Well hello! Here is a new chapter in the Azure Redi fanfiction. See you in the next chapter.
Shizuka was on a ship with Ran, and Kogorō, en route to the island where Kogorōn had received a letter from a resident about a week ago. There was fog everywhere.
"Damn. Why does a searcher like me have to go to an island like this, especially when the weather isn't good? Just because we got a silly letter a week ago", Kogorō said, leaning against the ship's railing. He smoked tobacco.
"What did you read in that letter?" Shizuka asked.
"Don't you remember even though I read it to you then? Well, that letter read like this:
"One night after the next full moon, the shadows begin to disappear again from Tsukikage Island. Asou Keiji, asks for an investigation". Letters cut from the leaves were glued to that letter to form words", Kogorō said. "Then I received a call to which I replied:
"Hey, Mōri Tantei Jimusho". The caller was a man, and he said:
"There are two days left until the full moon. I've already paid 500,000 yen for free. Make sure you come to Tsukikage Island". Here's how I asked the caller:
"Wait, who the hell are you..." The caller said,
"This is Asou Keiji from Tsukikagen Island". The caller then hung up. I then said to the phone after this:
"Hey, wait! Wait, hey?"
"So he hung up without telling you a more detailed explanation?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes. That's really annoying", Kogorō said. "Damn how annoying the customer".
"It's pretty suspicious that he wrote his letter by gluing letters from it to the newspaper. I guess the customer didn't want to write the letter with his own handwriting", Shizuka said.
"Did you think I didn't realize it myself?" Kogorō asked.
"Sure, but maybe he wants us to find out for himself if it would have been hard to tell you on the phone" Shizuka said.
"Maybe that's it", Kogorō said.
"Maybe Asou Keiji knows about a crime that once happened on that island, and now he wants you to investigate it to catch a suspect. Of course I can be wrong. I think I've heard Asou Keiji's name sometimes. Oh yeah. Now I remember. He's a famous pianist", Shizuka said. .
"Pianist?" Kogorō asked.
"Yes", Shizuka said.
"Well, if he's once a famous pianist, he'll be asked for autographs when we meet him. Isn't it nice that we can relax on an island away from home?" Ran said. "Right, Irene-chan?"
"Yep. By the way, maybe we could ask Asou Keiji to perform for us in person after the case is resolved. I can play the piano some myself", Shizuka said. Shizuka had seen her mother play the piano a couple of times.
Later, upon reaching the island of Kogorō, the girls went to a building to ask for Asou Keiji's address.
"Asou Keiji. There is no one named here", One man said, examining the island's population list.
"But he's a famous pianist", Shizuka said.
"Really?" The man asked.
"Yes", Shizuka said.
"Can you check again?" Kogorō asked the man. He then took a letter from the inside pocket of his jacket. "I got a letter of request from him".
"But he's not on the list and I just moved here, so I don't know many people on this island", The man said.
"What's the matter?" Another man asked when he arrived.
"Director, this gentleman says he came here at the request of a resident of this island", The man said.
"Request?" The manager asked.
"Yes, from a person named Asou Keiji, who is reportedly a famous pianist", The man said.
"From ASOU KEIJI?!" The manager asked in shock.
There was a nervous rumble in the room, and everyone looked at the leader nervously.
"Yes. After that, I got a call from him about a week ago. He asked me to come here after saying he had transferred 500,000 yen for free to my account", Kogorō said.
"That can't be true! He's been dead for over 10 years!" The manager said.
Kogorō, and the girls were surprised to hear.
Later, everyone spoke in the director's office, sitting on the couches listening to the director's story about Asou Keiji:
"It's true that Asou Keiji was a famous pianist. This island was his hometown, and because he was a famous concert pianist, this island gained fame for his playing skills. 12 years ago on a full moon night he gave a concert at City Hall. But then suddenly locked himself, and his family in his house, and set his house on fire, he stabbed his wife and daughter, and began to play his grand piano in the midst of the flames, as if he had been demonized, constantly playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".
The girls, and Kogorō were nervous to hear.
"So he died that night in a fire", Kogorō said.
"Yes. That's why I was surprised to hear about the call you received from him, and the letter", The manager said.
"Mōri-san, I just got an idea because I learned a lot from you as your assistant. What if someone suspects that Asou Keiji was murdered 12 years ago, and now he wants you to find out that case", Shizuka suggested.
"Hm. Maybe. You've clearly learned a lot from me. Well, did Asou Keiji have enemies who could have murdered him and set the stage for suicide?" Kogorō asked.
"Not to my knowledge, but there are many rumors circulating about the incident, so you can investigate if you wish. I remember one of Asou Keiji's relatives was not here when Asou Keiji died. I don't remember that relative's name now", The director said.
"I see. Maybe this relative sent me that letter and made that call to me showing Asou Keiji because I've never heard Asou Keiji's voice myself. That relative seems to suspect Asou Keiji of being assassinated, or something like that, and that relative now wants me investigate that case. Will you tell me if you remember the name of that relative at some point?" Kogorō asked.
"Sure," The manager said. "In fact, Mayor Kuroiwa is an old friend of Asou Keiji, and can probably tell you something about Asou Keiji. The mayor is now at City Hall".
Later Kogorō, and the girls sat in front of a tree thinking about the situation.
"A fake letter. What a bad joke even from Asou Keiji's relative", Kogorō said, looking at the letter he received. He then put the letter in his pocket.
"Not necessarily. The task has already been paid, and the postage stamp is from this island. I'm sure someone on this island wants you to investigate the case of Asou Keiji, Mōri-san. If anyone can investigate this case, it's you. I'm sure of that". Shizuka said, taking out his notebook and pen:
"Can I write down the clues we've found so far?"
"Do it", Kogorō said.
"The letters cut from the newspaper that were used to write the words of the letter sent to Kogorō. Someone presented Asou Keiji while calling Kogorō. Asou Keiji's living relative", Shizuka wrote.
"That's right. The director of the archive said Mayor Kuroiwa is a friend of Asou-san. Maybe the mayor knows something", Ran said.
"You're right. We're going to investigate the crime scene later, but let's talk to the mayor first. The archivist said the mayor would be in town hall now, right?" Kogorō asked.
The crowd set out to walk forward until they saw a boy standing in front of the island's hospital talking to a woman wearing a doctor's jacket. The woman was tall and skinny. He had tied his black hair to a ponytail and had blue eyes. He was also wearing a light purple blouse under his doctor, a blue skirt up to his knees, and black shoes on his feet. He looked 26 years old.
"You see, Kenta-kun? You have to rest a lot", The woman told the boy.
"Okay, see you!" The boy said from the scene.
"Bye!" The doctor said, and was going inside the island's hospital.
"Um, I'm sorry", Ran told the doctor. "Where's the town hall?"
"Oh, just turn that corner, and go straight to the T-junction", The doctor said, pointing to the right. "Tell me, are you all from Tokyo?"
"Yes. We came here by boat a short time ago", Ran said.
"Really? I'm from Tokyo too. But isn't this island nice? The air is so calm and so quiet!" The doctor said.
"Vote for Shimizu Masato!" A woman's voice was heard through the speakers of a van passing the hospital.
"Well, the mayoral election is coming up", The doctor said.
"Elections", Kogorō said.
"The candidates are Shimizu-san, who has the support of the fishermen in the village. The current mayor is Kuroiwa-san, whose popularity is waning. And also the richest man on the island, Kawashima-san. Strictly speaking, Kawashima-san is..." The doctor said.
"Oh, sorry nurse, but we're not really interested in the election", Kogorō said.
"I am a doctor, Asai Narumi", The doctor said. "I have permission to practice here".
"Ah, so you're a doctor..." Kogorō said.
"If you go to City Hall now, you can meet all the election candidates", Narumi said.
Kogorō, and the girls were a little surprised to hear.
"There will be a ceremony tonight to mark the second anniversary of the death of the former mayor, Kameyama-san", Narumi said.
"The former mayor", Shizuka said.
The funeral ceremony?" Kogorō continued Shizuka's statement.
"Lady, someone on this island is showing something other than what it is", Shizuka's jewelry told Shizuka on telepathy.
"I see, but who is that someone?" Shizuka thought.
"What now, Irene-chan?" Ran asked after seeing Shizuka's pensive look.
