Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Ryūno nodded and continued, "That's right. Just before today, she offered a huge reward to Uncle Mori to investigate. And then today, her husband was kidnapped. Don't you think it's a bit too much of a coincidence?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan opened her mouth slightly and lowered her head to think.

Conan, who was eavesdropping nearby, suddenly realized something and began to suspect Mrs. Hirano.

Indeed, they were led by the nose by the situation as soon as they entered the door.

Ryūno is right. If we think about it calmly, this Mrs. Hirano is indeed suspicious.

If there were no problems between the couple, why would she spend so much money to hire a Mori detective to investigate her husband's affair?

Just at that moment, her husband was kidnapped by kidnappers... This is indeed very strange!

Just then, Longye continued, "Furthermore, there are also suspicious points regarding the way the prisoner was notified."

"Since the messages are all for ransom, why didn't the prisoner choose a simpler method like the phone? Why did he choose fax?"

"There's a prerequisite for sending a fax. The prisoner must know the Hirano family's fax machine number. Keep in mind, this isn't a company fax machine. How did the prisoner know the Hirano family's fax machine number?"

Upon hearing this, Conan placed his hand on his chin.

He thought to himself, "That's true, what Ryūno said makes a lot of sense." Leaving aside how the culprit knew the Hirano family's fax machine number, why did he choose fax as his mode of transport?

Fax... Oh right! Fax machines can be set with a timer!

After realizing this, Conan's gaze towards Mrs. Hirano changed instantly.

If Mrs. Hirano is indeed the culprit, then her purpose in deliberately calling the police and them here must be... to establish an alibi!

……

after an hour

The body of Hirano Osamu, the husband of Mrs. Hirano, was discovered in the woods by Officer Yamamura's men.

Upon hearing this news, Mrs. Hirano cried even more bitterly inside the house.

Officer Yamamura slumped helplessly on the sofa, clutching his head tightly, looking utterly dejected.

Because of his own mistake, the hostage was killed by the criminals...

Besides feeling regret and self-blame, he also sensed the darkness of his future.

"Due to his own mistakes, people died."

As a police officer, once you're branded with this kind of label, you're basically out of luck when it comes to promotion.

Not to mention, Hirano Osamu is also a well-known construction boss in the area.

It's obvious that this incident will be featured in the newspaper headlines in a few days, and his name, Shan Cuncao, will be publicly revealed.

Thinking of this, he felt utterly hopeless.

At this moment, Mrs. Hirano, who had been crying, gradually calmed down and said loudly to everyone with her red and swollen eyes, "You can all leave now. I want to be alone for a while!"

Upon hearing Mrs. Hirano's words, everyone prepared to leave the study.

Seeing this, Conan couldn't hold back any longer. He opened the watch case and pointed it at Uncle Mori, who was sitting on the sofa.

Just as everyone was about to step out of the room, a steady voice rang out from inside the study.

"Officer Yamamura, there's no need to leave in such a hurry. The matter isn't completely resolved yet!"

The familiar voice stirred something in Yamamura's heart. He immediately turned around and looked at Kogoro Mouri, who was sitting on the sofa, his eyes shining with hope.

"Mr. Mori!"

Seeing this, Mrs. Hirano questioned, "Mr. Mori, what do you mean by this! My husband has already lost his life because of your mistake, what else do you want to do?!"

Upon hearing Mrs. Hirano's words, Uncle Mori chuckled and said, "Madam, there's no need to be in such a hurry. You can kick us out after you've heard what I have to say."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hirano gave a displeased snort and fell silent, seemingly acquiescing to his words.

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, Uncle Mori spoke up: "Officer Yamamura, why would a criminal choose to use a fax machine to send threatening letters?"

"Eh? This..."

"He could have used a simpler and more direct method like a mobile phone, but he chose to use a fax machine. There's only one reason! Fax machines allow you to set the document sending time!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hirano's expression changed slightly, but she still clenched her hands, forcing herself to remain calm.

“Officer Yamamura, do you remember what was written in the last threatening letter? It said, ‘There are police in the woods.’”

"We were all so nervous at the time that we overlooked that. You know, your men were positioned outside the woods!"

Upon hearing this, Yamamura Misao was taken aback: "But Mr. Mori, we were indeed inside the car, weren't we?"

“That’s right, we were indeed hiding inside the car. But in the darkness of night, unless the prisoner was observing from the sky, he couldn’t possibly spot us from anywhere.”

"What's more, the threatening letter didn't say there was a car inside, but that there were police officers in the woods!"

Chapter 151 Evidence is something you can always find if you look for it.

“If the criminal really saw us, he should have written this in the threatening letter: There are police officers in your car.”

After he finished speaking, Officer Yamamura realized what was going on.

His men had already been deployed outside the woods, and only the two of them were hiding inside Mrs. Hirano's car.

If the criminal actually spotted the police, the threatening letter should have stated "outside the woods" or "inside the car," not the vague "in the woods."

Seeing the sudden silence, Mrs. Hirano spoke up: "What if the culprit didn't find you in the woods, but was observing this place all along!?"

