Chapter 3: Occupational Disease of Diving
"Kid, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Mr. Matsumoto, the broad-chinned officer, walked over angrily and grabbed Shuichi Lin's collar.
"Are you questioning our work ability?"
"I don't want to, but that's the truth."
Lin Xiuyi calmly looked at the angry officer in front of him.
"Also, Mr. Officer, your current behavior has violated police regulations. If reporters find out..."
"You!"
Officer Matsumoto's face turned ashen with anger. He wanted to teach this kid a good lesson but was afraid of what would happen if reporters really found out...
"Senior Matsumoto," Inspector Megure quickly interjected, "He's just a child, why bother arguing with him?"
"Hmph!" Officer Matsumoto took the hint and released his grip on Lin Xiuyi's collar.
"Student, why do you say Mr. Kato is the murderer?" Inspector Megure asked curiously.
"Megure, why are you asking that?" Matsumoto said irritably, "What does a kid know!"
"But this kid, me, saw that Coach Kato was lying," Lin Xiuyi said, adjusting his collar, "Last night, he couldn't possibly have seen the situation at the intersection from the diving platform in the swimming pool."
"Couldn't see clearly?" Inspector Megure was stunned. "You..."
At this moment, Detective Morimura, who had been sent to the swimming pool to verify, jogged back.
"Mr., I personally went to the diving platform to check. From there to the intersection is about forty meters, and you can indeed see the situation at the intersection clearly."
"Some kids have nothing to say now, right?" Officer Matsumoto squinted at Lin Xiuyi. "You..."
"Alright!" Inspector Samezaki impatiently interrupted his subordinate. "Morimura, have you checked the situation at the intersection?"
Detective Morimura looked at his companion in confusion, then replied, "I had someone confirm that the streetlights were fine last night."
"The streetlights were working normally, the diving platform is more than forty meters from the intersection, so it's perfectly clear..." Inspector Samezaki nodded. "It seems what Kato said is correct."
"No, Mr., you missed a crucial point," Lin Xiuyi glanced at Matsumoto. "The one who could see the intersection clearly from the diving platform was Detective Morimura, not Coach Kato."
"You mean..." Inspector Samezaki frowned. "Kato has vision problems?"
"That's right," Lin Xiuyi explained, "Mr. Kato is a diving coach. As far as I know, diving athletes have a very common occupational disease: corneal damage."
"This is related to the sport of diving; almost no athlete can avoid it, and corneal damage affects vision."
"Corneal damage?"
Inspector Samezaki looked at Officers Matsumoto and Morimura. Both shook their heads, clearly hearing about it for the first time.
"Could he have been wearing glasses at the time?" Rookie Officer Megure speculated, "Isn't there a type of contact lens now?"
"Didn't he say himself that he saw the murder happen from the diving platform?" Lin Xiuyi sneered, "If he wore contact lenses while diving, the splashes and impact from high-speed descent could very likely cause the contact lenses to fall off or even shift, thereby damaging his eyes."
"A beginner might do such a stupid thing, but Mr. Kato is a diving coach. He couldn't possibly not know these things."
"But these are all just your guesses!" Officer Matsumoto was still somewhat unconvinced.
"I observed Coach Kato carefully just now," Lin Xiuyi ignored Matsumoto. "When his pupils faced the sunlight, there was a faint glint. He was definitely wearing contact lenses."
"Matsumoto, have the officers from the forensics department examine Coach Kato!" Inspector Samezaki ordered.
"...Yes!"
Matsumoto, though unwilling, could only obey and leave.
Coach Kato, not far away, clearly hadn't heard the conversation between Lin Xiuyi and the others.
Upon hearing that Matsumoto was going to check if he was wearing contact lenses, Kato's expression visibly tensed up.
Although Matsumoto was displeased with Lin Xiuyi, he had been a detective for many years and possessed basic observational skills.
Seeing the change in Kato's expression, he immediately understood that this guy definitely had a problem.
Sure enough, after a search, the forensics department officers quickly removed two contact lenses from Coach Kato's eyes.
"Mr. Kato, how do you explain this?" Inspector Samezaki said coldly, "Don't tell me you were wearing contact lenses and diving from the high platform last night?"
"I..." Coach Kato swallowed, his face instantly turning pale.
"Take him for a vision test," Inspector Samezaki instructed.
"No, no need," Coach Kato gave a bitter laugh, "I have corneal damage, and my vision is only 0.1. Without glasses, let alone standing on the diving platform, I can't even see a person's face clearly from ten meters away."
"So, the person who argued with Kitamura last night was you?" Inspector Megure asked in surprise, "But why did you kill him? Wasn't he the ace of your diving team?"
"I, I didn't mean to kill him," Coach Kato defended himself, "The competition is coming up soon. Last night, I asked him to meet me, originally to remind him not to underestimate his opponents and to rest well these two days."
"Who knew that Kitamura would mock me again and say that he didn't need guidance from someone like me, who has no talent for diving!"
"That bastard, how dare he mock me! I put so much effort into diving, even if I don't have talent, he shouldn't, shouldn't..."
"And then you, out of anger, killed him?" Inspector Samezaki pressed.
"I said, I didn't mean to," Coach Kato said in a low voice, "I was furious and got into a fight with him. As we fought, we came into this alley."
"There was a sharp protrusion on the wall over there. I didn't see it at the time, and by mistake, I pushed him onto it."
"...After I found Kitamura dead, I was very scared, so I, I hid his body in the alley, and then went back to the swimming pool to wash off the bloodstains..."
...
Teitan High School.
On the first day of the new semester, three students were late for class.
The homeroom teacher, Murakami Yui, worried that something had happened and quickly went to report to the Dean of Academics.
Halfway through her words, both of them heard the piercing sound of a police siren.
Standing by the window, they saw a police car parked at the school gate, and three students wearing Teitan High School uniforms got out of it.
"Those three students you said didn't come, are they them?" The Dean of Academics said with a dark face, "Causing trouble on the first day of high school and being sent to school by a police car? If this gets out, the reputation of Teitan High School will be ruined by them!"