Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Zhiyong spoke up, "Tell us about it."

Inspector Gong Chang said, "Back then, every time a fire broke out, he would immediately assume it was arson, rush to the scene, and make a mess of the evidence. He was complained about by the fire department countless times."

Kogoro Mouri said, "You seem to be the same way."

Inspector Gong Chang added, "This fire is definitely an arson case. A red horse statue was found at the scene, and after examination, it was confirmed to be the same red horse found at the scenes of the previous three arson cases."

Kogoro Mouri asked, "Could it be that the culprit saw the news report and therefore copied the crime?"

Inspector Gong Chang shook his head and said, "How could you possibly make an identical red horse just by looking at a photo? Besides, the red horse is made from a model. It's not something sold on the market. It could only have been made by a criminal."

As he spoke, he looked at the ruins before him and said, "The criminals provoked the police probably in pursuit of thrills, but this time it resulted in a death."

Heiji asked, "Where did the fire start?"

Inspector Yuki asked with a puzzled look, "Mouri, is this handsome young man your assistant?"

Yes, yes.

Inspector Gong Chang didn't ask any further questions and said, "The fire started in the warehouse room on the far right of the house. There was a red horse statue on the warehouse window, and there were traces of oil on the warehouse floor. The oil must have been poured in through the open window on the right."

As he spoke, he pointed to the yard and said, "I found a lot of suspicious footprints under the warehouse window in the yard, and under the window of another room. If we investigate the footprints carefully, we should be able to find out the arsonist's identity."

Kogoro Mouri said awkwardly, "Um, Inspector Yumigahara, those footprints might be ours."

Inspector Gong asked in confusion, "Yours? What's going on?"

Kogoro Mouri then recounted why they had come here and what happened afterward.

Inspector Gong asked, "You still remember what the people you met looked like, right?"

"Of course, we also have photos."

As Kogoro Mouri spoke, he took out four photos.

Inspector Gong Chang took the photo.

Kogoro Mouri pointed and said, "This is the first man we met who was selling goods."

"This is the feng shui master."

"This is the deceased's sister, a fortune teller."

"Finally, there was the deceased's husband."

Heiji said, "The feng shui master and the deceased's husband are unlikely to be the arsonists."

Inspector Gong asked, "What do you mean?"

Heiji explained, "According to the testimony of the little boy next door to the deceased, the red horse appeared at 7:30. The feng shui master and the deceased's husband went out drinking together around 7:20, so it couldn't possibly be them."

Conan added, "We waited another five minutes before leaving the deceased's door. At that time, we didn't find anything suspicious."

Heiji asked with a puzzled look, "I'm just a little confused as to why the feng shui master and the deceased's husband returned so early?"

Inspector Gong Chang replied, "We have already investigated this. It was someone nearby who discovered the fire at the deceased's house and called the deceased's husband to notify him."

Kogoro Mouri said, "In that case, the only suspects are the fortune teller, who is also the deceased's sister, and the salesman."

Inspector Yukichi said, "There are many fortune-telling stalls in the shopping mall near Beika Station. The deceased's sister should be there."

Conan said, "Then let's go take a look."

Inspector Gong Chang nodded and said, "That's fine too."

Zhi Yong said, "Actually, although the deceased's sister and the salesman are suspicious, I think the feng shui master and the deceased's husband are more suspicious."

Heiji shook his head and said, "How could that be? They were both drinking at the time, unless they were the arsonists."

Zhiyong smiled and said, "You only asked the child a few simple questions before leaving in a hurry to prove your conjectures. But I asked some more questions, so I have more clues than you. However, I need to go to the scene and find evidence at the point of ignition to prove my reasoning. Inspector Gongchang, I wonder if that's possible?"

Inspector Gong Chang nodded and said, "Alright, anyway, the evidence collection is complete."

What are you looking for?

"Let me tell you when I find it."

After Zhiyong finished speaking, he took the flashlight given to him by Inspector Gongchang and entered the scene of the fire.

……

Chapter 320 Locating the Arsonist (Bonus Chapter)

P.S.: An extra chapter will be added for those who vote with monthly tickets.

Today's update is complete. Next up are the twelve chapters I owe you.

……

They arrived at the point of ignition.

Zhi Yong searched on the ground.

It's very dark now.

However, Zhiyong has a map function.

Therefore, they quickly found what they were looking for.

Zhi Yong asked the police officer who was waiting nearby to come over and collect a light bulb and some paper ashes from the ground.

then.

Zhi Yong then left the scene.

Heiji asked, "Did you find it?"

Conan and Heiji were also eager to know what evidence Zhiyong was looking for.

Zhiyong nodded and said, "We've found it. Now let me explain my reasoning. Although we can't prove who the arsonist is, we can narrow down the suspects."

Heiji said, "Alright, we're all ears."

Zhi Yong then said, "Before we talk about this case, I'd like to ask you a question. Have you noticed that this case is very similar to a certain other case?"

Heiji then said, "You mean the ABC murder case?"

Kogoro Mouri asked in confusion, "What ABC murder case?"

Zhiyong explained, "It's the masterpiece in the Poirot series written by Agatha Christie, the ABC Murder Case."

