episode 162 — the locked room in the sky
"Excuse me," a man whispered, waking up a tired Ran from her sleep. She blinked her eyes a few times before leaning sideways to see what was going on.
"What? Who, me?"
"Do you mind not smoking? This is a no-smoking section," he requested quietly. His name was Ukai Tsuneo. "It's bothering the other passengers. If you want to smoke, please do it in the smoking section in the rear of the plane."
Otaka Kazuhiro smirked. "Sorry about that. I'll try to be careful next time." He took the cigarette from his mouth and blew the smoke into Ukai's face, causing him to cough loudly. Kazuhiro chuckled loudly as the woman next to him began to wake up due to the noise.
Amano Tsugumi gasped at the sight of the cigarette and snatched it from Kazuhiro's hands. "For goodness sake, Kazuhiro, stop that."
"Why you," he groaned. "That's not a way to talk to your soon-to-be filthy rich boyfriend. Watch yourself."
"Kazuhiro..."
"Come on. Be happy," Kazuhiro urged her, pulling some negatives from his shirt. "The newspaper company over there said they'd pay a lot of money for these negatives."
"If they're real, right?" Another woman sat next to them at the window seat. Tachikawa Chizuru leaned forward slightly. "They're supposed to be scandal shots of a powerful American senator when he was in Japan, but it'd be embarrassing if they were of somebody else."
"You've got to be kidding. I've already faxed two copies of the pictures over there and got it confirmed," Kazuhiro said with a smirk.
"It doesn't matter, just remember, we're on vacation," Chizuru reminded him, Tsugumi nodding in agreement. "Your negatives come second."
"Alright already. I'll show you some really great surfing moves." Kazuhiro stood up and glanced at the person sitting behind him. "Right, Saginuma?" He blinked when he saw him asleep. "What's with him? He's sleeping already." He sat back down. "Oh, well, I guess I'll get some rest too. Good night."
~ — — — ~
A scream from the stewardess woke the entire plane, including one sixteen-year-old Kudo Suzume. Murmurs filled the plane as the lights were turned back on. She rubbed her eyes and listened to the announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? A passenger has become seriously ill. If there is a doctor or nurse on board, please contact the nearest cabin attendant."
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?" A flight attendant said.
Megure Juzo showed her his badge. "Megure of the Metropolitan Police Department. Is someone really ill?"
"Well, the truth is..."
"I went for a look. Somebody's dead," someone whispered.
Suzume had to hold in her sigh at that. Yep, let's try not to cause any unnecessary panic here, okay? She felt Ran look back at her as Inspector Megure noticed Ran.
"Why? Ran, is that you? Taking a trip on the long weekend?" he asked, smiling at the familiar face.
"Never mind that." She shook her head. "I just heard someone was dead."
He held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Calm down, we're about to look into that now." Megure was led the rest of the way to the restroom. "No one has touched the body, have they?"
"Well, actually a strange young girl has been hanging around," one of the attendants told him.
"A strange young girl?" he repeated, having a dreadful feeling that he knew who it was. Ran was here, so why wouldn't she be here as well?
Inside the bathroom, Suzume had a pair of gloves on while moving some of the victim's hair to the side to reveal a small hole with blood around it. "Well, looks like the cause of death is suffocation due to damage to the cervical pith," she muttered. "The murder weapon is probably something with a sharp point, like an ice pick or something." She checked the garbage pin, seeing a small glass bottle and cloth on top of all the napkins. "Before the victim was stabbed, there's a possibility he was forced to inhale something that knocked him unconscious."
"Who would do such a thing?" an attendant asked.
"We don't know yet," Suzume replied. She turned and smiled at Megure, whose eyes widened when he saw her. "But we have capable police aboard this plane, so don't worry about it too much, okay, ma'am?"
She nodded and Megure snapped out of his stupor. "Kudo-chan?"
"Inspector Megure," she said in greeting before holding up her gloved hands. "You don't have to worry about my fingerprints. I wore these the whole time."
