Conan's grammatical investigator

Chapter 882 The Convenience Store Thief
That man's office?

Judy looked up at the window on the second floor opposite. From this angle, she couldn't see if there was anyone on the opposite side.

The last time James and Akai Shuichi said they came to talk to Vince Chin, it seems to be here.
Mao Lilan next to him looked at Zhibo Detective Agency, thinking deeply.

Although this office has existed for a long time, it seems that they never paid attention to the convenience store where Xiaoxuan worked before.

In retrospect, Mr. Qin became famous only recently, just like his father.
The three of them entered the automatic glass door, and the male clerk behind the cash register offered to welcome them.

"welcome."

However, Mao Lilan and Yuanzi did not come to look for this male clerk. They scanned the store and asked, "Strange, may I ask if there is a girl named 'Qichuanxuan' who works in the store?" ?”

"Oh, yes." The male clerk gave a thumbs up and gestured in one direction, "Actually, she is following the store manager behind."

The three of them walked to the warehouse entrance on the side of the convenience store, and saw a man wearing glasses who was the store manager reprimanding Qi Chuanxuan.

"How many times do I have to say it before you understand? Our store is always short of staff during peak hours, but with your appearance, I have to find another person to replace you."

Qi Chuanxuan is a small girl, with her head lowered timidly, her eyes had to look up at the serious face of the store manager.

Hearing that the store manager wanted to replace herself, she quickly said aggrievedly, "No way?"

"Xiao Xuan, what's the matter with you?" Mao Lilan stood up and asked at this moment.

Seeing Mao Lilan appear, the grievance in Qi Chuanxuan's heart immediately turned into tears, shouting "Xiaolan" in her mouth, and threw herself into Mao Lilan's arms like a child.

The store manager, who was teaching the staff a lesson, turned around and saw three people he didn't know, and asked angrily, "Who are you?"

Yuanzi stood up, and also didn't show any good looks, "We are friends! We are all Xiaoxuan's friends!"

Judy was more polite and introduced herself: "I am a high school teacher, what happened?"

Facing Judy, a foreign teacher, the store manager's expression softened, but his tone was still not good.

"It's fine, it's just that our store's turnover and the quantity of goods in stock don't match, and it happened when Xiaoxuan was in charge of closing the store."

Before the store manager finished speaking, Yuanzi immediately refuted.

"What did you say? You mean Xiaoxuan will steal things from the store?"

Mao Lilan also echoed: "How can you put all the blame on Xiaoxuan? I have heard Xiaoxuan say that your store has a lot of customers in the morning and evening."

The second daughter believed in Qi Chuanxuan's character. This classmate was timid and kind when he was in junior high school. Stealing or something is absolutely impossible.

Judy doesn't know this girl named Qichuanxuan, so she is not in a hurry to stand in line right now, so she will wait and see first.

Faced with Mao Lilan's hypothesis that it might be the "three hands" of the customer, the store manager also replied: "Yes, in fact, I also thought so at the beginning, so I installed a surveillance camera in the store later."

"But I carefully watched the video, and I didn't see any suspicious guests. Also, it's impossible for thieves to enter at night. I parked the car opposite the whole time last night, but Xiaoxuan was the only one who came out."

"When I come to check the warehouse in the morning, the number of goods in it will not match. Who else is there besides Xiaoxuan?"

"I didn't steal it!" With friends behind her, Qi Chuanxuan dared to refute it forcefully.

The store manager wanted to ask, "Who stole what you didn't steal?", but was interrupted by Judy.

"May I ask what things were stolen from you?"

"There are so many things." The store manager counted the products, "There are game software DVDs, music CDs, bento boxes, rice balls, mineral water, oolong tea, cola, and melon seeds, nuts, chocolate, etc. Snacks."

"These things are very reminiscent of what a group of young people need to get together and have a party"

Yuanzi squinted, thinking that this was true, they came this time to buy these things for a party.

But Mao Lilan still argued, "Let's just assume that the thief is Xiaoxuan, she should be captured in the video camera, right?"

The store manager said: "The surveillance cameras in the store will only record the business hours. After all, the electricity bill is not a small sum."

Judy looked at the top of her head. The lights in the warehouse were not turned on. It seemed that the store manager was trying to save electricity.

And there is a door in the innermost part of the warehouse, and there is a light behind the door, which is the toilet of the convenience store.

