Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 525 The birth of tragedy! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
"..."

Hatamoto Takeshi's confession caused the room to fall into a brief silence. After a moment, Maori Kogoro coughed lightly and broke the silence: "Mr. Kogoro, please tell me the situation in detail. Don't hide anything."

If this time, Takeshi Hatamoto still intended to conceal the facts and try to fool them like before, then he would not be as good-tempered as he is now.

Hatamoto Takeshi sat on the ground with a hollow look in his eyes, and began to narrate slowly: "My grandfather called me in at that time, and I was so happy that I thought he wanted to discuss marriage with Xia Jiang. I never thought that what was waiting for me was actually a nightmare."

"As soon as I entered the room, he ruthlessly exposed my true identity, and then he asked me a series of aggressive questions, insisting that I tell him the purpose of infiltrating the Hatamoto family."

"I tried desperately to reason with him, trying to explain that I truly loved Xia Jiang and was not using her, but he was completely unmoved and ignored me, not even giving me a chance to defend myself. Our arguments gradually escalated, our words became more intense and sharp, and we ended up in an irreconcilable, heated argument."

"During the argument, he even said something that shocked me. He said he would cancel the engagement, separate Xia Jiang and me, and turn me back to square one, leaving me with nothing. At that moment, my brain buzzed, as if something had exploded. A surge of hot blood rushed to my head. I completely lost my mind and pushed him off the chair..."

At this point, his body trembled slightly as if he had been electrocuted, and his face was full of fear and regret, as if the terrible scene was constantly replaying before his eyes. "When I finally woke up, I saw grandpa lying on the ground, motionless and without breathing. I was so scared that I felt like the whole world was collapsing. In a panic, I was like a headless fly. I hurriedly cleaned up the scene and then fled that place..."

After hearing this thrilling confession, Kogoro Mori's brows were tightly twisted into a knot, and his eyes revealed a seriousness and dissatisfaction.

"Cleaning up the scene? Do you think you can cover up your crime this way? Your actions not only hurt others, but also ruined your own life."

At this point, Maori Kogoro took a deep breath, then sighed heavily, with a hint of helplessness and regret in his tone, and slowly said: "No matter what the reason, killing is an unforgivable crime, and you will eventually pay a painful price for what you have done.

Conan was thinking silently, his mind was like a projector, combing through every detail of the case over and over again. For some reason, he always felt that this matter was far from being as simple and clear as it seemed on the surface.

At this moment, Conan suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he clearly recalled the autopsy conclusion made by Maori Kogoro at the crime scene. So he raised his head slightly and asked, "Mr. Xiaowu, did you see anyone else nearby after committing the crime? Or did you notice any unusual signs?"

Hatamoto Takeshi slowly raised his head, his eyes full of confusion and helplessness: "I was terrified and panicked at the time. I had no time to think about anything else. I just wanted to escape from that terrible place as soon as possible."

Bai Ye looked at Conan quietly, as if he had guessed his doubts: "Are you also wondering if there might be other people involved in this matter, and it's not just Hatamoto Takeshi who did it?"

Conan nodded slightly: "From the evidence we have so far, although it seems that all the accusations are directed at Mr. Xiao Wu, there are still some doubts that cannot be explained by the current evidence. For example, the real cause of death of Mr. Hao Zang!"

"yes……"

Maori Kogoro frowned and looked at Hatamoto Takeshi with a sharp gaze: "You said that you pushed Mr. Gozo down by accident, but many signs at the scene showed that this was not the case. He died because he was stabbed in the abdomen and bled to death. How do you explain this?"

After the body of Hatamoto Gozo was found, he helped to perform an autopsy on him immediately. The cause of death of Hatamoto Gozo was a knife wound in the abdomen, which led to excessive bleeding, not from falling or anything like that.

In other words, Hatamoto Takeshi's confession this time is still full of loopholes and does not tell the whole truth.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that Takeshi Hatamoto did not actually lie.

