Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 826 - 499: The Famous Writer Mori Na Appears! (Part 2)

Chapter 826: Chapter 499: The Famous Writer Mori Na Appears! (Part 2)

Kensaka Takataro nodded, acknowledging this statement, while also confident that his logical deduction chain was flawless.

"Alright, let’s start with the first point: what is your basis for denying the existence of a fourth person in the auditorium shooting incident?" Fushimi Roku asked.

Kensaka Takataro froze, his brain seeming to jam for a moment.

The angle of the question was so tricky that he hadn’t even considered it. What does ’basis for denying the existence of a fourth person’ mean? Shouldn’t a normal deduction process be about ’excluding the possibility of a fourth person existing’?

"Because there were no footprints of a fourth person at the scene..." Kensaka Takataro answered instinctively.

"Then may I ask if the murder weapon had the fingerprints of the three people present at the scene?" Fushimi Roku pursued further.

"No, but the fingerprints on the gun grip can be wiped off, and the fingerprints of the fourth person were forged..."

Before Kensaka Takataro could finish speaking, Fushimi Roku interrupted immediately: "This is what I call the first logical fallacy: if the perpetrator can wipe fingerprints away, why couldn’t the perpetrator wipe away footprints? If the perpetrator can forge fingerprints, why couldn’t the perpetrator forge footprints?"

Kensaka Takataro was truly baffled.

There was a buzz of discussion among the auditorium audience, but no one opened their mouth to counter.

"Do you have evidence that the fourth person’s fingerprints were forged?" Fushimi Roku brought the microphone to Kensaka Takataro’s mouth.

"No, no..."

"Then this is what I call the second logical fallacy. In court, when a witness provides evidence, it is not required to prove the evidence is authentic; rather, the defense needs to present evidence proving it is fabricated. This is the principle of ’the burden of proof rests with the claimant’."

Fushimi Roku looked around at everyone, asking: "Do you all know why this is the case?"

No one raised a hand to respond, but Fushimi Roku was not embarrassed, and answered his own question: "No one knows? It seems everyone is not very familiar with the law. This rule is a joint result of the principle of allocation of the burden of proof, the adversarial litigation structure, and the evidence examination mechanism. Its core lies in achieving thorough verification of evidence authenticity through equal confrontation between prosecution and defense, while safeguarding defendants’ rights and judicial fairness."

"You say the fourth person’s fingerprints are fake, which indeed is a reasonable assumption, but where is the evidence?"

"Without evidence to disprove it, how do you support your subsequent reasoning?"

"Everyone, please ask yourself, between reasonable assumptions and verified evidence, which is more weighty? Should we believe ’assumptions’ or believe ’evidence’?"

Fushimi Roku glanced back, saw Minamoto Tamako and the audience below displayed the same thoughtful expressions.

For Fushimi Roku, without evidence, so-called reasoning was just debate. Everyone, both on and off the stage, was free to believe what they chose, and he could argue to turn black into white, dead into alive.

Kensaka Takataro might be an excellent detective, but he was clearly not an outstanding debater.

Fushimi Roku gave the audience a moment to contemplate, waiting until everyone had a vague answer in their hearts before continuing his inquiry:

"Regarding the alibi for the second case, you doubt witness Kazama Tatsuya neither saw me that night nor heard my voice — likewise, it’s a logical fallacy — do you have evidence proving I wasn’t in the room at the time?"

"Presumably, you don’t, right? Because I was indeed in the room asleep, heard Mr. Kazama’s knock, thus could accurately state Mr. Kazama’s knocking time the following day."

"Regardless of whether the above statement has loopholes, at least Mr. Kazama, who was present at the time, and Miss Tamako, who lived across from me, acknowledged this. They are my witnesses — may I ask, between ’witness testimony’ and ’baseless speculation,’ which carries more weight?"

...

Kensaka Takataro’s forehead beaded with sweat.

He couldn’t reply with a single word, merely bowed his head and smoked.

After he finished two cigarettes, Fushimi Roku also finished speaking:

"In conclusion, a logically coherent deduction should be based on reality, on witness testimony and physical evidence, rather than baseless speculation and fabrication."

