Part 99: December 4: State's Evidence

> It seems that you've been sleeping until now...You hear the doorbell ringing. Someone seems to be at the door...

-Who's There?-


I looked all over the neighborhood, but I couldn't find him anywhere...
I'm worried.
Yeah, me too. He was acting all weird lately...
Rise and the others are checking inside the TV to see if he's gone back to the other side. We're meeting pretty soon, so will you come with me to Junes?

> Where could Teddie have gone...? In any case, you decide to go look for him.


No luck for me either...I didn't sense anything over there. The fog's so dense, it might be affecting my readings. I wish I could do better...I'm sorry.
That Ted...Don't tell me he really went back to his world this time...We told him over and over that he could stay here...

> You recall the mysterious dream you had last night..."This may be a time for conversation rather than action"...That is what Igor said, but...

Let's think about this.
I guess that's all we can do right now. He plays dumb a lot, but he's attached to us deep down...He wouldn't disappear without saying anything, right?
I'm worried for Teddie myself, but let's trust in him and await his return. Right now, we must concentrate on the case. It won't be long before Namatame is transferred to another location. We must hurry, or we will miss our only chance to get his perspective on this.
Y'know, I've been thinking about the case since, but something just doesn't seem right...
Let's quickly review the facts. Of all the victims, only two were killed: Ms. Yamano, the announcer, and Saki-san. From the documents we found in the car, we know Namatame had some sort of dealings with them. After that, there were multiple attempted murders, in which we were targeted...It was only when he took Nanako-chan that we caught him in the act, identifying his modus operandi in the process.
When I hear you put it like that, sounds like the dude's guilty.
As a result of Namatame's arrest, the police admitted that Mitsuo Kubo was a mere copycat killer.
Back up to yesterday...Remember when you said Namatame didn't have a motive to kill the announcer? That's what's bothering me.
Right...Either he's completely nuts, or we're misunderstanding something...
...You lost me.
She's trying to say that if Namatame is sane, then there may be facts in the case we don't know about yet.
Sane or insane...Sounds like a play I saw before.
When he talks about "saving" people, what does that actually mean? I don't think there's any doubt that it includes kidnapping people and throwing them into the TV.
Could he mean...saving them through death...? He did call himself a "savior," and said that the other side is a "wonderful world."
So they'll be saved if they die? What a bunch of crap...The bastard shoulda gone and "saved" himself. Whaddaya think, Senpai?
There's something else.
If you think about it normally, it's gotta be him...But there ain't nothin' normal about that world anyways...
There's something I've been wondering about for a while. When we first encountered him, he said: "You're the ones I saved. Don't worry, I'll save this girl too"...
So um...If he "saves" people by killing them, did he save us too? Wouldn't he actually have failed to save us...?
You raise a good point. If he thinks that salvation comes only through death, his words to us make no sense...
And another thing...The Namatame who appeared on the Midnight Channel said he failed to save Nanako-chan.
Well, maybe he really was trying to save the victims by putting them inside the TV.
C-C'mon, don't get all quiet like that...You guys know I just say the first dumb thing that pops into my head...Haha...
The possibility that he truly intended to save us...
But he's still the one who threw in Saki-senpai and that announcer, right!? Sure, we haven't nailed down his motives, but that doesn't change the fact that he killed them. Or what, you think someone else was involved? What makes you think so?

> The possibility of another culprit besides Namatame...Could there be something that proves this possibility?

The warning letter.
Warning letter...? Oh yeah...Whatever happened to that thing?
If Namatame's the killer, he must've been the one who wrote it, right?
Let's review them...

> You recall that the first warning letter said, "dont rescue anymore"...And the second one said, "if you dont stop this time, someone close will be put in and killed"...

Yes, that's right.
Isn't that kinda odd? Would someone who thinks he's saving people by killing them write stuff like "don't rescue" or "kill?"
Yeah, and the "will be put in and killed" part doesn't make sense either...If the killer was writing it, wouldn't it be more like "I'll put in and kill?"
Hey...Could this mean...?
Namatame didn't write it.

