The Fourth Chapter:
The Investigation Begins!
* * * 12 April --- 11:00 * * *
Silence befell the dining cart despite all the passengers on board Section 15 of the Moonlight express had gathered here. Inside of the head of each passenger though, the echo of "murder" could be heard loudly and clearly. Every soul was wondering why this Mr. Ryo was killed, and more importantly, who killed him. Since the train was moving, no one could get on or leave the train. This meant the murderer must be among the passengers. Further, he or she must be a person who was extremely intelligent and deceptive in order to execute his plan on a train with such a high level of security.
Then, silence was broken by the voice of the waitress Kaori, one of the two three non computer generated staff on the Moonlight Express. "I have finally contacted the detective in charge of this case. Since he could not board the train at the moment, he would conduct the investigations via this 3-D projector with the aid of the captain of the train, Captain Kuuya, the waiter Takeshi and myself. I shall now turn over to Inspector Togashi!"
Again silence reigned as all the passengers stared at the computer projection with awe. The inspector was no other but Togashi Yoshihiro, in short, their creator. Togashi yawned and said with a frustrated voice, "When I have finally stuffed the mouth of those annoying people at Shounen Jump by handing them manuscripts, I thought I could go home and take a good rest. When I got home though, guess what I saw --- the big news headlines screaming on my screen: "Murder on the Moonlight Express! The greatest disaster in the history of Togashi Land!" There is no way I can tolerate such an irresponsible act for this will result in the decrease of tourists in Togashi Land, meaning less income for me and lower salary for all of you. Upon hearing a potential decrease in pay, all the passengers gasped and small voices of complaints could be heard.
"Silence!" Togashi shouted in an attempt to regain control in the cart. "That's the reason why I am here, to find out who the culprit was and to give him or her, a very good punishment." Togashi burst into a wicked laughter but quickly halted when he perceived suspicious eyes congregating in his direction. He then took out a small book titled: "Solving Murders for Dummies". Bypassing the dull and commercial introduction, he flipped to page 8 and read, [Step One: KNOW THE VICTIM! Examine the crime scene and the circumstances under which the victim met his or her end.] He then put down the book and ordered, "Kuuya, who is the victim?"
"The name the victim registered with the Moonlight Express was Ryo. He claimed he was a businessman in Yu Yu Land and he was traveling with his younger sister, Miss Mai and a friend, Mr. Kei. Mr. Ryo stayed in the VIP room 1501 while Miss Mai and Mr. Kei shared an economy compartment, in room 1511."
"Okay, I know the victim, now tell me what happened this morning and also scene of the crime." Togashi ordered.
"Most certainly sir," Captain Kuuya answered politely and professionally, "At 09:47, Miss Mai requested CGI staff PX-0112 to inform Mr. Ryo that she wanted to see him. PX-0112 scanned the room for heat reaction but there was none in the room and it told Miss Mai that her brother was not in the room. Miss Mai said she searched the whole train but there was no sign of her brother. PX-0112 then ordered a graphical scan of the room and discovered that Mr. Ryo was lying in his bed, supposedly dead. PX-0112 immediately notified the human staff on board and sent you, my boss, the news of the tragedy. It also initiated the emergency lock of Mr. Ryo's room so that no one could enter the room, neither via the door or the window. Thus, no one could have entered room 1501 since 09:47 this morning. I will now order the computer to reconstruct a 3-D image of Mr. Ryo's room."
Room 1501 was very similar to Mizuno Hitomi's room, with a little shower, bed, and a tiny bar. Mr. Ryo's body lied peacefully on his bed. Except for the absence of body heat and heart beat, Mr. Ryo was just like a man soundly asleep. Upon seeing her body's brother, Miss Mai could not help but break into a sop. Her friend, Mr. Kei tried his best to calm her down. On the beside table right next to Mr. Ryo's body, there was an empty medicine bottle.
"Could the computer zoom into the label on the medicine bottle?" Togashi asked.
"Of course, my boss" and Captain Kuuya gave the computer the zoom command.
"Elkuzine? What is that?" Togashi pondered.
"It is an extremely rare and poisonous plant growing exclusively in the Eastern forest of the Hunter's Land. It has medical value, especially in curing a very unique illness known as the Amuka Syndrome." Leorio demonstrated his medical knowledge but Togashi did not thank him. Instead, he rendered the doctor-to-be a suspicious glare.
"So, Ryo was killed by Elkuzine poisoning and whoever gave him the medicine was the murderer. Now, I only have to find out who that is. One more thing, what about the time of death?" Togashi asked the computer.
"I am very sorry sir but the medical scanning system in Mr. Ryo's room cannot be activated. Consequently, the time of death cannot be determined."