For example, after being pushed down by the angry Hatamoto Takeshi, Gozo Hatamoto did not die immediately, but just fell into a coma. However, the panicked Hatamoto Takeshi was in an extremely nervous mental state at the time and did not check carefully, so he mistakenly thought that his grandfather had been killed by him, and then fled the scene in a panic.

After he escaped, the real murderer quietly came to the scene, took out a knife he had prepared in advance, and brutally killed Hatamoto Gozo!
As for the truth of the matter, I'm afraid we can only know it after a more in-depth and detailed interrogation of Hatamoto Takeshi.

After hearing these words, Hatamoto Takeshi's body shook violently, his eyes full of fear and despair: "Knife... I was so panicked at the time that I didn't even notice any knife or anything like that. After I pushed Grandpa down, I just cleaned up the scene in a hurry and then ran away. I really didn't see any knife."

Conan's eyes were as sharp as a knife. He stared at Takeshi Hatamoto, trying to catch any trace of lies from his eyes and expression.

However, the fear, despair, confusion and astonishment on Takeshi Hatamoto's face did not seem to be pretended.

"Mr. Xiao Wu, please think about it carefully," Conan's voice was calm and firm, like a steady drumbeat, beating on Takeshi Hatamoto's heart again and again, "Before you left the scene, did you hear any sounds or see any figures? Even the smallest details may become the key to solving the case."

Hatamoto Takeshi closed his eyes and tried hard to recall the horrific scene. Dense sweat gradually seeped out of his forehead. Obviously, that memory was like a nightmare to him, deeply imprinted in his mind. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and gently shook his head, "I really can't remember it. I was too scared at the time and just wanted to get out of there quickly."

Conan frowned and fell into deep thought. He once again carefully recalled the layout and details of the crime scene.

The items in the room were neatly arranged, and except for the mess where Mr. Gozo fell, there were no obvious signs of a fight. If Hatamoto Takeshi pushed and shoved during a fierce argument, causing Gozo to be stabbed, the surrounding environment should not be so "calm".

Thinking of this, Conan calmly memorized these clues one by one.

While Kogoro Mori continued to ask Takeshi Hatamoto about the details of what happened, Takeshi Hatamoto looked confused and helpless, and repeatedly emphasized that he only pushed his grandfather down and knew nothing about other circumstances.

Seeing that Hatamoto Takeshi refused to tell the truth, Maori Kogoro knocked on the table impatiently, making a crisp sound: "Hatamoto Takeshi, you'd better tell the truth, otherwise..."

"Wait, Uncle Maori." Bai Ye hesitated for a moment, then calmly interrupted Maori Kogoro. He turned to Hatamoto Takeshi and asked, "Mr. Kotake, you mentioned that you cleaned up the scene. What did you do specifically?" Hatamoto Takeshi's voice trembled a little. "I... I just straightened the chair, and then helped grandpa back onto the stool... and then I ran away."

Bai Ye nodded thoughtfully, and he turned to Maori Kogoro: "Uncle Maori, judging from his behavior, he did not seem to realize that Mr. Gozo was stabbed to death. If he was the murderer, he would have dealt with the wound or traces of the murder weapon instead of just straightening the tables and chairs. This may to some extent prove that he may not be the direct murderer who killed Mr. Gozo."

"It's not impossible."

After hearing this, Maori Kogoro frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded, seeming to agree with Bai Ye's analysis. He turned his gaze to Hatamoto Takeshi again, and said in a slightly softer tone: "Mr. Kogoro, if you really didn't kill Mr. Gozo, then now is your best chance to clear your suspicion. Please think carefully and see if you missed any details, even the most insignificant things."

Hatamoto Takeshi closed his eyes tightly and held his head in his hands, obviously trying hard to recall. His face was full of anxiety and uneasiness, and sweat slid down his forehead. After a long time, he slowly raised his head, with a flash of despair in his eyes: "I really don't remember, everything happened too fast and too suddenly. I just ran away in fear and didn't pay attention to anything else."