Megure sighed. "Even so, you shouldn't be in here."
She smiled. "I know, but I couldn't help myself, you know? Shinigami and all."
His eye twitched at the nickname and mentally cursed the detective who thought it up. Now Suzume thought of herself as some sort of bad omen. "Never mind that, get out of there."
Suzume did as he asked and stepped out of the bathroom, pulling off her gloves since they were no longer needed. "I took photos while I was in there if you want them," she said, pulling her camera from her pocket.
"Also, we did as she asked and kept a close eye on what she did, but..." One of the attendants trailed off.
"We didn't notice her hide or wipe anything or do anything at least a bit suspicious," another added.
Megure was thankful for Suzume's thoughtfulness, but nonetheless... "Still, you shouldn't have handled the body..."
She smiled. "Based on the condition of the death spots and the fact that the jaw had started stiffening, he's been dead about 1-2 hours." She sighed and held up three fingers. "Three things stood out to me. First, a few drops of blood had flown onto the wall the victim was leaning on, but the clothing pressed against it wasn't stained. Second, the scratch-like marks to the lower right of the fatal wound. And third, the inside of his left pants pocket was soaked, but his hands were dry. Even if he stuck his wet hands inside his pockets, they wouldn't get as wet as that."
"Which means, someone for some reason wet it deliberately," Megure said. He sighed. "Listen, please stay out of this, Kudo-chan." He turned to the attendants. "Excuse me, please go wake that fellow who's sleeping next to my seat. He's with the police too."
"Yes, sir."
Ran moved over to Suzume's side. "You okay?" she asked. "You kind of disappeared at the scream earlier."
Suzume nodded. "Of course," she assured her. "It's been a while since I've done something like that, you know? Felt good helping the police even if it was just a little."
Ran hummed with a smile. "Just tell me where you're going next time. I honestly thought you were the victim for a second."
"Ah, don't have that little faith in me," Suzume pouted, putting her hands on her hips. "If someone went after me like that, I'd certainly make some noise."
Takagi Wataru walked past them, releasing a loud yawn that made Suzume feel bad for him. "Inspector."
"You're late, Takagi," Megure scolded the officer, who woke up fully at the sight of the deceased man.
"A murder?"
"Yeah."
Both policemen examined the body and the bathroom just like Suzume had and found the same things she did. At one point, Takagi popped his head outside the bathroom and gave Suzume a wave, which she returned eagerly.
"At any rate, find us some witnesses," Megure ordered Takagi.
"You have four suspects," Suzume said, making them look at her. "There were four others, not including the victim, who were in the toilet at that time. My seat was at the rear of the cabin. I was watching, but no one came to the smoking section in the back. That I'm sure of."
"You were watching it?" Ran asked. "Were you up all night?"
Suzume looked off to the side nervously. "I can't really sleep on planes," she admitted.
"Why? I thought you fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane."
"Just trying to doze off," she replied. "It only works 50/50, though. This was not one of the lucky times."
Megure sighed. "Alright then. How about telling us who those four are?"
Suzume nodded. "Sure." She led them up the aisle and pointed to Tsugumi, Chizuru, Ukai, and a man named Edward Crowe. "These four."
"Wait just a minute," Chizuru said.
"What's going on?" Tsugumi asked.
They were led to the bathroom to be shown the deceased, and Takagi had to keep Tsugumi from rushing inside to her dead boyfriend. She fell to her knees and wept into her hands, Chizuru kneeling beside her to help comfort her. Suzume just looked off to the side awkwardly.
"Why was Kazuhiro killed?" Chizuru demanded.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Megure told her.
"Maybe that negative is responsible?" Ukai suggested.
"Negatives?"
"He was bragging about it. He said he was going to sell it to a newspaper company and make a lot of money."
"Don't tell me they're gone," Chizuru said to Takagi.
"He didn't have them on him?" Takagi's statement was more of a question.
"That can't be," Tsugumi said, looking up.
