Chapter 62: The First Confrontation (Part 6)
Kishida felt a ringing in his ears. Images from his investigation of Kagehara Tetsuya a year prior flashed through his mind like slides: images of his own contemplation, of discovering clues, of his confident, spirited pronouncements that âif Kagehara Tetsuya was the one who killed Tanaka Erika, then everything would make sense.â
Finally, the images settled on the mangled corpse of Kagehara Kenta.
A year later, almost the same scene was playing out again.
The policeman was the same. Only the suspected individual had changed.
âOfficer Kishida hasnât changed at all.â
Did âunchangedâ mean utterly without reflection?
Faced with the girlâs steady gaze, Kishida averted his eyes, as if unable to bear it. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his gaze darted about, his hands clenched tightly together. âI⌠IâŚâ
âYou havenât improved at all, have you?â Tetsuya interrupted him again. âYou leak case information to a high school student like Ĺgami-kun, listen to him tell a compelling story, then arbitrarily decide itâs the truth. You come to my house, self-righteously offering unsolicited advice to an innocent person to confess.â
Listening to the girlâs distinct voice, Kishidaâs face gradually paled. He was like a drowning man, making futile attempts to stay afloat. âBecause⌠because Ĺgamiâs deduction was veryâŚâ
âBecause it was Ĺgami-kunâs deduction, so even if itâs wrong, it has nothing to do with youâthatâs what Officer Kishida is thinking, isnât it?â Tetsuya deliberately twisted his meaning, adding fuel to the fire, allowing the flames of guilt to burn even brighter within Kishida. âWanting to avoid responsibility while simultaneously seeking recognitionâitâs truly disgraceful.â
Perhaps noticing that her smile was too malevolent, Tetsuya slightly softened her expression.
He had never considered Kishida a threat, for he knew this manâs weaknesses all too well.
One could even say that Kishida would never be able to defeat him.
Because before defeating him, Kishida would first have to defeat himself.
In truth, if one were to objectively consider Kishidaâs actions today, while they could be described as somewhat reckless, they also had considerable merit. His unique considerations, even judged by the standards of a police detective, were not inappropriate.
As someone investigating a case, suspecting others of being the culprit was perfectly reasonable. However, the events of a year ago were a lingering nightmare for Kishida, who was practically a party involved.
If a similar situation arose again, Kagehara Kentaâs fate would constantly remind him of the consequences of making a mistake.
When the flames of guilt ignited within him, this man would descend into an abyss of self-doubt.
Just like now, even when facing âYomikawa Tsuko,â simply by saying the right words and creating the right atmosphere, his confidence could easily shatter Kishidaâs.
If one day he had to face Kishida as Kagehara Tetsuya, shattering his confidence would likely be even easier.
âĹgami-kunâs deduction, while captivating, overlooked some strange details in order to satisfy the criteria of being exciting and pointing suspicion at me,â Tetsuya said, having eroded Kishidaâs confidence and now turning his attention to dismantling Ĺgamiâs reasoning.
Upon hearing about Ĺgamiâs deduction, Kishida pursed his lips and turned back slightly to ask, âIs there something unreasonable about the deduction?â
What concerned him was that she said âsome problems,â not âone problem.â Were there really so many flaws that he had missed?
âFirst, assuming I, Kagehara-kun, and âAâ are the culprits, then please tell me, why would Hasebe Koichi hide at Kagehara-kunâs house?â
Kishida was momentarily stunned.
Tetsuya took a sip of tea, giving him some time to think before continuing, âIf you were Hasebe Koichi, when you couldnât contact Ĺshima Masaki on June 9th, what would you think and what would you do?â
âEven with ordinary consideration, you would realize that Ĺshima Masaki might have been murdered. If you were more cautious, you might even realize that you would be the next target.â
âEven if Hasebe Koichi didnât consider these possibilities, the policeâs announcement of the death and Kagehara-kunâs letter would have made it clear.â
âSo, what should Hasebe Koichi have done? Risk hiding at Kagehara-kunâs house, or simply hide at his own home?â
Kishida hesitated, his tone uncertain. âItâs because he was afraid of being suspected by the police. Because the room 216 was registered under his name, and because of his blackmail of âA,â he was also afraid of being investigated by us. If that was exposed, he would also go to jail.â
Tetsuya retorted, âThen please answer this: why, on the night of June 14th, when Hasebe Koichi was feeling unwell, did he still refuse to go home? Was he more afraid of going to jail than of dying?â
Kishida frowned in thought. It was indeed strange. Hasebe Koichi, feeling unwell and with little ability to resist, clearly had the opportunity to go home, yet he didnât. Why?
Tetsuya summarized, âThis is the first problem. With the first and third culprits fixed, if Officer Kishida insists on believing I am the second culprit, then you must find a reason why Hasebe Koichi absolutely could not hide at his own home.â
âAre there any other unreasonable points?â Kishida composed himself, mentally noting this point. He understood what this reasoning implied. There seemed to be no reason for Hasebe Koichi not to return home except if he himself was the murderer of Ĺshima Masaki. Therefore, Ĺgami YĹsukeâs deduction was flawed.
Tetsuya chuckled, saying bluntly, âThere are the third and fourth as well, but thatâs not my job. Iâm just pointing out a few of the more obvious ones.â
âReturning to the second problem, which is your solution to the time-locked room. Simply put, if Officer Kishida were Ĺshima Masaki, and âAâ asked you to wear specific clothing, a specific mask, change your hairstyle, and go to a certain place at a specific time for a meeting, would Officer Kishida obediently comply?â
âAccording to Ĺgami-kunâs deduction, Ĺshima Masaki not only did so but Hasebe Koichi didnât find anything strange about it and even cooperated by taking the yukata from the inn and giving it to Ĺshima Masaki. Does that make sense?â
Kishida was silent. Yes, such an obvious pointâwhy hadnât he noticed it? This suggested that Hasebe Koichi couldnât be entirely considered a victim.
âIt seems Officer Kishida understands,â Tetsuya said with satisfaction, then raised a third question. âPlease tell me, if I were the murderer, why wouldnât I be the one to dismember the body? What was the reason for specifically having Kagehara-kun do it? Was it to make it easier for the police to identify who did the dismemberment?â
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