Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 295 The deceased remains the same, but the murderer has changed!

Deep in the mountains and dense forests, a crescent moon hangs high overhead.

The strong wind whipped up leaves and bushes, making a whistling sound.

Spiders silently weave their hunting webs.

At one moment, a strong wind blew in from an unknown direction, swirling branches and leaves and disrupting the spider webs.

The wind carried a slight smell of alcohol, and looking in the direction of the wind, one could see the Takeda residence, where the lights were always on.

The Takeda family welcomed several guests after a long absence. Some were detectives, some were spies, some were children, and some were foreign radishes of unknown identity.

The commotion makes people unconsciously smile with relief, but it drives animals away.

Kogoro Mouri's voice was the most unrestrained, his laughter carrying for miles.

There's nothing more enjoyable than drinking fine wine in a place like this!
"What kind of sake is this? Its rich and fragrant flavor is definitely in the top three of my life!" Kogoro Mori drank freely, his cheeks flushed.

Next to her, Anya sat with the Takeda sisters and Conan.

The twins watched Anya devour saury with long faces.

"Mom, why do we only get half a fish each?"

Yoko Takeda smiled wryly: "There were five more guests than originally planned, so there was nothing we could do about it. There's nothing Mom can do either."

"This one's for you." Xia Chuan picked up a saury and handed it over.

"Thank you, Uncle Xia Chuan." The twins immediately agreed.

Children's needs are actually very simple; satisfying them even slightly can make them happy all day.

On the other side, Rob Taylor was clearly not in the mood to eat, looking depressed and sullen. He put down his chopsticks after only a few bites.

"Mr. Yongsan, could you lend me your car? I'd like to visit Misa's grave."

Yuzo Takeda was taken aback: "But the mountain roads are difficult to navigate. Isn't it unsafe to drive at this time?"

"it does not matter."

Robert Taylor shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If I don't go to Misa's grave, I still can't believe she's gone."

"It's good to go out for a walk. There are many fireflies at night in Puppet Ridge. Perhaps when you look at Misa, she will turn into a firefly and come back to see you." Yoko Takeda sighed. She knew a little about Misa and Rob's relationship.

"Fireflies?" Xiaolan and Heye exclaimed in surprise.

One was from Osaka, and the other from Tokyo. Girls from both cities rarely saw fireflies, so they immediately became interested upon hearing this.

"Ania wants to go too!"

Anya suspects that Brother Radish is the murderer and is not going to let him go. She thinks that by following him closely, she might discover some details of the case that others don't know.

And she also wanted to see what fireflies were.

Of course, it wasn't just about wanting to see fireflies!

"Then you should take my SUV. There are too many mosquitoes in the mountains, and the front seat of the truck can't fit four people." Xia Chuan took out the keys and handed them over.

If Robert Taylor isn't the murderer, then it wouldn't hurt to have Anya along.

And with Ran and Kazuha around, there shouldn't be any major problems.

After the four left, the drinking continued until a little after 10 p.m., and Kogoro Mouri completely forgot about Negishi's case.

Without her daughter supervising, this is the effect; she just can't stop!
"Hehehe, it seems that Mr. Mori really likes our Takeda family's specialty medicinal wine. I was worried at first that you wouldn't be used to it."

Shinichi Takeda was also a heavy drinker. When he discovered that Kogoro Mori was the same kind of person as him, he became interested and began to tell the story of the sake.

"Our Puppet Ridge has had rumors of spider monsters for hundreds of years, partly because there are so many spiders here. Mr. Mori, guess what I put in this medicinal wine?"

Just a heads-up, this contains some really nourishing ingredients! It's effective for boosting virility, improving blood circulation, and strengthening muscles and bones.

Kogoro Mouri nodded frequently at first, but suddenly froze when Shinichi Takeda mentioned spiders.

He was a famous detective, and although he had drunk quite a bit, his mind was still quite clear. Upon hearing this, he looked down at the yellowish-brown liquid in his glass, where a thing that looked like a tea twig had settled at the bottom.

At first I thought it might be some kind of herb, but upon closer inspection, I suddenly realized it looks more and more like a spider's leg!
Kogoro Mouri suddenly felt dizzy, and his deceased great-grandmother seemed to be reflected in the cup, smiling at him.

"It must be a spider drug. I just saw it; there were a lot of spider remains in the bottle," Natsukawa answered for Kogoro Mouri with a smile, explaining why he hadn't touched a drop.

Snake wine is already terrifying enough, but this spider-infused wine, even if it's a non-poisonous spider, is still disgusting to think about.

This is truly a country that can treat feces as a delicacy; their research into cooking has reached an astonishing level.

"That's right—but we can't call it 'remains,' we call it 'medicinal dregs.' When you drink it, you can swallow the dregs along with the medicine, and the effect is quite good!"

The three Takeda brothers nodded in unison, as if soaking spiders in sake was a perfectly normal thing; on the contrary, their expressions even carried a hint of pride.

