Chapter Four - Part Three

As soon as he set foot in the rec room, Kamo froze.

“...It's gone?”

The paining, “Chimera”, had disappeared from the north wall. Ayaka was pointing at it with her hand clamped over her mouth.

When they'd searched for Taiga, Kamo and Ayaka hadn't been assigned to the dining room-kitchen area. As a result, they hadn't seen the painting's disappearance until just now.

Kamo gave a tense grin as everyone shared confused looks and whispers among themselves.

“Would the person who moved this painting like to speak up?”

Every one of them shook their heads.

“...Then it would seem the culprit has struck again.”

As soon as he said it, Soujirou approached Kamo with a look of rage.

“What are you saying? Do you mean there's some connection between the painting and this case?”

“Yes. It's possible the killer is following the pattern of the Nue.”

The room went completely silent. Everyone stared intensely at Kamo. They all looked afraid.

He explained what he'd figured about the imitation murders.

“...Mr. Kyuichi was the head of the monkey. Mr. Koki was the torso of the tanuki. Mr. Taiga was the tiger's hind legs, and Ms. Tonegawa was the thrush's call. It's highly likely that Soujirou, from the Tiger Room, and Tsukihiko, from the Snake Room, will be next.”

When Soujirou was named as the next victim, he covered his face with both hands. Tsukihiko stared back defiantly. Kamo calmly went on.

“The artist of that painting called themself Yachō. That name may have also been derived from the Nue. If this imitation crime is a message from the culprit, then the motive is probably related to that artist. So... there were oil painting tools in the Rabbit Room, which was declared off-limits. The owner of that room was Yachō, weren't they?”

No one responded. Kamo didn't let up and continued on the offensive.

“There must be a reason why that room was sealed off. If I'm to solve this incident, I need you all to explain what it was.”

Genji gave a small sigh of defeat, then, slowly, he opened his mouth.

“The artist of 'Chimera' was the former occupant of the Rabbit Room. His name was Hata Reito...  Yachō was his pseudonym as an artist.”

“Hata Reito, how do you spell that?” Kamo asked.

“The 'hata' for 'feather', and the 'rei' and 'to' from 'order' and 'person'.”

“Thank you. So, what kind of person was this Hata Reito? What was his relationship to the Ryuuzen family?”

“From my point of view... he was my cousin on my mother's side.”

For some reason, Genji hesitated with his answer.

“I see, so your mother's maiden name was Hata.”

“Yes, Reito's father was my mother's older brother. ...I heard from my brother that when Reito was in elementary school, his mother took ill and Grandfather took him in to the Ryuuzen household to be raised as one of our own.”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked nostalgically off into the distance.

“He'd been with us for as long as I could remember. I viewed him as a genuine brother. He wanted to be an artist and would make oil paintings whenever he came to the villa. The Rabbit Room was practically his atelier.”

“So he was older than you, is that correct?”

“Yes, he was five years older than Kyuichi. He'd be 39 if he were still alive.”

The way he'd phrased that caught Kamo's attention.

“Could it be that Mr. Hata has already passed away?”

“We don't know whether he has or not.”

“...What do you mean?”

Ayaka was the one who asked, voice raised in confusion. Genji gave her a sad smile.

“You don't know, do you Ayaka?” It happened twelve years ago now, so you would have only been a year old.”

That was 1948, a time when post-war turmoil was still high. Genji went on, keeping an even tone.

“At the time, I was still in middle school, spending a summer vacation in Hong Kong. At Grandfather's recommendation, I decided to spend a brief spell there to expand my knowledge.”

“That was three years after the war, right? It must have been difficult to leave the country.”

“Oh, that was no trouble. Grandfather was in deep with GHQ. ...While I was in Hong Kong, my father, Eitaro, passed away, and the next day, Reito went missing.”

Kamo held his breath.

“If you'll forgive my asking, what was your father's cause of death?”

“He was ill. If you want more details, ask Uncle, who was here in the villa at the time.”

Soujirou reluctantly explained.

