Chapter Thirty-Four: Proof on the Spot!

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A field autopsy took ten minutes, after which he determined that the death was a homicide.

Without authorization, he confidently drew a scalpel and opened the chest in a single stroke. The evidence was conclusive.

Facing the suited ranks from the Metropolitan Police Department for the first time, the seven or eight patrol cars surrounding the scene, the dozens of neighbors gathered around, and even his own biological parents, Uesugi Muneyuki calmly gave a slight bow toward Inspector Higure of the First Investigative Division, indicating that this was his conclusion.

This...

Was the man a professional or not? What he had done was a complete violation of procedure. And what kind of strength did he have in his hands? He could open a chest with a single stroke. Were his hands made of steel bars?

But if he was not a professional, how could he look at a body that had been burned to a crisp and determine at once that it was homicide? That was simply absurd!

The suited ranks of the First Investigative Division, gathered from among the finest police officers in all of Tokyo, perhaps even all of Japan, wore complicated expressions. Some looked disdainful, some astonished, while others felt insulted and were growing irritated.

Yet without exception, they put away their usual arrogance and sharpened their attention.

At that moment, every eye was fixed on Uesugi Muneyuki.

Some did not know who he was. They could only sigh over what a handsome young man he was, though his expression was too stern and his personality too rigid. He looked almost like a robot.

Others immediately believed Uesugi Muneyuki, because he had already proven his abilities time and again. Among them were the three men from Otsuka Station, now stranded beyond the yellow line and reduced to watching, as well as Ikeda Erena, who was standing beside him.

Still others remained skeptical, such as the Metropolitan Police elites.

By now, the name Uesugi Muneyuki was no longer unfamiliar within the Metropolitan Police Department. Several districts in western Tokyo would call on him to conduct autopsies. The case involving Mrs. Yamada’s assault on a police officer and the mutilated remains found aboard a JR East train had both been his work. The department had heard something of his reputation and knew that he might be extraordinarily capable.

Yes, merely might.

Seeing was different from hearing. This was the first time the Metropolitan Police elites had watched Uesugi Muneyuki perform an autopsy.

Without realizing it, Uesugi Muneyuki had become cloaked in the deep black of night. Smoke drifted from the nearby detached house that had burned down, and as the flames flickered between light and darkness, the night sky seemed to grow deeper still. Flecks of ink-black shadow settled over the man’s body. The faint glow of the streetlamp gradually weakened, while beneath it, the man scattered his will across the world.

The scalpel gleamed in Uesugi Muneyuki’s hand.

A flash of light. A charred corpse. A young man.

Inspector Higure soon realized that he was faced with two choices.

The first was to play dumb, classify the death as an accidental fire, and close the case immediately to avoid the trouble that would follow.

The reason was simple: Uesugi Muneyuki’s actions had violated procedure.

He had obtained neither the prosecutor’s permission for a judicial autopsy nor the family’s permission for an administrative one. Instead, he had simply produced a scalpel at the scene and gone ahead on his own. If he failed to find evidence of homicide after opening the chest, the family could later sue him for desecrating a corpse. The Metropolitan Police Department could then wash its hands of the matter and say that it had nothing to do with them, that everything had been Uesugi Muneyuki’s personal decision. He was not a formal employee of the department, nor had he received permission from the officers at the scene. The department could simply refuse to accept responsibility.

The second choice was to trust Uesugi Muneyuki’s judgment, upgrade the fire from an accident to a criminal case, and begin an investigation.

The instant Inspector Higure examined the autopsy and saw that there was indeed no soot adhering to the trachea or the lungs of the burned body, he immediately believed Uesugi Muneyuki’s conclusion.

He was an elite officer of the Metropolitan Police Department, not one of the incompetent fools from some local precinct. He knew perfectly well which bodies found at a fire scene had died before the fire and which had suffocated during it.

The fact that the soot had not entered the lungs and had stopped at the neck was the crucial evidence that the victim had died before the fire.

What an audacious young man! Was he not afraid that, if he failed to find the evidence he wanted with that single incision, his career would end on the spot—or that he might even be taken to court?

“The estimated time of death was before the fire began, no more than an hour beforehand. The victim was strangled. Inspector Higure, there are plenty of eyewitnesses at the scene. All we need to do is detain everyone who entered or left the house during the hour before the fire. The killer is among them!” Uesugi Muneyuki declared sharply.

“Understood!”

Now that Inspector Higure believed Uesugi Muneyuki’s judgment, there was no reason not to trust his estimate of the time of death. In that short span, the Metropolitan Police elites had already investigated the entry and exit records of the detached house. The moment they heard Uesugi Muneyuki’s words, the suited ranks immediately narrowed the suspects down to three.

One was the community manager, an older man who had entered the house around seven o’clock carrying the suggestion book.

Another was a middle-aged neighbor who had discovered the fire and come over in an attempt to rescue the victim.