"Nothing. I was just in my thoughts", Shizuka said, starting with others to walk toward City Hall.
When they got to the town hall, they saw a large crowd holding signs in their hands, shouting:
"Don't let the mayor put pressure on you!"
"Demonstration?" Kogorō asked.
Kogorō, and the girls went inside.
"What a pain", One bald man said, looking at the protesters from the town hall window. "It was also the night of the funeral of the deceased mayor. So annoying people".
"Honestly, how rude", One woman said. "Hirata! What are you doing? Ask them to be quiet!"
"Yes, miss", The man said from the room.
"Hey, are you okay with all this", One man asked.
"What now, Shuuichi?" The woman asked.
"They say your father will be replaced after this election", Shuuichi said.
"It is so. It seems that I am the most popular candidate for a new mayor among the people of this island", One man said coming into the room.
"You've always been good at spending your money", The bald man said. "I learned that from you, of course".
Then the bald man saw Kogorōn, and the girls:
"Who are you?"
"We're from Tokyo. I'm Mōri Kogorō, a detective", Kogorō said.
"D-detective?!" The bald man asked.
"Yes. This is my daughter Ran, and my assistant Miyamizu Irene. A resident of this island gave us a mission after first transferring 500,000 yen to my account", Kogorō said. "That customer even sent me a letter, and then he called me, introducing Asou Keiji".
"Performing Asou Keiji?!" The bald man asked.
"Yes. It could be his relative who was not here when Asou Keiji died 12 years ago. We were just advised to talk about it with Mayor Kuroiwa, as the mayor was a friend of Asou Keiji. I would like to talk to Mayor Kuroiwa about Asou Keiji", Kogorō said.
"You're already talking, because I'm Mayor Kuroiwa, and here's my daughter Reiko", The mayor said.
"Where's Asou Keiji's house?" Kogorō asked. "We'd like to take a look at that crime scene".
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work, because that place burned to the ground that night when Asou Keiji set fire to his house. However, the grand piano he played during his last concert is here, so look at it if you want", The mayor said.
"I-isn't that dangerous, because it's a curse?" Hirata asked, returning to the room.
"It's not cursed", The mayor said. "Our guests have clearly been badly spoiled, so we have to compensate them for coming here from Tokyo".
"B-but that's the grand piano... It's the grand piano Asou-san played during his last concert... It's the damn grand piano!" Hirata said.
"How so damn?" Kogorō asked.
"It wasn't just Asou-san. Something similar happened to the old mayor", Hirata said.
"Kameyama? Isn't he the one they're having a funeral for tonight?" Kogorō asked. "Narumi-sensei mentioned that to us before".
"Yes. It happened 2 years ago", Hirata said. "Then it was also a full moon night. I was walking past the town hall. And even though it should have been closed, I heard music from inside the town hall. I looked out the window inside the town hall to see if anyone was there, but there was no one. When I went inside like this, that Kameyama-san was on top of the grand piano I just mentioned, his heart had stopped, and the song I had heard before...was the same song that Asou-san played in his burning house, called "Moonlight Sonata". Since then, that grand piano has been said cursed".
"Kameayuma had a heart attack and that grand piano isn't cursed", The mayor said.
"Kameayama wasn't even a much-liked mayor, as he was a lewd closeer", Reiko said.
"Lustful Approach?" Shizuka asked.
"Kameyama ran along the lands, and the mantles after the new swings, and he even approached the young women", Reiko said. "He had once even struck Narumi-sensei".
"I understand", Shizuka said.
"Sure, take a look at that grand piano", The mayor said. "Hirata, show that grand piano to our guests".
"G-good is", Hirata led the ensemble into a room with only a black grand piano, and in front of it was a grand piano stool. There were windows on the walls of the room. On one wall of the room was a door leading to the sea.
"You can see well from here to the sea", Kogorō said, looking out the window at the seashore.
"Yeah. Be careful near that grand piano", Hirata said as he opened the room, closing the double doors of the room behind him.
"Should we even approach that grand piano?" Ran asked in fear.
"You know what? I don't believe in curses, so what if we study this grand piano in spite of everything?" Shizuka suggested.
"Let's do it", Kogorō said.
"Does this grand piano now need to be dismantled for further investigation?" Shizuka asked.
"If it is necessary, then it will be done later, but now it will be examined first while it is intact", Kogorō said.
"I'll examine it from the inside first", Shizuka said. "Could you study it later?"
"All right", Ran said.
Shizuka looked under the lid of the grand piano, feeling its inner son with his left hand, and surprisingly one part of the inner bottom of the grand piano slid to the side, revealing a secret box inside the grand piano and a small, black wooden box inside:
"I found something. Is it okay for us to look into it now?"
"It's good", Kogorō said.
Shizuka took the wood box out of his hiding place, and put the box In the arms of Kogorō.
"Where did you find this box?" Kogorō asked.
"There was a secret box on the inside of the grand piano, which I touched to open the door of that secret box and found that wooden box in that very secret box. Why was it hidden inside the grand piano? Is there anything valuable inside it?" Shizuka asked.
"It's clear by looking", Kogorō said, opening the lid of the wood box. Inside the wood box were plastic bags with white powder inside.
"Are there any drugs from that?!" Shizuka, and Kogorō thought after seeing the powder inside the bags.
"What are those?" Ran asked.
"They may be drugs. They should be sent to the mainland for police analysis", Kogorō said.
"Indeed, Ran-san mentioned yesterday that you were sometimes in the police murder team while working as a police officer, but did you even investigate drug cases?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes, because some of the murderers I was arresting at the time were drug dealers," Kogorō said.
"But why were those hidden inside the grand piano?" Ran asked.
"Perhaps Asou Keiji found out who was a drug broker on this island, and Asou Keiji took those drugs from that drug broker, hiding them inside this grand piano to report to the police of that drug broker with conclusive evidence. Or Asou Keiji was involved in some secret drug-bis , and he was murdered so that he could not tell the police the names of the other members of that drug chain!" Kogorō said. "After all, the other members of the sales chain in that drug business could have assassinated Asou Keiji, and set the scene for a triple homicide to avoid being exposed".
"Really ingenious reasoning", Shizuka praised.
"Heh heh!" Kogorō laughed.
"Are there still drug dealers on this island?" Shizuka asked.
"It will survive as the investigations progress. Let's take these to the police station", Kogorō said.
"This sounds pretty good, even though no one has touched it", Ran said, playing the grand piano a little. He then peeked below the grand piano, and found the secret door below it, which was previously found by Shizuka:
"Here, too, below the grand piano is a secret door that is roughly below the secret door I just discovered, but the secret door I found is empty".
Ran pulled out from under the grand piano and stood up.
The crowd left the room and saw Narumi-sensei coming to the scene with a man.
Now Narumi-sensei was wearing a black suit and a blue-gray brooch:
"Oh, are you all still here?"
"Narumi-san? Are you coming to the funeral of the previous mayor?" Ran asked.
"Yes. When I first came to this island, the late Kameyama-san was my first patient. This is the least I can do. Oh by the way, this is Shimizu-san, one of the election candidates I mentioned earlier. We met on the way when we came here", Narumi said.
"I'm Shimizu Masato. Nice to meet you", Shimizu said. He was 49 years old.
"Likewise. Could you tell us where the police station on this island is? I should talk to the police here about something", Kogorō said.
"Sure. I'll show you the way to the police station", Masato said.
"Thank you. I'll be right back, so wait here", Kogorō told the girls from Masato's room.
"Lady, someone is still presenting something other than what is", Shizukan amulet said.
"You've said that before, and even then Narumi-sensei was there. Could Narumi-sensei be the one pretending to be other than what?" Shizuka thought.
(In the evening)
Everyone later sat on the floor cushions placed on the floor of the town hall during the funeral of the previous mayor.
Everyone was wearing black clothes, and the picture of the previous mayor was on a table in front of the room like the flowers behind it. Kanushi, who lives on the island, performed the ceremony.
"Hey, Kawashima. You hired a searcher to find me dirty secrets before the election using Asou Keinji's name, right?" Mayor Kuroiwa said to the man sitting to his right.
"Hmph! Don't be ridiculous", Kawashima said. Then he stood up.
