Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

After inspecting the scene, Yamamura Misao said, "Is that really the case? What happened?"

Zhiyong didn't answer, and then said, "There's one more thing, Uncle Maoli's cell phone. When we opened the door and came in, his cell phone was lying on the ground by the door."

Yamamura Misao asked in confusion, "What's so strange about that?"

Zhiyong replied, "The strange thing is the 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging on the door, plus the cell phone by the door, that makes a combination."

Yamamura Misao shook his head and said, "Don't understand?"

……

Chapter 325 Identifying the Murderer (1/2)

Zhiyong explained, "That's exactly where the killer's cleverness lies. They hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, so when we found this place, we certainly wouldn't ring the doorbell. After all, disturbing someone's rest is unethical, don't you think?"

Yamamura Misao nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhiyong continued, "Then how do we confirm whether Uncle Mori is in this room? Of course, we'll make a phone call and listen for the phone ringing. Uncle's phone is left by the door, so we can hear it clearly when we make a call. That's how we'll find Miss Ritsuko's body."

Yamamura Misao exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, so that's why they put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign."

Zhiyong walked to the door and said, "There are other clues. Look at the ground by the door, there are thin threads here, and there are gaps in the broken chain links."

Yamamura asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Zhiyong was truly speechless at this rural apology.

He really has no ability to reason.

Zhiyong explained, "You think Uncle Mori is the culprit because the room door was locked and chained, making the room a secret room. Therefore, the only murderer is Uncle Mori, who was fast asleep in the room at the time."

Yamamura clapped his hands and said, "Yes, that's exactly right."

Zhiyong asked, "But what if this isn't a secret room anymore?"

Yamamura Misao asked doubtfully, "It's not a secret room? How is that possible? Didn't you say that there was a chain lock on the door and that you broke in?"

Eri Kisaki said, "Although the door was forced open, it was just for show. The chain lock on the ground has a very strange broken mark. It doesn't look like it was forced open, but rather like it was broken by a tool."

Zhiyong nodded and said, "Just as Aunt Fei said, when we came, this room seemed to be a secret room, but it wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

Zhiyong pointed to a piece of thin rope on the ground and said, "If we use the thin rope to tie the broken chain back together, and the rope is tied in a position that is blocked from our view by the door, then..."

Conan added, "If you don't push the door too hard, it won't open, which will make us think that there's a chain lock on the door and that it's locked from the inside."

Zhiyong added, "Yes, the murderer placed the body on the floor, with the body hidden by the wall and only the head exposed, allowing us to see it through the crack in the door. This would make us think that something had happened inside the room, and in a moment of panic, we would break down the door. In this way, we would only assume that the chain lock was broken when we broke down the door."

Eri Kisaki said, "The murderer's methods can be described as interconnected."

Yamamura Misao asked curiously, "Isn't the murderer Mr. Mori?"

Zhiyong felt like he was about to spit blood in his face and said, "If Uncle Mori is the murderer, from the first time he came to see Attorney Ritsuko to the second time we entered this room, it was only about 30 or 40 minutes. If he used a telephone line to kill someone, there should have been ligature marks on his hands when we found him, but there were no marks on his hands when we found him."

Yamamura Misao replied, "Perhaps he was wearing gloves, which is why there are no marks on his hands."

Eri Kisaki spoke up, "If he was wearing gloves at the time, and we've searched the entire room by now, have you found any gloves?"

Zhi Yong replied, "Actually, this case seems simple, but it is actually quite complex. Of course, it is also very easy to solve."

Yamamura Misao asked, "Do you know who the murderer is?"

Zhiyong scanned the faces of the lawyers and said, "In this case, the murderer is among us. Of course, although Uncle Maoli was at the scene, he is not the murderer. What I just said can prove that he was just framed."

Saku Hoji said, "I don't believe either that the murderer is Mr. Mori, but now all the evidence points to him. If you can prove that Mr. Mori is innocent, then please say so."

Zhiyong shrugged and said, "The clues we just saw were just deductions. They can't prove that Uncle Maoli was framed, nor can they clear him of suspicion. But we only saw him in the room. No one can prove that he is the murderer. Moreover, the method of the secret room has already been revealed. So it means that everyone is now a potential murderer."

Yamamura Misao nodded and said, "That's true. Although Mr. Mori is highly suspicious, everyone else is also a suspect."

Kenzo Shiozawa said unhappily, "While I don't believe Mr. Mori is the murderer either, it's a bit much to say that we're all suspects."

Yuji Mikasa chimed in, "Yes, that's right."

Zhi Yong said, "As you all saw just now, the gap on the broken link of the chain lock is relatively smooth, which is very different from the one that was damaged by an impact. This means that the murderer used a tool to break the chain lock. Do you all agree with that?"

Kenzo Shiozawa nodded and said, "Although there is no identification, it looks like it was damaged by tools just by looking at it."

