Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 577 The famous author, Mouri Nai, makes her debut!

The two rushed out of the police station, and Kensaka Kotaro took a taxi to buy the next available flight ticket.

Suddenly, Mouri shouted, "Wait a minute! I have something very important to do!"

"What time is it already..."

Just as Kensaka Kotaro was about to stop her, he saw Mori Na jump into the taxi first, pat the driver on the shoulder, give him the address, and leave with the words, "You wait for me here," before speeding away.

What are you doing? !

Kotaro Kanesaka didn't have enough money in his pocket, so he could only find a seat in a ramen shop across from the police station and wait anxiously.

More than an hour later, Mouri Nai returned. Kanesaka Kotaro asked her where she had been, but she wouldn't say, only that it was a 'secret'.

He probably went to take care of some personal business.

Kotaro Kanesaka didn't think much of it and hurriedly bought a plane ticket, hoping to arrive before noon.

Today is the last day of the deadline for solving the case.

Perhaps someone has already submitted the answer and received the prize, only to end up with nothing...

Or perhaps the wedding ended early, everyone had already left, and despite running around, they still suffered a narrow defeat...

Throughout the journey, Kensaka Kotaro was restless and anxious, and the closer they got to their destination, the more nervous he became.

But time waits for no one, and he had no time to hesitate, focusing only on getting on his way.

The two took several connecting flights to get back to Hokkaido as quickly as possible. The taxi finally stopped in front of the Hokkaido Police Academy in the evening.

As he unbuckled his seatbelt, Kotaro Kanesaka took a deep breath.

"Are you really going to tell me?" Mouri asked.

"Of course." Kensaka Kotaro opened the car door.

"Go for it!" Mouri Nai gave an encouraging gesture.

Kotaro Kanesaka was slightly surprised that Mouri Na didn't try to dissuade him at the last moment, which showed that she could still distinguish right from wrong.

It's time; everything should come to an end.

Kotaro Kanesaka got out of the car, straightened his trench coat, and hurried towards the auditorium, pushing open the door.

The moment the door opened, all the guests turned around and looked at Kotaro Kanesaka.

They tacitly gathered here on the last day, the novelists awaiting the final conclusion of the story, and the famous detectives displaying their unique skills and deductions in order to win the championship.

The bride and groom waited on the stage, like background puppets.

Without the newlyweds needing to speak, the discerning novelists acted as judges, pointing out the flaws in the detectives' reasoning one by one.

They were good partners just a few days ago, but today they argued fiercely, their faces red and their spittle flying.

The crowd argued from morning till night, but no one produced any crucial evidence, nor could anyone's reasoning convince the public.

As evening approached, the staff began setting up the stage to prepare for the bride and groom's vows ceremony.

The detectives were exhausted, and just when one or two of their theories were finally accepted by all the novelists, Genji Tamako quickly refuted them:
"This prop doesn't exist, and there are no signs of melted candles at the scene..."

"It's an interesting idea, but there were no water stains from melted ice on site. Although it was raining outside, the auditorium was dry..."

"It sounds like a very clever trick, and her alibi is perfect, but what was her motive for the murder? And what is her connection to the Sugamo apartment massacre...?"

As night fell, the audience was completely silent.

Seeing the disappointed look on the bride's face, everyone felt a strange sense of shame and guilt.

Until the door was pushed open.

Kotaro Kanesaka, facing everyone's gaze, walked quickly through rows of benches into the center of the auditorium.

"It's not over yet, is it? Has anyone figured it out?"

"No? That's great... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone..."

"Let me explain my reasoning."

Kotaro Kanesaka took a deep breath and stated his reasoning in chronological order.

From the fourth person's fingerprint to the mysterious phone call late at night; from the long-standing grudge between Nagano Kawai to Ishizuka Kazuo's suspicions; from the ghostly figure in the Sugamo apartment to the flaws in the alibi...

Everything now has an explanation, pointing directly at the groom.

This time, no novelist objected, and Minamoto no Tamako's eyes widened. The auditorium was silent, save for the voice of Kanesaka Kotaro.

Finally, after briefly summarizing the last two murders, Kanesaka Kotaro took a deep breath and, with trembling fingers, lit a cigarette for himself:

"That concludes my reasoning."

Everyone looked at Minamoto no Tamako, and Minamoto no Tamako looked at Fushimi Shika.

When Mouri Nai discovered this result, she experienced an immediate, overwhelming excitement. The other novelists present felt the same way, as did the detectives; everyone stared at the newlyweds, eager to know what would happen next.

