BWDC:SDDK Chapter 123: Murder for the Sake of Becoming Kamen Yaiba
It was just as Inspector Megure had previously thought.
This case was not particularly difficult for Ren Ichimonji and Saguru Hakuba to solve. During the time the two had doubled back, Inspector Megure had already ordered the body to be recovered from the water.
After identification, he followed his usual routine and asked the staff members if there was anyone currently in the park who had a conflict with the deceased, Yuta Hosono.
Then, Inspector Megure received five names all at once: Akiyoshi Ishijima, Shinpei Okubo, Wataru Otake, Kanako Harukawa, and Seizo Fujita.
Usually, it was a choice of three. Now that it had suddenly become one out of five, Inspector Megure felt momentarily overwhelmed. However, once he had the suspects brought to the scene for questioning, he felt his confidence returning.
There was a simple reason for this. Out of the five suspects, only three were out in the park; the other two were backstage.
The three in the park were Akiyoshi Ishijima, Shinpei Okubo, and Kanako Harukawa.
Akiyoshi Ishijima was the bungee jump staff member. He was the one who secured the bungee harness for the deceased. Theoretically, he could have tampered with it. Furthermore, he owed the deceased money and had a motive to kill to wipe out the debt.
Shinpei Okubo and Kanako Harukawa were the suit actors who had just played the "Dark Alien" and the "Princess" in the stage play. They were members of the same troupe as the deceased.
Okubo had argued with the deceased over the troupe's development, suggesting a motive of impulsive murder.
Harukawa had once been pursued by the deceased, suggesting a possible crime of passion.
Just as Inspector Megure was considering which of the three seemed most like the culprit, Saguru Hakuba's voice rang out.
"Inspector, you're looking at the wrong people. None of those three is the killer."
"The true suspect should be one of the two you overlooked."
At that moment, Saguru Hakuba and Ren Ichimonji appeared at the exit of the backstage area. Standing beside Ren were the remaining two of the five suspects: Wataru Otake and Seizo Fujita.
Otake was also a member of the troupe and had a poor relationship with the deceased. Fujita was the event coordinator for Nichiuri Land; he had a massive argument with the deceased because the troupe hadn't given him kickbacks for their performance.
Both had suspicions hanging over them. However, the true culprit could only be one person.
Seeing the two arrive, Inspector Megure said with great delight, "Ren, Hakuba, who do you think is the killer?"
Faced with the question, Saguru Hakuba intended to keep the suspense going according to the fine tradition of detectives. However, Ren Ichimonji answered directly without hesitation.
"The real culprit is Wataru Otake, standing right next to me."
"Beyond him, there is no one else!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone on the scene was greatly astonished. Why was Ren able to reach such a conclusion just by going backstage?
The answer was quite simple. Ren had found a wet Kamen Yaiba costume in the backstage dressing room. The legs of that costume had clear scorch marks caused by a gunpowder explosion.
In other words, the Kamen Yaiba suit actor who actually fell into the water didn't die. He made it ashore alive, changed out of the suit in the dressing room, and intended to find Seizo Fujita as if nothing had happened. By doing so, the police would have cleared him of suspicion after their initial investigation.
The body wearing the Kamen Yaiba suit that the people had just fished out was actually placed there in advance by the killer, waiting to be found.
The real Kamen Yaiba was already dead.
From the stage play earlier to the bungee performance just now, it had all been a fake Kamen Yaiba performing.
"Even during the performance, this fake Kamen Yaiba had to use all of the character's signature moves to ensure he wouldn't be exposed," Ren said, looking sternly at Wataru Otake.
"However, Kamen Yaiba's movements in a stage play without wirework can only be completed by a stunt professional. It's impossible for someone who hasn't specifically trained in these moves to replicate them on stage without being noticed by the other actors."
"In other words, only a troupe member capable of removing the suit backstage—and capable of performing the same stunts as the deceased—could have staged this 'death by falling' case!"
"The only person who fits that criteria is you, Wataru Otake."
This so-called "choice of five" was never actually possible. The suspect could only have been Wataru Otake or Akiyoshi Ishijima.
Because the small explosive was placed on the bungee harness, Ishijima would have had to be blind not to see it—unless the person jumping deliberately blocked his view.
Shinpei Okubo and Kanako Harukawa were on stage performing the entire time and couldn't even touch the harness. Fujita, the coordinator backstage, lacked the skills of a stunt actor. If he had tried to kill someone this way, the body count in the tunnel would likely have gone from one to two.
Once the scorched Kamen Yaiba suit was found backstage, the choice between two was settled. Wataru Otake was the only one left. Unless, of course, Otake and Ishijima were accomplices, but Otake clearly didn't have the mental fortitude for that.
This was perhaps the "fine tradition" of Beika City citizens. They commit crimes with motives that defy heaven and methods that defy physics, but once their trick is exposed, most suspects break down immediately and weep on the ground. Finally, they confess their "unforgivable" motives.
Wataru Otake was no exception.
"How did you get to the backstage area so fast..."
Otake couldn't hold it together anymore. Under normal circumstances, recovering a body takes at least twenty minutes. By the time officers reached the backstage to investigate, much more time would have passed. By then, the Kamen Yaiba suit would have been dry. Given the typical efficiency of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, they likely wouldn't have been suspicious and would have just glanced past it.
But Ren Ichimonji and Saguru Hakuba moved too fast. It was as if they saw someone fall into the water, immediately concluded that person was already dead, and went backstage specifically to find the killer.
"The one who killed Yuta Hosono... was me."
Otake knelt on the ground in agony. "I clearly wanted to be a dazzling hero too. I wanted to debut as the suit actor for Kamen Yaiba."
"But 그 guy said I wasn't qualified to wear the suit! I couldn't tolerate such an insult!"
"I had to kill him. That way, the only one left to play Kamen Yaiba would be me. I could wear the suit and proudly become the Kamen Yaiba loved by all the children!"
However, the only response to Otake was silence. He looked up at his teammates, hoping for understanding from his fellow actors. But they only looked at him with inscrutable expressions.
Ren sighed from the side. "Do you really think an opportunity gained by murdering someone would ever let you truly become Kamen Yaiba?"
"Look at the children over there. Right now, for them... is Kamen Yaiba something they love, or something they fear?"
Otake fell silent. Finally, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.
End of Chapter
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