Zhi Yong smiled and said, "Humans are always strange creatures. They are unwilling to easily discard anything that could pose a danger to themselves. If I'm not mistaken, the murderer didn't throw away that tool, nor could he have kept it on his person, since that would have led to his discovery."

Conan chimed in, "Therefore, the most likely place is in the room. As long as the officers search our room, they will definitely find the tool."

Zhiyong added, "Attorney Saku, if the police go to your room, I think they will definitely be able to find that tool. Actually, the real murderer should be you."

Saku Hoji asked in surprise, "What do you mean? Even if you want to exonerate Mr. Mori, you can't wrong me. Besides, why would I kill Attorney Ritsuko?"

Kenzo Shiozawa also chimed in, "Yes, you can't make such accusations without evidence."

Zhiyong smiled and said, "As I just said, the police only need to search Lawyer Saku's room to find that tool. Don't think that someone framed you. I know your motive for murder."

Saku Hoji tried to remain calm and said, "I have no conflict with Attorney Ritsuko, so what reason do I have to kill her?"

Zhiyong asked, "Do you know why I suspect you?"

Norifumi Saku remained silent.

Yuji Mikasa asked, "Why?"

Zhiyong replied, "Actually, when I entered the room and saw the thin rope on the ground, as well as the chain lock ring, I became suspicious of Attorney Saku. Although your act of ramming the door could be attributed to your eagerness to save someone, another thing made me certain that you were the murderer."

Saku Hoshi asked, "What is it?"

……

Chapter 326 Case Closed (2/2)

P.S.: Today's update is complete.

But now I'm finding that the number of updates I owe is increasing.

I already owed ten chapters, three yesterday, and today there's an extra chapter for those who donated.

Now it's fourteen chapters in arrears.

I will try my best to finish it.

……

Zhiyong explained, "In the afternoon, when Attorney Shiozawa mentioned that Attorney Ritsuko had overturned that sensational case during the second trial, others didn't notice, but I did see the fleeting hatred in your eyes."

Saku Hoji sighed and said, "I did kill Attorney Ritsuko. I thought I could hide it for a while until the case was over, and then I would turn myself in. I just didn't expect the truth to be revealed so quickly."

Yamamura Misao asked, puzzled, "What case are you talking about?"

Eri Kisaki explained, "It's the factory wastewater case that caused a sensation a while ago."

Yamamura Misao nodded and said, "I've heard about this case."

Eri asked疑惑地, "But what does that case have to do with you, Attorney Saku?"

Saku Norifumi said, "The area facing the sewage crisis is my hometown, so of course I hope to win the case."

Eri Kisaki sighed and said, "Attorney Saku, you're a lawyer too, you should understand that Attorney Ritsuko only took on this case because of her job. You really didn't need to kill her."

Saku Norifumi explained, "If she were only defending me because of her job, I naturally wouldn't do it. However, I know that she's only doing this for fame and to surpass you, and she's resorting to any means to inflict pain on the villagers. That's why I can't forgive her."

Eri Kisaki asked doubtfully, "Surpass me?"

Zhiyong interjected, "I sensed that too. Although she praised Aunt Fei this afternoon, I saw jealousy and hatred in her eyes. I was thinking of telling you when I had time, so you could be careful when you interact with her."

Saku Norifumi added, "She brought the drunken Mori-san back to the room so that she could hurt you, make you unable to work calmly because of this, and take the opportunity to surpass you."

Eri Kisaki exclaimed in surprise, "That can't be!"

Zhiyong also spoke up: "When I saw Uncle Mori appear in this room, I thought the same thing. Although Miss Ritsuko's character is questionable, what she did was not a capital offense. Even if she was guilty, the law would judge her. But you killed her. In fact, what difference is there between you and her?"

Saku Hoji looked surprised for a moment, then said, "Yes."

Then, he stopped talking.

Just now, Zhiyong saw the love that Saku Norifumi had for Kisaki Eri in his eyes.

He's just someone who's going to jail.

Zhiyong was very unhappy with this performance.

Zhiyong had suspected it before.

Hoshi Saku framed Kogoro Mori.

Besides because...

At the time, Kogoro Mouri happened to be in Ritsuko Usui's room, and there was another reason for that: he had designs on Eri Kisaki.

But he also knew.

Although Eri Kisaki and Kogoro Mouri are separated, Eri still loves him.

If Kogoro Mouri goes to prison, he will have a chance.

Regardless of whether Zhiyong's guess is correct or not.

But all of this made him unhappy with Saku Hoshi.

Therefore, Zhiyong stopped Saku Fufu from saying what he wanted to say.

The real culprit has now been found.

The police took everyone back to the police station to take their statements.

When I got back to the hotel, it was already dawn.

It is said that today is Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki's wedding anniversary.

The nice tie that Eri Kisaki bought yesterday was also for Kogoro Mouri.

They just didn't expect that Kogoro Mouri and his group would see them, and that this would lead to a misunderstanding.

Fortunately, Kogoro Mouri's paranoia isn't too severe.

Otherwise, things certainly wouldn't have ended like that.

It was originally their wedding anniversary.