Eri's Misfortune Case (709 - 711?): Vote for the culprit!
Posted: October 16th, 2009, 7:38 pm
You can change your vote at any time so vote early!
Kokubu Takehito
The husband knows that his wife, Akiho, had been drinking, she had a fight with him, Kisaki's room number is 306, the door would be unlocked, and that Kisaki would be out until 11:00 pm. He doesn't know that it's Kisaki's birthday, or that she will be out to dinner at that time. He doesn't know that the stalker son Seiji is at the hotel.
If he has a motive for murder, it might be that he doesn't have a good marital relationship.
Hino Midori
She definitely knows where Kisaki's room is because I assume she saw or followed the client, Akiho. The presence of the stalker son suggests to me that he too was following Akiho around while trying to avoid his mother at the same time. (Why would he stalk Eri or his mother?)
If Midori followed the client to Eri's room, she probably noticed she was drunk and that Akiho was in Eri's room, but probably shouldn't know Akiho fought with her husband, and unless Midori was seriously eavesdropping, definitely shouldn't know that the room would be unlocked, that Eri would be out until 11:00 at dinner, and that the husband was supposed to collect her before then. Unless she is lying, she doesn't know that her son, Seiji is at the hotel.
Her motive would probably be to avoid shame and paying out the settlement fees.
Hino Seiji
The stalker son probably knows everything his mother does since he was eavesdropping, but he should also not be aware of the same things. As long as Midori isn't lying, no one else should know he is at the hotel.
His motive for murder might be getting dumped, being embarrassed, or something like that.
The timeline of the case:
After Eri left for dinner, someone went to Eri's room. Akiho herself didn't know the door was unlocked because she was asleep when the phone conversation with the husband took place. Her husband would know the door was unlocked and could enter, but it is also possible the culprit didn't know the door was unlocked and rang the doorbell and used the speaker to rouse Akiho and get her to come to the door and "unlock" it. Akiho herself could have also left on her own. Also, the culprit could try the handle. If either one of the Hino's had eavesdropped on Eri talking to the husband and heard the door would be unlocked, it would still be risky to enter the room since the husband could be retrieving her at any time. If they didn't overhear the conversation, either one might stop by without knowing the potential risk.
When Eri returned at about 11:00, she used her key to unlock the door, but from my experience with those card door locks, you couldn't tell if the door was already unlocked just by using the key. It is possible there is some trick (tape perhaps?) that culprit added while Eri was out at dinner to keep the door from locking behind her when she returned. If the door did indeed lock behind her, then only an extra card key could open it. It is possible that the culprit went down to the front desk and pretended it was their room, but that would be risky because the receptionist might remember them.
Based on 709, there wasn't anything that stood out about the room when Eri returned. The bed was in a disarray which makes sense since Akiho was in it earlier. I would think if the husband came to collect her, he might make the bed, but if Akiho left herself, or one of the other suspects came by then the bed would still be in a disarray. The sheet on the bed, while disheveled, isn't pulled to one side in way that would suggest that the body was somehow hidden on or beside it. It's hard to tell, but there doesn't seem to be blood on the bed at this point. (I hope Eri would have noticed it).
Eri left her card key on the bed which means that if someone was hiding in the room when she came back, they would have easy access to it while Eri was in the shower. I don't think the culprit could have predicted Eri would take a beverage from the minibar, spray it on herself, and thus take a shower right away. However, they might have predicted Eri would have showered anyway because she would want to be neat for her negotiation the next day. Presumably some of the soda/beer would have gotten on the floor.
While Eri was in the shower, someone managed to enter the locked room or bring the sleeping Akiho out from where he/she had hidden her and killed her by the bed. The heavy pooling of blood and the match up between the trail of blood coming off her head and the puddle suggest that Akiho wasn't killed elsewhere and then moved later; she must have been murdered while Eri was in the shower. I don't know if it is intentional, but one corner of the nightstand seems to be darker - I can't tell if it is blood or an artifact of the artists or the scan. If the desk is an artifact then the blunt weapon is missing from the scene of the crime (it wasn't shown in 709). The shower would mask the sounds of the murder and presumably also the opening and closing of the door so the culprit could do the deed while Eri was in. The body was found close to 12:00 AM so the culprit would have about an hour to mess with things assuming Eri showered right away.
The body is in an awkward position. The arms are straight along her sides, but one knee is bent and lying on top of one of the arms. Also the body is right up next to the bed.
I wonder if the culprit hid the alive-but-in-a-drunken-stupor Akiho and him/herself in the room, waited for Eri to take a shower, killed Akiho, and then left? Hiding in the room is a risky plan because Eri could have gone straight to bed, walked around the room, or something like that. The only potential hiding places are under the bed (if there is a space under it) or in the closet. Both of the Hino's seem a little heavy, so they might not fit under the bed but they should be able to fit in the closet. Another option would be to hide only Akiho in the room, use a tape trick or some other ploy to ensure the door is unlocked, wait for Eri to get into the shower (perhaps you could hear it through the hall walls?), before re-entering and then doing the deed... The unnatural positioning of Akiho's body and the fact that she is right by the bed may indicate she was hidden under it.
Kogoro didn't know what Ran was talking about when she brought up the necklace. I bet that means he never bought a necklace and had the receipt on him for another reason. Perhaps it was part of a marital infidelity investigation, or he grabbed it as scrap paper to take notes on or something like that.
Hopefully we will get Yokomizo Sango as the police investigator next chapter. It's been a while since we've seen him...
