Chapter 52: Out of Control

"Hello, please tell me your name."

"Koichi Nishihara."

"Hello, Mr. Nishihara. Do you know the lighting engineer named Uesugi?"

"I don't know him."

Backstage at the Imperial Theatre, Koichi Nishihara was being questioned by a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The police then pulled out a photo of the deceased and showed it to Nishihara.

"That's him."

"I don't remember him."

Nishihara Koichi shook his head, denying he knew the deceased.

"So his last name is Uesugi."

This was the first time Koichi Nishihara learned the name of the deceased.

He didn't know the man and had no interaction with him. But when choosing a target, he noticed the man was a lighting engineer that no one would miss for a while if he disappeared.

The detective noted Nishihara's response and didn't press further about any disputes with the deceased. Instead, he moved to his next question for Nishihara.

"Mr. Nishihara, you should know Mr. Akikawa."

"I know him. He's an artist from the same company as me. What happened to him?"

"Mr. Nishihara, do you know anyone who ever had friction or a conflict with Mr. Akikawa?"

"Huh?"

Nishihara was puzzled by the detective's question.

"Why does the police want to know who had a conflict with Akikawa? Wouldn't they just ask who had an issue with the deceased?"

"Could it be that the police and detectives are starting to think the killer is someone else?"

Nishihara Koichi sensed something was amiss.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen Akikawa-kun have any issues with anyone."

Though confused, Nishihara responded to the police with a friendly smile. The detective didn't sense anything unusual and quietly took notes in his notebook.

After a few moments, Megure Juzo, Mouri Kogoro, two detectives, and several officers exited the laundry room.

Seeing them, Nishihara Koichi guessed the police had concluded the on-site investigation, likely having a basic conclusion about the killer.

Megure went backstage and looked at the officer in charge of the questioning.

"How's it going? Any leads?"

"As for the deceased, Uesugi, everyone who knew him said he was a very nice person. Except for occasionally messing up and being scolded by Director Takemura, I heard no reports of friction with anyone."

Megure Juzo nodded.

"Continue."

"We also investigated the director, Mr. Takemura."

"Mr. Takemura stated that he stayed in the stage control room from before the show started until it was interrupted midway."

"We also verified with the sound operator in the control room, as well as the assistant director and lighting operator."

"It's confirmed that Director Takemura has an airtight alibi, so he's ruled out as a suspect."

The officer referred to his notebook and continued,

"We also found the person who went to the dressing room to deliver a message to Mr. Akikawa. That person confirmed the message was indeed delivered."

"And they confirmed the time was at the beginning of the second act, which matches Mr. Akikawa's account."

"Did you ask who asked them to deliver the message to Akikawa?" asked Megure Juzo.

"The man said he didn't see the face of the person who asked him to deliver it. He was busy working, and the person left after leaving instructions," the detective replied.

"Usually, people wouldn't doubt if such a common message is real or fake," Megure thought to himself.

"In this case, the reason Akikawa went to the laundry room becomes clear."

Sers Masumi smiled.

"The killer definitely isn't Akikawa."

"!!!"

Koichi Nishihara, who had been eavesdropping on the police conversation, felt his heart sink.

"What?! She concluded Akikawa isn't a suspect just because he was summoned to the laundry room?"

Nishihara was simply shocked by this.

Not to mention, the time he chose to kill the deceased was after knocking out Akikawa Kyousuke.

There was also the rope, only touched by Akikawa, and the blood of the deceased on Akikawa's clothes. Akikawa shouldn't be able to escape suspicion so easily.

"What's going on? How has so much changed? How did the detective figure out that Akikawa isn't the killer?"

Initially, Nishihara sensed things seemed to be slipping out of his control and heading in the wrong direction.

"Now that the police have cleared Akikawa, they'll start looking for the real culprit."

"Luckily, I never showed my face during the crime or made any sound."

"And the murder weapon and deceased have no connection to me. I also have a perfect alibi, so they won't suspect me."

— Just as Nishihara was reassuring himself, he heard the officer reporting to Megure Juzo say,

"We also asked people on site if they'd seen anyone having conflicts with Akikawa."

"Most people said Mr. Akikawa is usually very kind. It's hard to imagine anyone holding a grudge against him."

However, the officer was suddenly interrupted by an angry voice.

"No, the killer is definitely him!"

"He has always held a grudge against Akikawa-kun and has a motive to kill him!"

The voice was familiar to everyone present. They all looked toward the source of the sound in surprise.

Then, they saw Okino Yoko kneeling on the ground, face full of anger, pointing at Nishihara Koichi beside her.

"What?! Miss Yoko, what are you talking about? How could I be the killer?"

Nishihara felt like his heart had flipped, quickly responding.

But his primary shock wasn't Yoko's accusation—it was seeing Yoko so furious for the first time.

Yoko's words successfully caught the attention of Megure, Masumi, and others.

Just as Megure was about to question her, Detective Chiba pulled him aside and whispered something.

Chiba reminded Megure to take Yoko's words with caution.

Because all detectives who had previously investigated car accidents knew that Akikawa Kyousuke also had a sister, whose parents divorced, and who went with her father.

*(End of Chapter)*