Chapter 3 (l)

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Oosugi: "I see, what I said isn't quite right. Then how did it go exactly? Which are the parts that I've got wrong?"

Kagami: "All of them!"

Oosugi abruptly slams his giant fist on the table.

Kagami: "Uggah!"

Oosugi: "You put that damn message inside Oda's locker, didn't you?! Are you claiming that even that part is wrong?!"

Kagami: "I... I..."

Oosugi: "How else did your fingerprints end up on it?"

Kagami: "Well... maybe I did... but that doesn't mean I did anything else..."

Oosugi: "Where did you get that message from?"

Kagami: "I found it..."

Oosugi: "Where?"

Kagami: "Somewhere..."

Why isn't she telling? Does that mean that telling the truth would compromise some other person? Or is she simply so confused that she doesn't know what it is okay to tell and to deny anymore? If it was a message that she received from Gotsuji in the past, she would have no reason to deny it. In the end the most sensible explanation is what I am thinking, but then why she doesn't tell?

Oosugi: "I suppose that you received that message from the victim, right? You were supposed to meet there..."

Kagami: "Why would I need to meet her after a club session?! And why there of all the places? I would've been mad, if I knew she used that place as a personal meeting spot!"

Oosugi: "Oooh... I seeee. Gotsuji did a very bad thing, going there by herself, disrespecting the rules..."

Kagami: "Yeah!"

Oosugi: "Who do you think would be the most displeased by finding that out?"

Kagami: "Maaya of course! Ah..."

Oosugi: "Was Teramoto angry when she found out?"

Kagami: "She was literally out of her mind when she learned what happened! But... wait... this happened after I've found Hitomi..."

Oosugi: "You've found Gotsuji inside the shed?"

Kagami: "D-did I say I've found Hitomi? I meant... Oda did! Oda!"

Oosugi: "Say, missy, there's no way Gotsuji could enter inside that shed, right? How do you explain that?"

Kagami: "I can't explain it!"

Oosugi: "What would've Teramoto did, if she had found her there, were she wasn't supposed to be, where she couldn't possibly be?"

Kagami: "I... I don't know..."

Oosugi: "Let's just imagine the situation, just hypothetically. Let's say that somehow Gotsuji found a way to slip inside the shed and to snoop around, and let's say someone caught her red handed, then I guess they'd be pretty mad. Wouldn't you?"

Kagami: "Well... yes..."

Oosugi: "Teramoto would be pretty mad, right?"

Kagami: "Yes..."

Oosugi: "Don't you think it's possible that if someone had found her there, a fight would've ensued?"

Kagami: "Hmmm... certainly... it's possible, but..."

Oosugi: "You know, our experts can easily determine when fingerprints have been left. They can tell the precise time with an approximation of a few minutes. Therefore I know when exactly you left the fingerprints that they found inside the shed."

A bait question?

Satsukawa: "Wait... is it really all right to tell such lies?"

Erika: "My my... you must be really new, Satsukawa-san. Is it the first time you've ever seen a suspect being interrogated?"

Satsukawa: "This is... normal?"

Satsukawa's naive question causes a few people to laugh.

Kimura: "You're embarrassing yourself in front of the girl, Satsukawa-kun, that was quite uncool."

More people laugh and louder than before.

Erika: "What's wrong about that? Even if you tell them that you have a definitive proof that nails them, if they're innocent, they won't confess what they haven't done."

Satsukawa: "You say I'm naive, but isn't that a naive logic in itself?"

Rokudou: "Certainly... there are a few examples of people who confessed crimes they've never committed."

Kimura: "Extremely rare cases."

If I had to honestly say who is wrong or right regarding this argument, I would say that Satsukawa is right. It isn't that hard to make someone confess what they didn't do. There is no need for torture, brainwashing or anything of that sort, persuasion techniques and rhetoric if done right can do the trick. You can even convince someone that he simply forgot to have committed a crime, especially if you tell him that there is evidence that he did it. Naturally this doesn't work with stubborn people, Teramoto would simply laugh it off and deny it. But what about your average Japanese person?

Anyway, I am not going to admit that openly. If I did, I would no longer be justified in using lies for my ends, and I have no intention to relinquish such a powerful tool.

Dlanor: "Uwajima case, Ashikaga case, Shibushi case, Himi case; these are just a few examples."

Kimura: "Like I said, rare cases."

Rokudou: "I wonder. These are only cases of confirmed false confessions."

Satsukawa: "You mean... there might be a lot more that were never questioned!"

Erika: "How likely it is that someone would seriously bother in proving the innocence of a suspect who already confessed? Oosugi is basically using a variant of the Reid Technique. He received proper training and mastered all the basic concepts. All that matters in the Reid Technique is to make the suspect confess, it doesn't really matter how, as long as it doesn't break the law."

Satsukawa: "..."

Erika: "Pay close attention, listen. Whenever Hibari tries do deny that she did something, he promptly interrupts her. That's one of the basic principles of the Reid Technique: never allow them to deny their crimes. The more you allow them to deny them, the less likely they are to confess. Also notice how he actively tries to make her look at him. Eye contact is pretty important, he keeps her attention focused on himself."

