She sure had convinced me.
“So you’re suggesting…?” I asked.
“That the truth is the exact opposite,” Dr. Higano said. “Shota actually has nothing to do with this murder.”
The woman remained silent.
“She also insisted that Reina was seeing multiple men. The fact that she wanted us to think that means something. At the very least, she used her story to make us think it was possible for Reina to be seeing Ken and Shota at the same time. It’s possible Reina was seeing a man who hasn’t been uncovered by the investigation yet. Maybe it would’ve been convenient for this ‘Otoha’ if she could make us think it was natural for Reina to be dating multiple men. Here’s the takeaway: I think there’s an important secret wrapped up in Reina’s romantic life.”
I gulped. I didn’t know whether any of his conjectures were right or not. But without a doubt, Dr. Higano had led me into mental territory I wouldn’t have been able to enter on my own.
Dr. Higano is incredible, I thought.
“By the way,” he added. “You mentioned that the girls in school close with Reina were called the ‘Bumblebees’?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Higano worked at his cube puzzle and looked at the woman. “She was trying to lead us down the wrong path. She lied a number of times. But what she was most trying to hide from us with her deception was this.” Dr. Higano brandished his once-again completed puzzle dramatically. “The Bumblebees are deeply involved with this murder.”
The woman calling herself Otoha Tamachi burst into laughter.
It started out as a simple snort: “Haha.” Then she became full-on hysterical: “Haaahahahaha!” She slapped her knee and laughed coarsely with her mouth wide open. It was a complete turnaround from the genteel, kind image she’d had up until that point.
“Who the hell is this guy?!” she cried. “He’s ridiculous. He’s spouting all sorts of crap. Hilarious. Really funny. Hahahaha! His mind moves pretty quickly, I’ll give him that much. But it’s all BS! Pure fiction!”
“I’m fine with fiction,” Dr. Higano said neutrally and placed the cube puzzle on a desk. The woman frowned skeptically, and he added, “The truth has very little value.”
The woman turned serious. Even I thought his remarks seemed a little reckless.
“So you don’t care if you’re wrong?” she asked. “You can’t be for real.”
“No, I actually don’t mind,” Dr. Higano agreed, shaking his head. “What matters isn’t whether my deductions are factually accurate or not. I’m actually fairly certain that some of these conclusions are off the mark.”
The woman narrowed her eyes.
“In this case,” he continued, “what my conclusions elicited were meaningful. Don’t you think? When faced with my conclusions, your attitude changed. Regardless of what my conclusions were, you admitted that you couldn’t maintain the same ruse. I’m sure you’re aware of this, but part of the reason your attitude changed was because you gave in to me.”
If he hadn’t landed a blow, she would’ve been able to maintain her good-natured, composed manner. That was definitely the case.
The woman seemed to come to an understanding: It was impossible to beat Seiren Higano by playing dumb.
“I’ll admit this…” the woman said and paused for a moment. “I can’t lie for shit.”
She’d admitted it.
But why? It wasn’t like she had her back against the wall.
A bold and frightening smile played on the edges of her mouth. Otherwise her face was empty of emotion. It was like the grin on a praying mantis going after a kill.
Was this the real her?
Or was she just playing another role?
I had no clue. I didn’t know anything. I knew so little and I was so powerless. I wanted to pound the pavement and find the answers myself. Who killed Reina Myoko? Who exactly was Reina Myoko? Where was Masquerade right now? I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I hated my powerlessness and incompetence.
Dr. Higano said that the truth didn’t have any value, but I disagreed.
I wanted to know the truth.
I wanted to find the truth.
“Let me ask you again.” Dr. Higano looked directly at the woman. “Who are you?”
She answered immediately: “I’m Otoha Tamachi…I’m Miyuki Yata…I’m Sena Hagawa…I’m Asami Ino…I’m Ryoko Omura.”
Dr. Higano shook his head, and the woman announced, finally, “I’m Reina Myoko.”
“You’re lying, pure and simple.” Dr. Higano put his hands on his head in frustration and went for a different question. “What are you trying to accomplish?”
“We are just taking revenge for Reina,” the woman replied. Suddenly a look of animosity covered her entire face. “And we’ve already accomplished almost everything.”
Just as I was going to ask her what exactly she meant, my phone rang. Yamaji’s name was on the screen. I took the call but kept my eyes on the woman.
“Yamaji, things are crazy right now—”
“Get over here, now!” he yelled, preventing me from getting another word in. “Immediately. Wake up Koichiro Myoko and Ken Nakahigashi and bring them to the station with the Doc. ASAP!”
“What? Just a second…”
Yamaji hung up the phone without waiting for my response. “What’s up with that? He didn’t even listen to a word I said…”
But Yamaji wouldn’t lose his head over something trivial. I wondered if something had happened at the station.
“Seems like we have to go,” Dr. Higano said. He looked at the woman. “Would you mind joining us?”
“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “I’m not going to run away.”
She smiled calmly, reverting to her composed, good-natured manner.
Chills ran down my back. Was this really the same woman who, moments earlier, had been laughing hysterically?
I swallowed my fear and feigned calm. “Do you have the contact information for the Bumblebees?” I asked. Then shook my head and looked at her. “Actually…it would be a huge help if you could tell us the whole truth.”
Her expression softened a little, only around her mouth. “I don’t know anything. The only thing I know is a single truth. Would you like to hear it?”
That was when the woman who called herself Otoha Tamachi told her most blatant lie yet.
“Reina Myoko,” she said, “is immortal.”