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The Goldfish Were DeadAuthor: Ōshita Udaru
| Original Title | 金魚は死んでいた |
|---|---|
| Author | 大下 宇陀児 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a quiet garden near Okayama City, an elderly recluse lies dead beside an ornate goldfish bowl—his hands clawing toward its rim, three prized ranchu floating lifelessly within. Inspector Iriguchi and Detective Hiramatsu arrive to unravel the poisoning of Kariya Otokichi, a notorious loan shark whose paranoia kept neighbors at bay. While officials focus on whiskey-laced cyanide and cryptic clues—a wiped cup, a peony pot looming over the corpse—Hiramatsu fixates on the goldfish’s demise, lamenting their lost beauty. Suspects emerge: a sharp-tongued restaurateur, an evasive engineer with access to toxins, and a resentful goldfish dealer who supplied the ill-fated ranchu. Yet contradictions surface when Dr. Shimamoto, the corpse’s discoverer, claims to have seen vibrant fish days before they arrived. As Hiramatsu’s obsession unveils hidden compartments and stolen bullion beneath the bowl, a neighbor’s calculated greed emerges—tying elegance, poison, and aquatic tragedy into a web only a goldfish enthusiast could untangle. |
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