July 1, 2000:
The detective looked sternly around the conference room at the
suspects. "Most of you, pending further investigation, have no
reason to be worried. For instance, you, Miss..." The detective
paused to check the list on his clipboard. The woman addressed
was about forty, in good shape for her age, and well dressed.
"...Yamazaki Linna, clearly you could not be the murderer unless
you could walk through that inferno unscathed. And, if you had
some sort of shielding which would allow this, how could you have
gotten rid of it?" The detective smiled broadly, inviting
laughter. Linna, sweating just a bit, idlely brushed one leg
against the slim briefcase under the conference room table, then
gave an obliging laugh.
"And you, Ozora Mirai, would have needed more. We can't pin the
murder on you without BOTH some kind of incredible armor AND the
ability to get from one point to another very quickly. You'd
almost need to be able to fly." Mirai laughed obligingly, a
slight sheen on her forehead reflecting the room's bright
lights.
Turning to the other side of the table, the detective continued.
"Aino Minako... you apparently had a clear, but very long-distance,
shot at the dead man. But, since there's no weapon, you can't be
guilty either.
On the other side of a one-way mirror, Captain Goto started to
become concerned. None of the suspects were reacting as expected.
Inside the conference room, the detective continued.
"Hakubi Ryouko... you appear to be completely out of the
question. You were in a locked room, with only one door, from
which other witnesses saw you emerge shortly after the murder
occurred.
"The same consideration rules you out, Kasuga Kurumi...
"which leaves us with only one suspect: you, Tendo Kasumi. You
have no alibi at all. Although our investigation is not yet
complete, I think we know the answer to the question:
Who Killed Katsuhito Jinnai?"
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