Kogoro Mouri suddenly realized, "You mean the novel?"

Heiji explained, "The ABC murder case involved the perpetrator killing victims one by one, starting with the first letter of their names in alphabetical order. Next to each victim's body, the perpetrator left an ABC railway travel guide, making it appear as a serial murder case."

Conan also said, "This way, the real target, the person whose name starts with C, can be killed smoothly, making people think it's a random killing, thus covering up a planned murder."

Zhiyong added, "If I'm not mistaken, this salesman should be among the first three cases."

Inspector Yukichi nodded and said, "This salesman is named Genda Takayuki. He runs an antique shop in Beika Town. He did appear at the scene of all three cases. At the scene of the first arson case, he was looking at the fire and calling out 'Dad, Dad,' which caught our attention, and we investigated him."

Heiji asked, "What does it mean that he called out 'Dad' to the fire?"

Inspector Gong Chang explained, "His father was a firefighter. When he was in elementary school, his father rushed into a fire to save people and never came out."

Kogoro Mouri asked, "Did he set the fire because he missed his father? In his heart, whenever there is a fire, his father will appear?"

Inspector Gong Chang replied, "That's what we thought too, so we investigated him. But after the investigation, I felt that he wasn't the one who would commit arson."

Heiji asked again, "Why? Did they find evidence that's favorable to him?"

Inspector Gong Chang replied, "No, it's more like a policeman's intuition. Anyway, I just feel like he's not the criminal."

Zhiyong asked, "Why do you have this intuition? Something must have happened to make you feel this way."

Inspector Gong Chang nodded and replied, "That's right. Before investigating Genda, I had a meeting with him outside. We talked for about thirty minutes, but he didn't say a word. In the end, I gave up and told him we'd talk another time before leaving. But when I walked a distance away and looked back, I saw him crawling on the ground looking for something. This struck me as very strange, so I hid to the side and observed. After a while, it started to rain, and that's when I saw him smile."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "That's when I realized what he was looking for. When I was talking to him, I smoked a cigarette. When I left, I put it out and put it in the cigarette pack. But I was facing away from him at the time, and he thought I had thrown the cigarette butt on the ground. The fire that killed his father was caused by a cigarette butt."

Kogoro Mouri replied, "I can understand why you have such a feeling. I wouldn't believe he's that kind of person either."

Zhiyong began, "Now let's get back to the main topic and talk about the clues I discovered."

Heiji replied, "You can begin."

Zhiyong recounted, "Actually, after thinking about the ABC murder case and listening to what the victim's neighbor's child said, I thought of a possibility, as well as the method of arson. So, I went to look for the place where the fire started, and sure enough, I found it."

Heiji said, "Could it be that a timed fire-starting mechanism was made using the light bulbs in the room?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That's right. I found a light bulb and a clump of paper ash at the scene. Of course, this could also be caused by the fire, but if it matches what the child said, then it's a different story."

Conan asked, "What did the child say?"

Zhiyong replied, "I asked the child if he had seen the horse's shadow wrong. After all, when flames burn, shadows sway from side to side. I thought he might have misread it, but he told me that it suddenly became very bright outside the window, and the horse's shadow was reflected on the curtain. The horse's shadow was very clear and did not sway."

Heiji nodded and said, "I see. I had that thought when I saw the light bulb in the police officer's evidence bag earlier."

Zhi Yong nodded and said, "The prisoner probably wrapped the light bulb in tissue paper and secured it with tape. Inside the tissue paper, there was also a matchstick on top of the 100-watt light bulb. After turning on the light, the temperature of the glass in the light bulb was about 218 degrees Celsius."

Heiji also said, "There was tissue paper and matchsticks wrapped around the light bulb. At such a high temperature, the matchsticks would quickly catch fire, and the tissue paper would also catch fire. It would fall to the ground, and since there was oil on the ground, the fire would start."

Zhiyong continued, "That's right. Before, the light bulb was wrapped in tissue paper, so the light in the warehouse was relatively dim. Therefore, the red horse statue wouldn't be reflected on the neighbor's window. But after the tissue paper caught fire and fell to the ground, the light in the warehouse became brighter, so the horse's shadow was reflected on the neighbor's curtain. However, it was precisely because of the light that the horse's shadow didn't flicker."

Kogoro Mouri suddenly realized, "This way, the neighbor's kids will think that the horse was put up at that time. It's a really good arrangement."

Inspector Yumikado said, "The only person capable of using such a plan is the deceased's husband. It must be Mr. Morozumi who discovered his wife's infidelity, which is why he harbors resentment."

Zhi Yong said, "No, the feng shui master is also a possibility. After all, he had a private affair with the deceased and was very familiar with the deceased's home and surrounding environment. Moreover, he was coerced by the deceased and had a motive to kill. Therefore, both of them are highly suspicious."

The suspect has now been identified, and the next step is to find relevant evidence.

Therefore, Zhiyong didn't want to get involved any further.

After all, he's not Conan; there's also Heiji Hattori, who's extremely passionate about deduction.

The case will not be solved.

It will make you feel uncomfortable.

The case proceeded to the next day.

The police then found the evidence.

The arsonist was the victim's husband.

He was inspired to commit arson after reading about the ABC murders.