novelraw Chapter 109 : The Truth Revealed
Chapter 109 : The Truth Revealed
Chapter 109: The Truth Revealed
Very soon, the group once again arrived at the corridor outside the luxurious suite.
“Is everyone here?”
Levi glanced at the crowd, then checked his watch. Just then, a sudden “bang” came from inside. The sound was somewhat muffled, resembling the crack of a firecracker. Hearing it, everyone froze.
“What was that sound?”
“A gunshot?”
“All right, there’s no need for alarm.”
Levi waved his hand.
“It’s only an experiment… let’s go inside.”
Still puzzled, the group followed Levi into the room, only to see the Chief Inspector standing in the bedroom with a pistol in his hand. Upon spotting Levi, he quickly waved.
“Mr. Levi, how is it?”
“Just as I expected.”
Levi nodded, then motioned for the Chief Inspector to lower the gun. Turning back to face the others, he let out a sigh.
“All right. The reason I brought you all here is simple—because the case is closed.”
“Huh?”
“Closed?”
It had to be said, Levi’s words left everyone utterly shocked. It had only been a single morning—how could the case already be resolved?
But Levi paid no attention to their astonishment and continued.
“Let’s go over the entire case again. This morning, the maid Miss Chris went to wake Miss Porto, only to discover that she had been killed. She called for the butler, Mr. Byrne, who then sent for the Chief Inspector, and the Chief Inspector summoned me… Now then, Miss Chris, after you discovered Miss Porto had been killed, did anyone else enter the crime scene?”
“Mr. Byrne went in to take a look.”
“But he didn’t approach the victim, correct?”
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
“I’m certain. Mr. Byrne only glanced at the young lady from the doorway and immediately withdrew.”
“Good. Was that noted down?”
Levi looked toward the sailor carrying the half-man-high recording machine. The man nodded, which made the maid visibly uneasy. She cast a glance at Levi but dared not say anything further.
Yet Levi’s next words shocked everyone even more.
“In truth, strictly speaking, this isn’t even a case. At least, it shouldn’t have been.”
“Not a case?”
“That’s right.”
Levi nodded.
“When we arrived, we found Miss Porto dead, but no murder weapon. Naturally, we assumed she was murdered and that the culprit had taken the weapon. That was the logical conclusion—and exactly what someone wanted us to believe. Which is why I say, this was never truly a case. Because Miss Porto committed suicide.”
“What—!?”
Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Suicide?”
“Exactly.”
“But… but where’s the weapon?”
“Someone picked it up, because he didn’t want anyone to know the mistress of the Porto family had taken her own life. Isn’t that right, Mr. Byrne?”
Levi fixed his gaze on the butler. His expression was blank, while the latter’s face darkened.
“You’re wrong.”
“Oh? I’m wrong?”
“That’s right. Since you’ve already found the weapon, I won’t hide it any longer. It was I who killed the young lady…”
“All right, nonsense like that is best saved for when you’re drunk.”
Levi didn’t even let the butler enter the usual “criminal’s emotional confession” phase, cutting him off directly.
“You’re free to insist on that story if you like, but the evidence at the scene doesn’t support your claim.”
“Evidence?”
“That’s right.”
Levi beckoned, and soon the photographer stepped forward, handing him a stack of photos. Levi flipped through them, then pulled one out—a photograph of the victim’s room, taken at Levi’s request. It clearly showed the victim lying on the bed, and the floor beside it.
“This is the evidence.”
Levi pointed to the photo. Unlike in modern times, photographs in this era were quite large—big enough to use as teaching tools.
“Evidence?”
“Yes. Look carefully at the footprints here. Beside the bed there’s only one set—Miss Porto’s. That’s normal, since it was her bed. Now here, there’s a set of men’s footprints—these belong to Mr. Byrne. But notice: they stop some distance from the bed. He never approached it.”
“That’s right, I stood here and shot the young lady.”
“As I said, nonsense belongs to the drunk.”
Levi gave Byrne another disdainful look.
“The wound on the victim’s temple was seared, meaning the barrel was pressed against her head. Yet you were standing some distance from the bed. What then? Do you practice some sort of gymnastics that lets your arm stretch a full meter to press the gun to her forehead? If so, forget being a butler—you’d make a fine circus act.”
“………………”
“And furthermore, the direction of your footprints shows you weren’t facing the victim directly, but rather the side of the bed. Why would that be?”