"You're running away, aren't you?" The mayor asked.
"I'm going to the bathroom", Kawashima said, opening the sliding door of the room, and going out of the room closing the door behind her.
"How was the police station?" Shizuka asked Kogorō, sitting to her right.
"A police officer sent a box you found earlier for analysis by police working on the mainland", Kogorō said.
"All right. By the way, the current mayor previously seemed to be hiding something", Shizuka said.
"I noticed it", Kogorō said.
"When will we get the result of the analysis by the police?" Ran asked.
"I don't know yet", Kogorō said.
"Strange. That grand piano hasn't been used in years, but it's still perfectly tuned. Someone must have tuned it in secret. But for what purpose?" Shizuka thought. "And what exactly did that letter Kogorō received earlier mean?"
Surprisingly, everyone heard playing the grand piano from one of the town hall rooms.
"This song", The mayor said.
Everyone looked nervous.
"Moonlight Sonata!" Shizuka thought after recognizing the song.
Shizuka ran like the others towards the grand piano room, pushing its doors open to see Kawashima lying on top of the grand piano soaked. His coat was missing, and there was water on the floor that led to the other door of the room.
"It's Kawashima-san..." Someone said.
"I'm late because the killer escaped!" Shizuka thought angrily.
Kogorō began to study Kawashima.
"Mōri-san, is it Kawashima-san?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes. He's dead", Kogorō said.
"What did you say?" The mayor asked.
"Ran, hurry up and report this to the police station", Kogorō said.
"Yes!" Ran ran out of the room.
"Narumi-sensei, please do research", Kogorō said.
"Yes", Narumi said, walking closer to Kawashima.
"I'm sorry, Mōri-san, but what is that?" Shizuka asked after seeing something shiny inside the grand piano.
"What?" Kogorō asked.
"There's something shiny inside the grand piano", Shizuka said.
"Give when I look", Kogorō retrieved from the secret compartment inside the grand piano the radio of the cassette recorder, which had a cassette recorder still playing:
"Looks on the radio".
Kogorō turned off the radio, and the music stopped playing:
"Irene, was this radio in the secret box inside that grand piano already when we examined this grand piano earlier?"
"It wasn't. That secret box was completely empty, except for the wood box I found earlier", Shizuka said. "What do you think?"
"So the letter Kogorō received earlier predicted people would start dying again on Tsukikage Island! That letter was apparently written by Kawashima's murderer!" Shizuka thought.
"I-It's a curse!" Hirata shouted. "This is because of the curse of that grand piano!"
"There's not even a curse, because I think someone did this thing!" Kogorō shouted:
"Irene, I think this crime has something to do with the wood box you found inside this grand piano. The music came from a cassette recorder on this radio. Based on the previous two cases, I'd say this case is murder".
"Murder?" Hirata asked, trembling a little scared.
"Hey. Don't say anything ridiculous. And who the hell are you?" Shuuichi asked.
"I am a detective from Tokyo, Mōri Kogorō", Kogorō said.
"Oh, you're that astronaut", Someone said.
Kogorō was a little depressed.
"No. He's the character of all those novels".
"You're thinking of Detecting Akechi".
"So, who is this man?"
Kogorō was still depressed.
"He's Mōri Kogorō, as he already said. He's sometimes worked for a police murder squad at Tokyo's main police station, right?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes", Kogorō said. "I am even known as Nemuri no Kogorō".
"Why are you here?" Someone asked.
"Did Kamoshita hire you to uncover dirty secrets from its competitors before the election?" Mayor Kuroiwa asked.
"I didn't hire. I got a letter a couple of days ago from someone who claimed to be Asou Keiji. He transferred 500,000 yen to my account so I could come to this island to investigate a case like this. Then he called me, but when we came here we found out he died 12 years ago. However, according to what we have heard, one of his relatives was not here when Asou Keiji died 12 years ago, so it is this relative of Asou Keij that I just mentioned that I was hiring to investigate Asou Keiji's death. a relative presented Asou Keiji hiring me to find out the truth about the fate of his relatives", Kogorō said.
"Why would Asou Keiji be murdered 12 years ago?" Hirata asked.
"When we examined this grand piano before, my assistant then found a secret box inside this grand piano that contained the wooden box I mentioned earlier. When I opened that wooden box, there were plastic bags with white powder inside. I suspected them of drugs. They have now been sent for analysis by police on the continent", Kogorō said. "Even below this grand piano is a secret box that is roughly below the secret box previously found by my assistant, but it was empty".
"Drugs?!" Hirata asked in shock.
"Yes. I suspect Asou Keiji found out who was a drug broker on this island, and Asou Keiji took these drugs from that drug broker, hiding them inside this grand piano to report that drug broker to the police with conclusive evidence. Another option is that maybe Asou Keiji was part of some secret drug business supply chain, and decided to leave that supply chain, but other members of that supply chain murdered him and his wife and daughter so that Asou Keiji could not tell the names of other members of that supply chain to the police. Maybe someone put a radio like this to play Moonlight Sonata then, staging the situation to look like Asou Keijin did it himself. And then the case of the previous Mayor Kameyama, and yet considering this case, it seems quite that there is a murderer on this island who murdered Kameayama-san, and now Kawashima-san. I think the killer caused Kameyama-san's heart attack, and then played Moonlight Sonata to make the situation look like that grand piano was cursed", Kogorō said.
"Then the murderer may be one of the inhabitants of this island, or it's a relative of Asou Keiji mentioned earlier", Shuuichi said.
"Mōri-san, I suspect that is seawater", Shizuka said, looking at the water on the floor that led to the front door of the room.
"Probably", Kogorō said after seeing the same as Shizukak.
"The time of the death was probably 30 minutes to an hour. It was probably a quick death", Narumi said, holding the writing pad in his right hand. "He probably drowned to death".
"He drowned in the water?" Kogorō asked.
"I can no longer speculate without an autopsy", Narumi said.
Shizuka walked to the front of the window and saw a jacket floating on the shores of Kawashima, partly floating in the water. Then Shizuka saw the sand on Kawashima's back, and the stains of dirt. Then Shizuka noticed the back door of the room, and the windows were locked:
"I think Narumi-sensei is right. Look, Mōri-san. I'm sure that jacket on the beach, partly floating in the water, belongs to Kawashima-san. The water path on the floor of this room leads from the front door of this room to Kawashima's body, and Kawashima behind the shirt is dirt and sand".
Shizuka turned on the radio that Kogorō had just put on the floor to find out he was right.
"When did he invent that?" Kogorō muttered.
"Perhaps Kawashima-san was intentionally drowned. The murderer must have seen Kawashima-san go to the bathroom earlier, and then attacked Kawashima-san. After the murder, Kawashima-san's murderer brought the victim to this room and put the victim on a grand piano. It explains the water on the floor. Or maybe it went like this:
It is likely that the criminal had led Kawashima-san out, drowned Kawashima-san, and carried the body back here. The murderer then locked the back door and windows of this room, and then pressed the button of the recorder he had hidden inside the grand piano, turning on the radio he had hidden inside the grand piano. I would say that the murderer must be a man, for such murder requires a great deal of physical strength. Isn't that right, Mōri-san?" Shizuka asked.
"Ah...Yes, that's right!" Kogorō said. "Heh heh. If this back door was locked and we used to sit in our seats, then it's very likely that the killer returned to his own place at the funeral after he committed the crime to avoid being seen".
"Wait a moment!" Reiko said. "Are you saying the killer is still here?"
"Yes. The killer is still among us! Did anyone else see Kawashima-san leave his place during the recent event?" Kogorō asked.
"I saw it, because I was sitting next to him then. I remember he said he was going to the bathroom", The mayor said.
"Did anyone else leave?" Kogorō asked.
"Do you think we could remember whenever someone got up?" Shuuichi asked.
"Well, is there anyone on this island who could have had some kind of resentment towards Kawashima?" Kogorō asked.
"It's certainly not resentful...but since Shimizu-san is running for mayor, he would benefit most from Kawashima's death", The mayor said.
"What?! Doesn't that apply to you too, Mayor Kuroiwa?" Shimizu asked.
"That's right. Because then my father's re-election would be certain", Reiko said. "If someone hasn't plotted to take Kawashima's voices for himself".