“If I recall, it was the end of July, 1948. My older brother Eitaro developed severe food poisoning. We rushed him to a doctor, but it was too late. He didn't survive.”

Kamo looked at the page-a-day calendar on the table. The date had changed, so it was now August 23rd. It had been twelve years and a month since Taiga's eldest son passed away.

“Do you recall what symptoms he had at the time?”

Soujirou shuddered slightly.

“Severe vomiting and diarrhea... His mouth and body turned red as though he were burning up, it was horrible. He was dead by the evening of the next day. It seems his liver and kidneys were damaged.”

“Did anyone else in your neighborhood experience similar symptoms?”

Kamo didn't know whether symptoms like that could result from food poisoning or not, but it seemed similar to an infectious disease, so he asked.

“No, not a soul. Even the doctor couldn't make sense of it.”

From Kamo's perspective, it wouldn't have been surprising if the police had investigated the case as a suspicious death. However, it had been diagnosed as food poisoning by an unknowledgeable doctor. In a rural area in the confusion of the post-war period, things like that were probably unavoidable.

As Kamo scowled in deep though, Soujirou nervously spoke up.

“Could it be that my brother was murdered?”

“I don't think there's any way to find out one way or the other now... You say Mr. Hata disappeared the next day?”

“Yes, he didn't show up at breakfast, so Tonegawa and I went to check up on him in the Rabbit Room. When we did, we found his room empty and his luggage all gone. We thought he must have left on some urgent business.”

“Do you have any idea why Mr. Hata disappeared?”

“Ever since he'd returned from the war, he often seemed to be depressed. He'd been stagnating as an artist, so it wouldn't be surprising if he wanted to go off somewhere where no one knew him and make a fresh start.”

Genji seemed unconvinced.

“I don't think Reito would have disappeared without telling any of us. Grandfather loved him as though he were his own grandson, and my father, brother and I all viewed him as a beloved family member, too. Besides... afterwards, Grandfather told me that in the will he had at the time, his estate was to be divided so that Reito got the exact same share as my brother and I. I could go on, but I think you understand how serious Grandfather was about him.”

When Tsukihiko heard that, he shamelessly allowed his face to warp and twist.

“What, so even though he wasn't a member of the family, he got a bigger share of the inheritance than my dear old dad! Dad's share is only 1/7th the size of Genji's.”

Kamo was more than a little surprised by that. Indeed, since arriving at the villa, he'd seen plenty of instances of Taiga being lenient with Genji and Ayaka. Perhaps he'd been the same towards Kyuichi. In a sense, it could be said it was cruel to let such personal feelings be reflected in the inheritance.

Soujirou's face turned bright red.

“Tsukihiko! What are you talking about at a time like this!?”

At the unseemly argument between father and son, Genji looked down as though he regretted bringing up the subject, but he soon spoke again.

“After I returned to Japan, Grandfather filed a missing persons report to the police, but we still haven't received any information on Reito's whereabouts.”

From what they'd said, it sounded like Hata had many supports within the Ryuuzen clan, but at the same time, he had his share of enemies. Anyone who knew the contents of Taiga's will would have found him a hindrance.

“By the way, did anyone suspect a connection between Mr. Hata's disappearance and Mr. Eitaro's death?”

Soujirou answered with a mocking laugh.

“I think the thought occurred to everyone at least once. Well, with the possible exception of Father. He loved that boy more than any of his own children. ...What, you don't think Hata's returned and is attacking us, do you?”

Kamo stared at Soujirou, who had suddenly turned pale and started trembling.

“I don't know. But I'm certain the murderer wants to frighten you all by reminding you of the events of twelve years ago.”

By now, Soujirou's veneer of gentlemanliness had completely vanished, revealing the coward that lied beneath. If that wasn't an admission of guilt, what was? Kamo suspected that Soujirou was somehow involved with Hata's disappearance.

However, he'd set his mouth in a hard line and didn't look in any hurry to say more. Kamo let off for now and decided to change tactics.

“Who was in the villa at the time?”

Soujirou remained silent, so Genji answered in his place.

