily at a pharmacy, too."

Of course, why something like this was stuck around his mouth was a question we would have to answer later.

[Recorded [Sleeping Pill Powder] in the detective's notebook.]

"...I suppose that's all for examining the body."

"Yeah... I don't think there's anything else unusual."

Then what should we do next?

In a normal investigation, it would naturally be...

"...Question people one by one."

Gather living evidence: testimony.

There were probably three or four people around me, but I already knew whom I wanted to choose.

"Could you two talk with us for a moment?"

I approached Tsurudo and Ubauchi, who had been conversing a short distance away.

"Hm? Oh, Keisha. What is it?"

"Roshiya..."

There was a subtle wariness in both their eyes.

"So, what were you talking about? Would you tell us, if you don't mind?"

"Ah, it's nothing much. She said she absolutely couldn't look at the body, so she asked me to tell her if there was anything suspicious about it."

"I-I told you, I just couldn't be bothered to check it myself! Ugh..."

In any case, after asking a little more, I was relieved to find that what they had noticed wasn't significantly different from my own discoveries.

"More importantly, Tsurudo, you seem pretty used to corpses too... I mean, normally, being shocked like Ubauchi is the natural reaction..."

"Well... If you're asking whether I'm used to them, then I am. At the casino where I worked, people died all the time. They'd lose a game and kill themselves on the spot in a fit of rage, or shoot the other person dead, and so on..."

"What kind of place was that...?! D-don't tell me you did things like that too?!"

"What the hell is this thief talking about!? I'm not such a lousy gambler that I'd do that!"

"All right, both of you, calm down... More importantly, there's something I'd like to ask you..."

Then Tsurudo interrupted, holding out his palm as if he already knew.

"...I know. It's not certain yet, but we do look suspicious, don't we?"

"Well... It's understandable. We didn't show up until after the murder had happened."

"I'm glad you both understand so quickly. We're not saying we suspect you, but we do think we need to confirm it."

Shu cautiously continued the subject, and Tsurudo nodded as though it were only natural.

"You want us to tell you our alibi—our movements, right? In short, we split up for quite a while. Keisha, you know that, don't you?"

"Ah, you sent a message saying you were investigating outside, just in case? Is that what you mean?"

"That's right. It took up quite a bit of time... because of Tana."

"Huh? Why Tana?"

"Well, she isn't used to using a Monophone, so we couldn't figure out where she was at all. Look!"

Speaking in a slightly exasperated tone, Ubauchi showed us her Monophone.

[Tana!#&$&#$&&^^ I'm hhere. Yum. Fish.]

[What?! Tana, say something we can understand!]

[Meat! Tana... Waaah! &@*@( Poop!$()$$^^ Pbbt pbbt!]

[G-]

"...That must've been really hard..."

"Well, before we split up, we told her to investigate the Dormitory and Annex. Fortunately, she listened to that much, so we barely managed to find her."

So the place where they heard the body discovery announcement while outside must have been around there?

"...Huh? Now that you mention it, where are Tana and Kadra? They were both on the Main Building team."

"Ah, that's because of Tana too. She ran off on her own, saying, 'I'm gonna avenge Kirong!' Kadra got dragged along to keep an eye on her."

"Dragged along, rather than following her...? What is he, some dad tagging along after his kid..."

If there was one thing we could take from this, it was that a child as innocent as her would never kill someone.

"...Ah, right. I forgot the most important thing. Call it a defense, if you want—we do have one definite alibi."

"A definite alibi? What is it, Tsurudo?"

"What!? If you had something like that, you should've said so sooner, idiot!"

"I-I said I forgot!! Anyway, it's simple. Our Main Building team never entered either the Dormitory or the Annex. Not once."

"...!"

That was certainly information Shu and I could guarantee.

"...I see. Thanks, Tsurudo. That gave us some pretty valuable information."

"It's nothing. It's for all our lives, isn't it? Let's do our best."

[Recorded [Main Building Team's Testimony] in the detective's notebook.]

After parting ways with Tsurudo's group, we moved on to obtain more testimony.

"...Ah! Kitsui, Niseato!"

Before long, we came across two girls who had been speaking together.

"Oh, Roshiya, Keisha. It looks like you're investigating together. How dependable."

"...If it's an exchange of information, I'm willing."

It was fortunate that they were both rational and cool-headed. This should make things go faster.

