Part 22: Episode 22: Behind the Lies
This update covers:Naomi Kimishima 4 - Behind the Lies (part 2 of 3)
Naomi: Abigail Parker...
Last time, Naomi began examining the death of an elderly woman, Alma Parker. Her husband, Joseph, was confessing to the murder, yet an investigation revealed lies in his testimony. So, who's the real murderer, why is Joseph lying, and what's with the animal hair found on the victim's clothes? While pondering that, the body of Alma's daughter Abby turns up in a waterfront warehouse.
We now have a second "last words" card. It's just as useless as all the others, except that it seems to hint at some sort of connection between the killings. We can also switch between bodies now, but we won't actually need to look at Alma's body any more. Instead, we can examine this new evidence.
Naomi: I'm not making any promises, but I've heard your words.
This time, the wound doesn't penetrate the body.
Naomi: I feel like I've seen a similar wound somewhere before.
There was a bruise with the same shape on Alma's palm. We'll compare them later. First, the personal effects.
Naomi: It won't turn on. I guess it's broken. I'll have to send it in for analysis. It may have some useful information
Naomi: It was also seen on Alma's clothes. It was animal fur.
Another similarity. This is getting interesting. Of course, we'll need to drag all these cards around to confirm the similarities.
In no special order, we'll first compare the hair.
Naomi: As I thought. They're identical. From this, we can deduce that
We'll also combine the bruise on Alma's palm with the wound on Abby's.
Naomi: The wound on Alma's hand wasn't caused by external trauma, while Abigail's was obviously made using a sharp tool. At first glance, they may seem unrelated, but if we consider any similarities or connections between the corpses, the wounds may indicate some hidden link that we haven't discovered yet.
That's two similarities. Let's consider them together. Naomi makes you remember what the similarities actually are, but since we JUST established them I'll skip it.
Naomi: Considering (etc etc similarities) there's a high probability these killings were committed by the same person.
Now, let's have Little Guy look at some things. Starting with the wound itself...
LG: The stab wound in her chest is the same shape as Alma's stab wounds.
Naomi: That proves that the murder weapon was the same. It's likely that the killer was the same, but we can't prove it yet. The wounds aren't exactly the same; there's something very different about them.
LG: Huh? Where?
Naomi: It's the depth of the wounds.
LG: Couldn't that just be a coincidence? They weren't killed by a machine, after all.
Naomi: I can't rule that out as a possibility. Still, Alma's wound pierces all the way through her body and out the back. Abigail's barely reaches her heart. These wounds would require a vast difference in strength to inflict. In any case, it's dangerous to make more assumptions than is absolutely necessary.
He also needs to have a look at that cell phone.
Naomi: Can you see if it can be repaired? We might learn something from it.
LG: Gotcha. I'll get on that.
LG: First, we have the person who found Abigail's corpse. He owns a restaurant, but he seems to be an acquaintance of the victim. It seems she was an occasional customer at the restaurant. According to the testimony, the victim had visited the restaurant not long ago.
Naomi: This may be able to help us determine the victim's situation before she was killed. We should confirm when he last saw the victim as well.
LG: Yes. There's another bit of testimony that needs to be addressed. Um, it's Joseph Parker. He's begun confessing to his daughter's murder as well. When the questioner asked him about Abigail's corpse, he started with the whole "I did it" spiel again.
Naomi: Why did you fools tell him about Abigail?
LG: Well, he's the father, after all. Someone was bound to tell him.
Naomi: Well, we've lost our chance to learn what really happened from him. *sigh* Oh well, what's done is done. I'll listen to his testimony, too.
We'll actually start with his, because it's listed first. I can't think of any better reason.
Joseph: I-I mean yeah! I killed my daughter Abbigail, too! I'm admitting it! I did it! What more is there to investigate? Who cares about weapons!? It doesn't matter! Quit fooling around and give me the death penalty!
Very convincing.
Padrini: I was up that morning fishing for the restaurant's "Chef's Catch" special. Well, I was shocked! I never thought I'd pull up a corpse. And even worse, it was Miss Abby Parker. That's right, I've known the Parkers for years. She'd come to the restaurant with her parents every now and again. Heavens no! They never fought. They seemed very happy. A wonderful family. The last time Miss Abby came... was three days ago. No, her parents weren't with her at the time. She was there with a gentleman.
I thought she was found in the warehouse, not the water. We'll probably just have to ignore that.
Naomi: We can trace Abigail's whereabouts with these facts. Her corpse was found about two days since her death. The man who found her body last saw her three days ago. That means the chef saw her hours before her death. There's a high probability that she was killed soon after she left the restaurant. It would be best to investigate the man who was seen with her the night she died.
LG: Dr. Kimishima, could I bother you a moment?
