The Case of the Hand Collector Killer Pt. 2

**The Case of the Hand Collector Killer Pt. 2** (ハンドコレクター殺人事件②, *Handokorekutā satsujin jiken ②*) is the 6th chapter of the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga.

## Summary

Kawasemi wants to know why Totomaru and Ron think that he is lying. Ron explains that because Kawasemi was able to effortlessly dodge Toto earlier, he could not have possibly been tackled by the killer, especially considering that he was handcuffed. Kawasemi is surprised that Toto tried to tackle him on purpose and says that he has heard of an Officer Isshiki who has been extraordinarily solving cases lately. However, as his first impressions are never wrong, he is not satisfied with his display of Toto's apparent detective prowess. He also notes that his deduction has no bearing on the case anyway and admits that he has indeed been lying: He was not present when Yamane let the culprit get away and was instead looking for the killer in another room of the abandoned factory. Kawasemi lied to shift the blame away from Yamane as he noticed that the case unsettled Yamane; his sleeve was even missing a button. Because he did not give Yamane proper instructions considering his mental state, the culprit escaped. Kawasemi could not possibly blame him for that.

Yamane cannot believe that Kawasemi lied for him and apologizes. Meanwhile, Ron plays with his handpuppets and then points out to Yamane that he is again missing a button. This greatly distresses Yamane and he frantically searches for the button before Ron reveals that he found the button and made it his handpuppet's eye. Yamane is very relieved to see that "it's here this time." Hearing Yamane's words, Ron solves the case. He asks Kawasemi and Yamane how much they know about the identity of the corpse; they reply that they are still looking into it. A moment later, Ron gets a call from Spitz Feier. He puts him on speakerphone, and Totomaru is surprised to hear from Spitz again. Ron also informs Toto that Spitz was the one who told him of his location.

Spitz says that the corpse in the truck belongs to a part-time worker called Minoru Mushanokoji. He is currently in his room which is full of posters of people over whose bodies Mushanokoji has drawn, leaving only their hands unsullied. There are also three pairs of hands in the refrigerator, proving that Mushanokoji is the Hand Collector.

The call ends, and Kawasemi is doubtful that Spitz could be faster than the Aichi Police's investigators. Then, Yamano receives a call from a colleague who confirms Spitz's findings on the corpse's identity. Kawasemi is shocked, and Ron splashes brown sugar syrup on Totomaru's face with his platypus handpuppet. They excuse themselves, and Ron states that Totomaru will solve the case after cleaning himself up.

When they return, Totomaru begins to lay out his deduction, but Kawasemi does not want to listen to him because Toto is only a rookie and his first impressions are always correct. Ron says that this may be the first time his "eagle eyes" did not work, and Kawasemi remarks that something about Ron has been bothering him, only he cannot place it. Toto then interrupts their exchange and reveals what happened: Mushanokoji is the Hand Collector; the three sets of hands in his room confirmed this. Someone else took Mushanokoji's hands to make it appear as if there was another Hand Collector. That person did not kill Mushanokoji though: Mushanokoji had already committed suicide by then because Kawasemi and Yamane saw his face and cornered him last night. The person who took Mushanokoji's hands also removed his shirt because the blood splatters would have revealed that his death was a suicide, not a homicide.

Kawasemi realizes what Toto is implying, and Toto confirms this: The one who stole Mushanokoji's hands was Yamane, the first person who discovered him after his suicide.

Yamane denies this, but Toto challenges him by asking how else he could have known that Mushanokoji has a bird tattoo on his wrist. After all, it was pitch-black in that factory. He also points out that the reason why Yamane is still denying everything is because he does not want to admit that he lost his handcuffs the night before. He panicked over his missing button earlier, and he was unsettled yesterday because of his lost handcuffs. When Yamane found Mushanokoji's corpse, he hid it in the truck and cut off the hands. Then, he could say Mushanokoji escaped with his handcuffs on before the Hand Collector killed him and took his hands, including the handcuffs. All Yamane wanted to do was to cover up the loss of his handcuffs.

Kawasemi replies that Yamane would never do such a thing. Totomaru reminds him about the button incident: If he already trembled in fear after losing a simple button, how could he bear the loss of police property? Kawasemi put too much pressure on Yamane and drove him to such an act so that he would not disappoint him.

Yamane confesses and breaks down in front of Kawasemi and asks for his forgiveness for staining his perfect career. Kawasemi forgives him and apologizes for putting so much pressure on him, especially considering that he has always known that Yamane does not handle stress well; he has simply grown too accustomed to him and taken him for granted. What Yamane has done is still a crime though and he may not be able to work as an officer again. Nevertheless, Kawasemi will always hold a place for him by his side for as long as Yamane wants to. Both of them do not need to be officers anyway; they can simply solve cases like Toto and Ron do.

Kawasemi tells Ron and Toto that he has seen through their relationship but will not pry into it. He also sees Totomaru in a new light now: Only because of Toto, Ron can fully display his abilities. Toto objects to this evaluation and then notices that Ron is not pressuring anyone to death this time. Ron informs him that Kill on Sight is only activated when someone confesses to committing a murder; a rule he himself did not know before. Kawasemi interrupts them to say that they were a great help in this investigation, but that he will solve their next joint case. Ron replies, on Toto's behalf, that they will see about that and calls Kawasemi "Kawasemi-chan." Toto protests, saying that this does not sound like him at all. Ron tells him that he is truly a pure idiot: After all, Kawasemi praised him earlier, and he denied it. Totomaru did not even realize that he had been praised though.

Kawasemi watches them and tells Amamiya in his mind that she has a great subordinate. At the Metropolitan Police Department's headquarters, Amamiya sneezes while eating instant noodles. This causes her to drop her meat, and she yells at her subordinates to find out who is talking about her.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Omito Kawasemi
* Yamane
* Totomaru Isshiki
* Ron Kamonohashi
* Minoru Mushanokoji
* Spitz Feier
* Amamiya