People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1012 Reversal, and then another reversal (12)

"I want to question you about your third statement of testimony."

"You said you followed your normal routine, went to an izakaya for drinks at 8:30, then went home to sleep, and only found out the next day that the deceased had been murdered that night, is that right?"

"Well then, I have a simple question for you."

Xiang Yuanguang's voice was calm.

He asked directly,
"Why did you drink at an izakaya near Mihana Kita Park on the day of the incident, instead of drinking at an izakaya near your home as usual?"

Is there something that forces you to travel further afield for drinks?

"Or did you suddenly feel that the izakaya you went to before didn't suit your taste, so you deliberately bypassed several izakayas in between and went straight to the izakaya closest to Beika Kita Park to drink until you were completely drunk and went home?"

Xiang Yuanguang's question was simple and clear, but it hit the nail on the head.

Upon hearing this question, Saruhashi Masaru was taken aback.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he pondered how to best answer Genji's question. However, at that moment, Prosecutor Sugiura countered...

"This doesn't prove anything."

"Does the mere fact that the witness, Katsumi Saruhashi, went to another izakaya on the day of the incident prove that he was a potential murderer? I don't think so. The quality of an izakaya depends entirely on the witness's subjective feelings."

"He probably just felt he didn't want to drink at this izakaya today, so he went to another one."

"As for why I didn't drink at those izakayas along the way, the answer is simply that I didn't want to go. I just liked the izakaya that was closest to Mihana Kita Park."

"So what does it mean that I'm going to drink here?"

Prosecutor Sugiura began to try to save face for Saruhashi Katsumi.

What he said made sense to the presiding judge.

Indeed, simply going to a certain izakaya for drinks is unlikely to constitute a murder charge. Of course, Hikaru Muto could argue that Masaru Saruhashi went to the scene to dispose of the body before going to the nearest izakaya to drink and relax.

However, without physical evidence, even Xiang Yuanguang cannot prove that his claim is correct.

The presiding judge was deep in thought.

However, Xiang Yuanguang said again,

"Prosecutor Sugiura."

"If I remember correctly, the police found a pen at the scene. After investigation, the police confirmed that the pen belonged to the defendant, Ryutaro Tsukigata, and therefore arrested him."

"Is that part of the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Saruhashi Katsumi broke out in a cold sweat.

Visible discoloration on the face —

He was unaware that a pen had been left at the scene, and he never expected that the police would arrest his teacher, Tsukigata Ryutaro, as a criminal because of this.

Indeed, Ryutaro Tsukigata's pen is quite unique.

If Tsukigata Ryutaro himself took a look, he could easily recognize whether it was his pen or not. Even if Tsukigata Ryutaro did not cooperate with the investigation, comparing the patterns of his other pens would also reveal the truth.

However, only those in the know understand one thing.

Each of Tsukigata Ryutaro's pens has a unique pattern, and he cherishes them very much, only giving them away to friends and the student council.

Saruhashi Katsuya received a pen from his teacher as a gift.

However, his pen had already been lost before that.

Although the deceased Yuichi Hisaka was his fellow disciple, due to the distance between them, Yuichi Hisaka's relationship with his teacher was not as close as his relationship with his teacher.

Therefore, the teacher gave him a pen. However, he didn't give Hisaka Yuichi a pen. After Hisaka Yuichi learned about this, his pen suddenly disappeared one day, and he couldn't find it no matter how hard he looked.

A pen with a teacher-style pattern was found at the crime scene.

If the pen found is the one he lost, wouldn't that point directly to him as the murderer?
Saruhashi Katsumi felt uneasy.

However, he has no one to confide in now, not even Prosecutor Sugiura. Prosecutor Sugiura protects him only because she believes he is not the murderer.

If Prosecutor Sugiura had known that the pen belonged to him, he might have turned his guns on him immediately!

—The teacher should also be able to recognize whose pen the pattern on was.

Why didn't the teacher tell the police, but instead admitted that it was his own pen?
Thinking of this, Saruhashi Katsuyuki let out a long sigh.

Now it seems we're almost at our wits' end.

Then, Xiang Yuanguang presented the pen he had just mentioned as evidence.

In front of everyone, he used a projector to magnify the pen's casing and project it onto the courtroom screen, making sure everyone could clearly see the patterns on it.

"The reason the police determined that the pen belonged to Ryutaro Tsukigata is because..."

"On the one hand, the police found a pen with a similar pattern at Tsukigata Ryutaro's house, and on the other hand, Tsukigata Ryutaro admitted to the police that the pen did indeed belong to him."

"Now, I have a question for you."

Xiang Yuanguang's gaze fell on Saruhashi Katsumi's face behind the witness stand as sharp as a knife.

He asked,
"Mr. Saruhashi, please tell me, who does this pen belong to?"

These words immediately caused a stir throughout the room.

The audience members in the gallery started discussing it.

They were curious about this matter. Could something that had been settled from the beginning actually have a reversal in court? Could this pen really not belong to Tsukigata Ryutaro?

Seeing this commotion.

Prosecutor Sugiura couldn't stand it any longer and hurriedly said...

"Attorney Xiang Yuan, what exactly do you mean?"

"Are you saying this steel handle doesn't belong to Tsukigata Ryutaro? Then, could this pen belong to the deceased Kusaka Yuichi? If you're saying this pen fell from Saruhashi Masaru's body..."

"Isn't this too incredible?"

He hurriedly explained to Saruhashi Masaru.
“If Saruhashi Masaru is the murderer, then since he had the leisure to go to an izakaya to drink after killing Hisaka Yuichi in Beika Kita Park, he must have been very confident in his crime.”

"Wouldn't he even notice the pen that fell to the ground?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yuanguang simply replied calmly.

"Hard to say."

Hard to say?

The crowd immediately started discussing it.

Xiang Yuanguang, without hesitation, said...

"Prosecutor Sugiura, you should know what the situation was like at the scene, right?"

"The murderer did not check the victim's belongings. He simply placed the victim on the lawn of Mihana North Park and left in a hurry, leaving items such as wallets untouched and lying nearby."

Why do you think the killer would have noticed the pen that fell next to the wallet?

(End of this chapter)