Coin and Carving Murders Case

The **Coin and Carving Murders Case** is a serial murder case that occurred in Tokyo.

It is the 20th main case in the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* series.

## Overview

Three people, two women and one man, were discovered dead in factories and vacant lots around Tokyo. Their only commonality is that they are in their thirties or older. The culprit carved a number into their lower abdomen to indicate in which order they killed the victims; they also hid a foreign coin in each victim's stomach. In the first two victims, a Ghanaian 20 pesewas coin and a Mexican 1 peso coin were discovered, respectively. The third victim housed a British pound sterling fom 1989.

A fourth victim, Ryu Yanobe, is found by a river; the lack of dirt on his soles indicates he was killed elsewhere. He was killed by a blow to the end by a blunt object, e.g., a bat. Yanobe died last night; his rigor mortis has reached its peak which means he died about 12-15 hours ago. A "4" was carved into his abdomen after his death. During his autopsy, a Korean 500 won coin is found inside his abdomen.

Toto is in charge of the case, and all autopsies are handled by Nagaoka of the Tokyo Seaside Medical University.

### Further murder

The same day Yanobe's corpse is discovered, a fifth victim is found behind the Seaside University's research wing. His cause of death is unknown, and Hirsch states he has been dead for a day. Hirsch also shows his A-rank detective license and insists to perform the autopsy.

## History

At the Tokyo Seaside Medical University's autopsy center, Totomaru Isshiki supervises Nagaoka's autopsy of the third victim of the recent serial murders in the area. They are perplexed by what they discover, and Toto wonders what the coins found inside all victims could mean.

Later, Toto heads to the Maison du Kamonohashi to visit Ron Kamonohashi who is lying on his Floor of Sloth, wearing a set of clothes he made himself out of boredom; the patterns on it match the pattern of the floor. Ron shows Toto an article about Fin Fennec who has recently solved an ancient pyramid's locked room mystery and expresses his jealously. While she can solve all the mysteries she wants, he is stuck at home. Totomaru then tells him about the Coin and Carving Murders. Afterward, he gets a call from Amamiya who asks him to meet a visitor in her stead, Dr. Hirsch from BLUE. Because of what Fin told them, Ron and Toto are suspicious of the timing of Hirsch's arrival in Japan. Officially, he was invited to teach the Metropolitan Police Department's and the university's forensic medicine departments his techniques for solving cases via autopsy.

Toto and Ron head to the Seaside University where they meet Hirsch who is surprised to see Ron considering what happened in the Bloody Field Trip Case. Ron confronts Hirsch about the fact that he was a murder suspect fifteen times; in each case, he was ruled not guilty because all the evidence connecting him to the case was neatly erased. Hirsch reminds him that if he was truly a criminal, he would not be an instructor at BLUE. Then, Ron reminds him of their encounter years ago at BLUE in which Hirsch tried to kill him when Ron pretended to be asleep on an autopsy table; Hirsch even chased him with a scalpel when he ran away. Hirsch comments that he was only making a joke; he also notes that it is a waste Ron cannot solve any cases with his deductive talents.

While Ron and Hirsch talk, Totomaru receives a phone call: Another body was found. Hirsch takes the phone from him and gets permission to investigate with an assistant—Ron.

At the river terrace where the fourth victim, Ryu Yanobe, was found, Ron lies down next to the body and examines it. Hirsch lies down as well and makes some additions to Ron's deductions. He then demands to perform the autopsy, but Toto reminds him that they need to get an analysis permit first. Hirsch also wants information on all victims which Toto also has to gather.

Later, Toto talks to Yanobe's wife at the police headquarters. She has no idea why her husband could have been at a Tokyo riverside as his work is in the opposite direction; she also does not recognize any of the other victims. Thus, there is still no commonality connecting all victims.

Meanwhile, Ron and Hirsch are waiting in a conference room. As Hirsch studies the autopsy reports of the first three victims, Ron asks him why he made him his assistant for this case. Hirsch replies that he likes surrounding himself with people worse than him on which he can place the blame if he has too; because of that, he was never arrested. Ron believes him. In this moment, Totomaru enters the room and announces that the autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Because Nagaoka is already assigned to the case, Hirsch cannot perform the autopsy which upsets Hirsch. However, he accepts the decision and leaves.

