Metropolitan Serial Drownings Case

* Anime
* Manga

The **Metropolitan Serial Drownings Case** is a serial murder case. The murders were committed irregularly over nine months in Tokyo.

It is the first main case in the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* series.

## Overview

Irregularly in the span of nine months, five men were killed. All of them were found drowned in places without water with their valuables stolen. None of them had visible wounds or drugs in their systems. There were also no indicators of a struggle on their clothes. On the nights of their deaths, all men were headed to different places: a date, a celebration, a class reunion, a wedding, and a birthday party. Besides being all men, the victims had nothing in common.

A sixth victim, a personal investor named Okamasa who was on his way to a businessman's party, is found in Kazahana Park, Shibuya. His watch and wallet were stolen.

## History

Since the first murder nine months ago, the First Investigative Division of the Metropolitan Police Department has been struggling to find and catch the killer. When they learn that the serial killer claimed their fifth victim, Amamiya sends Totomaru Isshiki home so that he would not disturb the investigation. Instead of going home, Totomaru goes to Kiku, an officer of the General Affairs Division. Kiku then refers him to Ron Kamonohashi, a "crazy" private detective, as he believes Ron to be the only one capable of solving the case.

Totomaru visits Ron. There, Totomaru gets a call from Amamiya who tells him that there has been a sixth victim at Kazahana Park and that he should go there as he is the closest to the crime scene. Having been reluctant to help before, Ron agrees to help after hearing about the latest victim and after Toto promised to look after him and his "fatal flaw."

Together, they head to Kazahana Park where Ron examines the corpse and quickly solves the case. He then takes Toto shopping and dresses him in "tasteless designer clothes" before he sends him to a barber. Before Toto goes into the shop though, Ron urges him not to fall asleep and to hold his breath for a minute during the shampoo.

In the shop, Totomaru tells the barber that his stock is going well before the shampoo starts. He leans forward to the washbasin, and when he goes still, the barber tries to drown him. Before he succeeds though, Ron barges in and exposes the barber as the serial killer.

The barber filled the sink with oxygen-deficient air to make his victims pass out and easy to rob and kill. Ron realized that a barber must be the culprit because, although all victims were heading to events that required them to look good, they either had longish hair or undyed roots. This means they died after visiting a barber, one that is in the area, accepts walk-ins, and has easy access to dry ice to create carbon dioxide. Only this shop fulfills all criteria; the dry ice is obtained from a nearby fish shop. Furthermore, a barber always talks with their customers and would, thus, know if they are rich or told someone of their barber visit.

Exposed, the barber flees to the roof; however, because Ron locked the gate there beforehand, the barber cannot escape. He confesses that he started to kill wealthy people who came to his shop for their money. In the past, he was tricked by a rich businessman to invest in stocks which left him with a huge debt, and this is his revenge.

When he hears the barber's confession, Ron unknowingly pressures him to jump, and the barber complies and climbs over the fence. Just when he is about to jump, Totomaru hurries forward and manages to grab him. However, he cannot hold him for long, and Ron has to save them with bungee ropes.

Later, Ron explains to Toto that he has no control over his culprit killing ability and that this is the reason why he shut himself away and cannot investigate any cases anymore. The events on the roof gave him an idea though: Because Totomaru is such a "pure idiot," his body reacts faster than his mind. He can, thus, easily save the people Ron attempts to compel into committing suicide. As they make an excellent team, Ron offers to solve Toto's cases for him and turn him into a famous detective.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 26
2. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 5
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 36
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 39
5. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 37-41
6. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 28
7. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 5-7
8. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 8-13
9. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 27-28
10. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 19-22
11. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 29-47
12. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, page 52
13. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 1, pages 48-69