"will you come to the police station as a primary witness?" "I didn't kill Mineko." "The murder weapon is yorihimo of diameter 4 to 5 mm. aren't you?" "I'm not lying." "Are you still trying to hide?" "People lie." "Dad was..." "He was... taken to the police?" "to live for their lives." "Lie is a shadow of truth." "People can only guess the secret hidden in the shadow." "And... there's a predator in the shadow." "450)}Not for sale or stream." "300)}A detective in Doll Town 300)}Final Episode" "This is so rare." "You're so lucky." "I picked Daiyaman!" "Really?" "Mine is Emerald..." "Emerald is not bad." "Let me see." "Wow!" "Awesome!" "GP... may I also have a Daiyaman card?" "please wait." "Is Daiyaman that popular?" "it is." "The anniversary event was a disaster because of some prank." "There's testimony that Naohiro handed money to Katsuya on April 14th." "Could be the reward money for helping with the murder." "He's the key." "He might be an accomplice of Naohiro." "Bring Katsuya in and we'll get both of them!" "sir!" "will you come to the police station?" "Why do I have to go to the station?" "I didn't do anything." "may I? you are not the murderer." "saying you hadn't seen her for six years." "You also lied about going to the hobby shop on that day." "It's time to stop lying." "You called Naohiro on the evening of the 13th... but for something else." "you went to see him and had him clean your car." "Why was he cleaning your car? some fan got carried away and drew the Daiyaman logo all over the place. and found the graffiti on your car." "You called Naohiro around 6:30 PM. you called him again later... and asked him on the 14th to erase the graffiti." "There was still some graffiti left under the wing." "That was a symbol of Daiyaman." "The graffiti is proof that you were at the hobby shop around 6 PM on the 13th." "You're right." "That means you have an alibi." "Why did you lie about it?" "People lie." "why you lied." "You lied to make yourself good." "I didn't lie." "You just lied again." "wasn't your card declined?" "Perhaps you also didn't have money on the 13th when you tried to buy the Daiyaman... that you had promised Shota?" "But you hid the fact from Shota to look cool." "We wanted to confirm what you were doing on the night of April 13th." "read me a book." "Go to bed." "I already told you I was late because I was taking out clients." "Naohiro is being questioned by the police right now." "He's hiding that he lent you money." "I'm really sorry." "I borrowed money from Naohiro and went to buy the Daiyaman." "He's hiding it because I asked him not to tell anybody." "Please tell him he doesn't need to hide it anymore." "too?" "Why are you borrowing money to keep your luxurious life style?" "Didn't you say your side business was going good?" "I'll tell you everything." "I got hooked into an investment." "It went well at first." "It was very easy to earn big money." "But I lost a lot of money recently. so I started borrowing money." "I wanted to keep being a cool dad. things were way out of hand." "I'm sorry for causing you trouble." "isn't it?" "are you done?" "Wait!" "we're leaving." "Play with dad now." "dad!" "All right." "Ready?" "This is mine." "Would you like to try it?" "Wow!" "dad!" "Way cooler than Daiyaman!" "huh." "But why wouldn't grandpa's top spin?" "You got it from your grandpa?" "When did he give it to you?" "It was...two days after Daiyaman's anniversary." "14th..." "It was the 15th." "It was two days after he came to talk about his wife's third death anniversary." "huh." "I sold a spinning top on April 15th." "I see." "right?" "but I sold it on the 15th." "the fact that it's unrelated is important." "I was worried our merchandise was used for something bad." "Mr. Kaga." "Mr. Takura." "It's been a while." "How's the investigation going?" "I'm afraid I can't answer that." "Are you buying something? but I'm buying all of them." "please." "All?" "Why all?" "Not that smile again." "okay?" "Naohiro admitted giving Katsuya money." "he is not a suspect anymore." "So only Naohiro doesn't have an alibi... the results are here." "The string in the storage room wasn't the murder weapon?" "but the fiber was different?" "Please check all of them." "With this." "why did the gap between the boxes interest you?" "but the boxes." "I'm going out." "at least wash your hands..." "That was fast." "That was a big sigh." "It's not easy to lead an investigation." "I have a stomach ache every day." "It is stressful when your subordinate acts on his own." "That would be you." "Are you resigning?" "Why would I?" "It's poking out." "289)\frz268.399\fnComic Sans MS\cH4E4941}Resig... that's not mine." "Then who does it belong to?" "The sound is different." "May I open them?" "Sure." "Empty?" "Why are empty boxes sealed?" "What's wrong?" "I just don't understand it at all." "A British playwright wrote about how actors should prepare themselves." "I'm sure you'll find a way