３．Ｓｕｎｄａｙ　Ｍａｒｃｈ　２４，　２０１９

After the conversation was over, Maruta was surprised by their attitude.
"We are very sorry about the other day." The five bowed their heads a little on their spot.
"What's going on, folks?" Maruta deliberately opened his eyes wide.

〈Captain〉 had almost completely abandoned his antics. "As I mentioned earlier, last time we mistakenly thought that you were here to probe us for an Internet news story or something. So we took the attitude that we didn't even consider you as a guest. The video we took at that time has not been published yet. That video was shot on 〈Shaggy〉's own initiative, and it's unethical."

Maruta thought to himself, even your other videos have some problems. Again, however, he did not put it into words, but continued to listen to 〈Captain〉.
"Number 4 told me about your Thursday's meeting. It is more correct to say that we all interrogated him three days ago when he came home late. It wasn't often that this guy went out alone at night, so we thought it was suspicious. He even had a computer for editing, so we could kind of imagine what he had done. I said, 'You showed someone the video of the incident, didn't you?' Then, he readily admitted that he had been meeting with you."

〈Number 4〉 said, "I'm sorry," in a small voice again when Maruta glanced at him.
"This guy talks too much." 〈Mont Blanc〉 poked 〈Number 4〉 in the back of the head.

"I have also gone too far out on a limb." Maruta began seriously. "It was not a good idea to force you to show us what you all keep secret."
"Now it's no longer a problem." 〈Captain〉 shook his head. "If that video is not going to be shown to the world, then it is not a problem for now. Because that one shows a little bit of Silva's corpse. As I said before, we all concluded that we would rather show that video to anyone who would seriously consider the case. Frankly speaking, we are angry, saddened, bewildered, and a host of other emotions about the incident. As for me, I would like so much to tear the person who killed Silva-san apart with my own hands."

〈Captain〉's tone was more passionate than ever. Maruta was almost frightened to see the sudden change of emotion in the man who usually gives only the impression of a clown.
"Did you figure it out, Maruta-san?" Loosing sight of the source of the voice for a moment, Maruta looked around the room. It was 〈Shaggy〉 who spoke out. He looked up at Maruta's face after setting aside the empty container of noodles he had finished eating. The expression on his face, as if his sleepy eyes were miraculously open only then, did not, as usual, allow him to read his emotions.

"Hmm?" Maruta asked back like an apprentice waiter. 〈Shaggy〉 asked again. "Did you find out who did it?"
"No, sir. I have no idea."
"Even Maruta-san did not understand after all?" This time, 〈Mont Blanc〉 asked.
"I still can't do it after watching the video once."
As Maruta said this, 〈Number 4〉 stood up. "If you want, you can watch it again."

He then turned to 〈Captain〉 and said, "We can let him watch it, can't we?" 〈Captain〉 replied with a short, "Okay," as he folded his arms. Then the same laptop as three days ago was placed on the tabletop.

Maruta did not want to watch the video of the incident again. As long as no solution is found, he will only be shown the 'impossible crime' again.
"Captain," The first thing that came to Maruta's mind was his conversation with Kira in the car yesterday. "You were the first to discover Silva's body, weren't you?"
"Yeah," 〈Captain〉 suddenly looked puzzled.

Saying, Maruta chose the next words to say.
Were you able to remove the window frame?
No.
There were plenty of better topics than this. Formal interrogations should also be avoided if possible.
Yes, that one.

"You saw a stack of cardboard boxes in Silva's room, didn't you?"
"Oh, yes. There were a dozen or so."

As they listened to their conversation, the four members flocked to the PC like carp that had detected food.
As the relevant scene began to play, Maruta heard 〈Kirvy〉's open voice saying, "This reminds us of that time, doesn't it?"

"When the body was found," Maruta said. "Captain, you shut out the other four members and carefully inspected the inside."
"Uh-huh,"
"Something unusual, I should say. Well, Did you ever find something strange in the cardboard boxes?"

