Inspector Megure was vigilantly watching Lin Xinyi's movements.
Meanwhile, Shinichi Kudo, who was now the focus of everyone's attention, slowly revealed what he was thinking under everyone's gaze:
"This deduction is actually very simple."
"First, I just reported to Inspector Megure as well:"
"When we discovered the floating corpse in the river ten minutes ago, the first thing we saw was a scarlet wave of blood."
"Right, Ran?"
Shinichi Kudo turned to look at Ran.
Ran recalled the shocking scene for a moment, her face turning slightly pale:
"That's right, it was because of the conspicuous red color on the river that we noticed the corpse."
"Otherwise, the sky was still somewhat dim then, and we wouldn't have noticed it without looking closely."
With Ran's corroboration, the scene of discovering the body was clearly reconstructed before everyone.
Inspector Megure, while secretly watching Lin Xinyi, habitually played the straight man to Shinichi Kudo's deduction:
"Brother Kudo, I know what you mean."
"You mean that the body parts were just thrown into the river by the murderer a short time ago, right?"
"Exactly." Shinichi Kudo nodded and continued along Inspector Megure's line of thought: "Just as a cook usually soaks pork to remove excess blood, if the body parts had been soaking in water for a certain period, the adhering blood would have been washed away by the current."
"If that were the case, Ran and I wouldn't have seen the river water dyed red with blood."
"Therefore, the body parts could not have been soaking in the water for long."
"And this means—"
Shinichi Kudo paused slightly and cast a meaningful gaze toward Lin Xinyi:
"The murderer just finished disposing of the body recently."
"He might not have gone far yet—and, this murderer is very likely still at the scene, right here!"
"Huh? No way?"
Someone in the crowd watching questioned in disbelief:
"If he just finished dumping the body, why didn't he run away quickly? Wouldn't it be troublesome when the police arrive?"
"That murderer's nerve is too great."
"No, quite the opposite."
"This is actually a sign of the murderer being anxious and timid."
Shinichi Kudo shook his head, eloquently explaining his psychological profile of the murderer:
"The murderer disposed of the body around dawn—"
"Although the dim light at this time is convenient for action, it cannot avoid the risk of running into the few citizens who get up early for morning exercises."
"Clearly, this was not a sufficiently perfect time for body disposal."
"Choosing such an unfavorable time suggests the murderer likely had no other choice."
"He probably committed impulsive homicide late at night, hastily handled the corpse, and then, for some reason, dared not hide the body at home, which is why he rushed here to dispose of it before daylight."
"The purpose of dismembering the body was most likely to conceal the victim's physical features so the police couldn't identify them."
"So, everyone, think about it, if you were the murderer—"
"After impulsively killing and dumping the body, would you worry that your method had any flaws, or worry that the police might still find a way to identify the victim?"
"Yes, that's true."
Once they empathized, everyone nodded in agreement:
"Doing bad things inevitably leads to a guilty conscience, so the murderer needs to stay at the scene to observe the police investigation among the crowd!"
"If he sees the police investigation falter, he can rest assured and continue his life."
"If he sees the police investigation proceeding smoothly, he can prepare to flee in advance."
"But, Brother Kudo—"
Inspector Megure pressed for answers with some doubt:
"Just based on this, we can't narrow the suspect down to Mr. Lin, can we?"
"There are so many people here; anyone could be the murderer!"
"Of course."
"Everyone present right now could potentially be the murderer."
"But Mr. Lin Xinyi's suspicion is undoubtedly the greatest!"
Shinichi Kudo did not let such questioning disrupt the rhythm of his deduction:
"And the reason I say this is—"
"The trace of water stains on Mr. Lin's leg!"
As soon as the words fell, following Shinichi Kudo's direction, everyone present firmly fixed their gaze on Lin Xinyi's calf.
Although they were in Tokyo, the weather was not warm, and it felt rather chilly because it was early morning.
Therefore, Lin Xinyi's trouser legs and shoes, which were soaked with water, had not completely dried yet, still retaining a large, visible trace to the naked eye.
"Wet traces, his leg was soaked in water!"
Some quick-witted onlookers had already reacted:
"This guy must be the murderer!"
"It didn't rain today; ordinary citizens out for morning exercise wouldn't get their legs wet."
"Only the murderer who dumped the corpse in the river would step into the water to throw the body farther away!"
Oh wow! Amidst a gasp, everyone understood the connection.
The gazes fixed on Lin Xinyi instantly became hotter and filled with hostility.
Lin Xinyi remained silent.
Shinichi Kudo struck while the iron was hot and pressed for answers:
"Then, Lin Xinyi-kun."
"Can you explain why your trouser legs got wet just now?"
Lin Xinyi did not answer.
He just said with a calm expression:
"Deduction alone cannot lead to a conviction in court."
"To accuse me of being the murderer, you must present concrete evidence that exists."
"That is natural."
Shinichi Kudo shrugged and smiled confidently:
"The most difficult part of a dismemberment case is locking onto a suspect."
"Once a target is identified, finding evidence is not hard."
"After all, the scale of murder and dismemberment is huge; erasing all traces is not that easy."
"As long as the suspect's home is searched thoroughly as soon as possible, bloodstains that haven't been wiped clean can usually be found."
"That makes sense!"
The onlookers had another moment of realization:
"No wonder that guy refused to answer the police officer's questions earlier."
"He must have been afraid the police would search his house right away and find the dismemberment scene that hasn't been cleaned up yet!"
This deduction show seemed to be drawing to a close.
Everyone looked at the famous High School Detective with looks of admiration, to varying degrees:
Truly worthy of being the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era.
The murderer, thinking himself clever by staying at the scene to observe the police reaction, never expected someone to notice the water stains on his leg, thus inadvertently exposing himself to the Famous Detective.
This truly had to be retribution; justice was served by fate.
"Mr. Lin Xinyi, you can answer our questions now."
Inspector Megure stepped forward at the appropriate time.
He abandoned his previous strategy of emotional engagement and instead used a stern tone to intimidate:
"You do have the right to remain silent."
"But please note that your current performance will be recorded."
"Stubborn silence will only put you in a disadvantageous position; I hope you do not make such an unwise choice."
Lin Xinyi: "..."
Honestly, even he felt like a criminal right now.
But there was nothing he could do.
He knew clearly that without the original body's memories, he couldn't possibly answer the police's many questions.
Moreover, most importantly, talking right now was meaningless.
Evidence—everything depended on evidence.
Even if Lin Xinyi could talk his way out of suspicion now, once solid evidence was presented, he wouldn't be able to quibble about "his" crime—
Yes, without the original body's memories, he couldn't completely exclude "his" suspicion either.
Although slightly annoyed, Lin Xinyi had to admit that the deduction made by that Kudo Detective was not flawed.
Based on the clues presented so far, the probability that he was the murderer was high.
He hoped he wasn't that unlucky.
If he really had transmigrated into the body of a murderer, then there would be no turning back.
Waves stirred in Lin Xinyi's heart.
But he still raised his head with a calm expression, meeting the gazes of suspicion and vigilance, and said, "Wait a moment longer."
"Wait for what?" Inspector Megure asked, confused.
"Wait for you to pull the corpse out of the water."
Lin Xinyi cast his gaze toward the river nearby, where the river patrol team was busy retrieving something from the surface:
"Whether or not I am the murderer—"
"The corpse will answer that question."