"There's No Doubt This Case Was a Premeditated Murder"
"Nishihara, you had a strong intent to kill Akikawa, and you also seemed to enjoy killing him."
"Not only did you break the deceased Uesugi's tongue while he was still alive, but you also broke his jaw after his death."
"The weapon you used to strangle Uesugi was a wig you found in the warehouse next door. You attempted to destroy the evidence after killing him."
"The time you committed the murder was before the beginning of the second act of the play and just after the start of the second act."
"We have confirmed that Nishihara had a motive to attack Akikawa, and we also found the murder weapon used to strangle him in your bag. You had no alibi during this period."
"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"
"Or should I wait until the DNA test results on the wig come back before you confess?"
Megure Juzo looked at Koichi Nishihara, whose hands were handcuffed by Chiba and Nobu, and asked in a deep voice.
"I said it wasn't me! You've had the wrong person from beginning to end!"
Nishihara Hiroshi shouted at Megure Juzo, his face livid, and his rage nearly causing him to collapse on the spot.
According to Nishihara Koichi's original judgment, if he was truly unfortunate enough to be caught by the detectives and the police as the real culprit, he could use the excuse of a spontaneous act to lessen his guilt.
As Yoko Okino said, Koichi Nishihara had committed two violent incidents when he was a student.
At that time, he was also called to the police station for questioning.
So Koichi Nishihara knows very well that in the two areas of "temporary intent" and "premeditation," the degree of sentencing will differ greatly.
The truth is that he killed the lighting technician Uesugi and intended to frame Akikawa Kyuosuke.
But he could describe it as simply having had an accidental conflict with Uesugi, which led to accidentally killing someone, only to be seen by Akikawa Kyuosuke.
But when he was about to attack Akikawa Kyousuke, he regretted it and stopped short of doing anything cruel.
Although the outcome of his suicide attempt wouldn't change, the sentence would be much lighter than being convicted as a murderer.
What's the result now?
Not only did the police conclude it was a premeditated murder, they also said he had committed brutal acts of torture and murder against the deceased.
If sentenced with such a result, there's no doubt that the nature of the case will be far worse.
And most importantly, aside from the fact that he killed someone, he didn't commit any of the other things at all!
An overwhelming sense of injustice filled him.
However, even though Koichi Nishihara felt wronged and knew who had "framed him," he couldn't reveal the truth.
Moreover, he didn't believe that even if he told the truth, the detectives and police in front of him would believe him.
That's all.
Koichi Nishihara believed his only chance to escape blame was to make the detectives think Akikawa Kyusuke was the real killer.
And Koichi Nishihara's confidence was that Akikawa Kyusuke had touched the actual murder weapon, which was stained with the blood of the deceased.
"As long as Akikawa is still suspected, they won't be able to convict me!"
Nishihara Koichi thought to himself and shouted again:
"You have to believe me! The real killer is Akikawa!"
"You're identifying Akikawa as the killer, but where's your evidence?"
Megure Juzo, annoyed with Nishihara Koichi, asked in a deep voice.
"I saw Akikawa commit the murder with my own eyes!"
"I saw him fighting with Uesugi. His body was covered in Uesugi's blood, and he strangled Uesugi's neck with a rope!"
"That's just ridiculous! Akikawa was clearly still in his dressing room when the deceased was killed."
"Besides, if you saw Akikawa commit the murder in the first place, why didn't you say anything earlier?"
Mouri Kogoro, too, was angered by Nishihara Koichi's ridiculous statement.
"Because Akikawa is a young man in my company, I originally wanted to cover up this matter for him, but I didn't expect Akikawa would actually try to frame me!"
"Mr. Nishihara, you said you saw Brother Akikawa strangling Mr. Uesugi with a rope. What was the situation at that time?"
Conan stepped toward Nishihara Koichi and looked up to ask.
"Akikawa pinned Uesugi underneath him, and then he used a rope to tighten around Uesugi's neck from above!"
Koichi Nishihara recalled the scene of Akikawa Kyusuke's murder that he had fabricated from the beginning.
He believed that as long as the police could find the real murder weapon and detect the deceased's blood on Akikawa Kyusuke's body, Akikawa Kyusuke would surely remain a suspect as the killer.
At that moment, Akikawa Kyusuke's self-incrimination would backfire, increasing suspicions against him.
Just as Koichi Nishihara desperately hoped to seize the last spark of hope, he suddenly saw the elementary school student standing in front of him and gently adjusting his shiny glasses.
"Sorry, Mr. Nishihara is indeed the real killer."
"What?!"
Koichi Nishihara was stunned, then furious:
"What do you know, kid!"
"I'll tell you why."
Nishihara Koichi also tried Sera Masumi's patience.
She spoke with a cold expression:
"Mr. Nishihara, the lie you invented is full of holes."
"Not to mention that Akikawa had a perfect alibi when the deceased was killed."
"Secondly, the rope fragments and fibers you mentioned weren't found on the deceased's neck or fingertips."
"Unless done deliberately, how could strangulation with a rope not leave traces?"
"Finally, the strangulation marks on the deceased's neck were higher up, and the angle of the strangulation marks was vertical."
"This means the deceased was strangled from behind while standing or sitting, rather than being strangled from above by Akikawa, as you claimed, Mr. Nishihara!"
"By saying this, you can only prove one point."
"That means you didn't witness any murder scene and are still trying to frame Qiuchuan!"
Sera Masumi's voice was like thunder, once again exploding in Nishihara Koichi's mind.
In his buzzing brain, only one last thought remained:
"It's over——"
Sera Masumi walked over to Nishihara Koichi with a grim expression and whispered:
"Your framing level is extremely clumsy, Mr. Nishihara."
Sera's words left Nishihara Hiroshi paralyzed and instantly incapacitated.
Megure Juzo looked at Nishihara Koichi, who had fainted from excitement.
Knowing this time the case had come to a close, he ordered the police to take Nishihara Hiroshi away and also instructed the police to conduct a thorough search of the Imperial Theater.
He asked them to find the chair used as the murder weapon, as well as the protective clothing and motorcycle helmet Akikawa Kyusuke described.
After issuing all these instructions, he ignored Mouri Kogoro and approached Sera Masumi.
A smile appeared on his slightly plump cheek.
"This time I must thank Sister Sera for her help."
"It's alright. Finding the killer is what a detective must do."
Sera Masumi glanced coldly at Koichi Nishihara, who was carried away like a corpse, then smiled at Megure Juzo.
*(End of Chapter)*