-Deduction-

Yeah. It's almost like...someone else wrote the letter...
But only the killer would write such a letter and deliver it to Dojima-san's house, right? If someone else wrote it, that could only mean...
Dear god...Since this is such an unusual case, I was absolutely convinced that other than the Kubo incident, there was one culprit...
It's not like we know more than one person who can go inside TVs or anything
So Namatame really was trying to save his victims...?
Everything is exactly the opposite of what it first seemed...In Namatame's parlance, "failing" would have been the first two cases, when the victims died. If he had used his method twice, and failed both times, he would hardly have continued using the TV. And yet he did. It all seems to suggest that someone else wrote this warning letter while observing the entire case...
Someone else...Then...It wasn't Namatame that killed Saki-senpai and the announcer!?
We can't say for certain yet. We urgently need to speak with Namatame face to face...

> You all worked together to take another step toward the truth...


How, though? After what happened yesterday, they said they're gonna tighten security.
I have a plan. But there's no time to waste. Let's hurry to the hospital!

-Deduction-


I'm a consultant with the police. I'd like a few words with Namatame-san. May I go in?
Policeman on guard: This is unit 252 requesting confirmation on an ID. Name of Naoto Shirogane...Huh? Ah, understood. I see. Well, you're on the list...I can give you a few minutes, but I'll have to record your conversation with him for security purposes. Not that I expect you'll get anything coherent out of the guy. He's been spouting nothing but gibberish.
I'd like him to accompany me as well. He has no identification, but this is an emergency situation, and he's here in Detective Dojima's stead.
Policeman on guard: Huh...? Detective Dojima sent him? I wasn't informed of this...
I'll vouch for his identity.
Policeman on guard: Well, I guess it's better than dealing with the man himself. We have our hands full with the transport procedures, so the last thing we need is Detective Dojima running wild. Detective Adachi is busy somewhere too...This is unit 252. Huh...? I see...
Has something happened?
Policeman on guard: Something about a suspicious object out in the lobby...
Ah. Well then, this works out nicely. You should back up your colleagues downstairs. We'll keep watch over Namatame-san. A disturbance in a hospital lobby, after all...It sounds serious.
Policeman on guard: If anything happens, hit the nurse call button. I'll leave the rest to you.
Understood. Please be careful.
I knew they were undermanned, but I didn't expect it to go this smoothly...
Wow...


So he won't be gone long.
Alright, then now's our chance to talk to Namatame!


......
It's tempting to think that you were the culprit behind this entire case. And to be honest...there are many in this town who hope you are. But we are here to learn the truth. So please...answer our questions.
......

-Deduction-

> It seems that he understands what you're saying. What should you ask him...?

Is "saving" killing people?
No...If nobody saves them, they'll be killed...That's why...I put them in there...
Did you kill those two girls?
They were killed...I couldn't save them...
Who'd you throw in first?


Huh...? Me?
......
Then tell me if my estimation is correct so far. After discovering the Yamano and Konishi incidents, you realized an appearance on the Midnight Channel meant certain death. Thus, to "save" her from that fate, you kidnapped Yukiko Amagi...You couldn't let her be killed, so you threw her into the TV, preventing the killer in this world from reaching her. And you repeated the process, as more individuals appeared on the Midnight Channel...It all falls into place. His body is weak, but his mind is sound. He's trying to tell us the truth...
Yeah, but if the stuff he's saying is true...
There's another killer who murdered the first two victims...?
Indulge us in a few more questions.

> What should you ask him...?

Why the warning letters?
What are you talking about...?
Why did you enter the TV?
I didn't know...I never thought...it would be that kind of place...
Who killed the first two?
I have no idea...I wanna know that too...
...As I thought.
You...believe me...?
D-Did they find him!? Did they find the one who did such cruel things!? M-Mayumi...
Please calm down. Our ability to find the culprit rests on you. We know about the other world. In fact, we're the only ones who can fully understand what you have to say.
Only...you...?
We did blame you for everything at first. But now, I think we accept whatever you got to tell us...as truth.
Please...Tell us everything you can...Calmly and slowly.
You're willing to listen...to my story...?
...All right...

-Who's There?-


(Soon after my affair with Mayumi became common knowledge, I returned to my parents' home, as if to run away from the scandal...And I started drinking heavily to drown my anxieties...I hadn't been able to reach Mayumi at all, and that didn't help, either...)


