At Officer Utsumi's request, Sakurako-san and I set out
to solve the mystery of a certain family
with a cursed bloodline, whose men all died prematurely.
There, we found a dog that could foretell death,
a family tree proving that all the men die early,
and even a cursed painting whose owners have all died.
Let me solve your curse.
The Fifth Bone The Cursed Man, Part 2
A Story Dedicated to Those Trapped by the Past
My wife was against it,
so I secretly brought it here.
Since so many things in this room relate to my work,
I don't even let her come in here to clean.
When I look at this painting while holding my baby,
I truly feel at peace.
It's as though I haven't a care in the world.
So that's the cursed painting?
Wait.
Huh?
It's probably toxic.
T-Toxic?
What's this smell?
Try not to inhale it.
What do you mean, it's toxic?
Now, let us solve the mystery.
It's said to have been painted several centuries ago.
It's that old?
But the green color is still so vibrant.
It's Scheele’s Green.
It's a pigment that was used from the eighteenth to early nineteenth century.
Because it's a toxic arsenic compound,
it's no longer in use.
Arsenic?
Arsenic was an easily-obtained substance used
in dyes for wallpaper and dresses, as well as to make facial lotions.
But the paint itself is not the problem.
You can't just do that without asking, Sakurako-san!
What's this?
How long have you had this painting up?
About three months.
Before that, it was in storage.
It must have been stored in very poor conditions.
Add how rainy it's been this year, and...
You get Scopulariopsis brevicaulis,
a mold that often grows on wallpaper.
A mold?
Condensation and such create ideal conditions for mold growth behind picture frames.
This is what cast a curse on the painting.
The mold cast a curse?
This mold is known for generating diethyl arsine gas from arsenic compounds.
It was not uncommon in the past for this mold growing
on wallpaper using Scheele’s Green to result in deaths by arsenic poisoning.
The garlicky smell in this room is a hallmark of arsenic gas.
Come out right now!
Please!
Honey!
Takeshi-kun!
No...
Then I've...
I've been...
The lines on your nails are called Mees' lines.
They present with heavy metal poisoning, such as by arsenic or thallium,
or when there's renal failure.
Watching you cough and seeing your nails
gave me a hunch.
Chronic arsenic poisoning can lead to maladies in the respiratory and digestive systems,
and, frequently, cancer.
Then the reason the painting's owners died is...
At the moment, it's only speculation.
I can't believe this!
You were showing our baby such a terrible thing!
If I'd known, I wouldn't have!
In your case, you developed symptoms rapidly
because you were always closed up in that room.
I don't see any particular symptoms in the baby.
Still,
you should have a doctor check her, just in case.
So there may be something wrong with her, too?
Well, it'd be for your sakes.
Ours?
From a psychological standpoint, anxiety can be a lethal poison.
Relieving patients of anxiety is one of a doctor's roles.
I'd been keeping it in storage with the intent to get rid of it.
But when that painter came to appraise it,
I told him I was going to be a father soon.
He said I should keep the painting near, and have the mother view it with the baby,
because green is a healing hue that can help nurture a baby's sense of aesthetics.
So, honestly, I wanted to ask you to do it.
But since you disliked the painting,
I thought I could at least show it to her myself...
It's true that green is said to alleviate tension.
But newborns, with their underdeveloped vision,
prefer bright, warm colors.
I doubt there'd be any benefit to showing a cool color like green to a baby.
A professional who deals with color should have known that.
What?
I can't say whether that painter
was simply ignorant or an intentional liar.
No... That's impossible!
And as for the other curse...
Perhaps your family has congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries?
Coronary arteries?
Basically, they're blood vessels that go around your heart.
But neither I nor my father was ever diagnosed with anomalies.
Routine exams won't detect them.
Although strenuous exercise and the like strain the heart,
these don't really present in everyday life,
so they tend to be overlooked.
Then why is it always men? How do you explain that?
Humans, when subjected to extreme stress,
release huge quantities of cortisol, an adrenal hormone that constricts blood vessels.
This increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Men typically release higher levels of cortisol than women.
And women are said to have a very high tolerance for stress.
Men can actually die of heartbreak.
Stress...
My father died the year after the bubble burst.
His company was going under,
and he was struggling to raise funds...
Your family does have many early deaths,
but as long as you know the cause, you can prevent them.
Don't worry.
You won't die.
There's no reason to give up out of fear that you're going to die.
I told you so!
Takeshi-kun, you're not going to die!
There's no curse!
You'll live with me until we reach a hundred,
and we'll be the great-grandparents of this girl's grandchildren.
Miyuki...
Thank goodness.
What a relief!
Well, shall we start the birthday party?
That's right!
Let's forget about this curse business and celebrate!
Okay...
But let me wash my face and have a smoke first.
Honey, you really should quit.
I know.
That's why I want to make this my last one.
My goodness...
Come back soon, okay?
All right, let's get ready!
Come on, help me out, Shoutarou-kun!
I know.
About earlier...
About that painting...
No, I'm not saying you had ill intentions.
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I know.
I've already made up my mind.
Come to think of it,
I wonder if the curse was already weighing on him back then...
Back when?
In middle school, the two of us found a baby crow that had fallen from a tree.
When we tried to save it,
the mother crow attacked us,
so we couldn't even get close.
Crows are super violent when they have young.
But Fujioka insisted because he thought the baby crow would die otherwise,
so we managed to retrieve it, even as the mother pecked at us,
and took it to the vet.
But ultimately, it didn't live.
He got really depressed.
Now that I look back, I guess he was sensitive about death.
That may have been the case...
But when I met him, he was moody and aggressive.
I'm sure he was trying to resist fate in his own way.
He's very kind at heart.
I only agreed to go out with him after I learned that.
But...
Ever since the baby was born, it's as if he's a different person.
He began working himself to the bone even more than before.
He started investing,
and took out a large life insurance policy on himself.
Isn't that him just trying to work harder for the baby?
It was more like he just accepted that he was cursed... That he'd die early.
He said that was why he wanted to ensure he'd leave behind some money for us.
I told him many times that he shouldn't think about such nonsense, but...
Still, thanks to your efforts,
I think he's finally come around.
Thank you so much.
Not at all.
It's Kujou-san you should thank.
Hey, Hector...
Be quiet.
It's like you're his owner, Sakurako-san.
Sakurako-san?
He had really perked up today,
saying a close friend named Utsumi-san was coming.
C-Close friend?
I didn't know he thought of me that way...
I just hung out with him for a little bit during middle school.
Even when I wrote to him, he never wrote back.
If he felt that way, he should have kept in touch.
What's that look for?
You suddenly ran into him after not hearing from him in a long time, right?
Yeah, while I was on patrol.
He was surprised to see me in uniform.
He couldn't believe the most irresponsible guy in our class ended up like that.
And he still said you were his close friend...
Character! It's all about my good character!
Shh! Hector, you'll wake the baby!
The bones aren't coming together...
It was only two months ago.
Detective?
It doesn't make sense.
Why Utsumi now?
Well, because of my character, like I said—
I don't care about your character.
Why now, specifically?
Well, if he thought he might die,
why wouldn't he want someone to talk to?
S-Sakurako-san...
I can't breathe...
The men in his family all died on different dates, at different ages.
Reaching the same age as his father
shouldn't have been a reason to see death around the corner.
That would have been most obvious to Fujioka himself,
who made that detailed family tree!
Where is Fujioka?
Come to think of it, he's taking a while.
That's not it.
Jeez... What is it this time?
We're being deceived!
Crap!
Fujioka!
Boy, call an ambulance!
G-Got it!
Tell them he cut himself with an axe!
O-Okay!
Utsumi, give me your belt.
Huh?
Hurry up!
To stop the bleeding!
Takeshi-kun!
They'll come right away!
What happened, Fujioka?
Th-The axe just broke...
No, that's not true.
This man tried to kill himself,
disguising it as an accident.
