Case File 4: Killed twice.

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Case File 4:

At 9:47 pm on August 1st, 2011, a staff member at the Nagashima Hotel entered room 2311 to discover its occupant, Watanabe Hikomaru-san, dead in the bathtub. the head of Satayoshi Gaming Company was killed by either a knife wound likely inflicted by a thin woman or was drowned by a large man whose handprints were on his neck. Three pairs of people were found who match the descriptions. The suspects are:

- Ryoko Makoto-san and Ryoko Sera-san- the victim's friends. Makoto-kun was close to the victim, and often joined him for Mahjong on the weekends. Sera-chan, Makoto's wife, had befriended the victim in college through their photography class.

Motive- Ryoko-kun recently lost 50,000 yen to Hikomaru-san in a game of Mahjong, which he had needed to bet in order to purchase an anniversary gift for his wife.

Sera-san heard complaints on some of her husband's less-than-sober days about the possibility of Watanabe-san cheating in high stakes games.

Alibi: Both were playing chess in the game room from 8 to 9 pm. The murder occurred at about 8:20, and neither person left at any point except to the restroom for ten minutes.

- Chiran Tane-san and Chiran Nikari-san- new acquaintances of the victim. The siblings work at the same company as he did and met him on the business trip they were all on when he died.

Motive- Tane-kun had known the victim in elementary school, although after which they never saw each other until now. Hikomaru-san used to tease and bother Chiran until he was transferred to another school. Upon meeting again, though, the victim apologized for what he had done in the past.

Nikari-chan, one year her brother's senior, heard about his tormentor for years. Upon meeting the man, she insisted he apologize.

Alibi- They were together in the bar from 7 until Nikari took her drunk brother back to his room at 8:45, and neither one was remembered having left the room.

- Satayoshi Haru-san- the victim's cousin, and Kichida Amaterasu-san- Satayoshi's girlfriend.

Motive- Haru-kun's father chose Hikomaru-san as successor to his company, while Satayoshi himself became a game designer. He enjoys his work, however.

Amaterasu-san was denied a job with the company because it would be considered using family influence. Even so, she has remained interested in a career in the gaming business, and is still trying to get hired.

Alibis- Satayoshi-kun was at a designers' meeting until 8:50, whereupon he returned to his room and went to sleep.

Kichida-chan was at the bar with Nikari and Tane from 7:30 to 9:00, when she returned to the room she shares with her boyfriend. She was seen leaving to use the bathroom once, for about fifteen minutes.

Clues and Facts:

Believed to be the victim's dying message is a tile on the bathroom wall with a circle of blood in it. (The victim's fingerprints were found in the pattern) There were also the Kanji symbols chi, kaku, and onna.

Nikari got mad a Haru-san when he called out to her, mistaking her for his girlfriend.

Makoto-san lost at chess when he used several poor moves after his trip to the restroom. He nearly went to bed early for his stomach ache.

Tane-san, Nikari-san, and Kichida-san all said that they fell asleep at some point.

Tane-kun could hardly walk straight when he was called.

Kichida-san had to be woken by the bartender after her two companions left.

Based on the evidence, the victim was still alive after being submerged in the tub, and bled to death from his wound.

The victim had played Majhong with Satayoshi-san earlier in the day, and explained the tiles to him.

Okay, this one is going to be tough. Remember that the two don't have to be traveling together to have both attacked the victim. Good luck.

[Amaranth 52]

Can't solve it, but I wish I could come up with a mystery as awesome as this one

[hopes 237]

I'll look at this in a little while... *sigh*

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Thanks. I sat with my computer on my lap through dinner and the movie 'Atlantis' coming up with all the names and alibis and stuff. The only problem is that if my PC stops connecting to Internet Explorer, since I'm writing it on the site and not on paper or anything, I lose it all and have to start over. That happens a lot, but I hate having to type up stuff I've written out. (It figures that the book I wrote and need to edit is 300 pages of composition book that i have to type out)

[Sherlock Lupin 41]

I'll look at this properly in about an hour...

[kfnnapa 9]

You know what I'm going to treat this like an actual case, and investigate instead of speculate.

How long does it take to get from each location a suspect was to where the victim was found?

Are these the kanji you wanted? ち書く女.

Does the bartender remember about what time the three people fell asleep? And when they woke up?

So far I would say Ryoko Makoto-kun is suspicious because he was flustered after he came back from the bathroom, because he started to make bad moves in the chess match.