(She'd been disgraced on all the afternoon shows and forced to resign from the program she was on. I caused her so much trouble...I wanted to at least apologize to her, but I couldn't even do that...I lost the will and energy to do anything...Then one day, the rumor I heard some time ago came back to me. Since I had nothing better to do, I sat down blankly in front of the TV and watched my own reflection...)


Mayumi...? Is that you?
(The Mayumi inside the TV looked as if she was calling to me for help...)


(When I reached out unthinkingly to touch her...)


(I was so shocked that I lost my balance and nearly fell face-first into the TV.)


In the end, I decided to think of it as just a dream, and I went back to the city the next day after finishing work. The next afternoon, when I got to work...I was fired on the spot, as I expected.
That wasn't what broke me, though...
It was Mayumi being found dead. And not just that, but it had happened in my hometown.

> Namatame is casting his eyes downward painfully...

I was dumbstruck, but later on...I remembered the image of Mayumi I'd seen that night. "Was it not a dream...? Could it really have been an SOS from Mayumi...?" I hadn't touched another TV, because the first time was so terrifying, but I decided to try it again...And I confirmed that none of it was a dream. So that image...Was it something Mayumi showed me, calling for help?...That's how I felt.
And eventually...you learned of the Midnight Channel.
I remembered that when Mayumi was alive, she was chasing a rumor about some bizarre TV program. I'd heard about it before, but I thought it was just an urban legend.
But then Mayumi appeared on it, and later turned up dead. The more I thought about it, the harder it became to believe that the two events were unrelated. Soon after that, I came back to Inaba to answer the police's questions. I'd lost my job, and I wanted to know the truth of Mayumi's death for myself. Then, on another rainy night, someone else appeared on the Midnight Channel...It was a girl. She looked like she was calling for help, just like Mayumi. The first thing that came into my mind was, "Maybe this girl will be the next to die..."
And that was Saki-senpai...
I'd been following all the news about Mayumi, so I noticed right away that she was the girl who found Mayumi's body. And if my hunch was right, she'd be the next victim. I didn't want her to die the way Mayumi did. So I desperately kept watching...I was consumed with the idea of rescuing her. Then...little by little, her image on the screen came into sharper focus.
It became sharper...?
...How did you find out it was her?
After I came back, my father couldn't bear to see me in such low spirits, and gave me a job with the family business. I met that girl when I delivered a package to the liquor store...


(But that same night, on the TV...)

-Who's There?-


That's why I warned her...! Why won't she pick up the phone!? Come on! Please...!


......
I knew she was gonna be murdered, but I couldn't save her. I blamed myself, thinking there must have been something I could've done...There was no one who depended on me. Nobody at work...Not even my wife. Mayumi was the only one who accepted me for who I was. But she was murdered, and the same person killed another girl...I was...I was beside myself...I couldn't forgive myself for doing nothing!
You really did love Ms. Yamano...
Yes, from the bottom of my heart...
Before I was married, my wife made it big in show business. I was happy for her, but it put a strain on our relationship.
...I think I can kinda relate.
It was around that time when I met Mayumi...She was interviewing our candidate for the next election. She was a big-name announcer, but she only worked with local stations, and her attitude towards work was similar to mine. We both came from Inbaba, so she was easy to talk to...I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help getting intimate with her. She...gave meaning to my life.
Soon after Saki-san was found dead, yet another girl appeared on TV...That was you.

-Who's There?-


I can't let her end up like Mayumi and that other girl...This time, I'm gonna do something...
(My opponent was a murderer who left no clues to his identity...I thought hard about what I could do to protect her from someone like that.)
I'll never convince her...If she gets suspicious and they arrest me, who'll save her then...?
(The girl inside the TV looked as if she was smiling at me...And...that's when it hit me. I apparently had the power to go through the TV screen to the other side...Then, what if I put her into the TV and give her shelter there before the killer gets her...?)
What are you trying to tell me!? That it's safe over there? Is that it!?
(The girl inside the TV seemed to smile at me again...And I thought, no matter what kind of place it might be, it's better than being slaughtered. Once things calmed down, I could just let her out again...)
If she's inside the TV...There's no way they can find her...
(It felt as if everything was starting to come together in my mind...Could it be...that Mayumi gave me that power, to prevent any more victims from meeting her fate...? Was it my mission to save people? But there was a big problem...If I explained the situation to the victim, they wouldn't understand. I had already tried that and failed miserably. It seemed the only thing I could do was to take them away. If that was my mission...I'd just have to do it...Or so I thought.)
Mayumi...Please lend me your strength...

