Chapter 58: The First Confrontation (Part 2)
Kagehara Tetsuya had anticipated Kishida Masayoshi’s inquiry, or rather, his confrontation, much sooner.
Upon seeing the police’s announcement of Hasebe Koichi’s death on June 15th, Tetsuya had retrieved his car. He’d expected Kishida, given his personality, to arrive that very day, questioning his presence at Hasebe’s residence and the purpose of his drive.
However, the 15th passed without a visit. The 16th followed suit. It was then that Tetsuya realized something significant must have occurred.
Looking back, he surmised that Kishida had somehow connected with Ćgami YĆsuke during that interim, and they had discussed the case together.
Since Kishida was presently unwilling to admit it, however, there was no need to press him. Tetsuya decided to listen to Ćgami’s deductions.
“The meeting place between ‘A’ and Ćshima Masaki—the onsen inn—was likely chosen by you. Hasebe Koichi and Ćshima Masaki didn’t seem to have been particularly concerned about the location.”
“Of course,” Kishida continued, “it’s also possible Hasebe Koichi selected it. As the orchestrator of the meeting, it wouldn’t be unusual for him to take the lead in that regard.”
“Regardless, the timeline is clear: Ćshima Masaki’s meeting with ‘A’ at the inn was established first. Only then did you inform the club members of the decision to hold the club’s trip there.”
“This is something only you could have arranged. Am I wrong?”
Tetsuya offered a faint smile. “If I were to call it a coincidence, the police wouldn’t believe me. Is that your point?”
Kishida frowned at his reaction. “What are you smiling at?”
“My apologies. I simply recalled something amusing,” Tetsuya replied, maintaining his subtle smile. “Please, continue with your explanation of the case.”
What is this reaction? Is she preparing to confess, or is she about to make a move? Kishida thought, his vigilance heightened. He continued, “As planned, you, Yomikawa Tsuko, and the club members arrived at the onsen inn on June 9th.”
“On the same day, Hasebe Koichi also booked a room there. The inn’s secluded location, with its limited foot traffic, made it an ideal venue for Ćshima Masaki’s meeting with the extortion victim, ‘A’.”
“The specific meeting time was likely arranged beforehand as well, which is why Ćshima Masaki wasn’t in any rush. Around 6:30 PM, he went to Hasebe’s house for a final confirmation.”
“However, Hasebe wasn’t home. So, he fabricated a story about collecting money. Then, at 7:30 PM, he went to Ćshima Mana’s residence—this time with genuine intent to collect money. He likely intended to express his gratitude to Hasebe after the matter was concluded.”
“We discussed this with Ćshima Mana during our meeting with her, so there’s no need to reiterate.”
“After leaving Ćshima Mana’s house, Ćshima Masaki began his final preparations for the meeting.”
“Final preparations?” Tetsuya poured Kishida a cup of tea. “What sort of preparations?”
“The final preparation was devising a method to enter the inn without being noticed by the receptionist at the front desk,” Kishida replied, unable to contain his excitement as he recalled his and Ćgami’s analysis. “I’m not sure if this part was your plan, but its execution would have required your assistance.”
The receptionist’s shift began at 5:00 PM.
Ćshima Masaki appeared at Hasebe’s house and Ćshima Mana’s house at 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM, respectively.
He was then murdered in room 216 between 9:15 PM and 9:45 PM.
The receptionist’s dinner break was from 9:50 PM to 10:05 PM. Before that, from the start of his shift at 5:00 PM, he hadn’t seen Ćshima Masaki enter the inn.
The only entrance to the inn was the main door on the ground floor, and all the windows had bars.
The receptionist hadn’t been distracted during his shift, a fact corroborated by security footage.
Ćshima Masaki couldn’t teleport. How, then, did he suddenly appear in room 216?
Without resolving this issue, the case couldn’t be considered solved. The chain of evidence would forever be missing its most crucial link.
Kishida stared at the girl before him and spoke slowly, “The method was this: you asked Ćshima Masaki to change his distinctive hairstyle and, between 9:35 PM and 9:40 PM, put on an yukata and a kitsune mask, then simply walk into the inn.”
