booksleeves | memshare 3: the speckled band

Musical cue: Kazuma Asogi - Nocturne

Video: 47:25 to 50:15, 34:47 to 38:48 and 44:33 to 46:11

You are standing in the first class cabin of a luxury ocean steamship. By your side is a young man you have only met once before this day. In the room with you is a burly Russian sailor attempting to defend a very beautiful and terrified young fifteen year old girl, as well as the famous detective Herlock Sholmes.

The emotion of the memory is sorrow and anger. It is hard to make out every word of the discussion, but it is clear that Sholmes, you, and Mr. Naruhodo are accusing the young girl of something, while the sailor is attempting to defend her. The girl is on the verge of tears and shaking with fright. You feel sorry for her, but you also feel hatred. The dialogue you can hear is enough to understand - you are investigating the murder of a young man named Kazuma Asogi, someone both you and the man with you, Naruhodo, held very dear. Although Naruhodo was at first accused of the crime - and is currently in handcuffs for it - you've zeroed in on the passenger in this cabin as real culprit. At first the girl denies any involvement, but finally after some deductions by Sholmes and Naruhodo admits that it was all a terrible accident - Kazuma died in an accidental fall, and the girl and her sailor companion covered up the evidence to avoid her being revealed as a stowaway. The girl is the famous young ballerina Nikolina Pavlova, and she was in hiding on this ship hoping to flee Russia for America.

Everyone seems to accept this sad conclusion, but you simply cannot. Grief and anger wells up deep in your heart. Kazuma was not a clumsy person - he was graceful and intelligent. The idea that he simply died just doesn't feel right to you.

Even though the young girl is clearly filled with remorse, your words to her are cold. "I understand the difficult situation you've found yourself in," you say. "And I do sympathise. But please remember this: A young man lost his life. If you're going to attempt to cover up your guilt with lies, then..." you swallow, fury obvious on your face "...then no matter what the circumstances, I cannot forgive you!"

Miss Pavlova and the others protest that it was just proven it was only an accident, but Sholmes watches silently.

"I'm no great detective like Mr Sholmes," you say, your voice becoming thick with tears. "I don't have a gift for knowing the truth. But even I can see . . . that was not the truth! Don't you agree, Mr. Naruhodo?!"

You can tell Naruhodo at least is considering your words, that he too can see how impossible it is that Kazuma-sama died in such a senseless way. But before he can answer, Sholmes speaks.

". . . I confess. . . I was intending to let Scotland Yard deal with any outstanding issues on this matter," Sholmes admits. He goes on to acknowledge he was only trying to resolve matters before they reached the next port of call so Mr. Naruhodo would not be charged with the crime. "But I overlooked one important detail. The deceased young man was a very close companion of yours, was he not?"

"Kazuma was my closest friend," says Naruhodo. You are silent.

"In that case, we must follow this to its conclusion," Sholmes announces. "No further distractions. You must uncover the real truth here, Mr Naruhodo!"

Naruhodo presents some evidence that shows that Miss Pavlova had to have been inside Kazuma's cabin the night before, and explains how the ship's crew helped her cover up her actions. And at that point, Sholmes reveals that he inspected Kazuma's body, and found a crescent shaped earring in Kazuma's hand, the partner of the earring Miss Pavlova is wearing.

"Clearly there is only one logical conclusion," Mr. Sholmes says. "Wouldn't you agree, Mr Naruhodo?"

"Miss Pavlova. . ." Naruhodo says. "Mr. Asogi must have grasped that crescent moon and pulled it from your ear. Perhaps just moments before he fell to the floor. In other words . . . last night, in Mr Asogi's cabin, you witnessed the moment when the victim fell with your own eyes. In fact, you were quite literally at arm's length from him. But then the question is, why did Mr Asogi do that? Why did he pull your earring from your ear, and hold it in his clenched fist during his final moments?"

"Oh no," Miss Pavlova says quietly, closing her eyes.

"No one can protect you now. Please, Miss Pavlova, tell us the truth. Last night, what did you do to Kazuma?!"

Tearfully, she tells the true story. Her pet cat had run over into the other room, and she was trying to call him back, but was discovered by Kazuma. She had to go over to the cabin and retrieve the cat. But when she knocked on his cabin door, she was alarmed to learn that Kazuma seemed to be involved in law enforcement and knew a detective. Although he was polite and kind to her and helped her find her cat, before she could leave his cabin Kazuma recognized her as the famous ballerina. She admitted under his questioning that she was a stowaway trying to flee Russia. Kazuma said he was going to have to discuss what to do about that, and went to pull the bell chord to call the Captain of the ship. Miss Pavlova, terrified of being discovered and deported back to Russia, shoved him. He tripped and hit his head and was killed. One of the sailors who had helped Miss Pavlova came to her aid, and discovered Mr. Naruhodo was a stowaway in the wardrobe of Kazuma's cabin. He arranged the scene to pin the crime on Naruhodo.

"I. . . I don't know why I did it. I was just so scared. And I had to stop him from telling anyone about me. I thought if police knew about me, they would arrest me. So before he could pull the bell chord. . . "

You close your eyes, feeling a sickening mix of pity churning alongside your anger. "May I stop you a moment, please, Miss Pavlova?" you say. "It doesn't make sense. Was Mr. Asogi really going to pull the bell chord?" It doesn't sound anything like the man you know, that he would call the police on a frightened runaway.

"He was a man of his word," Naruhodo agrees. "If he told you he wasn't going to give your secret away, he wouldn't have."

"No! He was going to pull the chord! He was walking to it! He was going to make them send me back!"

Sholmes suggests that perhaps they have one more deduction to make. With this guidance, Naruhodo reconsiders the layout of the room and realizes that right next to the bell chord was the wardrobe he was hiding in. Rather than calling the police, Kazuma likely only meant he was going to consult Naruhodo about what to do to help her, and wanted to show her that he had a stowaway in his cabin as well so she would know she could trust him.

"Sadly, we can't know the truth for certain now," you say, turning away. "It's too late for that. But I wish you had made sure of what Mr. Asogi was looking at. Things may have ended very differently if you had."

Miss Pavlova looks simply miserable. She is going to be arrested, and likely sent back to Russia. Naruhodo goes to attend to some of the details, but you return to Kazuma's cabin. On the ground is his precious katana, Karuma, that always meant so much to him. You pick the sword up, clutch it to your chest, and weep.