Silence
When Matsuo Takashi felt his mind goes blank and he didn't know what to say in rebuttal, the photographers and reporters nearby suddenly became alert.
The live camera suddenly focused on Hayashi Yoshiki's incredibly delicate face.
"Hayashi-Sensei! Is the truth really as you said!?"
"You just took a look at the crime scene, right? How could you deduce the murderer's method so quickly?"
"Do you have any evidence to prove your inference?"
"Also, why do you place the suspicion on Mr. Matsuo?"
"Are you responsible for your own inference?"
The reporters swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, throwing questions one after another.
Hayashi Yoshikicouldn't help but take a step back, and Kisaki Eri next to him immediately stretched out a hand to block him.
However, the reporters' enthusiasm remained unabated and they urged Hayashi Yoshiki to answer again.
The latter just paused for a moment and then spoke:
"I think there should be evidence."
"Let me first explain why I think the suspect is Mr. Matsuo. First of all, to accurately hit the target on the 4th floor from the 7th floor, the perpetrator must have a considerable shooting skill foundation."
"It just so happens that Ms. Nagai mentioned on the show that Mr. Matsuo is a shooting enthusiast, and his marksmanship is even comparable to that of professional shooters."
"Also, it's strange that Mr. Suwa, as the program director, was in the mixing room instead of backstage during the program. Mr. Matsuo also said that he and Mr. Suwa had agreed in advance to discuss things here."
"I guess that's why Mr. Matsuo went out of his way to check on Mr. Suwa's location midway through the show."
"And the same goes for leaving during the VCR."
"All these signs are enough to make people suspect Mr. Matsuo."
"But these are just speculations after all."
"So the next thing is to talk about the evidence. I need to point out that if this inference is correct, then this method of committing the crime is really full of loopholes in my opinion."
"It takes at least 2 minutes to complete the tactic out of the 4 minutes it takes to commit the crime."
"Then it was obviously not realistic to deal with the smoke reaction in less than two minutes... Maybe he covered himself with plastic film or something to block the smoke, or simply changed his clothes. In short, this amount of time was definitely not enough to deal with the evidence."
"Also, although I don't know why Mr. Suwa was asked to stick his head out of the window, the medium for conveying information should be a mobile phone, so we can check who called him last time."
"Oh, by the way, the staircase on the seventh floor is full of material boxes. Maybe the evidence is hidden there."
Hearing this in a daze, Matsuo Takashi almost collapsed.
Megure Juzo glanced at him and immediately turned his head: "Hurry up and look for it at the stairs on the seventh floor!"
Soon the police came forward with orders.
But as soon as he left, Matsuo Takashi could no longer hold on. His legs softened and his face became dejected. "No need. I plead guilty."
The reporters around were silent.
"It's all Suwa's fault. He worked with the publishing house to invite you, Hayashi-Sensei, and I regarded you as just a mystery novelist... What a mistake. I thought this method would be absolutely fine."
"No matter what method you use to kill someone, it will definitely leave traces, Mr. Matsuo."
"…"
Takashi Matsuo lowered his head and said nothing.
After all, things have come to this point, and there is no point in him saying anything.
Megure Juzo quickly waved his hand and ordered his men to take him away, then looked at Hayashi Yoshiki and a smile appeared on his chubby and kind face.
"Oh my, you're worthy of being a mystery novelist. You can solve the case so quickly!"
"It just happened to come to my mind. I hope it can help the police."
"Thank you for your help anyway, haha, Brother Hayashi. But we'll need you to accompany us back to take notes later--"
"Inspector Megure, let's leave the record until tomorrow, because we are planning to go to the restaurant to celebrate."
At this time, Kisaki Eri interrupted Megure Juzo's words.
The latter was quite polite upon hearing this.
"Okay, let's make another appointment tomorrow. After all, it's us, the police, who are bothering you."
Megure Juzo was in a very happy mood.
He was originally shocked when he heard about the shooting, and Brother Kudo was not here this time... who knew that there would be such an unexpected turn of events, and the time it took to solve the case this time was almost breaking his record for the fastest team completion.
Megure Juzo was in a good mood as he was getting on the police car with his team and preparing to go back to the police station. But a phone call made him lose his good mood:
"What did you say?! A murder occurred in Tropical Land!?"
"Okay, I'll be there right away!"
So the police car sounded the sirens again and hurried towards Tropical Land.
At this time, Hayashi Yoshiki and Kisaki Eri had just gotten rid of the TV station reporters and came to the parking lot of Nichiuri TV and got into Kisaki Eri's Mini Cooper.
"You okay, Shiki?"
"Why are you asking this suddenly, Aunt Eri?"
"I'm worried that you've been through too much today."
Kisaki Eri looked at Hayashi Yoshiki's quiet expression, opened her mouth, and suddenly changed the direction of the words when they came to her lips.
Then she smiled gently again:
"That's fine. Let's go. What do you want to eat?"
"How about going for yakitori?"
"It looks like you had too light a dinner. Let's go."
Kisaki Eri drove the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot.
Because they had to record the show, the two arrived at Nichiuri TV relatively early, and they had a light dinner, just some healthy salads.
The street view at night is very beautiful.
This city, which is decorated with shining neon lights everywhere, should be very comfortable to take a leisurely ride.
"…"
While driving, Kisaki Eri would occasionally turn her head to look at Hayashi Yoshiki. Seeing that he was just looking at the scenery outside the window quietly without showing any emotion, she always somewhat concerned about him.
The child's parents died of gunshot wounds in their temples...
It is for this reason that Kisaki Eri is a little worried that he will be reminded of the past when he sees Suwa Michihiko's body today.
"Shiki."
"Um?"
"Call Ran out in a couple of days. I feel like you cousins should get to know each other formally."
"Okay."
"It's settled then."