nownovels Chapter 857: In short, it is a classic 3-choice 1
Chapter 857: In short, it is a classic 3-choice 1
Chapter 857: In short, it’s a classic choice of three
On a rainy day, at 7 o'clock in the evening, Aoki Matsu showed up at the murder scene in a large villa on the outskirts of the city with an unhappy look on his face.
After letting Maruta Ayumi and the others go through the case handling process, Aoki Matsu looked at Maori Kogoro and asked, "Detective Maori, please tell me the situation, starting with why you are here. Everyone else please listen carefully to Detective Maori's statement, and point out anything that is wrong."
Maori Kogoro responded as if nothing had happened: "Okay. Here's what happened. This morning, Mr. Ome Gakumichi came to the detective agency and asked me to investigate the threatening letter."
"Where is the threatening letter?" Aoki Matsu asked.
"Here." Kogoro Mouri took it out and handed it to Aoki Matsu.
Qing Musong looked down and saw the content of the threatening letter: I am the guardian of time. You foolish woman who blasphemed the torrent of time, as a punishment for you, I will use the invisible sword to stop your time the moment you are born. The guardian of time respectfully sends you.
Nothing can be seen.
"Detective Mori, please continue." Aoki Matsu said.
Maori Kogoro continued, "According to Mr. Ome, since two years ago, every time Mrs. Hoshina Rukako's birthday comes, the family will receive such a letter, an anonymous letter from an unknown sender.
Although I received threatening letters last year and the year before, everything went smoothly and I was able to have a successful birthday party. However, because Mrs. Hoshina would tell the guests who came to the birthday party about the threatening letters, the number of people attending the birthday party continued to decrease every year.
So they wanted to hire me to find out the source of the letter and who the sender was. They also invited me to attend Mrs. Bao Ke's 50th birthday party and become Mrs. Bao Ke's personal bodyguard. As a detective, I certainly agreed without hesitation.
Mrs. Hoshina is a very strict person. We were late for two minutes and seventeen seconds because of the distance between the garage and the gate and it was raining, so Mrs. Hoshina scolded us several times. "When he said this, Maori Kogoro curled his lips and looked a little unhappy.
Maori Kogoro then said: "By the way, Mrs. Hoshina also said that she found that the clock in the study was nearly one second slow, and Mr. Ome immediately said that he would adjust it.
At this time, the designer of the mansion, Mr. Kiyobe Sado, and Ms. Suho Chiaki, who was in charge of the interior decoration, also came to the gate with umbrellas and gave Mrs. Hoshina some advice. Then, the craftsman who made the clock for the mansion, Mr. Furugaki Rinsaku, came to the gate in the rain, carrying a bag and a cane, and expressed his opinion on the clock.
The three of them were also guests attending Mrs. Hoshina's birthday party. But Mr. Furugaki retorted that he was only here to see the clock and Mrs. Hoshina's birthday party was just a passing visit. He promised to wait for her for the rest of her life, and then he walked into the villa.
That man was Ms. Suho's brother, who passed away four years ago. It was also because of his relationship that Ms. Suho was able to get the job here. Then, at the invitation of Mrs. Hoshina, several of us walked in and everyone handed their umbrellas to Mr. Ome, except Mr. Kiyobe, who said that his umbrella was folded up and did not need to be handed to him.
Then I mentioned that there were so many clocks here, and Mrs. Baoke said she was fascinated by clocks. It was exactly 3 o'clock, and all the clocks in the house rang. It was really spectacular when all the clocks rang at the same time. But unexpectedly, Mrs. Baoke could hear that one clock was 0.5 seconds slow.
She was very angry at the time, and she yelled at Mr. Ome, and even said that if all the clocks didn't chime at the same time at 6:00 p.m. on her birthday, Mr. Ome should get out. Then Mrs. Hoshina sighed that only Ms. Suho's brother was the best at adjusting the clocks.
He also said that he had hired three watchmakers after his death, and one or two clocks would still slow down every week. However, the big clock in the mansion was an exception, and it rarely slowed down in the past ten years. However, since the master who made the big clock personally came to adjust it every year, it was no wonder.