"So that means the killer is someone who knew about the negatives, isn't that right?" Megure suggested.
Chizuru got to her feet. "Everyone in this business knew about it. He offered to sell them to a lot of newspaper companies."
"Hey, officers." They looked at Saginuma Noburo. "Otaka was stabbed once in the back of the head, wasn't he?"
"That's right."
"Then the killer's a pro. Those two are just camerawomen. You're barking up the wrong tree, suspecting them," Saginuma said, making Suzume's eye twitch.
"No, with a little medical knowledge about anesthetic and with a murder weapon, anyone could have done it," she refuted. "Even a woman."
"Now then," Megure said. "Why don't the four of you tell us what you saw when you went to the toilet?"
"I went to the toilet because I wasn't feeling well, but when I got back to my seat, Kazuhiro was still there in his seat," Tsugumi said. "I called the stewardess later to bring me some medicine. That's why I remember it well."
"Is that true?" Megure asked the stewardess who helped Tsugumi.
"Yes, he was asleep when I saw him."
"Yes, I saw her from across the aisle," Ukai said. "It looked like she was asking for some medicine. I went to the toilet right after that, I was in there for about five minutes, I guess."
"You said across the aisle, but isn't your aisle facing the same aisle as the victim's seat?" Megure asked.
"I get restless having to sit still for long periods of time, so I was walking around," Ukai told him.
"Then when did the victim leave his seat?" Megure wondered.
"When I brought the water and pills, he was already gone," the stewardess said. "I don't think it took more than a minute to bring them to her."
"I went to the toilet after Tsugumi got her medicine and I guess it was twenty minutes later that I noticed Kazuhiro still hadn't come back, so I went to check," Chizuru recounted. "But he was still alive then. Well, I knocked on this door and asked if he was alright and he knocked back."
"Are you sure?" Takagi asked.
"But how did you know it was him?" Megure questioned.
"It had to be," she insisted. "I opened the other three doors and they were unoccupied."
"So he's the only one left," Megure said, looking at Crowe.
"Do you remember when you went to the toilet?" Suzume asked in English.
"I don't remember when I did, unfortunately," he replied.
Suzume coughed a couple of times before going to Megure. "He said he doesn't remember."
Megure sighed. "I guess it's only natural."
Suzume coughed again, making Ran concerned. "What's wrong?"
"That man's cologne is very strong," Suzume told her.
"Oh, come on, how much longer are you going to keep asking those meaningless questions?" Saginuma asked. "Whoever has the weapon is the killer, right? Then, wouldn't it be quicker to do a search of their things and their bodies?" He smirked cockily. "This has nothing to do with me though since I was asleep and didn't go to the toilet."
"You're lying," Ukai argued. "I saw you leave your seat."
"What?" Saginuma said, shocked.
"Your seat is directly behind the victim's, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Megure interrupted.
"Remember? I told you when I went to the toilet, the victim was still asleep in his seat. Well, I'm positive this man's seat was empty," Ukai told them.
"Hey, old man, don't lie," Saginuma said. "You four were the ones who went to the toilet, she just said so." He pointed at Suzume, who just looked done with the whole conversation. Her lack of sleep was starting to catch up to her. "Right, kid?"
"Yes, well..."
"What's the matter? Don't be vague," Ran whispered in her ear.
Suzume hummed. There might have been a moment when I shut my eyes... I'm not entirely too sure.
"At any rate, you five are considered suspects," Megure informed them. "So we will search your luggage, and you will undergo a body check in the toilet."
~ — — — ~
"What?! You didn't find the weapon on them or their luggage?" Megure demanded.
"No. None of them had anything like an icepick," Takagi confirmed. "To be on the safe side, we're searching places in the plane that it could be hidden in."
"Hey." Suzume looked up at Megure. "You're positive these people were the only ones who went to the toilet, aren't you?"
She stayed silent and Ran frowned. "Suzume, answer him. Suzume!"
