Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 254, Cracking the Alibi
When President Kameyama arrived at Fujidai with his secretary and several senior executives, he happened to encounter Uesugi Muneyuki starting his mystery-solving show.

"President!" The entire production team came up to greet him, especially the director and the production manager.

But President Kameyama immediately raised his hand to indicate that there was no need for such formalities.

Do not disturb the recording of the show in any way!

Fuji TV is a conscientious television station, and we are determined to present the most exciting parts of our programs to the entire nation in their original form.

This is our social responsibility and obligation as one of the five major democratic parties!
"So, is the person really dead?" President Kameyama couldn't contain his excitement and urgency, and he grabbed Director Abiru's sleeve.

"It's definitely true, he's really dead!" Director Abiru couldn't hide his excitement either. Both middle-aged men saw hellfire in each other's grief-stricken expressions: "Uesugi-kun's autopsy was performed, and it was said that he died from an acute asthma attack."

"Huh? So he died of illness?" President Kameyama couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on his face.

If someone dies from illness, the show loses at least 80% of its appeal!

My viewership ratings!

Who knows when we'll encounter the dead and Uesugi Shiramas's double C again!

Kameyama's Pain Mask.

“Emmm, yes…and no!” Chief Abiru gestured to the president to let her finish: “However, although he died of illness, forensic examiner Uesugi identified Hiroyuki Miyano of the Umbrella Duo as the murderer!”

"Huh? Why? Aren't these two partners?" President Kameyama was slightly puzzled, but immediately understood: "Ah, that's right, they teamed up at the theater, right? That's not surprising."

"President?" Neither Director Abiru nor Director Yayoi understood what President Kameyama meant.

President Kameyama simply shook his head, indicating that he would talk to them later.

In reality, the partners don't necessarily have a good relationship, especially those from places like Yoshimoto Kogyo. All Yoshimoto Kogyo comedians usually start from small, dark theaters with only a few hundred people, beginning their journey to their dreams on the most primitive and broken wooden floors in front of a microphone. How much a newcomer earns depends entirely on how many people in the audience are made to laugh.

The most tragic comedian ever was one who performed for a whole month but earned less than 30,000 yen, and Yoshimoto even skimped on his earnings, so he only received 8,000 yen in the end.

Therefore, in that situation, choosing a partner does not necessarily mean sharing the same ideals, mutual affection, or even settling for less.

In that situation, the most important thing is to survive.

For example, the very famous comedy duo Downtown, Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi, complained that "it's impossible to get along with this person," "there's nothing to talk about between us," and "we're not even friends," indicating a terrible relationship between them.

However, the success these two achieved in manzai is beyond description. Their theater performances could draw massive crowds to Osaka, and their new jokes directly rewrote the entire history of Japanese manzai. Therefore, these two were now firmly bound together and inseparable, making it impossible to separate them.

What else can we do? We can only make do. We can't just get a divorce, can we?
Hey! It's really over now!
color!
President Kameyama and Director Abiru exchanged a glance; they already had a premonition.

A ratings miracle! The night of building closures is happening again! A national spectacle! Search engines are flooded with posts!
We, Fuji TV, are invincible!
It was at this moment that Uesugi Muneyuki began to confront Miyano Hiroyuki, who was being held down on the ground by Erena.

President Kameyama signaled to everyone not to participate and to just quietly watch Uesugi Muneyuki show off!

Uesugi Muneyuki noticed President Kameyama's arrival and greeted him with his eyes. When the old man gestured for him to make himself at home, even Uesugi Muneyuki was speechless.

Mariko Hironaka is right. This old man is a performance ATM. He'll do anything to bring him ratings.

“Indeed, an emergency inhaler cannot prove that you are the murderer.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded in deep agreement under everyone’s gaze: “But it also cannot prove that you are not the murderer.”

“There are a lot of Miyahara’s fingerprints on the inhaler, and some of yours too. You’ll probably say that it was originally meant for him to use, so it’s not surprising that it has his fingerprints. Fine, so let’s not talk about that for now.”