In Japan, convenience store toilets are equivalent to public toilets. Like Starbucks in the United States, outsiders can borrow them at will.

Unable to refute by the impeccable investigation logic of the store manager, Mao Lilan could only turn around and ask Qi Chuanxuan if she found any suspicious customers.

This question really revealed three suspects who often came to borrow the toilet.

"The first one is a bit like a college student. Sometimes he will stand in the store and read game magazines, but he has never bought software in the store. All he buys are cup noodles and drinks. And this person It's pretty selfish, he tries to get ahead of others and pay the bill first."

"The second person is a bit like an office worker, like a weak and reserved person. He keeps his head down every time, and he doesn't get angry when the college student rushes to pay the bill before him. When he goes to the toilet, he always lets others go first. The things I bought were travel items such as towels, razors, and dry batteries."

"The third is an old lady who is both stubborn and thrifty."

The store manager said at this time, "I actually know the old lady you mentioned. She often buys some lunch boxes that are about to expire at a bargain price, and even compares the prices here with other convenience stores."

"However, that old lady is not a bad person, because she often tells me to turn off the lights that are not in use, or the temperature of the air conditioner in the store, so as to save a lot of electricity bills, but every time she finishes talking, she doesn't buy anything. Just go."

Sonoko Suzuki raised his chin immediately after hearing this, Kogoro Mori possessed his soul and began to reason.

"College students can't afford software, so it's easy to have evil thoughts after watching it; office workers will definitely bring some snacks on the road if they want to travel; as for old ladies who don't buy anything, they may want to try it for free."

However, Yuanzi is not Mori Kogoro after all, and he does not have the aura of a detective. The store manager does not believe this reasoning, and said: "Before doubting the customers, I think it is more reasonable to doubt Xiaoxuan's integrity first."

Yuanzi said angrily, "Please, I told you Xiaoxuan wouldn't be the one to do such a thing!"

After being yelled at by Yuanzi, the store manager also became angry, "Then you can explain it, I told Xiaoxuan about the same thing last week, and there is no shortage of things in the store."

"I originally thought that Xiaoxuan was seriously reflecting on her behavior. I thought that after opening the store this morning, my store has lost a lot of products. I think she has been numb because of stealing?"

"Okay, if I'm willing to apologize honestly this time, I'll let you go, otherwise I'll just fire you!"

The store manager pinched his waist with both hands, examining Qi Chuanxuan who bowed her head aggrieved.

After hearing these things, even Mao Lilan and Yuanzi didn't know how to speak up for Xiaoxuan.

But seeing their good friend being suspected, the two couldn't bear to leave.

When the two were at a loss, Judy who was standing behind smiled slightly and offered a suggestion.

"Why don't we consult the famous detective in the building opposite?"

Zhibo Detective Agency, Qin Zhibo just went out to find pets, and was lying on the boss chair watching TV with ghosts.

In daily business, Qin Zhibo is mainly entrusted with looking for pets.

Different from the affair-catching business of the Maori office next door, what Qin Zhibo does is a business that can be completed in one go. Unlike catching an affair, one has to follow the target all day long.

Coupled with the magic bonus of the object-finding spell, this created the illusion that Qin Zhibo was free every day.

In fact, he just finished the work ahead of time.

This is also the benefit of being your own boss. If you work under someone else's hands, you will never be able to finish the work.

But then again, if the company's work is finished, it means that the company has started to go downhill, and it's time to lay off employees.

Yoko Okino sang affectionately on the TV, and Harumi Minase, who was floating beside her, was facing the TV and also showed her singing voice.

"The autumn wind in September takes away the blazing heat of summer~ A faint fragrance of flowers comes from the ethereal distance~"

"On the way~ the sky is full of petals~"

"The lion flower is blooming~ The lion flower is blooming~"

"Oh hoo!"

Minase Harumi's singing skills are not very good, especially the high-pitched part, which is just yelling up.

But fortunately, Minase Harumi's voice can't be heard by others, so it doesn't matter even if his throat is broken.

She likes Yoko Okino's songs very much, and she has to sing along every time she listens to them.

Most of Minase Harumi's knowledge and cognition comes from conceiving her believers with thoughts, and the preferences of believers can also affect Minase Harumi's preferences to a certain extent.

Because of this, Qin Zhibo wondered if there was Kogoro Mori among the believers.

"Yoko—"

"If only I could see Yoko with my own eyes!"