"What?!" Shimizu asked.
"Miss!" Hirata said, putting both hands on Reiko's right shoulder.
"Calm down now", Kogorō said.
"More importantly, why did the killer bring the body back here after he committed the murder?" Shizuka asked, looking at Kawashima's body covered with a white cloth.
"Hmph. Of course, the murder was to be blamed for the invented curse of the grand piano. By the way, how long has this grand piano been here?" Kogorō asked.
"Kogorō is right. The fact that that grand piano was supposedly cursed turned the suspicions away from the murderer himself for a while. If Asou Keiji was part of that secret drug business supply chain, then Kameyamak belonged to that drug sales chain? Maybe Kameyama and Kawashima were one of Asou Keiji's murderers, now 1 suspect is a relative of Asou Keiji whose name the archivist we met earlier didn't remember, so the question is, who is Asou Keiji's relative? And why would Narumi-sensei present anything other than what is?" Shizuka wondered.
"It simply came to our notice then ever since Asou-san donated it here 15 years ago", Hirata said.
"Ah. Asou-san did it?" Kogorō asked.
"Yes. His name should be engraved on the front of that grand piano", Hirata said.
Kogorō turned the grandstand of the grand piano down, and there were notes written on the paper.
"This is sheet music", Kogorō took the sheet music into his hands. "Strange, because this wasn't here this afternoon. I understand. The murderer must have put this paper here after killing Kawashima".
"Aaaaa!" One man shouted rushing out of the room. He had pale skin, messy, black hair, and black eyes.
"Who was that?" Kogorō asked.
"She's Nishimoto-san. She sometimes made a lot of money, and spent a lot of money on women's clubs, gambling and drinking. But when the former mayor died 2 years ago, Nishimoto-san was always afraid of something, and she rarely leaves home. I believe he is Mayor Kuroiwa's childhood friend", Hirata said.
The mayor looked nervous:
"Oh, that's it".
"Would Nishimoto-sank be part of the drug business supply chain that Asou Keiji tried to leave after being murdered? In that case, Nishimoto-sank might be one of the targets of the killer on this island", Shizuka wondered.
"I brought the police!" Ran rushed into the room with the elderly police.
"You're late, Ran!" Kogorō said.
"But he wasn't at the police station, and I had to look for him everywhere!" Ran said.
"Hey again, Mōri-san. Let's see...Who wanted to talk to me?" Police said.
"This man, Mōri Kogorō", Hirata said.
"Oh, now I remember why your name sounded familiar when you came to the police station earlier. You're so famous..." The police were saying.
"Yes!" Kogorō smiled.
"astronaut!" Police said.
Kogorō looked depressed.
"Uh no", Kogorō said. "I'm a detective. I already mentioned to you the call I received earlier, and the letter the sender claimed to be Asou Keiji. What about the package I sent to the mainland before?"
"It should already be on the mainland. It will take about a day to get the results of the analysis of the powders inside", Police said.
"Okay. It's late anyway", Kogorō said. "We'll get reports from everyone starting tomorrow morning".
"What murder? It was the angry spirit of Asou-san".
"God, how awful".
"Who would have thought that drugs were ever sold here?"
"They should have burned that creepy grand piano", Reiko said, starting with others from City Hall.
"You're right. It would solve many problems if that grand piano were gone", Shuuichi said.
"Shuuichi?" Reiko asked.
Hirata looked at Shuuichi a little gloomily.
"Who else living on this island was part of that secret drug business supply chain?" Shuuichi asked.
"Where am I from you, but maybe Nishimoto was one of them?" Reiko asked.
"It can be", Shuuichi said. "That Nishimotohan behaved quite suspiciously in the past".
Shizuka, Kogorō and Ran left the town hall with Narumi-sensei.
"You surprised me with your conclusion, Irene-san", Narumi said.
"Thank you", Shizuka said.
"This girl likes mysterious cases", Ran said.
"But everyone was convinced of your skills, Irene-san", Narumi said.
"I just learned a lot from Mōri-san by acting as his assistant. Because I always see him working", Shizuka said.
"Well, my assistant is still a child when you compare him to me", Kogorō said.
"Heh heh", Narumi laughed as he stopped.
"Well, then we'll get back to the inn from here", Kogorō said.
"See you later. Resolve this case quickly. I don't want to do any more forensic research", Narumi said.
"Don't worry, it's child's play for me!" Kogorō said. "Heh heh!"
Then Narumi left for his home.
"I've heard that before, even though we don't really know anything about the case yet. Wait ... The wording of the letter said the shadow 'is starting to disappear's, which means it's not over yet!" Shizuka thought. "If the perpetrator of a recent crime kills those members of the drug business supply chain who murdered Asou Keiji and his family, it means more crimes are happening!"
"Mōri-san, I just got an idea. If the perpetrator of a recent crime is murdering members of the drug business supply chain who murdered Asou Keiji and his family, it probably means more crimes are happening", Shizuka said.
"What? Will there be more murders?" Kogorō asked, and took the letter he had received from his pocket. "Do you mean this letter is telling us that?"
"For the shadow to disappear, the light must reach it. That light is the song we heard at the recent crime scene, or 'Moonlight Sonata's", Shizuka said.
"I see! The same song that Asou Keijin was said to have played in flames 12 years ago, and it's the song that even the late mayor was said to have played before his death, Beethoven's" Moonlight Sonata. And all the murders have taken place near the grand pianos. You two will return to the inn!" Kogorō said, starting to run towards the town hall.
"Wait!" Ran shouted.
"Ran-san, let's also go back to town hall", Shizuka said.
"Huh?" Ran asked.
"Maybe it's not a good idea if your father is there alone. A member of the drug business that your father mentioned earlier might even attack your father if your father finds some decisive clue when he's alone in town hall", Shizuka said.
(Later at City Hall)
"You can't be sane if you want to spend the night near your body", Police said, dropping a futon and a pile of sleeping bags on the floor. He had just brought the goods to the town hall at Kogorō's request. "And even with the kids! Damn it!"
"I told you two to go back to the inn!" Kogorō said to the girls.
"But Irene-chan was worried about you", Ran said to his father.
"Anyway, who moved the body from the grand piano to the floor?" Kogorō asked.
"I did it", Police said. "I'm sorry for his life when his body was left to lie that way".
"Ah. This makes the investigation a little harder", Kogorō said.
"Huh? The notes are gone", Shizuka said after noticing the matter.
"What?!" Kogorō asked.
"Someone had to take the notes! It was probably someone who had just left here. It could have been Narumi-senseik if he once pretended to be other than what it is", Shizuka thought.
"Oh yeah. I thought I'd take them to custody", Police said about the notes coming out of the inside pocket.
"That old rogue", Kogorō muttered.
"These are the notes of Moonlight Sonata!" Ran said after looking at the notes shown by the police.
"What?!" Kogorō asked.
"Moonlight Sonata Sheet Music?" Shizuka asked.
"I want to try it", Ran said, putting the notes in place, sitting on a stool, and starting to play.
No one knew there was a guest moving outside the town hall.
"Gah!" Kogorō shouted when Ran called incorrectly at one point:
"What are you doing? You're drowning!"
"No, the notes on the fourth line are weird", Ran said.
"Fourth line?" Shizuka asked.
"This music", Kogorō said, looking at Shizuka with the notes. Kogorō then took the notes, looking at them more closely. "Could it be the death message left behind by Asou Keiji, Kameyama, or Kamashima? If so, then the killer might come back here to get it".
"I'll take a picture of it for safety", Shizuka took a picture of the notes on her cell phone camera, and then put her cell phone in her pocket.
"Uh, I asked you when I was just at the reception of the inn, and they said you came back here", Narumi-sensei said, standing at the door, holding the white plastic bag in the right way.
"Narumi-sensei!" Police said.
"I brought you dinner", Narumi said.
"Now that I think about it", Ran said.
"So I'm hungry", Kogorō continued his daughter's sentence.
Later, everyone ate while sitting on the floor of the room.
"Aren't you born on this island, Narumi-sensei?" Ran asked.
"No. I always go to Tokyo on the weekends because my family lives in Tokyo. This is almost like my part-time job. I've always wanted to live closer to nature in the suburbs, and I thought of working on this small island. I've been working here for two years", Narumi said.
