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 “if Kagehara Tetsuya was the one who killed Tanaka Erika, then everything would make sense.”
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.
“Officer Kishida hasn’t changed at all.”
Did “unchanged” mean utterly without reflection?
Faced with the girl’s 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. “I… I…”
“You haven’t improved at all, have you?” Tetsuya interrupted him again. “You leak case information to a high school student like ĹŚgami-kun, listen to him tell a compelling story, then arbitrarily decide it’s the truth. You come to my house, self-righteously offering unsolicited advice to an innocent person to confess.”
Listening to the girl’s distinct voice, Kishida’s face gradually paled. He was like a drowning man, making futile attempts to stay afloat. “Because… because ĹŚgami’s deduction was very…”
“Because it was ĹŚgami-kun’s deduction, so even if it’s wrong, it has nothing to do with you—that’s what Officer Kishida is thinking, isn’t it?” Tetsuya deliberately twisted his meaning, adding fuel to the fire, allowing the flames of guilt to burn even brighter within Kishida. “Wanting to avoid responsibility while simultaneously seeking recognition—it’s truly disgraceful.”
Perhaps noticing that her smile was too malevolent, Tetsuya slightly softened her expression.
He had never considered Kishida a threat, for he knew this man’s 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 Kishida’s 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 Kenta’s 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 “Yomikawa Tsuko,” simply by saying the right words and creating the right atmosphere, his confidence could easily shatter Kishida’s.
If one day he had to face Kishida as Kagehara Tetsuya, shattering his confidence would likely be even easier.
“ĹŚgami-kun’s deduction, while captivating, overlooked some strange details in order to satisfy the criteria of being exciting and pointing suspicion at me,” Tetsuya said, having eroded Kishida’s confidence and now turning his attention to dismantling ĹŚgami’s reasoning.
Upon hearing about ĹŚgami’s deduction, Kishida pursed his lips and turned back slightly to ask, “Is there something unreasonable about the deduction?”
What concerned him was that she said “some problems,” not “one problem.” Were there really so many flaws that he had missed?
“First, assuming I, Kagehara-kun, and ‘A’ are the culprits, then please tell me, why would Hasebe Koichi hide at Kagehara-kun’s house?”
Kishida was momentarily stunned.
Tetsuya took a sip of tea, giving him some time to think before continuing, “If you were Hasebe Koichi, when you couldn’t contact ĹŚshima Masaki on June 9th, what would you think and what would you do?”
“Even with ordinary consideration, you would realize that ĹŚshima Masaki might have been murdered. If you were more cautious, you might even realize that you would be the next target.”
“Even if Hasebe Koichi didn’t consider these possibilities, the police’s announcement of the death and Kagehara-kun’s letter would have made it clear.”
“So, what should Hasebe Koichi have done? Risk hiding at Kagehara-kun’s house, or simply hide at his own home?”
Kishida hesitated, his tone uncertain. “It’s 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 ‘A,’ he was also afraid of being investigated by us. If that was exposed, he would also go to jail.”
Tetsuya retorted, “Then 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?”
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 didn’t. Why?
Tetsuya summarized, “This 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.”
“Are there any other unreasonable points?” 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 ĹŚshima Masaki. Therefore, ĹŚgami YĹŤsuke’s deduction was flawed.
Tetsuya chuckled, saying bluntly, “There are the third and fourth as well, but that’s not my job. I’m just pointing out a few of the more obvious ones.”
“Returning to the second problem, which is your solution to the time-locked room. Simply put, if Officer Kishida were ĹŚshima Masaki, and ‘A’ 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?”
“According to ĹŚgami-kun’s deduction, ĹŚshima Masaki not only did so but Hasebe Koichi didn’t find anything strange about it and even cooperated by taking the yukata from the inn and giving it to ĹŚshima Masaki. Does that make sense?”
Kishida was silent. Yes, such an obvious point—why hadn’t he noticed it? This suggested that Hasebe Koichi couldn’t be entirely considered a victim.
“It seems Officer Kishida understands,” Tetsuya said with satisfaction, then raised a third question. “Please tell me, if I were the murderer, why wouldn’t 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?”
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