Not a detective

Page 185

But for an organization, the pressure from multiple sides is unavoidable. Even an organization like the Extraordinary Surveillance Department, which wields extraordinary power, cannot escape worldly constraints.

"The higher-ups said that if we want to prove that we are not the murderers, we have to find the real murderer and give an explanation."

Wu Yu Kui leaned her head against the wall, looking disdainful: "I told them that if they don't let you out, I won't leave here either. I'd rather be locked up for life."

Asakawa Riku knew that Kirisame Aoi was helping him; her identity was supposedly quite important, and she was probably putting pressure on the organization.

But more than that, he was puzzled:

"Wait a minute... If we find the real culprit, I'm actually wondering why they think I'm the murderer."

He pulled another photo from the file folder, this one of a different person from the seven victims: "Isn't this the murderer?"

She was a woman wearing a scarlet robe, standing indifferently at the crime scene.

When Asakawa Riku and Kirisame Aoi entered the room, they also saw her.

She was probably around the same age as that female celebrity, in her early twenties, but not as pretty. She had an average, unremarkable appearance, short hair, and dull eyes.

Judging from her long robe, she should also be a member of the believers. Since she was the only survivor in such a tragic scene, shouldn't the first reaction be that she is the murderer?

For example, Riku Asakawa could immediately come up with a motive and story like "a deceived believer suddenly realizes the truth and takes a gun to kill all the high-ranking officials".

However, Kirisame Aoi shook her head:

“We initially thought so too, but unfortunately, there were no fingerprints on the gun, and no gunpowder residue was detected on her arms or wrists.”

This refers to gunpowder residue left on the arm after a gunshot, which is generally difficult to remove in a short period of time.

"If she was wearing gloves, that robe should have been able to easily cover her hands, right?"

"To put it bluntly, our agents with superpowers conducted a lie detector test on her and found that what she said was true. She is not the murderer and did not commit any murders."

Kirisame Aoi's words instantly sealed the victory.

Asakawa Riku never expected that in this world, criminal investigation methods could be overturned to this extent by superpowers. Good heavens, it has become impossible for the criminal to even lie.

He rolled his eyes: "If that's the case, why don't you bring over that lie detector? That would prove whether I'm telling the truth or not."

“It’s a pity.” Kiriyu Aoi shook her head: “That superpower only works on ordinary people. They say your mental strength is exceptionally strong, so the lie detector test won’t prove anything for you.”

Asakawa Riku covered his head, not expecting such a drawback.

After some consideration, he realized that he had no choice but to temporarily take on the role of detective and investigate the truth behind the case.

"If this person is not the murderer, then her presence at the crime scene means she at least witnessed the crime."

"She can't lie. If we ask her, we'll find out what the real culprit looks like, right?"

Winter of God: Chapter Seventeen - Testimony of Believers

"This person's name is Yuri Mizutani."

“She is mute and cannot speak, but she can write. She wrote the name ‘Mizutani Yuri’ herself, and subsequent communication was also done through writing.”

"By the way, even writing is a personal act of expression, and its authenticity can be verified using lie detectors, so there is no possibility of skipping class in this regard."

Therefore, everything she said next was true, and there were no lies.

"She said she was born mute and could not speak since childhood. After being abandoned by her parents, she spent some time in an orphanage. After the age of 16, she came out to support herself."

“We can indirectly confirm this in the orphanage and the database of disabled people. Mizutani Yuri is a name she was given later in life.”

"Because Mizutani Yuri was unable to speak and could not work normally, she lived a homeless life and may have even sold her body. But a few years later, this year, she received 'divine guidance' which led her to this church, where she found her home and, in her words, 'was redeemed'."

"Her main job here was to serve the church's higher-ups, namely those who just died. Of course, it's uncertain whether there was any physical relationship involved. She only mentioned normal tasks like serving tea and water, keeping accounts, and arranging things. It was like a combination of waiter, secretary, and accountant. Strangely, she had no formal education, yet she did a good job."