Conan looked around the room and noticed that Hatamoto Takeshi's anxiety was not a disguise, which made him more convinced that there were unknown secrets behind the case. He turned to Maori Kogoro and Bai Ye and put forward his own ideas: "Uncle, Bai Ye, we may need to re-examine the scene and look for clues that may have been overlooked. Perhaps the real murderer left some traces."

Kogoro Mouri nodded, the three of them looked at each other, and then took Hatamoto Takeshi, who was being closely guarded by Mouri Ran and butler Suzuki, back to the crime scene where Hatamoto Gozo was murdered.

……

Crime scene.

Conan's eyes were as sharp as a falcon. He carefully checked every corner, not missing any possible clues.

Soon, he made new discoveries. He noticed that there was something wrong with the scratches on the floor and the tiny cracks on the wall. These details had not received enough attention in previous investigations.

"Uncle Maori, look here."

Conan pointed to the scratches on the floor and said, "These scratches seem to have been made recently, and the direction and strength do not seem to match the action of Hatamoto Takeshi pushing down old man Gozo."

Maori Kogoro squatted down and observed the scratches carefully. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Indeed, these scratches may have been caused by someone moving furniture or heavy objects after Hatamoto Takeshi left."

Bai Ye raised his eyebrows slightly and joined the discussion. His eyes scanned the room. "If Hatamoto Takeshi's confession is true, then the murderer most likely entered the scene after he left. This means that the murderer must be very familiar with the Hatamoto family to be able to enter and exit without attracting attention."

Conan nodded. He had already begun to build the outline of the murderer in his mind: "Yes, the murderer may be an insider of the Hatamoto family, or someone who has close ties with the Hatamoto family. They took advantage of the dispute between Hatamoto Takeshi and Mr. Gozo and took the opportunity to commit the crime."

The discussion among the three became more and more in-depth, and the truth of the case seemed to be getting closer and closer to the surface.

Conan knew that as long as they continued to dig and did not miss any details, the truth would eventually come to light, and the souls of Hatamoto Gozo and Hatamoto Ryuo would be able to rest in peace.

And by then, perhaps Takeshi Hatamoto's fate will also see a new turn for the better.

Just as they were discussing in depth, Conan suddenly noticed that the butler Suzuki was standing beside him. His face was pale, and beads of sweat were oozing from his forehead. His eyes were wandering between Hatamoto Takeshi and the others. It seemed that he knew something unknown, but he was hesitant whether to speak up...

Conan felt that something was fishy, ​​so he quietly approached Suzuki, but heard Suzuki mumbling to himself: "Why did it turn out like this..."

Conan frowned and suddenly asked: "Butler, do you know something?"

Butler Suzuki was startled and quickly waved his hands and said, "I... I don't know anything. I'm just a butler. I'm just worried that this incident will affect the reputation of the Hatamoto family."

But Conan keenly noticed that the butler's hands were trembling slightly, and he must be hiding some secret.

Bai Ye stood quietly by the side, his eyes deep and calm, "Mr. Butler...are you hiding something from us?"

As soon as these words came out, Butler Suzuki's face turned even paler, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be struggling deep in his heart whether to tell the truth. The atmosphere in the room became extremely tense, and everyone was waiting for his answer.

Maori Kogoro immediately stepped forward and stared at Butler Suzuki with sharp eyes, "Mr. Butler, if you know anything, now is the best time to speak out."

Conan and Bai Ye didn't say anything, but after they mentioned it, the more he looked at a certain butler, the more he felt something was wrong.

He seriously suspected that the other party might know some important clues related to the case, or even that the other party might be the real murderer.

"Okay, Detective Maori, Mr. Bai Ye, I won't hide anything from you."

Butler Suzuki took a deep breath and finally spoke. His voice was trembling, but his tone was extremely firm. "I do know something that may help solve this case..."

(End of this chapter)