The Case of the Live Broadcast Murder Pt. 1

**The Case of the Live Broadcast Murder Pt. 1** (生放送殺人事件①, *Namahōsō satsujin jiken ①*) is the 7th chapter of the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga.

## Summary

Toto visits Ron at his apartment, and finds him with bloodshot eyes, asking for a case. Toto came over, wondering what is wrong, because he could not reach Ron, but Ron just says he has been absorbed in "the wonder of civilization": Ron bought a flatscreen television set. Toto muses that this is an incredible recoil from cutting himself off from the outside world for five years.

Ron says Toto's timing is perfect because his favorite program was just starting: Lie or Truth? ESP!! Toto says his grandmother also watches the show. They watch the show begin, introduced by its host Onoyako. On the show, a psychic faces off with a neurosurgeon, to prove whether or not he is using actual psychic abilities. The psychic is introduced as Dankichi Torage, and the neurosurgeon is Mofu Usaki, introduced as the genius neurosurgeon with miracle hands.

But Mofu is presented as heavily injured, as Toto comments. Mofu says she was cutting an apple when the knife slipped and cut her face. When Toto asks if she is really a surgeon, Ron says she is one of the world's most preeminent super-doctors who does surgeries on a microscopic scale. Meanwhile on TV, Mofu tries to adjust the lapel microphone and it gets caught on her chin. When Toto comments if someone that clumsy cuts open people's heads, Ron says she does, 800 heads a year.

The show proceeds. The psychic Torage says he will control someone's brain using only writing. Ron cheers Torage on, thus Toto asks if Ron believes in ESP. Not at all, Ron says. When Toto asks why Ron is rooting for the psychic, Ron says if ESP did exist, it would make solving cases even more fun, mysteries would be even more complicated, so they would be more interesting. Toto quips that all Ron can think about is detective work. Meanwhile Ron says Toto seems to be the type who would say "wowza!" ("sugotsu") and believe it right away. Toto protests, saying he is not that simple.

The show continues, with Torage asking for a volunteer. A young man in a white parka is chosen. Torage says that what he will perform is not hypnosis. He will directly control the man's brain using words he writes on a large panel. Further, to ensure no influence from his voice, noise-cancelling headphones were prepared for the subject to wear. He shows the audience the English word "jump." The subject proceeds to jump, to the astonishment of the audience and Toto who lets out a "wowza!." Torage shows the English word "run," saying the subject's brain will obey the word regardless of his will. The subject begins running around the stage.

Mofu now protests, asking if the subject was really selected randomly, to Ron's appreciation. Torage says he was, and on what grounds does the doctor suspect he was not. Mofu says that even if a person is disguised, it is impossible to change their basic movements, which almost function like a fingerprint. She analyzed the subjects movements with a biological motion app, she confirmed that the subject is the same one as the last time, that he was a plant working with Torage. Mofu showed the proof with a very cracked screen though; her phone gets dropped and run over by dump trucks often.

Torage challenges Mofu by writing another word, saying will she believe the subject is not a plant once the word is shown. Torage writes the English word "death" on the panel. Torage challenges if Mofu will believe him if the subject dies. Mofu says the subject will not die. Torage shows the panel to the subject, and the subject shuts his eyes and falls onto the floor. After some moments Torage holds the subject's wrist, and announces that he is dead. The show cuts the feeds and puts up the emergency message, while calling for an ambulance. Meanwhile, Ron tells Toto that since it was a live broadcast, they could not just hang around, and says they are going to the TV station.

Ron and Toto arrive at Donut Television, the network of the ESP show. Amamiya allows Toto to handle the case because everyone else is busy. Toto asks Ron what he should call him, and Ron says his name is Asasuki Kamoji, a "fair-weather fan" ("2-walker fan") of Torage. Anyhow Toto introduces him as a specialist assisting with the investigation, even as Ron says his specialized knowledge is shallow, narrow, and spotty.

At the TV studio of the ESP show, Toto is informed by forensics that the subject's death has been verified. Ron meanwhile lays down beside the subject and victim, saying he will avenge him. Torage comes over and Ron introduces himself again as his fair-weather fan, with Ron directly asking how he killed the victim. While Toto panics, Torage just says the cause of death of was his ESP, but it will be impossible for modern science and laws to punish him. Meanwhile Ron cheerfully says Torage is the best, and asks for an autograph using Toto's police notebook, to Toto's chagrin. Ron notes that Torage already has his marker. Torage reluctantly obliges the autograph, with a thick scrawl of his name kanji. Torage then says if the neurologist woman had just believed him, he would never have had to do that sort of experiment, shouldn't the police be punishing her.

Meanwhile, Mofu got caught in her belt on one of the studio's rigging hooks, and was suspended from the ceiling. After getting her down, Mofu's assistant Shikada says that Mofu is feeling very depressed. While Toto thinks it is not her fault someone was killed, Mofu however feels that no matter the reason, as someone engaged in the medical profession, she has the responsibility of letting someone die right before her eyes.

When Ron asks though if she feels like believing in ESP, Mofu does not know. On examination she found the cause of death to be poison. Based on her observation of flaccid paralysis and cyanosis, she thinks it was nerve poison. She suspects several differentials: blowfish poison or snake venom since the heart had stopped by the time the ambulance arrived. It could also be something stronger, like botolinium toxin. Ron completely agrees with Mofu. He adds that he also thought the spot on the back of the the victim's neck could be a would from a poison needle. Mofu thinks the same thing. Ron says they are on the same page. Toto then adds: do they think Torage shot the victim with a blow dart or something? Mofu says that is impossible. With increasing consternation she adds: Torage never made any suspicious movements, and the victim collapsed as soon as he saw the panel. From where Torage was standing it would have been impossible for him to aim for the neck. Lastly, there was not anyone behind the test subject victim.

Ron "celebrates" this as a victory for Torage, as Mofu sulks. Shikada then explains why Mofu cannot lose: There was a patient she could have have saved, but the patient refused surgery because they believed in ESP. Since then she swore to correct society's misunderstanding about ESP. Shikada adds that Mofu forced herself to take part in the program even after spending all night in surgery.

Ron therefore decides that they should hurry up and solve the case so Mofu can get some sleep. They will discover the trick and get the bogus psychic to scram. He assures them that no ESP happened, that he will overcome Torage and punish him. When Shikada checks the statement that he is a fan, Ron drops the hairball and the act: As long as he lives, he will only be a fan of the truth, and the one who will expose the trick is the "pure idiot," Officer Isshiki.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Totomaru Isshiki
* Ron Kamonohashi
* Ron's cat
* Onoyako
* Dankichi Torage
* Mofu Usaki
* Unnamed volunteer
* Shikada