Levi pointed at the prints again.
“Allow me to explain what happened. Last night, the victim learned something that broke her heart. Tormented by grief, she ultimately chose to end her life. A .22 caliber pistol isn’t loud, and with the soundproofing here, I believe you all heard it just now—it’s muffled, like a dull firecracker. If it had gone off in the dead of night, it could easily have been ignored.”
At this, everyone nodded. Indeed, the sound they’d heard in the corridor just now had been faint, like a muffled firecracker. That was while they were standing right outside; if they had been inside their own rooms, it would have been even harder to notice.
“At the time, Miss Selena was dead drunk, and Miss Chris had already fallen asleep. But Mr. Byrne, you remained awake. You clearly heard the shot, so you went to check. And what you found was Miss Porto’s body—alongside the pistol that had fallen to the floor.”
As Levi spoke, he glanced at Byrne, whose face remained dark and expressionless, his lips tightly sealed.
“Whether Mr. Byrne knew the reason for Miss Porto’s suicide, I cannot say. But it was obvious that in his eyes, the head of the Porto family taking her own life during a honeymoon would be a carnival for the newspapers. So, he quickly made a decision: to take the pistol that had fallen on the floor and make it look as if Miss Porto had been shot by someone else. In that way, at least, the focus of the matter would be somewhat lessened.”
At this point, Levi chuckled.
“In fact, we must thank the excellent security measures aboard the Arctic Star. Normally, once Mr. Byrne had the gun, he could have just thrown it into the sea, and there would have been no evidence. But fortunately, there were guards stationed on both sides of the starboard stairway, and the promenade deck was fully enclosed. Of course, Mr. Byrne could have gone down the stairs to toss the weapon overboard, but afterwards, the guards could easily be questioned and would confirm that he had left in the middle of the night. That would have been hard to cover up. So instead, he simply chose to hide the gun in his room. If it was discovered, he could just claim he was the killer himself…”
“But you have no evidence that I’m not the murderer!”
Mr. Byrne cut Levi off coldly again. But to Levi, this was already the part in the drama where the culprit, in despair, asked the detective, “What motive would I have to kill her?”
“Actually, I do have evidence.”
“…What?”
“Do you know what a gunpowder reaction is?”
Levi looked at the others and smiled faintly.
“The so-called gunpowder reaction refers to the moment a bullet is fired—the flame from the cartridge is expelled along with the bullet. In general, the discharge from a revolver sprays out in a fan shape, like this.”
Levi took the small .22-caliber ladies’ decorative pistol from the Chief Inspector and demonstrated the motion with his hand.
“This means that when the gun is fired, powder and metal particles are sprayed out, leaving traces on the skin or clothing. With the posture Miss Porto used to fire, her hand and body would inevitably have such traces. By extracting and testing them, it can be proven whether she fired the gun herself.”
“………………………”
The old butler no longer spoke, but his dejected expression revealed the truth.
“So, you admit it?”
“Yes.”
The old butler nodded.
“At the time, I was very worried about the young lady’s condition, so I stayed awake, waiting for her to call me. Then I heard the gunshot. I rushed to her room, but it was too late. All I saw was the young lady’s body, and the pistol lying on the floor. I was shocked. I couldn’t understand why the young lady would take her life. But for the sake of the Porto family’s honor, under no circumstances could word of her suicide spread. So… I thought to take the weapon and make it look as if she had been shot. That way, even if the investigation eventually pointed to me, I could claim I killed the young lady myself…”
At this, Mr. Byrne’s expression grew solemn.
“I am old. My life no longer matters. To protect the honor of the Porto family, I am willing to sacrifice myself.”
“So, it seems you weren’t entirely ignorant of the matter between Miss Porto, Mr. John, and Miss Elaine.”
Faced with Levi’s words, the old butler said nothing, only shaking his head silently.
“I once warned the young lady, but she believed it wasn’t a serious problem.”
“But… why would Sister commit suicide?”
Selena asked in astonishment.
“If she had been murdered, I wouldn’t find it strange at all. But suicide? Why?”
“Well, that touches upon the victim’s private affairs… but… it doesn’t matter if I say it.”
Levi quickly recounted the situation between John and Elaine. When the others heard, they were stunned.
“What were you thinking?”
Selena now looked at Elaine as if she were insane.