"What! The scanning system is not functioning?" Togashi exclaimed, "What does this mean?"
"This means the murderer was careful and smart enough to hack into the central computer system on the train, deactivate the medical scanning system of 1501, or probably even the whole train." Kurapika said calmly and turned his eyes toward Mizuno Hitomi, remembering how easily she had gotten the encrypted passenger information. Hitomi seemed to notice Kurapika's eyes but returned a commercial smile instead. Annoyed at the new complication, Togashi picked up his "Solving Murders for Dummies" again and flipped to page 10. [Step Two: TALK TO THE PEOPLE! Find out the dirty little secrets they are trying to hide, in short, find out the MOTIVE.]
"Okay, seems like I will have to talk to all of you. Kuuya, exactly how many people are here at the moment?"
"PX-1101, please read out the passenger list to Inspector Togashi" Captain Kuuya commanded.
"Yes sir. In the VIP compartments are Mr. Ryo in 1501, Mr. Kuroro in 1502, Miss Mizuno Hitomi in 1503, and Mr. Koenma in 1504. In economy compartment I are Mr. Gon & Mr. Killua in 1505, Mr. Kurapika & Mr. Leorio in 1506, Mr. Yusuke & Mr. Kuwabara in 1507, and Mr. Kurama & Mr. Hiei in 1508. In economy compartment II are Miss Machi & Mr. Hisoka in 1509, Mr. Ubo & Mr. Nobunaga in 1510, Mr. Kei & Miss Mai in 1511, and Mr. Feitan & Miss Pakunoda in 1512. Finally, in economy compartment III are Mr. Franklin & Mr. Bonorenofu in 1513, Mr. Corutopi & Mr. Phinx in 1514, Mr. Shalnark & Miss Shizuku in 1515. The last room 1516 is reserved for the staff Mr. Takeshi & Miss Kaori."
"Holy cow, there are so many! You know what, now is lunch time. Why don't we all take a break and I will resume the investigation this afternoon. And Kuuya, I'll give you the ISBN of this "Solving Murders for Dummies". Try to download a copy from the electronic server just in case you will need it". Those were the last words before Togashi logged off, but he never logged in again, not until the Moonlight Express arrived at Yu Yu Land. That was because careful as he or she was, the murderer completely isolated the internal server of Section 15 of the Moonlight Express by cutting off the entire external communication network.
The Investigation Begins!
* * * 12 April --- 11:00 * * *
Silence befell the dining cart despite all the passengers on board Section 15 of the Moonlight express had gathered here. Inside of the head of each passenger though, the echo of "murder" could be heard loudly and clearly. Every soul was wondering why this Mr. Ryo was killed, and more importantly, who killed him. Since the train was moving, no one could get on or leave the train. This meant the murderer must be among the passengers. Further, he or she must be a person who was extremely intelligent and deceptive in order to execute his plan on a train with such a high level of security.
Then, silence was broken by the voice of the waitress Kaori, one of the two three non computer generated staff on the Moonlight Express. "I have finally contacted the detective in charge of this case. Since he could not board the train at the moment, he would conduct the investigations via this 3-D projector with the aid of the captain of the train, Captain Kuuya, the waiter Takeshi and myself. I shall now turn over to Inspector Togashi!"
Again silence reigned as all the passengers stared at the computer projection with awe. The inspector was no other but Togashi Yoshihiro, in short, their creator. Togashi yawned and said with a frustrated voice, "When I have finally stuffed the mouth of those annoying people at Shounen Jump by handing them manuscripts, I thought I could go home and take a good rest. When I got home though, guess what I saw --- the big news headlines screaming on my screen: "Murder on the Moonlight Express! The greatest disaster in the history of Togashi Land!" There is no way I can tolerate such an irresponsible act for this will result in the decrease of tourists in Togashi Land, meaning less income for me and lower salary for all of you. Upon hearing a potential decrease in pay, all the passengers gasped and small voices of complaints could be heard.
"Silence!" Togashi shouted in an attempt to regain control in the cart. "That's the reason why I am here, to find out who the culprit was and to give him or her, a very good punishment." Togashi burst into a wicked laughter but quickly halted when he perceived suspicious eyes congregating in his direction. He then took out a small book titled: "Solving Murders for Dummies". Bypassing the dull and commercial introduction, he flipped to page 8 and read, [Step One: KNOW THE VICTIM! Examine the crime scene and the circumstances under which the victim met his or her end.] He then put down the book and ordered, "Kuuya, who is the victim?"
"The name the victim registered with the Moonlight Express was Ryo. He claimed he was a businessman in Yu Yu Land and he was traveling with his younger sister, Miss Mai and a friend, Mr. Kei. Mr. Ryo stayed in the VIP room 1501 while Miss Mai and Mr. Kei shared an economy compartment, in room 1511."