to read this." "I would pull out a dictionary and try to understand it." "But did you get anything in return?" "What do you mean?" "You didn't become a translator." "That was because..." "I have a family." "You gave up your dream because of me?" "Koki." "Take it with you." "It'll be a waste since I won't read it." "Nothing is wasted in life." "Keep it until you understand it." "Want some tea?" "What do you think about my old man?" "I don't think he did it." "a spinning top?" "we can't sell tops." "Though a punk shoplifted one." "It was shoplifted?" "Yeah." "Do you remember when it was?" "When was it...?" "Let me see." "Let's see... this one." "It was April 13th." "One was taken." "April 13th?" "Yes." "Typesetting by Chuks 376)}Editing by Phoenix" "376)}QC by Chuks and hubby_b" "What are you doing here?" "I was hoping to find out something about Naohiro." "But you couldn't get anything." "I don't think he did it." "Why do you think so?" "He was a warm person when we talked at the cafe." "He didn't strike me as a murderer." "A third class reporter's hunch?" "it's just a hunch." "Hiroshi called you a first class reporter last time I saw him." "She's not a third class reporter." "She's first class. why don't you investigate until your pen runs out?" "You must be worried about Mr. Kiyose." "Yes." "There you go." "What's going on with his investigation?" "You want to know?" "You must be very worried." "very much." "I'm afraid I can't tell you." "Then don't tempt me to ask you." "I apologize." "Were you also close to Mineko?" "Not really." "Just on a professional level." "Will you elaborate on that?" "Like giving her advice on filing tax returns." "That's about it." "I see." "I saw the spinning top you gave your grandson. he begged for it." "I can't spin it well." "Will you teach me how to spin it next time?" "anytime." "Are you Mr. Maeda?" "I'd like to ask you about Uesugi Kazuhiro who died from a bike accident three years ago." "I just proved Naohiro's alibi." "right?" "I did." "Did you lock it when you left?" "I did." "isn't it?" "140)\frz274.787\fnComic Sans MS}Nagai" "You must have dropped it when you were stealing things from the boxes." "You couldn't lock the door without the key. you are lying." "He had been stealing detergents repeatedly." "He went to the storage room to steal around 6:20 PM on April 13th." "Naohiro noticed the lock was open and came in to check. but he accidentally kicked the detergent." "He wiped up the floor and went out to get water." "Nagai sneaked out of the room." "Naohiro's alibi was legit after all." "It still doesn't spin." "Grandpa's top just won't spin." "right?" "it was two days later when he came to talk about the third death anniversary." "So he came here on the 13th as well?" "What time was that?" "so I'd say it was past 7 PM." "Okay." "Does he come here often?" "he usually comes once every three months or so." "But he came twice in April." "Why are you asking about my father?" "I'm just confirming something." "He had the spinning top with him on the day of Daiyaman's anniversary." "a spinning top!" "Spin it! I forgot to bring the string today." "I'll bring it to you next time." "But that will be a long time." "I'll bring it soon." "Let me confirm." "He brought it on Daiyaman's anniversary?" "Yup." "When was the anniversary again?" "It's April 13th." "What do you say... if I exchange that defective top with this top that actually spins?" "No?" "Sure." "The murder weapon is yorihimo of diameter 4 to 5 mm." "The one you brought in is called kumihimo." "They are not the same kind." "This is mine." "Would you like to try?" "Do you remember when it was shoplifted?" "It was April 13th." "One was taken." "I'd like to ask you something." "Um..." "What is it you want to ask?" "About my alibi? it's about the spinning top." "Spinning top?" "I borrowed this from your grandson." "Will you show me how to spin it?" "Sure." "Will you try again?" "Will you... try again?" "Is this a defect?" "Maybe the gravity point is off. right?" "it was the 15th." "But... weren't you?" "You told your grandson not to tell anybody." "you know." "I see." "That's why you gave him the spinning top on the 15th." "That's right." "It spun..." "This top is not defective." "I just changed the string." "String?" "You have to pick the right string for each spinning top." "it doesn't spin." "This string is yorihimo." "The one you have is kumihimo." "Doesn't it belong to the top you got at Hozukiya?" "Their sales record shows the sale of one spinning top on April 15th." "We found your fingerprints on their other spinning tops too." "259)\frx26\fry0\frz344.397\fnBook Antiqua\fs38\cH313F3F}Kishida Yosaku" "You went to Hozukiya on April 15th... and you put the string on your top and gave it to your grandson." "That's why the top didn't spin." "Then what happened to the yorihimo that came with the top originally? the string the murderer used was... this yorihimo." "A spinning top