"First, we need to confirm one fact: why is Miyahara Tetsu here?" Uesugi Muneyuki said to everyone present. "As we all know, Miyahara Tetsu did not participate in the recording of the show today, nor did he have any announcements at the Odaiba building. Moreover, since he has asthma and his partner is not by his side, it is impossible for him, as a top-tier comedian, not to have a manager or staff member by his side."

“However, there’s no one with Miyahara Tetsu.” Uesugi Muneyuki pointed to the lounge. “Why is that?”

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, everyone wore thoughtful expressions.

Yes, what could have caused Miyahara Toru, who has no shows today, to appear in the Odaiba building, all alone?
"Stop beating around the bush!" Miyano Hiroyuki's face darkened further upon hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's words. "I'm asking you, Uesugi Forensic Examiner, what makes you think I committed murder? What evidence do you have? I have no idea what Miyano is doing here! I had arranged to have dinner with him after the show recording! I have no idea why he's here!"

“As his partner, I am also deeply saddened by his death, but that is no reason for you to falsely accuse me of being the murderer!”

"You say I'm the murderer, then produce the evidence!"

Sure enough, upon hearing Hiroyuki Miyano's words, everyone, including several comedians, was more inclined to believe him. After all, a partner of twenty years, dying suddenly from an asthma attack—saying it was murder by a partner seemed rather far-fetched…

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded in agreement: "Indeed, apart from the emergency inhaler on you, I can't find any other evidence."

"But the emergency inhaler on you is the most important evidence!" Uesugi Muneyuki said sternly to the camera, "Because this emergency inhaler is evidence that you committed murder!"

“You don’t need to kill him directly. You just need to take the emergency inhaler from your partner’s hand when he suddenly has an asthma attack, and then hold him down so he doesn’t have a chance to call for help.” “This is not a planned murder, but an accidental one.” Uesugi Muneyuki said to everyone, “Toru Miyahara did not have a recording mission today, nor did he plan to come to the Odaiba building, but because of something that involved, he still took the initiative to come and discuss an important matter with his partner.”

"Obviously, the two sides did not reach an agreement and argued. When the conflict broke out, Miyahara's asthma flared up due to emotional agitation. Because the acute condition came on so quickly, Miyahara immediately found herself unable to breathe properly."

"But at this moment, Miyano took away his emergency inhaler, watching his partner teeter on the brink of death."

"Then, in order to forge an alibi, he immediately arrived at the recording studio, almost an hour early," Uesugi Muneyuki said. "Because doing so would allow him to create an alibi!"

"You died of illness, so no one would suspect you. That's why you remained calm. You even thought about how to be the first to discover your partner's body and how to explain yourself."

Uesugi Muneyuki sighed: "What a perfect plan. Because it was a death from illness, there will be no autopsy. Because it was a death from illness, criminal suspicion can be quickly ruled out after the examination. In fact, even the most skilled forensic doctor cannot accurately determine the time of death after an asthma attack. Some asthma patients are only in shock temporarily and will not die immediately. An error of a few hours is normal. Even I did not think of the possibility of homicide at the moment."

"But...Miyano-san, if I'm not mistaken, the matter your partner wants to discuss with you today is related to the Yokohama case, right?"

Uesugi Muneyuki's words were like dropping an atomic bomb right now!

Yokohama case?
Murder of a female executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Group in Yokohama? Serial body dumping in Tokyo Bay? The largest police-criminal shootout in Yokohama Tankery since the Cold War?

This matter has attracted the attention of the entire nation. Although the Kudo Society was wiped out at the end of September, the personnel changes, criminal penalties and terrorism-related outcomes involved have not yet been fully disclosed. NHK and the five major commercial broadcasters have produced special programs one after another, and have contacted the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency time and time again, but the information they received was that the investigation is still ongoing, the case is still under investigation, and it involves national secrets, so they cannot disclose any information at the moment. Everyone has been kept on the hook.