You can see a hesitation mark next to the deep cut.
If the axe broke at the moment of impact on a downswing,
force would've been applied along the handle.
It wouldn't have broken as though force were applied from the side.
Fujioka?
Honey?
You didn't want me here.
That's... not true...
Ever since I arrived,
I couldn't shake the feeling that something about you wasn't right.
Why did you take in a cursed dog and even accept a cursed painting,
despite your fear of the curse?
Why did you research when, and of what, each family member died in detail,
and then go to the trouble of printing out your findings?
You wanted to conceal your suicide as an accidental death
by taking advantage of the supposed curse and your family history.
And you used Utsumi.
Huh?
You called him here to impress upon him that you wanted to live.
Did you think inviting a police officer over would increase your credibility?
Wouldn't you say it's just like a cursed man to die from an axe breaking?
Fujioka, you...
For the longest time, I was bent on beating the curse.
But when I went to the hospital with my wife...
When I heard my child's heartbeat for the first time,
I just wanted so badly for my baby to have a happy life.
That's why I started investing.
It was a year ago, right?
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That the stock market plummeted due to the global financial crisis.
Before I even knew it, I was in enormous debt.
No...
I don't even have enough for us to live on next month...
Why didn't you tell me?!
You presume to know what it's like for those who are left behind?
No, I don't.
If you don't, I'll tell you!
I don't know!
I don't know why I started thinking of this ridiculous plan...
Why would I leave my two loved ones behind?
And on top of that, I may have even let my own daughter die...
Hang in there, Fujioka!
Utsumi, move him there for now.
I'm sure he was watching me because he wanted to stop me...
When my father died,
my family and I both really suffered financially, so...
Who cares about money troubles?
We can just sell the house and everything we own, and start over!
If we have our family, isn't that enough?
Miyuki...
My dream has always been to grow old with you.
Fujioka?
Takeshi-kun?
Fujioka!
He's all right.
But even though he missed the artery,
using the tourniquet risks necrosis.
Where's the ambulance?
It should be here by now, but...
That's right!
Because of that illegally parked car,
they're having to take a detour, like we did!
Judging by the sirens, it will take a few minutes.
Damn it! I should've reported it to the traffic division!
You're an idiot, Fujioka!
Utsumi...
You're gonna owe me big time!
You're not some baby crow!
Your nest is right here!
What more could you possibly need other than your wife and baby?
I couldn't get that image out of my mind.
What he told me about...
The image of making my troubles go away...
But I...
I don't need it anymore.
He should be fine now.
What a relief...
And not only now, but from now on, too.
Black is often thought to represent death,
but in terms of psychology,
it's a color that fights the fear of death.
It's hope.
So that's why.
Wait, wait!
The long rain's finally stopped! What a gorgeous day!
I don't get why we should eat outside because of that, though.
Staying holed up and fiddling with bones all the time
is bad for your health.
I'm sorry, Shouko-san,
for responding to your invitation with such a large group.
Sorry.
Don't mention it.
It's a barbecue, after all.
The more, the merrier.
Ii-chan's staying with her relatives now.
I hear they're spoiling her rotten.
Wait!
I see.
Oh, Ii-chan!
You can't go that way!
In the end, Hector changed from a Fujioka to a Kujou.
It was inevitable.
Life in that small apartment would have suffocated that dog.
Ii-chan!
I thought you were only interested in dead animals.
That's not true.
Sa-chan used to have a pet cat, didn't you?
That was in the past.
Oh, right, Fujioka found a job with an IT company.
His leg still hasn't fully recovered,
but he seemed well.
I see.
I guess I can let it go, then.
Let what go?
That painter who appraised that landscape.
There's something off about his telling Fujioka
to keep the painting close
and to show it to that baby.
Why get hung up over it now?
There was no curse.
No, curses do exist.
Huh?
Although not in the supernatural sense.
By magnifying the anxiety of the target,
you can easily trigger death in some situations.
I get it.
So that was the curse...
What's wrong?
Can't you just give me a little bit longer?