Loop almost complete - Dead Logic

"The doll's limbs are representing a clock's hands," Utaro said, showing the zoomed-in picture on his phone.

"Look at this. Its head is like the hour hand, arms are like the minute, and legs are the second."

Shuhi leaned closer. She didn't even think about it.

"That's almost the same idea I had yesterday... I tried drawing the page numbers around a clock, but something felt missing." She thought.

"Maybe now it'll click," Utaro said.

"But the problem is that a clock has three hands but this doll's head, legs, arms make it five. So, how are we going to use it like a clock?" Shuhi asked.

"Maybe to know that, we need to go to the fourth spot." Utaro said.

So you also figured it out?" Shuhi asked curiously.

"What?"

"What else? The sequence. Then the first spot is closer, you are telling to go to the farther one." Shuhi explained.

"Yeah, of course it's the killer's plan to confuse us. The killer knows that we will go to the near one first and confuse us. That's very predictable." Utaro discussed.

In Shuhi's mind, she couldn't imagine her ideas being the same as Utaro's. Even thinking about it is filling her head with joy that she could actually keep up with a detective's mind.

They headed toward the Danao household again. This was their third visit. After reaching at the front of the house, Utaro rang the bell, This time, it wasn't an adult who opened the door. Instead, it was a small boy, around ten. He looked up at them with curious eyes.

"Hi there," Utaro said gently. "We're investigators. Are your parent's home?

The boy nodded and ran off. Moments later, a familiar old man came out, slightly surprised. He was the victim's father-in-law.

"Sorry for bothering you again," Utaro said, "We just need to check one last thing."

The old man welcomed them in.

"Anything new? Have you got anything new to say?" The old man said as he was asking about the progression about the investigation.

"Sorry to disappoint, but no. We do believe we are very close to unraveling the killer." Utaro said as he also believed it because the clues are ending.

As they stepped inside, Shuhi silently thought,

"The bar gamblers were right... We're being led in circles—first house, then second, third, and now again the fourth... it really is like a loop."

"No wonder it's called the Four Loop Murder Case Everything really is repeating."

Shuhi felt a strange chill as they made their way to the victim's room. Everything was just like before. Quiet, untouched, cold.

They sat on the floor. Utaro placed his phone and the clock drawing side by side.

"So... there was an 'N' marked here," he pointed. "That could be 'North'."

Shuhi nodded. "Let's rotate the phone accordingly."

They turned the doll image so its head pointed north. That's when Utaro squinted his eyes.

"If we consider the doll's head is the hour hand... right arm the minute... and right leg the second... it's pointing at 58, 112, and 222."

Shuhi quickly checked her phone's gallery, the photos of those page's pictures, scanning them for clues. But the pages looked plain. Nothing stood out. No markings, no underlines. Just regular text.

"Wait," Utaro said. "What if we're overthinking this? Let's just add the numbers."

"Add them?" Shuhi tilted her head.

"Yeah, like 58 + 112 + 222."

They did the math.

"392," Utaro said. "No page 392 though."

Shuhi thought for a moment. "Maybe it's a time."

"Like 3:92? That's not a real time." Utaro said.

"Let's use the numbers mentioned in those pages." Shuhi suggested.

"Then we get 2, 4 and 2." Utaro said.

Eventually, after trying different combinations, they settled on 2:42 as it was matching according to the sequence the page numbers on. But they didn't know if it was AM or PM.

"Let's check the drawer on the north side of the room," Utaro suggested.

It was an old wooden drawer with a bronze handle. Inside were a few crumpled medical prescriptions.

"Eye drops... and something for the lungs," Shuhi read aloud.

"She had some kind of breathing or vision problem maybe?" Utaro said.

They didn't find anything new—these prescriptions had been seen before. Still, Utaro took some photos again.

"While leaving, the old man said to Utaro, "If you ever need to know anything, don't hesitate to come again. Make sure to catch the bastard!" The old man said with a slight anger in his tone. He could curse the killer more but hold himself. Still Shuhi could vividly see the urge to know the truth in his face.

They left the house greeting the old man again. After that they had their lunch on the same restaurant they had last time. The salad costed them ten yen more while giving the bill. Utaro didn't bother paying.

"A guest is coming over at my place soon," Shuhi said.

Utaro nodded. "Let's close for today then."

By a guest, she meant Paul.

Shuhi reached home to find Paul Loren already sitting in the living room, talking politely with her father.

"Hey there little fella, how's all going?"

"Nice to meet you, uncle"

She greeted him with a warm but controlled smile. Her mother soon called out, "Shuhi, here give this green tea."

"Why do I always have to play the maid part"

she thought as she prepared the tea tray. Still, a small smile tugged at her lips.

After the short visit, she finally headed upstairs. Her room was dark a the curtains drawn and sunlight barely entering through it.

She closed the door behind her and turned on the light.

Taking a long breath, she spread her arms slightly, her eyes closing for a moment of peace. Finally, she dropped into her chair by the reading table.

Her face changed instantly.

From calm to angry. Disturbed. Frustrated.

She slammed both elbows on the table, grabbed her head, and shouted in a whisper-like voice:

"DAMMIT! He's literally toying with me this whole time. I know he's the one!"

Her breathing got heavier. Her hands shook slightly.

"I can't even prove it! What should I do?!"

Her breathing grew heavier. The room felt tighter. Her handbag laying on the bed, some pieces of papers slightly coming out. The prescriptions.

Chapter 12 - Loop almost complete