Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Kindaichi said with a puzzled look, "I feel like something's not right."

"but……."

He continued, "Don't you find it strange? Since Mr. Bando has already confessed to the murder, why was his own voice used during the confession, and instead of Redram's voice, was it played?"

Edward said, "It is indeed strange. If it were a confession, wouldn't it be more reasonable to play one's own voice?"

Maki Hitoshi also said, "This is the murderer's way of making Mr. Bando take the blame for the murder. This is the murderer's last strategy."

Miyuki exclaimed in surprise, "In that case, the real culprit is still among us?"

Tagikawa said, "The real culprit appears very surprised, but he's probably secretly laughing inside."

Zhiyong nodded and said, "Yes, this murderer is very cunning. He gave us psychological hints in the first case."

Edward asked doubtfully, "Psychological suggestion?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "In the first case, Liedram first arranged for us to solve the wax figure murder, and then brought the real body to us. In other words, he implied in our minds that the murderer disposed of the wax figure first before killing the victim."

Kindaichi asked, "That's certainly true, but why would he do that?"

Zhi Yong replied, "It's to lay the groundwork for the second and third murder cases. Actually, I had already figured out the method of the second locked-room murder just now."

Miyuki asked in surprise, "Really? How did the murderer do that?"

Makihito asked in surprise, "You really know?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "Actually, the murderer is in the West Tower, in that small fireplace room."

Tagikawa replied, "Are you referring to the three people living in the West Tower?"

"How could it be me?"

"I didn't kill anyone."

"Yes, not me either."

Zhiyong smiled and said, "Just now, Kindaichi was quite puzzled as to why the wax figure only had a head and why the wooden stake hadn't pierced into the wax figure. This is quite different from the first case, where the short sword pierced directly into the body."

Jin Tian nodded and said, "Yes, I really haven't figured that out yet."

Zhiyong replied, "That's where the killer's cunning lies. Actually, when we entered the West Tower, what we saw lying on the table wasn't a wax figure; it was actually the killer in disguise."

"what?"

"How could this be?"

Everyone was quite surprised when they heard Zhiyong's explanation.

Kindaichi suddenly said, "That's right, only in this way can we explain why the murderer set up the West Tower as a locked room, so that he wouldn't have to worry about being mistaken for the murderer."

Mingzhi also said, "In that case, the murderer is not someone from the West Tower, but most likely someone from the East Tower."

……

Chapter 530 Locating the Real Killer

After Zhiyong's reminder.

Kindaichi and Akechi had both realized that the murderer might be someone living in the East Tower.

Although they believe this, there is no evidence to back it up; it's just speculation.

Perhaps the incident was caused by the four people living in the West Tower.

Zhiyong said, "On that day, Kindaichi, Miyuki, and Akechi arrived at the door blocking the way to the fireplace room first. Ai and I arrived at the door and met up with them when they kicked it open. However, we only met Ms. Takigawa after we entered Mr. Richard's room."

Tagikawa asked in surprise, "I just walked a little slower, how did I become a murderer?"

Zhiyong replied, "At least at that time, you were acting alone, and who can vouch for you? So, it's perfectly normal that you're highly suspicious!"

Tagikawa said angrily, "Why are you assuming I'm the murderer? Is there any evidence to prove it?"

Zhiyong shook his head and said, "Ms. Duoqichuan, you did not leave us many clues in the first and second cases, but you left too many clues in the third case."

Miyuki asked in surprise, "Is it really Ms. Takigawa?"

Tagikawa Ho shook her head and said, "I will not admit to anything I have never done. You don't need to frame me. I think you will be able to find out the truth and prove my innocence."

Zhiyong replied, "Ms. Duoqichuan, you may not know this, but every time I appear at a murder scene, I won't say a word if there is no evidence to prove that the murderer is the killer. Since I have spoken, it means that I have evidence to prove that you are the murderer."

Takikawa Ho smiled and said, "Oh, then analyze for us how I killed him. Perhaps I will write about this case in my next novel."

Zhi Yong spoke up, "Ms. Jin Qichuan, do you know how I discovered the problem with the case?"

Tagikawa smiled and said, "I'm all ears now."

Zhiyong pointed to the wax figure of Bando Kusaburo and asked, "Do you see any problems with Mr. Bando's wax figure?"

After listening to what Zhiyong said, everyone observed carefully.

Miyuki asked in confusion, "I didn't notice anything wrong?"

Others thought so too.

"Yes, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this wax figure."

"If we're really talking about problems, is his being hung up now a problem?"

Zhiyong shook his head and said, "You're right, there's really nothing wrong with this wax figure."

Everyone was very puzzled after hearing what Zhiyong said.

Edward said, "What do you mean by this? I mean, you're not trying to play us for fools, are you?"

Zhiyong ignored him and continued, "You should have noticed that when we came, the fireplace room was unusually hot, like a sauna."

Jin Tian nodded and said, "That's certainly true. Is there a problem with that?"

Zhiyong replied, "The other parts of the wax figure are made of colored wax, so they don't melt easily. However, the white part of the eyes is made of white wax, which melts very easily. When we arrived, I noticed that the white part of the eyes of the wax figure in the fireplace had already started to melt, just like a person shedding tears."

Maki asked, "Is that so?"