Kokubu Takehito
The husband knows that his wife, Akiho, had been drinking, she had a fight with him, Kisaki's room number is 306, the door would be unlocked, and that Kisaki would be out until 11:00 pm. He doesn't know that it's Kisaki's birthday, or that she will be out to dinner at that time. He doesn't know that the stalker son Seiji is at the hotel.
If he has a motive for murder, it might be that he doesn't have a good marital relationship.
Hino Midori
She definitely knows where Kisaki's room is because I assume she saw or followed the client, Akiho. The presence of the stalker son suggests to me that he too was following Akiho around while trying to avoid his mother at the same time. (Why would he stalk Eri or his mother?)
If Midori followed the client to Eri's room, she probably noticed she was drunk and that Akiho was in Eri's room, but probably shouldn't know Akiho fought with her husband, and unless Midori was seriously eavesdropping, definitely shouldn't know that the room would be unlocked, that Eri would be out until 11:00 at dinner, and that the husband was supposed to collect her before then. Unless she is lying, she doesn't know that her son, Seiji is at the hotel.
Her motive would probably be to avoid shame and paying out the settlement fees.
Hino Seiji
The stalker son probably knows everything his mother does since he was eavesdropping, but he should also not be aware of the same things. As long as Midori isn't lying, no one else should know he is at the hotel.
His motive for murder might be getting dumped, being embarrassed, or something like that.
The timeline of the case:
After Eri left for dinner, someone went to Eri's room. Akiho herself didn't know the door was unlocked because she was asleep when the phone conversation with the husband took place. Her husband would know the door was unlocked and could enter, but it is also possible the culprit didn't know the door was unlocked and rang the doorbell and used the speaker to rouse Akiho and get her to come to the door and "unlock" it. Akiho herself could have also left on her own. Also, the culprit could try the handle. If either one of the Hino's had eavesdropped on Eri talking to the husband and heard the door would be unlocked, it would still be risky to enter the room since the husband could be retrieving her at any time. If they didn't overhear the conversation, either one might stop by without knowing the potential risk.
When Eri returned at about 11:00, she used her key to unlock the door, but from my experience with those card door locks, you couldn't tell if the door was already unlocked just by using the key. It is possible there is some trick (tape perhaps?) that culprit added while Eri was out at dinner to keep the door from locking behind her when she returned. If the door did indeed lock behind her, then only an extra card key could open it. It is possible that the culprit went down to the front desk and pretended it was their room, but that would be risky because the receptionist might remember them.
Based on 709, there wasn't anything that stood out about the room when Eri returned. The bed was in a disarray which makes sense since Akiho was in it earlier. I would think if the husband came to collect her, he might make the bed, but if Akiho left herself, or one of the other suspects came by then the bed would still be in a disarray. The sheet on the bed, while disheveled, isn't pulled to one side in way that would suggest that the body was somehow hidden on or beside it. It's hard to tell, but there doesn't seem to be blood on the bed at this point. (I hope Eri would have noticed it).
Eri left her card key on the bed which means that if someone was hiding in the room when she came back, they would have easy access to it while Eri was in the shower. I don't think the culprit could have predicted Eri would take a beverage from the minibar, spray it on herself, and thus take a shower right away. However, they might have predicted Eri would have showered anyway because she would want to be neat for her negotiation the next day. Presumably some of the soda/beer would have gotten on the floor.
While Eri was in the shower, someone managed to enter the locked room or bring the sleeping Akiho out from where he/she had hidden her and killed her by the bed. The heavy pooling of blood and the match up between the trail of blood coming off her head and the puddle suggest that Akiho wasn't killed elsewhere and then moved later; she must have been murdered while Eri was in the shower. I don't know if it is intentional, but one corner of the nightstand seems to be darker - I can't tell if it is blood or an artifact of the artists or the scan. If the desk is an artifact then the blunt weapon is missing from the scene of the crime (it wasn't shown in 709). The shower would mask the sounds of the murder and presumably also the opening and closing of the door so the culprit could do the deed while Eri was in. The body was found close to 12:00 AM so the culprit would have about an hour to mess with things assuming Eri showered right away.
The body is in an awkward position. The arms are straight along her sides, but one knee is bent and lying on top of one of the arms. Also the body is right up next to the bed.
I wonder if the culprit hid the alive-but-in-a-drunken-stupor Akiho and him/herself in the room, waited for Eri to take a shower, killed Akiho, and then left? Hiding in the room is a risky plan because Eri could have gone straight to bed, walked around the room, or something like that. The only potential hiding places are under the bed (if there is a space under it) or in the closet. Both of the Hino's seem a little heavy, so they might not fit under the bed but they should be able to fit in the closet. Another option would be to hide only Akiho in the room, use a tape trick or some other ploy to ensure the door is unlocked, wait for Eri to get into the shower (perhaps you could hear it through the hall walls?), before re-entering and then doing the deed... The unnatural positioning of Akiho's body and the fact that she is right by the bed may indicate she was hidden under it.
Kogoro didn't know what Ran was talking about when she brought up the necklace. I bet that means he never bought a necklace and had the receipt on him for another reason. Perhaps it was part of a marital infidelity investigation, or he grabbed it as scrap paper to take notes on or something like that.
Hopefully we will get Yokomizo Sango as the police investigator next chapter. It's been a while since we've seen him...
since u never know who the culprit is after just reading series part 1 (unless is the only 1 possible culprit cases)