Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 524: The End of Hatamoto Takeshi! (Vote for me!)

"You say you are wronged?"

After taking a deep look at Conan, who had a complicated expression, Maori Kogoro frowned and fixed his eyes on Hatamoto Takeshi. His eyes revealed a hint of suspicion and scrutiny, and he said seriously, "Do you have any evidence to prove this?"

You say you are wronged, so you are wronged? But he still says he is the world's number one detective!

But the key question is, is he?
No, although it is true that Kogoro Mouri has become a famous detective, he is still a long way from being the best in the world!
Beads of sweat oozed from Hatamoto Takeshi's forehead and rolled down his cheeks. He explained in a panic, "I... I know you will doubt me, but I really didn't kill anyone! Grandpa and Long Nan's deaths have nothing to do with me!"

Maori Kogoro's eyes were fixed on Hatamoto Takeshi, not missing any change in his expression. "Mr. Takeshi, if you really didn't kill anyone, then why didn't you tell everyone the whole story right away, and instead chose to hide?"

As an experienced detective, he would not be easily moved by Takeshi Hatamoto's pale excuses.

Not to mention, whether in terms of motive or the time of the crime, Takeshi Hatamoto is the biggest suspect.

In this situation, nothing that Takeshi Hatamoto says can be easily believed and must be treated with caution unless he can produce solid facts and strong evidence.

Bai Ye took a step forward, his eyes also full of scrutiny, and he said, "That's right, if you didn't have something to hide, why would you hide here and there? And why are you here?"

Hatamoto Takeshi took a deep breath, as if trying to gather up courage for himself, and then slowly said, "I'm afraid of being misunderstood. When grandpa passed away, I happened to be the last person to accompany him. In addition, there was already some grudge between grandpa and me, so I don't want to be misunderstood, and I don't want to be regarded as a murderer."

At this point, he paused for a moment, "After being locked in the warehouse, I only wanted to open the door to explain things to Xia Jiang, but the door was locked tightly. No matter how hard I knocked, I couldn't open it. Just when I was about to give up, I suddenly heard a strange sound, and then I found that the lock of the warehouse door had been opened at some point.

"So I rushed out, thinking about going to Xia Jiang to explain, but I didn't expect to hear you guys talking about me killing Long Nan on the deck. I was so scared at the time, so I left quickly."

"Originally, I was planning to go to Xia Jiang's room to explain, but her room was locked. I had no choice but to hide here. Believe me, I am really innocent. I didn't kill Grandpa, and I really didn't kill Long Nan either!"

Mao Lilan frowned slightly and said softly: "But if you keep hiding like this, it will only make you look more suspicious."

Conan stared intently at Takeshi Hatamoto's expression and thought to himself that what Takeshi Hatamoto said seemed reasonable at first glance, but it was also very likely a carefully fabricated lie.

He knew very well that in order to find out the truth, more evidence was needed to verify Hatamoto Takeshi's words.

Maori Kogoro folded his hands in front of his chest and asked seriously, "Mr. Xiaowu, you keep saying that you are innocent, so may I ask, at the moment when Mr. Longnan was killed, where were you? What were you doing?"

Hatamoto Takeshi's eyes were erratic, and he began to stammer, "I... I was on the deck at the time. I heard the noise and rushed back to see that Mr. Longnan had been brutally murdered. Then everyone else thought I had killed him. I was completely terrified at the time and didn't know what to do. The only thing in my mind was to find a place to hide first."

Butler Suzuki questioned: "But no one on the deck saw you. How can you prove that what you said is true?"

Hatamoto Takeshi's face turned even paler. He lowered his head and said in an almost inaudible voice, "I..."

He was a fugitive, so how could he dare to let other people see him when he escaped?
But in this way, there would be no one to testify for him and prove that what he said was true.

If no one can prove it, then people like Kogoro Mori may not believe his words.

Thinking of this, Takeshi Hatamoto's body trembled more and more, and his eyes were full of helplessness and despair.

Because he knew very well that he was in a dilemma where he could not prove himself.