“Everyone except me should have been there. My grandparents, my father Eitaro, my older brother Kyuichi, and Kayoko and Ayaka should have been there too. Ah, forgive me. Kayoko is Ayaka's mother... She passed away eight years ago. Heart disease.”

Ayaka looked at the floor without saying anything. Kamo, who had also lost his mother at a young age, understood her feelings.

“...Wait, then was Eitaro's wife absent?”

He had asked the question without much thought, but this time Genji's face darkened.

“Her name was Ryoko. She was killed in the air raids on Tokyo.”

Those words made Kamo realize that these people had lived side by side with war and death. He asked Genji another question

“You already said that Soujirou was at the villa. What about Tsukihiko and Tsukie?”

Tsukihiko replied with a yawn.

“Twelve years ago I was only nine. I don't remember anything from back then.”

Tsukie was about to say something, but Tsukihiko silenced her with a glare. Soujirou answered on behalf of both his children.

“If I remember correctly, I brought them both here because I thought it would be nice to let them play in nature.”

“What about their mother... Ikeuchi Shizue?”

Soujirou's face darkened.

“Ikeuchi wasn't there. That was right after the divorce, and we still wanted to keep as far away from each other as possible. Koki and his mother Shoko were there. Ms. Tonegawa, too.”

“Mm-hm. Tell me more about Ms. Shoko.”

“Shoko was my younger sister. After her husband passed during the war, she moved in with Koki, but she was killed in the sinking of the Tōya Maru in 1954. She sank into the water and never came back up.”

The sinking of the Tōya Maru was one of the worst maritime accidents in Japanese history, claiming over 1000 victims. From Kamo's perspective, it was a historical event from over 60 years ago, but for the Ryuuzen, it was a recent tragedy from which they still bore scars.

Kamo took another moment to organize the information in his mind.

Taiga and his wife, their eldest son, their grandson and his wife, and the great-granddaughter. Taiga's second son and his two children, his eldest daughter and her son, Hata, and Tonegawa. In total, there had been 13 people in the villa.

Although it seemed like a lot of people, Ayaka, who was only a year old, would have shared a room with her mother, and Tsukihiko and Tsukie, who were both in elementary school, had probably shared a room, so the number of rooms shouldn't have been a problem.

Thinking about it, Kamo suddenly realized something.

“Everyone who's been killed so far was in the villa twelve years ago, weren't they? The same applies to Soujirou and Tsukihiko, who are likely to be targeted in the future.”

Soujirou shuddered, and Tsukihiko looked at Tsukie with disgust. Looking at them both from the corner of his eye, Kamo continued.

“It seems that Eitaro's death and the disappearance of Hata Reito are quite important to our culprit.”

Tsukihiko spoke up in a sarcastic voice.

“I've been listening to you ramble on for a while now, but what's the point of any of this? Aren't we supposed to be trying to find out who the culprit is? ...I get it. Since everyone was holed up in their rooms last night, nobody has an alibi, right? So, Detective, how exactly are we supposed to find out who the culprit is? You're the brilliant super sleuth. Enlighten us.”

As Kamo listened, he wondered how much of his activities last night he should reveal. Eventually, he decided he had to tell them something.

“I do have one thing to apologize for... The truth is, by last night, I'd already deduced that the culprit was copying the form of the Nue.”

Kamo didn't even have time to finish before Soujirou leapt to his feet.

“Why didn't you tell us!?” he screamed.

“I was hoping that, by playing my cards close to my chest, I could catch the culprit in the act. That's why I spent all of last night staking out the room of a likely target.”

Tsukihiko burst out coughing before responding.

“Are you saying you were watching Grandfather's room all night!?”

“At the time, I believed the culprit was only going by the names of the rooms, so the Dragon Room, which doesn't correspond to any part of the Nue, wasn't on my list.”

“The three rooms that relate to the parts of the Nue are the Rooster Room, the Tiger Room, and the Snake Room.”

“Yes. I couldn't keep watch over all three by myself, so I assumed the culprit would prioritize the blood members of the Ryuuzen clan and kept an eye on the Tiger and Snake Rooms.”