Once again, 〈Captain〉's face tightened. "At that moment, I instantly had a premonition that something was about to go wrong. I had only seen such scenes in TV dramas. Still, in my own way, I did not want to clutter up the place badly. So I quickly checked only the suspicious areas without letting the other members inside."
"Did you also check inside the cardboard boxes?"
"The cardboard boxes as well as the window locks checked I. Those just contained blankets, mats, and other household items."
"That's what I've heard as well."
"When I raided Silva's room, the contents remained the same."
"Did you also look at the cardboard boxes at the bottom?"
"Yes. The contents of those at the bottom were the same. Those cardboard boxes were not that big, and there was no room for anything else extra."
"The window was locked from the inside, right?"
"Yes. It was locked and it didn't move at all."
"As I recall, Captain, you also checked the window from the outside just before you went in,"
"You remember it well. Yes, I tried pushing and pulling it from the outside, but I couldn't move it at all."

There is not even a single difference between what Maruta was shown three days ago and what 〈Captain〉 is telling him now. He only confirmed once again that 〈Silva〉 had been killed in the room that no one could enter.
"It's a locked room murder by any measure." Maruta let it slip as if talking to himself. Perhaps in response, Kira spoke up.
"Did anyone have a key to Silva's room?"
Maruta first looked at 〈Captain〉. Each member of 〈Tokyo Spread〉 cast a glance at the faces that caught his eye.
"Captain, was there a key to that door?" 〈Shaggy〉 asked.
"No, I don't know."
The remaining three denied it as well.
"From the outset," 〈Captain〉 said. "You don't usually think about a key on a door like that unless you are pointed out, do you? I'm sure it was in there somewhere."
"I know what you mean." 〈Shaggy〉 was about to open his mouth, but 〈Captain〉 spoke up a moment too soon.
"All the doors in that house were doors that looked like those in a coffee shop restroom. Like, you close it by hand from the inside, but you don't need to open and close the lock from the outside so much. So no one usually thinks about who has the key to a door like that."

"Silva-san didn't have it?" 〈Mont Blanc〉 asked. 〈Captain〉 replies.
"I don't know. At that time, I never thought about the key to the door of the room."
Maruta also listened to their conversation and pondered.
"Maruta-san, where do you think the key was?" 〈Captain〉 asked.
"I don't know either."

As the story progressed, the video showed the burning house that appeared after the scene that had shown the body was removed.
"Here it is." 〈Number 4〉 indicated the screen. "I've said it many times, something was glowing. When me and Mont Blanc were left."
The four members did not look at the screen so intently, perhaps because they had already seen it.
"Was that blue fire only visible then?" Maruta asked, stretching his neck.

When a newcomer tries to enter the conversation poorly, he temporarily disrupts the harmony of the group. 〈Tokyo Spread〉 was stiff for a few moments, lost for an answer. It was an uncomfortable silence for Maruta. Then, 〈Captain〉 said with a clear face, "How did it go?"
"We didn't see it when we came back from shopping." After 〈Shaggy〉 said, 〈Kirvy〉 and 〈Mont Blanc〉 each followed by saying, "Me neither."
"There were lots of other strange things, too." 〈Number 4〉 interrupted. "My ring is gone."
"That reminds me." 〈Captain〉 pulled his back out of the chair. "My watch is gone, too. That million-yen one."
"You lost a lot of money." 〈Kirvy〉 made that clear. Then 〈Mont Blanc〉 asked, "Did it burn down?"
"Maybe, yes. I should have left it here, I screwed up."

The video ended when the members' conversation began to lighten up. Maruta's thoughts were not at all coherent. The individual matters involved in the case, like Milley's story earlier, did not form a straight line. They were like winged insects in a swamp, forever flying about, ignoring Maruta's discomfort.

There is also 'the door that was locked from the start'. Even if he had asked them about it, Maruta did not think they would have given him a clear answer, "It's easy, that door is. ......"

"Shaggy, did you put out the fire properly?" 〈Captain〉 asked.
"When?"
"When you and Kirvy were smoking cigarettes together."
"I made sure the fire was out."
"Then why did that house suddenly burn down?"
"I don't know."
"The fire spread quickly, didn't it?" 〈Number 4〉 interjected between them. "When the three of you returned, it was already almost out."
"Did it rain, there?" 〈Mont Blanc〉 asked 〈Number 4〉.
"No, I don't remember. But the clouds looked suspicious, so maybe it rained a bit. We were in the mountains."
"Didn't it come out of the burnt ruins? Your watch." 〈Kirvy〉 also asked 〈Captain〉.
"Not found. At least the police didn't tell me, 'There was a watch.'"

The more Maruta listened to the chatter of the five, the more his fatigue increased. Although he was not assaulted, he felt like diving head first into the window and fleeing outdoors.