Naomi: If I said no, would you leave me along?
LG: Uh... No, I definitely think you should hear this. HQ has made a move. The FBI's arrested a suspect for Abigail's murder.
Naomi: What's going on?
LG: Who knows? Maybe they're jumping the gun. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. The man's name is Sean Bowen. He was Abigail's boss where she worked. His wife, Caroline Bowen, was also taken in for interrogation. They're both at HQ now.
Naomi: Is there any evidence that he's the killer?
LG: It seems that this was found at the scene where Abigail was murdered.
Naomi: Well, there's no mistaking that.
LG: We also showed Sean's picture to that chef. He confirmed that Sean was the man with Abigail at the restaurant the night she died.
Naomi: I see. Let me guess, here's what the FBI thinks happened: Abigail was having an affair with her boss. The situation got complicated, so he killed her.
LG: Bingo.
Naomi: What about Alma, then? Would he murder the girl's mother to hide his affair?
LG: Honestly, I don't think they're thinking that far ahead. They'd rather believe this than think that Joseph committed either of the murders.
Naomi: So, Joseph is defending the man who killed his own daughter?
LG: Now that you mention it, that doesn't make sense at all.
Naomi: All right, we can't say for sure that he isn't the murderer yet. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us what Abigail was doing that night, as well. Can you get me the recordings?
LG: I've already got them. I know my stuff.
Naomi: Nice of you to stay on top of things. Send me that data ASAP.
Man, why does he get to be interrogated on a tropical paradise?
Sean: What's going on? I haven't done anything to get interrogated by people like you! Abby? Yes, she did work for us. She was a very innocent and beautiful girl. You know the type, right? Look, I'm sure you've figured it out for yourself. What we have is a relationship between two consenting adults. She's the one who asked me to meet her at the restaurant. But, she got a phone call and left before the meal came. Where she went? How should I know? She said something came up, but who knows? Huh!? That's my lighter! Where did you... The scene of the murder!? N-no! I've never been there! I don't even carry that lighter with me! I keep it at home, so what could it be doing there? Someone is setting me up to be the killer! Listen, that lighter's a custom-made, expensive piece! I keep it carefully locked in a showcase at home. The showcase? It's in my living room! At my house! The only keys to the case belong to me and... Wait, don't tell me...!
Naomi: Why did his testimony end there?
LG: That's when his lawyer arrived.
Naomi: And they took measures so that he wouldn't say anything self-incriminating, I take it. That's all right, though. I learned something important that I hadn't been expecting.
LG: You got some useful information from that?
Naomi: You weren't paying attention. If he's telling the truth, then Abigails's cell phone has an important clue. That is, the record of calls recieved. Upon receiving a call from someone, she abruptly left the restaurant, and was killed. It's quite possible that call came from the murderer. Even if it isn't, we can identify who called her.
LG: Gotcha. I'll make sure they hurry up with the cell phone.
Naomi: Hold on. We need evidence to back up his testimony as well. It shouldn't be hard to get witness. You should ask the chef, Victor. Can you go talk to him one more time?
LG: No problem. I'll ask him for more details about that night.
Naomi: There's also the lighter to consider. It was most likely removed from his house by his wife, Caroline. She's the only person besides him who would have been in a position to take it. If we inspect the lighter itself, we may learn something.
LG: You'll need to recordings from Caroline's questioning as well. I'll send them over.
I just noticed that her named is spelled CarolYn here, and CarolIne everywhere else. Hm.
Caroline: Hey, what's this all about!? Why are you keeping me here!? What could I possibly have to do with you!? Huh? I was home all day on that day. So what? You found his lighter at the murder scene? I-is that so? I wonder why. So, is he a suspect now? I don't know anything about it. I don't give a rat's ass about that cheating bastard! Can I just go home now? I don't want to deal with a murder investigation!
Naomi: She's rather emotional. Is she unstable?
LG: That's just... normal, Dr. Kimishima. You're a little too calm.
Naomi: Well, I have my moments too, sometimes.
LG: Anyway, Caroline's insisting that she was home the entire time. There aren't any witnesses, though. She says she was alone.
Naomi: Did she know that Sean and Abigail were together that night?
LG: No. We told her that her husband is a suspect in a murder investigation. She wouldn't know that Sean was involved with Abigail. We're trying to keep the details under wraps.
Naomi: I see. If that's the case, then she knows too much.
LG: What do you mean?
Naomi: Let's listen one more time. Pay attention.
LG: Maybe she cheated on him before? He looks like a player... Uh, I mean--
Naomi: That could be a possibility, but another probable reason is that she saw him with Abigail. If that's the case, then she did witness what happened to the victim that night.
Of course, that's just a possibility right now. We do have one piece of evidence that could help us, though. If Caroline had access to the lighter found at the crime scene, then it's probably worth having it checked for fingerprints.