"Narumi-sensei, as for the late Mayor Kameyama, did he really die of a heart attack?" Kogorō asked.
"Yes, he had a weak heart, but he had a really horrible look on his face because he probably saw something really scary before he died", Narumi-sensei said.
"Did you notice anything else then that wasn't right?" Shizuka asked.
"Let's see", Narumi said. "Now that you mentioned it".
"What?" Shizuka asked.
"I think one of the windows in this room was open at the time", Narumi said.
"Window?" Kogorō asked.
"I thought someone had forgotten to close that window back then", Police said, looking thoughtful.
"It's a window", Kogorō said.
"Absolutely", Narumi said, walking in front of the window on his right. "I think...it was this window".
Surprisingly, someone seemed to be moving outside.
"Who is it?!" Ran, Shizuka, and Kogorō shouted, and Narumikin looked out the window in surprise.
The intruder started running, and Kogorō opened the window:
"Stop!"
Kogorō, and Shizuka went to follow the intruder.
"You won't run away!" Shizuka shouted.
Ran, and Narumi looked out the window worried.
"Damn, we lost him out of sight", Kogorō said, stopping with Shizuka, taking the notes from his pocket. "I knew it. He came to take this paper for himself".
The duo returned to City Hall.
"We're sleeping here tonight, aren't we?" Kogorō asked.
"Yes!" Others said.
(On the next day)
"Hello, Mōri-kun", Commissioner Megure said, raising Kogorōn. "Mōri-kun. It's already afternoon".
"Keibu-dono...why are you here?" Kogorō asked in surprise, getting up at the same time.
"I came here myself to tell you the result of the analysis of the contents of the powder bags you sent to the mainland yesterday, because this the island is still part of the Tokyo area. You were right about your suspicion that the contents of their powder bags were indeed cocaine, and other drugs", Magure said.
Some police officers filmed, and investigated the crime scene.
"Or so. Here it is", Kogorō searched for notes in the inside pocket of his jacket.
"If you're looking for those notes you found yesterday, then Irene-kun already gave those notes to me", Megure showed the notes to Kogorō. "And he already explained the details of this case to me. They were awake when I got here. Only you and the old police were asleep at the time. We're gathering evidence from City Hall. Come help us with that".
"Sure", Kogorō said.
Narumi, the island's police, and the girls were still sleeping on the futons.
(Later)
Shizuka, and others sat on the couch of the town hall as police interrogated the suspects.
"We shouldn't have slept in a strange place", Shizuka said. He had not initially been able to sleep properly last night because of a crime the day before.
"Dad, how are you? Did you find the criminal?" Ran asked Kogorō, who had just arrived.
"Don't be silly", Kogorō said. "About 38 people came to the previous mayor's funeral yesterday. It won't be so easy to interrogate them all. In addition, something happened during the recent interrogations that somewhat disrupted the recent interrogations. Someone broke one window from the grand piano room and escaped before we even got to the crime scene. However, there was some blood on the shard of the window hanging from the floor of the grand piano room, so apparently the intruder injured herself as she escaped the window shard, or broke into the grand piano room. The thief was probably going to sell those drug rips to someone".
"Where's the interrogation queue?" Narumi asked.
"We thought you were tired, so we left you last", Kogorō said.
"Then I go to the bathroom to wash my face", Narumi said. He stood up, and walked toward the toilet.
"How many more people are being questioned?" Shizuka asked.
"Well, they are Narumi-sensei, the mayor's daughter, Kuroiwa Reiko, her fiancé Murasawa Shuuichi, candidate Shimizu Masato, Mayor Kuroiwa's secretary Hirata Kazuaki and Nishimoto Ken, who is being questioned now. No matter what we ask, she has to be quiet murderer", Kogorō said.
"You idiot! Because we've kept the cursed grand piano here, we have these murders going on!" The mayor shouted at Hirota, drawing everyone's attention.
"But the mayor", Hirota said.
"At first the mayor claimed that the grand piano was not cursed, but now he is talking differently. And how has Hirota-san hurt his left hand?! Wait a minute! Was Hirota-san the one who broke into the grand piano room during the recent interrogations? If so, Hirota-san seems to hurt her hand when she tries to escape the room, she breaks the window of the grand piano room. Did she know about the drugs hidden inside the grand piano? So she tried to stop us from studying that grand piano at first", Shizuka thought.
"Get rid of that grand piano! Did you understand that, Hirota?" The mayor asked.
"Yes, sir", Hirota said.
The mayor left the room.
Reiko was later interrogated.
"Let me out of the interrogations already! Do I really have a motive to kill Kawashima-san?" Reiko asked Megure. "Heck!"
"He's really something", Ran said. "He's been shouting for ten minutes."
"It's weird", Shizuka mused. "Nishimoto has already been interrogated, but why isn't he going home already?"
Then Nishimoto walked towards the toilet.
"I'm going to the bathroom", Shizuka said, getting up to stand, and walking toward the toilet.
Shizuka stopped near the women's toilet door to see Shuuichi coming from the toilet.
"Didn't Nishimoto go to the bathroom even though I saw him walking towards the toilet?" Shizuka thought. Then Masato came out of the bathroom.
"I'm sorry, but did Nishimoto-san just go to the bathroom?" Shizuka asked.
"No", Masato said.
Then Shizuka saw the stairs on his right, leading upstairs to the town hall:
"Damn! Stairs!"
Shizuka ran down the stairs toward the upstairs of the town hall until he heard Moonlight Sonata music. He stopped on the second floor of the town hall and saw Nishimoto looking at one of the rooms with the nameplate on the door:
"Dispatch Room".
Noshimoto fell to his back on the floor, and began to tremble.
"Noshimoto-san!" Shizuka ran next to Nishimoto, looking into the room to see the mayor sitting in a chair in front of the machine table in the mission room, and leaning on the machine table. The mayor had a knife on his back, and he was covered in blood:
"Mayor Kuroiwa!"
Others ran to the scene to see the same as Shizukak.
"Papa!" Reiko shouted frozen, and tried to run into the room to check his father's situation, but Kogorō, and Megure stopped Reiko.
"Wait! You can't go there!" Megure shouted. "Call a forensic scientist!"
"Megure Keibu, a questioning researcher, returned to Tokyo to perform an autopsy on Kawashima", Someone said.
"What?" Megure asked. "Damn. At a time like this".
"Um...I'm a doctor, so I'll do it if it suits you", Narumi said.
"Narumi-sensei", Ran said.
"Now, however, we've narrowed down the list of suspects", Megure said.
"Was Mayor Kuroiwak part of that secret drug business supply chain? In that case, he too could have been involved in Asou Keiji's murder!" Shizuka thought, looking around.
"Is the killer still here?" Kogorō asked.
"We've deployed officers to all the exits", Megure said.
"Who is the killer?!" Shizuka thought.
"I think this man has only been dead for a few minutes", Narumi said after finishing his investigations.
"This tape has 5 minutes and 30 seconds of input silence", Magure said, examining the tape from his machine just now.
"Megure Keibu, I've found something under the victim", One police officer said, looking at the cartoon notes on the floor.
"What is it?" Kogorō and Megure rushed closer, but they stumbled and fell on the notes drawn on the floor, but when they got up to sit on their knees no stains had appeared on their clothes.
"Did it hurt you?" Shizuka asked.
"It didn't happen", Kogorō said.
"Same words", Megure said.
"Sheet music?" Megure asked.
"Is this a death message written by the victim, too?" Kogorō asked.
"Could that be written by the murderer?" Shizuka thought after seeing the cartoon notes on the floor. Then he saw the front of Kogorō, and Megure's clothes, with no stains. "Kogorō, and the commissioner, just fell over that just a note written on the floor, but their clothes still didn't get stained. So the blood drawn on the floor is already dry. Wait a minute! It takes a certain amount of time for the blood to dry, and that time does not correspond to Narumi-sensei's recent statement. Could Narumi-sensei be the murderer? But why would he commit these crimes? Wait a minute! Could Narumi-sensei be the relative of Asou Keiji we heard about earlier? But Kawashima's murder yesterday suggested that the murderer would be a man, as that crime required a lot of physical strength so what is Narumi-sensei's contribution to these crimes? Wait a minute! My Azure Redi jewelry said earlier that someone here presents something other than what it is! Could it be that Narumi-sensei is really a man, and that he is just disguised as a woman, and therefore uses a pseudonym?"