was shoplifted at Chidoriya on the 13th." "The yorihimo for the spinning top matched the trace on the victim's neck." "288)\fnArial Black\b1\cH959595\fs35}Match don't you?" "I don't." "You don't?" "I think you do." "Your spinning top had yorihimo originally. and then went to her room on 6:30 PM to kill her." "with the top in your bag." "But it backfired on you." "Your grandson found the top." "a spinning top!" "Spin it! I'll bring it soon. so you told him to be quiet about the top." "Now you had to get a new string somehow." "But you couldn't go back to Chidoriya where you stole it." "So you bought another top at Hozukiya and put its string on your top and gave it to him." "That's how your grandson got the spinning top that doesn't spin." "Am I wrong?" "You're wrong!" "I am?" "So there's another reason why your spinning top had a different kind of string?" "How can you spin the top with that string?" "I don't know." "Your grandson tried so hard to spin the top you stole to kill someone." "Imagine it." "Doesn't it break your heart? spin this top to prove it wasn't used for murder." "Spin the top that doesn't spin!" "Everything started... when Mineko asked for my opinion about... the president's secretary and the divorce settlement." "She's not his lover." "Then why?" "He never hired a secretary before." "399)}Two weeks before the murder" "wasn't there? and I was in charge of the account." "But..." "I had been taking money out of it without permission for a few years." "How much did you embezzle?" "About 50 million yen." "I'll talk to Naohiro in person." "398)}A day before the murder you know." "I'm finished." "That's why you decided to kill her?" "I don't remember... but..." "I had already decided to kill her... when I took the spinning top." "I thought that was my only option." "Chidoriya" "I stole a spinning top from Chidoriya." "I called Mineko from a pay phone near her apartment... and asked her if I can visit her to discuss something. and she invited me in... without suspecting a thing." "The moment... I strangled her with a string... and killed her." "I got rid of the string that night. so I disposed of the coat as well." "I'm... really sorry for what I did." "What did you do with the 50 million yen you embezzled?" "I used it... to pay back my debt. but I got hooked on it... and lost a huge amount of money." "What kind of gambling did you do?" "Like horse racing..." "I went to the races almost every week." "Which horse won in last year's Japan Derby?" "Well..." "I can't remember..." "Wasn't it Emerald something?" "That's right." "It was Emerald... what was it..." "I remember." "It was Emerald Ruby." "That's right." "Emerald Ruby..." "It was pretty strong." "I was wrong." "Emerald Ruby is... the name of Daiyaman's enemy." "Why did you even ask?" "I was just wondering." "Yo." "huh." "I asked you here about that." "he is hiding something." "Is he?" "You're the only one who can make him talk." "I don't work for the police anymore." "I got approval from the boss already." "It's poking out." "It's not mine." "He was keeping your resignation letter." "I'm not qualified as a cop." "I can't help you." "Hiroshi." "I always think... need to get to the cause that triggered the murder... why the person had to be killed. the same thing will be repeated somewhere else." "I'm not going back." "That's the least I can do for my son." "Will you listen to the first class reporter before you make a decision?" "He's your son's old friend." "Kazuhiro's friend?" "Kazuhiro." "I killed him." "He was really cute when he was small." "But he ended up joining a gang." "he was caught by police for driving without a license." "But I covered up for him." "He knew..." "I did it to keep face. he died in a bike accident." "I always thought... he never understood... how much I cared for him." "But..." "I was wrong." "He understood." "I quit." "I don't wanna give any more trouble to my old man." "Then I'll rat out that he covered up your violation." "Leave him out of this." "We need him to cover up if we get caught." "I can't have him do that." "I'll stay." "So don't tell anybody about the cover up." "Let's go!" "I'm a failure as a father." "I should have... had him punished even if... he ended up hating me." "Only parents can... show their kids the way. it's not too late yet." "Your son is still alive." "You committed a murder." "You have to pay for it." "But... you can't do it while you're still hiding something." "You're still lying." "That lie is doing nothing but harm. tell us the truth." "I was proud of my son for working at a top company." "But... and he came to me to ask for help." "I thought he would become a criminal if I didn't help him. you're under arrest for embezzlement." "I had to resort to Mr. Kiyose's company's money." "Did my father rat me out?" "He told the truth... because he loves you." "It was all my fault." "I just... wanted to protect my son." "So..." "I betrayed my best