"Excuse me, but... what were you two talking about? Would you tell us, if you don't mind?"

"...Nothing much. Just confirming each other's alibis."

"Confirming alibis... Ah, come to think of it, you were at the Dormitory and the Annex respectively, right?"

"That's right, so we were sharing things the other person hadn't been able to confirm. Come to think of it, you two were split into different teams as well, weren't you?"

"Ah, now that you mention it..."

We decided to settle that matter while we had the chance.

And if we were going to settle it, then naturally we needed Karafuru's movements before his death, as well as the movements of any third party connected to him... In other words—

"No one left the Dormitory. I can guarantee that. Even the longest period during which we couldn't account for each other was less than two minutes."

"...The same goes for us. No one left the Annex while the investigation was underway. Ah, ours was around two minutes too, I think?"

They had accounted for everyone's movements.

[Recorded [Everyone's Movements] in the detective's notebook.]

"...Ah, this may be beside the point, but there was one person who left the Annex."

"What? Wh-who was it?"

At that, Shu gave an open, amused snort.

"Me!"

...That was an understandable answer.

"Oh, really...? How did that happen?"

"Oh, it's nothing. When you were on the rooftop, I contacted you, right? I'd actually headed toward the Annex while sending that message. I just wanted to gather everyone in person."

"I see, so that's what it was after all. But that was only near the end, and only for a few minutes, right?"

"...That's right. I guarantee it."

Unusually, Niseato was the first to affirm it.

"I see... Still, I'll record it. It's part of the timeline, too."

"Of course!"

[Recorded [Shu's Testimony] in the detective's notebook.]

Once we finished recording it, we parted from them and set out in search of our next destination.

*

*

Once we had actually parted ways, I felt a little lost.

Wasn't that only natural? At this rate, we might really have no choice but to meet everyone one by one and listen to their testimony.

"...Hey, Shoko. If you're okay with it, would you like to go to the Annex?"

"Huh? The Annex...?"

Then Shu made a quiet suggestion.

"As you know, Karafuru was on the Annex team. I thought it might be better to investigate his movements before he died, even if it's only a little."

"I see... That makes sense. Thanks! Then let's go right away!"

"...Yeah!"

And so, having quickly left the Dormitory—

"Ah...!"

We suddenly ran into someone.

"T-Tana!"

"Huh...? Ahh! Shokong, Shukong! Fancy meeting you here! Tana's really happy!"

It was Tana, who for some reason stood between the Dormitory and the Annex, blankly staring up at the sky.

"Wh-what are you doing here...? Where's Kadra? Wasn't he watching... I mean, investigating with you?"

"Ah, Kadung went away... He complained that he didn't want to be Tana's assistant and went away... Sniff... Tana feels bad she sent him away without severance pay..."

It looked like she had played detective so intensely that she had completely worn him out.

"Is that so...? Hey, Tana! If it's okay, would you like to play detective with us for a little while this time?"

"R-really!?! Yay! Then Shukong can be the assistant! Tana's the great detective! Now, Assistant! What adventure are we going on today!"

"Okay! The adventure starts with you telling us what you were doing just now! You can do that, right? Little Tana... I mean, Detective?"

"Yep! Tana can do it! Tana drinks blood really well too! Tana doesn't choke, drinks it bravely, and can even pee all by herself afterward!"

"Y-you don't have to tell us that...!"

"..."

Honestly, I couldn't help thinking she was better suited to being a nursery school teacher than a fixer.

"Tana was watching that! To see if it would pour down again like poop-stars!"

"Poop-stars... You probably mean shooting stars, right? ...Huh?"

The place Tana pointed to was empty air directly between the Dormitory and the Annex.

'Fifteen meters... No, it seems a little shorter than that...?'

And that distance was far too short for something like a shooting star to fall through.

"Hey, Tana... What falls from up there?"

"W-wait, can the assistant ask just one thing? You said something fell again, right? That means something has already fallen through there?"

"Mhm! Good question! Assistant gets a praise sticker! But Tana will answer first! Tana swallowed all the stickers already!"

In response, we swallowed hard and focused.

Though these were Tana's words, our instincts as a detective and a fixer told us something was there.

"Tana saw it while investigating earlier! Yep! It was definitely when Noeul came to visit! It went swoosh between those buildings..."

What she was about to say was probably—

"A ghost passed by!!"

—something that would completely derail the truth we had been approaching.

Comments (0)

Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register