Chapter 39: Two Possibilities

In Shiraishi’s theater of deduction, Tsubokura feigned innocence, acting as though he merely wanted to have a word with Station Master Hayashida...

"Get out, get out right now! You’ve been fired, don't ever show your face in front of me again!" Hayashida waved his hand impatiently.

"Station Master, don't be like that... just let me in first..."

"Wait! What do you think you're doing?"

"Let me make you a meal..."

"Stop right there!"

"Just lie down, will you!"

"Ouch..."

Tsubokura struggled to squeeze his way in, then... he pulled on a pair of gloves and bolted toward the kitchen, clearly hunting for a kitchen knife! Hayashida kicked him over from behind, but Tsubokura kept crawling toward the kitchen, with Hayashida dragging him back by his legs.

Suddenly, the two men froze in this bizarre pose, turned their heads in unison, and stared at Shiraishi with blank, exasperated expressions.

"Officer Shiraishi, I’ve prepared everything so thoroughly, and yet I still have to come to the scene to hunt for a weapon?"

"Do you really think I’d let this brat get his hands on a kitchen knife?"

At these words, Shiraishi waved his hand again, and time in the room flowed backward. The clock ticked back to exactly two o'clock.

*Ding-dong—*

Shiraishi watched coldly as Tsubokura dropped his facade and forced his way in.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused since you started working here? Don't say another word, just... wait, what are you doing?"

As Hayashida turned away, Tsubokura pulled on his gloves and, amidst Hayashida’s questioning, whipped a short, sharp dagger from his coat! Hayashida dodged the strike, and as the action slowed, a scratch appeared on the wall—identical to the one in the crime scene photos.

Hayashida scrambled into the kitchen, Tsubokura in hot pursuit.

*Clang—*

Hayashida grabbed a sushi knife from the cleaned knife set and swung it at Tsubokura. Tsubokura blocked it with his dagger, producing a sharp, metallic ring! Unfortunately for Hayashida, the knife he’d grabbed in his haste was the most fragile one in the set. As the action slowed further, a notch appeared on the blade of the sushi knife, while Tsubokura’s dagger was knocked from his hand, flying back into the foyer. It landed, leaving a mark on the floor that matched the crime scene photos exactly. After all, Hayashida was much sturdier than the young Tsubokura!

"You brat... go to hell!"

Hayashida, eyes bloodshot, lunged again. Tsubokura retreated, grabbed Hayashida’s wrists, and the two began to grapple. They tumbled to the floor, and as the action slowed, their struggle created a series of marks corresponding to the crime scene photos. During the scuffle, one of Tsubokura’s gloves slipped off.

***

Right at the threshold between the foyer and the kitchen... *Squelch!*

In the end, youth prevailed; Tsubokura snatched the knife and drove it into Hayashida’s chest! Just then, footsteps echoed in the hallway.

The action and sound cut to silence. Only Tsubokura’s internal monologue remained: "Someone's coming, I have to get out of here... Right, I need to take what I brought with me. As for this weapon... it doesn't matter. It’s normal for my fingerprints to be on it anyway. If I pull it out, I’ll be covered in blood and seen by whoever is out there!"

Time resumed. Tsubokura scrambled to retrieve his dagger and his glove, then bolted out the door. Though he brushed past a passerby in the hallway, the stranger suspected nothing.

Shiraishi walked to the balcony and watched Tsubokura flee through the alleyway. At that moment, Ms. Hayashida arrived; seeing someone in the alley, she opted not to take that route. When she reached the victim’s door, she found it unlocked. Upon seeing the corpse, she was shocked, but instead of calling the police, she entered the bedroom to look for something. However, when the bedroom door opened, it was like a black hole—there were no crime-related traces there, and thus no crime scene photos!

Ms. Hayashida emerged from the "black hole," wiped away any evidence of her presence, and took the ingredients with her.

*Clatter...*

With the sound of the door closing, she left the room without looking back. Shiraishi sat on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought.

*Ding-dong—*

The doorbell rang, the door opened on its own, and Tsubokura poked his head in. "Officer Shiraishi, are you targeting me? Does it really have to be me?"

"I agree, perhaps we should rethink this," added Hayashida, still lying on the floor, lifting his head.

Shiraishi slowly raised his hand and waved it again. Time in the room reversed.

Two o'clock sharp.

*Ding-dong—*

As Hayashida opened the door, he said with a smirk, "Honey, you're back?"

The person at the door was indeed Ms. Hayashida! She had just taken a taxi back from the supermarket and seen Tsubokura heading toward the house from the alley, so she had entered through the front door, arriving just a step earlier.

"Don't forget what you promised me!" Ms. Hayashida said with a stern face, walking straight into the kitchen.

Hayashida was about to follow when... *Ding-dong—* the doorbell rang again.

"Who is it now? I told you everything was fine..." Hayashida muttered, assuming it was a neighbor.

"Station Master Hayashida, it's me," came Tsubokura’s voice.

Ms. Hayashida, clearly wanting no part of him, whispered, "You invited someone else?"

"This lunatic... why would I invite him? Don't worry about it!" Hayashida snapped.

***

Ms. Hayashida hesitated, then hid in the bedroom, clearly not wanting to be seen. Outside...

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused since you started working here? Don't say another word, just... wait, what are you doing?"

The same glove-wearing, the same knife-drawing, the same chase and marks...

Hayashida tried once more to reach for a kitchen knife, but this time, only the sushi knife remained on the rack—the others were on the cutting board two steps further away. He had no choice but to take the fragile sushi knife. As he swung it at Tsubokura, the young man dodged with agility, counter-attacking and forcing Hayashida to drop the knife!

*Clang—*

The knife flew off, leaving a mark on the floor identical to the one in the crime scene photos. Hayashida tried to retreat to the kitchen to grab another blade, but it was too late!

*Squelch—*

Tsubokura stabbed him and fled, taking his own knife with him. Had he possessed more medical knowledge, he would have realized the depth of the wound was not fatal.

Once Tsubokura was gone, the terrified Ms. Hayashida emerged from the bedroom. She checked on the victim, but...

*Ugh...*

The victim was still clinging to life. He grabbed Ms. Hayashida’s wrist, as if begging for help. But remembering his threats and his refusal to divorce her, Ms. Hayashida’s expression turned savage. She picked up the discarded kitchen knife, wrapped the handle in a silk scarf, and—ignoring the victim’s fearful, paralyzed gaze—she used all her weight to drive the knife deep into the existing wound!

*Crack...*

From a "perspective-shifting" view, the blade could be seen striking and chipping a rib.

Ms. Hayashida cleaned up the evidence of her presence and took the half-prepared ingredients with her. As for the weapon... knowing there were no traces of her on it, she simply left it there.

After Ms. Hayashida left, the corpse of Hayashida sat up and asked Shiraishi, "Officer Shiraishi, a man can only die once. So... which version do you think it is?"

Indeed, both possibilities would result in the evidence currently at hand. However, it was not difficult to distinguish between them; one would only need to uncover a few more details that would differ between the two scenarios. But that was not something that could be solved by just thinking about it "here."

In the observation room of the interrogation center, Shiraishi opened his eyes. To everyone else, less than a minute had passed. At this point, Shiraishi had grasped the truth, but it remained to be verified.