After the unusually wistful series opener, the second episode, "The Moving Corpse", is a more regular detective story. There is no fondness between Furuhata and the murderer here. In fact, Furuhata is an altogether more threatening presence now, playing mind games with his suspect and setting traps. The murderous Kabuki actor is played by Sakai Masaaki who exudes the kind of arrogance and self-assured cool that the best "Columbo" guest stars had. He bounces well off of Tamura Masakazu who has a more mysterious role in this episode. We're not quite as privy to his thoughts and feelings as we were in "Message from the Dead". This episode is seen much more through the POV of the killer making it a more suspenseful affair. Especially good is the extended scene in which Masaaki rushes to hide an incriminating piece of evidence under the watchful eye of Furuhata. It is a shining example of what this show is capable of as it is a scene which is equal parts hilarious and surprisingly tense.
This episode is directed by Keita Kôno, a more pedestrian director lacking the visual inventiveness and atmosphere of his colleague Mamoru Hoshi. And yet this episode set entirely in a modern Kabuki theatre benefits from Kôno's nuts-and-bolts approach allowing us to focus more on the mystery and the tricks played by Furuhata.
All in all, this is an excellent example of a standard "Furuhata Ninzaburô" episode.