Kirigiri Novel Book 4

Chapter 4- Part 4. Kareobana Academy - Salvador Yadorigi Fukurō

Yadorigi and the members of the Mystery Study Group returned to the gym and began to pick up candles standing on the floor separately. Different kinds of candles can be lit for several hours. It's difficult to be used as a heating device, but it's better than nothing at all.

"It's too late to preserve the crime scene now." Tōru said.

"Maybe forcing us to tamper with the crime scene like this is also part of the killer's plan, they are really smart. But the mystery of the case has been solved, so it is not a problem anymore." Yadorigi said.

"Oh right, about this..." Columbo said as he tucked the candles all into the pockets of his sagging coat. "Are you ready to explain to us the truth of the case?"

"All right. About what really happened at this magic murder scene– I will explain it briefly."

Yadorigi gracefully spread his hands and walked over to the body. The Mystery Study Group couldn't help but stop their actions and stared fixedly at him, almost mesmerized.

"The key to solving this mystery is still left at this murder scene. And that key item is–"

"The burnt thread I found!"

Columbo held up a hand with the sleeve that was too long for him.

"Correct." Yadorigi said, pointing at him.

"It is the thread Columbo-san found. Although there is not much left after it got burned, I believe it was actually a relatively longer thread before. It should have been set on fire by the murderer, intending to destroy the evidence. From this aspect, this is undoubtedly a very important piece of evidence."

"Speaking of threads in locked rooms, they can be used to lock the door from the outside by tying it to the door lock knob, right?"

Kōsuke tilted his head and said.

"It was not used for this purpose this time. As we have discussed before, it is difficult to determine whether there is a key to this locked room, so it is meaningless to lock it in this way. The thread must have had an alternative use."

"An alternate use?"

"In order to figure this out, we need to consider it in combination with other evidence. But— before that, let us explore a little further what else we can deduce from the burnt thread."

"What else is there?"

"The remaining thread fell at the crime scene, which means we can assume that the murderer failed to remove it."

"Ehhh— really?" Kōsuke said with a frown. "Couldn't it just be that they didn't realize they dropped something?"

"The murderer tried to burn it to destroy the evidence, and in this case, there is no way they did not realize it was left at the scene."

"Ah, right."

"But to be precise, the murderer 'tried to destroy the evidence but did not burn it all', and they 'did not find it' are both true statements. So under what circumstances would the murderer encounter such a predicament?"

"Could he have been instructed to do so...?" Columbo replied.

"I see, maybe the murderer had an accomplice. Indeed, if the accomplice was a relatively careless person, then the 'tried to destroy the evidence but did not burn it all', and 'did not find it' both work. Also, if the murderer did not confirm the crime scene with the accomplice, then it would make sense that they failed to collect the evidence. However, since the murderer had made such a careful plan, if the accomplice screwed up, it would not be consistent with the murderer's original intention."