Suzume only smirked. "This is getting interesting," she commented. "If they can't find the weapon in the plane, that means the killer still has it somewhere. I'll bet that's the killer's trump card." She looked at Megure. "Inspector, I want you to inspect this plane and those suspects again."
"What? You want us to look again?" he repeated. "You want us to do another body check and go through their luggage one more time? Is that what you're telling me, Suzume?"
She nodded. "Yes. If you couldn't find the weapon in the cabin, the killer could still have it in their possession."
Megure sighed. "You remind me too much of your father."
"That's a compliment if I've ever heard one!"
~ — — — ~
Megure had Takagi do a more thorough inspection of the suspects' baggage, trying to identify what could have possibly been the murder weapon used to kill Otaka.
"Excuse me, Mr. Edward, could you explain this checkbook..." Megure stopped and looked at Suzume, silently asking her to translate again. She did so and turned back to the inspector to tell him what Crowe said.
"He said he was going to buy some art objects sold at an auction in Japan, but since he didn't find anything interesting, he stopped payment," she said with Crowe shrugging behind her.
"I see." Megure hummed. "Alright, the last."
"Here." A bag was tossed at their feet by Saginuma. "I'm the last one."
Takagi went over the contents of the bag and Megure held up the motion sickness medicine. "You seem to have a lot of medicine."
"I get air sick very easily," Saginuma said. "Both Chizuru and Tsugumi gave me some. Right?"
"Yes."
Suzume looked at Takagi. "Can I take a look at the negatives for a bit?" She unfolded them and Saginuma panicked. "The man in the picture... Isn't it Mr. Dickson, the American senator?"
Takagi looked at it over her shoulder. "You're right. He's with a woman in this picture."
"Hey, that's enough—"
"Wait a minute," Chizuru interrupted Saginuma. "Those are the same as Kazuhiro's."
"The same, you mean..."
"And if they're in your possession," Megure said. "That means..."
Saginuma realized where he was going with this. "No, no. Wait." He grabbed the negatives and held them up. "These are definitely mine. Otaka and I were staked out at the hotel together, we both took those photos. They're...not as good as Otaka's, but I was going to a newspaper in Los Angeles and sell my pictures, too. Besides, you should find the weapon before accusing me."
Takagi held up his hands. "Now, we'll listen to all your complaints after the body check." He went to explain the procedure once more as Suzume walked down the aisle to where the victim sat.
So this was his seat. According to seat numbers on the boarding passes, Saginuma was behind him and Mr. Crowe in the front. Amano to the right and Tachikawa on the inside. Across the aisle to the left is Ukai. Something sparkling out of the corner of her eye made her look at the window seat, and she picked it up with a cloth. Isn't this...a piece of a negative. What is this doing beside Saginuma's seat?
"Suzume." Ran walked over to her friend. "They're done with the body checks. It seems no one had the weapon."
Suzume sighed. So that means...
"There, you see. We didn't have the weapon," Saginuma said.
"I had to undress twice," Chizuru complained.
"I don't want to go through this again," Tsugumi was next.
Takagi flinched back. "What shall we do, Inspector?"
"We've searched everywhere," Megure said.
"I wouldn't say everywhere," Suzume interrupted, walking over. "We still haven't checked one place—the victim's baggage."
They went back over to the seats and Takagi opened the overhead bin. "Which one is his?" he asked Amano.
"It's that black bag in the back." She went to grab it herself before stopping, looking as if she were shocked or in pain, before lowering her arm again.
"Is something wrong?" Takagi asked her.
"No. I just remember something strange he said," she answered.
"Something strange?" Megure repeated and Suzume raised an eyebrow.
"It was about a week ago, he said he forgot his bag at the studio and someone cut it to shreds. That's why he bought a new one for this trip." She grabbed the bag with her other hand and handed it over to Megure.
"Maybe someone was after those negatives," he suggested. "That's why it happened."
Takagi took inventory of Kazuhiro's bag with nothing appearing out of the ordinary.
"Nothing that appears to be the weapons," Megure pointed out.