Afterward, Ron and Toto go eat at a Japanese restaurant. While they eat and discuss Hirsch's intentions, Toto gets a call: A fifth body was found. They immediately head to the crime scene. Toto tries to contact Hirsch, but he cannot reach him. Still, he arrives at the crime scene to investigate and promptly starts to examine the corpse. Ron asks him where he has been, and Hirsch says he was wandering around Tokyo before he changes the subject by stating that Nagaoka must be overwhelmed with two corpses at once. Because of that, he would gladly help with the autopsies. Toto protests because of the official procedures, but Hirsch does not want to listen as they are in a race against time. He then shows his detective license to get immediate permission. Ron notes Hirsch's demotion from S- to A-rank, and how odd it is that he is so fixated on this particular corpse and that he knew the crime scene's location although Toto could not reach and tell him. Hirsch replies that he saw the scene when he was simply passing by. When Ron points out that the university is quite far from his hotel, Hirsch shuts him down and ends the conversation by reminding Toto to set up the autopsies.

The next day, Ron, Hirsch, and Totomaru meet up with Nagaoka at the Seaside University. Nagaoka suggests taking turns examining the bodies, but Hirsch is vehemently against it as he despises waste; he wants the autopsies to happen concurrently so that they will not lose any time. Hirsch also wants to omit the CT scan which usually precedes an autopsy in Japan. Toto permits Hirsch's suggestions and insists that he and Ron will observe the autopsies.

While Nagaoka examines the fifth victim under Ron's observation, Hirsch conducts Yanobe's autopsy with Toto as his observant. Nagaoka finds no external injuries on the fifth body. Hirsch notes that the number on Yanobe's body is tilted whereas the numbers on the first three victims were not; Nagaoka adds that the number on the fifth victim is tilted as well. Hirsch also theorizes that there must have been a connected brutal unsolved case that occurred right before the first victim in the Coin and Carving Murders was found. Toto informs him that a Tokyo doctor was stabbed multiple times during that period.

Nagaoka and Hirsch then proceed to examine the victim's abdomens. Hirsch finds a coin inside Yanobe whereas Nagaoka does not find anything in the fifth victim's stomach. Hirsch then calls out in surprise which catches the attention of Nagaoka, Ron, and Toto, though Hirsch quickly adds that he was mistaken. He puts something in his pocket before he leaves the autopsy room. Toto and Ron hurry after him, and Ron asks Hirsch to show him what he hid, but Hirsch quickly dismisses him.

After Hirsch leaves, Totomaru and Ron discuss the case. Ron does not think Hirsch concealed any murder evidence, and while he wonders what the meaning behind the coins and numbers is, he solves the case. He tells Toto that hidden things have value because they have vanished before they prepare to expose the culprit.

Later that day, Toto and Ron hide in the university's morgue and wait for Hirsch. When he eventually arrives, Toto confronts him about the fifth body: The man was not murdered; he died of a congenital heart disease. This means that Hirsch took the corpse and planted it behind the research wing after making it look like a victim of the serial killer. Toto wants to arrest Hirsch, but Ron stops him: Hirsch is not the culprit, but the true killer will arrive soon.

A moment later, Nagaoka enters the morgue. He wants to leave when he sees Ron, Hirsch, and Totomaru because he does not want to interrupt their conversation, but Ron invites him to stay as Hirsch allegedly wants to show him what he discovered during the autopsy. Hirsch says that he found "something strange" inside Yanobe. Nagaoka wants to see the object immediately; however, Hirsch wants to lay out his deductions first: The victims had several commonalities—the carved number, the international coin, having been found in Tokyo. Hirsch asks why the murderer did those things, and Ron answers: The culprit wanted to connect the victims and then make sure a forensic scientist from Tokyo would be assigned to the case as the culprit wanted to retrieve the corpses. The serial killer is, thus, Nagaoka.

Nagaoka denies the allegations, but Hirsch simply continues: Nagaoka pretended not to notice that the numbers were tilted because he wanted to cover up that the numbers were used to hide appendicitis surgery scars. Ron adds that the victims were all over 30 years old because, nowadays, appendicitis is treated with endoscopic surgery which does not leave any scars; the victims, therefore, all had surgery for appendicitis about twenty years ago which means the killer targeted people of a certain generation.