Then Mrs. Hoshina took us to visit the internal structure of the big clock. There is also a small arched window on the big clock, which can be opened to see the backyard. By the way, when Xiaolan and Conan opened the small window and looked out, they happened to see Mr. Furugaki worshiping a sealed dry well.
Then Ms. Suho said that her brother died in there. Her brother was a watchmaker here. When he was repairing the dial of the clock, he was blown down by the wind and fell down. Then Mrs. Baoke said that the well existed before the mansion was rebuilt. Because it is too dangerous, Mrs. Baoke is going to find someone to seal it next week.
When Mr. Qingbian heard this, he volunteered to go and pay his respects. But Ms. Zhou Fang asked Mr. Qingbian to help her pay her respects, saying that she had already visited the grave this morning, as today was her brother's death anniversary. I was very surprised at the time, but at this time, Mrs. Bao Ke asked me to go to her room to talk in detail, as she also wanted to find out the source of the threatening letter. "
When Qing Musong heard this, he already had an idea in his mind.
Judging from the motive, Zhou Fang Zhiqiu is very suspicious!
There is also a motive for the murder - revenge for his brother.
Maori Kogoro continued, "I went to Mrs. Hoshina's room and talked to her for a long time, but I didn't mention the accident for a long time. However, when it comes to the businessman who has a feud with her at work, she can talk non-stop. Then it was time to leave the room, and Mrs. Hoshina was the only one in the room."
Soon the banquet started, and Mrs. Hoshina also attended in her best attire, and guests came one after another. When it was almost six o'clock, Mrs. Hoshina took out her pocket watch and said to Mr. Qingmei, "The time is almost up." Mr. Qingmei said that he knew it, and then left Mrs. Hoshina.
At this time, I saw Mr. Qingbian walked up to Mrs. Hoshina and asked her if he could take a look at the pocket watch she was holding. Mrs. Hoshina agreed. At this time, Miss Suo also walked over and said something that made Mrs. Hoshina laugh.
Then Mr. Furugaki also walked over with a cane and said something to Mrs. Hoshina, which made her unhappy. After taking back her pocket watch, she seemed to say something, and then the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed. Just when I thought something might be wrong, I heard the door open.
The door opened, and Mr. Qingmei walked in, pushing a birthday cake with candles on it. There was immediate applause, and I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was a false alarm. The birthday cake was pushed in front of Mrs. Baoke, who nodded to everyone around.
Then I saw Mrs. Bao Ke looking at the clock in her hand, and after confirming the time, she blew out the birthday candles in one breath, and everyone applauded and cheered. But I didn't expect to hear Mrs. Bao Ke said in a panic the next second, "Wait, what's going on?"
I realized something was wrong and asked, "What happened?" Then I heard a sharp sound of a stabbing, followed by Mrs. Bao Ke's scream. At this time, the bell in the house suddenly rang, and the balcony window opened instantly.
At that time, Xiaolan said, "Someone escaped from the window." I saw this and quickly shouted to Mr. Qingmei to turn on the light. After the light was turned on again, I found a surprising scene. Mrs. Baoke fell in a pool of blood.
There is no need for Kogoro Mouri to explain what happened next, which was a series of procedures including calling the police.
After listening to this, Aoki Matsu said, "In other words, when the candles on the birthday cake went out and the room was dark, someone stabbed the owner of this mansion, Mrs. Hoko, in the chest with a weapon, and then took the weapon with her and escaped from the window facing the backyard within a few seconds before turning on the lights?"
Maori Kogoro nodded and said, "Yes, please take a look. The blood that sprayed onto the floor after the lady was stabbed is exactly where it breaks off. This is evidence that someone happened to be standing here when the murderer drew his knife and was splashed with blood.
However, there were some bloodstains on several guests, but no one saw a lot of bloodstains. In addition, the window frame and balcony railings seemed to be rubbed with blood, leaving traces, so the murderer must have escaped from that window. "
Hearing this, Aoki Matsu looked at Mao Lilan and asked, "Xiaolan, did you really see someone escape from the balcony? Or did you just hear some noise, or was it just your subconscious thought at the time?"
Mao Lilan thought for a moment and said seriously, "I didn't see anyone escape with my own eyes, but there was indeed a sound coming from the balcony. However, I can't describe what the sound was, so I can't be sure if someone really escaped from the window."
