Chapter 1001: He Saw Through Everything

"You wouldn't be trying to say that someone stepped on those footprints to get to the shrine, would you?" Akechi Eri smiled slightly.

"Of course not. In that case, unless the foot shape is exactly the same, it would be impossible to maintain normal traces. However, just change the method. It's like covering footprints with a towel. What if the murderer used a large wooden board?"

Akaso Kaze said: "If the murderer used two wooden boards and moved by exchanging the boards on the footprints left by Miss Ema, they could keep the footprints as complete as possible. The cost is that the entire snowfield would sink, and the footprints would become shallower. Although it snowed several times yesterday, if you investigate carefully, you can still find the traces of being pressed."

Akechi Eri's expression became unnatural.

She asked, "But how did the murderer walk to the back door? Only Ema went over there yesterday."

"There was no need to pass through the hall at all; just take a detour using the same method,"

Akaso Kaze continued, "According to my investigation, the snow on the left side of the back door is shallower than on the right because it was also pressed by a wooden board last night. Only in this way can one avoid being discovered and leaving no footprints."

"Then the murderer..."

"Yes, the murderer came directly from the guest room side, used the wooden board to walk along the eaves to the back door first. This way, the traces wouldn't be too obvious. Even if someone walked there, it would be hard to think of this method of the murderer."

Akaso Kaze looked at Akechi Eri, the corner of his mouth curling up. "Miss Eri, the traces of the snow being pressed extend all the way to the front of your room!"

Akechi Eri's smile disappeared.

"Yesterday, after Miss Eri left the open-air bathhouse and returned to her room, she used the method I mentioned to go to the shrine and kill Miss Ema, whom she had invited over in Bando's name."

"That does make sense," Akechi Eri said calmly. "But what about Asuka? How do you explain her death? I didn't go to the bathhouse again after returning to my room. No one went there after 10:30!"

Akaso Kaze smiled and said: "There was no need to go to the bathhouse, because Shibasaki Asuka had already been killed before that. The murderer just used a certain method to send the murder weapon into the bathhouse after killing Anzai Ema."

"Then what about the paper doll?" Teacher Eri asked. "That Hannya kimono sleeve doll only appeared in front of the bathhouse after 10:30. Was it also sent there by the murderer? The method you mentioned is impossible to achieve."

"The paper doll was there from the beginning. To be precise, it should have been hanging from the ceiling at the entrance of the bathhouse. A small piece of dry ice would do it. The evidence is that when it was discovered, the paper doll was still ice-cold. As for the method of sending the murder weapon..."

Akaso Kaze looked up at the top of the cliff.

"Just demonstrate it and you'll know."

The open-air bath was surrounded by changing rooms and wooden walls, and above it were snow slopes. In the middle, there was a snow path connecting the inn's guest rooms to the women's bath. For someone familiar with skiing, it was easy to slide down from above without even needing to control the direction.

But if one wasn't particularly familiar with this place, it would be hard to notice such a special place. The entire criminal plan definitely wasn't planned in a day or two, and it must have been tested and practiced beforehand.

On the balcony above the cliff, Fukatsu Harumi prepared two wooden boards, on which she fixed the simulated murder weapon, the stun gun, and the props of Anzai Ema's headscarf with snow...

After seeing Akaso Kaze's gesture, Fukatsu Harumi immediately pushed the wooden boards, letting the two boards slide along the snow path, slide over the roof of the bathhouse, and finally fall into the women's bath.

As the snowballs melted, several props remained at the bottom of the pool like the murder weapon, while the towel floated to the surface with the wooden boards.

"This is the method Miss Eri used yesterday," Akaso Kaze explained. "It's just that the wooden boards were replaced by kimono sashes frozen into this shape, which is why long-sleeved kimonos and other sashes were left at the scene as a cover."

"This analysis does make sense," Akechi Eri's face changed, but she quickly calmed down. "But why conclude that I did it? Where is the evidence? Just because the snow in front of my room was pressed?"

"Miss Ema's earring pendant disappeared from the scene,"

Akaso Kaze said to himself, "When we were about to go to the Japanese-style living room to wait, you suggested the social hall. I'm afraid it's because you had to take off your shoes to go to the Japanese-style living room, and the soles of your feet were still bleeding because they were stabbed. That's right, when you killed Anzai Ema, you accidentally stepped on the earring she dropped."

Akechi Eri's eyes shrank sharply.

She never expected that someone would see through the method she had spent a long time planning so clearly.

It was clearly just some small details, but here it led to the truth of the whole event, hanging over her head like a sharp sword.

"Y-you, what evidence do you have that I was stabbed by an earring?" Akechi Eri's voice trembled. ===== CHAPTER 1003 =====