"Suzume," Ran said.
Really? Suzume tilted her head.
Takagi took a look at the passport before his eyes widened at the deceased's name. He stood up and faced the group of five. "Otaka-san, is he the fellow who won the Nichiuri Newspaper's photo contest three years ago?"
"Well, yes. That's him," Chizuru confirmed.
"I knew it."
"What is it, Takagi?"
"Look, it's that picture of a mother trapped in the fire, she's handing her daughter to the fireman on the ladder," Takagi explained and Suzume's eyes widened.
"Forget about that," Ukai interrupted. "That's not the issue here."
"Are we or aren't we cleared? Which is it?" Chizuru asked impatiently.
"But you four were the only ones who went to the toilet at the time the crime occurred," Takagi protested. "Suzume-san gave that statement."
All eyes fell on Suzume, who tried not to shift uncomfortably with all the eyes on her.
Saginuma scoffed. "I'll bet that kid who thinks she's a detective fell asleep and missed a couple of people."
Suzume's eyes narrowed dangerously thin, and Ran quickly put a hand on her shoulder, which immediately calmed Suzume down.
"It seems you've read a lot of books and did a lot of studying, but this is a real murder." Saginuma glared at her. "Children should behave, go back to your seat and take a nap."
Ran was shocked as Suzume stayed silent. "Suzume, why aren't you saying anything?"
What is with this case? The weapon can't be found and all of their alibis just don't add up...
"How about telling us the truth?" Ukai suggested to Saginuma. "It's you, isn't it? You killed him."
"Hey, come on now."
"The only one among all of us obviously telling a lie is you," Ukai pointed out. "I saw you." He pointed at Amano. "When this girl was asking the stewardess for medicine, the victim was asleep and your seat behind him was empty."
"You're a liar," Saginuma snapped.
"I am not lying. The truth is...the truth is we both..." He looked around. "There. That's the stewardess. That stewardess is my witness."
Suzume's eyes widened.
"And that is his statement," Megure recapped for the stewardess later on. "Is it true?"
"Yes, this passenger was wandering around the cabin, so I called out to him. He asked me to caution a passenger in the non-smoking section who was smoking," she recounted.
"And? Was this man in this seat when you got there?" Megure asked, pointing at Saginuma.
"No, I don't believe so."
Saginuma grabbed her by the shoulders. "Hey, you. Are you blind or something?"
"You were the one who brought the medicine, weren't you?" Megure asked the other stewardess.
"Yes."
Saginuma ran over to her. "You saw me sleeping in my seat, didn't you?"
She leaned back a little as he got in her face. "No, I don't remember clearly."
"What?" Saginuma paled.
"Excuse me," Suzume said quietly to the stewardess. "When you brought the medicine, could it be possible that..." She whispered the rest of her question in the stewardess' ear, whose eyes widened. "Could that have happened?"
"Yes, that's right," she said, shocked. "But I thought it was my imagination."
No doubt about it, Suzume thought. That's the killer. That'll explain everyone, except the killer's story, and why a piece of negative was on the seat, the unexplainable blood on the wall, and why the victim's pocket was wet. But why didn't the killer have the weapon? A flash of realization hit her. Because it couldn't have been gotten rid of. Is it something the owner would miss if it were gone? Wait a damn minute...
"Suzume!" Ran grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the group. "Inspector Megure's calling you." Suzume blinked at her. "He wants you to go around the cabin and see if anyone else went to the toilet."
"Wait, wait," Suzume said, stopping Ran from moving any further. "Let me ask you this..." She whispered her question in Ran's ear, and the Mouri girl quickly blushed. "Oh, come on, I may be a girl as well, but this is embarrassing enough as it is."
Ran blinked. "Really? Most of them are like that now."
Suzume nodded, satisfied with what she heard. "So that's what it was."
"What do you mean by that? Why do you look so satisfied?" She stopped herself, recognizing the look on Suzume's face. It was the same look that she had on the beach nine years ago with the case of the thief—the satisfaction of figuring out a case.
