Laughter is Born From Madness

Chapter 57

"Yes. But that would require close connections to businesses in Africa." Ciel acknowledged.

"And when speaking of African imports, gold and diamonds come first to mind..." Arthur continued as everyone turned their attention to Woodley, who stood in shock.

"Y-You've got it all wrong!" he shouted. "It wasn't me! If you want to talk trade, 'Kong-Rong' is involved in it as well!"

"Sorry!" Lau chuckled. "We don't work with any African companies, see?"

"Still, assuming he's guilty just 'cos he deals with Africa is a bit brutal of us, don't you think?" Grey asked.

"H-He's right! I have an alibi!!"

"He may have an alibi for that, but not much of one to begin with." Jeremy stated.

"What do you mean?" Grimsby asked.

"From the time of when Miss Red had supposedly died, what if her supposed corpse wasn't a corpse to begin with?"

"Wha...?"

"But I could not detect a pulse on her..." Arthur stated.

"Did you make sure to verify her wounds?"

"Well...I was unable to see that much in the dark other than the bottle that supposedly poisoned her, so..."

"Is everyone familiar with the potion Juliet drank in Romeo and Juliet?"

"The one which made her appear as though she were dead, only to revive later?" Irene asked.

"No!" Arthur exclaimed in realization.

"Oh, but yes. It does indeed exist. A poison that makes such a thing possible."

"Wha-!?" Woodley yelled.

"There is a substance that has been recently discovered called tetrodotoxin. If it is purified in a certain way, one can enter a state of apparent death by consuming it, like the fair Juliet."

"Tetrodotoxin is a neurotoxin possessed by blowfish and octopi."

"Ah, the professor to the rescue once more. You seem to be up on the latest research, I see. I noted a slight scent of the sea when I inspected Siemens' corpse and the bottle that was given to Miss Red. That was probably the result of the poison being distilled from blowfish venom. Now let me ask you this. Why would someone who was stabbed to death smell of poison?"

"...So it was all a performance."

At those words, Grey became alarmed.

"Yes. He drank the poison himself and pretended to be dead after discarding the vial. That way, it would not matter to which room he was led. Someone with no medical knowledge would not want or think to examine a corpse's wounds, so it should have been enough to fool everyone."