Also Kichida Amaterasu because she was the only one you said had left the bar.

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

It would take five minutes to get there from the game room.

From the entrance to the hotel when returning from a meeting it would take 8-10 minutes.

From the bar it would take 6-7 minutes,

Depending on whether you use the stairs and run or walk or use the elevator, the time could change by maybe a minute.

血 is the first kanji.

覚 is the second.

女 is the third.

The bartender doesn't remember who slept when but that the brother fell asleep first. Later he saw Amaterasu-san, who he thought had been wearing a baseball cap, leave a few minutes after the other woman fell asleep.

[kfnnapa 9]

The kanji 覚 is actually satoshi not kaku. At least by my translation.

Anyway Chikaku on'na could mean women's(female) perception.

Your kanji make women's(female) sense(sensation) of (the) blood.

And your timing further prooves that Makoto and Amaterasu did it because in total Makoto going there and back is 10 minutes,(running maybe faster), then Amaterasu has 15 min but would only need 14 at the most of what you said and maybe do it in 12 leaving plenty of time to stab him and get back. That seems a little too easy. I'll keep all possibilies open.

But having opportunity isn't enough, and I'm not sure if I figured out the dying message yet. Are the kanji symbols in the circle of blood or somewhere else?

[justwantanaccount 125]

8:20 is the time of death, right? As in, when the victim bled to death? Not necessarily when the murder was carried out, which would be however many minutes the victim's been bleeding before? Do they know if the drowning and the stabbing happened at relatively the same time or not?

EDIT: Forgot to thank you for your time and effort in coming up with these things! 1 rep for you!

EDIT2: Also, how do you write the suspects' names? I guess that this doesn't matter, since you didn't mention it . . . ?

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Okay, I guess my kanji is messed up then. The sense is supposed to be remember.

The symbols are on a different tile. Think about the victim's knowledge. If he thought his assailant would come back he would write something they couldn't figure out or wait for them to leave. Think of what the circle could symbolize in 2 ways, and there is a hint as to one suspicious suspect's innocence in a clue that should look like it doesn't matter.

[justwantanaccount 125]

Oh, and did Satayoshi leave for the bathroom by any chance?

EDIT: Gosh, I'm having so much trouble with the dying message!

I think that they have to do with mahjong, and that the circle on a tile thing represents the 1 Circle mahjong tile, but I'm not sure what that means! Grr

EDIT2: Oh yeah, one more question! How did the culprit enter the victim's room? Did the culprit have a copy of the key, or was the lock tampered with, or . . . ?

EDIT3: Summary of case for all you detectives out there . . .

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

ok. Satayoshi left for about 10 minutes from the meeting.

By the condition of the lock, it was picked and left unlocked. Police are not sure whether both murderers entered together or separate, but investigation revealed that either it was picked and left, picked and entered again, or opened with a room key and later picked.

Also, great timeline! A rep for you.

[justwantanaccount 125]

Okay, my deduction so far:

I agree with kfnnapa on who the culprits are - Ryoko Makoto and Kichida Amaterasu. I have to say, I wondered if Satayoshi Haru was the culprit for the longest time. I say this, because based on when Satayoshi left his meeting, he probably saw Nikari when she was dragging her drunk brother back to the brother's room. Why would Satayoshi mistake Nikari for his girlfriend, Kichida? Could it be that Satayoshi and Kichida planned together to kill Watanabe, and that when he saw Nikari he thought that Kichida was dragging Watanabe's corpse around? I wondered if he could have been the one who attempted to drawn the CEO/president/whatever - however, Satayoshi had no opportunity. I'm assuming that the meeting consisted of a bunch of people, which should mean that a bunch of independent witnesses can confirm that Satayoshi was at the meeting until 8:50pm. He left for the bathroom for only 10 minutes, which isn't enough time to go to the victim's room and come back. I wouldn't rule out Satayoshi as an accomplice, though - I would question him further to see if he aided Kichida in any way shape or form. The fact that Kichida had to be woken up by the bartender might mean that Kichida was supposed to meet up with Satayoshi after his meeting was done, but she missed the opportunity because she slept, and hence why Satayoshi mistook Nikari for his girlfriend. This is speculation, though, and I don't have anything to prove, with the current information that I have . . . *tears*

I rule out the Chiran siblings entirely, since an independent witness (the bartender) confirm that both were inside the bar the whole time when the murder attempts might have occurred. The two attempts must have happened around the same time, since the victim, once he woke up after the drowning attempt, would have attempted to call the police. Since he did not, this means that the second murder happened right around the time the victim recovered from the drowning attempt, while still in his bathtub. This would mean that the drowning attempt probably didn't happen too long before 8:20pm, which would rule out the possibility that Chiran Tane might have attempted to drown Watanabe before 7pm.