"I know what our killer's trump card is," Suzume said with a grin.
~ — — — ~
"At any rate, the only one who acted suspiciously was you, Saginuma-san," Megure said.
"Sorry Inspector, but you're wrong about that," Suzume said, making her way back over. "He's not the killer. He was never near the crime scene, so his chances of being the killer are zero." She wanted to grin at her word choice.
"But..."
"See? What a relief," Saginuma said smugly. "I had nothing to do with all of this."
"That's not exactly true," Suzume interrupted, giving Saginuma a flat look, clearly remembering his insulting words from earlier. "Saginuma-san, you were taken advantage of without even knowing it." She looked behind him. "By a person in that group. The one person who gave false testimony, the killer."
"That means, Inspector, it was Tachikawa-san who said she went to the toilet to check on the victim and knocked on the door and got a knock in reply," Takagi said.
"Wait just a minute," Chizuru began.
"No, she wasn't lying," Suzume stopped it before it even began. "There really was someone inside the toilet at that time, inside with the victim. Mr. Crowe. Yes, you."
The man looked shocked.
"Are you sure about that?" Megure asked.
"He put his hand into Otaka-san's pocket looking for the negatives and realized the cologne on his wrist rubbed onto the pants. So he hurriedly washed his hands to wash the cologne off," Suzume explained. "Then he wet his handkerchief to wipe the telltale scent from the pants. The proof is, there's no cologne on his wrist."
"That's not what I'd consider proof," Megure sweatdropped. "Besides, to get his statement, we'll have to ask him in English."
"No, he speaks Japanese," Suzume said, shaking her head. "Isn't that right, Mr. Crowe?"
Crowe smiled. "The girl's right," he admitted in perfect Japanese.
"He spoke..."
"Japanese!"
"Of course he did," Suzume sighed. "He intended to buy those negatives with a check from the National Bank."
"Buy?" Megure repeated.
"That's right," Crowe confirmed. "Senator Dickson himself asked me to."
"So was it you?" Saginuma jumped to conclusions. "Did you kill Otaka?"
"No, he's not the killer," Suzume said. "When he went into the toilet, Otaka-san was already dead." Everyone looked at her in shock. "Isn't that right, Mr. Crowe?"
"Yes, when I heard he had gone to the toilet, I thought it was my chance to make a deal with him," Crowe explained. "But there was no answer when I knocked so I opened the door and went in. He was dead. Of course, I didn't get the negatives."
"So it was you who answered my knock?" Tachikawa asked.
"Yes."
"Hey, don't be fooled by this," Saginuma told Megure and Suzume clenched her jaw, already having had enough of this man. "He's just confirming that kid's guesswork."
"Guesswork?" Suzume finally spoke up, anger barely concealed in her voice. She glared at him. "Absolutely not. There were bloodstains on the toilet wall, yet there was no blood on the victim's back, although he was leaning on the stains. This indicates someone else moved the body after some time had passed. Someone who found his body but didn't notify anyone." She took a breath. "The only reason I can come up with for moving the body is to look for those negatives. But, unable to find them, the person searched his pants pocket. The only one who would do that would be someone sitting in front of the victim. Someone who couldn't see what the victim was doing, that could only be Mr. Crowe."
"Yes, I get it," Takagi said.
"Alright then, who did it?" Megure asked impatiently. "Who's the killer?"
"We have now eliminated Mr. Crowe; Tachikawa-san who was outside knocking on the door; which leaves us Ukai-san and Amano-san," Suzume said. "This is a crucial point. Ukai-san testified that when Amano-san asked for the medicine, Saginuma-san's seat behind the victim was unoccupied."
"I'm sure about that," Ukai nodded.
"And I'm telling you, I was there all along, sleeping," Saginuma growled.
"He's right. Saginuma-san was asleep in his seat," Suzume agreed. "The killer put a knit cap on his head and covered his eyes with an eye mask."
"What was that?"
