Ke Xue: Xiaolan delivers goods to your door at the beginning

"Then you could fill the bathtub with tomatoes."

"Could it be that this kid suspects we're the murderers?" Xiao Xiang said, dissatisfied.

Sonoko recalled, "Speaking of which, I remember the first person to go in was you, Ms. Koko."

"She was only wearing a towel because she was opening the bathtub lid. 623"

Xiao Xiang retorted, "If I were carrying a bag full of tomatoes, you would definitely have noticed, right?"

"Did you understand? You little brat who's already so precocious!"

"In short, what can be confirmed is this," Yamato summarized, his hands behind his back.

"The crime must have occurred between the time Xiaolan and the others confirmed the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub and the time you finished cleaning and went into the bathtub."

"Can you tell me what the other two were doing during this time?"

“Okay! Let me start.” Dazhuang patted his chest: “Just like Ms. Xiaofeng said, I went to the store to buy some things.”

"Because the store was a kilometer away, about a fifteen-minute walk, and I hadn't bought any beer, I just happened to run into the two of them on my way back here."

“This handsome young man and Ms. Shira.” Da Zhuang turned around and looked at them.

Shi Liang crossed his arms and chimed in, "Yes, Mr. Da Zhuang even gave us ice-cold canned drinks, so we drank them on our way back."

Dazhuang nodded in agreement: "Yes, we found it in the forest near the store, and it was freshly bought, so it was very cold."

Yamato asked Haku, "Then why did you two go to the forest back then?"

"Because there were many things I wanted to investigate, I went for a walk in the forest with Teacher Yi Yu to see if there was anything unusual."

"So, Ms. Xiaofeng, what were you doing at the time?"

Xiao Feng's voice was nervous, and a few beads of cold sweat appeared on his face: "I... during that time, I was responsible for clearing away the lunch dishes and making some preparations for today's dinner."

"Are you alone?" Yamato looked at her sharply, confirming her question.

"Yes... I was the only one in the kitchen."

"If that's the case, then you don't have an alibi, do you?" Yamato asked with a suspicious look.

“I spoke to those two people through the kitchen door.” Xiaofeng pointed to Xiaolan, Yuanzi, and Mary.

"Is that so?" Yamato asked them to confirm.

Yuanzi recalled in her mind: "Because it was around that time, the bell was cleaning the living room in front of the kitchen. Xiaofeng asked us what we wanted to eat for dinner, and that was about it."

Xiao Lan chimed in, "Also, when I asked if we needed any help, Xiao Feng replied, 'No, no,'"

"So I think she's in the kitchen."

"Yes, so Xiao Xiang was with you guys back then, right?"

"No, I remember Xiaoxiang was cleaning the second floor by herself at the time," Sonoko retorted.

Xiao Xiang explained, "It's faster for the three of us to clean together, so we went to the living room to ask for their opinions, and then the three of us cleaned together."

“Before that, Xiao Xiang was cleaning the second floor all by herself, that’s true,” Xiao Lan said firmly. “Because we could all hear the noise from the vacuum cleaner.”

"There were also sounds of hitting a wall or something."

“If that’s the case…” Yamato analyzed, “The most likely culprit is Xiaofeng, who stayed in the kitchen and didn’t come out while Xiaoxiang, Xiaolan, and Sonoko were cleaning the house.”

"He is currently the most suspicious person."

"Wait a minute." Xiaofeng gestured for everyone to stop, his expression becoming uneasy. He explained excitedly, "I really was in the kitchen the whole time before Dazhuang went out to buy things and came back to the villa!"

"He didn't come out at all! Don't wrong me!!"

　(bhbe) Xiao Xiang spoke up for her, while also clearing herself of suspicion: "I think it's impossible for Xiao Feng to do it either. Xiao Lan, Yuan Zi, and I cleaned the bathroom on the first floor."

“Xiaofeng knows that I’m the kind of person who would clean even the hallway thoroughly, so it’s impossible for me to secretly kill someone. And I believe that Xiaofeng would never do such a thing either.”

"Who is the murderer...?"

Dazhuang shivered: "Do I even need to ask? The person who killed Fatty... was the woman in red!!! Who else do you think it could be?"

Upon hearing this, Yamato broke out in a cold sweat and felt a chill run down his spine: "The woman in red you're talking about, is it from fifteen years ago?"

“Yes!” Dazhuang said with a look of fear: “Fifteen years ago, the red devil who committed a murder in a rented villa in this area is still hiding somewhere in the forest.”

His expression darkened, and he lowered his eyes: "The person who broke the window of this rented villa, the person who left a huge pile of apples, and the person who stuffed the water heater sink with red rose petals..."

"And the red paint splashed on the entrance gate too—all of this is the work of that woman in red!"

"But...but!" Xiaofeng spread his hands in confusion: "Why would the woman in red kill Mr. Fatty, a complete stranger? We didn't even have a grudge against each other—"

"The other party is a serial killer. How could we possibly know what someone with a broken mind is thinking?!"

"I remember that the front door was not locked at that time. The woman in red probably knew about Xiao Xiang's cleaning habits."

"And luckily no one noticed, so she sneaked in and took advantage of the moment to kill the fat man."

Da Zhuang's voice grew increasingly hoarse: "I deliberately stuffed the bathtub full of red tomatoes so that people would think of me!!"

Yamato closed her eyes and firmly denied it: "That's absolutely impossible! Because that person is the murderer known as the woman in red."

"His name was Gao Zhenfanzi, and he has been confirmed dead."