"Mizutani Yuri is not a member of the higher-ups, but she was allowed in that secluded room. Perhaps they thought that even a mute person couldn't expose the church's secrets, so they felt comfortable talking about various things in front of her. Her situation was almost like house arrest. She ate and slept there, and of course, she had no intention of leaving."

She said that after joining the church, her voice recovered and she was able to speak normally again.

"However, like other believers, this is just a form of delusional thinking. She opened her mouth and made hoarse sounds, but no words came out. We could only hand her paper and pen, which she initially resisted, insisting that she could speak normally and kept making sounds. Sigh, it really looks quite pitiful, these deceived believers..."

At this point, Kiriyukui paused for a moment:

"Now that the background information has been provided, let's talk about what kind of crime scene she witnessed in that room."

Simply put, it means [I didn't see anything].

"It's weird, isn't it? She's not blind, we've tested her, her vision and everything is normal, but she can't say anything about what happened in that room."

"In her account, Yuri Mizutani was simply performing her service duties in the room as usual. The higher-ups were still having a meeting and discussing matters, and she was on the sidelines ready to refill tea and water. Even when we barged in, she still believed that the higher-ups in the room were still alive and even chatting normally. She [could not recognize the fact that these people were dead], nor could she [see who killed them], because in the eyes of believers, there is no [illness, pain, or accident] in the church, and these higher-ups are [immortal/ageless] beings."

Asakawa Riku found the few notes with crooked handwriting in the file folder. They were probably notes written by Mizutani Yuri during the interrogation:

No shooting occurred.

No one died.

All of you are still alive.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Can't you hear me?

[Where there is blood, where there are bullets, you are lying.]

They are immortal; the Pope is immortal.

I can speak.

The distorted and indistinguishable words looked terrifying, and Asakawa Riku imagined a believer whose cognition was completely different from that of ordinary people, a believer whose mind had been twisted.

In Mizutani Yuri's eyes, the police officers who took her away and said strange things were probably the ones who were crazy.

He couldn't hear himself speak, and they said there was some unseen shooting happening... So he just stood there, silent.

"Her testimony is worthless."

All Asakawa Riku could say was...

In the eyes of this sole witness, there was no way to see how the shooting happened, nor could he see who the killer was.

Because there are no "accidents" or "deaths" in the church, in order to conform to this logic, the "culprit" who did not conform to the theory was modified and eliminated.

This is the terrifying aspect of the power of faith: the memories and testimonies of believers can no longer be trusted.

"What are the results of the on-site criminal investigation? Have any traces left by the murderer been found? When was the crime committed? Can the source of the gun be traced back?"

He gradually took on the role of a detective.

Having read quite a few mystery novels, Asakawa Riku was able to offer his insights.

Unfortunately, Kirisame Aoi simply shook her head:

"The gun has no known origin; it's likely a weapon from within the church, or perhaps the killer deliberately erased all traces and prepared it long in advance. The criminal police and investigators at the scene are still searching, but reportedly there are no fingerprints or anything useful. The problem is that we can't even perform an autopsy; the victim's body has been taken away by relevant parties, and they won't let anyone touch it."

She pointed to the photos on the table: "It's not easy to keep these photos. There's nothing we can do. They're all famous and important people."

Asakawa Riku frowned as he listened, having never heard of such a difficult case that even an autopsy was impossible.

It seems there's really no other way. Given these people's identities, whether they are family members or the forces behind them, it's unlikely that forensic doctors would allow them to undergo open-heart autopsies.

However... in that case, even the time of the crime cannot be determined, and Asakawa Riku is also very curious whether the cause of death was "shooting" or something else came first.

Removing the autopsy step will inevitably greatly reduce the amount of information the police can obtain...

Did the murderer also anticipate this?

He continued to ask:

"Can we confirm whether the primary crime scene was in the room, or whether the body was moved in after the death?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. Gunpowder residue was detected in the room, and the pattern of the blood splatter is consistent with the wound, so it wasn't applied later."

"In other words... the murderer broke into that room, shot and killed everyone, and then left the room."