Will the groom reveal his true colors? Like a villain who, after being exposed, laughs dejectedly...

Or perhaps he knelt down and begged his fiancée's forgiveness? It seems the groom had his reasons, and maybe the bride can understand…

"Full of errors and omissions," Fushimi Shika said indifferently.

His expression remained unchanged, exactly the same as during his initial wedding speech.

No matter how Kotaro Kanesaka accused him, he remained aloof, as if everything Kotaro Kanesaka said had nothing to do with him.

"Where is the error?" Kanesaka Kotaro exhaled a puff of smoke.

Fushimi Shika took the microphone, patted it casually to make sure there was volume, then strolled forward and casually said, "As we all know, the most important thing for a reason to be valid is the logical chain. Once there is a paradox in the logical chain, then the so-called reasoning is invalid... Am I right?"

Kotaro Kanesaka nodded, agreeing with the statement and believing his own logical reasoning was flawless.

“Okay, let’s start with the first point. What is your basis for denying the existence of a fourth person in the auditorium shooting?” Fushimi Shika asked.

Kensaka Kotaro was stunned, as if his mind had gone blank for a moment.

This question is so tricky that he didn't even consider it. What does "evidence of a fourth person" mean? Shouldn't the normal reasoning process be to "exclude the possibility of a fourth person's existence"?

"Because there were no footprints of a fourth person at the scene..." Kensaka Kotaro answered subconsciously.

"Then, are there fingerprints of the three people at the scene on the murder weapon?" Fushimi Shika pressed. "No, but the fingerprints on the gun handle can be erased, and the fourth person's fingerprints were forged..."

Before Kanesaka Kotaro could finish speaking, Fushimi Shika immediately interrupted, "This is the first logical fallacy I'm talking about: if the murderer can erase fingerprints, why can't the murderer erase footprints? If the murderer can forge fingerprints, why can't the murderer forge footprints?"

Kotaro Kanesaka was truly dumbfounded.

A murmur of discussion arose from the auditorium audience, but no one spoke up to refute it.

"Do you have any evidence that the fourth person's fingerprints are forged?" Fushimi Shika held the microphone to Kanesaka Kotaro's mouth.

"No, no..."

"So this is the second logical fallacy I mentioned. In court, when a witness presents evidence, they do not need to prove that the evidence is true. Instead, the defense needs to present evidence of fabricated evidence. This is the so-called 'whoever asserts must prove'."

Fushimi Shika looked around at everyone and asked, "Does anyone know why this is?"

No one raised their hand to respond, but Fushimi Shika was not embarrassed. He answered his own question, saying, "Nobody knows? It seems that everyone is not very familiar with the law. This rule is the result of the combined effects of the principle of burden of proof allocation, the adversarial litigation structure, and the evidence review mechanism. Its core is to achieve a full examination of the authenticity of evidence through equal confrontation between the prosecution and the defense, while protecting the rights of the defendant and judicial fairness."

"You say the fourth person's fingerprints are fake, which is indeed a reasonable speculation, but where is the evidence?"

"Without evidence to disprove it, how can your subsequent reasoning stand?"

"Please ask yourselves honestly, between reasonable speculation and proven evidence, which is more important? Should we believe 'speculation' or 'evidence'?"

Fushimi Shika glanced back and saw that Minamoto no Tamako, like the audience below, had a thoughtful expression.

For Fushimi Shika, without evidence, so-called reasoning is nothing more than debate. Everyone, both on and off stage, is free to judge for themselves; he can use his words to turn black into white and the dead into the living.

Kotaro Kanesaka may be an excellent detective, but he is clearly not a good debater.

Fushimi Shika gave the audience time to think, and only after everyone had a vague answer in their hearts did he continue to ask questions:
"As for the alibi in the second case, your questioning of whether witness Kazama Takusai saw me or heard my voice that night is also a logical fallacy—do you have any evidence to prove that I was not in the room at the time?"

"I suppose not, because I was sleeping in my room at the time and heard Mr. Kazama knocking, so I was able to accurately say when Mr. Kazama knocked the next day."

"Regardless of whether the above statement has any flaws, at least Mr. Kazama, who was present at the time, and Ms. Tamako, who lives across the hall from me, both acknowledge that they are my witnesses—so, which is more important, 'witness testimony' or 'speculation'?"

……

Kensaka Kotaro's forehead was damp with sweat.

He couldn't answer a single question and could only lower his head and smoke.

