Three plus Four is Five - Dead Logic

December 8, 2023

Shuhi was finally able to go home early that day. The case was very heavy for her. She tossed her bag away.

After having a large dinner and making her stomach full, she went to her room upstairs.

Usually she put some effort cracking the clues at night. But her body didn't feel like moving much. She was too tired to think. Too tired to even try.

So, she chose the lazy way. She gave up and went straight to bed. No reading. No thinking. Just quiet sleep under her warm blanket. Her phone stayed silent. For now, the world could wait.

December 9, 2023

Shuhi woke up at half past six. Earlier than usual. After washing her face and having breakfast, she got some time left to think about the clues.

She noticed that, the 1st murder was on 11th October. From there, they got clues for the second murder's spot. The second murder occurred on 19th October. From the second spot, they discovered the 3rd murder's location and time.

"First location, then location and time? Increase of info? Some kind of pattern?" Shuhi thought.

"In this logic, the 3rd murder should contain 3 clues indicating the fourth spot. We still haven't found a single one yet."

At the end, she gave up for now, thinking that maybe getting more information will help her.

---

Utaro was supposed to meet Shuhi at the train station by 8:00 AM. But he was late. She tapped her foot, arms crossed, eyes fixed at every face that are moving at the station.

At 8:27, he finally showed up, slightly out of breath and holding a hot coffee in one hand.

"You are supposed to meet at 8." Shuhi said.

"Ah...I brought coffee," he replied.

"Still late."

"Okay fine, I'm late."

He handed her the cup, then pulled out a small notebook from his coat.

"I cracked it," he said, his tone changed to something more serious.

"The clue we got from the third house. It wasn't about the victim herself. It was about the method."

Shuhi raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Utaro flipped open the notebook. "The Facebook account your victim used? It's gone. Wiped completely. No trace on the servers. I talked to one of our tech guys. He told that some professional hacker did it. Not someone deleting their own profile. Someone wanted to erase traces."

"So no way to find other members?" Shuhi asked.

"Not unless we find another lead. But I think we have one." Utaro said

"Remember the mirror from yesterday?" Utaro asked.

"Turns out, that thing was something else. I sent a photo of it to a contact at the Historical Artifact Registry. It's not a normal mirror. The glass type is called Obsidian Silverglass. It was used in certain rare mirrors made in secret Japanese cults. They believed the mirror could show hidden truths or create illusions."

"Hallucinations?"

"Exactly. What the girl said, the man holding magic stick coming from the mirror? That might have been real to her. But created by the mirror's effect. It's a hallucinogenic artifact."

Shuhi stared at him, then slowly took a sip of her coffee.

"And the woman… talking to the mirror… apologizing for waking something up?"

Utaro nodded. "Maybe she saw something. Maybe the mirror showed her something she wasn't supposed to see."

An idea clicked in Shuhi's head. "Give me all the photos of the victims. Now."

In the café nearby, Shuhi laid out the printed photos of the four victims.

She stared at the third one in particular. Unlike the others, this body had been heavily stabbed. Multiple wounds across her arms and other body parts. At first glance, it looked brutal, maybe some psycho killer did it. But something wasn't right.

She leaned in closer.

"What are you doing?" Utaro asked.

"Looking for a pattern."

"Are you serious? Finding patterns in a corpse? She was just stabbed a lot."

"No," Shuhi said. "These aren't just stabs. Look… they form dots. Grouped dots. Doesn't it look like Braille?"

"Braille? Oh right, I never noticed it!"

"So can you read it?" Shuhi asked.

"Do I look like a blind man to you?" Utaro replied.

Shuhi nodded, her fingers hovering above the photo. She read silently for a minute, then said,

"It's an address. And a message."

"What message?"

She repeated slowly:

'Where three ends, the fourth begins.

Where crows fly over old shrines.

North of Nara, by the crimson gates.

Tie them all, and truth awaits.'

Utaro blinked. "That's… a poem."

Shuhi nodded again. "It's a riddle wrapped in a location. We need to go to this place. North of Nara. There's a place there with old shrines and red torii gates."

"Mount Wakakusa? Yes It's it. The fourth spot is close to Mount Wakakusa." Utaro said.

"Then we shouldn't waste more time. Let's go."

They reached the location by bullet train after half an hours. The place matched the riddle perfectly. A quiet area where old shrines stood among trees. Red gates stood tall, faded by time. And nearby was a house, larger than the others they had seen before.

The killer had again placed the location.

A large joined family lived here. Four generations in one house.

Shuhi stood at the gate, looking at the house. It was calm, quiet. Children played in the backyard. An old man tended to a bonsai tree. Maybe enjoying the light sunlight in the cold. A woman opened the door and stepped out to greet them.

"May I help you?" she asked politely.

"We're private investigators," Utaro said, showing his badge.

"We believe something in this house may be connected to a recent series of incidents."

The woman looked confused. "I'm sorry… We don't know anything about that."

"Maybe not. But we'd still like to take a look. It won't take long."

She nodded and stepped aside.

Inside, the house was filled with signs of life. Toys on the floor. Framed photos on the walls. The smell of fresh miso soup filled the air.

The woman, named Sae Danao welcomed them and offered Utaro a cup of green tea while Shuhi started to investigate. Getting a chance, the woman seemed to have gone somewhere, maybe to inform other family members.

Shuhi and Utaro's plan was same as before. Utaro will negotiate with the members while Shuhi will investigate.

Sooner or later, a man in his early 50s came to Utaro. His name was Kamijo Danao, Osume Danao's husband.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Danao. I know the local police was here already, but we think the other victims are related in this single case…So can I ask a few questions?" Utaro asked softly.

