女面 - Bungo Stray Dogs Fanfiction

Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam - Five -

To say that the driver was stunned by Kunikida's statement would be an understatement, but we detectives knew better. At a brief glance, one would assume that my colleague was falsely accusing an innocent person, but the sudden stiff body language and shifting eyes tell a different story.

"Wha...- Whatever do you mean?" he stammered. "I-I don't understand."

"I considered the matter." continued Kunikida. "Who in this city could kidnap people one-by-one without being noticed? And where in Yokohama would the victim take no precautions while being alone in a room with only one other stranger? The answer is right here. You forced them to inhale sleeping gas and abducted them once they fainted. You were immune to the gas because you wore a mask."

"No... no, no, no, please wait a moment!" The driver panicked. "I had heard that the victims vanished after walking away on foot and that there was no evidence of them boarding any vehicles nor record of them entering buildings. Is there any evidence to suggest that all the victims rode in this taxi? A record of a telephone conversation, or a testimony of someone at the pickup location?"

Quite a typical method of denial, I'd say. You wouldn't even need to look up any journal articles to understand this. After all, it was all in the gradual rise in his intonation and the rapid pace as he attempted to refute Kunikida's explanation.

"Indeed." He agreed. "It is unmistakable that each and every victim rode in this very taxi. Still, no matter how many times the city police investigated the matter, the evidence failed to turn up. This is because the kidnapping did not occur on the day they believed it did. The day the victims rode in your taxi is not the same day they disappeared."

"What... do you mean by that?"

It was then Dazai's turn to speak. "Now, now, Kunikida-san. We'll be here all day if you keep answering his questions one-by-one. Let me explain how everything went down. Driver-san, as you go about your daily business, you look for a specific type of customer. Your criteria are simple. One, they must have come to Yokohama alone and are looking to go to a hotel. Two, a portion of their face must be obscured by glasses, a hat, or sunglasses. Third, they must be a similar height to you. You're a small man, so that criterion applied to women as well. It is this way that you are able to erase your relationship with the victims and thus throw the investigation off its course."

"What in the world... are you talking about?"

"Now, please wait until I'm done before raising your objections. You are a taxi driver who spends much of your time cruising about this area. This is only a rough estimate, but I assume you find someone fitting those criteria every couple of days. When you find someone that makes you say, "There!", well, then it's just as Kunikida-san said: you fill the car with nerve gas. Then you drive to a hiding house, confine the victim there, and steal their clothes and belongings. That's why everyone at the abandoned hospital was in their underclothes, right? Now then, it's time for your trick."

With a clap, he delightfully continued, "You wear the victim's clothing and transform yourself into the victim. Just like you mentioned last night, transformations are possible with facial makeup and cheek or body padding. Of course, you're likely well-practised, and on top of that, I assume you only choose those you are confident you can ape convincingly. At any rate, your goal is not to fool anyone else so much as to hoodwink a security camera. You go to the hotel the victim has planned to stay at and deliberately make yourself seen on the security footage."

Dazai caught on a similar observation that I made when I watched back the footage. Out of the eleven victims, six wore glasses while two more wore sunglasses which makes a total of eight, the remaining three wore hats or had hair long enough to obscure but a part of their faces on the cameras. These disguises were too simple and could easily be called out, but the culprit nevertheless was able to pull it off because each victim had been carefully chosen.