After he finished smoking two cigarettes, Fushimi Shika also finished speaking:
"In conclusion, a complete logical chain of reasoning should be based on reality and on witness testimony and physical evidence, rather than on conjecture or fabrication."

A chorus of sighs rose from the audience; they had to admit that Fushimi Shika was right. The most promising theories had all been rejected; it seemed these four murders would ultimately remain unsolved cases.

What a pity.

However, imperfection can also be a kind of beauty, and headless unsolved cases are more likely to spark discussion. Many detective novels use famous headless unsolved cases from history as material.

Genji was also persuaded and showed a regretful expression.

She stepped forward and whispered to comfort Kotaro Kanesaka, quietly revealing that she had once made a similar inference—but one must be rational, rely on evidence, and not judge others with prejudice.

Just then, Fushimi Shika's phone rang.

He glanced at it, saw it was an unknown number, and hung up immediately. His phone then vibrated twice; he had received a text message.

Fushimi Shika glanced at it again, quickly deleted it, and said nonchalantly, "Everyone, I'm just going to the restroom. If you have any further reasoning or evidence, you can come up on stage and give a speech anytime."

After saying that, he put the microphone back on the stand and turned to leave unhurriedly.

The staff had set up the frame, arranged flowers on both sides of the auditorium, and laid a red carpet in the middle of the aisle. Flower girls and girls waited outside with flower baskets, and the auditorium clock was striking twelve.

Today is about to end, and a new day is about to begin.

After using the restroom, Fushimi Shika hurriedly returned to the scene.

He was wearing a single-breasted wool coat, a top hat, round-framed metal glasses hanging around his neck, and a wooden cane in his hand.

Genjiro was wearing a deerstalker hat and a cloak, and holding a pipe. Many fans of the Sherlock Holmes stories were present and immediately recognized her as Sherlock and Watson.

These are their suits and wedding dresses.

Kotaro Kanesaka sat in the audience, his expression complex. Even he himself had just been persuaded by Shika Fushimi.

But at that moment, as he sat among the guests, smoking three or four cigarettes, he realized something was wrong.

No matter how eloquent Fushimi Shika may be, he cannot change the fact that he is the only suspect.

"Who says there's no evidence? I have evidence!" someone in the guest suddenly shouted. "Don't even think about reneging on your prize money!"

Kensaka Kotaro was shocked. He turned around and saw that the person speaking was Tsutsui Michitaka.

He waved a document and shouted, "I have crucial evidence that proves Mr. Fushimi is the murderer!"

"what?!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked.

Before anyone could ask further questions, Tsutsui Michitaka eagerly displayed the document in his hand: "This is a professional handwriting analysis! The results prove that the two characters 'Heavenly Punishment' carved on the stone next to the unidentified female corpse in the mountains are in Mr. Fushimi's handwriting!"

Yuan Yuzi was also stunned. Her first thought was not, "What? Lu Jun actually betrayed me?", but rather, "What? I didn't recognize Lu Jun's handwriting?"
seriously?
She had clearly looked at those two words countless times, comparing them not only with Fushimi's handwriting but also with others... including Kazama-senpai, Watanabe-senpai, Kinoshita-section chief... she had secretly compared them with almost everyone she knew, just to eliminate any suspicion from those around her.

Michitaka Tsutsui unfolded the handwriting analysis report, displaying it with both hands raised high like a hot boxing match girl.

The guests craned their necks to examine the contents of the appraisal report, which clearly stated the appraisal results and included comparison photos of the stone inscription and the handwriting on the invitation.

Fushimi Shika grabbed his shoulder, took the report from his hand, glanced at it, and then gave a cold laugh:
"Why isn't the ink dry yet?"

Fushimi Shika stretched out a finger and smeared it across the handwriting on the report, leaving a trail of ink: "You just wrote this, didn't you? You were planning to see who could make the most reasonable deduction, and then add the suspect's name as evidence to compete for the prize money, right?"

This is a trick he used eight hundred years ago.

Michitaka Tsutsui still stubbornly insisted, "It's just that I've been covering it up, so it hasn't dried completely..."

"Should I call this 'professional' appraisal agency?" Fushimi Shika emphasized the key words, with a hint of mockery.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud bang was heard, and the auditorium doors were pushed open again.

Wearing a plaid knit cardigan and high-waisted jeans, Mouri Nai, like a morning drama heroine arriving at the last minute, loudly announced:

"I've figured out the truth!"

(End of this chapter)