Shinichi Takeda smiled and said, "The spider wine is not only delicious, but also very good for your health. Mr. Mori, please don't be shy. Put everything else aside and drink to your heart's content tonight!"

"Is that so?"

Kogoro Mouri gradually became dizzy and mesmerized, not only seeing his great-grandmother, but also feeling his great-grandfather slowly appearing in the cup.

In the cup, the faces of great-grandfather and great-grandmother appeared alternately, eventually swirling and twisting before merging together to form a hideous eight-eyed spider.

The dizziness and intoxication instantly broke through the detective's mental defenses.

boom!
Kogoro Mouri almost smashed his face into the rice bowl in front of him, but Natsukawa was quick enough to take it away, so it just landed on the table.

"Uncle Mori probably just drank too much. Let him sleep for a while and he'll be fine," Natsukawa explained with a smile. He couldn't very well say that Kogoro Mori had fainted from being scared by the spider sake, could he?

It's not only beneath their dignity, but also incredibly impolite.

The three Takeda brothers nodded dismissively.

Not long after, Shinichi Takeda stood up.

"Alright, the paint should be dry by now. We need to deliver tomorrow, but there's still one doll that's not finished. I'll go to the studio to finish the last step of the doll."

Takeda Shin's face was flushed red. He stood up unsteadily and walked towards the door.

"I think we should stop here for today. We can continue tomorrow if we want."

Ryuji Takeda stood up and rubbed his temples. Although he had been drinking spider sake for many years, he had indeed drunk quite a lot this time and should have stopped.

"Okay, I'll go back and wash my face. My brother needs my help later."

"Please make yourselves at home. Sae and Emi should take a bath too. Daddy will go and add some firewood for you."

"Yay!" x2
After watching the others leave, only the unconscious detective, Conan, Hattori, and Natsukawa remained at the scene.

"The letter I received said there would be another murder tonight, but the Takeda family seems to be having a good time, not like a case is about to happen."

"don't know."

Since Rob Taylor was found not to be the murderer, Xia Chuan has been somewhat confused, and we'll have to wait for further developments to find out the truth.

His goal is to investigate the killer who murdered Misa and her daughter three years ago; whether anyone else is dead now seems less important.

Letting it run its course might actually help me investigate old cases.

That's what I thought, but I couldn't just give up completely in front of two famous detectives.

“I just asked the housekeeper, Ms. Iwatani, and she said that the head of the household manages the family finances and grocery shopping. If you were invited by Shinichi Takeda, you should be short four saury. Since he didn’t include you, it’s very likely that the person who invited you wasn’t him.”

"It's not a bad idea to rule out someone who might invite you."

Similarly, this shows that Robert Taylor did not arrive here earlier, nor did he contact his father-in-law in advance to prepare for revenge.

This makes the identity of the murderer even more elusive.

"I heard that the three brothers have a mother. Do you think it could be their mother?" Conan didn't overlook any possibility, including a seventy-year-old grandmother who was about his height. Hattori paused, then shook his head. "If it were her, I've been here for so long, shouldn't she have come looking for me by now?"

"Should we pay attention to Uncle Mori first?"

Xia Chuan looked down at the famous detective on the tatami mat.

The shock and the alcohol left him unconscious for who knows how long.

Conan rolled his eyes. "You'll wake up naturally after a nap when the effects of the alcohol wear off."

"By the way, is that Robert Taylor reliable?" Conan suddenly became a little worried about the safety of the three girls going up the mountain at night with a foreigner.

"Didn't you give the phone to Xiaolan? She can contact me if there are any problems." Xia Chuan waved his phone.

"No, I have to call and ask."

Conan was still worried, so he grabbed the phone.

A minute later, Conan's already worried heart sank to the bottom.

"Couldn't get through?"

Hattori's expression changed drastically; his childhood friend was there too!

"Don't worry, Ran and Kazuha are not easy to bully." Natsukawa waved his hand. "Professor Agasa's mini phone is small after all, and its functions are not perfect. It's normal for it to fail when it's too far from the signal tower. Look where you are. Even mobile phone signals are not very good here, let alone that little thing."

The two detectives were clearly flustered by their concern, and hearing this reassured them considerably.

Have you seen my older brother?

The sound came from outside the door, interrupting the three people's conversation.

It was Takeda Yuzo.

"Mr. Shinichi Takeda has disappeared?"

In the world of Detective Conan, the disappearance of relevant personnel equals death.

Xia Chuan knew without a second thought that the other person was probably dead, and thought the deceased would be someone else, but he never expected it to be him again!
That's really unlucky.

"Isn't he in the studio?" Conan asked.

"No."

"Is the warehouse still there?" Hattori had a bad feeling. Could it be that the contents of that letter had come true? Someone really had an accident, and it was Shinichi Takeda, the head of the Takeda family.

"It's not in the warehouse; I've already looked for it."

"What about the second floor? As far as I know, all the previous victims were..."

Before Conan could finish speaking, Natsukawa had already stepped out.

"Xia Chuan-ge, where are you going?"

"Second floor of the warehouse!"