-Deduction-


Mission!? Give me a break! You never stopped and wondered about any of this!?
I thought I was the only one who could help them...I did call the police, but they didn't believe me. I knew the area well, thanks to my job. I had a large truck, and I could move around without suspicion...I thought my job as a deliveryman would be the perfect cover for my mission. I thought no one else could do it...But...are you telling me that I wasn't saving them...?
If a person is still within the TV world when the fog appears here, they will die. Beginning with Yukiko-san, the people you thought you had been saving were, in fact, in mortal peril...It was my friends here who really saved us all.
I had a feeling that was it...When I went after that little girl and entered the TV myself...For the first time, I had some doubts about myself.
You refer to Nanako-chan, correct?
The police were after me, so I had to get away. But I still felt I needed to do everything I could to save that poor little girl...That's why I went after her.
But the TV world was completely different than I imagined...Such an abominable, grotesque place. I knew that the three of you who I "saved" went back to your normal lives, so I didn't realize how terrible that world was. I never knew...you couldn't even get out of that place on your own...
...No, that's a cowardly way to put it. I'd probably already begun to realize that it was a dangerous place...If I hadn't, I wouldn't have gone to see you all.
See us...!?
Wait...Are you talking about the concert we did at Junes...?


Yes...I wanted to know why the ones I saved were all hanging out with each other, and how much you remembered. But in the end I couldn't bring myself to say anything and ran home. I must have felt too guilty...Haha...But all the doubts and anxieties I'd been unconsciously suppressing exploded out when I entered the television itself. I thought I was going insane--I probably did. And you know the rest. When I came to, I was lying in a hospital bed.
You really were trying to save people...
But I ended up doing just the opposite...What a fool. I always wanted to enter the world of politics, and become useful to society...But after losing my job and the woman I loved...all I had left was this power. I convinced myself that world was some sort of sanctuary...And I secretly believed myself to be a hero...
......
I never doubted what I saw on TV...and believed everything was as I wanted it to be...I didn't think for myself at all...That's why I couldn't protect them. I'm to blame for all of this...
What's done is done.
I suppose so...But the things I've done are too serious to be brushed aside like that...I have no intentions of running away from my crimes. I'm prepared to face the consequences. Kidnapping is already a serious crime...And on top of that, I put all those lives in danger. I'm sorry...
The Midnight Channel and the other world...You can hardly be blamed for failing to understand them properly. We must apologize to you as well. Had we let our emotions blind us to the truth, we would have piled all the responsibility on you.
I guess from your point of view...people did stop dying once you started "saving" people. The more you did it, the more you really believed you were preventing their deaths...
I'm...such a joke...
I'm sorry...I'm getting a little tired...


My apologies. We'll be leaving now.
Wait...
I beg you...Please find whoever's behind this...You children are the only ones who know about that world...
That's our plan.
It's all clear now. He never committed any murders...It was another party who threw the first two victims into the TV.

> You've taken another step toward the truth...


Policeman on guard: Now get out of here! I told you, he's almost ready to be transported! We can't have anything else happen...Sheesh...I better not see you rascals here again!


This was the last place we saw Teddie, right? He was so worried about her...
Tch...How can he flake out like this when we have to find the real killer?
The police consider the matter closed. We'll have to do all the investigation from here on out. Let's revisit Saki-san and Ms. Yamano's incidents and see if we can turn up fresh details.
But it's been over six months...Wouldn't the trail be cold by now?
I know, but we can't give up. We're the only ones who understand what's really going on. And you never know. People might remember some things now because they've had so much time to think about it.
Let's split up and talk to people all over town tomorrow. We'll meet up in the evening to discuss our findings.
I hope we can find out something about Teddie, too...

> Tomorrow, you'll all be going out to talk to people in town. Will this finally help uncover the information that will lead you to the true culprit...? You decide to go home early today and get some rest.