Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Page 156

Eri Kisaki smiled and said, "I'm asking the building manager to allow me to enter the Otsu Real Estate Office. Here's all the information for this case; please take a look."

Zhiyong took a document, opened it, and began to read.

Zhi Yong glanced at the criminal report and the confession, then began to look at the on-site investigation record.

The list of items left at the scene includes four items: a glass ashtray, a pair of military gloves, eyeglass screws, and a golf ball.

At that moment, the administrator came out.

Administrator Takuya Akiyama said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Please follow me."

Zhiyong smiled and asked, "Uncle Qiushan, were you the first to discover the president's body?"

“Yes,” Takuya Akiyama nodded.

"Could you please describe what happened again?" Eri asked politely.

"No problem!"

Takuya Akiyama recalled, "I remember that at nine o'clock that day, I was watching a baseball game on TV when Mr. Arima came to deliver reading glasses to President Otsu. He asked me to open the door to his office for him."

"This Mr. Arima, you must be President Otsu's son-in-law?" Eri Kisaki asked.

“Yes, he owns an Italian restaurant nearby. That night, President Otsu ate there first before returning to the company,” Takuya Akiyama replied.

"Was the office door locked that night too?" Zhiyong asked.

"Yes, that's why Mr. Arima came to me and asked me to use the spare key to open the office door."

Takuya Akiyama said that he found the key and then opened the door of the agency.

Zhiyong and the others followed them into the firm.

"Mr. Arima knocked on the president's office door, but no one answered. He looked through a small hole in the door and saw that there was someone inside. I rushed over and found someone banging on something inside. Then I heard a sound of something falling down inside."

Takuya Akiyama walked to the door of the president's office and pointed to the small hole in the door, saying, "It's this small hole."

"And then what?" Zhiyong asked.

"Because only the president has the key to the president's office, Mr. Arima broke down the door and saw the president lying on the ground. Then, Mr. Arima told me to call an ambulance, so I rushed downstairs," said Takuya Akiyama.

"Was President Otsu injured or already dead at that time?" Zhiyong asked.

"I don't know either. The president didn't move at all at the time," Akiyama Takuya replied.

"When you went to call an ambulance, was Mr. Arima the only one left in the president's office?" Zhiyong asked.

“Yes,” Takuya Akiyama replied.

Zhiyong opened the door to the president's office and found it locked, so he said, "The door is locked again."

“The key to this door is with Mr. Arima. I just informed him, and I expect he will arrive soon,” said Takuya Akiyama.

……

Chapter 182 On-site Investigation

Since he couldn't get into the president's office, Zhiyong took out the case file again and started looking at it.

Zhi Yong first looked at the on-site investigation records.

Four items were left at the scene: a glass ashtray, a pair of military gloves, eyeglass screws, and a golf ball.

Zhi Yong first reviewed the identification results of the glass ashtray.

There were no fingerprints on the glass ashtray, but there were traces of it being wiped with an oily cloth.

The military gloves were left behind by Takashi Inoue.

Zhiyong had no idea what the eyeglass screws and golf balls were for.

However, could the screw on the eyeglasses be the same screw on Toshiyuki Otsu's reading glasses?

If so, then it would be very interesting to see them on site.

And this glass ashtray.

There are traces of wiping with an oilcloth on it.

If it's tarpaulin, it wouldn't have been brought by Takashi Inoue.

If Inoue Takashi wiped away the fingerprints with an oilcloth, then it must have been picked up casually at the scene.

And then there's the missing money.

As Zhiyong was pondering, he heard footsteps and a man walked in.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Akiyama Takuya said, "Mr. Arima has arrived."

He introduced Eri Kisaki to her, saying, "Mr. Arima, this is the lawyer I mentioned to you on the phone."

Zhiyong also said, "Hello, I am Attorney Fei's assistant, my name is Sato Zhiyong."

“Mr. Arima, I’m so sorry to disturb your work at this time. The purpose of our visit is to see the president’s office.” Eri Kisaki said with a smile.

“No problem. The police have already issued permission to use it. However, my father-in-law died here, so I haven’t decided how to use it in the future.”

