The Team

The Team

Sabtu, 05 Desember 2015

DR2 CH3 P18




  1. 2 Feb



    Super High-school Level Update #84



     Ikoroshia

    Every good murder investigation starts with a close look at the body. So let’s zoom to the stage and do just that.





    Mioda’s body is lying on the stage… She’s still wearing that same hospital gown.

     …Hm?



     What’s that on her slippers?

    I didn’t notice it when she was hanging, but the soles of her slippers are dirty…

     Is that… blood?

    But… she doesn’t seem to be wounded. Which means…

    …This is someone else’s blood.

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Blood on Slippers



    Blood was found on the soles of Ibuki Mioda’s slippers.



     Hey, Hinata. Do you have a second?
     You found Mioda’s body before you ran into us at the motel earlier, right?
     Yeah… Well, she had a bag over her head, so I didn’t know it was her at the time…



     But I could tell just by looking she was dead. There was a rope around her neck…



     That means Mioda was already dead before Saionji was tied to the pillar…



     That’s good to know. I mean, the Monobear File doesn’t say what the times of deaths are this time…
     If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to tell which of them died first.



    He’s right. The Monobear File doesn’t say anything about when they died…

    But… it’s easy to figure out when Mioda did. I mean… I saw it with my own eyes.



    I saw her climbing that stepladder on the monitor. I’m sure that right after that…



    But… wait.

    If Mioda died after climbing the stepladder…

     Does that mean… it was suicide?

    No… that can’t be right.

    I mean, Saionji was killed after that… If Mioda took her own life, how could that be?

     …………

    They can’t be separate incidents. That would be too much of a coincidence.



    We have a second body to investigate this time.



    Saionji’s body is tied to a pillar on the side of the stage.

    There’s packing tape wrapped around the entire pillar, keeping her in that pose.

     Who the hell could do something like this?!

    The Monobear File said her throat was slit…

    There’s tape around her neck right now, so there isn’t much blood around.

     Hmm… What’s up with her kimono, though…?

    It’s all disheveled… and the obi is tied on the front, for some reason.

    Is that the culprit’s doing?



    More importantly, when was she even killed?



    When I first found Mioda’s body, Saionji’s wasn’t there at all…

    And that means…

    She must have been killed while I was at the motel getting help.

    But… that couldn’t have taken more than 10 minutes.
    Is it even possible to kill someone and tie them to a pillar in such a short time?



    Even if it’s possible… it’s not something just anyone could do.

    …Only the people who don’t have an alibi for that time.



     Oh, Hinata-kun! Do you have a second?!
     …No. Go away.



     I don’t mean to get in your way, but there’s something I really want help with.
     …What is it?



     Take a look at Saionji-san’s kimono. There’s a strange bulge in the chest area.
     I think she might be hiding something under there…
     Wait. By “help”, you mean you want me to reach under there and see what it is?



     Sure. Would that be a problem?



     I can see how it might be one if she were still alive, but she’s dead now. It’s not a big deal.
     Are you for real?! Do you really think it’s okay just because she’s dead?!



     Fine, fine… If you won’t do it, I’ll find someone who will.



     Hey, Owari-saaaaan!



     …What do you want?



     Um, I was wondering if you could help with something.
     I think there’s something under Saionji-san’s kimono. Can you reach under it and check?



     Hm? I don’t really get it, but if all you want me to do is search her, then sure.



     Thank you! See how great it is when we all help each other?



     Hmmm… let’s see…

    Owari reached her hand under Saionji’s kimono, and then…



     Dammit… she’s tied up so tight I can’t reach very far…
     …Oh, wait.



     I found something. Is that what you’re looking for?
     Is that… a key?



     It doesn’t look like one of our cottage keys. Oh, I see… it must be for her motel room.

    A key for her motel room…?



     Well, if it was so deep in the kimono that Owari had trouble getting it out…
     …It means it probably wasn’t put there by the culprit.



     If it was a trap, they’d have put it somewhere easier to reach, where we could spot it immediately.

    In other words, Saionji must have had this key on her from the very beginning.

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Motel Key



    A key to Saionji’s motel room. Found so deep inside Saionji’s kimono, removing it was difficult.



     Oh, there’s one more thing. Nothing to do with the key, of course, but…
     You seemed to be quite perplexed by the state of Saionji’s body, Hinata-kun.
     Well… yeah. How could I not be?



     There are quite a few mysteries regarding it, I agree.



     Here, let me suggest one to you. The one I’m the most interested in is…



     …The way this packing tape is wrapped.
     Doesn’t it seem to you like the culprit was trying to hide the wound on her neck?
     What do you mean?



     I’m not sure what their intentions were… but it’s quite a relief for us, the investigators, isn’t it?
     The tape acts as a sort of bandage… so there’s very little blood around.



     Had they just left the body here after cutting her throat, there’d be a sea of blood all over the place.

    I guess that is a relief…

    Yeah… If there were two bodies and a sea of blood here, I’d have probably keeled over by now…





    That’s the rope that was tied to the lighting rig until a few moments ago.

    Mioda died from hanging herself with this rope.



     It seems like a perfectly normal rope. Nothing strange about it.



