An inward-opening door.
On the other side, Akane-san laid facedown, her body pointing toward us. As a result, the cross-section of the cut — as well as all the flesh and bone and veins it revealed — was in plain sight. It was a grotesque reminder that in the end, human beings are nothing more than giant wads of organic matter.
Yes.
It was yet another decapitated body.
Just like Kanami-san's body, the head had been completely severed from the very base of the neck.
It was dressed in a suit. An expensive-looking, gray one. Ruined by bloodstains. But even supposing it hadn't been, just as was the case with Kanami-san's dress the day before, there was no one left to wear it.
The room was stark and barren. I had spent three days here. Akane-san hadn't lasted one night.
It was an empty room. The only things inside it were a wooden chair by the wall, a house telephone hanging on the wall, a futon, a few books Akane-san had presumably brought with her, and the lampstand.
"The door was locked, right?" Iria-san asked. "Right, Hikari?"
"Y-yes." Hikari-san's voice trembled. I looked over to see that her body was also trembling. "I-it was definitely... L-locked... No mistake."
"Well, what about the window then?"
I looked up at the sound of Iria's voice. At the very top of the wall opposite the door, where we all stood, there was a rectangular window. But it was strictly for letting in sunlight and ventilation. As far as allowing someone to sneak in or get out, it was way too…
It was open.
It had an open/close lever that could be operated from within the room. If you thought about it, it was just big enough to let a single person pass through, if the person put in a little effort.
But still…
"It's too high," I said to no one in particular.
Breaking in through that window would be like taking a two-story dive, and breaking out would've been even worse. The impossibility of getting in or out through that window was the reason we chose this room as Akane-san's cell in the first place.
In other words, the window was impenetrable.
However.
The only other port of entry or exit had been locked.
This was a dead end. Another sealed room. A second decapitation. Two decapitations, two sealed rooms.
Kunagisa, who was standing next to me, let out a whine. I tried to say something but ultimately stayed silent.
Lying on the floor before us was the headless body of the woman we had all suspected was the killer. In a situation like this, what words were suitable?
The head was nowhere to be found.
This meant that just like Kanami-san, accidental death and suicide were out of the question.
"Anyway, it looks like we've got some things to reconsider," Iria-san finally said. "Can we all gather in the dining room? Hikari, lock this room."
Once again, Iria-san was the first to leave. Rei-san silently followed close behind.
"Some things to reconsider..." I repeated painfully. Indeed, that was right. All of our thinking and every speculation we had made up to this point would have to be wiped clean. It also seemed as if we had a lot of new details to consider.
"I guess this makes it a serial killing, huh?"
It was really painful to say that.
A serial killing.
I had locked Akane-san in here to prevent that very thing. And she had become the second victim as a result.
Yeah, a real safe situation we had created. What the hell did I think would happen? What did I expect from a person who kills others and cuts their heads off? Probably the good sense and strategic thinking of, you know, a human being.
I had felt so relaxed. Totally at ease. Completely proud of myself. I had stopped the killer from moving around. I was so confident. Carried away. Big-headed.
Akane-san's words from the previous night all came rushing back. The words she had left me with.
Could this be forgiven?
"It's all nonsense, really."
I turned on my heels and left the crime scene.
At that moment, I spotted Yayoi-san out of the corner of my eye. She looked terribly pale. Even more so than yesterday. I guess you'd expect as much from anyone who'd seen two headless corpses in two days. It wasn't like looking at pork or chicken.
Still, there was something — just then Yayoi-san seemed to notice my gaze and sped off to the dining room as if to get away from me.
I wondered what that was about while Kunagisa tugged on my arm.
"Ii-chan, let's go already. Iria-chan'll get tired of waiting around. Everyone's already gone; there's no point sticking around."
I nodded.
Things to rethink, and new things to think about.
As such, the morning of the fifth day was total crap.