As Arima Masahiko spoke, he took out a key from his pocket and opened the door to the president's office.

"Please come in. I haven't touched anything inside since the police came here."

Zhiyong went to the president's office and first took a quick look around the room.

Although there was some dust on the tables and chairs in the president's office, it was generally quite tidy.

However, after searching around, Zhiyong did not find any items resembling oilcloth.

Therefore, it seems that either Inoue Takashi took it away, or the murderer might not be Inoue Takashi.

The incident has now occurred some time ago.

If it's a recent case, Zhiyong can directly collect the ghost and find out how the incident happened.

Now we can only rely on our own reasoning.

I just hope things don't go wrong at this crucial moment.

Otherwise, Zhiyong would have no choice but to go back and ask Conan for help.

After glancing through it once, Zhiyong asked, "Mr. Arima, may I ask where President Otsu collapsed at that time?"

Arima Masahiko pointed to the ground in front of the safe and said, "At that time, my father-in-law covered his head and collapsed in front of the safe."

"I see." Zhiyong nodded.

Zhiyong continued searching for clues in the president's office.

Upon seeing the screen in front of the desk, Zhiyong remembered the spot where Masahiko had mentioned earlier where President Otsu had collapsed.

Zhiyong said to Eri Kisaki, "Attorney Kisaki, please stand where President Otsu fell to the ground."

Upon reaching the door of the president's office, Zhiyong closed the door and peered inside through a small peephole.

To Zhiyong's great surprise, he couldn't see Eri Kisaki at all when he looked through the small hole.

Zhiyong opened the door and asked, "Uncle Qiushan, did you really see someone in the president's room through the peephole in the door that day?"

"Yes," Takuya Akiyama replied.

"But when you look through the small hole in the door, you can't see anyone at all because the screen blocks your view," Zhiyong asked, puzzled.

"What? Mr. Akiyama, what's going on?" Eri Kisaki asked seriously.

"Actually, I wasn't looking in the direction of the screen; I saw a figure on the wall," Akiyama Takuya said, pointing to the wall next to him.

"A shadow on the wall?" Eri asked, puzzled.

“Yes, there were no lights in the president’s office at the time. The neon light shining in from the window cast the shadow of someone beating President Otsu on the wall. After that, I heard President Otsu fall to the ground,” Akiyama Takuya replied.

"Mr. Akiyama, let me ask you again, what you saw was not Inoue Takashi beating up President Otsu, right?" Eri Kisaki pressed.

"It doesn't seem to make any difference, does it? The murderer himself admitted to hitting him." Arima Masahiko asked doubtfully.

“No, Mr. Arima, seeing him in person hitting someone is completely different from seeing the figure hitting someone,” Eri Kisaki explained.

Zhiyong now had another suspicion in his mind, and he looked around the room again.

At that moment, he saw a clock on the bookshelf.

Zhiyong pointed and asked, "This clock isn't moving."

“That clock was a prize my father-in-law won in a golf tournament. It’s no longer in use; it’s just a souvenir to decorate the room,” Arima Masahiko replied.

"Mr. Arima, besides President Otsu, does anyone else know the combination to the safe?" Eri Kisaki asked.

"I don't think so. My father-in-law likes to be in control of everything, so it's unlikely that anyone else would know the password," Arima Masahiko replied.

Zhiyong saw disdain in Arima Masahiko's eyes.

The few clues that Zhiyong has found now make him suspicious of Arima Masahiko.

Zhiyong, however, still hadn't figured out how the sounds coming from inside the room were made.

At the time of the incident, the building manager, Takuya Akiyama, described the sound of something falling to the ground inside the room.

Once we can figure out the reason, we can be sure of Zhiyong's guess.

Zhiyong searched the room again.

As Zhiyong walked to the desk, he inadvertently noticed that there were signs on the floor that the desk had been moved.

At this moment, Zhiyong remembered the golf ball on the list of items left at the scene, and he finally understood everything.

Now we can say that the truth has been fully revealed.

However, this still needs to be confirmed.

Zhiyong secretly gave Eri a meaningful look.

Eri asked a few more simple questions and then left.