Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 60 The Ultimate Villain, Mercato

"If you ask me why McCartney linked the death of the little needle to another case in the Holy Chamber?"

"Perhaps it's because McCarteau was afraid of getting into trouble."

"If McCartney agrees to investigate Needle's death with Mikael, then there will be two murders on this island: one is Needle's murder, and the other is the Holy Chamber murder."

"And on the entire island, only McCartney and Misty's identities remain unknown."

"If the two cases are not closely linked, then time will inevitably be wasted on solving another case."

"Solving cases without pay and potentially getting harassed by the police is a very bad deal for someone like McCato."

"So McCarteau decided to combine the two cases together, so that once the investigation is over by tomorrow, they can catch the real culprits in both murders at once!"

Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Jiang Liu Meili raised one eyebrow high, revealing a rare expression of disgust on her face:

"If that's the case? Doesn't that mean McCarteau is a complete bastard?"

"Is it possible to get him to identify an innocent person as the murderer if he can get the money?"

Upon hearing Jiang Liumei's words, Maishiro Kyosuke revealed a wicked smile:

"That's right, McCarteau is a villainous detective who is both loved and hated."

"Even if he framed his assistant Mibuki, or fabricated evidence to prove that an innocent person was the murderer, it would be perfectly normal."

"Ultimately, McCarteau is a completely chaotic character. In the story of Convergence, you can interpret him as either deceiving Mikael or not."

"In short, the case remains under observation until everything comes to a close."

"But once the doors to the sanctuary are opened tomorrow, and the victims are seen inside, then the truth will come to light!"

Jiang Liu Meili fell silent after hearing what Mai Cheng Jingjie said.

He then frowned, looking at the manuscript while writing something in his notebook.

Seeing Jiang Liu's serious expression, Maishiro Kyosuke didn't disturb her and sat down to make tea.

About half an hour later, Jiang Liumei put down her pen and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Then, as if discovering a new continent, he spoke to Maishiro Kyosuke:

"Ms. Mai, wait a minute."

"In your story, if McCato is really a bastard, he'll do anything for money."

"So, among the ten people on the island, including McCartney and Mikaela, there is one real killer!"

"I know this might be considered an overinterpretation of your work, but if we step outside your framework, then the murderer can only be that one person!"

Upon hearing Jiang Liumei's words, Maishiro Kyosuke was taken aback for a moment, then waved his hand and said:

"It's alright. Once a work is written, it's meant to be read by others."

"Whether it's scrutinizing every sentence or over-interpreting it, it's something to be happy about if it can make people interested in the work."

Jiang Liu Meili pointed to her manuscript and said proudly to Wu Cheng Jingjie:

"Ms. Mai, this is what I'm thinking."

"There are ten people on the island: the cult leader, Xiaozhen; the butler, Baishan; the nanny, Aoshan; five believers, Terao, Youzi, Uchino, Sekiya Hiroshi, and Maki Naomi; as well as the detective, McCart, and the detective's assistant, Mibukuro."

"The only people who are sure they can get the key are the cult leader Xiaozhen, the butler Baishan, the nanny Aoyama, Terao, Yaozi, and Uchino."

"Since the story doesn't specify how many guns there are, we'll assume it's one."

"In that case, the nine possibilities will instantly converge into three possibilities, namely the three possibilities at the beginning of the story: whoever killed the person in the sanctuary killed Little Needle."

"But what if we exclude those three? The suspect then becomes either the housekeeper Hakuyama or the nanny Aoyama, instead of the three."

"With only one pistol, Aoyama would inevitably be unable to carry out a second murder of the Holy See, because Aoyama had already been locked in the house by McCartney before the second murder of the Holy See occurred."

"Therefore, after eliminating three suspects, the most likely culprit is the butler, Baishan!"

"Thus, we can obtain a set of logical chains that completely break free from the Mercator convergence framework."

"However, this conclusion can only be based on the premise that the 'ultimate villain' Mercator is lying."

Jiang Liumei paused, took a sip of tea, and continued with her speculative explanation:

"Throughout the entire affair, Mercator only answered the second murder case in the Holy Chamber, but did not provide much information about the death of Little Needle."

"Given McCartney's detective abilities, it can be understood that he already knows the truth about Little Needle's death."

Mercator's explanation for the cause of the needle's death was...

"First, to allow the butler, Baishan, to see the corpse on the stone path, so that the curtains would be drawn."

"Second, frame the victim who died in the sanctuary, making the police mistakenly believe that the victim committed suicide out of guilt."

"But both of these points are a bit strange. It was already late at night, and it was impossible for the butler, Baishan, to be staring at the cobblestone path by the window all day. So it's a bit unreasonable for the murderer to drag Xiaozhen's body out."

"It's even stranger that the victim committed suicide out of guilt, since the 'Book of Blessings' is in the sanctuary. With the Book of Katrina, it's entirely possible to forge the story that the victim committed suicide because they believed they could be resurrected after reading the 'Book of Blessings'."

"Based on all the clues above, the final timeline might look like this."

Jiang Liumei turned to the next page of her notebook, which contained a detailed diagram of the relationships between the characters (illustration):

"As a detective, McCarte first received a commission from Aoyama's father, who was also the original owner of the "Katrina Book," asking McCarte to rescue his daughter from the island."

"Then, through his connections, McCarteau received a commission from Little Needle Cult Leader to investigate suspicious individuals on the island."

"Afterwards, McCarte planned to use the power of faith in the 'Book of Blessing' to extort kickbacks from believers, eventually forcing the nanny Aoyama to become his secretary."

"After arriving on the island, McCarte discovered the connection between the reference book and the clock, and eventually deduced that a second case was about to occur, and that the murderer was the butler, Hakusan."

"The reason is that Baishan has the key to the sanctuary, so he can arrange the clock and reference books in advance to set up the second murder scene. At the same time, the window of Baishan's room is right in front of the cobblestone path leading to the sanctuary."

"Although he knew the truth, McCarteau did not want to get involved in the case. He just wanted to get the money and the book, so he reached an agreement with White Mountain."

"He extorted money from Baishan, demanding that Baishan give him money in return, and then hand over the book to him."

"The logic behind Bai Shan's murders is exactly the opposite of that of the other three."

"The other three killed Little Needle in order to kill someone in the sanctuary."

"Bai Shan orchestrated the Holy Chamber massacre to kill the Little Needle Cult Leader!"

"Because after the death of the Little Needle Cult Leader, the police will inevitably intervene in the investigation, but if they give a logic similar to what McCarteau said, that the victim and the perpetrator are identified based on the height difference."

"Then the fact that the tiny needle was killed will immediately transfer to someone else!"

"Macator warned Mikado not to get involved, not mainly out of concern for Mikado, but because if Mikado reached the Sanctuary, she would see White Mountain with a gun killing people!"

"Thus, the final outcome was that the murderer, Hakuyama, successfully escaped punishment, and all the blame was placed on Terao, Yoko, or Uchino."

"Macato, carrying a large sum of money, the 'Book of Blessing,' and Aoyama, fulfilled Aoyama's father's request, fulfilled Xiaozhen's request (to die), and fulfilled Baishan's request. In the end, he used the 'Book of Blessing' to take kickbacks from believers, achieving a four-way profit from one fish!"

Jiang Liumei's logical reasoning was very meticulous, and it not only broke out of the original story framework.

They also made use of all the foreshadowing hidden in the story!

This made even Kyosuke Maijo admire her imagination!