     And yet… there’s a storage room in this club, but I don’t think there was a rope in there.
     Which means… is it from the supermarket again? Did someone carry it from all the way over there?
     In other words, anyone could have gotten this rope. So I don’t think we’re going to get many hints from it.



     …Are you sure about that?
     …Huh?
     Because I did notice something. Wait, let me confirm my suspicions.



     Hey, Tsumiki-saaaan! Can you come here for a second?



     U…Um… Do you need something?



     There’s something I want to ask you.
     Mioda-san definitely died from being hanged using this rope. Is that correct?



     Y…Yes… There aren’t any other wounds, so it’s unquestionable that she died by hanging.



     So Mioda-san definitely died from hanging. I see…
     That was obvious when we first found her, though.
     You weren’t here so you may not know, but she was hanging on the rope when we found her.



     Yep, there’s that too! Well, that’s all I needed to hear!
     Looks like we won’t be able to get any clues from this rope after all.
     Let’s go look somewhere else.

    As usual, I haven’t a clue what he’s up to.

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Rope



    A rope noose used for hanging.
    According to Tsumiki, Mioda unquestionably died from being hanged.





    Mioda had this bag over her head when we found her…

    Why did she, though…?

     Wait… huh?



    Now that I’m looking at it up close, this bag has Monomi’s head printed on it.

    I guess it’s not just any old bag…





    A large candle is standing on the very front of the stage.



    That dim lighting I saw on the monitor must have been from this candle.



    It’s a very large candle. There’s no doubt it could provide enough light, but…

    …Why use a candle when there’s so much regular lighting around…?

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Candle



    Stood on the very front of the music club stage.
    It seems to have provided the light for the scene displayed on the video monitor.





    A stepladder has collapsed on its side on the stage…



    It’s the one I saw Mioda climb on the video monitor.



     Hey… there’s blood on it.



     See? Right here on the left side of the ladder. There isn’t much of it, though.



     Mioda-san didn’t have any wounds on her, did she?
     …Maybe it’s Saionji’s blood?



     Yeah. What else can it be?

    So Saionji’s blood is on the left side of the stepladder…

    But… why? What does it mean?

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Stepladder



    Collapsed on its side on the music club stage.
    There’s a small amount of blood on its left side.





    Next to the stage is the control panel for controlling the music club’s stage lights.

    Among other things, it can be used to lower and raise the lighting rig.

    We used it ourselves when we lowered Mioda’s hanging body down to the stage…

     Now that I think about it, back when I saw the music club in the monitor…



    There was just some dim candlelight… None of the club’s lights were used.

    But, why not? There must be some reason behind it, right?



     You linger… perhaps you have noticed?
     Huh? Noticed what…?
     Hmph. Is it that you cannot see… or that you do not?
     Above us hang contraptions that light the stage… And with them something else, that casts no light, and yet may proveilluminating…

    I… kinda tuned most of that out, but… is there something on the lighting rig?



     …Oh… Do you mean that thing up there?
     It looks like… a black piece of paper?



     Hmhmhm… Realization dawns at last.
     We can’t really tell what it is from down here, though. Should we lower the rig again…?



     Ha! What need have we of such tedium?!



     Come, Mirage Silver Falcon Jum-P! Now is your time to soar!
     Fuwahaha! Let the majesty of the Four Dark Gods of Destruction burn into your eyes!



    Before I even realized what was happening, one of the hamsters had left Tanaka’s hand and ran up to the lighting rig.



    Squeak! Squeak!

    It immediately began circling the piece of paper with incredible speed.

    In no time at all, it had fallen down, straight into Tanaka’s waiting hands.



     Fuwahahaha! Behold, the power afforded the bearer of the Super High-school Level Jagan Eye!



     Wow! That was incredible! Never in my life have I seen a hamster doing tricks before!



     …They are the Four Dark Gods of Destruction. Hamsters are but a temporary form.
     So, what’s with the paper?



     Hmm. Impressively thick stock… And yet I sense no curse inscribed upon it…



     …Hmph. A waste of time.
     …………

    No… He’s got that wrong.

    This is, undoubtedly, a clue… for something.

    I mean, I’m pretty sure this paper doesn’t belong on the rig. How it got up there could be important…

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Thick Piece of Paper



    A thick piece of paper found hanging from the lighting rig.





    This is the control panel for the club’s air conditioning system.

    Hm… I can probably control the temperature of this room using this…
    Okay, let’s try this…

     …It’s set to 30 degrees!?

    No wonder it’s so hot in here…!

     Anyway, let’s just turn this down… That should make it a bit more comfortable in here…

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Air Conditioning Control



    The music club’s air conditioning was set to heat the room to 30 degrees. That was the reason the room was so hot.





    There’s a black curtain hanging at the back of the stage, but…

    …It isn’t long enough. It doesn’t reach from one end of the stage to the other.



     …That’s a pretty shoddy length for a stage curtain, isn’t it?
     It wasn’t here before, right? If it was, it would be pretty strange that it doesn’t fit.



     Maybe it’s one of the curtains I saw in the supermarket?