"The killer again used Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and the same' cassette player's trick", Megure said. "Judging by the time of death and the tape played by the murderer, the killer must have murdered him at about 6:30 a.m. That means the killer must have been one of you! Nishimoto Ken, the first person to find the body. Asai Narumi, who conducted a forensic investigation. Hirata Kazuaki, the late mayor "Reiko, the daughter of Mayor Kuroiwa, and Murasawa Shuuichi, Reiko's fiancé. And Shimizu Masato, who will stand up to him in the election".
"Don't wait a minute! Why am I a suspect? You interrogated me at 6:30!" Reiko shouted.
The commissioner, and Kogorō looked a little troubled.
"Yes. It couldn't be you", Kogorō said.
"Then Narumi-sense also has an alibi, because we were together for half past six", Ran said. "Isn't it, Irene-chan?"
"Yes", Shizuka said. "Admittedly, Narumi-sensei went to the bathroom at some point. If he murdered Mayor Kuroiwa then, Narumi-sensei might have written that note pattern on the floor with the mayor's blood, and then Narumi-sensei later falsified the mayor's time of death by giving us a newly forged statement after his recent investigations".
"So four suspects", Megure said.
"I was on this floor at 6:30, too", Hirata said.
"Is there anyone to confirm it?" Megure asked.
"You all saw me here, didn't you?" Hirata asked.
"No, because I was in the bathroom at the time", Masato said.
"By the way, Nishimoto-san. You were the first person to find the body. Given that, you could very well have committed that crime", Megure said.
"Kuroiwa asked me to see him there earlier", Nishimoto said.
"You mean you called him there and killed him when he came to the place you agreed?" Kogorō asked.
"No!" Nishimoto shouted.
"It's Shimizu! If the other candidates dropped out, the mayor's seat would go to him!" Reiko shouted.
"What are you thinking, Irene-chan?" Ran asked after seeing Shizuka's pensive look.
"Something doesn't seem to be right now. Notes were left at every crime scene. I think it's a coded message that the killer wanted us to decode", Shizuka took the cell phone from his pocket and looked closely at the picture he took earlier. "These sharp, and steady notes can play a key role in it in resolving the code".
Rankin looked at the picture Shizuka had taken earlier.
"These are usually the black keyboards on the piano, aren't they?" Ran asked. "Right?"
"Black keyboards?" Shizuka asked.
"Hurry up, and arrest this killer already!" Reiko shouted, looking at Shimizu angrily. "If you don't, more people ..."
"You understand that, don't you? You're next". If you don't come, more people will know your secret..." Shizuka said, and everyone looked at him curiously.
"Irene-chan?" Ran asked.
"The code is simple if you know the trick", Shizuka said. "If you make a letter on every piano keyboard that starts on the left, then it's not very complicated. Using this decoding system, the notes left near Kawashima-san say:
"You understand that, don't you? You're next. "Right?"
"Wow, Irene-chan!" Ran said.
"So what do those notes that were previously written in blood on the floor of the mission room say?" Kogorō asked.
"Let's see..."The angry fire of hell has made you pay", Shizuka said.
"Damn angry fire?" Could it be?" Hirata asked.
"The pianist who killed himself 12 years ago?" Reiko asked.
"Heh heh. It's him! Asou Keiji is still alive!" Nishimoto laughed.
"No, it's not," Island police said as they entered the room. "We have identified the bones found in the ruins of Asou Keiji's house after a fire 12 years ago. They were the bones of Asou Keiji, and there was nothing wrong with that investigation. But all that was left of that fire was the notes he put in his safe".
"Sheet music?!" Megure, and Kogorō asked.
Nishimoto looked nervous.
"Where are they? Where are those notes?" Kogorō asked.
"In the storage room of City Hall. But the key to that room is inside another building", Police said.
"Hurry up, and get that key!" Megure shouted.
"Yes!" Police were running out.
"Oh! Wait a minute! What about Asou Keiji's relative who wasn't here when Asou Keiji died 12 years ago?" Shizuka asked.
"It's been a while since I last saw him. I don't remember his name right now", Island police said.
"N-next on killer's list is my turn!" Nishimoto shouted in fear.
"What?!" Megure asked.
"Seiji has somehow gotten to know the truth about Asou Keiji!" Nishimoto shouted.
"Seiji?" The island police muttered to themselves. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Who is the Seiji you just mentioned?" Kogorō asked Nishimoto.
Nishimoto walked back in trembling with fear.
"Talk about it later! Get that key!" Megure shouted.
"Sure!" Police ran out of town hall.
"I'll help you find that key!" Shizuka shouted from now on to follow the police.
"Irene-chan?" Ran asked.
"Did Asou-san really set fire to his own house 12 years ago?" Shizuka asked.
"Yeah. There were several eyewitnesses. They include the late Kameyama, Kuroiwa, and also Nishimoto and Kawashima", Police said as they walked down the street with Shizuka.
"How did they relate to each other?" Shizuka asked.
"They were all before classmates", Police said.
"And what about Murasawa?" Shizuka asked.
"He came to this island 3 years ago, and soon after he got engaged to the mayor's daughter. However, the mayor opposed it", Police said.
"What about the mayor's secretary, Hirata?" Shizuka asked.
"There's something strange about him. I don't know where he was hired, but he always had secret meetings with Kawashima-san at City Hall", Police said.
"How do you think Hirata hurt her left hand?" Shizuka asked. "I saw a gauze previously tied to that hand. That gauze wasn't in his left hand yesterday".
"You have accurate eyes. However, I'm not sure how he's actually hurt his left hand", Police said.
"All right. What about Shimizu?" Shizuka asked.
"She has a strong sense of justice and she has the support of local fishermen. Do you have any more questions, Miss Sherlock?" Police asked.
"A little. Did Asou Keiji have enemies?" Shizuka asked.
"Not as far as I can remember", Police said, arriving with Shizuka at the building they were looking for.
After searching for a while, the duo found the key they were looking for, and then they returned to City Hall to see Hirata coming out with a police officer and putting money in a vending machine outside City Hall.
"How is your hand?" Shizuka asked, and Hirata was so surprised that he dropped all his money on the ground. Click!
"Sorry if I scared you".
"It doesn't matter. In the past, my hand only got a small scratch on the back of my palm, because I fell over last night while I was on a little walk", Hirata said, picking up the money.
"Iiiiiiik!" Ran shouted from inside, and the quartet rushed inside, and went to a room near the grand piano room, in front of which Ran stood in shock.
"What now, Ran-san?" Shizuka asked, nervous after hearing the Moonlight Sonata from the room. "Moonlight Sonata?!"
"The safe I mentioned earlier is in that room, but the door to that room was locked the last time I saw it", Island police said.
"The door had been broken open by torturing the door lock with this hairpin, and it looks like Nishimoto-san was right about their previous words", Megure said, looking into the room, and with the handkerchief she had just found on the floor.
"What?!" Shizuka, thought, and looked into the room with the police to see that Nishimoto had been hung on a rope to hang from the ceiling.
"Apparently the perpetrator was trying to make it look like Nishimoto-san had caused that himself, but there's nothing in the room that Nishimoto-san could have climbed to commit suicide. The perpetrator is probably a man if he was once able to put Nishimoto on that hang", Megure said, turning off the cassette player playing in the room. "Everyone, the entrances to this town hall, and even the broken window during interrogations, are still guarded, so the suspect hasn't escaped. Well, was the key found?"
"Yes. It's here", Island police said, opening the safe door.
"The third part of the code is set to play", Megure said, looking at the cassette recorder she was holding. "Taking 30 minutes per half tape time, Nishimoto-san was killed within 30 minutes".
"These were found below Nishimoto-san's feet. Irene-kun, what do these notes say this time?" Megure asked, showing off the floor the music she had just bombarded for Shizuka.
"It's a suicide message", Shizuka said. "The situation was probably staged to look like you already said".
"Probably. The murderer probably left this here. Did you already find what you're looking for?" Megure asked the island police.
"Just a moment", Police continued to search the safe.
