Chapter 26: Makoto's Solo Deduction Show
"So you're saying this guy killed himself?"
"If it's suicide, that would actually explain the locked-room death."
Inspector Megure, a man with no opinions of his own, nodded—half doubtful, half convinced.
Whatever the detective said, he figured, must be true.
"Suicide?"
"The victim was stabbed in the back."
"If it's suicide, how exactly would he stab himself in his own back?"
Kogoro demanded loudly.
"Right!"
"There's no way a person can stab themselves in the back."
"So this has to be a murder after all!"
Inspector Megure clapped his hands together and nodded again.
"Uncle, take this knife and try stabbing me in the back."
Makoto brought a pointed kitchen knife similar to the murder weapon out from the kitchen and handed it to him.
"Stab you?"
"Like this?"
Kogoro moved slowly, driving the knife toward his back.
"Stop!"
Makoto suddenly called out.
Everyone's eyes turned toward them.
Makoto: "Don't move!"
"And then what?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Kogoro had no idea what was going on, but he kept holding the stabbing position anyway.
"Uncle, why is the way you're holding that knife different from how it went into the victim?"
Makoto asked with a smile.
"Different?"
"How is it different..."
"Bzzt!"
Kogoro looked at the body on the floor, and his words cut off dead.
His mind went completely blank, like he'd been struck by lightning.
It was the same kind of pointed kitchen knife, but he was holding it with the blade facing down.
Yet the knife in the victim's body had the blade facing up.
What normal person would ever hold a knife with the blade facing up?
That was way too strange!
"Mouri-kun, what's going on here? Spit it out already!"
Inspector Megure pressed him anxiously.
"Inspector Megure, try holding the knife yourself."
Kogoro didn't answer, just handed the knife over to him.
"Me hold it?"
"What for?"
Inspector Megure took the knife and gripped it naturally.
Even so, he still didn't get it.
"You're holding it blade-down."
Makoto pointed out.
"Blade-down?"
"Isn't that just normal?"
"Who on earth holds a knife blade-up?"
Inspector Megure said, irritated.
What were these detectives even doing?
"There is someone!"
"And he's right in front of you!"
Kogoro pointed at the body on the floor.
Stabbed in the back, and yet the blade was facing up.
If this were a murder, why would the killer hold the knife blade-up?
It went against basic human self-preservation instinct.
Holding it blade-up meant leaving the danger pointed at yourself—not at all the kind of thing a killer bent on murder would do.
And even without thinking about it at all, any normal person would instinctively hold it blade-down.
"That's..."
"Really is strange!"
Inspector Megure nodded, looking like he'd finally understood.
"It is strange, but it still doesn't prove the victim killed himself."
Kogoro said.
"What if it went like this?"
Makoto took the knife, propped it against the floor with the tip pointing up.
Then, with his other hand, he picked up an apple and slammed it down hard onto the tip.
In an instant!
The pointed knife pierced straight through the apple.
"T-that's..."
"Gulp!"
Kogoro swallowed hard.
"What is this?"
"Just spit it out already, Mouri-kun, Higashino-kun!"
Inspector Megure pressed.
Calling him "Higashino-kun" now—he'd already come to think of Makoto as one of his own.
"If that's how it went, then this chair makes sense."
Kogoro looked like a struggling student who'd just had every step of the problem walked through by his teacher—suddenly it all clicked, all made sense.
"What I mean is, the victim fixed the knife to the floor."
"He stood on the chair, then threw himself backward with force."
"Using gravity, using his own body weight, he drove the knife through his own back—a one-man murder, done."
Makoto said flatly.
"But what would the reason be for doing that?"
"If he just wanted to kill himself, why go to all this trouble?"
Inspector Megure asked, puzzled.
Was this dead guy just bored out of his mind?
Or did he want to make life difficult for the police on purpose?
"To frame her, of course!"
Makoto smiled and looked over at Yoko, standing off to the side.
"The victim died in Yoko-san's home. She'd obviously be the prime suspect."
"A hot idol, hauled off by the police as a murder suspect."
"Even if she's cleared in the end, her reputation would already be ruined, and her career would take a nosedive."
"Only, he never expected Yoko-san would bring this many people home with her, clearing her of suspicion outright."
Makoto explained.
"So that's how it is!"
Inspector Megure nodded.
"Damn it, trying to hurt sweet Yoko-san like that!"
"This guy is just despicable!"
Before Yoko or Yamagishi could even say a word, Kogoro was already boiling with righteous fury, looking ready to whip the corpse for revenge.
"But we didn't find anything at the scene that could've been used to fix the knife in place?"
A Forensics Division officer asked, puzzled.
"Couldn't he just use ice?"
"Fix it in place with ice first, then once the ice melts into water, it vanishes from the scene entirely."
"That's also why the AC was cranked up so high—not to throw off the time of death, but to speed up the ice melting and destroy the evidence."
Makoto explained.
A very simple principle, a very simple trick.
This kind of suicide staged to look like murder showed up all the time in mystery anime, TV shows, and movies—he'd lost count of how many times he'd seen it.
…
…
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Megure Juzo — Police Inspector. Series: Detective Conan.
Mouri Kogoro — Ran's father. Series: Detective Conan.
Okino Yoko — Idol. Series: Detective Conan.
Yamagishi Eiichi — Yoko's manager. Series: Detective Conan.
…
…
Translated by CheapBiscuit.
...
...
Don't forget to check out my other translation works.
Give them a try!
...
If you want to read advanced chapters or just want to support me, you can join my…
🍪 P∆TRΞON.c0m/CheapBiscuit
🔥 Instant access to 100+ total advanced chapters! Upgradeable~
💎 Early access to "Preview" novels!
...
Your support lets me jump 10 floors higher.
It gives me the motivation necessary to clench my buttcheeks and translate every day.
Thank you ❤ for reading and support.
Enjoy!