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Now, then...
Kindaichi-kun ended up getting arrested, didn't he?
At this point, putting our heads together isn't going to accomplish anything.
I suppose today, I'll just go home and sleep.
We can't have that.
Kindaichi is our friend.
"Just leaving him there" is not an option.
Even so, we still don't know who really killed that woman, Otaki...
Um... Would it be all right if I...
Oh... You offering an opinion yourself is pretty rare, Hagiwara.
From what I understand,
the culprit isn't Ishikawa-san and it isn't Kindaichi-san, either.
It's...
the proprietress of Hananoya's
cat, Kuro!
Woodpecker Detective's Office
Poem 3 Casual Remarks
What do you mean, the cat's the culprit?
First, if you'll allow me to review.
According to Ishikawa-san's logic,
Otaki's offensive remarks caused Kindaichi-san to fly into a rage,
and kill her.
On the other hand, the late—
my apologies, the recently imprisoned Kindaichi-san's logic says that
when Ishikawa-san was caught peeping and she sneered at him,
he killed her.
Which means,
we need to figure out how to expose Kyousuke-san's lie.
It's true... Kindaichi-san's logic does seem somewhat forced.
However... it's also true that he isn't the type of person who would lie if he had a choice.
Can't argue that.
At the very least, he's more honest than Ishikawa-kun is—
If Kindaichi-san is lying, then...
could it be because telling the truth would be too embarrassing?
Hananoya
It's all right.
I'll find a way to get you out of here.
It's because you're like that...
Thinking you can do the impossible...
Otaki-san...
That's going too far, don't you think?
It's just...
All that's left for me is to stay here, as I am, sleeping with men I don't love...
I've heard enough!
I will find a way for us to be together!
But the tremendous sum necessary to pay for the release of a prostitute...
It would be impossible for a mere teacher like Kyousuke-san to prepare that.
Having fallen in love with Kindaichi-san,
she couldn't stand the thought of other men making love to her.
She decided she would join the Buddhist ministry.
Which means that Otaki-san's death
is a tragedy born of the fact that the two of them made love.
Just the kind of logic I'd expect from someone as naive as you, Hagiwara-san.
What do you mean?
Kyousuke-san could never even conceive of the idea of buying her freedom.
Why? Because...
He's a die-hard virgin. That's why.
Well... I don't think his status as a virgin means he wouldn't think of—
No.
Regardless of how I feel for him as a friend,
it's difficult for me to imagine Kindaichi-kun being adept when it comes to women.
If you say so, Yoshii-kun, then... it might be true, but...
On top of all this, I don't get why Kindaichi and Ishikawa
are pushing the blame on each other.
True. The two of them get along almost too well, after all...
But if you think about it this way, it makes sense.
The two of you are both the murderers and not the murderers.
In other words, accomplices, right?
What's that supposed to mean?
Wasn't the truth something like this?
That's enough!
J-Just calm down...
It's horrible of you... treating me this way...
It's unforgivable!
I-It isn't...
I didn't mean anything by it.
And it's because you're like that...
You're planning to ravish me, aren't you?
Otaki-san. That's going too far, don't you think?
This place is a brothel, after all.
Just because it's a brothel doesn't mean you can force yourself on me!
I've heard enough!
How does 40 yen sound for now?
What?
With all due respect, if I lodged a complaint with the police,
that would put you in a tough spot, wouldn't it?
You have your position as a teacher to consider, after all.
You wouldn't...
I've heard everything!
Ishikawa-kun!
Taking advantage of the fact that Kyousuke-san is an inexperienced virgin to blackmail him...
I'll take this to the madam—
no, I'll tell the police!
Please, forgive me.
I don't want to die yet.
What?
I have consumption.
Now that I think about it... You have been coughing...
I desperately needed money for medicine.
Please...
No.
We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed by these lies.
Now, come along quickly.
In short,
to conceal the fact that you're working together,
you're only pretending to fight, as a ruse!
You're right...
I did think it was strange for Ishikawa-kun to give testimony
that put Kindaichi-kun in a bad light.
There's no reason to entrap him.
And...
for Kindaichi-san, who would gladly give his life 3 or 4 times for Ishikawa-san,
to do something that would hurt Ishikawa-san is also strange.
