The Killer's Scheme

## Chapter 24: The Killer's Trick

Meanwhile, Kudo Shinichi hurried into the department store next door.

Ishikawa and Mouri Ran followed closely behind him. Led by Kudo, they quickly reached the rooftop on the sixth floor.

There was nothing on the rooftop, just some construction debris casually piled up.

Kudo Shinichi walked over to the pile of debris, knelt down, picked up a random brick, and examined it carefully.

Seeing this, Ishikawa's breathing quickened slightly.

But Kudo Shinichi quickly stood up:

"Let's go, we'll check the surveillance footage downstairs."

He had been to this mall with Ran before and knew there were surveillance cameras installed.

Just then, hearing that Kudo Shinichi was going to check the surveillance, Ishikawa's expression relaxed instead:

"Right, this mall has surveillance."

"That way we'll see if Uchida 'came alone' to jump."

He heavily emphasized the words "came alone," almost as if protesting too much.

"Yes, we'll know once we see the surveillance."

Kudo Shinichi responded noncommittally, then led the way down from the rooftop.

Soon, they were back on the first floor of the mall, in the surveillance room.

Surveillance footage usually wasn't shown to just anyone.

However, Kudo Shinichi's reputation as a high school detective was even more effective than the police.

After he revealed his title of "Heisei Holmes," the mall's security personnel immediately showed the fervent admiration of a fan, respectfully inviting Kudo Shinichi into the surveillance room they were in charge of.

Just like that, Kudo Shinichi easily gained access to the surveillance footage from all entrances and exits of the mall.

After fast-forwarding through the footage, about five minutes into the recording—

"Look, Uchida came in alone!"

Pointing at the figure appearing on the surveillance footage, Ishikawa said impatiently:

"And Aoki and I didn't even enter this mall today."

"If you don't believe me, keep watching. This surveillance definitely didn't capture us two."

"..."

Kudo Shinichi said nothing.

He just stared intently at "Uchida" on the surveillance screen:

Due to the camera angle and the baseball cap obscuring his face, "Uchida's" face was completely invisible.

But Kudo Shinichi's face showed no emotion.

He simply turned around and said calmly to Ran:

"Let's just go back."

"There's nothing left to investigate here."

"Oh?"

Before Mouri Ran could speak, Ishikawa eagerly asked:

"You're not investigating anymore?"

"Uchida's suicide, it truly wasn't problematic, was it?"

"..."

Kudo Shinichi gave Ishikawa a deep look:

"Indeed, there's no problem. We can go straight back to the scene."

"When the police arrive, I'll explain the situation to them as a witness."

"Oh, I see..."

Hearing this, Ishikawa immediately let out a long sigh of relief.

"Then, then shall we just go back?"

He seemed to wish Kudo would leave, hurriedly turning to head back.

As Ishikawa led the way, Mouri Ran, somewhat concerned, leaned closer to Kudo Shinichi and quietly asked:

"Shinichi, are you telling the truth?"

"It was just a suicide?"

"No, that was just a lie to keep him calm."

Kudo Shinichi walked on as if nothing had happened, lowering his voice to speak to Mouri Ran:

"I haven't found decisive evidence yet, so I can't prove their guilt."

"But I can pretty much confirm this was a murder."

"Murder, you say?" Mouri Ran asked, a little confused.

"But when Uchida appeared on the rooftop, Ishikawa and Aoki were clearly with us."

"And Uchida was also caught on surveillance."

"That's simple," Kudo Shinichi said calmly.

"Ran, think carefully. When 'Uchida' stood at the edge of the rooftop, could any of us clearly see his face?"

"The mall's surveillance only captured his figure; his face was obscured by a baseball cap."

"If you couldn't see his face the whole time, how can you be sure that guy was Uchida?"

"Huh?" Mouri Ran looked slightly startled, then asked in surprise, "Are you saying the Uchida we saw was actually the killer in disguise?"

"And Ishikawa and Aoki had an accomplice?"

"Exactly." Kudo Shinichi nodded.

"The real Uchida should have already been dead by then."

"And that third killer disguised himself as Uchida, entered the mall, went up to the 6th-floor rooftop, and deliberately appeared before everyone."

"At the same time, once he was in position, Ishikawa and Aoki deliberately shouted across the street to attract attention."

"Once the passersby knew that someone named Uchida was about to jump, the third person on the rooftop then let Uchida's body fall from a height to the ground, faking a suicide scene."

"This way, the police would treat this case as a simple suicide."

"Suicide cases are never taken seriously."

"The investigation would likely be hastily concluded."

"So that's how it is." Mouri Ran generally understood the truth.

But she quickly found a huge loophole:

"But, something still doesn't add up, right?"

"The surveillance only showed 'Uchida' entering alone."

"If this Uchida was impersonated by the killer, and the real Uchida was thrown down by the killer after he died—"

"Then how did the killer get Uchida's body to the rooftop?"

"The streets are crowded, and there's mall surveillance. If someone was moving a body around, wouldn't they be noticed no matter what?"