Akechi shook his head and said, "I only noticed that Mr. Bando's wax figure had fallen, so I didn't pay attention to the other wax figures."

Kindaichi replied, "It seems so, but I didn't observe carefully just now, so I'm not entirely sure."

Zhiyong added, "As you all observed just now, Mr. Bando's wax figure hasn't changed at all, which means that when the fireplace was very hot today, Mr. Bando's wax figure was no longer in the fireplace room."

Kindaichi replied, "Impossible. I did see Mr. Bando's wax figure this morning."

Maki Hitoshi also said, "I saw it too. Didn't you say you saw it just now?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "I did see it, but if we combine it with the second case, then at that time, inside the large fireplace, the wax figure sitting in Mr. Bando's seat was actually the murderer in disguise. In such dim lighting, it would be difficult for us to tell whether it was a real person or a wax figure."

Kindaichi also said, "That's true. If the other person wears a wax figure mask like Mr. Bando and changes into clothes like the wax figure, as long as she sits there without moving, even if we stand right in front of her, we won't be able to tell the difference at all."

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That's right. I discovered the problem with Mr. Bando's wax figure, which led me to a bold guess, and that's why I thought of the murderer's method."

Akechi also said, "That means that Mr. Bando was actually killed a long time ago, and his wax figure was placed in his room. The murderer dressed up as his wax figure to give us the illusion that Mr. Bando was still alive at that time."

Takigawa asked, "Even if that's the case, why am I the murderer? Why did I kill them?"

Zhi Yong shrugged and said, "The motive for killing was revenge. As for the reason, I haven't thought of it yet. As for why you were identified as the murderer, besides what I just mentioned, I'll tell you another clue."

Miyuki asked, "What clue?"

Zhiyong replied, “In the third case, given her injuries, we needed something to distract everyone. However, since you were dressed as a wax figure of Mr. Bando, we couldn’t let everyone see Mr. Bando’s body. So, you drugged Mr. Akechi with sleeping pills beforehand.”

Kindaichi also said, "So that's how it is. The murderer made us think we were the third victim. When we broke into Mr. Akechi's room, she was actually buying herself time."

Zhiyong nodded and said, "While we were breaking down Mr. Mingzhi's door, the murderer threw the disguise into the fireplace and let the fire burn it. It's such a pity..."

Miyuki asked in confusion, "What's a pity?"

……

Chapter 531 The Truth

Perhaps it was influenced by Conan.

During the reasoning process, he still felt quite good about the feeling of showing off.

Therefore, he subconsciously learned to keep people in suspense.

Zhiyong explained, "It's a real shame that when she threw the disguise into the fireplace to burn, she accidentally threw one of her own things into the fireplace as well."

Miyuki asked, "Since the items were already thrown into the fireplace, weren't they burned? In that case, there's no way to prove the murderer's identity."

Zhiyong shook his head and said, "Other things may not work, but this one will. The temperature of the fire in the fireplace won't destroy it."

Miyuki asked again, "What is it?"

Zhiyong looked at Takigawa Sui and said, "The ring, Ms. Takigawa, you often showed off your ring when you came here, but now can you tell us where your ring is?"

After listening to what Zhiyong said, Tagikawa used her right hand to block her left hand, so that no one could see the condition of her left hand.

However, her actions only served to make things more obvious.

Dokigawa Ho said loudly, "The ring? I found out the ring was missing when I woke up this morning, but it must have been stolen by Redram. He's just trying to frame me."

Zhiyong smiled and said, "Is that so? Actually, whether you admit it or not is not my concern. As I just said, in the third case, you left behind a lot of clues, and you also left behind absolute evidence that you cannot refute."

Tagikawa has calmed down now.

She said, "Then tell me. I have never killed anyone, and the evidence will prove my innocence. Not to mention when Richard was killed, I also had an alibi when Mr. Bando was killed. So, your reasoning is completely wrong."

Zhiyong replied, "I said before that you dressed up as Mr. Bando's wax figure. You can argue that the ring was stolen by Redram, but have you forgotten that the fireplace room was very stuffy at that time, like a sauna? You must have been sweating a lot while dressed as Mr. Bando's wax figure."

Tagikawa scoffed, "So what if I sweated? Is that your proof? How ridiculous."

Zhiyong smiled and said, "Whether it's ridiculous or not is not up to you to decide, because there was white powder on the stool you sat on. Do you know what that is?"

Tagikawa asked in shock, "White powder?"

Maki asked in confusion, "What is that?"

Kindaichi replied, “If I’m not mistaken, it must be salt, because Ms. Takigawa sweated a lot, and that sweat dried quickly in those hot rooms, leaving behind a white powdery substance.”

Zhiyong also said, "Ms. Duoqichuan, as a mystery novelist, you should know that the police can detect blood type, DNA information, etc. in the composition of these sweat samples. This is what I mean by absolute evidence. The suspenseful night is over, and in the end, it ended with Reedram's failure."

Tagikawa laughed loudly, then took a pistol out of her pocket.

She said, "It's not over yet, so don't move, or I won't be polite. Yes, Toma, Richard, and Bando were all killed by me. This Night of Suspense was held for them. They were originally my comrades, but they betrayed me. Now I'm killing them for revenge."