"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri grumbled. "Can't we use something else?"
"The judo club's items might be evidence. Don't touch them," Hayashi Shuichi said. "Just deal with it."
"Bad luck," Kogoro muttered, unbuckling his belt.
Vice Principal Inoue glared as Hayashi approached with the belt. "What are you doing?"
"You don't believe me, Principal Inoue. Let's test it," Hayashi said, slipping behind him and wrapping the belt around his neck.
"You'll see."
Inoue struggled as the belt tightened, gasping for air. After a few seconds, Hayashi released it.
"Cough, cough… you brat!" Inoue cursed, rubbing his neck.
"Look at the vice principal's neck," Hayashi said. "The marks face backward. Now, for upward marks…"
He raised the belt again. Inoue and the teachers backed away.
"I'll do it," Dr. Kobayashi volunteered.
Hayashi gently placed the belt under her chin, careful not to press. "Hanging leaves upward marks due to gravity. Even if the victim struggled, marks would stay upward, never backward."
"Suicide by hanging leaves U-shaped marks. Strangulation from behind tightens the U's opening. Doi's neck has two marks: one U-shaped, upward; the other tightened, backward. He was strangled, then hung."
"Principal Inoue, clear now?" Hayashi smirked, raising the belt. "If not, we can—"
"I get it!" Inoue snapped, nodding reluctantly. "If it's murder, who's the killer?"
"Still investigating," Hayashi replied.
Inoue fumed but said nothing. The Forensic Department finished examining Doi's body and reported to Inspector Samezaki.
"Rigor mortis just started. Death occurred one to two hours ago," they said.
Samezaki checked his watch. "It's 4:16 p.m. So, death between 2:16 and 3:16 p.m."
"Principal Inoue, we need cooperation. Check students, teachers, and staff absent or in contact with Doi during that time," Samezaki said.
"Fine," Inoue muttered, glancing at Hayashi before leading the teachers downstairs.
Hayashi approached the air conditioner at the back of the room.
"Shuichi, find something?" Kogoro nudged him.
"Water stains under the air conditioner," Hayashi pointed out.
"Yeah, but condensation's normal, right?" Kogoro said, peering up.
"Idiot," Eri Kisaki snapped. "Condensation happens with drastic temperature changes while the air conditioner's running. Is your judo club's unit always on?"
"No," Kogoro shook his head. "I turned it off last night. I'm sure."
"Club activities don't happen during daytime classes," Eri mused. "Did the murderer turn it on?"
"Why would they?" Kogoro asked. "Too hot?"
Hayashi, wearing a glove from Inspector Megure, grabbed the remote and turned on the air conditioner. The display showed 16°C.
"16 degrees?" Kogoro exclaimed. "That's way too low. It was 28 yesterday."
"Why set it so cold?" Eri wondered.
"Temperature affects many things," Hayashi said, noting the air conditioner's vent was less than two meters from where Doi was hung.
"Kogoro, was the air conditioner on or off when you entered?"
"I… don't remember," Kogoro admitted, scratching his head. "Seeing Doi-senpai hanging, my mind went blank."
"Was Minister Hoshino in the room the whole time after you left?" Hayashi asked.
"No idea," Kogoro said. "But when I returned with Dr. Kobayashi, he was alone."
"How long were you gone?"
"Two, three minutes," Kogoro estimated. "I thought Doi-senpai could be saved, so I ran to get Dr. Kobayashi."
"Shuichi, suspecting the judo club captain?" Eri whispered.
"Too early to say," Hayashi replied. "We need more evidence."
"The captain?" Kogoro hesitated. "I heard Hoshino and Doi-senpai were best friends. Last summer, they represented Teitan in the nationals—Doi got second, Hoshino reached the quarterfinals."
"That good?" Eri asked, surprised. "Why didn't they make the top 16 this year?"
"The seniors might know," Kogoro said. "But they won't talk."
Hayashi examined Doi's body again. If strangled from behind, he'd have fought back.
Checking Doi's fingers, Hayashi spotted light red powder in the right index finger's nail gap. He called a forensic officer to collect it.
"Likely flesh and blood fragments," the officer said after inspection. "Possibly scraped from the murderer during a struggle."