"That style. Do you mean..." Chizuru trailed off.
"That's right, that is Otaka-san's sleeping style," Suzume confirmed. "After killing him, instead of returning to their own seat, the killer sat next to Saginuma-san and made him look like Otaka-san, then called the stewardess. To give the illusion Otaka-san was still alive at that time."
"Hold it, you mean..."
"That's right. The person responsible for killing Otaka-san and using Saginuma-san to fake an alibi is Amano Tsugumi! It's you!" Suzume accused.
She gasped.
"No way, she's kidding, right?"
"Tsugumi?"
She looked down.
Suzume hummed. "We can't blame the stewardess for making a mistake. The cabin was pretty dark. And the only part of his face not covered by the blanket was the nose up. While the stewardess was getting the medicine, Amano-san went back to her own seat and then woke Tachikawa-san by coughing exaggeratedly, making sure she noticed Otaka-san's seat was empty. This gave Tachikawa-san and the stewardess the wrong impression about when Otaka-san went to the toilet."
"Then, the empty seat I saw..."
"Just by chance, there was an empty seat behind Saginuma-san."
"But she wouldn't have been able to use this trick if the seat was occupied," Megure pointed out.
"She made several reservations and unless she canceled, the seats would remain empty. If the medicine she gave Saginuma-san was sleeping pills rather than air sickness pills, he wouldn't wake up so easily." Suzume looked at Ran and got an encouraging nod. She could tell Suzume was getting tired from all of the social interaction. "The knit cap was in her bag and she knew his habit of using an eye mask, so there was no problem."
"But what if the stewardess noticed Tachikawa-san wasn't next to her the first time?" Takagi asked.
"All she had to do was create a camouflage and drape a blanket over her bag. I believe she cut the negative into small pieces with the scissors in the sewing kit and flushed them down the toilet bowl," Suzume said. "The killer wanted us to think the murder was linked to the negative, drawing attention away from her. I found a piece of the negative she cut on the seat next to Saginuma-san. It was stuck to her clothes and fell there when she sat down."
"Check it out," Megure ordered Takagi.
"Yes, sir!" The officer ran off to do just that.
"This is how it went. She waited for Tachikawa-san to fall asleep and told Otaka-san she had to talk to him and told him to wait in the toilet. Then she got the bottle containing the anesthetic-soaked handkerchief and weapon and headed for the toilet. As soon as he opened the door, she pressed the handkerchief over his mouth, knocking him unconscious, then stabbed him in the cervical cord. After that, she cut the negative up, flushed it down the toilet bowl, and locked the door from the outside. Using the trick mentioned earlier, when she returned from the toilet, it would appear Otaka was still alive, alibi was perfect."
"But what if someone going to the toilet saw her leaving the scene?" Megure asked.
"I'm sure that while she committed the crime, she left the door unlocked," Suzume said. "That way, even if someone tried to get in, it's so narrow in there, it wouldn't open if someone held it closed from inside. And realizing someone was inside, the person outside would go to another toilet."
"That's enough!" Chizuru snapped. "After all these accusations, I'm sure you have proof, don't you?! Proof that Tsugumi did it!"
Suzume smiled. "I have the murder weapon and the proof. I'm sure she still has it on her!"
Saginuma laughed at that. "What are you saying? She's had two body checks!"
"Because it's something we would never suspect, especially not a man," Suzume said. "It'll even pass the metal detector at the airport. Something only women use."
Ran gasped as Tachikawa leaned forward. "Something only we use?" the camerawoman repeated.
Saginuma scoffed. "Ridiculous. Nothing as convenient as that could possibly exist!"
Suzume deadpanned at the man. He really is an idiot, huh?
"Tsugumi, you didn't..." Chizuru trailed off.
"Amano-san, it's the bra you're wearing," Suzume said. "It's the wire under your right breast."
Saginuma laughed. "A woman couldn't possibly kill anyone with something like that."