"Okay, I know the victim, now tell me what happened this morning and also scene of the crime." Togashi ordered.
"Most certainly sir," Captain Kuuya answered politely and professionally, "At 09:47, Miss Mai requested CGI staff PX-0112 to inform Mr. Ryo that she wanted to see him. PX-0112 scanned the room for heat reaction but there was none in the room and it told Miss Mai that her brother was not in the room. Miss Mai said she searched the whole train but there was no sign of her brother. PX-0112 then ordered a graphical scan of the room and discovered that Mr. Ryo was lying in his bed, supposedly dead. PX-0112 immediately notified the human staff on board and sent you, my boss, the news of the tragedy. It also initiated the emergency lock of Mr. Ryo's room so that no one could enter the room, neither via the door or the window. Thus, no one could have entered room 1501 since 09:47 this morning. I will now order the computer to reconstruct a 3-D image of Mr. Ryo's room."
Room 1501 was very similar to Mizuno Hitomi's room, with a little shower, bed, and a tiny bar. Mr. Ryo's body lied peacefully on his bed. Except for the absence of body heat and heart beat, Mr. Ryo was just like a man soundly asleep. Upon seeing her body's brother, Miss Mai could not help but break into a sop. Her friend, Mr. Kei tried his best to calm her down. On the beside table right next to Mr. Ryo's body, there was an empty medicine bottle.
"Could the computer zoom into the label on the medicine bottle?" Togashi asked.
"Of course, my boss" and Captain Kuuya gave the computer the zoom command.
"Elkuzine? What is that?" Togashi pondered.
"It is an extremely rare and poisonous plant growing exclusively in the Eastern forest of the Hunter's Land. It has medical value, especially in curing a very unique illness known as the Amuka Syndrome." Leorio demonstrated his medical knowledge but Togashi did not thank him. Instead, he rendered the doctor-to-be a suspicious glare.
"So, Ryo was killed by Elkuzine poisoning and whoever gave him the medicine was the murderer. Now, I only have to find out who that is. One more thing, what about the time of death?" Togashi asked the computer.
"I am very sorry sir but the medical scanning system in Mr. Ryo's room cannot be activated. Consequently, the time of death cannot be determined."
"What! The scanning system is not functioning?" Togashi exclaimed, "What does this mean?"
"This means the murderer was careful and smart enough to hack into the central computer system on the train, deactivate the medical scanning system of 1501, or probably even the whole train." Kurapika said calmly and turned his eyes toward Mizuno Hitomi, remembering how easily she had gotten the encrypted passenger information. Hitomi seemed to notice Kurapika's eyes but returned a commercial smile instead. Annoyed at the new complication, Togashi picked up his "Solving Murders for Dummies" again and flipped to page 10. [Step Two: TALK TO THE PEOPLE! Find out the dirty little secrets they are trying to hide, in short, find out the MOTIVE.]
"Okay, seems like I will have to talk to all of you. Kuuya, exactly how many people are here at the moment?"
"PX-1101, please read out the passenger list to Inspector Togashi" Captain Kuuya commanded.
"Yes sir. In the VIP compartments are Mr. Ryo in 1501, Mr. Kuroro in 1502, Miss Mizuno Hitomi in 1503, and Mr. Koenma in 1504. In economy compartment I are Mr. Gon & Mr. Killua in 1505, Mr. Kurapika & Mr. Leorio in 1506, Mr. Yusuke & Mr. Kuwabara in 1507, and Mr. Kurama & Mr. Hiei in 1508. In economy compartment II are Miss Machi & Mr. Hisoka in 1509, Mr. Ubo & Mr. Nobunaga in 1510, Mr. Kei & Miss Mai in 1511, and Mr. Feitan & Miss Pakunoda in 1512. Finally, in economy compartment III are Mr. Franklin & Mr. Bonorenofu in 1513, Mr. Corutopi & Mr. Phinx in 1514, Mr. Shalnark & Miss Shizuku in 1515. The last room 1516 is reserved for the staff Mr. Takeshi & Miss Kaori."
"Holy cow, there are so many! You know what, now is lunch time. Why don't we all take a break and I will resume the investigation this afternoon. And Kuuya, I'll give you the ISBN of this "Solving Murders for Dummies". Try to download a copy from the electronic server just in case you will need it". Those were the last words before Togashi logged off, but he never logged in again, not until the Moonlight Express arrived at Yu Yu Land. That was because careful as he or she was, the murderer completely isolated the internal server of Section 15 of the Moonlight Express by cutting off the entire external communication network.