"That's right. According to Detective Mori's speculation, there is one most crucial thing missing," said Aoki Matsu.
Maori Kogoro was shocked when he heard this and asked quickly, "What is it?"
"This is the second floor. It must have been raining until the evening, so the ground is very wet. It should be very obvious that there are wet footprints left by the murderer when he jumped from the balcony. However, we didn't find any footprints." Aoki Matsu said, pointing to the balcony.
Maori Kogoro was shocked when he heard this. He looked out of the balcony in disbelief and said, "This... How is this possible?"
"That's the truth." Qing Musong said, then his face turned cold, and Qing Musong looked up and said, "It's raining again."
Mao Lilan heard this and asked, "Excuse me, is it true that you didn't find the criminal's footprints?"
Aoki Matsu shook his head, "Really not."
Mao Lilan said with fear: "So, could it be that the sender of the threatening letter is the watchmaker who passed away four years ago?"
Seeing that Mao Lilan had come up with this ridiculous ghost speculation again, Mao Li Kogoro said unhappily: "Idiot, how can a dead person send a letter?"
Mao Lilan still said fearfully: "But it means he is the guardian of time, right? Isn't the watchmaker also the guardian of time?"
Upon hearing this, Aoki Matsu took out the threatening letter and read it, then said, "The moment she was born into this world! It seems that tonight at six o'clock is the time when Mrs. Hoshina was born. I heard that the candles are blown out at six o'clock every year. So, the watchmaker who passed away four years ago still has a grudge against the victim."
Mao Lilan heard this and said, "I don't know the details either. I heard that the lady passed away in an accident on her birthday."
At this time, Gu Yuan Runsaku suddenly came over and said, "That was not an accident. He was killed by someone, by that cold-blooded woman who thought she was a god and was controlling time at all times."
"Ah!?" Aoki Matsu raised his eyebrows.
Furugaki Rinsaku continued, "That day, the storm was very strong. He was using a lifeline to repair the dial of the clock, but unfortunately the strong wind blew it off and he fell into the well below the clock, where he died."
Qing Musong frowned and said: "But according to what you said, it can only be regarded as an accident."
Upon hearing this, Furugaki Rinzo said, "Yes, it was a very stupid accident. If the hostess had not insisted on holding the birthday party on time and had gone to find the watchmaker first..."
Could that accident have been avoided?!
Aihara Yoji was a little surprised when he heard this. "So, someone suddenly disappeared, but she still insisted..."
Qingbian Dingwu also stood up and said, "Yes, because they didn't find his body until the next morning. According to the police's speculation, he fell into the well and drowned during the banquet. Because there was water in that well."
Zhou Fang Zhiqiu also stepped forward upon hearing this, looked at Mr. Qingmei and said, "If there were other people who went to look for my brother at that time, maybe he could still be saved at that time."
Mr. Qingmei said nervously, "But, but after the banquet starts, everyone will be very busy! No one has the time to look for someone."
Upon hearing this, Aihara Yoji looked at Aoki Matsu and whispered, "Inspector, so the person who hated the victim the most is Miss Suho, the sister of the deceased watchmaker."
Aoki Matsu nodded. In terms of motive, Suho Chiaki was indeed the person with the strongest motive to kill.
However, they also have certain suspicions as they look down on the actions of Bian Dingwu and Gu Yuan Lunzuo, especially Gu Yuan Lunzuo.
One wants to worship the other, and the other makes a promise to be with the other for a lifetime.
It feels like I have a special relationship with the deceased watchmaker!
In short, it’s a classic choice of three.
"We can't draw any conclusions for now." Aoki Matsu said cautiously.
After hearing the whole story, Aoki Matsu walked to the body and prepared to perform an autopsy.
This modus operandi is still somewhat bizarre.
The fatal wound must have been the knife that stabbed into the chest.
The murderer then pulled out the murder weapon, but there was no blood on his body, and there were no footprints on the balcony or in the backyard.
These two clues are completely contradictory.
But it is ironclad evidence that cannot be changed.
Aoki Matsu thought about it and thought of the fourth theatrical version of "The Assassin in the Pupil", in which the murderer Kyosuke Kazedo successfully blocked the smoke reaction with an umbrella.
That technique is also very practical here!
It just so happened that it was raining outside again today and everyone brought an umbrella.