Capítulo 44: Chapter 44: The Performance Was Suspended
Akikawa Kyousuke took the mouthwash from his bag and poured it onto his clothes.
After ensuring that the areas stained with blood were completely soaked, he let the clothes sit for a moment, then started scrubbing them again.
After doing all this, Akikawa Kyousuke pressed the toilet flush button once more, rinsing out the clothes.
Thanks to the clean restroom at the Imperial Theatre, there was no strange odor on his clothing.
Finally, Akikawa Kyousuke soaked the wig stained with the victim's blood.
After tidying up the bathroom, he exited the stall and approached the sink to examine his wounds, silently counting the time in his mind.
"It's been about 20 minutes from disposing of the body in the room until coming to the bathroom to get rid of the murder weapon and bloodstains."
Through the faint music coming from the theater, Akikawa Kyousuke could roughly judge where the performance was.
"We're in the middle of the third act; time is running out."
Now, two final things remained.
One was to pin the "murder weapon" he'd prepared onto Nishihara Koichi.
The other was to return to the laundry room where he had been attacked, to ensure that both he and the deceased were discovered together.
In the middle of the third act, Koichi Nishihara met up early with the actors from the fourth act to prepare before taking the stage.
Although he'd have an alibi from that point on, Akikawa Kyousuke judged that Nishihara Koichi would definitely choose to have both himself and the deceased found alone only after he went on stage.
This meant Akikawa Kyousuke needed to precisely enter Nishihara Koichi's lounge during the time when he left his personal lounge but hadn't yet taken the stage.
Furthermore, Akikawa Kyousuke had observed the situation at the Imperial Theatre and learned that only the main entrances and exits, the auditorium, and important props and costume areas were equipped with cameras.
To protect privacy, there were no cameras near the artists' lounge, dressing rooms, or the laundry room where Akikawa Kyousuke had been.
Likewise, there were no cameras in the remote storage and laundry areas where he currently stood.
Koichi Nishihara must have noticed this, which was why he chose to start in the laundry room.
The limited camera coverage initially only had disadvantages in capturing the true culprit, but for Akikawa Kyousuke, who now decided to frame him back, it actually facilitated his actions.
As the end of the third act approached, Akikawa Kyousuke made his way to the artist's lounge.
After finding Koichi Nishihara's room, he lightly knocked on the door, confirmed no one was inside, then opened the door and walked in, dressed.
Inside, Akikawa Kyousuke carefully grabbed the zipper handle through his clothes and opened Nishihara Koichi's bag.
This was to avoid wiping away any fingerprints Koichi Nishihara left on the zipper, thus arousing unnecessary suspicion.
The inside of Nishihara Koichi's bag was very clean; there was no medical protective gear or motorcycle helmet that he had seen before.
Akikawa Kyousuke wasn't surprised by this.
He took out the wig soaked in blood from the restroom and placed it in Nishihara Koichi's bag.
Then, closing the bag as he had opened it, he confirmed no one was outside before leaving Nishihara Koichi's room and heading back to the laundry room.
It was now a cold February.
Before leaving the laundry room, Akikawa Kyousuke had turned off the central air conditioning in the room.
Additionally, he didn't close the laundry room door, causing the previously comfortable room to cool down rapidly within a short period.
Akikawa Kyousuke recalled the wound on his forehead he had observed in the restroom earlier.
The injury was far less severe than he'd initially thought.
Akikawa Kyousuke reached out, gently touching the bruise on his forehead, murmuring to himself:
"This isn't good—it doesn't make people feel any murderous intent. The fourth act is the official start of the show."
When the curtain rose, a British-style pub from the late 19th century appeared in the center of the stage.
*Ding-bell*
With the clear, sweet sound of a bell, the door of the pub opened.
Koichi Nishihara, playing Danny Hecker—the second deceased in the case of *The Voice of the Dead*—
officially entered everyone's view.
"The usual."
Koichi Nishihara dropped his bag on the floor and spoke to the pub owner behind the bar.
Half a minute later, a glass filled with a dark amber liquor was placed on the bar.
Nishihara Koichi took the wine glass, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.
"Ahhh~!"
Nishihara Koichi scrunched his face and let out a loud, muffled shout.
"Enjoyed it! Bring another one!"
The wine glass was banged on the bar, and Nishihara Koichi spoke to the bar owner in an obviously more excited and louder voice.
Though he appeared to be just an ordinary customer coming to the pub for a drink,
the audience seemed to experience the spicy kick and thrill of the wine in the glass through Nishihara Koichi's performance.
Even the pleasure felt after drinking a strong glass of liquor.
"Hmm?"
Director Takemura Mine, in the stage control room, looked at Nishihara Koichi's performance on stage and let out a surprised sound.
"Why does it feel like Nishihara-kun's condition is suddenly much better today?"
As an actor with many years in the film and television industry, Koichi Nishihara was used to relying on subtle gestures and expressions to express himself when performing on stage.
It was inevitable that his movements and expressions might not be vivid or exaggerated enough.
After weeks of practice, Nishihara Koichi had reached a level that satisfied Takemura Mine.
But Takemura noticed that Koichi Nishihara's performance today was actually far more vivid than during the final rehearsal.
And just as Takemura thought, Koichi Nishihara was indeed in excellent condition today.
Because today, he had once again experienced the thrill of sadism for the first time in a long while.
At the same time, shortly after,
the person who had made him feel very disturbed and disgusted from their second meeting would lose their status as an artist forever in the ugliest, most disgraceful way.
Suddenly, at that moment, all the theater lights turned on.
He displayed a confused expression at the right moment and looked up towards the ceiling.
"The show is canceled."
Upon hearing the voice from the speaker, a subtle arc appeared at the corner of Nishihara Koichi's mouth.
"Your acting skills are pretty good, but it's a pity no one can watch them anymore."
*(End of chapter)*
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