“You dared to think of something like that?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
Far from feeling guilty under Selena’s rebuke, Elaine spoke with firm conviction, as if she had done nothing wrong.
“A woman as perfect as my elder sister could only be worthy of the most perfect prince! That’s why I chose John! If only I had met the detective earlier, I would have given him to my elder sister instead!”
“…Your kindness is noted, but allow me to decline.”
Levi quietly took a step back.
“So Sister killed herself over this?”
“Judging from the circumstances, it appears so. Though I believe it was more likely an act of impulse.”
“Impulse?”
“That’s right. To suddenly discover that everything in her life had been arranged without her knowledge, and worse, that it was arranged by the very people closest to her—such a blow was devastating. If, at that moment, Miss Porto had not had a pistol within reach, perhaps she would have simply drunk herself into a stupor, vented her grief, and then thought of a way forward. But with a gun right beside her, the outcome was different.”
Here Levi shrugged. In his world, a certain great nation’s gun lobby always insisted that the cause of shootings lay not in guns, but in people. To Levi, this was utter nonsense. The danger of firearms lay precisely in their lethality and in the absence of any chance to regret. Take poison—you can still have your stomach pumped. Even hanging—if rescued quickly enough, you might survive. Stabbing—sometimes you can be stitched up and live.
But a gunshot? One bullet to the head and there’s no second chance.
By that logic, one could argue nuclear weapons are the same. The problem isn’t the bomb, but the people. Then why bother with non-proliferation treaties? Why not give everyone their own nuclear warhead?
“Have you anything more to say, Mr. Byrne?”
Levi once again turned toward the butler, who now hung his head in misery.
“I only wished to protect the honor of the Porto family. After something like this…”
“What use is honor! Sister is dead!”
Selena cut him off angrily, then glared fiercely at Elaine and John.
“And you two—don’t think this matter ends here. Even if you didn’t kill her with your own hands, she died because of you! Just you wait, this is far from over!”
Seeing Selena’s blazing fury, John was too terrified to breathe, while Elaine scowled back at her resentfully.
“Stop pretending. You never listened to Elder Sister at all. You don’t deserve to call yourself her sibling…”
“She was still my sister! I’m nothing like you, playing twisted games of being her ‘sister’…”
Selena shot Elaine a glare, then turned to the Chief Inspector.
“Chief Inspector, can you arrest these two scoundrels?”
“No, I… I’m afraid I cannot…”
“Then at least throw them into second class. They don’t deserve to stay in first class!”
As Selena’s angry shouting continued, Levi yawned.
“The case is over. The rest is their family’s affair. Let them quarrel all they like.”
“What do you plan to do next?”
Mr. Howard, clearly fed up with the tiresome squabbling, looked curiously at Levi. Levi thought for a moment.
“In any case, let’s have lunch first.”
“I cannot be certain whether Mr. Byrne knew the reason for Miss Porto’s suicide, but it was clear that in his eyes, for the head of the Porto family to take her own life during a honeymoon would be nothing short of a carnival for the press. So, he quickly made a decision: to take the pistol that had fallen to the floor and make it look as though Miss Porto had been shot. In this way, at least, the matter would appear somewhat less scandalous.”
At this point, Levi chuckled.
“In fact, we should thank the excellent security measures aboard the Arctic Star. Normally, once Mr. Byrne had the gun, he could have tossed it into the sea, leaving no evidence. But fortunately, there were guards stationed on both sides of the starboard stairway, and the promenade was fully enclosed. Of course, Mr. Byrne could have gone down the stairs to the deck to throw the gun away, but later questioning the guards would reveal that he left in the middle of the night. That would not have been easy to cover up. So instead, he chose to hide the gun in his room. If it was discovered, he could simply claim that he was the killer…”
“But you have no evidence proving that I’m not the murderer!”
Mr. Byrne coldly interrupted Levi once again. But to Levi, this was already the stage in a drama when the culprit, in despair, asked the detective: “What motive would I have to kill her?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“…What?”
“Do you all know what a gunpowder reaction is?”
Levi looked at the others and smiled faintly.
“The so-called gunpowder reaction occurs when a bullet is fired—the flame from the cartridge is expelled with the bullet. In general, the discharge from a revolver fans outward, like this.”
Levi took the small .22-caliber ladies’ decorative pistol from the Chief Inspector and demonstrated the motion with his hand.
