The cruise ship had already turned around and was heading back to the port.
I sat quietly in the room, while Sonoko sat on the bed, comforting Natsue Hatamoto.
"Heiji... is Mr. Takeshi really the murderer?"
Watching Natsue cry in silence, Sonoko couldn't help looking at me, her eyes full of sympathy.
"Based on what we know right now, his suspicion is the highest."
Natsue, who had just regained a little strength, looked like the light in her eyes faded again.
The others were all in their own rooms. I had told them to lock their doors and not go out unless they had to. Whether they listened or not was none of my business.
The sea breeze was gentle. The night was quiet.
Suddenly, a sharp, painful scream cut through the silence, sounding very loud in the night.
"Heiji?" Sonoko gasped, her heart jumping.
I frowned. "Let's go out and see."
Our room was near the back of the cabins. By the time we rushed out, everyone else had already come into the corridor.
"We came out because we heard Akie scream too," Jouji Hatamoto said, frowning.
"Could it be that Akie has been killed as well?" Mariko asked, fear flickering in her eyes.
"Where is Tatsuo?"
Tatsuo Hatamoto was nowhere to be seen among the group.
I frowned. Ichiro is right here. That means if Tatsuo is dead, it must have happened very recently.
"Where did the sound come from?" I asked.
"From the deck at the stern," Ichiro suddenly said, his voice shaking.
I lifted an eyebrow, and a small smile appeared on my face. Finally, a mistake.
We quickly made our way to the stern deck.
Akie was slumped on the floor, her eyes wide, staring straight ahead in pure terror. Her whole body was trembling.
"Akie, if you're fine, what are you screaming about?" Mariko frowned, speaking in a harsh tone.
Suddenly, Natsue let out a loud scream, her voice full of horror.
"Natsue, you too... Ahhh!"
Mariko was startled and was about to scold Natsue, but then she followed her niece's gaze. Her face went pale, and she let out a scream so loud it sounded like she was being killed.
Tatsuo Hatamoto was slumped against the ship's railing, his head hanging low. Blood was still pouring from his head, running down his face and dripping onto the deck. His eyes were wide open, and his face was twisted as if he had seen something unbelievable.
"Tatsuo, he..."
Jouji and the others turned pale, fear showing in their eyes.
I walked over, checked his pulse, and shook my head. "He's dead."
"Who did it?! Why?! Why did they kill my Tatsuo?!"
Akie suddenly burst into loud crying.
The others slowly came back from the shock. Hearing her, their faces tightened at once.
"Akie, stop acting. Tatsuo is dead—are you really that sad?" Mariko said coldly.
"Aunt Mariko, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm faking it?" Akie stopped crying at once and snapped back, her face cold.
"Don't think I don't know. You've had another man for a long time. If it weren't for Father's inheritance, you would have divorced Tatsuo long ago. In my opinion, maybe Tatsuo found out and threatened you with it, so you killed him to keep it secret."
"Mariko," Jouji cut in, "do we even have an inheritance anymore?"
Jouji's words stunned Mariko, and she shut up right away.
Because if there were an inheritance, one less person would mean a bigger share. But if there was no inheritance, there was no reason to kill.
"I didn't kill Tatsuo at all," Akie argued, but her eyes shifted nervously. "After we went back to the room, he went out not long after. Then, after half an hour passed and he still hadn't come back, I got worried, so I came out to check. I didn't expect to find him like this."
Akie's gaze kept moving.
"You're already having an affair, yet you care enough about Tatsuo to come looking for him? Miss Akie, do you really think that excuse sounds believable?"
My words made Akie's face change. She lowered her head, looking flustered.
"Miss Akie, did Tatsuo say something to you?"
My voice pressed down like weight.
The air on the deck felt heavy at once. Only the sea wind could be heard.
Akie finally couldn't take the pressure.
"Tatsuo did say one sentence when he left the room. That sentence is why I came out to see what was going on."
"What did he say?" Jouji asked nervously.
"He said: 'Such bad luck. Since I can't get the old man's inheritance, I can only go blackmail that guy. If my luck is good enough, I should be able to get a steady stream of money from him. Then I can live the high life again.' It was because of those words that I was so curious."
"So, the 'half an hour' you mentioned was also a lie?" My eyes narrowed.
"Yes... actually, it was only fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes..."
I looked down, thinking. Tatsuo was definitely killed by Ichiro. As for the reason... Tatsuo probably discovered that Ichiro likes Natsue and wanted to use it to blackmail him for money. Unfortunately, he underestimated Ichiro's feelings for Natsue. Ichiro would never let anyone use her like that.
However...
I glanced at the ocean and shook my head slightly.
Any evidence is probably already at the bottom of the sea.
"Heiji, did you find something?" Sonoko asked.
I shook my head. "Tatsuo died within the last fifteen minutes. During that time, where were all of you?"
"I stayed in my room the whole time. I only came out when I heard Akie's scream," Jouji said.
"Kitaro and I were in our room the whole time," Mariko said.
"I... I was in my room painting," Ichiro said, lowering his head.
"In other words, none of you have an alibi."
When I said that, everyone looked at me at once.
"Mr. Heiji, what do you mean by that?"
"Since we don't have alibis, does that mean you have one?"
Mariko and Akie shouted angrily right away.
"Can you let Heiji finish speaking?" Sonoko said coldly.
Her voice was calm and sharp, and it carried a natural authority. As the heir of a top financial group, she was used to being listened to.
As soon as she spoke, the two of them didn't dare to argue anymore.
I smiled faintly. "No one here has an alibi, which means anyone could be the murderer. Also, the murderer is very likely Mr. Takeshi's accomplice. Right now, we should go check on Mr. Takeshi first."
"That's right. Mr. Heiji is correct. If that's the case, we must confirm Takeshi's situation," Jouji nodded.
Soon, everyone froze in shock again.
The storage room where Takeshi had been locked up had been opened by someone.
"This storage room locks from the outside. It can't be opened from the inside. It looks like my guess was right. There is an accomplice of Takeshi among us, and that accomplice is most likely the murderer who killed Tatsuo."