The director lowered his head and glanced at Nanjo's corpse. "Nanjo had been a respected veteran in the entertainment industry. Quite a few young people admired him, including the supporting actor he egged on. And time really was tight, so in the end, that actor went on himself."
He had not finished the story, but hearing this much, coupled with his regretful expression, made it easy to guess what came next.
Jiang Xia said, "There was an accident during filming, and that actor died?"
The director nodded, looking at him with admiration as though thinking, As expected of a Great Detective. "It might have been a prop malfunction, or an operational error. The off-road vehicle used for filming suddenly exploded and caught fire. I had people put it out as quickly as possible, but the actor couldn't get out. He was burned alive inside the car.
"I had to take responsibility for that, so after apologizing at the press conference, I resigned as a film director. Come to think of it, Nanjo, the bastard who encouraged that actor, was one of the chief culprits who made me shoulder the blame.
"I did resent Nanjo because of that. But if we're talking about that accident three years ago as a motive for murder, isn't someone else far more motivated than I am?"
Okiya Subaru's ears twitched. He saw a glimmer of hope that the police would not take him away.
His vacant eyes focused slightly as he followed the director's pointing finger toward the sofa beside them.
Sitting there was none other than the victim Nanjo Hayato's manager, Yoshino Satomi.
The director sighed. He clearly felt somewhat guilty, but in the spirit of sacrificing a fellow Daoist to save himself, he resolutely dragged another suspect into it.
"Miss Yoshino was the