Conan's grammatical investigator

Chapter 1413 Tracking in the Forest
"what--!"

Hattori Heiji, who was rushing to the kitchen, heard the shrill screams and immediately recognized that one of them came from Toyama Kazuha.

Damn! Are we late?
His expression changed and he quickened his pace.

"He Ye!"

When he ran to the kitchen door, he immediately shouted.

In the kitchen, Toyama Kazuha and Mao Li Ran were huddled nervously beside the cupboard, looking towards the workbench.

Next to the workbench, a bent figure was wolfing down the fried dumplings on the table.

"Hey! I'm telling you..."

Hattori Heiji ran up and put his hand on the maid's shoulder. The maid then turned around with a dumpling in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm really hungry. I can't stand the smell of dumplings..."

"I'm so sorry, I ate all the dumplings, but the dumplings you made are really delicious~"

Mao Lilan and Toyama Kazuha showed a pair of small eyes, not knowing what to say, and could only awkwardly say thank you for the compliment.

Hattori Heiji looked at the misunderstanding caused by the two girls, which made him worry in vain, and complained about them helplessly.

"I just came here to eat some dumplings, do you have to shout so loudly?"

"It hurt me..."

Hattori Heiji subconsciously stopped talking and didn't say the next words.

Realizing that Hattori Heiji might say something outrageous, Mao Lilan tilted her head and repeated, "Did you do that?"

Hattori Heiji blushed slightly, and was embarrassed to say that he was worried about Toyama Kazuha.

Yuanshan Heye, on the other hand, did not understand the meaning of this and directly retorted: "It's not our fault. It was Miss Xiaoguang who suddenly rushed out with such a terrifying expression..."

"Xiao Lan even took out the amulet Uncle Qin gave her!"

amulet?
Hattori Heiji glanced at the hand of Mouri Ran, and saw that she was holding the metal badge given to her by Qin Zhibo.

Tsk, if this thing is useful...

There was a hint of disdain in Hattori Heiji's eyes.

Mao Lilan was also a little embarrassed and could only continue the topic, "But Miss Xiaoguang ate so many dumplings we made, she must not be a vampire~"

"Because vampires hate garlic dishes, right?"

Maid Xiao Guang, who was still eating dumplings, turned her head with a dazed expression, "I quite like garlic dishes, but I don't like the taste in my mouth after eating garlic. I have to brush my teeth later..."

"But the pattern on the metal badge seems a bit... appetizing?"

Mao Lilan picked up the badge and took a look at it. She was not sure what the badge had to do with her appetite, but she quickly put it in her trouser pocket.

"Excuse me……"

"By the way, did you open the refrigerator door?" Seeing that the two were fine, Hattori Heiji continued to investigate the case.

According to his guess, the eldest sister of the Tonkura family, the old woman who had not been seen for a long time, was probably dead.

The reason why the body has not been found yet is that it may have been placed in a freezer.

"Yes, it's opened." Yuanshan Heye nodded, "There's a strange thing inside..."

Hattori Heiji came to the refrigerator, opened the door, and saw a jar of nori inside, and there was only one jar of nori.

"Is that all?" Hattori Heiji asked.

"Well, although putting seaweed in the refrigerator can prevent it from getting damp, my mother usually takes the seaweed out and puts it back in the refrigerator..."

It turns out that what Yuanshan Heye was talking about as strange was just a difference in living habits.

Hattori Heiji rolled his eyes at her, then picked up the seaweed jar and checked it, only to find that the seal was not even opened, so there was naturally no way anything could be hidden inside.

After putting the nori jar back into the refrigerator, Hattori Heiji fell into deep thought again.

Now it seems that my previous assumption was not correct.

But as for the motive for the murder, it should be the car accident two years ago.

The truth of the incident should be that some people in the Tonkura family killed Tonkura Sakuya's fiancée for the inheritance.

And the child of the fiancée is the maid in front of him.

Hattori Heiji looked at the maid who was still eating dumplings and asked, "Miss Xiaoguang, have you heard anything from the master recently?"

"For example, a car accident two years ago..."

In order to avoid further escalation of the situation, Hattori Heiji could not directly say that her mother was murdered by someone.