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The third was Mrs. Akashi, the former wife of the victim, Oyama Kenko.

The community manager wore a deeply unfortunate expression. The middle-aged neighbor repeatedly shook his head in panic. As for Mrs. Akashi, the victim’s former wife, her expression shifted rapidly. The instant she heard Uesugi Muneyuki’s words, she quietly retreated into the crowd and turned to flee.

Behind her stood three men in suits, their arms hanging loosely at their sides.

To her left, the Metropolitan Police elites blocked the way.

When she tried to move right, a plainclothes female officer seized her by the shoulder, spun her around, and restrained her.

“Sorry about this.”

“Let go of me! Let go of me!” Mrs. Akashi, the former wife, screamed.

All three suspects were immediately taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police. Inspector Higure nodded with satisfaction, then cast a contemptuous glance toward the trio from Sudo Station beyond the yellow line.

The local precinct officers only needed to stand aside and watch.

The surrounding crowd erupted in uproar.

Wait, what? They had identified the suspects already?

“All right, Uesugi. We’ve detained them for you. Now you need to tell me why this was homicide, where the evidence is, and what led you to suspect it.” Inspector Higure gestured for Uesugi Muneyuki to provide more evidence. “We’re the Metropolitan Police Department. We don’t believe in deductions or gut feelings. We believe only in science. The absence of soot in the trachea merely proves that he died before the fire. It does not prove that he was murdered.”

“Very well. I’ll explain.”

Once Uesugi Muneyuki confirmed that all three suspects had been restrained, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At least none of them had escaped.

Beneath the lights, the man was radiant and full of confidence. He gave his parents a reassuring look, cleared his throat, and began.

Old Tanaka and Kuwabara Asako were already looking forward to Uesugi Muneyuki’s performance.

His father, Uesugi Hirokazu, and his mother, Uesugi Tomoko, held their breath cautiously.

Ikeda Erena narrowed her eyes, anticipation hidden within them.

All three suspects wore uneasy expressions, agitated and apprehensive, terrified that Uesugi Muneyuki might say something damaging to them.

The suited ranks of the Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, were astonished, yet carried an undertone of arrogance and curiosity.

Under the eyes of the entire crowd, Uesugi Muneyuki made no attempt at theatrics or suspense. He gently closed his eyes and said softly, “That is correct. The absence of soot in the trachea can prove only that Mr. Oyama died before the fire began. It cannot prove that he died by homicide. Therefore, we need other evidence.”

“First, although the body has been badly burned, the autopsy shows no signs of external injury. Therefore, the victim could have died in only one of four ways: illness, suffocation, drowning, or burning.” Uesugi Muneyuki pointed toward the corpse, displaying its blackened remains to everyone. “My conclusion is that he died of suffocation—and that he was strangled.”

“Why? Uesugi, what is the basis for your conclusion?”

Inspector Higure frowned as he crouched to examine the charred body.

“Nothing can be seen on the surface. Judging from the trachea, he was neither burned to death nor drowned; those two possibilities can be ruled out. But why could this not have been a natural death or death from illness?”

“Because of the congestion.”

Uesugi Muneyuki pointed at the victim’s face.

“When a person is strangled, he has difficulty breathing. His face turns red, then purple, and congestion may appear. This happens because pressure is applied to the jugular veins, preventing blood from flowing and forcing it backward. The carotid arteries, however, continue delivering blood as long as the pressure is sufficient. As a result, circulation in the blood vessels around the strangulation site becomes obstructed, producing dark-red or dark-purple congestion.”

“Suffocation caused by strangulation necessarily involves prolonged pressure. Because the blood supply remains imbalanced for an extended period, the capillaries swell and rupture, forming tiny spots of blood on the victim’s face.” Uesugi Muneyuki continued explaining. “These are petechiae.”

The surrounding police officers, Inspector Higure, and Ikeda Erena stared in bewilderment as Uesugi Muneyuki pointed here and there at the charred corpse.

The body had been burned to carbon. Nothing could be seen at all.

In the end, Ikeda Erena could not hold back any longer.

“But I can’t see any blood spots. I can’t see the congestion or the ligature marks either. Uesugi, how did you reach that conclusion?”

“That is precisely where the killer showed his skill.”

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded with a smile.

“Now do you understand? The killer came prepared. He knew perfectly well that strangling someone would leave congestion, ligature marks, and other traces. Therefore, in addition to strangling the victim, he had prepared in advance to start a fire and destroy the evidence. As long as all signs of the victim’s death were burned away, no one could determine whether he had been murdered or had died accidentally.”

“It follows that the killer made extremely detailed preparations beforehand. He had already rehearsed the entire process. Therefore, he could not have been someone who came to the house on a sudden impulse. He had to be an acquaintance whom the victim would let inside, and they must also have arranged an appointment, because only then could the killer be certain that the victim would be home and that the conditions for committing the crime were in place.”

Uesugi Muneyuki turned his gaze toward the former wife among the three suspects, Mrs. Akashi.