Since he couldn't just say he was acting based on Ayaka's diary, his reason for prioritizing the second floor hallway became extremely vague. Fortunately, nobody asked any questions.

Then, Kamo revealed that he and Ayaka had been hiding in the cleaning supplies room on the second floor all night.

“Of course, I hadn't expected Ayaka to watch with me. Under the circumstances, there was no guarantee it would be safer to let her return to her room, so I agreed to let her stay in the cleaning supplies room.”

Both Genji and Soujirou were taken aback by his confession. They seemed to have forgotten to be outraged or ask Ayaka if she was alright and merely sat with their jaws hanging. At that point, Ayaka spoke with a serious expression.

“I know you all want to be angry with me for being so selfish, but right now, I need you all to listen to me... Nobody passed through the second floor hallway last night while we were on our nighttime vigil. Nobody broke into the Dragon Room, and nobody took Grandfather away.”

The statement landed like a bomb. Tsukihiko, frowning deeply, was the first to speak.

“Then how did the culprit attack Grandfather and shove him in the pizza oven? It's another impossible crime!”

Kamo had no choice but to be honest.

“I have no idea how the culprit killed Mr. Taiga and got his body from the second floor to the pizza oven.”

The young man pointed mockingly at Kamo.

“The only conclusion is that you're the culprit. Weren't you the first one to leave the dining room after Grandfather finished dinner? Then you're the only one who had a chance to attack Grandfather. That's how it was.”

Ayaka shook her head immediately.

“That's not it. I followed Mr. Kamo as soon as the left the dining room and met him at his stakeout. He definitely didn't have time for that.”

Tsukihiko's mouth curled into a cruel grin.

“I guess that's true... if I really believe you aren't accomplices.”

Kamo gave a casual shrug.

“If we were accomplices, we'd just focus on giving each other alibis. There's no point in claiming that nobody went through the second floor hallway.”

“...More importantly, is that body in the oven really Grandfather?”

The soft question came from Tsukie. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was always important. Tsukihiko nodded, then lazily fell back onto the white sofa that he seemed to have claimed as his own.

“I've been thinking the same thing. He pretended to go back to his room, then hid in the basement warehouse until nightfall. Then he faked his death by shoving a corpse he'd prepared in advance in the pizza oven. How's that work for y'all?”

Tsukihiko made his proud declaration with a flourish. Genji's jaw dropped.

“Now you're calling Grandfather a murderer... Grandfather turned 83 yesterday and he has bad legs. There's no way he could have carried the body himself.”

“That's right. Even though he can use a wheelchair to move inside the building, the outdoors are different. The stairs and grass would both get in the way.”

At Soujirou's objection, Tsukihiko gave a snort of derision.

“Then let me ask: Does anyone here actually know what's wrong with Grandfather's legs?”

Nobody looked confident in their answers. Ayaka was the first to speak.

“But before we renovated the villa, Grandfather was hospitalized for six months. The doctors were the ones who said he needed a wheelchair.”

Genji nodded.

“That's right, there's no way Grandfather could have walked. His condition was so serious his life was in danger.”

Tsukihiko seemed to find his own flesh and blood's illness amusing.

“I know. Even though he had diabetes, he neglected his health because he was too focused on his work, right? But in the end, all any of us were told was that surgery had been done, and nothing else. We weren't even allowed visitation rights until he was healthy enough to sit up on his own.”

He paused for a moment before showing a wide smile.

“I think the truth is his legs have already healed enough for him to walk and he didn't tell anyone. I wouldn't put it past Grandfather.”

Amamiya responded surprisingly aggressively.

“It's certainly true the Master liked surprising people more than anything else. It might be strange of me to say this, but... it's certainly possible that he would hide if his legs had recovered. But there's no way he would ever do something so horrible! You know that, don't you!?”

Tsukihiko, who hated when people talked back, and Amamiya, who was trembling with anger, stared each other down. Sensing danger in the air, Genji spoke to Kamo, probably just to change the subject.

