People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1032 The Reversal of the Period Drama (5)

Was the wooden plank hidden by a third party?

Reiko Kujo was somewhat surprised.

Her usual practice is not to go to the scene to investigate and collect evidence. However, because the number of cases she has to deal with has been increasing recently, she is concerned about the existence of such a piece of evidence at the scene.

Reiko Kujo was unaware of this as well.

However, she did not blame Shiratori Ninzaburo for not collecting evidence carefully at the scene, because the police were actually busier than her, with various cases in Beika Town never stopping from morning to night.

She simply asked,
"Since Attorney Xiang Yuan believes that there was a hidden wooden board at the scene and that there was a third party who was the real murderer, then who is this third party, and where is he located?"

Xiang Yuanguang simply shook his head slightly at this, and then asked,
"The prosecution should be very clear about the real third party."

"The person who reported this case is the real third party, the murderer in this case—although Inspector Shiratori did not tell me who reported the case, I was just checking the situation at the scene."

"I can easily get the results."

he said,
"Is it Kenzo Tajima, the one in the traveling theater troupe who has a back disability and still has one, right?"

—These words immediately caused an uproar in the audience.

Because the person that Xiang Yuanguang is pointing at at this time seems to be impossible to be the murderer. If the murderer is Tajima Kenzo, how could he kill Chikaishi Tetsuo with a single blow when he was injured in the waist and back?

Even if he could kill Chikaishi Tetsuo in one blow, how could he hide the wooden plank in front of Ito Tamanosuke?

Given that Kenzo Tajima was physically disabled, it seems a bit far-fetched to say that he was the murderer.

Not only were the audience members in the gallery discussing this extensively.

Even the presiding judge didn't quite agree with this conclusion.

He shook his head and said,
"Attorney Xiang Yuan, don't you think there's a problem with your assumption?"

"If Kenzo Tajima is the murderer, then even if he had enough strength to kill Tetsuo Chikaishi with one blow, given his physical disability, he wouldn't have been able to hide the wooden plank in front of Tamanosuke Ito at night, would he?"

"If he has difficulty moving around, Ito Tamanosuke can just report him if he sees him."

"However, Ito Tamanosuke did not mention anything similar in his statement. Therefore, this court believes that there may be a problem or deviation in the direction of your speculation this time."

Xiang Yuanguang sighed and shook his head.

He gently touched his forehead with his finger and then said,
"Not always."

"Kenzo Tajima claims to have a disabled back, but is it possible that he deliberately pretended to have a back problem after his wounds healed?"

Another round of discussion broke out in the audience.

Reiko Kujo frowned and asked,

"Then, Attorney Xiang Yuan."

What are your thoughts?

Snapped his fingers.

Xiang Yuanguang said with considerable certainty,

"Kenzo Tajima is the murderer in this case, and he is the famous Phantom Thief Edo Kid."

"As an actor from the old era of the old troupe leader, Kenzo Tajima's skills and physical qualities undoubtedly fit the characteristics of an Edo boy, but he was not detected during various examinations."

"Why? Because Kenzo Tajima claimed to have a disability in his back, and the other members of the theater troupe were misled."

"Therefore, just as Ito Tamanosuke was overlooked by the examiners because of his age, Tajima Kenzo, who had physical problems and was assumed to be unable to perform those actions, was also overlooked."

"If you doubt that Ito Tamanosuke is an Edo kid, then Tajima Kenzo is the same."

This conclusion was reached as soon as it was put forward.

Xiang Yuanguang became the focus of the entire event.

In response, the presiding judge asked, "If the situation is really as you say, then perhaps it is. But if the situation is not as you say, then this is a wrongful accusation of murder."

"Attorney Xiang Yuan, are you sure the real culprit is Kenzo Tajima?"

Hearing this, Xiang Yuanguang nodded slightly in response.
"That's right, that's my conclusion."

"So, Your Honor, let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point. I request that Kenzo Tajima testify as a witness."

—Since that's the case.

So, he seemed to have no reason to refuse.

The presiding judge nodded slightly.

There's nothing more to say about Shiratori Ninzaburo's testimony. Since he requested that Tajima Kenzo testify in court, and the reason given was to accuse Tajima Kenzo of being the murderer.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to have Kenzo Tajima testify in court.

The presiding judge turned his head to look at Reiko Kujo in the prosecutor's seat.

This matter still needs the prosecutor's opinion, but just as the presiding judge doesn't intend to refuse, so does Reiko Kujo, she said.
"Your Honor, the prosecution has no objection to this."

The defense and the prosecution reached an agreement.

The presiding judge nodded slightly, and then said,

"Now, we will call our witness, Kenzo Tajima, to testify."

"Please have the bailiffs issue this notification."

He lowered the gavel.

The sound of knocking echoed in the courtroom.

The audience members in the gallery also took the opportunity to start discussing the matter.

Despite the fact that many people believe Xiang Yuanguang's bold hypothesis is real, based on his past achievements, the reality of this far-fetched idea remains to be seen.

However, many people still question Xiang Yuanguang's hypothesis.

If Kenzo Tajima's disability was faked...

So why couldn't the other members of the traveling theater troupe see that Kenzo Tajima's disability was fake? Why did the police officers who went to check him earlier simply ignore him and not even bother to investigate?
The audience members in the gallery were buzzing with discussion.

Standing on the testifying platform, Shiratori Ninzaburo was deep in thought.

He was not surprised that his testimony was full of errors in front of Kou Genko; in fact, he and Reiko Kujo had not reached a consensus.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until after the testimony to try and salvage Reiko Kujo's theory of Edo no Us.

Xiang Yuanguang's strength is clearly worthy of recognition.

Unlike those so-called famous detectives, Shiratori Ninzaburo doubted whether the quality of police officers in other places was so bad that they couldn't distinguish between fake and real disabilities.

—Then, he realized that he hadn't even considered whether Kenzo Tajima was truly disabled or faking it.

Shiratori Ninzaburo quickly understood why he had told Genji Mitsu that.

Yes, this is a classic case of "blind spot".

People tend to overlook things that are right in front of them. Even when a little investigation would be enough to find the truth, they often think it's unnecessary to investigate and thus ignore it.

"Kenzo Tajima?"

Shiratori Ninzaburo whispered the witness's name.

Let's see what Kenzo Tajima will say in court.

Perhaps he really made a mistake again this time.

(End of this chapter)