Chapter 15: Such as Aliens Outside
News in media companies usually spreads very quickly.
The news of Suwa Michihiko's death by gunshot soon spread throughout the Mihana TV Station building. As soon as his body was taken away by the Police, a group of news department colleagues, carrying cameras and microphones, excitedly swarmed forward.
"Mr. Matsuo! Mr. Matsuo!"
"How are you feeling right now?"
"Please tell us, it's being rumored that your program is about to be canceled; do you think it might have been done by your fans who couldn't accept it?"
"Or perhaps Mr. Matsuo, you had a conflict with Director Mr. Suwa, which is why—"
Excited reporters eagerly thrust microphones in front of Matsuo Takashi, a barrage of questions hitting him like cannon fire, making Matsuo Takashi's expression increasingly grim.
"Shut up!" He roared, eyes wide, yelling to dismiss his colleagues, "Are you people ever going to stop!?"
The Police nearby also quickly came over to restrain the media personnel.
Just as an officer was about to escort Matsuo Takashi aside, he saw his shoulders tremble, his eyes growing dim, as if he was trying to suppress his emotions: "We did talk about the program being canceled… but, but Mr. Suwa told me that he still hoped I would continue to host it."
"Moreover, the reason Mr. Suwa came to this mixing room during the program's broadcast was actually to discuss this issue with me. He said at the time that after the program ended, we would discuss together how to make the content more interesting later on…"
"But the result…!"
Matsuo Takashi was already teary-eyed as he spoke.
The reporters all quietly held up their microphones, watching him.
"I, Matsuo Takashi, swear here in front of everyone! I will inherit Mr. Suwa's dying wish and continue to host this program, and…" Matsuo Takashi gritted his teeth, his eyes becoming extremely resolute: "I will bring this case to the screen and do my utmost to track down the killer of Mr. Suwa!"
At this moment, in the television set inside the mixing room, Matsuo Takashi's powerful declaration was broadcast simultaneously.
"This guy, does he think we Police can't catch the killer?"
Inspector Megure looked displeased upon hearing this.
Because Suwa Michihiko was monitoring the program here before the incident, he naturally had the TV on and tuned to the Nichimai TV Station channel, and today, Nichimai TV Station was broadcasting its live evening news.
"Their colleague from the same company died, yet those reporters are this excited, even carrying cameras to broadcast live…"
Standing at the entrance of the mixing room, Asamiya Nanae looked at the reporters' reactions with a somewhat strange expression.
Eri Kisaki, however, had a calm expression, as if she had seen it all before:
"That's what media people are like."
"Mr. Hayashi Yoshiki, let's go back to our previous topic. Did you have a discovery just now?"
"Yes, the killer must be Mr. Matsuo, there's no mistake."
Hayashi Yoshiki, who had just taken a quick turn around the mixing room, came over and said with a smile.
He didn't lower his voice at all.
Because the reporters and Matsuo Takashi were right at the door, when they heard this, Matsuo Takashi, who had been teary-eyed facing the camera, reacted strongly. He suddenly turned around: "What nonsense are you spouting, Mr. Hayashi Yoshiki!?"
"How could I possibly kill Director Mr. Suwa? Although I did have some arguments with him before, but that was all…!" He broke away from the camera, walked over, and shouted, somewhat flustered, "Hey, you Police aren't going to really suspect me just because of his one sentence, are you? Also, hasn't Mr. Suwa's time of death been determined yet?"
"Director Mr. Suwa's time of death should be within the forty minutes between 20:15 and 20:55."
The one who answered was Hayashi Yoshiki.
His handsome face bore a noble smile, and he raised his index finger, saying, "At 20:15, Mr. Matsuo, you asked a staff member to call and confirm Director Mr. Suwa's location, and you quickly received a reply. I heard it because I was right there."
"When I called then, I was—"
"These aren't important. For efficiency, could you please let me finish first?" Hayashi Yoshiki interrupted him. "Then, at 20:55 after the program ended, when the staff member called again, there was no answer. Therefore, I'm tentatively setting Director Mr. Suwa's time of death within these 40 minutes."
"Then that's right! I was recording the program that whole time, wasn't I? How could I possibly have time to kill Mr. Suwa?!"
"When the program was about to end, a 4-minute VCR was played. Mr. Matsuo, you quietly left your seat then, didn't you?"
"That was only 4 minutes!?"
Matsuo Takashi shouted loudly.
It was at this moment that he secretly rejoiced in his heart; this 4-minute timeframe was the ingenious part of the murder he had planned.
"You have to know that the place where we record the program is on the 9th floor. To run from the 9th floor to this 4th floor to kill Mr. Suwa and then run back, how could there possibly be enough time!?"
"Yes."
To Matsuo Takashi's surprise, Hayashi Yoshiki nodded and admitted this point.
He pulled up the sleeve of his left hand and glanced at his watch, his face still holding that incredibly clear expression: "When everyone first heard the news of Mr. Suwa's death, they rushed straight here from the studio backstage. Because the direct stairs were blocked, it took about seven minutes at that time… I imagine even if one were faster, it could only be shortened to around 6 minutes."
"Uh, you actually had time to notice something like that?" Inspector Megure was a bit surprised.
Hayashi Yoshiki did not respond.
And Matsuo Takashi, after hearing this, immediately straightened his back and said, "So you also know that it definitely couldn't have been—"
"But if you shoot from the seventh floor and then return to the studio, it would only take about 2 minutes round trip if done efficiently."
"!!"
Hayashi Yoshiki's unfluctuating voice made Matsuo Takashi's face suddenly turn pale. His heart tightened, and he could barely breathe.
But he still held onto a glimmer of hope, forcing a calm tone as he spoke: "What 7th floor? Didn't the Police just say the killer entered from outside the door—"
"Because of the TV station's set design, the entire building's environment is irregular, and the window locations in different rooms also vary. If you stick your head out of this mixing room's window and look up, the 5th and 6th floors do not have windows, and windows are only constructed starting from the 7th floor."
Hayashi Yoshiki's words made Matsuo Takashi's legs feel weak.
If he could, he truly wished that mouth would stop making any sound.
However, Hayashi Yoshiki did not stop speaking:
"Do you know, Mr. Matsuo? Actually, when I just opened that flip-up window and looked out, and found that there were similar windows on the 7th floor directly above, I thought of this method."
"But because it felt a bit too simple and not very interesting, I didn't plan to record it as material."
"…"
"Wait, Kaju, you mean…"
Inspector Megure was a bit dazed. He turned his head to look at the flip-up window in the mixing room and asked hesitantly, "Suwa Michihiko actually opened the window, tilted his head up to look, and was then shot dead by the killer from the 7th floor?"
"Yes."
"But why did he open the window and look out?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe the killer had him look outside through a phone call or something, like using an excuse about aliens and UFOs outside."
Hayashi Yoshiki said this with a smile, making Inspector Megure's mouth twitch.
Matsuo Takashi, who had been reacting intensely just now, was now speechless.
...
To be continued