"Heiji, you say you're going to drag the culprit out, but no matter how I look at it, this looks like a textbook suicide." Inspector Otaki sighed as he pulled back the white cloth covering the deceased once more.
If Mr. Katō's case still held a few lingering doubts that required forensic confirmation, then what about Miss Maho Katagiri?
She had been seen—by witnesses, no less—igniting the flame with her own two hands.
"On that point, perhaps we should ask what the difference is between a tumble-induced injury and a blunt-force trauma," Tsuneo remarked, crouching down beside the body.
"If the two objects involved are made of the same material, it can indeed be difficult to tell them apart," Ikumi Kyosuke added. She donned her white gloves, first examining the wounds on the deceased's head before standing up to eye the bridge pier Otaki had pointed out earlier. "However, I don't believe a wound of this severity would be caused simply by a fall and an accidental impact."
From this height, falling headfirst didn't guarantee instant death, though it was certainly possible. In most cases, however, a victim would be knocked unconscious and subsequently drown. If she had hit a sharp, protruding edge, the wound might make sense—but the nature of this laceration clearly suggested otherwise.
"Do we need an autopsy?" Tsuneo looked up, asking the question plainly. He glanced at his own hands. I don't seem to have a scalpel on me.
"It seems that won't be necessary," Ikumi replied. She lifted the victim's arm, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the right side of the abdomen.
There was a bloodstain. Though it had been washed thin by the river current, its presence was unmistakable. It was prominent enough that they wouldn't even need Luminol to spot it.
"That position..." Kogoro Mouri muttered, looking down at his own waist. If the back of the head sustained an impact, even with significant blood splatter, it would be highly unusual for blood to end up in that specific area of the abdomen.
"Take a sniff," Ikumi said, gently rolling the deceased over so the "handyman" could smell her back.
"I'm not a police dog..." Tsuneo pulled a face of utter exasperation. Even if his sense of smell was superior to most, this wasn't exactly how he liked to utilize it.
Nevertheless, he leaned in. The scent of kerosene still clung to Maho Katagiri's outer coat. Oddly, the scent was heavily concentrated on her back, while the rest of her clothes were largely untainted.
"So, this is definitely a homicide," Hattori declared, his voice gaining conviction. "It wasn't a suicide at all. Someone killed her beforehand, carried her to the bridge, and when they saw people approaching, they lit the fire and shoved her over the side."
To illustrate his point, Hattori reached out and scooped Conan up into a "princess carry."
"When the culprit attacked her, blood must have sprayed onto them. Then, by carrying the victim like this to the bridge, that bloodstain on the abdomen would naturally be transferred from the killer to the victim."
"Can a dead person use a lighter on themselves and put on a show of struggling in the flames?" Tsuneo asked, casting a skeptical glance at Hattori.
It was clear that, even now, the "Black Chicken of Osaka" still harbored doubts about the reliability of Ran and Kazuha's testimony.
Conan kicked his legs and squirmed out of Hattori's arms, dropping to the ground with a huff. Good grief, I'm not a stage prop!
"Ran, Kazuha—the person you saw was completely engulfed in flames, correct?" Ikumi asked, turning toward the two girls. "Perhaps we should think in a more... daring direction."
"That's right. She went up in flames all at once," Ran said, she and Kazuha exchanging a firm, nodding glance.
Hattori and Conan both placed their fingers to their chins, sinking into deep thought.
The person they saw burst into flames instantly? Could it be...?!
"I think it's time we met with those three suspects again," Ikumi said, her gaze drifting toward Tsuneo. She had to admit, the guy's intuition had been remarkably accurate so far.
"Hey, Ran, do you think we should become coroners or something in the future?" Kazuha whispered into Ran's ear.
"Well..." Ran trailed off, looking a bit lost. To be like Miss Ikumi, one didn't just need to be a coroner; they had to be a master of deduction as well. Simply holding a medical license wouldn't be enough.
"In any case, the remaining three members of the tour are highly suspicious. Inspector Otaki, let's bring them over," Hattori said.
If the culprit intended to pick off members of the travel group, then gathering them all in one place was the most efficient way to proceed. Whether it was the organizer, a participant, or even a bystander who knew too much—everyone was a suspect.
"Are you referring to the three of us?"
As if on cue, the three surviving members of the historical tour appeared.
"We've returned as agreed, but we didn't expect to see such a crowd. Has something happened?" Arihiro Zouya asked, holding his umbrella aloft.
Inspector Otaki quickly briefed the group on the recent tragedy.
"What? You're saying Miss Katagiri caught fire and fell off the bridge to her death?!" Toshiaki Fukushima's face was a mask of horror.
"Right here?" Shigehiko Wakisaka asked, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"Yes, right at this bridge," Otaki nodded, pointing toward the sheeted form on the ground.
"But... why would she set herself on fire?" Fukushima asked, bewildered.
"No, we haven't confirmed it was a suicide yet," Otaki replied, frowning as he studied Fukushima's reaction. "I'd like to ask all of you: from the moment you left Miss Katagiri earlier until you returned here, where were you and what were you doing?"
Hattori watched the three of them intently. He agreed with Tsuneo's earlier sentiment—they should probably just lock them all up and sort it out later, even without hard evidence.
Arihiro Zouya had been eating dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Shigehiko Wakisaka had done the same, though the two men had dined at different establishments.
Toshiaki Fukushima, meanwhile, had returned to the hotel to change his clothes before coming back. He had been walking with the victim, Maho Katagiri, part of the way back to the hotel before they split up.
"If it really was suicide, it's just too terrifying," Ran whispered, looking at the three men. "Why would they set themselves on fire?"
"Yeah," Kazuha agreed with a nod. "It's as if someone ordered them to do it."
They hadn't seen Mr. Katō's death with their own eyes, but witnessing Miss Katagiri ignite and plunge into the river was a haunting, surreal experience. It was as if she were being controlled by some malevolent spirit.
"Ordered?"
Kogoro Mouri's eyes suddenly lit up as if a bolt of lightning had struck his brain. He stepped forward and stood directly in front of the squinty-eyed Wakisaka.
"Mr. Wakisaka, today you were playing the role of Oda Nobunaga, weren't you?"
"Uh, yes, that's correct," Wakisaka stammered, caught off guard.
"Which means," Kogoro said, his eyes narrowing into a sharp, accusatory glare, "that with a single command from you, everyone has to obey!"
"If you're going to put it like that," the portly Zouya interjected, sensing the direction of the detective's logic, "then the same could be said for the one playing Akechi Mitsuhide, who had three minutes to issue commands today."
Zouya turned his gaze toward Fukushima. No matter how the theory went, he figured his own role as "Tokugawa Ieyasu" kept him safely out of the crosshairs.
"In that case... the culprit is one of you two!"
Kogoro's gaze darted back and forth between Wakisaka and Fukushima like a predatory hawk. The two men capable of giving orders.
"And just like that, the tension is gone," Ikumi Kyosuke let out a helpless, dry laugh. She truly wondered how this man had ever earned the title of "The Sleeping Detective."
"Perfectly reasonable!"
Tsuneo gave a slow, rhythmic clap. A 'Lord and Vassal' role-playing game where someone orders another to commit self-immolation? Perfectly logical!
As expected of Master Mouri—another world-class deduction!
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 30 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"