"Oh....Yes. Sure. Go ahead. I just want to know why. Why her?" Mr. Danao said with a slow voice.

"When did you last see her before the incident?" Utaro asked.

"The morning. She packed lunch for the kids. Told me to wear my scarf. While going to work. She smiled, you know? She smiled. After the next day... I got the news that..." Mr. Danao said frowningly.

"Did she mention anything strange recently? Seemed stressed? Any new contacts or messages that bothered her?"

"No, I saw nothing strange. She was a nice woman. Just doing her everyday household work...."

"You think the killer cared?" A grumpy voice told from behind.

Utaro turns to see an old man, Mr. Danao's father, standing near the doorway with shaking hands and teary eyes.

"She wasn't just a good wife. She was the light in this house. Ever since she married into our family.... this house felt alive again. Always helping everyone. Even me... when I couldn't walk properly, she carried me around without complaining. Like I was her own father." The old man added.

"Otou-san..." Mr. Danao said, softly.

"And now she's gone. Stabbed like an animal. I heard what they did to her... how could a human do that to someone like her?" The old man said, voice breaking.

He pauses, wiping his eyes.

---

Shuhi was searching in a bookshelf. She could remember the first set of clues she got was from bookshelves. Nothing seemed to be a clue.

Two brothers were running from the hallways, running and playing. One boy got hit with Shuhi while running. Talk about Recklessness.

"Ah—! Owww!" He stumbles backward after bumping into Shuhi. The second boy stopped and slowly came close.

"Ah—Are you okay? That was quite a hit!"

She got down to check on the boy

"I-I'm fine....sorry, Miss!" The boy said, rubbing his head.

"We didn't mean to run into you! We were playing tag. He got too reckless." The second boy said.

"Be more careful, especially around sharp corners." Shuhi added.

"Why are you here?" The boy asked, curious.

"Umm, I'm here to investigate."

"Is it about aunt Osume?" The boy asked.

"...Yes. She was your aunt?"

"Will you catch the bad guy, Miss?" The second boy asked.

"I will try my best!" Shuhi replied.

The boys nod and went away quietly this time, leaving Shuhi in thought as she approaches the bookshelf to continue searching.

While Shuhi was searching in the bookshelves, she carefully pulls out a thick, dust-coated journal from the shelf. A loose piece of paper falls from inside. It's a patchwork of cut-out letters from newspapers, arranged like a ransom note. But this one forms a poem.

Where laughter dies and whispers thrive,

Below the city's sleepless dive.

A red moth guards the silent door,

Past bricks that breathe and never snore.

No name outside, no light to guide,

But drinkers here all run or hide.

Ask not for wine, nor glass of cheer,

Speak only this:

"What never sleeps, but dreams in fear?"

"...A red moth guards the silent door..."

She flips the note. Nothing on the back.

"Red moth... no name outside... 'What never sleeps but dreams in fear?'"

"A hidden bar. No signboard. Probably disguised. Red moth—maybe graffiti? Or a symbol near the entrance." She got it.

---

"Please let me know. Anything...anything you found" Mr. Danao said.

"Sure" Utaro nodded.

Coincidentally, Shuhi's investigation was over at the same time.

"We are done here, let's go." Shuhi said to Utaro.

After leaving the large house, they had their lunch done in a resturant near the house. Though the prize was not suitable at all for them.

Shuhi handed Utaro the poem.

"I think this mean some kind of bar." Shuhi said.

After reading it once, Utaro nodded.

"This place is full of religious families so.... I doubt there will be any bar near." Utaro added.

Shuhi showed him a location of a bar which was closest to the house.

"Maybe we will get to know something if we go there." Shuhi said.

"Do you seriously think they will just politely eat tea-coffee with us? We are talking about absolutely punky people and gang members here!" Utaro said.

"So let's be punky too! As far as I know, detectives often do that. Taking a disguise." Shuhi suggested.

"Oh right! Great idea. Then let's go home for now. We will meet tomorrow at a.... some spot, I will notify you. Let's get our best disguises." Utaro said.

Shuhi then returned home. Went to upstairs in her room, closed the door and jumped over her bed.

"How do I look some punk girl? Criminal theme?"

She took out all her makeup and dresses. After trying some dresses and makeups, she got the exact look she wanted.

A half short black dress with grey stripes, a knee torn jeans, black lipstick, a spider shaped clip tightening her long hair in one spot. Of course black nail polish and eye paint. A pair of eye lenses with a black crescent moon logo. Finally Christian cross shaped ear rings and a silver chain. She choose short hilled black shoes and some makeup to look more gothic.

December 10, 2023

9 o'clock

The next day Shuhi went to the spot Utaro messaged her.

"Wait...It's my own house? Is he coming to pick me up?" Shuhi muttered when looking at the message from Utaro.

She of course had to wear another disguise, a towel. Because she couldn't go out looking like a goth. Utaro appeared a few minutes late. Not too late to call it completely late.

Utaro wore a sunglass, a fake beard, a cane in his hand, completely in a different dress than usual. Looking completely like a mafia gang leader.

"Ohh...now this is what I call a disguise" Utaro said seeing Shuhi.

"Yours too. I didn't even recognize you at first." Shuhi added.

"Believe me! You look damm..."

Shuhi stopped Utaro, tapping his right arm with her left elbow.

"Just shut up. Don't mention it" Shuhi said angrily.

After an hour of taxi, they reached in front of the bar.

"Should I even be here? I mean...I'm not aged for it." Shuhi said.

"Oh come don't worry. You look taller than the people of your age group. Also...you said for yourself. We can't solve the case just by following rules." Utaro said.

"Right."

"Then let's do some gambling!" Utaro said.

Chapter 6 - Three plus Four is Five