Everyone's eyes were still fixed on him, waiting for him to give a more reasonable and convincing explanation. The atmosphere in the room became increasingly solemn, as if an invisible contest was quietly unfolding.

Just when Takeshi Hatamoto was about to be completely overwhelmed by the surging doubts of the crowd, Conan suddenly asked: "Mr. Hatamoto Takeshi, you said you were on the deck and blowing the wind, so what was the wind direction at that time?"

Hatamoto Takeshi was stunned for a moment, and stammered, "Well... I... I didn't pay much attention."

Conan's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Did you see anything special on the deck, such as ships on the sea in the distance, or the position of stars in the sky?"

Sweat kept rolling down Hatamoto Takeshi's forehead. He tried hard to recall, his lips trembling slightly. After a long time, he managed to squeeze out a sound: "I... I don't remember..."

Bai Ye seemed to be keenly aware of Conan's intention. He added calmly: "Mr. Hatamoto Takeshi, if you have really been on the deck, you should not be completely unimpressed by these details."

Hatamoto Takeshi's face turned pale as paper in an instant, and his lips trembled even more violently. He seemed to want to defend himself, but couldn't find the right words for a moment.

At that time, he was only thinking about how to escape and find a place to hide, so he had no time to pay attention to the surrounding environment!

Maori Kogoro frowned even more and said seriously: "It seems that you are lying. You were not on the deck at all! What are you hiding?"

Everyone's eyes were once again focused on Hatamoto Takeshi, waiting quietly for his explanation.

Noticing everyone's gazes, Hatamoto Takeshi's body seemed to have lost all its supporting strength. He slowly squatted down, holding his head tightly with both hands. His eyes revealed deep despair, and his inner defenses seemed to be about to collapse completely, as if he had already anticipated that he would not be able to successfully prove his innocence.

"I...I really didn't kill anyone."

Takeshi Hatamoto said in a tearful voice, his eyes wandering around in panic, as if he was desperately looking for even the slightest sympathy or understanding.

However, all he got in response were the increasingly suspicious and vigilant looks from the crowd. Those looks were like thorns in his back, making him even more uneasy.

Just when Takeshi Hatamoto was shrouded in the haze of despair and almost suffocated, Bai Ye's calm voice pierced through the oppressive silence like a sharp arrow: "Mr. Hatamoto Takeshi, if you returned after hearing the noise on the deck, your shoes should now have the unique 'memory' of the deck - the tiny attachment of sea salt particles, or the faint traces of damp water stains." Hatamoto Takeshi's body trembled violently, as if he was electrocuted, and subconsciously lowered his eyes to look at his shoes, a trace of panic that was hard to conceal flashed in his eyes.

Conan and Bai Ye's eyes met, and he instantly understood what she meant. He took this subtle flaw into his heart, and his suspicion of Hatamoto Takeshi grew like a vine.

Maori Kogoro followed the thoughts of Bai Ye and Conan, stepped forward, and carefully checked Hatamoto Takeshi's shoes. Then, his face was tense, and he asked sternly: "Mr. Xiaowu, your shoes are very clean, unreasonably clean, without any trace of the deck. Excuse me, how do you explain this phenomenon?"

Hatamoto Takeshi's lips trembled violently like leaves in the wind, and he tried to piece together a plausible excuse: "I... I might have accidentally rubbed it off on the way back, or I might have cleaned it in the warehouse."

However, such a weak excuse, in the face of irrefutable evidence, is as fragile as bubbles and will burst at any moment.

Bai Ye's mouth curled up into a cold smile, which was full of mockery: "This is too much of a coincidence. In the face of such crucial evidence, do you still want to continue lying?"

Conan was also not disturbed by Takeshi Hatamoto's sophistry. He began to pace around the room, his brain working rapidly, trying to find more clues to uncover the truth.

Suddenly, he noticed a tiny fiber on Takeshi Hatamoto's clothes. The color and texture of the fiber were surprisingly similar to those of a carpet near the crime scene.

Conan calmly approached Hatamoto Takeshi and asked casually, "Mr. Takeshi, have you ever been close to a certain carpet?"

