Bab 49: Chapter 49: Corpses Don't Lie
Akikawa Kyousuke's words were like a bolt from the blue.
Conan suddenly froze.
Masumi Sera and Kazunobu Chiba, standing to the side, also had more complicated expressions on their faces when they heard Akikawa Kyousuke's words.
"I'm sorry, the kid was a bit rude. My apologies."
Megure Juzo apologized to Akikawa Kyousuke on Conan's behalf.
"We're not doubting you, Mr. Akikawa. We just want to understand the situation at the time, as it may greatly help the case."
Akikawa Kyousuke nodded, as if accepting Megure Juzo's statement, and then explained, "He said things like 'go to hell' when he attacked me. So, I judged from his voice that it must be a man."
Conan and Masumi Sera found Akikawa Kyousuke's description astonishing.
To the two detectives, the killer described by Akikawa Kyousuke didn't align with the cautious figure they had previously analyzed.
The killer was so careful as to wipe off fingerprints upon entering, and even wore a full-body protective suit and motorcycle helmet to commit the murder. Would he really reveal his voice so easily?
"This Akikawa is an actor in this play. He has been at the Imperial Theater for at least a month."
"Isn't that person afraid of exposing his voice and being recognized by Akikawa?"
Since the killer could find a place without cameras, and used a room where noise wouldn't easily be heard as the crime scene, he must be familiar with the theater.
This means he was confident that Akikawa wouldn't recognize him even if he heard his voice.
"In other words, the person isn't an actor or director, right?"
Conan started thinking deeply again.
"Or, Akikawa could be lying about this entire encounter."
"Or is it that the attacker hates Akikawa so much that he lost control upon seeing him?"
Conan pondered silently, then looked at Akikawa Kyousuke's left eye, reddened due to a subconjunctival hemorrhage, and his blood-covered cheek.
Judging from Akikawa's injuries, the killer must harbor a deep resentment against him.
While Conan thought, Masumi Sera asked Akikawa Kyousuke, "Mr. Akikawa, may I ask why you went to the laundry room? It should be far from the actors' lounge, correct?"
"Because, when I was in the dressing room, someone passed me a message."
"Director Takemura asked me to go to the laundry room to change my hat before going on stage."
"!!!"
Hearing Akikawa's words, Conan and Masumi Sera's eyes widened immediately.
Even Megure Juzo, Kogoro Mouri, and others present realized something was wrong.
"So Akikawa was called here? If that's true, then the most likely explanation is that Akikawa was the killer's target from the beginning!"
"But in that case, this contradicts the inference that the killer acted hastily upon seeing Akikawa and then fled in a panic."
The more Conan listened to Akikawa's explanation, the stranger the case seemed.
"If the killer planned to kill Akikawa from the start, they didn't panic because they saw Akikawa, but for another reason."
Conan sensed that if he could discover what caused the killer to flee in haste, he might identify the perpetrator.
After a moment of thought, a flash of inspiration struck Conan's mind.
He quickly asked, "Akikawa-san, when were you told to fetch the hat?"
"I was watching the second act of the show."
"And did you go immediately after being told to get your hat?"
"No. I didn't want to miss the show, so I waited until the second act ended before heading to the laundry room."
"After all, my performance is in the fifth act, so there's no rush."
"That's it!"
Conan's eyes lit up, and he spoke quickly.
"Huh? What did you figure out, brat?"
Kogoro Mouri looked at Conan with an expression of disdain, doubting the young boy had deduced anything.
Just as Kogoro was about to ask more questions, firefighters finally arrived at the Imperial Theater, carrying a stretcher.
They carefully placed Akikawa Kyousuke on the stretcher.
Seeing that they were about to take Akikawa Kyousuke away, Conan hurried over and asked him, "Akikawa-san, two last questions."
"Besides the chair, did you see any other weapon the killer used?"
Conan was referring to the weapon used to strangle the deceased.
Akikawa thought for a moment, then said slowly, "I didn't see clearly. I only knew it was black, like a thick rope."
"And, Akikawa-san, do you think the laundry room is different from other rooms?"
"What do you mean?" Akikawa Kyousuke didn't seem to understand Conan's question.
"Temperature and things like that."
"It seemed that the laundry room was much colder than other rooms."
After that, the emergency personnel took Akikawa Kyousuke from the scene.
Megure Juzo sent a police officer to follow the rescue team, then looked at Conan.
His gaze was clear—he wanted to know what Conan had deduced from Akikawa Kyousuke's words.
"Let me explain, kid."
Masumi Sera took over and began to explain, "Akikawa just said someone asked him to go to the laundry room to get his hat."
"So, I deduce that it was the killer's plan to lure Akikawa to the laundry room."
"But if the killer targeted Akikawa from the start, it wouldn't make sense for him to flee in a panic after seeing him."
"So, the killer didn't panic because he saw Akikawa, but because Akikawa arrived later than expected. As a result, the killer didn't have enough time to confirm Akikawa's death and hurriedly fled without cleaning up."
Hearing this, Kazunobu Chiba suddenly understood, nodding in agreement.
"That's right. Akikawa said he didn't leave the dressing room immediately after being notified but only went after watching the second act! So he arrived later than the killer expected."
"Exactly," Sera Masumi nodded.
"So, why did the killer leave in a hurry?" Kogoro Mouri was puzzled.
"It relates to the killer's identity. He must be someone who needed to be somewhere at a specific time."
"An actor!" Chiba's eyes lit up.
"Since Akikawa said he went to the laundry room after the second act, the killer can only be an actor who appears in the fourth act or later."
"So, our next steps are clear."
Masumi Sera extended her fingers one by one, outlining the investigation instructions for the police.
"First, find the person who delivered the message to Akikawa. Confirm if someone really asked Akikawa to go to the laundry room."
"Second, investigate whether any actors appearing in the fourth act or later have motives to harm Akikawa and the deceased."
"Third, locate the murder weapon, protective clothing, and motorcycle helmet described by Akikawa."
"Fourth, reassess the timeframe to confirm alibis."
Kogoro Mouri watched Masumi Sera list the instructions and interrupted quickly, "Wait, wait! Isn't the timeframe already clear? I mean, Akikawa's visit to the laundry room was around the third act."
Since Akikawa Kyousuke said he went to the laundry room after the second act, the timeframe to confirm the killer's absence should be around the third act.
Kogoro Mouri didn't understand why further investigation was necessary.
"Humph."
Masumi Sera laughed softly.
"Because all our reasoning relies on the premise that Akikawa didn't lie to us."
"The first step I mentioned, finding the person who passed the message, confirms whether Akikawa's motive for going to the laundry room is true."
"The fourth point, rechecking the timeframe, verifies whether Akikawa's statement about going to the laundry room is accurate."
"I see," Mouri Kogoro nodded. "So how do we confirm this timeframe?"
"It's simple, because corpses don't lie."
Masumi Sera said, her gaze shifting to the young man's corpse in the room.
"As long as we confirm the rigor mortis and postmortem conditions, we can determine the time of death and whether there's any falsehood in Akikawa's account."
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**(End of Chapter)**
Status Power Mingguan
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