“Certainly, Grandfather had his childish and stubborn side. He would try to surprise us with sudden gifts so often that we basically all stopped being surprised by anything. And on the contrary, he also hid his illness even from his own family.”

“That's not good. Why would he do such a thing?”

“Grandfather was obsessed with the idea of keeping people from seeing him vulnerable. I think this was just an extension of that.”

Soujirou nodded his head before adding his own two cents.

“Things like this have happened before. Twenty years ago, he went on a business trip without telling anyone that he had abdominal pain. He managed to get a contract over a competitor, but... his appendix ruptured, and he developed peritonitis. He'd didn't show a hint of regret for his decision, and he forced through the pain, constantly saying things like 'if I show any weakness, I'll be finished'.”

“I understand keeping secrets, but why would he hide that even from his own family?”

Soujirou stammered for a moment, seeming to have a hard time answering.

“I think it's because of Father's past.”

“Mr. Taiga's?”

“Yes. Father's father, my grandfather, had a twin brother, an identical twin. They were exactly alike in every way, from their heights to their faces. And they fell in love with the same woman. That was when the problems started.”

Tsukihiko interrupted with another sadistic grin.

“In the end, my great-granddad married that woman. But the old man never stopped worrying that his wife was seeing his little brother behind his back... and he thought that maybe, his kid was actually the son of his wife and his brother. Of course, nobody has any idea if there was actually an affair.”

Hearing their story, Kamo couldn't help but wonder.

If a man suspected his wife of cheating on him, he could get a DNA test and confirm whether his child was actually his own. Regardless of whether it was actually a good idea or not, at least everyone could confirm whether or not they were actually parent and child.

However, if the person his wife was cheating with was his own identical twin, a brother with the same genes... even if they'd lived in 2018, there'd be no way to confirm who the boy's real father was.

Soujirou frowned deeply before continuing.

“In the end, the conflict between the twin brothers didn't end even after Grandfather's wife passed away, but became a battle for the succession to the family headship. It was a conflict that could have even driven flesh and blood to kill each other. Even Father was forced to participate in their conflicts against his will, and finally, when he was in university, he was left all alone in the world, when Grandfather and his twin brother both died under suspicious circumstances.”

As the only survivor of the clan, Taiga had worked hard to bring about the happy family life he'd never been able to have as a child. However, the wound on his heart never healed. Somewhere inside of him, he was never able to trust his own family.

At the same time, Kamo thought he'd also solved a mystery that had been bothering him for a while.

Ayaka's younger twin sister, Fumino, had secretly been given away to another family as a child and even now was living with one of Taiga's acquaintances. According to the lawyer's investigations, even Kyuichi, the girl's own father, believed she'd been stillborn.

Thanks to her existence being kept a secret, she was the only one of the family who was destined to never be involved in the Deadly Tragedy of Shino. However, Kamo hadn't been able to figure out why her existence had been kept a secret and she'd been sent away.

Perhaps old man Taiga had arranged everything. He knew that his great-grandchildren were twins and feared that they'd fight. So he'd faked the stillbirth and given one of the babies away to another family.

Genji looked down sadly as he spoke again.

“It's true Grandfather didn't trust any of us. But I don't think your health is something you should ever keep from your own family.... Ayaka is still a child. Aside from her, I think the only people he'd tell are the ones who lived with him at the main house: my brother, Tonegawa, and Amamiya.”

Hearing his name mentioned suddenly, Amamiya jumped in surprise and waved a hand.

“What? No, no, no, no, I've never heard of the Master's legs having recovered!”

Soujirou nodded as though in understanding.

“Even though Father raised you from a young age, he was conscious that you weren't our blood. It wouldn't be strange if he kept things from you.”

Amamiya looked down, saddened a bit.

As Kamo listened to them talk, he began to think. Tsukihiko's idea might not have been that far off. It's likely that the culprit had targeted Kyuichi and Tonegawa first since they knew about Taiga's condition...

Could that be why the order of the crimes changed? Had the poison always been intended to go off last night?

Many questions buzzed in Kamo's head. He found answers to none of them.

 

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