The auditorium was filled with sighs; they had to admit Fushimi Roku made a fair point. The most hopeful speculation was denied, suggesting these four murder cases would ultimately become a headless mystery.

Such a pity.

Yet imperfection is also a form of beauty; a headless mystery provokes more discussion, and many detective novels employ famous historical headless mysteries as material.

Minamoto Tamako was convinced, showing a regretful expression.

She stepped forward, quietly consoling Kensaka Takataro, discreetly revealing that she once had a similar assumption — but people must remain rational; everything must be evidence-based, and one should not judge others with tinted glasses.

At this moment, Fushimi Roku’s phone rang.

He merely glanced at it, found it was a strange number, and hung up casually. His phone buzzed twice more, receiving a text message.

Fushimi Roku glanced at it again, quickly deleted it, and nonchalantly said: "Everyone, I’m going to the bathroom; if there are any deductions or evidence, feel free to present them on stage."

So saying, he placed the microphone back on the stand and slowly turned to leave.

Staff had set up the stand, placed flowers on both sides of the auditorium, and laid a red carpet down the center aisle. Flower children holding baskets waited outside the door, the auditorium clock edging towards twelve.

Today was about to end, and a new day was about to begin.

Once Fushimi Roku finished using the restroom, he hurriedly returned to the scene.

He wore a single-breasted tweed coat, a round-top hat, a round-frame metal spectacles hung on his chest, and a wooden cane in his hand.

Minamoto Tamako, on the other hand, donned a deerstalker cap and cape, carrying a smoking pipe. Many fans of Sherlock Holmes’ detective series immediately recognized this as the attire of Sherlock and Watson.

This was their suit and wedding dress.

Kensaka Takataro sat in the audience, his expression complicated. He himself had been swayed by Fushimi Roku earlier.

But now, amidst the guests, after smoking three or four cigarettes, he realized something wasn’t right.

No matter how glibly Fushimi Roku spoke, it didn’t change the fact that he was the only suspect.

"Who said there’s no evidence? I have evidence in my hands!" someone suddenly shouted among the guests: "Don’t think about avoiding the prize money!"

Kensaka Takataro was startled. He looked back, and the speaker turned out to be Tsuboi Michiaki.

He was waving a document, shouting loudly: "I hold the key evidence that proves Mr. Fushimi is the culprit!"

"What?!"

This statement astounded everyone.

Without waiting for questions, Tsuboi Michiaki eagerly displayed the document in his hands: "This is a professional handwriting analysis! The result proves the two words ’Heavenly Punishment’ carved on the stone next to the nameless female corpse in the mountains are Mr. Fushimi’s handwriting!"

Minamoto Tamako was also stunned. Her first thought wasn’t ’What? Mr. Deer betrayed me,’ but rather ’What? I didn’t recognize Mr. Deer’s handwriting’?

Is it true?

She had clearly compared those two words countless times, not only with Mr. Fushimi’s handwriting but also with others’... including Senior Kazama, Senior Watanabe, Chief Kikuchi...she had secretly compared with almost everyone she knew to exclude those around her from suspicion.

Tsuboi Michiaki unfolded the handwriting analysis report, like a boxing match’s ring girl, holding it up high for all to see.

The guests stretched their necks to scrutinize the analysis report’s content. Indeed, it clearly stated the analysis results, along with comparative photos of the inscription and invitation handwriting.

Fushimi Roku pressed his shoulder, snatched the analysis report from his hand, and after just one glance, sneered:

"Why is the ink still wet?"

Fushimi Roku extended his finger and smudged the report’s handwriting, dragging out an ink smear: "You just wrote this, didn’t you? Planning to fill in the suspect’s name based on whose deduction seemed most reasonable, using it as evidence to compete for the prize money, right?"

This was an old trick he’d played ages ago.

Tsuboi Michiaki persistently argued: "I just kept it covered, so it didn’t dry thoroughly..."

"Shall I call this ’professional’ analysis institution?" Fushimi Roku emphasized the key words, with a hint of mockery.

Just then, there was a loud bang, and the auditorium doors were pushed open once more.

Mori Na, clad in a checked knit sweater and high-waisted jeans, like a morning drama heroine arriving at the last moment, loudly declared:

"I’ve deduced the truth!"