Chapter2 3.Saturday March 2, 2019
"Kira-san," Maruta took a ballpoint pen out of his bag. "This drawing alone doesn't tell us exactly what the layout of this house is, does it?"
Maruta saying this, drew a simple line on the Ground Plan[Fig.2].
"The house naturally had several rooms like this. Upon entering the vestibule, one first encounters a horizontal hallway. And the door immediately visible leads to a middle room that seems to be a living room. Unfortunately, we do not yet know the location of the other rooms, doors, and windows. I checked a composite of newspaper articles and online information immediately after the incident, but was unable to find an article with a more detailed floor plan. Kira-san, did you know about this kind of layout of the house at the crime scene?"
"Yeah, well. I know there were a couple of rooms."
Maruta no longer had any feelings about Kira's unreliability, which could be seen throughout the exchange. Maruta thought it would be more efficient to regard it as a common phenomenon that exists in the natural world and to proceed with the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Silva-san, the victim," Maruta indicated the room on the right side of the drawing with a pen. "Was found in this room.[a of Fig.2]"
"That's the room located to the right of the middle room."
"Yes, he was found dead in this room. Just before the event, the doors and windows of the rooms were locked. This was also reported in various media outlets. This means that Silva's murder took place behind the closed door."
"I knew too that Silva was killed behind a locked room. Because I read the newspapers and online news at the time."
"And then," Maruta picked up a second piece of paper and showed it to the guest. "This is an image of the house, or supposed shed, where the incident took place."
"So there is a possibility that it is different?"
Maruta quickly came up with the line: That's another thing I'd like to hear from you guy.
At this time, there has been no update of any case-related information that Maruta previously had.
However; Maruta recalls in his mind. This is only another 'phenomenon.' This is not foreshadowing a later outburst of anger. Maruta has no intention, forever in the future, of getting angry at someone who does not want to show the reaction he desires. Maruta also began to think that Kira may have stopped being actively involved in the case since 〈Silva〉's murder, perhaps because he disliked people asking questions unnecessarily. Therefore, he still decided to avoid phrases that are too impolite.
"Yeah, it's a handout of an image from the internet, poor quality. There is still no proof that the house in this image was the scene of Silva's murder. I just selected the most reliable sites that mentioned the incident. Have you ever seen this house in person, Kira-san?"
"No,"
"Ok,well."
Maruta swallows a sigh and continues.
"When I went to the crime scene, the police had already set up a restricted area and I could not get close to the desired location."
"Maruta-san, did you go to the site?"
"Yes, just about a week after the incident. I parked my car in the mountains in the middle of summer and went as far as the closest point I could get. However, the path leading to the house was blocked off. So I could not see the wreckage of it or even the surrounding area."
Kira nodding his head, continues to listen to Maruta's story.
"Maybe it was the wrong time to go there. It was shortly after the incident. Surely the road closure should be lifted by now."
"Why not just use the street view on the Internet?"
"It's no use doing that. The path is apparently a private road. I also checked the area around the crime scene with street view, but could not see beyond the narrow path. And,"
Maruta once again looks down at the piece of paper showing the hut. Then Kira started to see it, too. Maruta continues to talk.
"Let us assume that this house is the scene of Silva's murder. In a word, an impression of the exterior,"
"Looks like a fine chicken coop."
"Well, as you see. It is built on foundation stones, just placed on top of those. It is old, boarded up, and very simple. It's obvious that it's quite dilapidated."
"Did someone really live in such a lonely place?"
