Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Mori replied first, "It is said that the abbot was deceived by Mr. Oda, which is why he transferred ownership of the temple to Mr. Oda."

Inspector Yokomizo asked, "In that case, all three of you hate Mr. Oda very much."

Chunhai said dismissively, "So what if I'm dissatisfied with him? According to that detective over there, Mr. Oda committed suicide. Since it was suicide, there was no murderer."

Officer Yokomizo explained, "We haven't confirmed that Mr. Oda committed suicide."

While the Maori were talking.

Zhiyong didn't follow; he looked at the body first.

There was some dirt on the elbows of the body's clothes.

He observed it carefully and discovered that it should be grass juice.

This explains it.

Hideaki Oda fell down.

There was some mud on the heel of the shoe.

Someone like Hideaki Oda would definitely be mindful of his appearance and wouldn't possess such a thing.

This explains it.

Whether it was the grass juice on his elbows or the mud on his heels, it was all put on just before he died.

Zhiyong then activated the map function and began searching the surrounding area.

Not far from them.

There happened to be a patch of grass, and in the grass was a tie clip, just as Mori had said, with a five-carat diamond set in it.

Judging from the current situation...

This should be the original crime scene.

But how did the murderer manage to hang the person up there?

Inside the five-story tower, the passageways are extremely narrow, barely wide enough for an adult to pass through.

Whether you carry it, hold it on your back, or carry it on your shoulder, walking through the five-story tower is extremely difficult. As Mori said, you can drag it in, but then the corpse's clothes will have friction marks and abrasions.

There must be some way to do this.

After all, people have used this to commit murder in ancient times.

But it's so high, how are we going to get it up there?

In the previous case of the Tengu murder.

Because it was indoors, water and rubber boats were used.

The person was hanged on the roof.

But this time it's outside, so what method will be used?

This method should not have utilized modern tools, but rather something that could have been done in ancient times.

Zhiyong wandered around, lost in thought.

Suddenly, he noticed a deep mark on the grass on the ground, pressed down by something.

He followed the gaze and looked over there.

Just then, I saw a well hidden among the trees.

This must have happened yesterday.

The well in the story told by Shigekichi Okabe, about the girl who cried by the well because of heartbreak.

well.

Suddenly it dried up.

Zhiyong suddenly raised his head again and looked at the top of the five-story pagoda.

He smiled.

He now knows the method used by the murderer and can guess who the murderer is, but he currently has no evidence.

Zhiyong patted his forehead.

Forget it.

Tell Mori and Inspector Yokomizo the reasoning.

Let the two of them find the specific evidence.

When Zhiyong walked over.

I just happened to hear that.

Chunhai said dismissively, "Since it was suicide, there is no murderer."

Therefore, Zhiyong had some doubts.

Does Chunhai know the methods of murder?

He suspected that the murderer was his father, which is why he said that.

"Uncle Mori, Officer Yokomizo, could you two please come here for a moment?"

Mori and Yokomizo were taken aback at first, then walked over.

"What's wrong?" Mori asked.

Zhi Yong replied, "This is not suicide, but a murder case."

Mori exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible? How did the murderer manage to transport the person to the top of the five-story tower?"

Zhiyong shook his head and said, "There was no need to transport the body at all. Mr. Xiaotian was strangled to death while he was being hung up."

Mori asked in confusion, "Isn't that still suicide?"

Zhi Yong smiled and said, "No, it wasn't suicide. I now know the method of the murder and who the murderer is, but I don't have any evidence. That's why I came to you two. I told you about the method and the suspect. You'll have to find the specific evidence yourself."

Officer Yokomizo said, "Then please tell me the method and the suspect. I will find the specific evidence."

Zhiyong said, “Yesterday, Mr. Okabe told us about two legends of five-story pagodas that circulated during the Edo period. It is said that they were punished by the gods for violating the temple rules. I don’t believe this. From his story, I feel that it is two murder cases. Therefore, I do not believe that today’s events were suicides. It must be a murder plot carried out by someone using this legend.”

Officer Yokomizo asked, "What legend?"

Zhiyong replied, "The specific stories are unrelated to this case, so I won't go into detail. However, the people in both stories ended up being hung on the top of the five-story pagoda, just like Mr. Xiaotian. This shows that hanging people on the top of a five-story pagoda was already possible in ancient times."

Mori asked, "After all you've said, what was the specific method of the murder?"

Zhiyong explained, "It's very simple. First, prepare a very long rope. The murderer should have known the height of the five-story tower beforehand, so the rope prepared is sufficient."

