"Oh, Mr. Yagami, sorry to bother you again. Just one more thing."
"Detective Columbo, I didnât expect to see you again. Is there something else you need?"
"Well, itâs a funny thing, Mr. Yagami. See, Iâve been going over these files, you know, and I kept noticing these strange patterns with the deaths of criminals. Itâs like someoneâs cleaning up the streets, almost like... someoneâs making it happen."
"Thatâs an interesting theory, Detective, but arenât we all thankful the crime rate is going down? Maybe itâs just good police work."
"Oh, absolutely. Could be that. But there was this one little thing I just canât shake... and itâs really got me puzzled."
"Itâs this notebook we found. Itâs got a list of names, all of them lining up with recently deceased criminals. Names, dates, and some other... curious details."
"And wouldnât you know, each of those names, written down right before each person, uh, 'had an accident.' Strange, huh?"
"Detective, are you suggesting that a notebook could somehow cause someoneâs death? It sounds absurd."
"Oh, youâre absolutely right, Mr. Yagami. It sounds ridiculous. And believe me, I wouldnât believe it myself, but hereâs the odd thingâeach of those names? Theyâre written in *your handwriting*."
"Detective, thatâs impossible. Anyone couldâve forged my handwriting."
"Oh, youâre right. Could be anyone. But, uh, thereâs just one other thing. I started looking into the people who mightâve known about this notebook, anyone who could have a reason to use it, if it were real, of course."
"And wouldnât you know, every single person who mightâve had that knowledge, who mightâve been a threat to someone using this notebook, well⌠theyâre not around to tell us anymore."
"Detective, this is all hypothetical. Thereâs no proof any of this is real."
"Oh, I know, Mr. Yagami, I know. This whole idea of a âDeath Noteââitâs pure fantasy, right? But my wife, she always says, 'Columbo, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.' And something tells me this storyâs a bit stranger than I first thought."
"Just one last thing, Mr. Yagami. If you were, hypothetically, behind all this⌠well, a person as smart as you would already know Iâve got my eye on him. Just food for thought."