Chapter 174: Differences in Judgment

To better confirm the state of the body, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police set up a temporary investigation room in the men's changing area adjacent to the hot spring.

The police laid out a clean tarp on the changing room floor.

They then cooperated with Detective Sera Masumi to carefully remove all the severed body parts from the bag and place them onto the tarp.

The deceased had been cut into twelve pieces in total.

The limbs and head had been severed from the torso.

Each arm was divided into three parts: the upper arm, the forearm, and the palm.

The legs were cut into the thighs and calves, with the feet still attached.

Finally, the head was severed directly at the neck.

The dismembered body was laid out on the tarp, presenting a shocking and gruesome visual impact to all who witnessed it.

After seeing the scene, many of the criminal police couldn't help but cover their mouths, their throats emitting the sound of retching.

"Isn't this killer completely insane?"

"They must have had a deep hatred for the victim! How else could they do something like this?"

"My God, I don't think I'll be able to eat anything raw for a very, very long time."

"That detective is amazing. I heard she's only a high school student. She didn't even flinch in front of this."

Akikawa Kyousuke listened to the whispered discussions of the detectives around him, and his eyes shifted from the dismembered body to Sera Masumi.

Originally, Akikawa Kyousuke had been curious about how someone like her would deduce the situation, especially when she clearly couldn't pick up on Conan's subtle hints.

Unexpectedly, by sheer coincidence, this "handsome" detective with incredible fighting skills appeared at the scene.

'Judging from the reaction of the elementary school Shinigami at this moment, he obviously didn't know this detective would appear here. It must be a coincidence.'

'Is this the luck of the protagonist?'

'However, it seems this handsome detective isn't here for a vacation.'

Akikawa Kyousuke thought to himself as his gaze moved toward the detectives who looked somewhat embarrassed.

He also noticed a key detail.

Whether it was the detectives, Conan, or Sera Masumi, they all regarded the person who dismembered the body as the killer.

In other words, they believed the one who dismembered the body was also the murderer.

This judgment differed slightly from Akikawa Kyousuke's own conclusion.

'Except for the neck, the parts cut by the dismemberer were all movable joints of the human body. So, the goal wasn't to conceal the posture of the victim at the time of death.'

'But the problem is that now it seems the murderer and the dismemberer are two different people. There must be another reason why the dismemberer cut up the body...'

Akikawa Kyousuke shifted his attention from the detectives and turned toward the head and torso laid on the tarp, with the neck wound clearly visible.

'To cover the wounds that caused the victim's death.'

Having deduced enough information, Akikawa Kyousuke feigned discomfort and quietly stepped out of the changing room.

He remained in the first-floor lobby under the watch of the criminal police.

'If my assumption is correct, the person who dismembered the body and the killer are different individuals.'

'The dismemberer cut up the body to hide the real cause of death and the posture of the deceased at the time of death.'

'But to ensure the body was found quickly, they dumped the bag into the hot springs.'

'It would make sense if the dismemberer was also the killer.'

'What reason would someone who wasn't the killer have to risk being accused of mutilating and abandoning the body, and even being mistaken for the murderer, just to conceal the victim's posture at the time of death?'

Through the dismemberer's somewhat contradictory actions, Akikawa Kyousuke realized there might be unknown reasons behind this dismemberment case.

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On the other side.

After carefully examining all the severed parts, Conan and Sera Masumi fell into deep thought.

"If the victim had been standing or lying down when rigor mortis set in, the wounds the killer made on the thighs and torso would also be perpendicular to the body."

"Because the incisions here are angled, it means the victim was seated when rigor mortis occurred."

"In that case, the killer cut the thighs and calves for the same reason—they didn't want anyone to realize the victim was sitting when they died."

Conan analyzed.

When a person stands, their calves, thighs, and torso are all vertical relative to the ground.

But when seated, the calves and thighs, as well as the thighs and torso, become perpendicular to each other.

Therefore, to conceal the seated posture, the killer had to sever the femoral, tibial, and hip joints.

"But if they were simply sitting, why would it need to be hidden?"

"The key must be in the position of the arms and neck."

Sera Masumi pondered for a long time but couldn't determine what kind of seated posture would need to be concealed by dismembering the body.

Indeed, there are some very specific seated positions that can reveal the state of the deceased at the time of death.

For example, if someone dies while sitting in the driver's seat and rigor mortis sets in, even without the car, one can deduce the victim had been driving.

But Sera Masumi had already determined that the victim died in the hot spring hotel.

Naturally, it was impossible to simulate a driving position inside a hotel.

Aside from this, Sera Masumi couldn't think of any other seated posture that might expose the state of the deceased.

"It seems we still need to determine the location where the victim died, then deduce their posture at the time of death based on the crime scene."

Conan said.

"Speaking of that, boy, did you notice the victim's neck wasn't cut at a joint?"

Sera Masumi stared at the horrifying incision on the victim's neck and whispered.

"Mm."

Conan nodded slightly.

"I think the victim's death posture had nothing to do with the neck, and the killer cut the neck to mislead everyone."

"Or there was some special reason that forced the killer to choose another spot to sever the neck."

After Conan finished speaking, he and Sera Masumi left the men's changing area.

The information obtained from the corpse was sufficient. The next step was to investigate the crime scene.

The two of them went to the Okamura Police Department to check on the progress of the surveillance footage review.

This dismemberment case was similar to the poisoning case from the previous day. The only time the murderer could have disposed of the body was between 12:30 AM and 5:00 AM, after the cleaners had finished.

Guests leaving during this time couldn't avoid the surveillance cameras.

This allowed the police to pinpoint the floor where the person who dumped the body was staying.

However, this time the cameras provided no useful information.

The criminal police reviewed the footage of the elevators and stairs from 12:30 to 5:00 and found no one carrying bags or suitcases large enough to hold the body down to the first floor.

(End of Chapter)