When the grandfather clock’s needle struck 35 minutes past 10:00, the tide began to shift.

In another fifteen minutes, the time limit of one hour would be up. Would Tokizane genuinely intend to execute someone without any proof?

“Enomoto. You mentioned that an intrusion from the outside was inconceivable, but that’s only because the sensors on the windows and panes didn’t react, right?” Motojima asked thoughtfully.

“Right,” Enomoto admitted casually. “Besides, the fact that the power to the computer and FM tuner in the study had been disconnected aroused suspicion.”

“I suppose so.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but is it possible that there was a power outage?”

“What do you mean?”

“Shouldn’t turning off the circuit breaker in the garden disable the security features?”

There were murmurs.

“You are correct. The sensor on the windowpane is battery-operated, but it will not set off the alarm as the main unit will be down.”

“So don’t you think someone could have dropped the breaker and trespassed through the window?”

Enomoto answered after a while. “Once the breaker is switched off and the power goes out, everybody will notice.”

“However, what if they aim for the moment when the lights are turned off in the hall? If the lights are off, wouldn’t people be oblivious that the breaker has been switched off?”

Astonishingly, unanimous approval followed.

“I didn’t realize that. Indeed, if they did that, it might have been possible to infiltrate.”

“It’s possible!”

“The culprit couldn’t have been among us, after all…?”

After waiting for the scene to quiet down, Enomoto delivered the coup de grace.

“That’s just not feasible. Even if the breaker was switched off as soon as the hall lights went out, the footlights on the display stand would be turned back on in a matter of seconds. There isn’t enough time to smash the window open.”

Rather than dismissing Motojima’s theory, he expressed his disappointment that it did not hold water.

“What if there are multiple criminals? One switches off the breaker, while the other breaks the window.”

“Even so, this is impossible. Breaking through the glass window requires at least 20 seconds.”

A murmur of despondency ensued. It seemed that nobody had the disposition to accuse anyone of a crime any further.

“I would like to confirm, how many cups of coffee did Mori make?” Hikijii asked.

“Mori always brews three cups of coffee. She did the same for tonight,” Ayaka replied.

“So, how many cups did she drink?”

“Three cups, I believe. There was no coffee left in the pot,” Tokizane responded, narrowing his eyes as if he was recollecting the scene.

“I see. If she drank all three cups, there is no possibility that the pot was laced with aconitine from the beginning. That would mean that the culprit added aconitine to the creamer and recommended it to Mori, as we have just discussed. Nevertheless, looking back at the heated debate, I don’t think any of us could have pulled it off.”

“I agree.”

Enomoto swiftly concurred with Hikijii.

“Although it cannot be claimed that no one had access to the study, if we limit it to those who were able to access the aconitine stored by Mori, then we can narrow it down to three people: Tokizane, Sasaki, and Yamanaka. However, Tokizane had an alibi, and Sasaki was in the hall the whole time. Yamanaka’s motive renders her unlikely.”

“Then is it suicide? But wasn’t it you who denied it, saying it contradicted Reiko’s aesthetic sense?” Tokizane expressed his exasperation.

“I still maintain my view that it is highly improbable that it could have been suicide.”

Enomoto was unmoved.

“I want you to tell me your conclusion. What does this mean?”

Kumakura questioned with an uncharacteristically impassioned attitude.

“Could it have been an unfortunate accident?”

There was a brief moment of silence. After that, everybody cast their gaze at Enomoto, and a flood of questions erupted.

“Is that true?”

“Tell us in detail.” 

“Well, if there’s such a possibility, then please tell us by all means!”

“I understand. To begin with, the question arises as to why Mori, who typically drinks her black coffee, would only add creamer to her last cup.”

When Enomoto said this, murmurs of approval escaped everyone’s mouths.

“I see.”

“If you put it that way, I agree.” 

“Indeed, it’s strange.”

“Wait a minute.”

Junko interrupted. Even if someone may say that she can’t read the atmosphere, she must say what ought to be spoken.

“That’s because the culprit recommended it, right? Perhaps her stomach was aching.”

Enomoto answered without even looking at Junko.

“That possibility remains, but is that really the truth? Mori, who seeks authenticity in everything, and creamer, which is nothing but fake cream, don’t seem to fit well together.”

“That’s right. Mori would never put creamer in her coffee, even if it was recommended to her.”

“I concur with you.”

“Mori hated additives that were bad for the body.”

In no time at all, the Enomoto Supporting Club was born.

“But isn’t it conceivable that the culprit stealthily added creamer under the guise of whipped cream…”

This time, Junko’s question was thoroughly disregarded.

“In the first place, why did creamer exist in this mountain villa? That’s a very mysterious thing.”

“Ah. That time…!”

Tokizane exclaimed.

“Do you remember anything?” 

Enomoto urged.

“Well, when I arrived in Tokyo during the summer, I went to a coffee shop for a meeting with an editor and Reiko ordered an iced coffee. Gum syrup and creamer were served, but of course, she didn’t add anything to her iced coffee… But when she laid her eyes on the creamer, she had a smile on her face, as if she was a child who was up to some mischievous act.”