friend." "I'm terribly sorry." "He kept covering up for you." "I didn't know anything. so I was relieved to take the money." "He even suggested accounting fraud to Mr. Kiyose to cover up the embezzlement." "But Mr. Kiyose disposed of the documents himself..." "Why..." "Why did he have to lie?" "The same reason as you lied to Shota." "You said you wanted to be a cool dad." "I'm sure he also wanted to be a reliable dad for you." "He did..." "He's trying to pay for what he did." "He is giving you a chance to pay for your sin even if that might incur your hatred." "He realized that's what a parent should do. make up for what you did." "Shota..." "Why did you hold on to my resignation letter? you often told me... to protect the detectives in the field." "You protected me a lot when you were my boss. and devote my life to my job." "I apologize in advance for any trouble." "My stomach hurts... bring me some toilet paper!" "Bathroom again? you sure do unnecessary investigations." "I don't think they are unnecessary." "Then what's something unnecessary to you?" "A conversation like this with you." "You are a jerk till the end." "Yes." "you did a great job supporting the play." "I'll be looking forward to seeing you as a lead on the stage soon." "Thank you." "Thank you for your hard work." "Thank you." "Dad..." "It's been a while since I saw a play." "It was good." "Do you think you'll be able to make a living with this job?" "but "I will." "Okay." "You're not against it?" "Watching you working convinced me how serious you are about your job." "What kind of a father was I to you? there were times I didn't even want to see your face." "I hated having a conversation with you too." "huh?" "we were." "Mr. Kaga." "You are the cleaning specialists." "You look good in that uniform." "This might suit me better than being a secretary." "Koki!" "This book..." "That's the same book mom gave me... 314)\frz28.588\fnComic Sans MS\cH0B2B3C}Translation draft" "Final chapter:" "Life as an actor" "Nothing is wasted in life." "Keep it until you understand it." "She was talking about this..." "Mom was amazing." "178)\fnComic Sans MS\cH3A5460\fs36}Afterword" "Mr. Kiyose." "What is it?" "This." "I'm currently 45 years old." "this is my first step as a translator." "I decided to translate this book... because I wanted to cheer my son who is striving to be an actor." "One thing I couldn't get over feeling was that..." "I had chosen my family over my dream as a translator. and decided to divorce to be a translator." "But I couldn't get a job as a translator and I was having a hard time. but I remembered my husband's back when he was working." "It's because he worked hard for our family that I could keep studying to be a translator." "I could become a translator." "I was such a fool not to realize how important my family was until I lost it." "I would be able to say "thank you" with a smile." "I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart." "Thank you." "Mr. Kaga." "You let us clean the room... didn't you?" "I was focusing only on my job." "I had been devoting my life to my job." "I believed that was the only thing I could do... and as a father." "But it looks like I was wrong." "What they wanted from me was... something simpler." "saying "Thank you." "Finally you told me what you've been hiding." "What I was hiding?" "Your feelings towards your family." "The reason why you walked around town was... wasn't it?" "You see through everything." "You're an interesting person." "You slip into our minds before we know it." "I didn't like it." "But now I find myself feeling better after I talk to you." "Mr. Kaga." "Mitsui Mineko." "The town returned to its every day life... as if such a sad incident had never happened." "Ami." "I'm sorry." "I really can count on you with the story?" "Of course." "326)\cH4A5844\fs30\b0\fnBook Antiqua}A Doll Town's detective" "People lie." "To escape from their sins and to live their lives." "while noticing the lies of the people of the town." "Lie is a shadow of truth." "yet strong." "yet sad." "There are many kinds of truth in a lie." "And you know it all." "I had a safe childbirth." "please let me know." "I'll come here to pray for you every day." "Welcome!" "Welcome!" "taiyaki!" "40 people in line." "40..." "Might be too late." "But let's give it a try." "Why do you never give up?" "To solve the mystery of why there's always a long line." "huh." "Kyoichiro." "Hey." "I heard you are working for the local magazine again." "Yes." "I realized I want to write more about this town." "I'm looking forward to reading your articles." "The next issue of 'Doll Town' features... a detective who just can't get taiyaki." "Congratulations." "I can finally buy some?" "it's sold out for today." "Today's the 50th day of taiyaki being sold out." "Oh." "You stood in line that many times?" "Let me interview you here." "Exactly who are you?" "I'm nobody." "I'm just a Shinzanmono in this town."