The Case of the Live Broadcast Murder Pt. 2

**The Case of the Live Broadcast Murder Pt. 2** (生放送殺人事件②, *Namahōsō satsujin jiken ②*) is the 8th chapter of the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga.

## Summary

The forensics team reports to Toto that they were not able to locate a poison needle. Torage impatiently asks how long he would be made to wait, and if they have no evidence, then they should let him leave. Toto runs back to Mofu and Shikada asking if Ron has said anything yet, but they just say he went to sleep. Ron says he got sleep after watching on a monitor how the victim died. Toto tells him they still have not found the poison needle, but Ron has gotten over it, and now focuses on "the verge of death."

Ron confirms with Mofu: right after the test subject saw the board, his eyes shut, and he collapsed, did he twitch at all after that? Mofu says that while she was doing chest compressions, the victim let out a groan for a moment, but then his breathing stopped again. Thus, Toto adds that there was no way Torage could have stabbed the victim's neck with the poison needle while Mofu did the chest compressions. He begins to despair, but Ron says he now has what he needs. All of the tricks are in the TV.

After pulling away from people using applying eye drops for Ron's bloodshot eyes as an excuse, Toto and Ron gather the people at the studio. They begin by reenacting the incident, and Toto asks Mofu to play the test subject. Toto would then play as Torage, while using the same panel cards used in the program. Toto asks to be lent the marker Torage used, but Torage refuses. Mofu charges in, demanding that he lend the marker to them. In the process she trips and tumbles, but does get the marker. Mofu wears the noise-cancelling headphones and will move according to the words, thus acting as accomplice.

The reenactment begins. Toto raises the sign with the English word "jump," and Mofu jumps for a while. He then lifts the sign with the English word "run," and Mofu obligingly runs around. For the final word, Toto presents the English word "death" to the audience, then has Mofu stand where the test subject stood. Toto presents the card the same way Torage did, but Mofu suddenly understands, while also still playing along, closing her eyes then falling onto the floor.

Shikada starts panicking, but Toto tries to calm everyone. Mofu is not dead. Toto then explains that the board is just normal card stock. But Torage flipped the card when he set it on the podium. When he picked it up, he grabbed it from the opposite side, to show the card upside down to the victim. Toto then shows it as a semi-stylized English word "sleep."

Mofu gets up from the floor, and understands that the test subject was still conscious when he collapsed. Toto confirms: the accomplice was just pretending to be asleep. But Toto explains: While the victim was still unable to hear outside sounds and Torage checked his pulse, the victim was still acting. But after the broadcast was interrupted and people were swarming around, Torage took advantage of the commotion and inject the poison into the back of the victim's neck. Thus when Mofu was doing CPR, the victim still groaned because the poison had been slow in spreading.

Torage exclaims that it is a false accusation and they have not found the poison needle, but Toto says they already recovered it. When Toto's notebook was signed, Torage used the thicker marker side because Torage had inserted a poison needle into the narrow marker side.

After some theatrics, Torage surrenders. When Mofu asks why he killed his accomplice, Torage says he was threatened. The accomplice would give away his secrets if he did not give him 90 percent of the profits. Toto thus says that was too hasty, and what does he think a person's life is.

Ron activates the Kill on Sight, telling Torage to stab himself, flicking the marker out of Toto's hand and tossing it to Torage, saying those who make light of other's life have no right to live in this world. Torage grabs the narrow marker and points it at himself. Toto charges in and draws out his hand to stop him, but gets nicked in the hand with the narrow marker. Everyone panics that Toto got stabbed with the poison needle. Mofu rapidly comes in to check. Toto thinks it is too late.

Meanwhile Torage says he took out the narrow marker to insert the needle, thus there should not be marker ink on Toto. What hit Toto was a real two-sided marker. Back when Mofu tripped in borrowing the marker, she got the wrong one. Mofu is very happy. Ron is sweating terribly in distress.

While leaving the TV network building, Toto tries to keep it light with Ron, but he really thought he was going to die. Ron is still sweating and shaking. He regrets what happened. Toto lightly says he'll be asking about the next case soon, right? Ron is still rattled, saying his comeback was a mistake, he almost did something that could not be undone, and that he has no right to be a detective after all. Toto is worried that Ron is this depressed, just like when he first met him. He thinks maybe it is time to give up that dangerous method.

Mofu calls out to them; her bandage got stuck on a railing and she asks for help from Toto. She gives her thanks to Toto, saying the number of patients who reject surgery due to believing ESP will decrease. Toto deflects that that is the result of Mofu's daily work, but she says back that his brilliant deduction is going to save many lives.

After thinking that what they are doing is not wrong, Toto apologizes on behalf of Ron, explaining that he has a weird habit of pressuring murderers. Mofu looks extremely worried: that was not just pressuring it was more like... But she trails off, as Toto says she cheered him up and gives his thanks.

Toto catches up to Ron, saying they cannot quit over something like this. But Ron, still distraught, says that "something like this" almost ended up killing Toto. If something like this happens again, and the person Ron is solving a case with dies, forget about being a detective, Ron would be so overwhelmed with despair that he would not be able to go on living. Toto deflects, telling him not to imaging him dead so easily, and that he will stop him next time for sure. He wants to believe in Ron Kamonohashi, too. Why would someone who loves solving cases more than anything and has offered up his life to detective work shut himself up for five years? Toto continues that Ron stifled himself because he cares about other people's lives.

This discourse is interrupted when a network employee arrives, asking for "Isshiki from the police"; he says a courier dropped a letter off for him. On opening it, Toto finds an invitation by the Comet Appreciation Society to a party at an island observatory to watch a meteor shower in the constellation of Leo. Ron nervously asks to see it, and just says he needs to go too, that the island is calling for him.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Totomaru Isshiki
* Ron Kamonohashi
* Dankichi Torage
* Mofu Usaki
* Shikada