"Images taken at Megure Keibu, Mayor Kuroiwa's crime scene have been developed", One police officer said, coming to the scene with the director of the island's archives.
"Okay, put them in line on the floor", Megure said.
"Yes", The police obeyed, and everyone started investigating the pictures.
Surprisingly, Shizuka saw the light glowing red in Kuroiwa's second image, but no image was visible in the other.
"What is this? In this picture, a red light comes on near Kuroiwa's neck. But in the next picture, that red light has disappeared. or did the murderer turn off that key? All the clues refer to Narumi-sensei, but why didn't he prepare this crime properly? Did he have to flee from the crime scene in a hurry to avoid being seen, and therefore the preparation of this crime scene was unfinished?" Shizuka thought.
"Were those notes already found?" Megure asked the island police.
"Yes. I found the notes that Asou-san left behind!" Police said spreading the papers on the floor.
"Here's something to read", Shizuka said, examining one sheet of note paper.
"What?" Kogorō asked.
"To my son Seijille". To the boy?" Shizuka asked. "And this second sheet music reads:
"Live an honest life, my son Seiji".
"Son?" Kogorō, and Ran asked in surprise.
Megurek looked surprised, as did the director of the archive.
"Oh yeah! Now I remember why the name Seiji mentioned earlier by Nishimoto-san sounded so familiar. Yes. Think about the fact that in addition to the daughter, Asou Keiji also had a son. The boy in question fell ill when he was little, and he was therefore hospitalized in a Tokyo hospital. I think his name was Seiji. He was Asou Keiji's first child", Police said.
"Indeed. I also remember Seiji-kun now. Seiji-kun is exactly Asou Keiji's relative who was not here when Asou Keiji died 12 years ago in the fire I mentioned earlier", The director of the Island Archives said. "Seiji-kun was indeed sick when he was younger, and he was in a hospital in Tokyo because of his illness. He was there even when his family died in a fire 12 years ago. Wasn't Seiji-kun adopted later shortly after his family died in that fire here 12 years ago?"
"Yes. A family of acquaintances of Asou Keiji adopted Seiji-kun after his family died in a fire 12 years ago", Police said.
"I understand. Maybe Asou Seiji has come here to the island to investigate the death of his family, and has committed the crimes we've seen here recently. He must want to put his family's murderers in trouble to avenge his family's murderers", Kogorō said.
No one noticed Shizuka was reading all the Sheet Music, or that Shizuka looked surprised after that.
"Kogorō is right. After retaliating for his family, Seiji may try to commit suicide to avoid being imprisoned. But how has Seiji learned of Seiji's family who killed Kameyama, Kawashima, Kuroiwa, and Nishimoto? I think I know who Seiji is. I understand. I'm excited. Narumi-sensei is really a man, and he is really the son of Asou Keiji. If Seiji has always looked like a woman, then she may have easily been mistaken for a woman because of her appearance. Seiji may have decided to take advantage of it by presenting a female doctor with her appearance to find out the truth about the fate of her family, and to be able to take revenge on the murderers of her family", Shizuka thought:
"Mōri-san, would you come to see the mission room again?"
"Why?" Kogorō asked, following Shizuka into the mission room, and as Kogorō looked around, Shizuka took his perfume bottle from his pocket and sprayed the stunning perfume Kogorōō, who sat in a nearby chair while falling asleep.
"Sorry, Mōri-san", Shizuka thought. His clone appeared in the room:
"Go downstairs to this town hall, and stun Narumi-sensei by hitting him in the neck with the other edge of your palm, and then tell the police to put handcuffs in both hands, the other ends of which will be put into their own hands by those police. Tell those police to do so to Kogorō".
"Sure", The clone said from the mission room to go downstairs to City Hall.
(City Hall Ground Floor)
A copy of Shizuka hit Narumi-sensei in the neck with the right edge of his palm, causing Narumi-sensei to faint on the floor.
"Irene-chan, why did you do that?" Ran asked in surprise.
"Your father asked me to stun Narumi-sensei. Megure Keibu, put handcuffs on Narumi-sensei in both hands, one end of which you then put in one hand while the other police do the same", A copy of Shizuka said.
"C-clear, but why?" Megure asked, doing so with another police officer.
"Mōri-san said he would tell us about it soon", A copy of Shizuka said.
Click! Once the handcuff locks had closed, the clone watched Narumi-sensei prepared in case he tried to escape.
(In the dispatch room)
Shizuka glanced at the keys on the mission room table until his gaze hit the REVERST button:
"I see. That button was the one I saw earlier in the picture, the red light! The killer probably turned it off at some point. The reason Seiji dragged Kawashima-san back into the grand piano room.
The meaning of the songs at the crime scene. And the code of the last message! I'm sure of that now. Narumi-sensei or Asou Seiji is a criminal! Mori-san received a letter from the uncovered man, and headed with us to Tsukikage Island. The sender of the message was a man who killed his family and set fire to his own house and died while playing his grand piano Moonlight Sonata. The caller was Asou Keiji. The first assassination took place here on the evening of the funeral of the former mayor, Kameyama. The richest man in town, Kawashima Hideyoshi, was killed then, and the first part of Moonlight Sonata was played from a cassette recorder at the time. The second murder took place today. The victim of that murder was the current Mayor Kuroiwa Tatsuy, and the suspects were confined to four people. And the third case is the murder of Nishimoto Ken, which was made to look like it was suicide. I'm sure of that now".
Shizuka started the mission machine, and began to speak through the speaker microphone on the mission table to other people in the town hall, imitating Kogorō's voice without voice conversion:
"I have resolved this case, Keibu-dono!"
"Huh?" Megure asked.
"More specifically, I've figured out almost everything that's happened on this island", Shizuka said.
"Dad? Are you in the mission room?" Ran asked.
"Yes. First of all, the person who broke into the grand piano room during interrogations earlier today, breaking the window of that room while injuring his hand on the shards of that window is one of the people in this building. It was you, Hirata-san", Shizuka said.
"What?" Megure asked.
"The gauze on his left hand is the result of breaking the window of that room when he injured his hand while trying to escape the grand piano room. Outside the window, the person I saw yesterday we tried to chase last night was you, Hirata-san. But you only broke the window during recent interrogations after noticing that window was locked", Shizuka said.
"But what did he do there?" Megure asked.
"Hirata-san had somehow tried to do business with Kawashima in that room. Trade in the drugs we had previously found inside the grand piano", Shizuka said.
"About those drugs?!" Megure asked.
"Yes only. Using that grand piano as a hiding place for his drugs, Hirata-san hid the drugs he received from abroad inside that grand piano. When selling those drugs, Hirata-san exchanged those drugs for large sums of money, and many more, using a hidden complement", Shizuka said. "Hirata-san previously claimed that grand piano was cursed so that his secret would not be revealed to anyone".
"So that's why Hirota, and the mayor who was murdered yesterday, went to City Hall all late at night!" Island police said after understanding the situation.
"Of course, and like I said before, so the reason he always talked about the cursed grand pianos is that he wanted to keep all the residents of the city away from that grand piano so that the drug trade he made would not be revealed to anyone. Hirata-san broke into the grand piano during interrogations today to look for possible rips of the drugs we found earlier in order to resell them", Shizuka said.
"So you wanted to end your connection to Kawashima by killing him?" Megure asked Hirota.
"No!" Hirota shouted.
"Hirata-san is not involved in the three murders that have taken place here. If he had been a criminal, he would not have chosen the grand piano room as the crime scene for the crimes he committed here. After all, he was there just to hide his drugs", Shizuka said.
"What?" Megure asked.
"The reason the killer who killed Nishimoto didn't put a chair, or a desk at his feet was because he didn't have time to do it. He also had to escape from the crime scene in time, when he forgot the hairpin he had used there as a tortoise, with which he had previously broken the lock on the storage room door. If he had staged the third crime scene properly, then he would not have had time to leave the grand piano room. The murderer must have discovered Hirota's secret drug trade, and murdered Nishimoto at a place of risk we just saw so that Hirota would not see the murderer", Shizuka said.
"That's true", Megure said after careful consideration.
"We can even conclude that the killer is probably a man, because these murders require a lot of physical strength. Besides, the suspects don't have an alibi", Shizuka said.
