Chapter 19: Deception

When it is impossible to judge if the suspect's confession is true, it is often possible to make a judgment by asking them to recount their confession backward.

When many prisoners are questioned by the criminal police, they invent a story to face the interrogation.

When the police ask questions normally, they can naturally respond fluently.

But if asked to repeat what they just said in reverse, the fabricated content usually gets exposed at that moment.

As Sato Miwako, Sera Masumi, and others already knew, Akikawa Kyousuke had a series of words prepared when Nakajima Takuto questioned him.

So, Sera Masumi asked Sato Miwako to request as many details as possible while interrogating Akikawa Kyousuke.

If Akikawa Kyousuke's words were false, he planned to deal with the police in advance.

Then, when Sato Miwako asked for details, he could only make them up on the spot.

If Akikawa Kyousuke thought too much when asked for details, it would seem unnatural.

However, it is difficult to make fabricated content reasonable and logical in a short period of time.

After Akikawa Kyousuke finished speaking, Sera Masumi suddenly asked him to repeat it backward.

By then, a large amount of new content had been added to the rhetoric originally created by Akikawa Kyousuke due to Sato Miwako's constant questioning.

If the confession doesn't match the facts, it would be difficult for Akikawa Kyousuke to completely say everything he said backward.

The reason Detective Takagi Wataru was asked to take notes outside the door was to let Akikawa Kyousuke relax his guard.

If he knew in advance that all his words would be recorded, he would definitely be more alert.

Sera Masumi was sure.

If Akikawa Kyousuke was making up facts, he would definitely reveal his flaws here.

"Say it backward… what do you mean?"

Akikawa Kyousuke didn't seem to understand what Sera Masumi meant, and his pale cheeks showed confusion.

"Start from when Mr. Akikawa lost consciousness at the end and repeat what you just said backward."

"What's the point?"

"Just to be sure, to confirm if Mr. Akikawa is lying."

Sera Masumi had no intention of hiding her purpose, so she spoke directly.

After saying that, she looked back at Sato Miwako.

Sato Miwako nodded softly in understanding.

"..."

Akikawa Kyousuke slightly opened his mouth, a look of disbelief on his face.

He seemed shocked that the police didn't believe his confession.

After a moment, he spoke slowly.

"Uh… after the motorcyclist confirmed that my mother was no longer moving, he opened my mouth, forcibly fed me a lot of sleeping pills, and then left me unconscious…"

"How did Mr. Akikawa know it was a sleeping pill?"

"It was Officer Nakajima who said he thought I would kill myself by taking sleeping pills after killing my mother… so I assumed what the man gave me were sleeping pills."

"That guy Nakajima…"

Miwako Sato's eyes trembled, once again suppressing the anger in her heart.

"Sorry, could you describe where he took the pills from? And the shape of the pills."

"They looked like round white pills in a black bottle."

"How many did he give you?"

"A lot."

…

That was all.

Under Sato Miwako's constant questioning and Sera Masumi's confirmation, Akikawa Kyousuke repeated what he had said backward.

When Akikawa Kyousuke began to recount it the first time, Sera Masumi was still full of confidence.

However, as Akikawa Kyousuke recounted more and more content, her confident heart began to waver.

"Something's wrong. He remembers it too clearly… Although there are subtle differences in content, the details and overall process are almost exactly the same."

"If it's false, how could he remember it so clearly?"

It's already difficult for ordinary people to repeat a lie backward.

This Akikawa Kyousuke actually recounts the content accurately with many added details.

"Unless this Akikawa has an incredibly sharp mind, how could he remember so many details?"

"What's more, his brain was just affected by carbon monoxide poisoning and he hurt his head twice yesterday…"

"It seems that what he said is really the fact he witnessed with his own eyes!" Sera Masumi was surprised and gradually began to believe that the killer was someone else.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Akikawa."

After finishing his story, Miwako Sato gently thanked Akikawa Kyousuke.

"Now you can be sure I'm not a prisoner?" Akikawa Kyousuke asked.

"No… I can only say that the possibility of Mr. Akikawa being the prisoner is decreasing."

"But we still cannot deny that Mr. Akikawa is a suspect in Mrs. Ryoko's murder."

"Due to the existence of three insurances, Mrs. Ryoko's accidental death would directly allow Mr. Akikawa to receive more than 100 million yen in compensation."

"Insurance? What do you mean?"

Akikawa Kyousuke showed a very confused expression.

"In addition to car liability insurance, Mrs. Ryoko also bought two life insurance policies."

"Your family isn't wealthy, and Mrs. Ryoko doesn't have a formal job. It's already challenging to cover living expenses with part-time income. It's unreasonable for her to buy so much insurance."

"..."

Sato Miwako's words once again made Akikawa Kyousuke open his mouth and freeze.

After a while, he seemed to come to his senses. His face turned red, and he raised his voice slightly.

"You… think I killed my mother for insurance money?"

Sato Miwako didn't say anything, obviously agreeing with Akikawa Kyousuke's statement.

"That's ridiculous! So if I wanted insurance money, why would I take sleeping pills and kill myself?"

Anyone could hear the repressed anger in Akikawa Kyousuke's voice.

"Mr. Akikawa may not know about insurance," Conan said.

"But didn't you detect fingerprints on the dagger? Although I don't know what happened, wouldn't you know by comparing them with my fingerprints?"

Hearing this, Sato Miwako looked at Takagi Wataru.

"What Mr. Akikawa said makes sense. Since fingerprints were detected in forensics, wouldn't it be enough to compare them with Mr. Akikawa's fingerprints?"

Hearing this, Takagi Wataru was embarrassed for a moment.

"Uh… this…"

Sato Miwako knew Takagi Wataru very well.

She also reacted when she saw Takagi's hesitant and evasive look.

"Takagi-kun, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"No, it's not what Officer Sato thinks. Please listen to my explanation!"

As Takagi Wataru spoke, he wanted to lean over Miwako Sato's ear and tell her the truth.

However, Sato Miwako directly blocked him with her hand, and then she saw the anger rising from the depths of Sato Miwako's beautiful eyes.

"Fine, there's no need to explain; I can probably guess what's going on."

Miwako Sato's tone gradually turned colder as beads of sweat began to appear on Takagi Wataru's forehead.

"So… are you lying to me again?"

A few moments.

Akikawa Kyousuke, who was "behind the times," spoke in a voice full of disbelief.

The word "again" in his words was particularly harsh to Sato Miwako and others.

Because they all knew.

The Akikawa Kyousuke in front of them had just been deceived by another detective this morning.

"You didn't detect fingerprints! So why do you keep doubting me? I have no gloves or anything like that!"

Akikawa Kyousuke looked at Sato Miwako and the others and asked loudly.

"The absence of fingerprints doesn't mean it's not suspicious. After all, there are many ways to remove fingerprints," Conan murmured.

"At first, you said I was going to kill my mother and then commit suicide, but then you said I killed my mother for insurance money."

"I asked why I would kill myself in that case, and you said it wasn't for insurance money."

"Now you can't detect fingerprints, and you say I removed them."

"So let me ask you again, if I planned to kill my mother and then kill myself from the start, why would I bother to remove my fingerprints?"

"Or are you, like Officer Nakajima this morning, trying to accuse me and force me to plead guilty?"

Akikawa Kyousuke's angry words instantly made everyone in the room's pupils shrink.

Dear readers, even if you are book readers, please read the latest chapter every day, thank you.

(this chapter has ended)