Maid Xiao Guang tapped her chin with her fingertips, thought for a moment, and recalled: "That's not the case..."

"But the master sent me a text message this morning, asking me to go to Nanman's room, and not to tell anyone, especially the butler..."

"What? Can you lend it to me to take a look?" Hattori Heiji was stunned and asked the maid Xiaoguang for the cell phone.

The text message asked Xiaoguang to meet in Nanman’s room after breakfast, and the signature at the end was Torakura Sakuya.

Hattori Heiji returned the phone to the maid and asked, "Did you go?"

The maid shook her head, "No... Actually, I left my phone in the bathroom to charge, and I didn't see the text message until I checked it at noon."

"So I had to cancel the appointment. I wanted to wait until the evening to apologize to the master, but I haven't been able to talk to him until now..."

Hattori Heiji raised his chin and thought carefully about the incident.

Suddenly a smile appeared on his dark face.

"Miss Xiaoguang, can you lend me your cell phone again?"

"Oh, sure..."

The maid handed the phone to Hattori Heiji again.

Hattori Heiji took the phone, opened the text message sent by Torakura Sasuke again, and pressed the reply button.

[I already know the plans of you and your accomplices...]

send.

After doing all this, Hattori Heiji showed a sinister smile.

The reason why he did this was to deliberately confuse the other party's mentality.

Now he has confirmed that the murderer is Torakura Sakuya, and the accomplice is the eldest daughter who has been disappearing.

As long as this text message is sent, if the other party sees it, he will definitely be curious about the progress of the case and will take the initiative to show up.

Even though Torakura Sakuya was a terminal cancer patient and was about to die, he was not afraid of being charged.

But the eldest daughter must have agreed to help in order to inherit the estate, and she will definitely take the initiative to clear herself of the charges.

By then, I will be able to take the initiative.

……

In the forest outside the villa, two beams of light swept back and forth in the gloomy bushes.

Qin Zhibo and Conan, one tall and one short, each holding a flashlight and wearing a raincoat borrowed from the housekeeper,
The dripping rain hit the grass, making crackling sounds.

Suddenly, Qin Zhibo stopped in front of a patch of grass.

"found it."

Conan, who was not far away, hurried over and shone the flashlight on the "object" in front of Qin Zhibo's feet.

"This is..." Conan's pupils contracted and he stared at the person lying in the grass.

This person was none other than the eldest daughter of the Tora-kura family who had disappeared for some time, the old woman. The old woman's torso and lower limbs were tied to her back with a thick wooden stick, and her eyes were wide open, as if she had been dead for a long time.

She was still wearing the same purple dress that she had worn in the villa, but this time it was covered in mud.

Conan carefully bent down and used a flashlight to check the pupils. After confirming that there was no reaction, he concluded: "She's dead..."

Qin Zhibo stood nearby and started investigating the body.

【Corpse Investigation√】

[Name of the deceased: Tora-no-Moriyoshi]

[Time of death: 1 hour ago]

[Cause of death: strangulation]

[Corpse investigation completed, character skill obtained: cooking]

[Acquire repeated skills, converted into 1000 proficiency of that skill]

"He must have been strangled to death..." Conan murmured and judged.

Qin Zhibo examined the body and found that in addition to the marks of strangulation on the old woman's neck, there were also scratches on her arms.

Someone had grabbed her once, with enough force to leave marks on her arms.

At this moment, the sound of a telephone suddenly rang in the forest, where the only sound was the sound of raindrops.

bell……

Although the sound was very faint, it still could not escape the ears of Qin Zhibo and Conan.

They both looked in the direction of the sound, which was a dark and lush bush.

"Who?"

As soon as Conan finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the bushes. The leaves were startled and rain splashed to the side, making a rustling sound.

It was obvious that something in the bushes was startled by the sound.

Conan chased in that direction without saying a word.

Qin Zhibo also stood up and chased after him, but just after he ran a few meters, two security guards of the villa with flashlights came running up behind him.

When the security guard saw the body on the ground, he was shocked.

Qin Zhibo quickly ran back and shouted to the two of them, "Go back and tell everyone in the villa to stay together! Don't leave!"