Hirsch continues that the stabbing of the doctor provides the reason why the killer went after people who had an appendicitis surgery. The doctor was a gastrointestinal surgeon who performed the surgeries of all victims—he was also an university classmate of Nagaoka. Ron says that Nagaoka used the autopsies to search for something inside the victims' bodies. Hirsch then holds up a small pouch with the item in question; he tells Nagaoka he will only give him the item if he turns himself in. Subsequently, Nagaoka breaks down and confesses.

After his wife died twenty years ago, her ashes were turned into a diamond, but the diamond was stolen. A few days ago, Nagaoka met up with the gastrointestinal surgeon for a drink; they had been university classmates. The surgeon admitted that he stole the diamond because he was in love with Nagaoka's wife and hated Nagaoka for marrying her. He then hid the diamond inside one of his appendicitis patients to ensure Nagaoka would not have his wife forever. Nagaoka killed the surgeon and stole his patient data for his plan to retrieve the diamond. He hid the coins inside the bodies because he wanted to make sure that the bodies would be autopsied; the coins were remnants of overseas trips with his wife.

Then, Hirsch reveals that the pouch was a feint; the diamond was not inside Yanobe. Nagaoka charges at him for tricking him but Hirsch stops him by pointing a scalpel at him. He calls Nagaoka disgrace to all forensic scientists and tells him to never call himself one again. Defeated, Nagaoka sinks to the ground. At the same time, Ron collapses due to the side effects of his Kill on Sight medication.

A few days later, Ron feels well again, and he and Totomaru meet up with Hirsch who called them. He wants to know how Ron figured out his deduction, and Ron replies that he considered his incomprehensible actions from the angle that he was doing all that to catch the culprit; and, indeed, from this angle, all his actions made perfect sense: Hirsch wanted to unsettle Nagaoka and force him to reveal himself. Toto then asks about the fifth corpse, and Hirsch tells him that he asked the dead patient's family for permission to use the body in a major case. He also argued his case to perform an autopsy on the body so that he will not be charged with mutilating a corpse.

Ron comments that, from his actions, no one would know that Hirsch has been a murder suspect multiple times. Annoyed, Hirsch replies that he should be more concerned about himself considering how bad his side effects are. Hearing this shocks Ron, and Hirsch then asks him if he wants to know what really happened during the Bloody Field Trip Case before he starts to recount the events:

The day of the incident, Hirsch was vacationing in the mountains when he got a call from the police. They needed him to examine several bodies. Curious, Hirsch returned to London and performed autopsies on all seven bodies—and found nothing of note. All victims had been stabbed to death in vital points and died more or less immediately. Despite the impressive precision of the murders, there was nothing special about the case. That the case still received so much attention is the reason why Hirsch is interested in it. The fact that the data on the blood found at the crime scene was erased and a rumor spread that he was overseas when the incident occurred only fuelled Hirsch's interest.

After Hirsch told Ron and Toto everything, he asks Ron if he has a guess who could have framed him for those murders. When Ron replies that it was the M. Family, Hirsch is shocked and discourages Ron from investigating any further because of how dangerous the M. Family is. Hirsch also notes that whoever told Ron about the rumor that he was overseas might be working for the M. Family. He then leaves with a final warning.

Later, Toto and Ron discuss whether Fin and Shachi could be M. Family spies in Ron's apartment. Ron also ponders that, if Hirsch is the spy, he might have tried to persuade him to give up being a detective with his discouragement to look further into the Bloody Field Trip Case. Alternately, all three might not be the spy but someone else they have not met yet. Toto then asks Ron if he has any other suspects—old school friends, maybe. Ron reminds him that he had no friends back then. A moment later, someone knocks on the door, and when they open it, a man falls injured into the apartment. He tells Ron that he is cold for forgetting his only friend at BLUE before he loses his consciousness.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 63, page 7
2. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 64, page 12
3. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 66, page 8
4. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 63, pages 2-3
5. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 64, pages 2-5
6. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 65, page 13
7. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 63, page 8
8. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 65, page 4
9. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 64, pages 12-18
10. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 63, pages 2-19
11. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 64, pages 2-18
12. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 65, pages 2-19
13. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 66, pages 2-23
14. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 67, pages 2-13