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri chuckled lightly: "Oh... cough! If the culprit was really observing this place, he should have noticed Inspector Yamamura and his group long ago. A moving company? Such a clumsy tactic, anyone could see through it at a glance!"

“Mr. Mori, how could you say that…” Officer Yamamura looked at Kogoro Mori with a wronged expression.

"Cough! If the criminal had been observing this place, he would have known there were police here long ago. In that case, he wouldn't have sent the order for Ms. Hirano to deliver the money! The negotiations would have broken down long ago!"

"But since he did not choose to stop negotiations with us at that time, there can only be two reasons."

"Either he didn't observe the mansion at all, nor did he know we were inside."

"Or... he already knew the police would be in this mansion, but still chose to send the later fax!"

Upon hearing this, Officer Yamamura's brain cells were clearly not enough. He frowned and tried hard to think about the meaning of these words.

Mrs. Hirano, standing to the side, seemed somewhat angry, her voice rising: "Mr. Mori, what exactly are you trying to say!?"

"What I want to say is... the criminal knew from the very beginning that the police would be involved, and his goal was never ransom!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hirano's expression visibly changed: "What nonsense are you talking about?! If the criminal wasn't after a ransom, why would he kidnap my husband?!"

"Only the prisoner himself knows the truth about this... right, Mrs. Hirano?"

After hearing Uncle Mori's words, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Mrs. Hirano.

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Hirano immediately stood up agitatedly: "My husband was clearly killed because of your incompetence! How dare you frame me!"

Seeing Mrs. Hirano's agitated state, Officer Yamamura scratched his head: "That's right, Mr. Mori! Mrs. Hirano has been with us the whole time, how could she be a criminal?"

Upon hearing Officer Yamamura's words, Conan couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Tatsuno, who was watching "Uncle Mori" solve the case, rolled his eyes and couldn't help but think to himself.

I've already made it so obvious, how come you still don't understand the situation?

Even if you really don't understand, you could at least stay silent for a moment.

You actually stood up for Ms. Hirano without understanding anything.

If Tatsuno remembers correctly, this "dumb police officer" was promoted smoothly in the future and became a police inspector.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but have doubts about the Metropolitan Police Department's police officer selection system.

As the saying goes, it takes two to tango.

No wonder the crime rate has skyrocketed; besides those few "Grim Reapers," you guys have also played a significant role!

If most police officers were like this, it would be strange if the crime rate were low...

At this moment, Conan also recovered from his speechlessness and put his mouth back next to the voice changer.

"Officer Yamamura, do you remember the fax machine I mentioned before? The reason the criminals chose to use it to send threatening letters is because of one of its important functions!"

"As long as the time is set, documents can be sent on schedule even if the person is not near the fax machine. It's true that Mrs. Hirano has been with us, but that doesn't mean she can't have committed the crime!"

"I think this is exactly the strategy Mrs. Hirano used to establish her alibi. Her initial goal was to kill her husband."

"The reason we were called here is to make us witnesses for their 'alibs'!"

"If the police and detectives can prove here that she had no opportunity to commit the crime, even if the police find anything suspicious later, they will definitely not suspect Mrs. Hirano. After all, we personally verified her alibi."

Upon hearing this, Officer Yamamura looked thoughtful, but there was still a hint of confusion in his expression.

She was about to speak when Ms. Hirano interrupted her: "Mr. Mori, I understand what you mean. Although I don't know why you suspect me, since you shamelessly claim that I killed my husband, you should at least provide some evidence!"

Conan was taken aback when he saw Mrs. Hirano suddenly calm down.

We were so focused on stopping everyone from leaving that we haven't found the most crucial evidence yet.

While it's true that Ms. Hirano is the culprit, this is just his deduction.

Damn it! There's no time to find evidence now, and what exactly is the evidence...?

Seeing Detective Mori fall silent, Mrs. Hirano scoffed, "Hmph! Accusing me of being the culprit without any evidence? I see you're nothing special, you famous detective! All of you, get out of my house! I don't want to see you again!"

Upon hearing these words, the village police officer's expression changed, and Xiaolan also looked at her father with some worry.

Ryūno gave Mrs. Hirano a deep look and revealed a wicked smile.

That's incredibly arrogant, it's kind of scary!

Since you've scared me so much, it's not unreasonable for me to take all your assets, is it?

Thinking of this, Longye slowly stepped forward: "Mrs. Hirano, are you treating everyone like fools?"

“Now that the body has been discovered, a professional forensic doctor will definitely conduct an autopsy. Both the time of death and the cause of death will be revealed. And now that you are being watched by the police, your alibi will naturally fall apart.”

"Next, just let the police investigate where you've been recently. They'll definitely find another fax machine somewhere with these threatening messages written on it."

"As for the motive for the murder, it should be clear once you investigate your relationship with your husband. Since you previously commissioned Uncle Mori to investigate your affair, why not start the investigation from that angle?"

After speaking, Ryūno walked up to Mrs. Hirano, looked at her with murderous intent, and whispered, "You need to know that the aura of someone who has killed is different from that of an ordinary person. For example..."

Seeing Ryūno's predatory gaze, Mrs. Hirano shut her mouth, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Just a moment ago, she seemed to sense a terrifying aura emanating from the boy in front of her.