“I see. I knew it.”

“Maybe she brought back the creamer…?”

“I think there is a high possibility of that.”

The two of them conversed alone, and the chat lasted for quite some time.

“What is this all about? Please tell us,” Motojima, sensing a turnaround in the situation, asked vigorously.

“I assume that Mori was writing a novel about poisoning people by dissolving aconitine with creamer.”

After Enomoto answered, Tokizane gave a nod. They were like a pair of swindlers.

“I see… Is that why she experimented with it?” exclaimed Hikijii.

“I get it. So she actually tested to determine if aconitine would dissolve well in creamer, and what would happen if she added it to coffee.”

As soon as Motojima stated this, an avalanche of supporters swarmed in.

“That’s just like Mori’s style.”

“Why didn’t I realize this possibility?”

“If that’s the truth… then has Reiko become a victim to the mystery? Oh my God.”

What is this? Junko was struck with disbelief. If the tide had shifted from confrontation to cooperation, now that everyone was so keen on impunity, the discussion would be led like a ten-yen coin to the accident theory.

“Wait a minute! I can understand why she did the experiment, but why would she drink it? Isn’t that impossible?”

Junko’s protest was met with cold shoulders from everyone.

“That brings up the question of why the computer was terminated.”

Enomoto made an unexpected remark.

“What does that have in common with this?”

“Think it carefully. What possible reason could there be for shutting down the computer in the middle of work?”

“Eh? That is…”

As Junko was at a loss for an answer, Kawai blurted out.

“…The computer froze?”

“That’s it!”

“There is no doubt!”

“Kawai. Nice going!”

“The keyboard and mouse froze and wouldn’t function. Therefore, she had to press and hold the power button to force-quit the computer!”

“Hold on a minute. If so, then what does that mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? My aunt was upset that her computer froze, so she turned it off and tried to compose herself. Then, by accident, she accidentally took a sip of the poisoned coffee.”

Kawai gave Junko a look that said, “What are you talking about?”

“Accidentally…?”

“Real events often unfold for the most trivial of reasons. Like in the case of ‘The Monster Incident at Matsukazesou,’ which is considered one of my best-known works.”

As usual, Hikijii brought up his own work, unknown to everyone, but this time there was no booing from anyone.

“There’s no way of knowing what exactly happened at this juncture. But if Reiko was experimenting with dissolving a toxic substance in coffee, the possibility that it was an accident cannot be dismissed.”

Tokizane concluded.

No way. This must be a sham.

Junko was stupefied.

It was a “werewolf game” before, but now it was like “Kisaragi”[i].

With this, Mori Reiko would never be able to rest in peace.

Junko fixed her gaze on the grandfather clock. In less than three minutes, the time would be 10:50. Finding and executing the murderer was no longer the order of the day, but what was Tokizane planning to do?

The flapping clock next to the clock moved and showed 10:47. All of them glanced at the clock and peered at Tokizane in anticipation of a favorable turn of events.

Tokizane appeared to be restless. Looking at the clock and racking his brain, he paced back and forth between the dining room and the hall, carrying his gun like a matagi[ii] in pursuit of a brown bear’s trail, and stoked the fireplace with new wood.

“Tokizane, I think a conclusion has been reached.”

Motojima spoke in a quiet tone.

“Mori’s death was an unfortunate accident. It has not been completely proven, but it seems most likely at this stage… What do you think? Let’s leave the rest to the police investigation, shall we?”

Tokizane returned from the hall to the dining room. He was standing by the border and looking at them. From earlier, every time Tokizane was moving around and the muzzle of the gun was pointing at them, they felt uneasy for fear that it would fire, but now that Tokizane was holding the gun high like a terrorist, the muzzle was lowered and obscured by the wall, which relieved them slightly.

“…But I still can’t convince myself. Is that really the truth?”

Tokizane asked with an exasperated look on his face.

“In two minutes, it will be exactly one hour. Indeed, identifying and executing the culprit within the next two minutes may not be realistic.”

A relaxed atmosphere settled over the room.

“However, I am still hesitant to conclude that Reiko was not murdered. If I fail to catch the murderer, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

Tokizane seemed reluctant to accept the fact that Mori Reiko’s death was an accident. Certainly, it would have been too rash to assume that her death was an accident.

“Nonetheless, isn’t the argument already boiling over? Even if we assume who the culprit was, no satisfactory conclusion could be drawn. The accident theory, on the other hand, seemed to be extremely plausible.”

A murmur of agreement broke out. The fact that it seemed convincing was mainly an act of wishful thinking.

“…I understand. Let’s try booting up Reiko’s PC.”

Tokizane had finally made up his mind.

“If the accident theory is correct, there should be clues left in the unfinished manuscript. But if we’re wrong – if Reiko wasn’t considering aconitine poisoning – we’ll have to start all over again. We’ll continue the interrogation until we find the culprit.”

T/N:

[i] Kisaragi is a 2007 Mystery, Comedy Japanese film

[ii] A traditional winter hunte