#1 名探偵Orumiの推理ショー、「何者」江戸川乱歩 discussion (Advanced)

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#1

I’m reading 「何者」by 江戸川乱歩.
It’s in public domain so anyone can copy paste without worrying about copyright issues.

Current Chapter: 三、金ピカの赤井さん

Already read until 二、消えた足跡

I will try to deduce the solution before the author reveals it.
I’m using this Youtube video (so it’s actually a free audiobook while reading along. (practicing both listening and reading))

Rules for posting in this thread:

  1. No spoilers beyond the already read chapter.
  2. If I don’t post for more that 1 month you can ignore the spoiler rule, however it is appreciated to use spoiler warnings using :
<details>  
 <summary> Spoiler for chapter 4  </summary>        

chapter 4 took place...

</details>

  1. You can join regardless of your level, however no one is obliged to help you out.

  2. Please respect spoiler rules.

  3. Please also don’t evaluate Orumi’s deductive reasoning skills.

推理ショー開始！

一、奇妙な盗賊 + 二、消えた足跡

So, as usual I have trouble remembering names…

This chapter focused on the gunshot sound and robbery.
The remarkable thing is nobody except the victim saw the robber or the gun being fired.

The actions of family members are suspicious.
The father did not care to check his son’s wound, he rushed to a strongbox.
I am bit confused as to why the narrator assume he doesn’t know about the strongbox, it was his house after all so he should know about it. (if someone can explain, please do so.)

cousin who is also fiancée (supposed by the narrator) being calm and not worried about the victim.

The servant who sat on the window.
feels like nobody cares about the victim

The stolen things were gold but also had a sentimental value.

The footprints start and end at the well.

Shimako’s beloved cat jumped out of the room when the first witness came to check on the gunshot sound.

the cousin Shimako said her drawer in her study was disturbed too.

The lights were off.

some important clues:

  1. Nobody except the victim saw the robber or the gun being fired.
    2.The father did not care to check his son’s wound, he rushed to a strongbox.
  2. cousin who is also fiancée (supposed by the narrator) being calm and not worried about the victim.
  3. The servant who sat on the window.
  4. The stolen things also had a sentimental value.
  5. The footprints start and end at the well.
  6. Cat jumped out of the room when the first witness came to check on the gunshot sound.
  7. The cousin Shimako said her drawer in her study was disturbed too.
  8. The lights were off.

I will try to draw some conclusions now and try supporting them with these facts…

  1. The father is estranged from the son. This could be mutual.
    The father did not care to check his son’s wound, he rushed to a strongbox.

  2. The footprints are a red herring. There’s no outsider.
    The footprints start and end at the well.
    They could very well be a false clue to make everyone think that it was an outsider but actually
    they were made in a complete circle. The culprit could have sat on the well and shifted to other
    side to continue them…
    As the police detective said there could be a passageway inside the well but if it was the case
    then this whole operation could have been planned better and attempted when there were less
    people in the house and a party hadn’t been held. Someone who knew about the secret
    passage can do better by keeping a watch and making a better plan.

    The servant who sat on the window.
    By doing this, he hid the bottom ledge of the window.
    He was hiding ‘nothing’. There was no footprint on the ledge, if an outsider sneaked in then there
    should have been a footprint on the ledge, where they rest their leg and look inside the room.
    But nobody got an opportunity to notice this.

fig57243_001

  1. The shooter is the victim himself.
    assuming: The footprints are a red herring. There’s no outsider.
    Nobody except the victim saw the robber or the gun being fired.

    The stolen things could easily be discarded in the well. However it would be imprudent because
    the footsteps lead there(and they would be discovered later on), so if I were the culprit I would
    discard them in the lake, which is along the way to the well.

    The lights were off.*
    It was strange that the victim didn’t turn on the lights and rushed straight away to the shooter.

    Cat jumped out of the room

    The cat could have been used to discard an item by directing it to go somewhere…
    if Shimako is involved then she can teach her.

    Shimako can be an accomplice.
    cousin who is also fiancée (supposed by the narrator) being calm and not worried about the
    victim.
    She already knows it’s a part of the plan.

    Maybe there was never a gun.
    Culprit used a firecracker or some other device to make the noise and the residue of that device
    was transported away using the cat.

    The cousin Shimako said her drawer in her study was disturbed too.
    Her dairy was taken out and kept at the top of her table.
    Maybe this was done in order to make space inside the drawer, so the cat can go there
    and leave the residue there.
    But this would lead to a contradiction: If Shimako is an accomplice then why would she make this
    statement to the police. She should have made a more clear statement of something being stolen
    or no statement at all.
    This makes me think she is not accomplice and just doesn’t care about
    the victim being hurt.

The Motive
To identify the location of a certain item or to the combination of the strongbox.

In all this chaos, the father ran towards the strongbox to confirm whether this item is safe.
An accomplice was on lookout for the combination of the strongbox… or the culprit (also the victim in this case) didn’t know it was placed in the strongbox and discovered it right then.

This object is very important to the father and have immense value for son too in some way if not in terms of money.
The stolen goods were made of gold, so quite possibly this item is too. They all had sentimental value so it may apply it as well.

I assume the father is most likely going to change the location of this item and the son will be on a lookout and take it away when he get’s the chance.

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