In order to discover Natsuhi's motives, Erika has ordered everyone else to search the mansion for her possessions. it appears from her diaries that she resented her marriage with Krauss (which was forced by Kinzo on her family). Of course Natsuhi claims she eventually accepted it and grew to love Krauss, but there's no proof of that.
And then Erika suddenly remembers that there's still the possibility that someone else is the culprit : Grampa himself ! His whereabouts after 23:00 aren't accounted for, after all. But they've already searched the whole island and found no trace of him spending the night anywhere.
Wait, after much searching, there's one place where he could have spent the night. By the way, Bernkastel informs Natsuhi repeatedly that she can be vindicated by just acknowledging Grampa as the culprit. Plea bargain : Grampa's honour for her own innocence. She refuses, of course.
Well, Erika seems to be determined to "break" Natsuhi, as she reveals that the one place Grampa could have spent the night in is... Natsuhi's bed. Where Natsuhi also spent the night. And then some of the witnesses remember Natsuhi having an awful lot of "secret meetings" with Grampa lately. Didn't she just go into his study last evening to "wish him good night" ?
Urgh, that's just ignominious.
(Then follows some extracts from the minutes of an eventual trial — with heavy input from Bernkastel, somehow. The accusation that Natsuhi did some Beatrice cosplay in order to seduce Grampa — her carelessness explaining the sightings by the staff — made me want to throw up. Oh, and they explained the first twilight as Natsuhi wanting to frame Battler, the new head. The whole thing is signed by Dlanor, indicating that this wasn't any earthly tribunal...)
Back to the parlor room where The Summation has taken place... By the way, I really doubt the assertion that it happened at midnight. Hideyoshi's murder happened around 14:00 : why would Erika wait so long ? (There's a limit to her flair for the dramatic.) Also, it must have taken quite some time to go through all those explanations, and we all know what happens at midnight...
Anyway, I hadn't noticed yet that they were now explaining the bodies' disappearance with Grampa doing it. Again, that's a low blow.
By now, Natsuhi can't take it anymore, and confesses. No, not to the weekend massacre : to killing that baby from the orphanage and the servant nursing him, 19 years ago. She eventually apologized to the grave of the servant's husband a few years before, but never to the baby himself. Well, is he satisfied now ? She's lot her husband, her daughter, the Ushiromiya family's name has been horribly tainted, and she's been painted as a sexual predator. His revenge is complete, isn't it ? She's sure he or one of his pawns is right there in the room. Will they acknowledge her repentance ?
Erika would like the crazy woman to stop talking nonsense and finally admit being the murderer, please.
"Eh, it's useless. It's all useless."
And then the cast list rolls, with as always a checklist of each of the 18's eventual status. *
Well, that was certainly a very ambiguous last sentence. (Battler really wasn't among my lead suspects for the kid from 19 years ago, if only because he has a pretty tight alibi for the midnight phone call.) We'll see how it goes (I smell a fakeout).
Because, of course, it isn't really over. There are still two tea parties to go through, after all. At least the first one should be dealt with tonight, depending on length.