Now, Uesugi Muneyuki himself says that Miyahara Toru's death and the Umbrella Duo are involved in the Yokohama case!
President Kameyama seemed to have heard news of the outbreak of World War III, his astonishment mixed with excitement.

The ratings are here!

Another massive ratings tsunami is about to hit Fuji TV!
Hiroyuki Miyano's pupils dilated suddenly.

Impossible! How could he know?
Did this guy install surveillance cameras in the break room? But that's impossible, Miyahara checked the break room before we started talking!
Oh right, this guy did handle the Yokohama case, so he might know some inside information!
Oh no, if Uesugi Muneyuki knows anything about this, my life...

Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance!

"Wait! You're saying I did it? I have an alibi!" Hiroyuki Miyano suddenly shouted. "I can prove that Miyahara was still alive when the show was being recorded!"

“You all remember, right? During the recording of the show, I forgot to hand in my phone and received a call. That call was from Miyahara. I’m sorry, everyone, I lied because it involved my private affairs!” Hiroyuki Miyano then shouted, “But it’s absolutely true that it was Miyahara who called at that time.”

"You can check Miyahara's phone; it has call logs!"

Everyone present remembered this incident vividly. During the recording of the program, Miyano's phone did indeed ring suddenly. He immediately apologized to everyone and then jogged away from the recording site temporarily.

Upon hearing this, Erina Ikeda immediately checked Miyahara's phone.

The tall, beautiful woman's expression changed. She held up her phone, which showed the time as 11:16. There was indeed a call record, from Miyahara to Miyano.

This call log is the strongest proof that Miyahara is still alive!
With the establishment of this call record, it means that all of Uesugi Muneyuki's inferences and accusations have been overturned!
If Miyahara had been alive at the time, then Miyano could not have been the murderer!
Uesugi?

President Kameyama and Director Abiru's eyes became somewhat uncertain, the banana man looked doubtful, Tsuchida still looked like he hadn't woken up yet, and Sawabe Yu was even more certain, he firmly believed that it was not Miyano who did it.

By this time, Yamaguchi Maho had caught her breath. The girl cautiously looked at Uesugi Muneyuki, trying to figure out what he was thinking. At the same time, Miyawaki Sakura instinctively looked at Mai-senpai. Seeing that Mai-senpai was not flustered at all, she was not flustered either.

Moreover, being held by Mai-sama, how blissful~ the girl thought wistfully.

I want to be held by Mai-sama for a lifetime~
The atmosphere at the scene was varied, but there was no doubt that after Hiroyuki Miyano presented his crucial alibi, everyone began to question Muneyuki Uesugi's deduction.

Since Miyahara was still alive at that time, it means that he died of a natural illness after an acute attack.

Uesugi Forensic Examiner, has he messed up?
The legendary rookie forensic pathologist, whose 100% case-solving miracle has fallen?

"You're a genius, Miyano." Faced with the irrefutable alibi, Uesugi Muneyuki sighed and said to everyone, "Thank Asama-sama and Bishamonten. If it were anyone else, they would have been fooled by this guy today."

“A perfectly designed alibi, Miyano-san, you’re amazing.” Uesugi Muneyuki slowly walked up to Miyano Hiroyuki and took his phone from him: “But unfortunately, Mai-senpai and I both have a habit of checking the time.”

“那通电话的时间，是11点12分，不是11点16分。”上杉宗雪举起了宫野博之的手机通讯记录：“那么问题来了，打断节目录制11点12分的那通来电，为什么你的手机上没有啊？只有11点16分的这通来电啊？”

"You didn't secretly take your partner's phone and call yourself to create an alibi, did you?"

Hiroyuki Miyano's pupils dilated, his mouth opened, and his face showed disbelief.

Impossible! My plan was perfect, how could it be seen through so easily...

Is Uesugi Muneyuki even human?

(End of this chapter)