This is ridiculous.
When I wrote in one of my novels
that Kyousuke-san put hair restorer on his upper lip, he...
How could you?!
You promised me you'd never say anything about that!
C-Can't breathe...
Can I have a moment?
Professor Natsume!
We were sitting in the back, you see, and couldn't help overhearing.
And... it seems he has something he'd like to say.
Come on.
Pleased to meet you.
My name is Akutagawa Ryuunosuke.
Oh! You're the one who wrote And I Am a Dog, right?
So, what are your thoughts on this?
Let's say that Professor Kindaichi left the room long before the murder.
And let's say that Ishikawa-sensei saw Professor Kindaichi at the time of the murder,
and that the proprietress rightly said there were no other guests...
I believe that everything the three of them said could be entirely truthful.
What... would that mean?
In other words, that there is no singular truth,
that truth is, after all, unknowable.
So... What are you trying to say?
That everything is "in a grove."
So, in the end, you're saying that you don't know what happened?
No.
The truth of a life can only be found in a grove.
That is what I have realized.
We're getting nowhere!
If I might interrupt, as well...
And who are you?
I'm honored to make your acquaintance.
My name is Hirai Tarou.
Woodpecker Detective's Office
I heard everything you've said...
Oh! But, I wasn't eavesdropping.
It was more, I happened to overhear.
What is this? One after another...
The thing is, an acquaintance of mine is lodging
in the room next to Professor Kindaichi's.
I'm imposing, at the moment, by staying there without paying.
You seem young. What about school?
I thought I'd try writing a novel, so I'm taking a little break.
So? What is it you want to say?
To tell the truth, I've been following both of you since yesterday evening.
Everything started during the events of two nights ago.
Oh, that's right. Did you finish your novel?
Yes, thanks to you.
I should be receiving payment for the manuscript soon,
so I think I'll be able to repay all the money you lent me.
Oh, you don't need to worry about that.
I'm just happy I can be of some help to you.
Were you able to write that ending you were stuck on?
Well, whether it was a fitting...
I really do have a good friend in you.
What are you talking about? After all this time...
Once it's published, I hope you'll let me be the first to read it.
Of course.
I want you to read it before anyone...
I see.
Well, I can't wait.
Oh, that's right. I used that story.
You know. The one about you using hair restorer on your upper lip.
What?
Really, thanks to that, the character gained a lot of depth.
How could you?!
You promised me you'd never say anything about that!
You stop it right now! I told you never to breathe a word to anyone!
Honestly!
That's why I didn't want you knowing!
So you followed them to tell them this?
No.
It isn't as if the woman did anything, after all.
It's just...
What?
Certain actions by Ishikawa-sensei caused me to take a sudden interest.
I have a feeling that
you'll take your leave from this world without ever knowing the joys of life...
Let's go!
Let us go, Ishikawa-kun!
Oh, Kayo-chan. Do you have a minute?
Kyousuke-san, would you mind going ahead? It's about my rent...
Again?
You really need to stop this.
What is this money for?
Can you hurry over to Hananoya
and ask them to keep a woman called Otaki free for me?
Tell them that Ishikawa will be bringing a guest.
That's a place they have prostitutes, isn't it?
I don't want to.
It's for her sake, too!
Please!
I'll have another five sen.
Otaki... san?
Tavern
Wha—Wait! Ishikawa-kun!
Pleased to make your acquaintance.
My, what a strange thing to say.
I'll have one of those, if you don't mind.
Here you go.
Oh...
Please go up to the room.
What?
I'll be back in a moment.
You there! Could it be that you're...
Did you tell them what happened yesterday?
Here...
He forgot this. I found it at the restaurant...
I see.
I'll give it back to him.
Are you a student?
Uh... Yes...
Once you've grown a little more, come and see me.
So, you're the one who gave the diary to Otaki.
Yes.
If I'd given that diary to you in person,
things would have been more straightforward.
The culprit in this case is neither Professor Kindaichi nor Ishikawa-sensei.
You must have some basis for that statement.
Yes.
The reason neither of them can be the killer is the way they light their cigarettes.
Each of them lit their cigarettes with their right hands.
If either of them had been the culprit,
the wound in Otaki's throat would have to have been on the left.
