I don’t remember if it was ever explicitly said that it’s empty or if I assumed that it was because I couldn’t imagine that he would ever make more than one pill and also it was mentioned that the pill case floated, although I now realize that it could easily still float with a bunch of pills in it.
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empty or not empty
Oh interesting, I hadn’t thought that this could be the reason for the stain.
I do think the pill case was empty, the reason 遊馬 holds on to it is because she he thinks that maybe it will look more like suicide if he has an opportunity to put it in the room again (or maybe in someone else’s room to incriminate someone else). I don’t think it makes a big difference if it’s still empty or not (except if it’s not, then someone else can die that way, but it seems like people will die in other ways now)
I thought 月夜 only used her handkerchief to dry her hands or something, could make sense that it was to put the case in it, but how on earth would she guess that it could be hiding in there? Or maybe it did a strange noise or the lid wasn’t put back properly. Also a bit strange to use a handkerchief in a hotel (well it’s not really a hotel but it’s receiving guests) where there are probably a lot of towels, but maybe because it’s not their own room they don’t want to use someone else’s towel.
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空っぽかどうか
I went searching for mentions of the pill case to double-check, this is what I found:
ポケットから神津島に飲ませた毒が入っているピルケースを取り出した遊馬は、それを便器に捨てようとする。
The present tense “毒が入っている” seems to imply that there’s still poison left. At first I assumed that it meant “traces of poison” but then right after that:
神津島が殺されたと断定されていない段階で、部屋を捜索される可能性は低いだろう。ならば、この毒は取っておくべきだ。
So he seems to decide that he might as well keep the leftover poison for the time being. I think I mentally substituted この毒 with このピルケース, thinking that he could use it to frame somebody else or direct the attention elsewhere.
Honestly I think I misunderstood that because it makes no sense to me. Unless he actually intends to go on a killing spree (which he explicitly rejects later when he’s with the Famous Detective), why would he 1/ make more than one poison pill and 2/ keep the poison after the guy is dead. It’s the one thing he wouldn’t want to be found with in his room. Maybe disposing of the case could be tricky and dangerous (depending on the size, could get stuck somewhere) but the poison itself could easily be flushed in the toilet.
The only thing that makes sense would be to save it to frame somebody else as I mention above, but it seems like such an insane risk. It seems much easier for a doctor to justify having an empty pill case in his personal belongings than a case containing fugu poison stashed in the toilet’s reservoir.
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雪
Completely forgot to write about 雪.
I didn’t know before reading this week’s assignment that its reading was so versatile.
ゆき for 雪
せつ in 雪原 and 豪雪地帯
and 雪崩 is なだれ
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せつ is just the onyomi. 雪崩 is gikun/ateji/jyukujikun/whatever you want to call it however.
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せつ as the onyomi always trips me up, I must have looked it up 20 times now, still doesn’t stick
Even though there’s 雪原 in the title of one of the Pokemon Sword DLC’s! One day I’ll remember more than 5 minutes
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I agree, セツ feels wrong for this one.
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I think he originally just made one more as backup, nothing more. Though for that, he did have to use half of the powder, which was significant enough for 老田 to notice. Not that he was expecting the jar to be examined.
My guess is that someone else was also trying to kill 神津島, and maybe even thought that it was them who accomplished it. Probably 老田 started to suspect something about this person, which is why he had to die too.
Theory time
My 勘 tells me it’s 円香 and 酒泉. I have no idea of their motive, but it was mentioned that they have a relationship (okay, early stage, but maybe they are just being secretive), and 酒泉 could easily poison him. 遊馬 was surprised how fast the poison came into effect - this could be because it was not the pill that actually killed 神津島.
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Discussions are welcome to continue here of course, or in week 3 if you are moving on to the next section!
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I’m a little bit late, but I finished the chapter.
I don’t know if I like 月夜さん, her insistence that she is a 名探偵 and her obsession with mystery novels just put me off. However, as she explains her thought process, it’s clear that she knows what she’s doing…
Poor 老田さん, I think, as a buttler, he knew too much and that put him where he ended. By the looks of it, it was a very bloody death.
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