Jiang Xia said, "When the victim was hoisted up, the Hemp Rope was dragged by the heavy steel, rubbing fiercely against the eaves and railing. That's why the railing was left with so many scratches, and the supposedly brand-new Hemp Rope showed signs of scorching. If we inspect the surface of the flying eaves, we should find traces of friction there too."
Inspector Megure nodded as he listened, but he still felt that something was off.
Officer Sato frowned in thought for a while, her gaze turning suspicious as it swept over the other suspects. "But if that's the case, does that mean there was more than one murderer? The victim weighed over two hundred jin. Following that method, after he was hoisted to the top of the Tower, the murderer would have had to cut the Hemp Rope on the Dry Well side, then tie the severed rope to the railing to stage it as suicide.
"To do that, they had to make sure the victim wouldn't fall when the rope was cut. Could it be that someone else was helping Manager Kajimura hold the rope at the time? And that person could hold up a two-hundred-jin corpse?"
As she spoke, her gaze passed over the frail Abbot Tankai and the temple manager before stopping on Monk Harumi.
"!" Harumi crossed his arms, instinctively hiding his muscular physique. "I didn't do it! It wasn't me!"
Sato Miwako silently looked at the temple manager again. This man looked frail, but hadn't she heard that Sweeping Monks were all masters in disguise...
The temple manager jolted. "It wasn't me either!"
Sato Miwako's gaze then shifted to Hashimoto Maya.
Hashimoto Maya: "..." What was that supposed to mean? Was it his fault for being tall?
Come to think of it, how could