The two famous detectives felt a pang of sadness.

The warehouse and the gate were less than 20 meters apart. The gate was wide open, and it was unclear whether it was left open when Takeda Yuzo inspected it. Natsukawa was not stopped at all.

Ascending the stairs to the second floor, my gaze finally settled on the only wooden door.

Hattori was a step too late. When he saw that Natsukawa had tried to turn the doorknob without success, he hurriedly shouted to Takeda Yuzo, who was following behind, "Go get the door-breaking tools!"

"No need to bother!"

Xia Chuan, expressionless, delivered a knee strike, causing the wooden door to slam shut and splinters to fly everywhere.

The handle creaked as it was punched through a hole, as if it were crying because of the heavy blow.

Hattori was dumbfounded. Dude, how are we going to prove this isn't a locked room if we do this?

Conan was already used to it. He casually patted Hattori on the shoulder. "We've solved several cases together already, haven't you gotten used to it yet?"
The two followed Xia Chuan into the room.

Shelves were placed on the left and right sides of the room, with a long aisle in the middle and a wooden table in the middle of the aisle.

A hemp rope hung down from the crossbeam, and Shinichi Takeda was suspended like a puppet, his body wrapped in white silk threads, which were tangled and messy, as if a marionette had been kneaded by hand.

He hung there above the wooden table, like a pig waiting to be cooked.

Even though Conan already knew how Akio Negishi died from the words of the Takeda family, he still couldn't help but gape when he saw the state of Shinichi Takeda's death.

"I'll call an ambulance right away!"

Yuzo Takeda's legs trembled, but since it wasn't his first time experiencing this, he was somewhat prepared and managed to suppress his fear.

"Just call the police."

Xia Chuan withdrew his arm and took off his gloves. "His pupils are bloodshot, his neck is purple, and his tongue is sticking out completely. He's beyond saving."

"The door to the second-floor room was locked from the inside." Hattori confirmed after checking the lock. "The murderer could only have left through the air vent behind the body."

“But adults can’t get out through the air vents at all!” Takeda Yuzo’s eyes were blank.

The police also investigated the air vent in the case a few days ago, but the air vent was not large enough for an adult to pass through.

"It must be the Spider Fairy! This must be the Spider Fairy's punishment for my brother destroying his temple! First it was my sister-in-law and Misa, then it was Gen'an a few days ago, and today it's my brother's turn."

Yuzo Takeda grew increasingly frightened as he spoke, his clenched, chubby hands already beaded with cold sweat. As Shinichi Takeda's brother, could he also be in danger?
Yuzo Takeda shuddered, not daring to think any further, and hurriedly went downstairs to call the police.

“Strange, if the case occurred three days ago, why is the wooden door on the second floor still intact?”

Conan was puzzled. The door was clearly locked from the inside, and Negishi must have broken down the door when he died, so why did it look so new now?

"The second-floor warehouse is where the puppet materials are stored. It was a remote place to begin with, and the three of us brothers were worried that someone would come and steal things, so the next day we took apart the door of the water boiler room and used it."

The speaker was Ryuji Takeda, and his expression was extremely unpleasant.

“There was quite a commotion just now, so I came out to check what was going on and ran into Yong San. He has already told me what happened.”

Seeing that Ryuji Takeda was about to enter the house, Natsukawa raised his hand to stop him: "Mr. Ryuji, please gather everyone in the living room and wait. We still have some questions to ask after we finish our investigation here."

"I see."

Watching Ryuji Takeda leave, Conan turned to him and asked, "Uncle Natsukawa, do you think there's something wrong with Mr. Ryuji?"

"It's not that Mr. Ryuji is the problem. In fact, several members of the Takeda family are suspects. Gathering them together is to prevent them from acting alone and destroying certain evidence. Moreover, the fewer people at the scene, the better to ensure that the scene is not damaged a second time."

"Mr. Takeda Shinichi's body still had some warmth, so the time of death should not have been more than twenty minutes. In other words, Mr. Takeda Shinichi was murdered not long after he left."

“But even so, we still can’t pinpoint the real culprit.” Conan frowned and shook his head. “The dinner party ended not long after Shinichi Takeda left. Ryuji Takeda, Yuzo Takeda, Yoko Takeda, and even the housekeeper Iwatani all had time to commit the crime.”

The three of them checked it carefully again.

Xia Chuan carefully inspected the area next to the air vent.

In the original storyline, the killer's methods were closely related to the air vents.

The main plan was to use BB pellets to create a commotion at the air vent, and then use a pre-prepared mechanism to strangle Shinichi Takeda, whose head was sticking out of the air vent.

Robert Taylor was the one who used this technique.

The reality is that Robert Taylor left an hour before Shinichi Takeda left, and his movements were under the watchful eyes of Ran and the other two, so he had no chance to come back and commit the crime.

After investigation, he found no marks other than rope marks on the roof beams, nor any traces of tape near the air vents.

The rope looked more like someone had put it around Shinichi Takeda's neck and strangled him with brute force.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)