117: Chapter 117: The Bizarre Suicide Case

"The deceased is named Shinmoku Mako, twenty-eight years old. She shared this villa with a female photographer named Hiroya Yayoi."

Takagi explained as he pushed open the villa's main door.

Before them lay an exquisitely decorated living room, styled in a simple black and white theme.

It wasn't quite on par with the Suzuki residence, but not far off.

In Fujino's eyes, these lavish villas belonging to the wealthy all looked rather similar anyway.

Surveying the luxurious living room, Fujino turned to Takagi and asked, "By the way, there's been a murder here before, hasn't there?"

"How did you know, Detective Fujino?"

Takagi looked surprised. "Yes, there was a murder here a year ago. The victim died right here in the living room."

"Just a guess,"

Fujino replied with a slight smile.

A villa like this, even rented, would command a hefty price.

Logically, if two people were sharing the rent, their financial situation likely wouldn't be great, making such a villa unaffordable.

But if a murder had occurred here previously, that would change things.

"Ms. Hiroya, who shared the villa with the deceased Ms. Shinmoku, left two days ago for a photographers' retreat and only returned this morning."

Takagi led Fujino up the stairs to the second floor. "But when she returned this morning, she found Ms. Shinmoku's bedroom door locked. After knocking and calling out with no response, she felt something was wrong and called the police."

"Ms. Hiroya called the police immediately after finding the door locked and getting no answer?"

Fujino interrupted.

"That's right."

Takagi thought for a moment, then continued, "After receiving the call, around 9:15 AM, local patrol officers arrived at the villa. They forced open the bedroom door and discovered Ms. Shinmoku's body lying on the floor just inside."

Hearing this, Fujino stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Normally, finding a locked door would suggest the occupant had simply gone out.

How could Hiroya Yayoi have been so certain something was wrong with Shinmoku Mako...?

Pure intuition?

Subsequently, the two arrived before the bedroom door, the scene of the incident.

Wearing white gloves, Takagi pushed the door open.

What greeted them was a bedroom that didn't particularly feel like a young woman's.

The only feminine aspect, in Fujino's view, was its neatness and lack of odor.

Shinmoku Mako's bedroom wasn't excessively large or small, perhaps around thirty to forty square meters.

Directly opposite the entrance stood two brown leather single sofas, with a small wooden table serving as a coffee table between them. Atop the glass surface of the coffee table sat a solitary glass ashtray.

Inside the ashtray lay scattered cigarette butts from two different brands.

Turning towards the other side ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the room,

one saw a window. At the far end of the room, to the left of the window, was a grey wooden double bed. To the left of the bed, near the entrance, stood a large wooden wardrobe nearly two meters tall.

Directly opposite the bed, at the end of the room to the left of the window, was a wooden writing desk.

And the victim of this case lay beside the chair in front of that writing desk.

Within the compact bedroom, besides the somewhat cramped arrangement of furniture, were numerous forensic officers in blue uniforms, busily examining the scene.

Amidst the sea of blue, one figure in a cream-white suit stood out.

"Officer Sato!"

"Fujino-kun, you're here."

Hearing the familiar voice, Sato Miwako turned and saw Fujino, dressed in his suit vest.

"So, the victim died from a gunshot wound?"

Fujino walked over, glanced at the body on the floor, and then asked Sato Miwako about the victim's condition.

"That's correct. According to the preliminary assessment by forensics, the cause of death was indeed a gunshot wound,"

Sato Miwako replied. "However, whether the bullet came specifically from that handgun still requires lab analysis back at the station to confirm."

"Is that so?"

Fujino continued, "I recall Inspector Megure mentioning on the phone earlier that this case felt strange. What exactly is strange about it?"

"The body's position seems consistent – slumped from the chair in front of the writing desk. The door and windows were locked from the inside. Normally, this case could be closed as a suicide..."

"But what's strange is that the gunshot wound on Ms. Shinmoku's head is on the left side, yet the gun was found in her right hand. Also, we couldn't find a key inside the room that could have locked the door from the inside."

"A key?"

"Usually, yes. But this villa is quite old. The doors don't have internal locking mechanisms; they can only be locked from the inside using a key..."

"Therefore, I suspect this might be a robbery-homicide involving a firearm. The perpetrator, upon being discovered by Ms. Shinmoku, panicked and shot her, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staged the scene to look like a locked-room suicide before fleeing."

Pausing, Sato Miwako glanced towards Takagi Wataru. "But Takagi here feels something is off, which is why Inspector Megure asked you to come take a look, Fujino-kun."

Hearing this, Takagi awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "I just felt that if it were a robbery-murder, the culprit wouldn't have left behind Ms. Shinmoku's watch, which is clearly valuable."

"That's why I said the scene was staged in panic,"

Sato Miwako sighed. "Not only did they get the gunshot wound location wrong, but they even accidentally took the room key with them."

"But if she was shot, surely someone nearby must have heard something?"

Fujino, who had been listening intently, suddenly asked.

"Ms. Shinmoku's time of death is preliminarily estimated to be around 11 PM last night,"

Takagi Wataru answered. "I remember there was a fireworks display nearby around that time last night. The gunshot was likely masked by the sound of the fireworks..."

"A homicide staged as a suicide?"

Hearing this, Fujino murmured, slowly walking towards the window.

Was it really just a robbery, as Sato Miwako suggested?

But something still felt off.

Since the system issued the task as a 'Bizarre Suicide Case' and not a 'Robbery-Homicide Case', there must be more to it.

Pondering, Fujino put on white gloves and approached the window.

After confirming the window was locked from the inside, he turned his attention to the writing desk where Shinmoku Mako had been sitting before slumping over.

In the center of the desk lay an open leather-bound notebook...

Close inspection revealed signs that a page had been torn out from near the binding.

Furthermore, in the pen holder to the left of the notebook sat a rather high-end fountain pen.

Drawing back his gaze, Fujino slowly approached the body. Crouching down, he began examining Shinmoku Mako.

She wore a black short-sleeved shirt and white casual pants. Her age matched Takagi's description, appearing to be between twenty and thirty. While not stunningly beautiful, she possessed a mature kind of attractiveness.

However, the bloody flower blooming on her left temple shattered that aesthetic...