Kimura: "The hell with this girl... why someone like her was gifted with that brain..."

Kagami: "Uggaaah! I'm done with this! I know my three rights! I have the right to remain silent! I have the right to make a phone call! And I have the right to... hmmm... what was the third right again...?"

Oosugi: "What the hell do you think this is, an american movie?! Stupid brat!"

Kagami: "Uggah!"

Oosugi: "Look, I think there's really no point in denying this anymore. It was all Gotsuji's fault, and you had to do what it needed to be done in order to protect your friend's secret. I can understand that."

Kagami: "How many times do I need to repeat it? I couldn't be there because I was with Yuu Azuma!"

Oosugi: "Aaah, Yuu Azuma. Look, this might be a shock for you, but it appears that your friend changed her deposition."

Kagami: "You're lying! This is a lie!"

Oosugi: "In other words I know what truly happened."

That clever bastard. It's not like he actually said how Yuu Azuma changed what she had already testified. But Hibari has a guilty mind, so she will definitely think the worst possible scenario. At any rate this is proceeding way too fast.

Kagami: "Yuu Azuma betrayed me? I can't believe that... I can't believe that!"

Oosugi: "Isn't it about time you tell me what really happened?"

Kagami: "Even though she promised... even though she promised she'd always say we've been together! Why?! Why did she betray me?!"

I see, the promise was that they would claim that they have always been together, not that they never moved from the gym. That means the truth is that Hibari left before Azuma. Again, just like I suspected, Hibari acted completely alone. This is pretty interesting, but it makes me wonder. Why did Yuu Azuma agree to lie in order to provide an alibi for her friend? Just to help her out of compassion? But there is actually an even more important question. Considering all that must have happened to Hibari after she left the gym, and all that she did, it is unthinkable that it only took a few minutes. Then why did Azuma leave school five minutes after Hibari? This is something that bothered me from the very beginning, and now it has become even more suspicious.

Oosugi: "I'd like to hear your version of the story. It wouldn't be fair if I only listened to what Azuma said, right?"

Kagami: "That... traitoooor! I'm so maaad!"

Oosugi: "If you're so mad, why don't you tell me what you know? I'm sure she omitted to state some particulars as well."

Kagami: "Of course! I'll tell you everything! Like... what the hell I'm supposed to tell about her...?"

Oosugi: "Just tell me when did you part ways and how."

Kagami: "What time that was again? Ah, of course! I said that I'd end training at 6:00 PM and so I did! But I think I actually ended up staying a few more minutes in the end... I lost track of time..."

Oosugi: "What about Yuu Azuma?"

Kagami: "She remained there, she offered to clean up and put the equipment back by herself just like her usual."

Oosugi: "That's it? You've never seen her until the next day?"

Kagami: "That's right!"

Oosugi: "Did you meet someone on the changing room that can confirm that?"

Kagami: "No one! They were already gone!"

Oosugi: "What happened then?"

Kagami: "Of course, I headed back home! And I was in a hurry too!"

Oosugi: "Are you messing with me, brat?!"

Kagami: "Uggah!"

Oosugi: "You left school at exactly 6:34 PM! Are you telling me that you've spent that much time in the changing room? You've just admitted it yourself: you were in a hurry!"

Kagami: "Let me finish! I did want to go back home, but then I've found Hitomi's message!"

Just like I thought! Just like I thought!

Damn it! Why didn't I tell it to anyone? I have just missed a chance to gloat and ask everyone what do they think about my reasonings! Damn it!

Oosugi: "You've found Gotsuji's message?"

Kagami: "Yep!"

Oosugi: "Inside your locker perhaps?"

Kagami: "Yep!"

Oosugi: "Aren't you confusing yourself with Oda?"

Kagami: "How rude! Do I look anywhere close to that beast? Besides, I'm at least ten times smarter than that idiot!"

Oosugi: "Are you still lying to me, missy? Do you think that I'll still buy that the reason you left fingerprints on that message is just because it was meant for you?"

Kagami: "Are you even listening?! Like I said, there's just no way Hitomi would ask me to meet her there! She'd know I'd be mad! So there's no way this message was meant for me! Impossible! Ridiculous! Preposterous!"

Oosugi: "Then why was that message inside of your locker?!"

Kagami: "Isn't that obvious! You still haven't realized?! This is all a conspiracy against me! This is all to make me look like the bad girl! Someone wants me to go in a jail! Someone wants to frame meeee!!!"

She finally let it all out. All of a sudden she exploded and told us what was eating at her soul for all of this time. She kept it all inside of herself for almost a week, and now she finally said it.

Oosugi seems to be quite surprised by her outburst, I guess the poor fool didn't even suspected this.

Satsukawa: "That's it... That's how it went! I think I finally begin to understand! Something that messed up! You've got to be kidding me!"

Erika: "Aaah, about time, Satsukawa-san!"

Kimura: "What the hell are you talking about?"

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