Chapter 238: Twice Drugged
Just as Sera Masumi, Nakamori Ginzo, and the others were reviewing the surveillance footage, another call came in.
"Mr. Tsukino is awake!"
Nakamori Ginzo exclaimed excitedly after hanging up the phone.
They hurried to the hospital where Tsukino Takashi was being treated.
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The first thing Nakamori Ginzo and Sera Masumi did was confirm the cause of Tsukino Takashi's coma with the doctor.
"We found diazepam in Mr. Tsukino's blood," the doctor informed them.
"In other words, Mr. Tsukino likely fell into a coma after taking sleeping pills."
"I see."
After understanding the situation, Nakamori Ginzo continued to ask, "Can you determine when Mr. Tsukino took the sleeping pills?"
"The time he ingested the medication shouldn't have been too long ago—approximately four to five hours."
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"That's impossible!" Nakamori Ginzo immediately refuted this possibility.
"We've already confirmed that Mr. Tsukino fell into a coma around 12:20 a.m. this morning.
So, he must have taken the sleeping pills at least nine hours ago."
Nakamori Ginzo was confused. How could the doctor come to this conclusion?
"Doctor, could there have been a mistake in the test results?"
"The data doesn't lie," the doctor replied confidently.
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"Then is it possible that Mr. Tsukino has a gastrointestinal or liver issue that prolonged the half-life of diazepam in his body?"
Sera Masumi asked.
"Our hospital has Mr. Tsukino's physical examination records from last month.
Although he's nearly 40 years old, all of his physical parameters are normal," the doctor explained.
Sera Masumi looked slightly puzzled as she processed this information.
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'If it's neither a detection error nor a physical condition, could it be that...?'
After thinking for a moment, she asked tentatively, "Is the concentration of nordiazepam in Mr. Tsukino's body unusually high?"
"What do you mean by that?"
The doctor didn't immediately grasp Sera's reasoning.
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"As far as I recall, diazepam has a long half-life in the human body, unlike triazolam, which has a relatively short one.
Its half-life ranges between 20 to 50 hours.
Is it possible that the high concentration of diazepam in Mr. Tsukino's body is because he took sleeping pills twice?"
"Perhaps someone administered sleeping pills to Mr. Tsukino again before the diazepam from his first dose was fully metabolized, resulting in an abnormally high concentration of the drug in his system, which could have influenced your assessment."
Sera Masumi explained her theory.
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Her explanation gave the doctor a new perspective.
Realizing this was indeed possible, the doctor quickly reviewed Tsukino Takashi's examination report.
Then, he looked at Sera Masumi in surprise.
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"Indeed, the concentration of nordiazepam in Mr. Tsukino's body is higher than normal. He must have taken sleeping pills twice!"
"What does that mean? I don't get it."
For Nakamori Ginzo, these chemical names were a complete blind spot.
He felt utterly lost as he listened to the conversation between Sera Masumi and the doctor.
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"What does the concentration of nordiazepam and diazepam have to do with Mr. Tsukino taking sleeping pills twice?"
He then heard Sera Masumi's explanation:
"The concentration of diazepam from the second dose overlapped with the concentration from the first dose, causing the total amount in his body to exceed normal levels."
"Therefore, we can't rule out the possibility that Mr. Tsukino was secretly drugged again about four or five hours ago."
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Nakamori Ginzo nodded as he began to understand.
"When diazepam is metabolized in the human body, it becomes a metabolite known as nordiazepam.
If Mr. Tsukino had secretly taken diazepam early this morning, the concentration of nordiazepam in his body wouldn't be this high.
There simply wouldn't have been enough time for such a large amount of nordiazepam to metabolize."
"So, the only possibility is that Mr. Tsukino had taken sleeping pills earlier as well."
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After hearing Sera Masumi's detailed explanation, Nakamori Ginzo finally understood.
The doctor, standing nearby, was deeply impressed by Sera's reasoning.
He hadn't expected this "handsome young detective" to be so sharp and knowledgeable.
Not only did Sera notice details he, as a professional, had overlooked, but she also deduced the truth of the situation quickly.
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"As it stands, Mr. Tsukino must have taken sleeping pills yesterday morning."
"The exact time will require further analysis, but it was roughly around that time," the doctor concluded.
Sera Masumi and Nakamori Ginzo thanked the doctor and then proceeded to the room where Tsukino Takashi was resting.
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Inside, they met Tsukino Takashi, who still appeared somewhat dazed.
Since Nakamori Ginzo already knew Tsukino Takashi, no introductions were needed.
He simply introduced Sera Masumi, explaining that she was a detective assisting with the case.
"Mr. Tsukino, what exactly happened?"
Nakamori Ginzo went straight to the point.
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"I was planning to go to the venue for rehearsal yesterday, but I don't know what happened. I suddenly lost consciousness," Tsukino Takashi replied.
"In other words, Mr. Tsukino, you passed out yesterday morning?"
"Probably, yes," Tsukino Takashi answered, still somewhat disoriented.
"It seems to match your reasoning, Miss Sera," Nakamori Ginzo said, glancing at her.
Sera Masumi nodded in agreement.
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"Mr. Tsukino, do you have any memory of being drugged?"
"No," Tsukino Takashi said, shaking his head.
Nakamori Ginzo turned to Sera Masumi, silently asking if Tsukino's statement was credible.
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"Diazepam is a powerful sedative-hypnotic. Generally, just 20 milligrams can render an adult completely incapacitated and induce a deep coma for several hours.
Even if 30 milligrams of diazepam were dissolved in a beverage, it would be unnoticeable.
It's highly likely that someone spiked Mr. Tsukino's morning drink with the drug," Sera Masumi explained.
She confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Tsukino Takashi's account.
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(End of the Chapter)