Mineko's pupils flickered: "But, in the news special that aired before, it said she's still on the run!?"

With one hand on his hip, Yamato calmly explained to them, "Three years after that murder, in this mysterious swamp."

"You must have heard about the discovery of a teenage girl's body."

"This... I know."

"That person... is Satoko!"

"Yes...yes, they are our classmates."

“Really? That’s such a shame.” Yamato continued, “Actually, we also found a body that had been dead for three years in that swamp.”

"The body had already turned into bones. Because the murder knife was also found next to the body, we police believe that it is very likely Fanzi's body."

"But the perpetrator set fire to her own house before committing the crime, so all her personal belongings were gone."

"For a long time, we have been unable to perform DNA testing."

"But later I learned that Fanzi's mother, who passed away last week, had actually secretly kept her umbilical cord."

"After DNA comparison, it was confirmed that the DNA matched that of the skeletal corpse perfectly."

Yamato remained calm and composed, saying, "So, the woman in red you've been talking about is long gone."

"A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow to announce this matter to the public, as it is a major case."

"So," Yamato shrugged helplessly, "the Nagano Prefectural Police, forced to respond, are now in complete chaos."

690. The evil spirit in red has truly appeared.

"This... then who could the culprit be?!" Mineko became agitated. "It can't be... it can't be..."

"Was it the vengeful spirit of the woman in red? No... that can't be, right?"

"Hey, hey, hey..." Da Zhuang followed her words: "If the opponent is a ghost... then my baseball bat for self-defense is useless."

Xiaoxiang looked at her pleadingly: "Officer, please don't scare us. The Nagano Prefectural Police should protect us, right?"

Yamato gave an awkward laugh, her tender red lips slightly parted.

With a smile, she gently soothed the three of them, who were panicking: "Well... anyway, please calm down first. Until the investigation is over, please stay in the room, okay?"

The dark forest rustled, the wind blew the leaves, and a chilling feeling swept over you.

Inside a small hut, the firewood emitted warmth. Yamato held a baseball bat, looked Da Zhuang up and down, and began to question him privately.

"So that's how it is. So this is the baseball bat you used specifically to deal with the woman in red."

Just to be on the safe side, Yamato handed the baseball bat to the forensic personnel to check for any oversights he might have made.

“Yeah.” Da Zhuang rubbed his rough hands together and leaned forward. “But this was originally just used to drive away people who came to this rental villa to play pranks.”

"So, what was the result?"

"There was no obvious injury, and there was no blood on it. It seems that this baseball bat was not the murder weapon."

The forensic investigator slowly stood up, stretched his aching back, and sighed deeply: "However..."

"Just what?"

He stroked the baseball bat: "It looks like there was something stuck to it before, because it feels a bit sticky. Did you do anything with it?"

Dazhuang put on an innocent expression and shook his head: "No, I didn't do anything."

Sera noticed something amiss and raised a question: "This room clearly has air conditioning, so why is there an electric fan?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was taken out of the storage room by a tenant who doesn't like air conditioning and just left there instead of putting it back."

Lin Xiaofeng smiled faintly: "It could also be simply to save electricity, or it could be related to personal habits."

"For example, Sonoko and I both like to have the air conditioning on while the electric fan is blowing."

"Then I covered myself with a thick blanket, and that felt really good."

"Oh?" Mary and Sera gave them gossipy looks. "You and Sonoko? Could it be that you're already—"

Lin Xiaofeng remained calm: "What's wrong? She told me herself, it's not because—"

“But you, Mary,” Lin Xiaofeng changed the subject and retorted, “as a first-grade elementary school student, you know so much.”

Seeing this, Sera chimed in, "Yeah, Mary."

Mary remained silent, only scratching her head and smiling awkwardly.

"Uehara-senpai!" The assistant pushed open the door and ran up to her.

"Do you know what?"

"We found the murder weapon; it was a dumbbell."

Upon hearing this, Yamato V exclaimed in surprise, "The murder weapon is the dumbbell? So, the one that pinned the deceased to the bottom of the bathtub?"

"Yes!"

"Forensic experts said that based on the wound and the indentation of the skull, it is probably true."

"So, has Officer Yamato made any contact?"

"No, there's still no news."

Sera moved her fingers, gesturing for Mary and Lin Xiaofeng to come closer, pointing to the cuffs where there were scattered white specks.

It looks like bath salts, stuck to the cuffs.

Sera asked, "What do you guys think about this?"

She then took a tomato out of her pocket: "I just stole this from the crime scene."

"Oh! I understand what you mean."

Lin Xiaofeng and Mary immediately understood.

"Want to try it out?"

A moment later, she brought a small water pot and put the tomatoes in it. In no time, the tomatoes fell into the water.

Lin Xiaofeng smiled faintly: "I was right!"

Sera looked at the experimental results with satisfaction: "Yes, it seems there's no mistake. In that case, the culprit is indeed—"

"Peng!!!"

Suddenly, the sky changed dramatically, a clap of thunder resounded through the clouds, and countless raindrops pounded against the windowpane.

"Ugh... it's starting to rain."

Xiaolan looked worried.

Sonoko lowered her voice and joked, "I have a feeling the woman in red really might come out."

"Oh dear, Sonoko, don't joke around like that. I'm really scared of this."

Sonoko slowly stood up from her seat and walked to the glass: "That woman in red is already dead, how could this be—"

“Strange…” Sonoko’s expression changed abruptly.

"What...what happened?"