novelraw Chapter 109 The state has an obligation to prevent me from becoming a murderer.
Chapter 109 The state has an obligation to prevent me from becoming a murderer.
Chapter 109 The state has an obligation to prevent me from becoming a murderer.
Hideomi Uyama is caught up in the story of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate".
His expression was very solemn because the mystery of "The Death Row Inmate" was very simple.
There are only three points in total, and they are the most common tricks in detective novels.
Why kill Ariake Shoji right before his execution?
There was no nicotine in the clinic's pharmacy. Who brought the nicotine in?
How did the murderer poison Ariake Shoji?
These three points of doubt, in the simplest terms, are the motive, the source of the murder weapon, and the method of the crime!
The reason why Uyama Hideomi looked so serious was that he was somewhat worried about Maishiro Kyosuke.
No one else knows what Maijo Kyosuke is thinking.
But among the seven people present, he was the one most familiar with Maishiro Kyosuke, and also the one who first came into contact with Maishiro Kyosuke.
When Kyosuke Maijo showed everyone his unpublished work, it meant that he had some reservations.
This concern was something that Hideomi Uyama couldn't initially fathom.
However, it now seems that Kyosuke Maijo's concerns were precisely the choice of the riddle.
Of the three works written by Maijo Kyosuke before, "The Astrological Murder Magic" is a riddle from the heavens, with the answer from the heavens.
"A Bellflower" is an excellent repackaging of an old trick.
"Summer of the Ubume" is a terrifying fantasy achieved through bizarre and enigmatic clues and ingenious ideas.
In short, although Maijo Kyosuke's style may seem to be varied, the core of his writing ability is fantasy!
All of their works are inextricably linked to imagination!
Whether it's the bizarre dismemberment of Asod, the victim holding a bellflower after death, or a pregnant woman who doesn't give birth after twenty months, or a living person mysteriously disappearing from a secret room!
All the riddles are just gimmicks designed to pique the reader's interest.
But this time, the mystery of Maijo Kyosuke, while interesting, is completely different from the previous three stories.
There is no fantasy, no ghost story, and no unbelievable tale; it is simply the bizarre death of a victim, and a detective investigating the truth behind the case.
The simpler the riddle, the more complex it is to write.
Because in the entire history of world reasoning, there is only one person who can solve simple riddles from heaven, and that is the "King of Logic," Ellery Queen!
In this world, only Ellery Queen and Ellery Queen working together could create the most ordinary riddles and the most magnificent solutions! (Note: Ellery Queen and Ellery Queen were cousins who co-authored this work.)
According to Hideomi Uyama, rather than saying that Kyosuke Maijo was paying homage to Ellery Queen, the "King of Logic," with "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates," it's more accurate to say that he was using "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates" to pay tribute to Ellery Queen, the "King of Logic."
Rather, it's more accurate to say that Kyosuke Maijo is using "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate" to challenge Ellery Queen, the "King of Logic"!
Thinking of all this, Uyama Hideomi picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip.
Although the dishes had been served one after another without him realizing it, Uyama Hideomi had no appetite for anything. What he wanted to know most right now was...
How will Kyosuke Maijo handle the story of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate"?
Turning to the remaining half of the manuscript, Hideomi Uyama entered the story—
Nicotine, intended for poisoning, was found in the thermos.
Then the person in charge of the internal affairs who prepared these things, Nan, is naturally the most suspicious person!
Minami, being stared at intently by Rintaro Hozuki, appeared somewhat uneasy and at a loss for what to do.
Rintaro learned from Minami that Director Matsuyama had asked Minami to buy a cake and prepare tea at 10:00 AM, but he had to deal with some discarded documents, and Ariake Shoji's execution time was at 3:00 PM.
So Nan ordered the cake and prepared tea at 10:30 in the morning.
After hearing the clue provided by Minami, Rintaro Hozuki asked Minami the same question again: "Mr. Minami, when you were preparing the tea, did you tell anyone else what you were going to do?"
When the Ministry of Internal Affairs official, Minami, heard Rintaro Hozuki ask this question, he shook his head.
He frankly admitted that he had been very busy all morning, and by the time the cake was delivered, it was already around 11 o'clock. During that time, he only exchanged a few words with the executioner, who was busy preparing for the execution, in the torture chamber, and then he did not enter the torture chamber again.
After hearing Minami's testimony, Rintaro Hozuki turned to Director Matsuyama for further questions.