Tetsuya lightly raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
Kishida continued, “The ghost story gathering began at 7:30 PM. Kagehara were late, and you went to his room to wake him up. This, of course, was a prearranged step.”
“The real purpose was to allow the receptionist at the front desk to see you both in yukata and masks, thereby leading him to subconsciously assume that anyone dressed like that was a member of your club.”
“The reason Ćshima Masaki was instructed to act between 9:35 PM and 9:40 PM was that if even one person left the inn in that attire after the ghost story gathering, Ćshima Masaki wouldn’t be recognized when he entered.”
“Ćshima Masaki’s build was similar to Hasebe Koichi’s—both were rather slender. With a change of hairstyle and a covered face, under such carefully orchestrated misdirection, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be mistaken as one of your club members.”
Kishida noticed that the girl across from him remained composed, her gaze calm.
She was like a criminal who knew there was no escape, resigned to their fate.
In his career, he had encountered many such criminals. After their capture, they would curiously inquire about the police’s reasoning.
They maintained this same quiet demeanor while listening to the explanation.
“The person who was originally supposed to leave the inn in this attire was Kagehara Tetsuya. Perhaps he would have even gone in and out several times. However, you hadn’t anticipated his performance at the ghost story gathering drawing Ćgami YĆsuke’s attention, which caused him to be detained.”
“Fortunately, Takada ShĆji’s unconscious actions substituted for Kagehare. He left the inn several times after the ghost story gathering, although he didn’t wear his mask, he continuously held it in his hand, toying with it.”
Once the time-locked room was solved, the rest of the case became much simpler.
“And so, Ćshima Masaki walked into the inn without being recognized by the receptionist. He went directly to room 216, booked by Hasebe Koichi. Upon opening the door, he would have seen you, already waiting inside.”
“Because Ćshima Masaki didn’t know ‘A’, seeing your striking appearance would have only pleased him. He wouldn’t have suspected that you weren’t his intended contact.”
“Then, catching him off guard, you first incapacitated him and then used potassium chloride for a swift kill. This likely took less than five minutes after Ćshima Masaki entered the room.”
“The dismemberment and disposal of the body were done by you, Kagehara, as previously explained. He severed Ćshima Masaki’s head, and during the receptionist’s fifteen-minute dinner break, you transported the head out of the inn and handed it to ‘A’, who had come to confirm the kill.”
“The reason for severing the head was to provide ‘A’ with proof that the target was indeed dead. This was likely a demand made by ‘A’.”
Kishida and Ćgami had repeatedly deliberated, and this seemed to be the only explanation that made sense of the time-locked room.
This was the only plausible explanation they could devise. Of course, Ćgami was responsible for the thinking, while Kishida was responsible for recording.
Hearing such a meticulous deduction from a high school student left him speechless with admiration. He could never have conceived of such a scheme.
But perhaps someone like Tetsuya, with his neurological differences, or Yomikawa, with her sharp intellect, could have devised such a plan.
Having finished explaining the time-locked room, Kishida saw that the girl opposite him hadn’t offered any comments, as if waiting for him to continue. He had no choice but to proceed. “Next, during the transportation of the head, an unforeseen incident must have occurred, preventing you from returning directly to your room on the second floor. It forced you to hide in Kagehara’s room on the first floor.”
“I had considered that perhaps the receptionist had just finished his dinner break as you were returning, and you hid in Kagehara’s room to avoid being seen.”
“However, his room is next to the stairs. It would have been faster and safer to simply go up the stairs, so that possibility was ruled out.”
Tetsuya nodded thoughtfully. “So, what exactly was this unforeseen incident?”
Kishida wondered if this was a provocation. Although this part of the deduction also came from Ćgami YĆsuke, his own contribution had merely been recording it.
“Besides preventing your return to your room on the second floor, this incident also forced Kagehara Tetsuya to disappear from the inn.”
“I believe that when you devised the time-locked room, you hadn’t intended for Kagehara to disappear. Because disappearing from the crime scene would undoubtedly attract maximum suspicion.”
“To painstakingly create such a complex time-locked room, only to then deliberately disappear from the scene—the two are clearly contradictory.”
“That unforeseen incident was this: while transporting the head, you got Ćshima Masaki’s blood on your yukata.”
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