“This means that when the gun is fired, gunpowder and metal particles are expelled and remain on the skin or clothing. With the posture Miss Porto used, her hand and body would inevitably bear such traces. By taking samples and testing them, it can be proven whether Miss Porto fired the gun herself.”
“………………………”
The Old Butler did not speak further, but his dejected look betrayed the truth.
“So, you admit it?”
“Yes.”
The Old Butler nodded.
“At that time, I was deeply worried about the young lady, so I stayed awake, waiting for her to summon me. Then I heard the gunshot. I rushed to her room, but it was too late. I saw only the young lady’s body, and the pistol on the floor. I was shocked. I could not understand why she would take her life. But for the honor of the Porto family, the fact of her suicide could never be revealed. So… I thought to take the weapon and make it look as though she had been shot. That way, even if suspicion fell upon me, I could claim that I killed her myself…”
Here, Mr. Byrne’s expression grew solemn.
“I am old. My life no longer matters. To protect the honor of the Porto family, I am willing to sacrifice it.”
“So, it seems you were not entirely unaware of the sordid matter between Miss Porto, Mr. John, and Miss Elaine.”
Faced with Levi’s words, the Old Butler said nothing, merely shaking his head silently.
“I once warned the young lady, but she thought it was of no consequence.”
“But… why would Sister commit suicide?”
It was Selena who asked in surprise.
“If someone had murdered her, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. But suicide? Why?”
“Well, that touches on the victim’s personal affairs. But… it matters little if I explain.”
Levi quickly recounted the matter between John and Elaine. Hearing it, the others were stunned.
“What were you thinking?”
Selena now looked at Elaine as though she were insane.
“You dared to think of such a thing?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
Rather than feeling ashamed under Selena’s rebuke, Elaine spoke with conviction, as though she had done nothing wrong.
“A woman as perfect as my elder sister could only be worthy of the most perfect prince! That’s why I chose John! If only I had met the detective earlier, I would have given him to my elder sister instead!”
“…Your kindness is noted, but allow me to decline.”
Levi quietly took a step back.
“So Sister killed herself over this?”
“Judging from the situation, it appears so. Though I believe it was more likely an act of impulse.”
“Impulse?”
“That’s right. To suddenly discover that everything in her life had been arranged without her knowledge, and that it was arranged by those closest and dearest to her—such a shock was devastating. If, at that moment, Miss Porto had not had a gun within reach, perhaps she would only have drunk herself into oblivion, vented her sorrow, and thought of a way forward. But with a pistol right beside her, the outcome was different.”
At this, Levi shrugged. In his world, a certain great nation’s gun association always insisted that the cause of shootings lay not in the guns, but in the people. To Levi, this was nonsense. The danger of firearms lay in their lethality and the absence of any chance to regret. Take poison—you could still have your stomach pumped. Even hanging—if rescued quickly, there was a chance of survival. Even stabbing—sometimes you could be stitched up and live.
But a gunshot? One bullet, and there was no turning back.
By that logic, one could also say nuclear weapons were the same. The problem isn’t the bomb, but the people. In that case, why bother with non-proliferation treaties? Why not give everyone their own warhead?
“Have you anything more to say, Mr. Byrne?”
Levi once again turned toward Mr. Byrne, who now bowed his head in anguish.
“I only wished to preserve the honor of the Porto family. After something like this…”
“What use is honor! Sister is dead!”
Selena furiously interrupted Mr. Byrne’s words, then glared fiercely at Elaine and John.
“And you two—don’t think this matter ends here. Even if you didn’t kill her with your own hands, she died because of you! Just wait, this is not over!”
Faced with Selena’s fierce momentum, John was too frightened to breathe, while Elaine scowled at her in displeasure.
“Stop pretending. You never listened to Elder Sister at all. You don’t deserve to be called her sibling…”
“She was still my sister! I’m nothing like you, playing twisted games of being her ‘sister’…”
Selena glared at Elaine, then turned toward the Chief Inspector.
“Chief Inspector, can you arrest these two scoundrels?”
“No, I… I’m afraid I cannot…”
“Then at least throw them into second class. They don’t deserve to stay in first class!”
As Selena’s quarrel continued, Levi yawned.
“The matter is concluded. The rest is their family’s affair. Let them quarrel as they please.”
“What do you plan to do next?”
Mr. Howard, clearly tired of the meaningless squabbling, looked curiously at Levi. Levi thought for a moment.
“In any case, let’s have lunch first.”