Hatamoto Takeshi seemed to be struck by this sudden question. His body stiffened slightly, and a trace of fear flashed across his eyes. However, he still pretended to be calm, but his slightly trembling voice still revealed his inner panic: "I... I don't remember. How could I pay attention to such trivial matters?"

Conan already had a preliminary inference in his mind, and he decided to put more pressure on him in order to destroy Hatamoto Takeshi's shaky psychological defenses: "Mr. Takeshi, if you confess everything now, you may be able to get a lighter sentence. But if you continue to be stubborn, once we find more solid evidence, you will face more severe punishment."

Under Conan's relentless pressure, Takeshi Hatamoto's psychological defenses began to crumble. His forehead was covered with sweat, and his hands clenched and unclenched unconsciously.

Everyone held their breath and stared at him intently. The whole room was so quiet that the only sound was Hatamoto Takeshi's increasingly heavy breathing. It seemed as if time had stopped for this moment. The air in the room seemed to have solidified and was so heavy that it was suffocating.

There seemed to be two voices arguing fiercely inside Hatamoto Takeshi. His eyes flashed with hesitation and struggle, but he still refused to speak, still clenching his teeth: "I really didn't do anything. You can't conclude that I am the murderer based on this alone."

Knowing that Hatamoto Takeshi still had a lucky mentality, Bai Ye raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at his trouser legs.

Noticing his gaze, Kogoro Mori understood what he meant and quickly squatted down to carefully check the trouser legs of Takeshi Hatamoto.

Sure enough, a small dark red stain caught his sight.

Looking at the dark red stain, Kogoro Mouri's pupils suddenly shrank.

He stood up suddenly, his eyes were sharp, and his voice was full of unquestionable majesty: "Mr. Xiao Wu, what is this dark red thing on your trouser leg? Why do I feel that it looks like blood?"

As soon as these words came out, Hatamoto Takeshi's face turned pale. He frantically covered his face with his hands, trying to hide the stain, and his speech became stammering: "This... This is the paint I accidentally rubbed on before, not blood."

Maori Kogoro's brows twisted into a deep "川" character, and he asked suspiciously, "Paint? Well, then, tell me, where did you get this paint?"

However, no traces of paint were found near the crime scene!

Hatamoto Takeshi's explanation not only failed to prove his innocence, but made his lies even more untenable.

"..."

Hatamoto Takeshi's eyes were wandering, and he stammered for a long time but couldn't make any clear words.

Bai Ye and Conan looked at each other and continued, "Mr. Hatamoto Takeshi, we now have a lot of evidence against you. If you were wronged, why did you make up so many lies to cover up the facts?"

Hatamoto Takeshi's body began to tremble violently. He seemed to realize that he was in a desperate situation. However, for some reason, he still kept his mouth tightly shut and refused to reveal a single word of the truth.

Seeing that even at this point, Hatamoto Takeshi still had hope. Mao Lilan's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, "Mr. Xiaowu, I think Miss Xia Jiang would not want to see you continue to escape like this. If you really care about her, you should stand up and tell the truth!"

These words were like a heavy hammer, hitting the defense line in Hatamoto Takeshi's heart. He felt as if his spine was pulled out, his legs went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

There was pain and struggle in his eyes, his lips were bitten white, and the struggle between his conscience and his desires was clearly visible.

But even so, he still held on to that shaky defense line and refused to reveal the truth.

Maori Kogoro's patience has reached its limit. His voice is low and powerful: "Mr. Xiaowu, you'd better confess everything now. We have given you enough chances. If you continue like this, it will only make things worse."

Takeshi Hatamoto's shoulders trembled slightly. He lowered his head and took a deep breath, as if making a final decision.

The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense, and everyone was waiting for his answer.

Finally, Hatamoto Takeshi slowly raised his head, his eyes empty and desperate, yet revealing a hint of relief: "I admit that I was lying before."

"But I... I didn't mean to do that. He pushed me into a desperate situation, and I acted on impulse..."

(End of this chapter)