"That's why Shimizu is the only remaining suspect", Megure said.
"When we found Kuroiwa's body in another murder, we noticed he was dead for just a few minutes. But remember this Keibu-Dono, when you and I stumbled on the code drawn on the floor of the mission room with blood, that blood didn't stain our clothes in any way, because it was already. The drying of human blood took about 25-30 minutes. That blood was already quite dry, even though Kuroiwa was killed just a few minutes before. The trick used by the killer involves the time of the victims's death", Shizuka said.
"What?" Megure asked. "But the tape we found at that crime scene only had a 5-minute, and 30-second break before the music playing on that tape".
"The murderer used the reverse side of the tape he was playing. First he put the tape on a blank side with no song, and when it was played for more than 30 minutes, it turned upside down. Look at the pictures. It has a button near Kuroiwa's neck. But when the body was moved, so it went out. When the police weren't watching, the killer turned off the lights", Shizuka said.
"But who was near the body then?" Megure asked.
"Yes. The only person besides the police who got close to the bodies and gave us the cause of the murder was the person who conducted the investigation...that is Narumi-sensei", Shizuka said.
"It must be a lie! Why would Narumi-sensei have done it?!" Ran asked.
"The purpose of drowning Kawashima-san was to send a forensic scientist back to Tokyo because it is impossible to do an autopsy here. The tape we found earlier was used to make us think about the time of his death. In other words, it was for", Shizuka said. "And he told us he was going to the toilet to wash his face before Kuroiwa was murdered. Then Kuroiwa probably came here attracted to Narumi-sensei, when Narumi-sensei probably murdered Kuroiwa, and wrote notes on the floor using Kuroiwa's blood in it. Then Narumi-sensei went to the toilet to wash his hands blood stains away, and then returned to speak to us".
"But Mōri-kun, you said earlier that the killer was a man", Megure said.
"It's true", Shizuka said.
"So how could Narumi-sensei have committed those crimes? And why did you ask Irene-kun to stun Narumi-sensei, and put Narumi-sensei in our own hands?" Megure asked.
"Not everything is what it looks like, and that expression fits in very well with this situation now. The murderer's motive has its roots in the fire that took place here 12 years ago", Shizuka said.
"How come?" Megure asked.
"Narumi-sensei's motive for committing these crimes we have seen here recently is that pianist Asou Keiji and his family were assassinated 12 years ago", Shizuka said.
"Assassinated?" Megure asked.
"Yes, and the assassination was committed by Kawashima, Nishimoto, Kuroiwa, and former mayor Kameyama. The four of them used the international concerts of their colleagues, Asou Keijin, to the advantage of their international drug trade. But then Asou-san informed his colleagues that he would no longer cooperate with them. The murderers feared that their their secrets could be revealed to the police, so they locked Asou Keiji and his family in the house of Asou-san and set it on fire. They would probably play Moonlight Sonata from the tape then to make the situation look just like Asou-san had set fire to his house after killing his family at the time, and then play his grand piano in the middle of the flames", Shizuka said.
"It is easy for Kawashima, Nishimoto, and Kameyama to believe that they sometimes engaged in secret drug trafficking because of their nature, but was my father also involved in that secret drug trafficking?! And why would Narumi-sensei murder them because of the tragedy experienced by Asou-san's family?!" Reiko asked.
"Yes, Reiko-san. Your father was also involved in that secret drug trade. And Narumi-sensei has a certain connection to Asou Keiji. This is all written on notes that Asou Keiji left in her safe 12 years ago. Those notes are Asou Keiji's confession to his son", Shizuka said.
"To his son?!" Reiko asked.
"Yes. In addition to her daughter, Asou Keiji also had a son named Seiji, who was Asou Keiji's first child. Asou Seiji is exactly the relative of Asou Keiji who was not here when Asou Keiji died in that fire 12 years ago with Seiji's mother, and Seiji's little sister. When Seiji was young, he was admitted to a hospital in Tokyo because of his illness", Shizuka said.
"Seiji? You mean?!" Ran asked.
"Yes. It's about the same Seiji we heard from the police here before. Seiji-kun was sick when he was younger, so he ended up in a hospital in Tokyo. Seiji was probably there just when his family was murdered. Seiji may well have taken Asai Narumi's identity, and when she came to this island, she used her appearance to present a female doctor in order to find out the truth about the fate of her family. Right. Indeed, Narumi-sensei is really a man, and his real name is Asou Seiji, and he is the son of Asou Keiji", Shizuka said.
"Son of Asou Keijin?!" Reiko shouted unbelievably.
"It can't be true!" Ran said.
"Asai was probably the last name of the family that adopted Seiji. The local police and archive director just mentioned to us that Asou Keiji's family of acquaintances adopted Seiji after Seiji's real family died in that fire", Shizuka said.
"So it was revenge on the murderers of his father, mother, and little sister", Megure said.
"Yes. Before Irene came downstairs to the town hall, I asked Irene to stun Seiji so that Seiji could not commit suicide after killing his family's murderers to avoid being arrested", Shizuka said, and his copy came into the mission room. Shizuka then went to talk to Megure:
"Mōri-san wants you to interrogate Seiji after we return to the mainland".
"Sure", Megure said, looking at Seiji, handcuffed.
(A couple of days later)
"You were right, Mōri-kun. While we were in the interrogation room this morning, Asai Narumi admitted that he was indeed a man, and Asou Keiji's son. Seiji admitted everything when I first told him your earlier conclusion. I even showed him the notes his father had left for Seiji, and told him this:
"In this notebook are written the notes your father left behind. He wanted you to survive, Seiji".
"After hearing that, Seiji said this:
"I wish I had known that sooner".
"We advised him to read those notes", Megure said. "After he read those notes, I asked him this:
"How did you find out the truth about what really happened to your family?"
"To that Seiji replied this:
"I've always suspected that my family's death was unnatural. After I graduated, I came to Tsukikage Island disguised as a female doctor. The pronunciation of my name was not written on my diploma or medical certificate. But when the police questioned everyone, and looked at their history, they would have found out that I was myself in the matter man".
"So Seiji stayed with us all night at the town hall so that we could get him for questioning, and that way Seiji would get himself an alibi", Kogorō said.
"Yes. The previous Mayor Kameyama told Seiji the truth about the murder of Seiji's family", Megure said.
"How?" Kogorō asked sitting on the chair behind his desk while Megure stood in front of Kogorō's desk.
"The previous Mayor Kameyama was a lecherous approacher. Kameyama was shocked when he found out that Seiji was a man, and Asou Keiji's son. Then Kameyama became fearful, and told Seiji everything about the fate of Seiji's family. Then Kameyama had a heart attack, and collapsed on the grand piano. To calm his spirit Seiji then played the Moonlight Sonata that his father had loved so much. Just like Seiji did during the crimes we saw before. After Kameyama died, Seiji opened one of the windows of the grand piano room to make it look like someone had entered the grand piano room through the opened window of that room. That's what Seiji said when we were in the interrogation room this morning", Megure said. "Seiji's father had tried to leave the company of other drug dealers as you said before, but they murdered Seiji's father in fear of being exposed and did the same to Asou Keiji's wife and daughter".
"So is Seiji-kun seeking revenge on the murderers of his family?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes. Seiji said he wanted revenge on the murderers of his father, mother, and little sister. He was really going to commit suicide after avenging his family's murderers by burning down the town hall, playing his father's old grand piano in the flames. He said he sent that letter to you, and called you pretending to be his father, changing his voice to stop you him, Mōri-kun. You did a great job at that", Megure said.
"Of course", Kogorō said. "I don't remember that though".
"Who kept that grand piano in good condition?" Ran asked sitting on the couch in her father's study while Shizuka sat on the other couch.
"It was Reiko-san's fiancé, Murasawa Shuuichi. He told us himself this morning by calling the Tokyo Central Police Station after Seiji's interrogation. Murasawa-san is an admirer of the late Asou-san, and Murasawa-san kept that donated grand piano in tune", Megure said. "Seiji asked me to convey his gratitude to you, Mōri-kun. Seiji even said that you have an unparalleled skill when it comes to choosing a talented assistant".
"Well, my friend, the talented detective, can do it. Heh heh!" Kogorō laughed.
"That's how he is", Shizuka mused.