Who was killed: Father

Who was the culprit: Sex Worker from red light district (now shachou’s wife?)

Method of Murder:

• erotic asphyxiation gone wrong?

• self-defense?

Motive: He was a brute when he was drunk, though he paid well, there was a limit and she finally killed him

How is it covered up: the detective character, a friend of my father and her, helped to dispose of the body and other evidence in order to protect me and my family from unwanted media attention and to save her from going to prison

(Why did he help her?)

(How did he cover it up?)

Clues

• Clue 1: Detective’s behavior toward the main protagonist. He is clearly interested in the young man and keeps inviting him to events. Why? He must have a reason.

• Clue 2: I find the same letterhead that the letter was written on in the kurosame office

(does this mean that he sent me the letter?)

• Red Herring: What if he planted this there himself and knew that I would find it. A way to mislead me to think he received the letter from someone else rather than being the author of it

• Clue 3: After I decide to get my life together, the first thing I do is clean my room. It is a metaphor for organizing my thoughts. While doing this, I find a box that holds all of my precious things, one of which is a photograph of my father, but in it I see a man standing next to my father who looks exactly like the detective character, but before he got tattoos.

• Clue 4: I find the same letterhead that the letter was written on in the shachou’s wife’s belongings

(what is her connection to the detective?)

• Clue 5: Behavior between shachou’s wife and the detective character showing that there is some connection there

• Clue 6: A mysterious phone call is overheard between the detective and an unknown person, discussing a secret meeting. The protagonist later finds a hidden location where the meeting took place.

• Red Herring: The meeting could be related to a personal matter or a different case altogether, leading the protagonist down the wrong path.

• Clue 7: The protagonist discovers a hidden compartment in the detective's office containing old newspaper clippings about the protagonist's father and his disappearance.

• Red Herring: The detective might have been a fan or a friend of the father, and the clippings are part of a personal collection rather than evidence of foul play.

Types of Evidence

Crime Scene Photos:

The police file would contain crime scene photos showing signs of a struggle in a small Osaka apartment or the hostess’s residence. This could include overturned furniture, broken objects, and defensive wounds on the hostess. The photos would also show the weapon used (perhaps a kitchen knife or another item readily available in the apartment).

Witness Statements:

Interviews with neighbors or co-workers of the hostess from the girls’ bar could reveal arguments between Oscar’s father and the hostess leading up to the incident. These statements might describe his father as a regular customer, sometimes belligerent or aggressive when intoxicated.

The hostess would have given a statement about the night of the killing, claiming she acted in self-defense when he became violent.

Toxicology Report:

The police report might include a toxicology report showing that Oscar’s father had a significant amount of alcohol in his system. This could suggest that he was heavily intoxicated at the time of the altercation, adding complexity to the story.

Criminal Record:

The police would have pulled any relevant information about Oscar’s father’s past, including any incidents of public intoxication or previous altercations at the hostess bar. This might paint a more complicated picture of his father than Oscar previously knew.

A Hidden Police Report (Cover-up):

In his investigation, Oscar might find that parts of the police report were covered up or altered. There could be evidence that the hostess had connections with local authorities, or that the police were lenient in labeling the case as self-defense due to bias against foreigners or a desire to quickly close the case.

Twists and Tensions:

Unreliable Information:

Some of the evidence, both from the police and what Oscar uncovers, could be contradictory, leading him to question whether the police were competent or whether something darker is at play.

Moral Complexity:

The evidence might suggest that his father wasn’t the innocent victim Oscar had imagined. His growing realization that his father might have been abusive could be deeply conflicting.

Self-Defense or Something More?:

While the hostess claims self-defense, there might be enough inconsistencies (such as bruises that don't align with her story) that Oscar becomes obsessed with proving that the incident was premeditated or part of a larger conspiracy.

The Whodunit Diaries