After he finished speaking, Qin Zhibo didn't dare to delay any longer and continued to chase in the direction of Conan.

……

In the villa.

Hattori Heiji returned to the restaurant confidently, preparing to explain what had happened tonight.

Seeing that Conan and Qin Zhibo had not returned yet, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Those two people haven’t come back yet?

Where did you go?

Hattori Heiji thought about it and decided to start reasoning and solve the case.

Who told Kudo to team up with the uncle?
Deep down, Hattori Heiji was still a little jealous that his good friend was teaming up with someone else.

Originally both were members of the Anti-Qin Alliance, hoping to combine their reasoning powers to defeat Qin Zhibo.

We agreed to grow old together, but you secretly got a hair treatment?

At this time, the pretty boy saw Hattori Heiji coming back and asked with a worried look, "Did you find my treasure?"

Hattori Heiji smiled and answered frankly, "That's not the case..."

"But don't worry, I have solved most of the mysteries that have happened so far tonight."

"And once you finish listening, you will know who the murderer is this time..."

Hattori Heiji led everyone to the bedroom at the end of the corridor on the second floor, which was also the coffin room where the first incident occurred.

Along the way, everyone was trying to figure out who the murderer was.

Torakura Sannan: "Isn't it obvious that the murderer is that man?"

The widow of Inakura Jiro also echoed, "Wasn't it Brother Hakoya who killed my husband?"

The girl with glasses asked doubtfully: "Do you know why my brother became a vampire?"

Hattori Heiji walked in front, with a slight smile on his face, and said calmly: "Of course vampires don't exist."

"But……"

The girl with glasses wanted to argue, but Hattori Heiji interrupted her as he pushed open the door.

"Well, you will understand all this once you read this."

As he spoke, Hattori Heiji came to the coffin, opened the lid, and then lifted the cushion inside the coffin.

When the cushion is lifted, there is a wooden sliding door handle underneath.

Pull the handle and another handle will appear below.

Use this handle to open the trap door, and a dark and deep secret passage will appear below.

"This is……"

When everyone saw this, they all showed shocked expressions.

Although Hattori Heiji was satisfied with everyone's reaction, it was a pity that the person who first discovered the secret passage was not here, and he was unwilling to take credit for it.

"This secret passage was discovered by Uncle Qin, but he is not here now..."

"However, the existence of this secret passage proves that Tora-Kura Sakoya is not a vampire. He is just an ordinary human who needs to use many tricks to make people think that he has turned into a monster..."

Hattori Heiji's confident expression left everyone stunned for a moment, and they didn't know how to refute.

At this time, Torakura Sannan stepped forward, pointed at the coffin and asked, "But if the person is lying in the coffin, how do we lift up the cushion under the body? And how do we open the secret passage?"

Hattori Heiji looked back and saw that the sliding door at the bottom of the coffin was hidden under the cushion, making it difficult for ordinary people to discover this mechanism.

“Your question is a good one…”

"This means that there is another helper in this case who opened the sliding door of the secret passage from below, allowing Torakura Sakoya above to enter the secret passage."

"helper?"

Everyone was stunned, and there was more confusion in their eyes.

At this time, Hattori Heiji did not beat around the bush and announced directly: "Torakura Sakuya is definitely one of the criminals, but he has a serious cancer. Without the help of others, it will be difficult for him to carry out his actions smoothly, and he may be discovered by others..."

"And now it seems that the most likely accomplice is the eldest daughter who disappeared for several hours..."

As soon as Hattori Heiji finished speaking, maid Xiaoguang suddenly squeezed into the crowd.

"Something bad is going to happen!"

"Just now, the guard of the villa urgently contacted me and said that a person was found dead in the forest outside the villa!"

……

In the forest, Conan was chasing the figure in front of him, and the rain was blowing across the serious and handsome little face.

His short stature burst out with infinite power at this moment, his feet were like the wind, and his running speed was comparable to that of the Speedy One.

But despite this, the figure in front was like a ghost, moving left and right, sometimes far and sometimes near in the dim bushes, confusing as an optical illusion.

If Conan didn't have an absolute sense of hearing that could easily distinguish the difference between raindrops falling on leaves and feet stepping into wet mud, he might have been thrown off by the other party long ago.