When the Detective Work is Done, I'll Die

Chapter 39

Murayama-senpai took a deep breath and answered while she rubbed his shoulder.

"Chikage-senpai...... to tell the truth, I don't know who it was, but I was summoned."

"Summoned? By cell phone?"

"No, the home phone. The number was blocked and the caller hid their voice, so I couldn't tell......"

"Why were you called out? In the middle of a murder case like this, it's dangerous, right?"

She leaned in toward Murayama-senpai and pressed him, as if scolding him. His actions really had been careless.

"Well...... they said, 'If you don't come, I'll expose the bullying you did'...... because I'm the son my parents are counting on...... if something like that was made public, I'd be kicked out of the house...... so I had no choice and came here...... then something grabbed my neck from behind......"

"I see......"

Detective Chikage seemed satisfied, but I blurted out the opposite.

"It's odd."

At my words, Detective Chikage quickly shrugged her shoulders. Then she spun around and snapped at me.

"Odd? What's wrong with what I just said?"

I swallowed my saliva and told her.

"Because it's strange, isn't it? The only thing he did was tell a lie. Besides, the exchange between Murayama-senpai and Senior Kishi was only by e-mail. How could the culprit have known about this......"

"Eh...... bullying means that!? Murayama-kun!? Did you do anything else to him?"

Murayama-senpai, sitting on the ground at Detective Chikage's question, dropped his face.

"Uh-uh...... I don't know. I don't remember, but maybe I did......"

"I see...... then isn't it still strange? Here's how it is. The culprit thought Murayama-kun was the one doing the bullying and carried out Senior Kishi's revenge. He was about to become the second victim after Kanbara-chan."

Almost killed as part of Senior Kishi's revenge. Whether those words are truly correct became a little unclear.

While thinking, a counterargument to Detective Chikage surfaced in my head.

"Is that really so? I think it's too soon for him to become the second victim."

"Eh?"

"Detective Chikage, think about it. Murayama-senpai isn't even sure what bullying he did. If we trust his own sense of right, that means he never did things like hitting or ostracizing anyone. In that case, for the culprit to target him after Kanbara-senpai, I can't be convinced unless it was someone who did even worse bullying."

"Now that you mention it...... but wouldn't that be good to scare the kids who bullied him?"

She still didn't seem to fully grasp what I was saying. I added one more logical point.

"The ones who did the bullying? That might be a little difficult. A lot of people who bully others think they're not doing anything wrong. If Murayama-senpai, who was close to Senior Kishi, was attacked for revenge, how many of them would take it as a threat?"

At my words, Detective Chikage seemed to find a new inconsistency. She pressed a finger to her lips and nodded.

"That's right...... and, the ones who openly bullied Kanbara-chan would be protected by the police before Murayama-kun, who was merely a bystander...... If Murayama-kun was attacked first, security around the kids who should feel fear would tighten, making them harder to kill......"

I agreed with her. The order of killing was off. I couldn't believe a smart culprit would decide the order without thinking.

There had to be a reason. A reason the culprit had to prioritize killing Murayama-senpai as the second victim.

I turned my face to the ground and walked in circles. Moving my body didn't mean an answer would come. I was moving without meaning.

In the middle of that, I found a strange dropped object. It was a thick brown fiber. I could only think of the thick rope used at sports day.

"Why would the culprit bother with something this heavy...... no, wait......!"

From what the culprit had carelessly dropped, what they had wanted to do became clear. I understood how they had planned to kill Murayama-senpai.

I'd found a mystery. But with this method, the culprit could never achieve their real purpose—revenge on Senior Kishi.

While I was working through the mystery alone, Detective Chikage took a different action. She held a smartphone. I started to say, "You're not going to post this on SNS, are you," but she shook her head.

"Of course I'm going to contact the police. They'll have someone watch the likely suspect...... and we have to protect Murayama-kun too."

"Ah...... I see. Then while we're at it, it'd be better to have them watch whoever attacked Kitsunesaki the guidance counselor as well."

"Right. Even if someone isn't a suspect, we can't rule out the possibility they might be attacked. The police are probably short on manpower, but we have to have them watch...... or someone else will become a victim...... I don't want that......"

Detective Chikage was more serious than I'd expected. I'd leave the call to her. While she was on the phone, I looked back over the memo I'd received from Senior Urakawa.

Maybe the clue to the culprit was written here. Maybe there was something that would corner them.

I wrote down my own thoughts with a pen. And then I summarized the remaining mysteries.

What did the takeout memo mean? Why did the culprit attack Murayama-senpai first? And so on.

"Come to think of it, Murayama-senpai...... ah."

I'd meant to confirm what Murayama-senpai had said, but he had collapsed, eyes rolled back. After a few seconds, the gravity of the situation hit me.

Why......!? No, I know. Detective Chikage and I had kept using words that sank his heart into terror—"take Murayama-senpai's life," "even if he's killed," and so on.

Foam was starting to form at his mouth.

"Se-Senpai! I'm sorry! Please wake up!"

"It's okay...... you were trying to help."

"I'm really sorry!"

"There, there, calm down. It's my fault for being weak. If it were Urakawa, he'd be stronger...... he wouldn't be shaken no matter what a girl said to him."

I shook him awake and somehow brought him back. After that, I apologized again and again and bowed my head.

Bowing my head, I remembered something important.

Senior Urakawa.

"Come to think of it, Senior Urakawa is pretty...... hated by girls, right? Enough that they'd swing a blade at him."

"Eh? She'd never do that. Girls just say random stuff!"

"Which means it's certain he's disliked."

"Well, I don't know what Kanbara thought, but the other girls......"

"Senior Urakawa......!? That's right......! Why didn't Senior Urakawa......!?"

He had said that a girl had asked him to help look for Kanbara-senpai because she was "gone." That's why he called us out.

Yet there was no reason for a girl to tell him. I couldn't understand why they'd consult someone they disliked first about where their boss was. Besides, if Kanbara-senpai had only been missing for one night, those girls probably wouldn't care. They'd think she was just out partying.

In other words, Senior Urakawa lied when he called us out.

He knew.

That last night, Kanbara-senpai would be caught up in a major incident!

I immediately asked Murayama-senpai for Senior Urakawa's address. To find out why he lured us out with a lie. To uncover the truth hidden in this case!