"Director Matsuyama, is it possible that someone else overheard the news about the cake and tea?"
Director Songshan shook his head again: "I gave the order for this in my office. Apart from Nan, there's no way a third person could know about it."
Rintaro Hozuki gestured to his father with his eyes.
Police officer Fa Yue solemnly said to the internal affairs officer, Nan, "Nan, you should be aware of your situation. Right now, you are the prime suspect."
What evidence do you have to defend yourself?
Although the internal affairs officer Nan was nervous, his thinking remained clear, and he stated that he had no need to kill a death row inmate who was about to be executed.
Moreover, I only received the notification at 10 o'clock to prepare cake and tea.
How could someone obtain nicotine to poison someone when given a last-minute notice?
The words of the internal affairs officer, Minami, made Rintaro Hozuki nod: "It's impossible to get nicotine in this detention center, so the murderer must have premeditated the poisoning."
"Since Nan was notified at the last minute, Nan's suspicion can be temporarily ruled out."
"With Nan's suspicion cleared, the most suspicious person now is Chief Matsuyama."
"After all, apart from Nan, only Director Songshan knew that the two provincial council members in Ming Province were eating cake and drinking tea."
Inspector Fujishiro questioned Rintaro Hozuki's reasoning.
From 10 a.m. to noon, Director Matsuyama, along with Inspector Fujishiro and Clerk Hirose, were praying in the Buddhist hall and never left.
To put it more simply, Director Matsuyama, Inspector Fujishiro, and Clerk Hirose have an unbreakable alibi!
Seeing that the case had reached a dead end, Inspector Hogetsu suggested starting with the motive for the crime.
After all, the motive for a murderer to kill a death row inmate is, in any case, bizarre.
However, Rintaro Hozuki stated that the motive for a crime is actually an abstract concept, and investigating the motive before catching the culprit is not a very meaningful activity.
After some discussion, Rintaro Hozuki concluded that it was necessary to thoroughly investigate everyone in the torture chamber at 11 o'clock, because any one of them could have been poisoned!
At the same time, Rintaro Hozuki also requested an investigation into whether there were any items such as syringes in the facility.
Because the killer likely originally intended to use a syringe to kill, but due to Chief Matsuyama's last-minute decision to prepare cake and tea, the killer changed their method of murder.
Chief Matsuyama followed the advice of Rintaro Hozuki and brought in all those who were involved in the case at the time of the incident.
These people are:
The head of the protection section, Sekine, was in the torture chamber from the very beginning.
The five executioners who control the buttons are Iizuka, Shimizu, Ishida, Nakazato, and Miyamoto.
The teacher was Sanyuan.
Mori Kyo, who was tied up with a noose, and Tsunuma, who was tied up with Ariake Province No. 2's legs.
Inspector Fujishiro, clerk Hirose.
The guard is Nagai Iwami, and the head of the education department is a third-generation leader.
There were thirteen people in total.
In addition to Chief Matsuyama and Chief of the Security Section Yamazaki, there are fifteen people who must be present during the execution!
Upon seeing the fifteen people, Rintaro Hozuki asked again, "Besides these fifteen, who else entered the torture chamber between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.?"
After everyone investigated each other, they discovered that, apart from the fifteen people present...
Also present was Sawaki, the executioner, who accompanied Nakazato in the pre-execution preparations.
The housekeeper, Nan, prepared cakes and tea, while the cleaning lady, Gao Feng, arrived at 11:30 to clean the torture chamber.
There are 15+3 suspects in total, and each of them has committed an unreasonable crime.
No one had a criminal motive that could be understood by others!
But similarly, anyone could be the murderer of Ariake Shoji!
Rintaro Hozuki stared at everyone present.
Pointing to the five buttons in the execution chamber, he asked in bewilderment, "I don't understand, why does it have to be five buttons?"
"Besides increasing manpower, is this necessary?"
Upon hearing Rintaro Hozuki's words, Nakazato provided an explanation: "This is to alleviate the executioner's guilt, because if all five buttons are pressed at the same time, no one will know who actually committed the murder."
"The state has an obligation not to let me become a murderer."
"Executing death sentences is our duty!"
When Rintaro Hozuki heard Nakazato's words, he muttered, "The country has a duty not to let me become a murderer."
He pressed the five buttons one by one with his hand.
After the fourth button is pressed.
The electrified pedal in the very center of the execution platform activated instantly!
A damp, cold air swept in from the depths of darkness —
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