Chapter 111

The third part of "The Death of a Mystery Novelist" tells of the process by which the detective begins investigating the case.

After discovering the nurse's habit of vomiting whenever she told a lie, the detective asked her many questions.

Fearing exposure, the nurse strictly adhered to a method the mystery novelist had taught her: "Only tell part of the truth, and avoid talking about the key parts."

After some questioning, the detective ended the conversation, but just as the nurse breathed a sigh of relief, the detective made another request, asking the nurse to be his assistant in the investigation.

The nurse was filled with trepidation, but to avoid arousing suspicion, she agreed.

In the process of following the detective to investigate the case, the nurse dealt with many clues she hadn't covered up well before—including the security footage at the main entrance and the footprints in the mud.

But she was still very afraid; at this rate, it was only a matter of time before the detective discovered the truth.

Was she really going to end up in prison?

A few days later, the lawyer entrusted by the mystery novelist before his death came to the house to announce the will; he declared that the mystery novelist had left all his wealth to the nurse.

Upon hearing this, the mystery novelist's family was shocked; some cursed the lawyer for talking nonsense, some clamored that the mystery novelist lacked the capacity to act, and others claimed the nurse had seduced him.

The nurse herself was also shocked.

Just as the nurse was surrounded and questioned by the crowd, the mystery novelist's eldest grandson pulled her out of the crowd and drove her to a café.

At the café, the eldest grandson used the nurse's trait of vomiting when lying to force out the real reason.

But just as the nurse thought he was going to call the police, the eldest grandson said he wanted to make a deal: he would help the nurse escape conviction, but he demanded that she share a portion of the inheritance with him.

The nurse agreed and returned to her dilapidated apartment.

But in her apartment mailbox, she received a letter; on the stationery were written the words "Murderer," and besides that, there was a document.

Seeing the contents of the letter, the nurse was panic-stricken and collapsed onto the floor.

……

Setagaya Ward, AICClassic Internet Café.

Toki Ippei frowned tightly, not knowing what to say.

He was speechless regarding this serialization on the forum; every time it reached a critical moment, the other party would end the update, leaving him with a feeling of wanting to vent but having nowhere to do so.

Yet he had to admit that the more this happened, the more interested he became in continuing to read.

He scrolled the mouse and found that, as expected, the comments below were full of complaints; most people replied with things like "Hope for an update soon" and "I hate you, original poster," with several hundred comments at a rough glance.

However, there were also a small number of people seriously discussing and analyzing whether the nurse could actually escape legal sanctions.

Seeing this reply, Toki Ippei couldn't help but ponder.

The nurse had the flaw of vomiting when lying; if one could keep pressing her, it could quickly be clarified that she was inextricably linked to the old man's suicide.

Besides that, the nurse had left behind many traces, and these traces would sooner or later be discovered by the detective.

So he really couldn't think of any way for the nurse to escape.

But would the outcome of the story really be as he imagined?

Previously, he had thought it definitely wasn't suicide, but the previous week's serialization showed it was indeed suicide.

Forget it, he would just keep waiting for next week's serialization to see how the author would write it.

Toki Ippei moved the mouse, closed the page, and then clicked a button labeled "Post."

He had come this time not only to read the serialization but also to promote a work he had read—"The Devotion of Suspect X."

After being recommended by this serialized manuscript before, he had specifically gone to a bookstore to buy the book, then ran to a nearby park, sat down, tore open the packaging, and started reading.

Originally, he didn't have high expectations; it was purely out of curiosity.

But unexpectedly, as he read, he became obsessed, and it wasn't until late at night that he finished the book by the light of a park streetlamp.

After finishing the book, he felt a great shock; the substance within this mystery novel was different from any series of works he had read before.

In other mystery works, even if the culprit kills, it is for themselves or other purposes.

But in this work, the protagonist kills to protect a mother and daughter, even going so far as to sacrifice himself; it could be said that the protagonist's motive was unbelievably noble!

After this, he became a complete fan of "The Devotion of Suspect X" and admired the author's talent to an extreme degree.

He really couldn't imagine how this author named Akiwara Yuto had come up with this murder motive.

After opening the new "Post" page, Toki Ippei began tapping on the keyboard, starting to organize his words.

He couldn't wait to let more mystery fans see this mystery novel that could be called a "classic"!

As Toki Ippei typed, he thought of another question.

Come to think of it, what exactly is the relationship between this original poster who is currently serializing and Akiwara Yuto?

……

Yokohama City, Hodogaya Ward, Fujitaka Bookstore.

Asano Aiko walked through the literary section of this bookstore, flipping through the books laid out on the display table with slight boredom.

Ever since she finished "The Devotion of Suspect X" last time, Asano Aiko found that this book had become her favorite work; she had even read it over and over five times and made corresponding reading notes.

But because this book was so brilliant, she felt that other mystery works on the market were as tasteless as chewing wax.

Even some other works she had spent money to buy became unreadable.

For example, the book "Searching Footsteps" by Kadowaki Yuzhen, which she had purchased previously, had been left in a corner and was even occasionally used as a lid for instant noodles.

Thinking of this, Asano Aiko sighed; when would Akiwara Yuto release a new book?

However, she was just lamenting; she knew in her heart that, generally speaking, few writers could release new books one after another, and often one book a year was considered a prolific writer.

Just as she was sighing, a clerk walked to the wall, took out a poster, and pasted it on the wall near the bookshelf.

Could there be another new book recommendation?

Asano Aiko was a bit curious, so she took the initiative to walk up and look, then read the content on the poster.

"Akiwara Yuto, 'The Devotion of Suspect X' autograph session, Tokyo……"

Seeing this line of text, Asano Aiko opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She clenched her fists tightly and silently made a decision in her heart……

Promotional Poster