LG: Oh, these are the same set of prints repeated over and over. Let's see... these are Caroline Bowen's.
Naomi: So she's the one who left the lighter at the scene.
Now, we know she left the lighter and that it's possible she saw Sean and Abby together. Combining those...
Naomi: Does this mean that Caroline is behind both the murders in the investigation? We can't say for sure. Even if she had a reason for killing Abigail, she had no motive for Alma's murder. But, she may be able to provide us with information regarding Abigail's murder. That's the Little Guy's job.
This new information is consolidated into a new card, which we have to show to Little Guy.
LG: I wonder what HQ's going to think when they hear this.
Naomi: I don't care. I'm not interesting in your office politics.
LG: I know. So, what do you think? Honestly?
Naomi: I find it most likely that she's not the killer. Still, she may have witnessed something. If she finds herself our main suspect, perhaps that will loosen her tongue a bit.
LG: I'll use this info when I speak to her, then.
Naomi: You're going to talk to her yourself? That's odd.
LG: It takes a liar to catch a liar. I'm good at this sort of thing. Oh, by the way, Abigail's cell phone has been repaired. She did receive a call during the time we believe she was in the restaurant, but... We've traced the call to a nearby pay phone. We're going to ask around to see if there were any witnesses, but don't expect much. Still, there's no doubt that this was the last call made to her cell phone.
Naomi: I see... So, there's a good chance that the call came from the murderer after all. Abigail was called out from a public phone, and then killed.
LG: We'll continue looking into the pay phone. Oh, and we spoke to the chef again, too. Check the recorder when you have time.
We have nothing else on our plate at this point, so we have time to do that right away.
Padrini: Hmm... I remember that she was talking on her phone. I clearly remember that she left the restaurant in a hurry after that. The man who was with her left in a bad mood afterwards. No, I don't think that he went after Miss Abby. He left an hour after she did. I know that because I had served a fine carafe of wine to the table. The gentleman drank it all himself before he left. I remember being disappointed because they'd ordered a very fine wine.
LG: Dr. Kimishima, we've received a new recording.
Naomi: Who is it this time?
LG: Caroline Bowen. Sean's wife. Once they confronted her about the lighter, she started talking.
There are a lot of recordings this time, you may have noticed. This is actually the last one, though.
Carolyn: That's got nothing to do with... Huh!? Why am I a suspect!? I'm telling you it wasn't like that! That skank! I didn't report it because I knew I'd get dragged into this mess! Yes, that's right. I happened to be out that day and saw them dining together. They looked like they were having the time of their lives... and I lost it! I was going to charge in there and slap both of them! And then the skank left the restaurant, still on her phone. I followed that slut, but just because I was curious. I didn't want her to get away! Of course I was angry! She went into a warehouse not far from there. I couldn't see too well from where I was hiding... but she didn't come out for a while, so I peeked into the warehouse. And there... there was this hairy... beast! It was on top of her! It was doing something to her hand with it's terrible claws... I... I knew she had been killed, but I had nothing to do with it! I mean, it serves her right! Did she think she could just steal any man she wanted!? That's... probably when I dropped the lighter. Of course I didn't report it! I would have been the very first suspect!
Yeah that was a series of good decisions.
Naomi: I don't believe it. This is one weird testimony.
LG: Our murder investigation's suddenly turned into a monster hunt. We've had a sketch artist create a picture from her account, but are there any animals that size around here?
LG: I thought as much. Could the killer be insane?
Naomi: There's no way to know anything yet.
All right, this next card combination may seem like a bit of a leap. Looking at that sketch, we want to consider the shape of the mask that the "monster" was wearing, and the things we found at the crime scenes. Specifically, some sort of paper was found in the ashes of the fireplace in the Parker's home.
Naomi: Now I know what that white shard in the fireplace was. It must have been from the mask that the killer was wearing while committing the crimes. But why would the killer throw the mask into the fireplace?
We now have another gold card, the "Masked Suspect." Next, we want to combine Abigail's time of death with the payphone call card.
Naomi: These two pieces of information can fill in Abigail's timeline that night until her death. She was last seen 3 days ago, at a restaurant with Sean Bowen. Afterwards, she left the restaurant alone. She left because she had a phone call, which came from a pay phone nearby. It's most likely that the killer called her from a public phone, then waited for her to arrive and ambushed her. That would be what happened on Abigail's last night in this world.
We've established quite a bit, here. The pieces are starting to fall into place. Next time: The conclusion.
Medal Challenge Answers
7
D
B
A
C
Incidentally, there are a lot of mnemonics for first aid, but the A and B are usually Airway and Breathing. This question mentions a D, but there are a lot of possibilities for that. Defibrillation, for example.