About thirty minutes later, the final suspect finally arrived.
Wearing a low-cut dark red dress paired with an extravagant light gray leopard-print fur coat, Yuko Ikegami stepped into the room with her beautiful long brown curls flowing over her shoulders. Upon hearing the police's suspicions toward her, she spread her hands and laughed lightly.
"You've got to be joking. If a murder happened in Yoko's apartment, shouldn't Yoko be the one you suspect?"
"Yuko-san…"
"This is my first time coming here. It has absolutely nothing to do with me."
Megure was clearly displeased by Yuko's attitude. Taking the earring sealed inside an evidence bag, he frowned and said, "If that's true, then why was this found here?"
Turning around, Yuko calmly stared at the ruby-studded gold earring before suddenly brightening up.
"Oh my, so this is where it went! I spent forever searching for it at home."
Megure, who had already questioned the building manager and security personnel downstairs, spoke sternly.
"And it's not just this earring. Yuko-san, we've already spoken with the manager. He said he saw someone who looked very much like you entering and leaving the apartment today."
"That was just someone who looked like me. Isn't that a pretty stupid conclusion to make?" She waved dismissively. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom to touch up my makeup."
"Wait, I'm not finished questioning you yet!"
Yuko immediately shouted back even louder.
"You're so annoying! If you're going to accuse me, then show me actual proof that I came here! You're calling me the murderer based on a single earring? Please, I'm very busy!"
As though remembering something, she smirked and walked over to the worried-looking Yoko, speaking in a mocking tone.
"Of course, I'm nowhere near as busy as the number one idol, Yoko-chan. But if the media finds out about this, your public image is going to plummet, won't it? You might end up with even more free time than me. Hahahahaha!"
Ritsu, who had remained silent the entire time, narrowed his eyes as he watched Yuko head straight toward the bathroom with practiced familiarity.
'What an idiot,' he thought to himself. 'She keeps insisting she's never been here before, yet she immediately knows where the bathroom is. Wouldn't a normal person ask first?'
After Yuko exited the restroom, she casually grabbed some tissues from the long cabinet in the living room before naturally sitting down on the single sofa and picking up a small Statue of Liberty ornament.
Only after watching her use the trinket to light a cigarette did Ritsu realize it was actually a lighter.
"How many times do I have to tell you people? This is my first time here. I have nothing to do with this case."
Ritsu stepped forward and picked up the Statue of Liberty-shaped lighter. From his pocket, he pulled out a half-empty pack of CASTER 3 cigarettes, flicked the lighter on, and lit the cigarette hanging from his lips. Slowly exhaling a stream of smoke, he smiled at Yuko.
"Ikegami-san is quite clever. Even though you've supposedly never been here before, you knew exactly where the lighter was kept."
"!!!"
Yuko's pupils shrank instantly. Realizing her actions had exposed her lie, she lowered her head uneasily and clenched her hands tightly together.
Ritsu quickly reached out to catch the cigarette that nearly fell onto the floor, extinguished it, and tossed it into an evidence bag already containing two cigarette butts.
Watching this, Megure rolled his eyes speechlessly. What kind of police officer used evidence bags to store his own cigarette butts? Was this kid treating them like trash bags?
Snapping back to her senses, Yuko desperately tried to explain herself. "M-My friend has the same kind of lighter, so that's why I…"
Sensing her panic, Megure immediately pressed closer.
"What friend?"
"I suggest you explain yourself properly," Ritsu said calmly. "According to Article 130 of Chapter 12 of the Japanese Penal Code, unlawfully entering another person's residence without valid reason is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 100,000 yen."
The moment she heard the word "prison," Yuko panicked and finally confessed.
"OK! I-I really have been here several times. I wanted to find some scandalous evidence about Yoko, so I used the spare key I stole from the dressing room to sneak in."
"In that case, the killer really is you—"
"No, it's not!" Yuko cried out anxiously. "I'm not the killer! I really didn't murder anyone!"
She looked desperately toward Ritsu, who still had not voiced any suspicion toward her, as though clutching at her final lifeline.
"Inspector Onizawa, I really didn't kill him!"
Ritsu gave her a small reassuring nod before asking, "You came here today as well, correct?"
"Yes. Earlier today, just like usual, I entered the apartment while Yoko was away. But I never expected a man to suddenly come in after me. He didn't say a word before lunging at me…"
Recalling the scene, Yuko clenched her fists tightly.
"I was terrified. I struggled with everything I had and barely managed to escape. There's no way I would've had the courage to come back afterward and kill someone! And I didn't even know that man. Please believe me, Inspector Onizawa!"
"You are indeed not the killer. I already knew that."
The moment Ritsu said those words, Megure blinked in confusion.
"What are you talking about, Inspector Onizawa? If Miss Ikegami isn't the killer, then who is?"
"There was never a killer."
"Huh?!"
Everyone present looked utterly bewildered. What did he mean by there was never a killer?
Ritsu crooked a finger toward the officer investigating the victim's identity and took the file from him.
"The victim's name was Akiyoshi Fujie, age twenty-one. After graduating from Kohnan High School, he started working at Kakuren Trading Company. Kohnan High School might not sound familiar to you, Inspector Megure, but in fact… it's the same high school Okino-san graduated from."
"?!"
Yoko looked stunned. She clearly hadn't expected this young inspector to know she had graduated from Kohnan High School. Could he have been her upperclassman? Or perhaps…
No, surely he wasn't actually a fan of hers?
Realizing she could no longer keep it hidden, Yoko ignored the warning look from her manager and gathered the courage to speak.
"Inspector Onizawa, just as you suspected, I knew the victim. Not only did I know him… Akiyoshi was my boyfriend back in high school."
"Nani?!" Megure exclaimed in shock.
'But wait a second, Onizawa had already said there was no killer. Then why bring this up?'
"Inspector Onizawa, what do you mean there was no killer? Don't tell me the victim stabbed himself in the back or something?"
Ritsu smiled and snapped his fingers. "Bingo. Inspector Megure, you guessed correctly. That is exactly what happened."
"Hah?" Megure immediately felt like Ritsu had lost his mind. How could anyone possibly stab themselves in the back with enough force to drive the blade in that deeply?
Ritsu walked over to the neatly positioned chair, the smile he wore as a mask fading from his face as his expression turned serious.
"Now then, allow me to walk everyone through the entire sequence of events."