Asakawa Riku pondered, why did the murderer let Mizutani Yuri go?

The killer's targets were limited to high-ranking members of the church. Can we deduce their approximate identity from their motive?

"That room was really well soundproofed, we didn't hear any gunshots... Or was it already finished before we arrived..."

"Yes, that's the problem, Asakawa."

Kiri Aoi suddenly interjected, her eyes filled with helplessness and a sigh: "We have no way of knowing what happened in that room, because that room—"

"It's a [locked room]."

Winter of the Gods: Chapter Eighteen - Breaking Through the Secret Chamber

"Secret room?"

Asakawa Riku raised his head.

Whenever a case is mentioned, the locked room is inevitably brought up... It's practically a boss battle mechanic that's bound to be triggered.

“That’s how it is,” Wu Yukui explained. “Actually, the vault door they used had an electronic counter inside that could record the time the door was opened and closed. The records show that it was opened once at 8:12 this morning and closed at 8:14, which is two minutes later. It hasn’t been opened since then and has remained closed until you forced it open.”

"We didn't get there until around nine o'clock..."

Asakawa Riku vaguely remembered the time: "So, after we arrived, the door was never opened? The murderer stayed inside the whole time?"

"But we didn't find anyone in there, except for the mute waiter and the corpses."

Kirisame Aoi shrugged: "Unless the culprit has superpowers like invisibility or teleportation, who knows where they could have run off to."

That's true. After discovering the crime scene, Asakawa Riku also checked the inside of the room.

It's impossible for anyone to hide there, and there are no other exits, ventilation ducts, or secret rooms; this can be confirmed.

The room was designed to be secluded, so it didn't even have windows. The only way out was through the vault door.

The breakthrough point should be that door.

"What if the records are tampered with? The time might not be accurate."

"Impossible. I heard that the way those high-end devices record time is not ordinary electronic timing, but some kind of physical counting method. Anyway, I don't understand it. In any case, our technical department said that the time record is absolutely accurate. Even if you smash the door to pieces, you can still restore it from the ruins."

Wu Yu Kui said, "Moreover, there are security cameras in the lobby on the first floor that can see these five people arriving here separately in the morning, so they didn't die a few days ago."

Now, Asakawa Riku's only hope has been extinguished.

So, that room was indeed a locked room... There was originally a Mizutani Yuri in the room, and the other six high-ranking members died inside?

What exactly happened? How did the murderer get in and leave?

Did the security cameras capture the killer?

"uncertain."

Wu Yu Kui shook her head: "Because there are too many believers, all sorts of people have come in from the first floor. Who knows who the murderer is? The only place with cameras is the first-floor lobby. There are no cameras on the upper floors, let alone the 10th floor and the hidden room. Perhaps it's to avoid exposing the church's secrets, so there are no surveillance devices."

This is a real headache.

"That's why the higher-ups suspected us. They said, 'Only the two of you could kill everyone on a different floor.'"

"Even I can't shoot someone from a distance..."

Asakawa Riku was helpless.

It was a completely locked room, and the only eyewitness couldn't see anything. Perhaps the murderer knew this, which is why it didn't matter if she was left alive.

The only possibility now, as Kirisame Aoi mentioned, is that the culprit possesses the superpower of invisibility or teleportation, allowing them to enter and exit the locked room at will...

Or there's another possibility: it could be a monster.

Asakawa Riku recalled the incident that occurred this spring, the dismemberment of a female celebrity in the operating room of an underground clinic.

The two incidents seem to have many similarities, including the construction of the locked room and the eyewitness testimonies, both appearing to be flawless...

However, if we add the existence of the possessing monster and the non-existent "eighth person," we can break through the mystery and predicament.

Seeing that Asakawa Riku was deep in thought, Kirisame Aoi stopped talking and waited obediently.

She rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the focused boy with a smile, leaving only a quiet atmosphere in the room between the two of them.

...

About ten minutes later, Asakawa Riku suddenly raised his head.

"I...I might know."

"So fast!"