More than an hour later, Inspector Megure rushed back, carefully placing a bag on the table. "Hayashi-kun, we found a total of three conical molds. Two were in the refrigerator, still frozen with ice, and an empty one was in the kitchen."
Hayashi Shuichi nodded slightly, picked up one of the heavy molds, and opened it. The ice inside had melted considerably, leaving only an incomplete conical shape.
Inspector Megure, seeing this, couldn't help but ask, "Hayashi-kun, what exactly are these ice blocks for? Are they related to the case?"
Hayashi Shuichi put down the mold and stated with certainty, "The conical ice blocks in these molds are actually the murder weapon."
At these words, everyone's gaze immediately focused on Hayashi Shuichi, waiting for his explanation.
Hayashi Shuichi cleared his throat. "The reason for the tissue separation in the victim's wound is that the killer used a sharp ice pick to stab the victim to death."
"Because the ice pick's temperature was extremely low, the tissues around the wound rapidly cooled the moment it penetrated the victim's body."
"After the killer committed the act, they used hot water to melt the ice pick, thereby destroying the weapon."
"This way, the wound was first subjected to low-temperature freezing, and then heated by hot water. This alternation of hot and cold caused the tissue to stratify."
Inspector Megure first understood with a sudden realization, then frowned. "But Hayashi-kun, ice picks melt easily. It's half an hour from Ota Yuuka's home to here."
"Bringing the ice pick over, a lot of it would surely melt. How did she manage to bring the weapon intact to commit the crime?"
Hayashi Shuichi smiled slightly and picked up the sports thermos nearby. "This is the answer."
"Ota Yuuka hid the ice pick in this sports thermos. This thermos has excellent insulation, which can slow down the melting speed of the ice pick for a certain period, allowing her to bring it here to commit the crime."
"Just now, when I put my hand inside, the low temperature in the thermos was the evidence."
Ota Yuuka sat on the sofa, her already pale face now even more bloodless. Her hands were tightly clenched into fists, her body trembling slightly.
Hayashi Shuichi sighed and walked over to Ota Yuuka. "Miss Ota, the evidence is conclusive. Do you have anything else to say?"
Ota Yuuka looked up, her face filled with hatred. She took a deep breath, gritting her teeth and said, "Yes, I killed Nakajima Ryosuke! But that scumbag, he deserved to die!"
As Ota Yuuka recounted her story, everyone gradually understood the full extent of the events.
Nakajima Ryosuke and Ota Yuuka were once a sweet couple, spending many wonderful times together.
But as time went on, the passion between them faded, and they began to argue.
Three months ago, at a party, Ota Yuuka met a witty and humorous man.
Under the influence of alcohol, she impulsively betrayed Nakajima Ryosuke.
Afterward, though Ota Yuuka felt guilty, she never confessed to Nakajima Ryosuke.
But eventually, the truth couldn't be hidden. Nakajima Ryosuke discovered Ota Yuuka's infidelity. Furious, he had a big fight with his girlfriend and then broke up with her, also emotionally threatening revenge.
Ota Yuuka didn't take Nakajima Ryosuke's threats seriously, thinking he was just speaking out of anger.
But it wasn't long before Ota Yuuka noticed something strange.
She discovered that her mother had a new boyfriend. Out of curiosity, she began to observe secretly.
But what she never expected was that her mother's new boyfriend was none other than Nakajima Ryosuke.
Upon seeing the two behaving intimately and appearing together frequently, Ota Yuuka felt a sudden dizzying sensation.
She could accept her ex-boyfriend having a new girlfriend, but she couldn't accept that the woman was her own biological mother!
"Haha, only then did I understand what he meant by revenge," Ota Yuuka laughed hysterically, her laughter filled with pain and despair. "Just because I betrayed him, he actually wanted to become my stepfather!"
After that day, Ota Yuuka began to plan Nakajima Ryosuke's murder.
To frame her mother for the murder, Ota Yuuka decided to commit the crime in Mrs. Ota's apartment. She had previously made ice picks using three molds and hid them in the refrigerator.
This afternoon, upon learning that Nakajima Ryosuke was at her mother's apartment again, Ota Yuuka placed the sharpest ice pick in the sports thermos and brought it to the apartment.
Nakajima Ryosuke was showering at the time, and the sound of running water from the bathroom masked Ota Yuuka's footsteps.
While he was unsuspecting, Ota Yuuka stabbed him in the neck with the ice pick, killing Nakajima Ryosuke, then used hot water to melt the ice pick, destroying the weapon.
Mrs. Ota sat nearby, listening, tears continuously streaming down her cheeks.
"Yuuka, your mother is sorry."
"But I truly didn't know he was your boyfriend at first!"
"You never brought him home when you were dating, and I've lived alone for so many years. After your father passed away, I've always been so lonely."
"A month ago, Nakajima Ryosuke suddenly appeared and pursued me. I couldn't resist at the moment and agreed to him."
Ota Yuuka sneered, her eyes full of scorn and resentment. "Stop pretending to be wronged. How many times have I argued with you about this? I asked you to break up with him, but you kept ignoring me."
"Do you know how much pain I was in then? The two people I loved, one was my mother, the other was my boyfriend, and you actually ganged up to betray me!"
Mrs. Ota was sobbing uncontrollably, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry."
Her heart was filled with remorse, regretting her past weakness and selfishness, not resisting Nakajima Ryosuke's pursuit, and even more so, not having the heart to break off their relationship after learning the truth.
Mrs. Ota choked out, "Yuuka, I know I was wrong. I was also momentarily confused and was tricked by him."
"Later, when I knew he was your boyfriend, I was very conflicted and wanted to break up, but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to do it…"
Ota Yuuka listened to her mother's explanation, but the resentment in her heart did not diminish. She said bitterly, "That's why I decided to kill him. All of this I designed was originally to frame you. But I didn't expect that you wouldn't refute it, but directly admitted that you were the killer."
Mrs. Ota looked up, her eyes filled with pain and helplessness. "Yuuka, when I saw Nakajima Ryosuke dead, I immediately knew it was you who did it. At that moment, I was both shocked and regretful."
"I know, all of this is my fault. I wronged you."
"I didn't want you to ruin your life because of this, so I decided to admit that I killed him. I wanted to protect you…"
(End of Chapter)
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