The star chasing girl looked at Yoko Okino, who was shining brightly on TV, and felt emotional.

Qin Zhibo, who was sitting on the boss chair, picked up the newspaper on one side, and said calmly, "I have seen Yoko Okino."

"what!"

As soon as the girl heard it, her eyes lit up immediately, and she floated to Qin Zhibo's newspaper, "Have you really seen Yoko?"

"Um"

Qin Zhibo nodded noncommittally, passed the newspaper through the ghost's body, and moved it to another place that did not block his sight.

"Although we have met several times, bad things happen every time we meet."

Before Qin Zhibo finished speaking, the girl said, "If you have a chance to meet next time, please call me out~"

"Yoko! Yoko!"

The next song by Yoko Okino was about to be played on the TV, and the girl floated faintly in front of the TV again.

At this moment, there was a knock on the office door.

Tee, Tee, Tee.

Qin Zhibo quickly turned off the TV with the remote control, passed through the body of the girl ghost, and opened the door. He was a little surprised to see that the people outside were actually Mao Lilan, Yuanzi, and Judy behind him.

"Eh? Why are you here?"

Mao Lilan asked politely: "Mr. Qin, is it convenient for you now, we have some questions to ask."

"It's convenient, come in."

Leading the three to the office, Mao Lilan began to introduce the problem they encountered, that is, the clerk in the convenience store opposite was suspected.

Mao Lilan told the story of the incident, and said sincerely: "Xiao Xuan was a good friend when we were in junior high school. That child is very well-behaved and kind. It is absolutely impossible for him to be a thief."

"So we want to ask Mr. Qin to help Xiao Xuan get rid of the suspicion and find out the real thief!"

Qin Zhibo's expression was solemn and he fell into deep thought.

I often go to the Sunday convenience store opposite, and I have a good impression of the clerk Xiaoxuan.

Every time I buy instant noodles, other shop assistants just provide hot water, only Xiaoxuan helps instant noodles in person, and the service is very thoughtful.

When I went shopping at night, I would also see this child sorting out the random piles of goods in the warehouse by himself.

Such a child is suspected of stealing things, which is indeed a bit strange.

However, when I remembered that when I was shopping recently, the manager of the convenience store was always hesitant to talk to me, so I guess he also wanted to talk about it.

"Well, it happens to be nothing right now, then"

Before Qin Zhibo finished speaking, he saw Harumi Minase floating above Mao Lilan's head, spread his palms, and touched the tip of Mao Lilan's "horn" with the palm of his hand.

Since she couldn't touch the entity, she curiously drew the length of the "horn" with her hand, which was about the length of the index finger and thumb spread apart.

"puff"

Qin Zhibo couldn't help laughing, which made Mao Lilan and the other three confused.

Realizing that he lost his composure, Qin Zhibo quickly stopped his expression, "Ahem, then let's go."

In this way, the four of them came to the Sunday convenience store.

Strictly speaking, it was four people and one ghost, because she didn't have time to put away Harumi Minase, and she didn't want to go back, so she floated along with her.

As the evening rush hour was about to arrive, the shop began to serve people, and the shop manager temporarily spared Qi Chuanxuan and asked her to help at the cashier.

Seeing Mao Lilan and Yuanzi go back and forth, Qi Chuanxuan smiled as if seeing a savior.

And the store manager who was busy at the shelf saw Mao Lilan and the others coming back, with a bad expression on his face.

But when he saw Qin Zhibo behind him, he was a little surprised.

Originally, about Xiaoxuan's stealing, he had been considering whether to tell Qin Zhibo, a famous detective who often came to shop in the store.

But considering that if things get serious, it might affect Xiaoxuan's future, so she kept silent.

But unexpectedly, this group of people found the detective by themselves.

With a detective in charge, Yuanzi stiffened his back and shouted, "Manager, we are back again!"

The store manager came out from behind the shelf, looked at Qin Zhibo, and said, "Mr. Qin, I didn't expect them to find you. You already know about it, right?"

"Well, I understand pretty well." Qin Zhibo nodded.

The store manager continued: "I didn't want to make this incident public, but since they found you, please tell us who the thief is?"

Qin Zhibo glanced at the toilet at the end of the warehouse passage, smiled slightly, and raised his finger to the top of his head.

"Mr. Tsukayama, be safe and don't be impatient."

"Actually, the real thief is in this shop right now."

(End of this chapter)