Blades of Despair

-Chapter Sixty-Four-

The Invisible Culprit

"You can prove my guilt, Miyagawa?" Morihei sounded doubtful. "Are you certain?"

"I am," I replied. That's a lie. There are still large gaps in my theory, but I'm hoping we can solve them as the debate continues. Next to Ori, Mina was sobbing.

"I don't want Morihei to be the traitor," she wailed. "Miyagawa, why are you doing this? Why do you keep doubting her?"

"Mina, I-" I tried to speak to her, but she covered her ears with her hands.

"No, stop talking! I don't want to know that Morihei is the traitor," she wailed loudly. "If I had just kept my mouth shut, nobody would suspect Morihei anymore! Why? I already lost Uehara, then Saza, then Iowa, and now you're saying Morihei is a murderer! I don't want to lose anyone else!" Mina's crying caused a guilt-ridden swelling in my stomach. Mina... I'm so sorry.

"Mina, that's enough," Morihei told her sternly. "Crying isn't going to do you any favours in this trial." Mina wiped her eyes.

"What?"

"Stop crying for my sake," Morihei said. "We've all had to endure these trials together, and that has not changed, even now. I am sure that Morino and Miyagawa take no pleasure in their accusations."

"Not at all," I affirmed.

"Absolutely not," Morino added.

"You see? They're not doing this to hurt your feelings, Mina. They're doing this because this is what they have to. They want to survive, they want to save you, Ori, Nishi and even me. They cannot do that if you get in the way of their deductions."

"Morihei, you cannot seriously be saying that you want us to suspect you?" Nishi was astounded by Morihei's calmness. Morihei shrugged.

"Whatever you believe is up to you, Nishi, but belief alone cannot solve a murder trial," she answered. "We need facts and evidence. That's how we won before, though I am unsure how Miyagawa can now suddenly claim that he is able to deduce the whole truth behind this case based on an inconsistency in the location of my hairpin." It's not just a hairpin though, is it, Morihei? No, I cannot let her know that I know what her hairpin is. For now, I need to focus on the remaining pieces of evidence that I have. Those should help the discussion.

"O-okay, Morihei," Mina snivelled. "I'll try not to cry, but please! Prove you're not the traitor! I believe in you, Morihei!" Morihei smiled at her, but it was a sad smile. She knows the end is coming. Morihei, for you to fight this hard... What was the reason?

"Gawa, could you explain how Morihei is the traitor? I still have my doubts," Ori requested solemnly.

"All in due time, Ori," I said, accepting her request. "Before I do that, though, I wish to address some pieces of evidence that have until now remained neglected."

"Evidence that Morihei is the traitor?" Nishi asked, dumbfounded.

"Not really, but it may help you understand how Morihei is the culprit of this case," I pressed my Seiko-pad's screen and showed the others two photographs. The first depicted the rolled-up magazine that I had found near Iowa's body in the laboratory, while the second was an image of the damage to the laboratory door that I had found with Ori.

"A magazine and some wood chippings - that's your evidence?" Nishi was unconvinced.

"The magazine itself is not the evidence I wish to highlight," I quickly asserted, "but rather the shape it is. As you can all see, it has been rolled up rather tightly. Furthermore, if you look closely, there are some brown smudges near the bottom of the pages."