Chapter 38: The Meaning of Truth

After returning to the hotel, Kiichi was informed by Eiichi Harada that Nanatsuki Koshimizu had left a message asking him to meet at the villa.

Kiichi sighed but said nothing as he set off.

By the time he arrived at the villa, it was clear that he was not the only one summoned.

Soon, the last visitor, Dr. Tsuruta, arrived.

“Perhaps this isn’t the outcome I desired. Perhaps some sinners have managed to evade legal pursuit by hiding behind masks,” Nanatsuki Koshimizu said, staring intently at Takako and Toshiyuki. “But I believe the time has come for everything to be laid bare.”

She threw the art book that Satsuki had sent her onto the table.

Pointing at the pale-faced Takako, who trembled and cowered in her husband’s arms, she declared, “Twenty years ago, you poisoned your own father for inheritance and marriage!”

Takako said nothing, burying her head in her husband’s chest and sobbing uncontrollably, while Toshiyuki’s lips quivered, yet he remained silent.

“But the conspiracy went awry, didn’t it?” Koshimizu’s eyes burned with fury—for her friend Satsuki’s death and for the culprit who had long escaped justice. “You never expected Mana to witness everything.

“And the evidence is this art book, which reads like a child’s delirious ramblings!

“So the rumors are true. To silence the victims, you tampered with the car and murdered both the butler Masao and Mana!”

“That’s not true!” Renzō Katani suddenly interrupted.

“It is true!” Koshimizu snapped around. “Miss Shino only realized the truth after discovering this art book. Unable to accept that her parents had committed such atrocities, she broke down and took her own life! That was why her suicide seemed inexplicable at the time!”

“That’s not true...” Renzō’s voice trembled with desperation, pleading, “The young lady was addicted to drugs and repeatedly attempted suicide. I kept silent for her reputation... It was my fault. I thought Satsuki’s suspicion would be cleared soon, so... I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”

He repeated over and over, “Please believe me, none of this has anything to do with what happened twenty years ago, nothing at all...”

“I...” Dr. Tsuruta seemed to summon great courage and stepped forward. “I can prove that Miss Shino—”

He stopped mid-sentence as tears welled up in his cloudy eyes. “I’m sorry, Renzō. I can’t do it...”

“Unfortunately, aside from this art book, I have no other evidence. Besides, even if I did, it would be useless now,” Koshimizu said bitterly, her voice full of hatred as she glared at the couple. After a long silence, she turned toward Renzō Katani and the weeping Dr. Hisazo Tsuruta. “Twenty years of conspiracy—how many more lives will you ruin for your selfish desires before you stop?”

“Hahaha!” Only Junya Ichijo laughed with delight. “What a pity that no one was as sharp as you twenty years ago, Detective Koshimizu. Otherwise, how could they have gotten away with it all these years?”

He looked provocatively at his sister’s family.

“That’s not true,” Kiichi said slowly.

“Not true?” Koshimizu stared at him incredulously.

“Detective Koshimizu, you have lost your composure,” Kiichi said calmly, like a still pond. “I understand your desperation to find the root of everything and the truth after your friend’s death.”

“I haven’t!” Koshimizu exploded. “I haven’t lost my composure! My deductions are correct! Satsuki died because of their sins!”

“Yes. Miss Satsuki’s death was a tragic misfortune, and this tragedy was caused by the wrongdoings that took place in this very villa.”

“Then why do you say otherwise?” Koshimizu asked, confused, angry, and pained.

“I suppose it’s a rather long story,” Kiichi said, scanning the room. “But before I tell it, I want to ask one question.”

“What question?” Koshimizu pressed immediately.

“Is the truth for the living, or for the dead?”

Silence fell. No one answered. The room was filled only with muffled sobs.

“Of course, it’s for the dead!” Junya finally broke the silence, shouting, “It’s for Father, for Masao, for Mana, for Shino, and for Satsuki! Only the truth can bring them the justice they deserve, even if belatedly!”

“That’s not true,” Kiichi said, lowering his gaze. “The dead do not need justice or truth.”

Koshimizu raised her head, staring at him in disbelief.

“No matter what happens, regardless of the truth, Mr. Soichiro, Mr. Masao, Miss Mana, Miss Shino, and Miss Satsuki will never come back to life, nor will they ever know. So what meaning does the truth hold for them? The so-called ‘spirits appeased’ are nothing but self-deception by the living.

“Perhaps it sounds cruel, but the fact is, whether the murderer is caught or the criminal punished no longer matters to the dead.

“Because they are already gone.

“Even an eye for an eye comes too late.

“The truth, justice—they are always meant for the living.

“There is no spirit comforted in the heavens, no soul at peace.

“Everything is so the living can face death with peace.

“That is the meaning of truth, that is the value of justice.”

He looked at Takako and Toshiyuki, then at Renzō Katani and the weeping Hisazo Tsuruta.

“This tragedy is a mistake that has lasted twenty years. The root cause is that none of those here understood that only the truth can truly put the past to rest! If you cannot face the truth, the shadows of the past will never fade!

“There was no drug addiction. Shino’s suicide was because she believed her beloved parents were monsters who would stop at nothing for inheritance!

“Because no one dared to reveal the truth, and for the sake of the so-called honor of the deceased, Satsuki died!”

Kiichi looked at Renzō Katani. “Perhaps you think your actions, like your father’s, were noble—a legacy, a necessity to protect this family.

“To me, that is foolishness!

“Nothing is more important than the living!

“The dead are precious, but not more than vibrant life!”

Renzō trembled as he looked at Kiichi.

“I know everything you’ve done,” Kiichi said coldly. “Including the night I arrived, when you secretly left the villa. I believe that was when you met with Dr. Tsuruta and told him I was investigating the case from twenty years ago. Perhaps as a precaution, you and Dr. Tsuruta fabricated records of Miss Shino’s supposed drug addiction, making her suicide seem reasonable. If the doctor had persisted, and if I hadn’t interrupted just now, would you have used those records to refute Detective Koshimizu’s deductions?”

Renzō lowered his head, unable to answer.