Mouri Ran began to think carefully:

"Was Uchida's body already in this department store?"

"Was he killed right here in the mall?"

"That still doesn't seem right."

"The surveillance only captured 'Uchida' once, and it didn't show Ishikawa and Aoki entering the mall."

"And there are so many people in this department store; killing someone here without being discovered would be very difficult."

"Haha." Kudo Shinichi smiled slightly and replied, "That's the little trick Ishikawa and the others played."

"Because there's surveillance at the mall entrance, they used it to create evidence for themselves:"

"The surveillance can prove that 'Uchida' only entered once today, and Ishikawa and Aoki didn't enter the mall at all."

"If I'm not mistaken, the surveillance probably didn't capture the third person entering the mall either—because the third person disguised himself as Uchida to enter; he was already recorded as 'Uchida'."

"Given that," he lowered his voice, meticulously explaining the killer's reasoning, "They all have an alibi that they 'didn't enter the mall' by using the surveillance footage."

"Therefore, it's impossible for the police to suspect them of killing Uchida inside the mall."

"As for killing Uchida outside the mall and then bringing the body into the department store in broad daylight, that's even more impossible."

"And once these two possibilities are ruled out—"

"Most people would just assume Uchida walked into the department store, went up to the roof, and jumped to his death."

"But the problem is,"

Kudo paused slightly, then continued his explanation:

"Who said Uchida's body definitely fell from the roof of the department store?"

"Think back carefully. After 'Uchida' appeared at the edge of the rooftop, why didn't he just jump from there?"

"There was no one on the sidewalk below him at the time, so jumping wouldn't have harmed anyone else."

"If he wanted to jump, he could have just jumped from the side facing the road."

"Why go to all that extra trouble, run to the side of the rooftop, and jump into that small alley?"

"Oh, you're right."

Mouri Ran nodded thoughtfully.

"I found that strange from the beginning."

"If you consider it a suicide, then Uchida's actions don't quite make sense."

Kudo Shinichi said methodically:

"But if you consider 'Uchida' to be the killer in disguise, then his strange actions are completely understandable."

"He walked to the side facing the road to put on a show for any witnesses."

"And then, he had Uchida's body fall into the alley from the side."

"That's because the killer had no other choice; he could only make the victim 'fall' into that alley."

"Because,"

"The truth is,"

"Uchida's body never entered this department store from start to finish, nor was it transported to the rooftop."

"The body was hidden in that alley the entire time; it never left."

"Huh?"

Mouri Ran was utterly confused:

"The body was in that alley the whole time?"

"But we clearly heard the sound of a heavy object falling."

"And you just said that Uchida's body fell from a height."

"It's very simple."

Kudo Shinichi explained his reasoning in detail:

"The killer used that fire escape ladder."

"If I'm not mistaken, this deserted alley was the primary crime scene, and also where they bullied Uchida."

"Because outside the alley is a busy road with people coming and going, after realizing they accidentally killed Uchida, those three bullies had no way to carry the body out of the alley."

"So, they thought of using the only thing available in the alley—"

"That fire escape ladder."

"The top of the fire escape ladder is a full four stories high, and the railing is extremely unstable."

"Therefore, the killers directly moved the body to the top of the ladder and leaned it against that rusty railing."

"Then, they walked out of the alley."

"Ishikawa and Aoki were responsible for waiting across the road, while the third killer disguised himself as Uchida and entered the department store."

"This third person went up to the rooftop and first put on a show of 'Uchida committing suicide by jumping'."

"Then, that fake Uchida retreated from the edge of the rooftop and walked to the side of the rooftop facing the alley."

"Finally, he improvised, picking up a few bricks from the construction debris piled on the rooftop and throwing them towards the fire escape ladder directly below him."

"So that's it!"

Hearing this, Mouri Ran finally understood the ultimate answer:

"The bricks fell from the 6th-floor rooftop, hitting the body leaning against the railing of the fire escape on the 4th floor."

"Because the railing the body was leaning against was already unstable, after being hit by several heavy bricks,"

"The railing broke, and the body fell from the 4th-floor fire escape ladder."

"This way, Uchida was made to look like he committed suicide by jumping."

"And Ishikawa and Aoki could use surveillance video to prove they never entered the department store, clearing themselves of suspicion and making investigators believe Uchida died by suicide."

"Exactly."

Kudo Shinichi nodded:

"And, at that time, Ishikawa and Aoki deliberately talked about their bullying in front of the vending machine."

"Actually, they wanted to turn us into their alibi witnesses."

"On one hand, it proves they weren't at the scene when the crime happened. On the other hand, through us, they could indirectly prove they had bullied the victim before—"

"That way, even if their traces were found on the victim, they could use the excuse of physical contact due to bullying to prevent the evidence from pointing to murder."

"It's just a shame,"

A smile played on the great detective's lips as he spoke:

"To choose us as their witnesses..."

"The killer's luck must be truly something."

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