If a right-handed person had used that short sword, with Otaki facing her attacker,
her wound would be on the left side of her throat.
But her injury was on the other side.
I see!
So the man Kindaichi talked about must have been left-handed.
He's the culprit!
No. That man is not the killer.
But I do believe it's true that Professor Kindaichi saw him.
A man Professor Kindaichi witnessed, who later disappeared,
and the madam who left the reception area empty.
This means that two people disappeared.
A man and... a woman.
So that's what it was!
The man Kindaichi saw is the madam's young lover!
Most likely.
That's why she wanted to conceal his identity.
If that's the case...
Then the person who killed Otaki
has to be either Ishikawa-kun or Kindaichi-kun, doesn't it?
No. There's one more person.
The person who killed Otaki-san...
...was Otaki herself.
Exactly.
She struck the match with her left hand.
If a left-handed person were to stab themselves in the throat,
they would hold the short sword on the right to gain some distance,
and stab in one motion.
But what was her motive?
Her motive was...
The question as to why Otaki-san came to Gaiheikan two nights ago...
I found the answer in Ishikawa-sensei's diary.
About a month ago, Ishikawa-sensei received a letter
from the proprietress of an inn in Kushiro.
The proprietress and he had, well, their relationship was...
They'd been together, huh?
And... she'd written that a woman who worked at the inn
had fallen in love with Professor Kindaichi
when he'd gone to Hokkaido to research the Ainu.
She'd shaken off attempts to stop her and gone to Tokyo,
so could he possibly help the two of them meet.
And that girl was Hananoya's... Otaki...
Otaki-san must have waited, wondering when Professor Kindaichi might come.
Each day must have felt like a thousand years.
But no matter how long she waited, he never came.
So, she finally decided to see him herself, huh?
When she heard Professor Kindaichi's habit
of speaking more femininely when agitated,
Otaki-san must have started to wonder about their relationship...
But the next day, when Otaki-san had sunk into despair,
the professor appeared before her.
Otaki-san must have decided she'd been jumping to conclusions the night before.
I'm certain that's what she thought.
But, in the end, frustration, joy, despair,
these emotions had their way with Otaki-san...
Ishikawa-sensei...
the truth is you knew Professor Kindaichi wasn't the killer, didn't you?
The reason you treated Professor Kindaichi as the criminal
lies within the yearning, pure love of a prostitute from the countryside,
and the vexation of seeing Professor Kindaichi be unable to respond to it.
That's what I think.
It's all in a grove.
But if Otaki was deeply in love with Kindaichi,
why would she enter a brothel?
I don't know, either.
But even so...
Otaki-san was always coughing badly...
Maybe... she didn't have long left...
I dragged you all into this ridiculous farce with me!
I'm sorry.
"Just once before I die, I want to be with the man I love."
Otaki sold her body to make money and came here.
And that obstinate, unsociable blockhead just...
No matter how many times I invited him, he never went to Hananoya.
And just when I thought he'd go see her,
this time, he wouldn't even try to touch her.
I know! Of course I know!
I know that's the kind of person Kyousuke-san is...
I know, but...
What I saw in that room... was Otaki preparing for death.
Her last moments in this life, you could say,
with Kyousuke-san's jacket draped about her.
When I saw that, an overwhelming hate for Kyousuke-san rose up in me...
I hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him!
That's why! That's why I served him up to the police!
Oh, it's so ridiculous.
A memento.
Well...
Now that the truth behind the farce has been revealed,
let's put an end to it, shall we?
Where are you going?
That's obvious, isn't it?
What is it?
Ishikawa-san... didn't leave his part of the bill, did he?
Asakusa Police Station
Oh, right.
Here.
My dream came true. Thank you.
The fact that I was released... means the killer was found, right?
That jacket. Did you really forget it?
What?
Yeah... Well...
Ow!
Wh-What was that for?!
Hey! Ishikawa-kun!
"Casual
remarks spoken
casually...
The Two-sen Copper Coin
you must have heard them too
that's all it was."
Hirai-kun, your deductions were really impressive.
I just can't help poking my nose into strange incidents!
Right now, I'm interested in those popular rumors!
Next Time: "Strange Stories of the High Tower"
That apparition again, is it?
Illustration: Saki Kaoru