Three suspects remain - the Ryoko's and Kichida. Either way, since one man is known to be involved in the crime, Ryoko Makoto must have attempted to drown the victim. I believe that the circle on the tile represents the 1 Circle mahjong tile, which also represents a copper coin with a hole in the middle. This could refer to Japanese copper coins with holes in the middle, which would either be the ¥5 or ¥50 coin, either of which could point to Makoto's ¥50,000 debt he lost (probably in mahjong) to Watanabe.

As for female culprit, I believe that this is Kichida. Since Kichida was seen with a baseball cap, maybe Kichida was attempting to hide her face. I think that the "chi (blood), kaku (Shinichi Natake meant to say memory), onna (woman)" dying message means "if I remember correctly, the woman related by blood" - Watanabe's not sure, since Kichida was wearing a baseball cap. Also, Watanabe might vaguely remember that his company refused to hire Kichida because of her family connections, so he might have falsely remembered that she is directly related by blood, even though she is not. I rule out Ryoko Sera, since there would be no reason for Watanabe to write "memory", since she is well acquainted with the victim.

*crosses fingers*

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Here is some information that might help.

1- Chiran Nikari was confused by Satayoshi for his girlfriend earlier in the day.

2- Even though she was seen, Amaterasu-san denies leaving to use the restroom.

3- To discover the dying message's meaning, think about if it refers to the culprit, not to the victim. (He is giving a reason why he was attacked in one, as well as revealing who it was in both. (Hint: Think only of what the blood can represent in mahjong terms without having two meanings)

[kfnnapa 9]

I believe in justwantanaccount's deduction about half of the dying message. It does refer to Makota in the way that she mentioned. With your hint of blood, I would use the color red and there is the red dragon tile. not sure what I can do with that. red is aka or akai, dragon is ryu. Ryu could loosely refer to Makoto again since his name is ryoko ryu sounding close to ryo. the aka or akai I can't match to anyone by name.

Anyway I would try to link it to Chiran Nikari, only because you hinted at one of my suspects not being the culprit. Well not really hinted you said a hint to one's innocence was in the clues. I would use Nikari because she was mistaken for Amaterasu. If Amaterasu fell asleep (maybe by small sedative) and Nikari took her hat and left she could be mistaken for Amaterasu again as she left for 15 min. That would mean that she was knocked out from before 8:20 to 9:00 though. She said she was asleep, but not for how long.

On this forum you never made it quite clear (or maybe there is no way to tell) whether the victim was stabbed or strangled/drowned first.

Also just to say but since it was a bleed out that would probably mean that he was stabbed in the abdominal cavity puncturing the stomach, liver, etc. instead of the thoracic where the heart and lungs are (which would more likely cause an instant death.)

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

@ K-chan: To figure out which happened first, think of what the culprit sees when they get in the room where the victim is.

Also, your deduction was quite close. The dying message with the circle is the simple one. It is exactly what it appears to be.

[justwantanaccount 125]

I have to say, I've played mahjong with my family before (they're Chinese), and I've never seen a red dragon or any dragon piece. Wikipedia says that red dragon pieces are unique to American/Western sets, and I wouldn't expect Watanabe, a Japanese dude, to know about the existence of American mahjong pieces.

Although, there is a piece that the English Wikipedia says represents a red dragon tile, but the Japanese Wikipedia says that it represents red lips, characteristic of a beautiful woman. Either way, the real character engraved is 中, pronounced "zhong" in Chinese pinyin or "naka" in Japanese romanization, and in either language means "middle". The tile is called 红中 (hong-zhong in pinyin or ホンチュン (honchun) in Japanese), and its literal meaning is simply "red middle". It's not a tile you'd immediately associate with a dragon.

TL;DR THERE'S NO DRAGONS IN REAL MAHJONG! *pants pants*

/Whines of an Asian

Anyways . . .

I see, Nikari may already look like Amaterasu - hence why Satayoshi mistook her for his GF earlier in the day. It would be easy for her to disguise herself as Amaterasu, then.