     Yep. There’s a temporary fastener adhesive label on the back of it. The supermarket curtains all have it.
     Did someone drag this curtain all the way from the supermarket? That must have been tough!



     If they did… it must had been absolutely necessary for the murder.
     …Necessary? How?



     …Who knows?

    Yeah… I didn’t think we’d be able to just guess.

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Curtain on the Stage



    The black curtain hanging at the back of the music club stage. It isn’t wide enough to cover the entire stage.
    It seems it wasn’t originally part of the stage, but rather was brought over from the supermarket.



    No more things on the stage to look at, so let’s see if Nanami has anything insightful to say without being prompted by something we look at.



     …………

    Nanami stared at the stage floor with a thoughtful look on her face, her arms crossed.

     …What are you looking at? Is there something on the floor?
     No, there’s nothing on there… But there’s a stain.
     …A stain?



     It’s hard to see, but it’s right over there.



     Look veeeeeery carefully…
     Hey, you’re right. It looks like someone tried to wipe something clean. Wait, that’s not just any something…
     …It’s blood, isn’t it?!



     Well, it’s not like it’s strange to find blood over here. Saionji-san had her throat cut just a few steps away…



     No. The strange thing is why the culprit tried to hide it.
     …Did they?



     Sure… Why wipe it clean if they didn’t?

    Why would the culprit want to wipe blood off the floor?

    The body is right next to it, so it’s not like they could hide the murder by cleaning the blood…

    So… what were they trying to hide?

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Wiped Blood



    The culprit tried to wipe blood from the stage floor but left a few stains behind.
    Since Mioda doesn’t have any bloody wounds, the blood must be Saionji’s.



    Time to zoom out of the stage and look at some other things in the club.



    The remains of a wrecked machine are scattered on the floor.



     That was… the security camera set. I am sure of it.



     Hmph… The prized work of the mechanical one, destroyed in seconds… How pitiful.



     Could this be the result of criminal psychology?
     …What?



     For example, should a culprit commit murder in front of a camera, even if they know it isn’t on…
     …Sometimes, even the thought of having been recorded is too much for them to bear.



     And so, they break the camera… Hm. The theory is… plausible, certainly.

    So… the culprit couldn’t handle the thought of possibly being caught on camera? And so they broke it?

    But if that’s true… what was it I saw?

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Camera Set



    The camera set the two groups used to communicate, found at the music club.
    It’s beyond repair.





     Hey, Hinata… Take a look at this.
     Hm? What is it?



     Right here on the floor in front of the door.



     That’s… a drum stick, isn’t it? It’s broken, though…
     …Why is it here?



     It’s right in front of the door, which means…



     …It’s one hell of a clue, isn’t it?
     …What makes you think so?



     Remember what happened when we got to the music club?



    If it won’t open, we’ll just have to break in!
    Hmmm… Can we? There are only four of us, and two are girls.
    This isn’t a question of can or can’t! We have to!
    Come on. On my count, ram it with your entire body! One… two…
    …NOW!

    On Kuzuryuu’s signal, we charged the door with all our strength.

    * bang *



     When we tried to enter, the door was locked. Then, the four of us tried to force it open…



     But… on closer inspection, this door wasn’t locked at all.
     It… wasn’t?



     See? This door opens inward, and has handles shaped like this…
     If you stick a bar of some kind in them…



     …Get it? It would seem like the door was locked. It just won’t open.
     So… this drum stick was used instead of a proper bar?



     It’s right here, broken in front of the door. That’s proof enough, isn’t it?
     But… how did the culprit get away?



     …What?
     I mean, there aren’t any windows in the club. The only way out is this door.
     If they barred the door from the inside, they would be stuck in here.



     Hmm… How about this?
     The culprit must have still been in here when we broke into the club.
     Then, they took advantage of our confusion, and made it look as if they just came from outside…



     It’s a fairly common trick. You see it in mystery movies all the time.



     …And if that’s how they did it, they must have left some kind of clue behind.



     Right! Let’s find it! They won’t escape this time!



    Was the culprit still inside when we broke into the club?

    I guess it’s possible, but…



     …Hold it right there!
     Nanami… Did you just try to make a cool entrance?



     That drumstick is interesting, sure, but I found something else.
     …You did?



     See? There’s a strange lump where the two doors meet.
     Hey, you’re right. What is this thing? It’s a little too hard to be gum…



     Yeah, I don’t think it is…

    Nanami crouched next to the door and picked up a piece of the translucent lump.



     …Nom.
     Did you seriously just put that in your mouth?!
     Hmmm… Crunch, crunch…
     Oh. It smells like a workshop.
     A… what?
     Then there’s its texture…
     I see… It may be a lump now, but that doesn’t mean it was one before…
     For example… it might have been liquid which solidified…
     Which means… it might even have been poured into the gap between the doors.
     W…What are you talking about?
     …………



     Ptew!
     …That tasted terrible.



    Nanami spat out the lump and walked away.

     I don’t think its taste matters, but this lump must be some kind of a clue, right?

    Evidence Bullet Get posted:

    Translucent Lump



    A strange lump, found between the two doors of the music club.

    There are plenty of other people to talk to and places to investigate, but we’ll get to them next time.
     
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