The door to the interrogation room opened again.
Koichi Nishihara saw the young detective he had just met walk in with another detective who appeared to be in his forties.
The older detective had a rather terrifying scar around his right eye.
Normally, people with such scars would give off a rather fierce impression.
But Koichi Nishihara unexpectedly discovered that the detective in front of him seemed much kinder than the young detective he had seen earlier.
Koichi Nishihara watched the older detective sit across from him.
At the same time, the detective took out the police manual, opened the side with the photo, and placed it in front of him.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Toda Kyouji. I am the second-in-command of the 3rd Criminal Investigation Section, 1st Division. I am this man's superior."
Kyouji Toda pointed to Takuto Nakajima behind him as he introduced himself.
"I am not in charge of this Imperial Theatre case, so the specific situation is still unclear."
Toda Kyouji whispered, then took the case file and read it aloud to Nishihara Koichi.
"Let me see, let me see."
"At 3:24 PM on February 11th, a deceased man and an unconscious man were found in the laundry room of the Imperial Theatre in Chiyoda, Tokyo."
"The deceased was Uesugi Misaki, 24 years old, a lighting technician by profession."
"According to the preliminary investigation, Misaki Uesugi died by strangulation. His head showed signs of being struck with a hard object. At the same time, the deceased's jaw and tongue were broken. The time of death was approximately 2:30 PM."
"Eh~ this is really a cruel murder."
Upon reading this, Kyouji Toda couldn't help but sigh.
"The other victim is Kyusuke Akikawa, 20 years old, an artist by profession."
"There were no signs of strangulation on Akikawa Kyusuke's body, but there were contusions and lacerations on his forehead caused by repeated blows with hard objects. Symptoms like subconjunctival hemorrhage also appeared."
"According to the victim Akikawa, he was attacked during the third act of the afternoon performance and heard the voice of the suspect, confirming that the other person was a man."
"At the same time, Akikawa Kyousuke also confirmed that the weapon used by the suspect to attack him was a chair. He also described that the man was wearing a medical protection suit and a motorcycle helmet."
"In the afternoon of that day, the cleaning staff Masako Sugai went to the laundry to pick up the clothes but, upon discovering the deceased, screamed, which attracted the theatre staff and called the police."
"Eventually, with the help of detective Kogoro Mouri and high school detective Sera Masumi, Officer Megure confirmed the time of death of the deceased, the murder weapon, and the motive of the suspect."
"Later, the wig used in the crime was found in the artist Nishihara's bag, and the deceased's blood was found on the wig. The police also found the motorcycle helmet and protective clothing described by the artist Akikawa in the trash bag from the Imperial Theatre..."
"So that's it..."
Kyouji Toda reached up to touch his neatly trimmed chin beard, nodded, and sighed.
He then set aside the document summarizing the case, looked at the ugly Nishihara Koichi in front of him, and asked with a smile:
"I heard from Mr. Nakajima that Mr. Nishihara did not admit to the contents recorded here. What's going on?"
Koichi Nishihara looked at the friendly-looking detective in front of him with cold eyes and felt a little strange in his heart.
"Are you here to show off your good looks? Do you think that if you show kindness, I'll admit my guilt?"
Koichi Nishihara thought to himself and then said coldly:
"The facts and the records are incorrect, and the investigation conducted by the detectives from the Metropolitan Police is completely different from the facts."
"Then what are the differences?"
"First of all, I didn't kill anyone."
"Secondly, I saw with my own eyes the scene where Akikawa strangled Uesugi's neck with a rope. It wasn't someone killing with a wig at all."
"I haven't seen any wig. They put it in my bag to frame me."
"Well, well, well..."
Kyouji Toda nodded as he listened, and then a slightly confused look appeared on his face.
"But according to the previous records, Mr. Nishihara, the posture when you identified Akikawa as the murderer does not match the posture of the killer determined by the detective through the strangulation marks."
"Secondly, you were a witness to the crime scene but didn't call the police in time. When all the evidence pointed to you as the murderer, you went out and said you were framed. Isn't that strange?"
"Well…"
Koichi Nishihara was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to refute.
Kyouji Toda looked at his embarrassed expression, then tapped the interrogation table twice with his fingers.
Takuto Nakajima behind him understood, turned off the camera, and then left the interrogation room.
Before leaving the interrogation room, he looked at Koichi Nishihara with some sympathy and then carefully closed the door.
Koichi Nishihara didn't notice Takuto Nakajima's gaze.
Because at this moment, his attention was drawn to Toda Kyouji's words—
"Alright, now that the video is off, the conversation between you and I won't be recorded."
"You should have noticed earlier that this interrogation room doesn't have one-way glass, so you don't have to worry about our conversation being overheard."
"Why…?"
Koichi Nishihara looked at Kyouji Toda in front of him with some surprise and didn't understand the other's intention.
"Because I see what concerns you, Nishihara-kun, so I want to help you."
Toda Kyouji smiled.
He silently changed his address to Nishihara Koichi.
"I don't know if Nishihara-kun is aware of the death penalty sentencing rules in Japan. If Nishihara-kun continues to refuse to plead guilty and is handed over to the prosecutor, you will be 100% labeled as 'refusing to plead guilty' and 'showing no remorse.'"
"Although Nishihara-kun only killed one person, if the judge determines that Nishihara-kun has a bad attitude toward admitting guilt, you can still be sentenced to death."
Upon hearing the words "death penalty," Koichi Nishihara's eyes widened visibly.
Although he had resorted to violence against many people since he was a student, after learning that they might sentence him to death, it was inevitable that he would feel fear.
"What exactly happened, Nishihara-kun? Can you please tell me the truth?"
"I was unjustly accused, you should investigate that Qiuchuan!"
Koichi Nishihara shouted loudly at Kyouji Toda.
"This is a headache. Nishihara-kun, you've always insisted that you were wronged, but you've never been able to give a logical and reasonable explanation."
"The key is that the detectives in Japan are so good. It's hard for me to believe they would make mistakes."
A worried look appeared on Toda Kyouji's face.
"However, I feel that you, Nishihara-kun, aren't an idiot. You shouldn't keep denying your guilt when I've made it so clear what's at stake."
"Then I think the reason you're so persistent, Mr. Nishihara, but still refuse to reveal the truth, is that the truth might still be harmful to you?"
"For example, what if you really killed someone and at the same time were wronged?"
Kyouji Toda looked at Nishihara Koichi in front of him with soft eyes and said with a smile.
In front of him, Koichi Nishihara's eyes suddenly widened after hearing his words.
(End of Chapter)
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