On the mahjong thing, there's a move in mahjong called 'チー (chii)', where you take the tile an opponent threw out to add to your own. I've wondered if the blood was a pun on that move, but . . . it makes no sense . . . *scatches head*

EDIT: I just looked up the Chinese Wikipedia page for the meaning of the so-called 'red dragon piece', and apparently there are a lot of theories. One theory is that it reflected the wish to pass provincial level imperial examination to be socially elevated and be wealthy (中就是中舉(中解元、中會元、中狀元，合稱中三元)), another theory is that mahjong was invented by Kongzi (Confucius) and the "middle" tile means "benevolence" or maybe "loyalty" (麻雀由孔子發明，而三元牌的中、發、白分别代表仁愛、真誠和孝心，或忠、孝、義。), and yet another theory is that the tile is a component of archery, specifically the target (in the old days apparently Chinese people used to write a red 中 ('middle') on the archery target) (麻雀牌的箭牌本與箭術有關。紅中表示箭靶（古代射箭，靶上常用一個紅色的中字）). Another theory is that the 'middle' should be grouped with the "北 (north)、東 (east)、南 (south)、西 (west)" tiles and just means 'middle'. Either way, that tile has nothing to do with dragons!

[kfnnapa 9]

I'm sorry my post annoyed you as much as it did, but seeing as how I live in the U.S. I have an American set.

*off topic* I wish people I knew played mahjong, and baccarat.

I also I thougt about it and each one at the bar said they fell asleep, Nikari could say that she slept when Amaterasu was asleep. This would also explain why Tane was the only one that was suffering from a hangover, not being able to walk. Because neither Nikari nor Amaterasu drank much.

Just need to figure out the other part of the dying message and I've been thinking about it for most of the last few days, while I do other activites where my mind can wander.

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

It isn't as complex a message as it might seem. One part tells who attacked him, and another tells who else and why they did. (Hint: One of the keys is the second kanji's interpretation)

[justwantanaccount 125]

@kfnnapa Oh, I'm not really mad at you, I'm just . . . sensitive when it comes to misunderstandings about my culture. ^^; I get irritated by the sucky English in DC, too, so I generally wish that everybody would try not to misunderstand other cultures.

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

You guys are sooo close. What kind of hint would help you solve it?

[justwantanaccount 125]

For me, I just . . . I just can't figure out the dying message. ^^; I've always been bad at figuring out codes and puns. Does the characters' order matter, or . . . ? You said first this character, second another one, and third this one, so I assumed that that was the order.

[kfnnapa 9]

Wow I haven't looked at this in a long time, still I would like a hint on the dying message, still confusing me. I think if I could have that prove who it is I can piece everything together.

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Okay. For the dying message, he referred to mahjong in the wall tile with a round patch of blood.

With the kanji, he said blood, remember, and woman. (Why do you think he would write the word blood in that one but not put any other clues in the other one?)

[kfnnapa 9]

Well thinking woman and blood (chi). The female (Chi)ran. And everything else would be as was said before. With the circle refering to the circle tile which goes to the copper coin with a hole being the 5 or 50 yen piece.

It would make since that Nikari was the first one to meet the victim causing the stab for the slow bleed out. She came first because if she saw the victim humped over the tub unconscious why would she stab the victim. Afterward Makoto came in and strangled the victim and left him in the bathtub. With the last of his strength he got up and put the dying message on the wall.

Nikari put a sedative into Amaterasu's drink to keep her unconscious while she left with Amaterasu's cap. If she was seen people would think it was Amaterasu which is why Amaterasu doesn't remember going to the bathroom. She was the one who picked the lock. It takes a little time to pick a lock and she had a good amount of time to do it in. While Makoto really only had time to enter kill and come back. As she came back into the bar she put the cap back on Amaterasu making it seem that she fell asleep for the remainder of the time until she was woken up by the barman.

Makoto simply left during the chess match saying he was going to the bathroom. He went to kill the victim and found the door unlocked. Seeing the victim in the bathroom probably with his back turned, he came up behind and started to strangle him putting him into the tub. He probably got some blood on himself and noticed it, making him more flustered about what he had done, and thinking about his actions he started to mess up while he was playing chess.

It was after the Makoto had left that he woke up barely conscious and wrote the dying message before finally losing complete consciousness and dying from his bleedout.

At least thats how I see it.