Chapter 55: The Killer Must Be You!

Everyone present noticed.

After Koichi Nishihara heard Yoko Okino mention his violent past, his face turned extremely pale.

It was true that Koichi Nishihara had committed violent acts and caused harm before. That fact could easily be confirmed in a moment.

At that moment, Mouri Kogoro also recalled Sera Masumi's earlier deduction about the killer——

The killer would torture the corpse and take pleasure in killing.

Mouri Kogoro looked at Okino Yoko and asked loudly,

"Ms. Yoko, I'd like to ask: did Nishihara sign up for the audition only after Akikawa had already signed up for the high school student role?"

"That's right. How did you know, Mr. Mouri?"

Okino Yoko nodded, looking surprised at Mouri Kogoro.

"Ha——! I knew it!"

Mouri Kogoro shouted, stepping toward Koichi Nishihara with an angry expression and speaking in a deep voice:

"After hearing Yoko-chan, I can now confirm that the killer must be you!"

"Yoko-chan is well known for caring about the younger people in the company. You must have noticed her concern for Akikawa, which is why you purposely chose to audition for the same role as him to compare yourself to him."

"In the end, you didn't get the role, so you held a grudge against Akikawa."

"For other people, maybe this small friction wouldn't be enough to drive them to kill."

"But you're different. You have a history of violent injuries from your school days."

"Moreover, Ms. Yoko knows about this and, to protect Akikawa, warned you to stop contacting him."

"This only made you more jealous of Akikawa, so you decided to kill him!"

When Koichi Nishihara heard Mouri Kogoro's deduction, his face turned pale. He never expected Mouri Kogoro's reasoning abilities to be as powerful as rumors said.

In addition to his plan to frame Akikawa Kyousuke,

he had almost entirely guessed the situation correctly.

"You're misunderstanding, Mr. Mouri! I never wanted to kill Akikawa!"

"If that's the case, then provide your alibi!"

"I already said I was alone at that time; how could I have an alibi?!"

Koichi Nishihara said, then pointed directly at the other performers present.

"Besides, I don't think I was the only one without an alibi at that time."

"Evidence is required to handle a case. You can't just assume I hate Akikawa-kun because I auditioned for the same role as him!"

At that moment, Koichi Nishihara's heart was pounding, but he still kept his composure as he quickly thought and refuted the rather "aggressive" Mouri Kogoro in front of him.

"Why did the police determine the time of Uesugi's death much earlier than the actual time of death?"

"But I can't change Uesugi's real time of death."

"But even so, just because I have no alibi and a 'trivial' motive against Akikawa, there's no way to judge me as the killer."

"Because the rope used as the murder weapon was in Akikawa's hand, not mine."

"As for the chair used to attack both Akikawa and Uesugi, it's the kind of chair you see everywhere in the theater. I've already cleaned off the blood and put it back in place!"

"There's no way you'll find any evidence!"

Koichi Nishihara's main confidence lay in the fact that the true murder weapon had no direct connection to him.

"It's strange, to say the least."

"There were clearly two victims in this incident, but the police seem much more focused on the killer's motive against Akikawa rather than the motive for the deceased."

"Likewise, Detective Mouri decided I was the killer just because he judged that I hated Akikawa."

"Does it not matter that I had no connection to the deceased?"

Koichi Nishihara couldn't understand why the police's investigation and the detective's focus had centered on Akikawa Kyousuke, instead of the true victim, Uesugi.

"This situation is like... they've determined the killer hated Akikawa. But I never treated Akikawa that harshly! Is it possible they even saw that the killer intended to frame Akikawa? Could that be it?"

After Nishihara Koichi made his deduction, he pointed directly at Okino Yoko.

"If we go by what Detective Mouri said, then Ms. Yoko also has a motive to harm Akikawa-kun!"

"What are you talking about?!"

When Mouri Kogoro heard Koichi Nishihara's attempt to wrongfully accuse Okino Yoko, he angrily extended his hand and grabbed Nishihara Koichi by the collar.

However, Koichi Nishihara showed no fear at all and loudly responded,

"Ultimately, the reason I chose to sign up for the same audition as Akikawa-kun was because of Ms. Yoko!"

"Because I personally heard Ms. Yoko say she hoped Akikawa-kun would leave the company."

"It was precisely for this reason that I signed up for Otani Sae's audition. I wanted to show Akikawa-kun how difficult the journey of a performer is and make him voluntarily leave the company."

"And you said the deceased was murdered at the start of the second act. Ms. Yoko wasn't performing on stage at that time either!"

"Because the start of the second act was when the first victim in the play was performing!"

After hearing Nishihara Koichi's statement, many people turned to look at Yoko Okino in surprise.

Koichi Nishihara had thought that Okino Yoko would look visibly nervous after his revelation.

He was convinced that it was impossible for the police to find concrete evidence linking him as the murderer.

So he was prepared to complicate matters.

Besides, he felt everything was happening because of Okino Yoko!

"Mr. Nishihara, what are you talking about? When did I ever say such a thing?"

Suddenly,

Yoko Okino's confused voice rang out.

Koichi Nishihara's expression froze, noticing that Okino Yoko was looking at him with a blank expression.

There wasn't a hint of panic in her face,

only bewilderment at the sudden and inexplicable accusation.

This expression made it seem as if she truly had no idea why he was doing this.

"Yes, why would Yoko-chan say something like that?"

Mouri Kogoro observed Okino Yoko's reaction and immediately agreed.

"I really heard it! If you don't believe me, ask Ms. Nakata! Ms. Yoko's agent, Ms. Nakata, was also there at the time."

"Enough!"

Megure Thirteen suddenly spoke, interrupting the commotion.

The noisy stage and backstage instantly fell silent.

His next words caused Koichi Nishihara, who was determined to continue muddying the waters, to widen his eyes in shock.

"Akikawa confirmed that the killer was a man."

"And it would take a lot of strength to break an adult man's jaw. I don't think Ms. Yoko could do it in such a short time."

Megure Juzo said, looking at the officer next to him.

"Go search Koichi Nishihara's room and personal belongings."

"Look for the murder weapon, any protective clothing, or anything matching the killer's characteristics."

The police were ordered to leave.

And Koichi Nishihara fell back into confusion.

"I was wearing protective clothing that covered my entire body. How could Akikawa know I was a man?"

"And whose jaw was broken? Who had their jaw broken?!"

However, before Koichi Nishihara could figure out what had happened,

another shout from an officer made his heart nearly stop——

"Officer Megure! We found the murder weapon! It's in Nishihara's bag!"

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(End of Chapter)