“Am I right, Mrs. Akashi?”

By then, Mrs. Akashi’s face had gone deathly pale. Her haggard appearance made those around her feel a measure of pity.

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“But there is still insufficient evidence. This is only your deduction, Uesugi.”

Inspector Higure had actually already concluded that this was a case of a former wife murdering her ex-husband.

But that was not enough. He still needed more evidence to secure a conviction.

“It’s simple. If you want evidence, all we need to do is perform a further autopsy. A strangled person will not only show congestion on the face; the carotid arteries also run along the base of the skull. Prolonged strangulation inevitably leaves traces of congestion there. That can prove the victim died by homicide—specifically, that he was strangled.”

“A fire can certainly burn away the traces on the surface of the body. But Mrs. Akashi, did you know that the skull protects the human brain, and that the brain and internal organs are extremely difficult to burn away completely? All we have to do is open the skull, cut through the dura mater, remove the brain, and examine the base of the skull for fractures and congestion. Then we can determine whether this was murder.”

“Stop struggling, Mrs. Akashi. Since you had carefully planned the murder and arson, you must be carrying something that would help you escape the fire quickly. As for your motive, the relationship between former spouses is not difficult to investigate. You probably have it on you.”

After hearing Uesugi Muneyuki’s words, a female officer from the First Investigative Division immediately stepped forward.

“Excuse me.”

Sure enough, the officer found a specially made mask and five hundred thousand yen in cash, bundled together, on Mrs. Akashi.

The evidence was conclusive.

Uesugi Muneyuki gently closed his eyes, signaling that he had finished speaking.

The forensic examiner’s performance at the scene was mesmerizing. His steady voice reached every ear, and his analysis of the case held everyone spellbound.

A truly masterful speaker needed no elaborate tricks. All Uesugi Muneyuki had done was explain everything clearly in language anyone could understand.

By then, even Ikeda Erena, who understood none of the underlying principles, had grasped the entire sequence of events. That alone was enough to demonstrate Uesugi Muneyuki’s ability.

He kept his eyes closed. The scalpel in his hand reflected the streetlamp’s glow. His brilliant autopsy performance had flowed from beginning to end without the slightest hesitation or uncertainty.

Confidence was secondary. Most important was that Uesugi Muneyuki’s rhythm, reasoning, evidence, and judgment had all reached an extraordinary level. His performance was nothing short of exceptional. Without realizing it, everyone present had been drawn into his pace—even Mrs. Akashi herself had no time to defend herself.

Everything seemed effortless, as though he were merely strolling through a quiet garden and reaching out to pluck whatever he wanted. Yet when the complicated case emerged from his lips, his expression barely changed. His concentration remained absolute.

His confidence, arrogance, and professionalism, together with the overwhelming sense that he had everything under control, made his composed and direct answers to every question utterly captivating. The spectators were enthralled, almost intoxicated.

Having witnessed the entire scene from the closest possible distance, the tall beauty Erena was even more affected. A flush spread across her face, and her sharp, light-brown eyes shimmered with moisture and dazzling color. Beneath an ordinary streetlamp, she felt as though nothing else in the world existed. There was only the man’s confident composure and formidable knowledge.

Beyond the yellow line, Uesugi Hirokazu and Uesugi Tomoko looked equally entranced.

“So that is how it happened. I understand now. According to your explanation, Mrs. Akashi is indeed the prime suspect. We’ll take the body back to the Metropolitan Police Department and have the Forensics Division perform the autopsy.”

Inspector Higure was deeply impressed by Uesugi Muneyuki. Even so, he still had one final question.

“The only problem is this, Uesugi. Since the evidence of strangulation was burned away, and the base of the skull has to be examined through an autopsy, how did you determine that the victim died by murder—that he was strangled?”

“It’s simple.”

Uesugi Muneyuki explained, “Although the traces were burned away, slight differences can still be seen in the color patterns on the face and in the contraction of the facial muscles. The victim was strangled.”

“What?”

Inspector Higure looked at the corpse, blackened from head to toe. He stared for a long while but could not see any difference at all. A mass of question marks seemed to rise above his head.

He could really tell that just by looking?

Were the young man’s eyes perhaps artificial, made by Canon?

How was that even possible?

“But why did you know that Mrs. Akashi had remained at the scene?” Ikeda Erena could not resist asking. She knew the question was somewhat foolish, but had Uesugi Muneyuki not promised to answer every question she asked?

“You need to think a little, Miss Ikeda. Why do you suppose she remained at the scene instead of leaving after committing the crime?”

Uesugi Muneyuki paused briefly before explaining.

“She needed to make certain that the victim was truly dead. And she could not possibly leave the murder weapon behind. What if—just hypothetically—it had not burned completely?”

With that, every question had been answered.

From that moment on, Uesugi Muneyuki’s figure was etched into the hearts of everyone present.

A forensic immortal?