Oh, how Suzume was really beginning to hate this guy... "If you sharpen the end and stick it into the back of the head, putting all your strength into it, and push it 5 to 6 centimeters into the cervical vertebrae, the tip will reach the cervical cord. Even a woman could do it." Want me to try it out on you, Saginuma? "Along with the fatal injury on Otaka-san's neck, there were many scratch marks. That's where the unsharpened end moved and scratched him. The reason Amano-san didn't get rid of the wire is if it had been found at the scene, a woman would immediately be suspected if there was a wire in only one side of her bra."
"I understand!" Saginuma said. "We'll just have her go through another body check."
"No, Saginuma-san. It's no use," Tsugumi finally spoke up sadly. "If they search me again, they'll find it."
"Tsugumi."
"It's true," she whispered. "I killed Kazuhiro. Three years ago, he won the Nichiuri Newspaper's news photo contest. It was that photo's fault."
"What are you saying?" Tachikawa demanded. "That photo's the one that brought you two together, isn't it?"
"That's right. I became interested in him because of that photo. I was so impressed that anyone could have captured the ferocity, the tragedy, the grief of that fire which took my brother's life, all that emotion in one photo."
Chizuru grabbed Tsugumi by the shoulders. "So why, then?"
"That photo wasn't the only one he took that day." Tsugumi's voice hardened and she started to cry. "I found a mountain of them in his room! Some showed smoke rising from the condominium my brother lived in. And there were so many shots of the condominium before the fire!"
"You mean, Kazuhiro..."
"He set the fire himself," Saginuma realized.
"That's right," Tsugumi whispered. "When I asked him, he practically boasted about it! 'You can't just wait around for a great shot to come along. You have to make it happen.' That's what he said." She turned away and wiped her tears. "I'm so upset. I was so sure no one would figure out where I hid the murder weapon."
"It was when you raised your arm," Suzume told her. "You were about to lower his bag from the overhead bin. You raised your left arm and then stopped, but then raised your right arm to take it out. That's what gave you away." Tsugumi turned to look at her. "The sharpened end of the wire must have shifted and poked into you, making you stop. Isn't that right?"
"You mean, a detail that small made you suspect me?" Amano asked in wonder.
Suzume gave her a smile. "The smallest details are the ones most likely to be overlooked, and they tend to be the most important. Your seemingly casual action, in my eyes, seemed unnatural and it stuck with me."
"Her arm? Did you notice it, Inspector?" Takagi asked Megure quietly.
"No, not at all," he answered.
Suzume blinked as a thought struck her. "By the way, Inspector. Why are you going to LA?"
Megure laughed. "To pick up a Japanese national on the International Wanted list."
"I see. So that's what it was about," Ran murmured. "That's why you asked." Suzume turned to look at her and smiled guiltily. "Do you not wear ones with wires?"
Suzume's cheeks turned bright red. "...They're too uncomfortable for me, okay," she muttered, looking away. A sudden yawn interrupted her and Ran smiled, turning to the inspector.
"I think Suzume's finally tired herself out," Ran told him. "Is it okay if we go back to our seats?"
He nodded, waving them off. "Yeah, go on ahead."
She gave him a thankful nod and led Suzume back to their seats. She made sure they both had their seatbelts on before Suzume completely fell asleep, her head resting on Ran's shoulder. Ran looked down at her and smiled.
"Sleep well," she whispered softly.
Fun Facts —
— If it wasn't obvious, Suzume hates it when people look down on her. She understands that she's a teenager doing an adult's job, but she hates it when people don't take her words into consideration, especially when they actually make sense.
— Yes, the "Shinigami" nickname is going to be important later on. I don't know when, but what I do know is that I want either Shuichi or a certain PSB triple face or maybe both to get involved when it does become incredibly important.
— I italicized the word "zero" in the sentence, "He's not the killer. He was never near the crime scene, so his chances of being the killer are zero." Hmm, I wonder why she smirked when she said that? hehe
— I also had her use the phrase "50/50," which is a popular phrase used by a certain sniper...totally didn't plan that. hehe