Mori then asked, "You mean, the murderer pulled the car up from below?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "More or less, but it's not quite right either. The murderer wrapped the rope around to the front of the fifth-floor roof of the five-story pagoda, with one end of the rope extending through the railing to the ground. Then, a heavy object was placed on the well over there, and this heavy object was supported by a steel bar. A rope was also tied to one end of the steel bar, extending to the grass over there. The other end of the rope on the five-story pagoda also extended to the grass."

Seeing the location that Tomoyuki pointed to, Mori asked, "Why there?"

Zhiyong replied, "That was the primary crime scene. In the bushes, I also saw the tie clip you mentioned, because it had a diamond embedded in it."

"what?"

The two hurried over.

Sure enough, they found the tie clip in the bushes.

"It really does seem to be Mr. Oda's."

Officer Yokomizo also took a look at it.

Zhiyong followed along.

He continued, "The murderer called Mr. Oda here, and suddenly put a noose around Mr. Oda's neck. Then, he pulled the rope tied to the steel bar. When he pulled the steel bar, the heavy object above the well fell into the well, and with the noose around Mr. Oda's neck, he was pulled directly to the top of the five-story pagoda."

……

Chapter 580 Determining the Method of Murder

After Zhiyong finished speaking.

Officer Yokomizo led his men into the woods and arrived at the well. He looked into the well.

He asked, "So, the heavy object fell into the well?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That's right. The murderer dropped Mr. Xiaotian on the top of the tower, cut the extra rope, and threw the extra rope into this ancient well."

Officer Yokomizo said to his subordinates, "Go down and check if there are any heavy objects or ropes inside."

Not long after the police went down, news came back that there was indeed a rope inside the well, and the heavy object was a steel plate from the construction site.

When the policeman came up, he also pulled up the end of the rope.

Mori asked, "Something's not right. There were no signs of a struggle where the tie clip fell off. So how did the murderer put the rope around his neck?"

Inspector Yokomizo also said, "This is indeed a bit strange. A rope was found in the well, which should be the same as what Mr. Sato said. But why are there no signs of a struggle? If the victim was knocked unconscious or drugged, there would be no injuries on the body. The coroner just said that there would be no signs of anesthesia on the body."

Zhi Yong smiled and said, "It's very simple. The murderer called the victim here, put a rope around the victim's neck from behind, and held the rope tied to the steel bar in his hand. At the same time, he pulled the rope hard, and the steel bar was pulled by the rope. Without the steel bar supporting it, the steel plate fell into the well."

Mori continued, "While this explains why the deceased was put in a noose around his neck without resistance, there was still time when the murderer pulled the rope tied with the steel bar until the steel plate fell into the well and pulled Mr. Oda to the top of the five-story tower. Mr. Oda still had a chance to remove the rope from his neck."

Zhiyong explained, "There was a dirty spot on the deceased's elbow. I looked closely and it should be grass juice. In other words, the deceased had fallen to the ground before he died, and his elbow touched the grass on the ground."

Mori speculated, "Could it be that the murderer knocked Mr. Oda down so that he wouldn't have a chance to react?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That should be correct. Although Mr. Xiaotian is strong, it would be easy to trip him up in the dark. There is also a lot of mud on the heels of Mr. Xiaotian's shoes. This should be because after the mechanism was activated, it was supposed to pull Mr. Xiaotian to the top of the five-story tower, but he just happened to fall to the ground, so he was dragged."

Inspector Yokomizo nodded and said, "That makes sense. The tie clip fell to the ground when Mr. Oda fell, and that's when it got on his elbow from the grass."

Mori also said, "Yes, if that's the case, then it makes sense. But if that's the case, then there are multiple murderers, including an accomplice."

Inspector Yokomizo said, "Indeed, although the murderer was able to use this mechanism to hoist Mr. Oda to the top of the five-story tower, even if the rope was cut, Mr. Oda weighs 100 kilograms. The murderer alone simply could not have done it."

Mori nodded and said, "That's right. Unless the murderer has superhuman strength, it would be very difficult for one person to do these things."

Zhi Yong shook his head and said, "On the surface, that's true, but in reality, one person can do it, and it doesn't require a strongman; an ordinary person can do it."

Officer Yokomizo asked, "How do you do this?"

Zhiyong replied, "It's actually quite simple. Just tie an armor knot on the rope, which means you've calculated the dimensions and made a loop at the right position on the rope. After hoisting Mr. Xiaotian up the tower, he also goes up to the tower, grabs the loop, and pulls it to the inside of the railing. Then, you use a small stick to support it by passing it through the loop. After cutting the rope, you thread the end of the rope through the loop, tie a knot, and then remove the stick, and you're done."