Conan's Exorcist Detective

Chapter 67: Chess Pieces Bringing Good Luck

Bai Cangyang was originally encouraging the other two suspects to put pressure on the police. Just when he was about to convince the police to let them go, someone suddenly appeared and said that the murderer had been found.

This scared Bai Cangyang.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was still shrouded in a sense of unease deep down in his heart. This was because the answering machine tape with his fingerprints on it was still at the scene.

Because of the sudden arrival of the police, he had no chance to retrieve the tape, and once the police found the fingerprints on it, all his tricks would be exposed.

Damn it, is there no way to get away with it in the end?
Bai Cangyang turned around in despair and looked at the guy who claimed to have cracked the secret room, but was surprised to find that he was an overly young kid.

It seems that this group of people are also planning to visit Professor Hirota tonight, and the other party seems to be a high school student.

Shirakura's heart, which had been hanging in the air, was now half relieved.

He was just a kid, so he couldn't see through his plan, right? The police had been investigating for so long and still couldn't find the right direction, so how could a high school student figure it out so easily?

Shirakura Yang decided to continue acting.

"Kousaka-kun, are you serious?" Officer Yokomizo looked at Haruhiko excitedly. "Which important clue have we overlooked?"

Hosoya Kazuhiro: "Don't be ridiculous, this room looks like a secret room."

Michio Morioka: "That is to say, could you please stop wasting our time?"

"No, although it looks like Professor Hirota died accidentally due to a fall, the murderer only needs to use the tape of the answering machine and the chess pieces to perfectly create this secret room." Haruhiko walked to the answering machine and picked up the white chess pieces scattered nearby.

"The phone strap?"

"Chessmen?"

Everyone looked confused when they heard Haruhiko's words, except Shirakura Yang, whose expression was very unnatural. He could no longer maintain his previous confidence.

Haruhiko glanced at him calmly and continued, "Now I'm going to recreate the murderer's methods at the scene. By the way, Mrs. Hirota, do you have an answering machine tape of the same specifications at home?"

"There should be a lot of new tapes. I'll get them for you." Mrs. Hirota turned and went to another room, and soon came back with a few tapes.

Haruhiko put on his gloves, took the belt, and began his explanation:
"First, remove the tape from the answering machine, then attach the tape to the phone...

After pulling out these tapes, go outside this door and pass the answering machine tape through the ring on the key..."

Haruhiko said as he finished setting up the scene.

What was finally presented to everyone was a key strung onto the answering machine's strap and left outside the door, with a book made of three chess pieces in the path between the key and the answering machine.

In this way, as long as the phone starts recording, the tape will roll up little by little, pulling the key outside the door into the room through the crack in the door. After knocking down the chess piece, the key will be pressed under the book.

Ai Haibara and Dr. Conan stood in an inconspicuous corner.

She hugged her shoulders and shook her head. "It still doesn't work. He might be trying to use the force of pulling the straps to knock the chess pieces over, but that's impossible. The chess pieces are very stable and won't fall that easily."

Conan nodded as well. "That's right. In the end, it's very likely that only one chess piece will be hit, and then the key will continue to move forward along the tape and end up on the answering machine."

"I thought he could bring me a surprise." Huiyuan Ai gently lifted the hair beside her ear, "It seems that this detective has also failed. Detectives are really unreliable."

She seemed to be hinting at something.

Conan glared at her in dissatisfaction, but he still hadn't figured out the solution to the secret room, so naturally he had no way to refute her.

At this moment, Haruhiko seemed to have noticed the conversation between the two.

He smiled at this side and said, "What if I turn the chess piece upside down?"

"What?!" Haibara Ai opened her mouth slightly, looking surprised.

Conan seemed to be struck by lightning: "Yeah! So it can be done this way."

As he said this, Haruhiko turned the round end of the chess piece downward and placed it back under the book, then walked out of the room and made a phone call.

The answering machine started working, and the tape slowly rolled up...

The key, wrapped around the tape, easily knocked over the three chess pieces, and then the book fell, trapping the key underneath, and the rest of the tape was eventually tucked into the phone.

The scene was restored to the state it was in when the body was first discovered. The secret room was broken.

"This... this is amazing, it's like magic." Officer Yokomizo looked at the perfectly recreated scene. "So, the murderer is Mr. Shirakura, who made so many phone calls?"

The people around Bai Cangyang quickly moved away, leaving him in the spotlight in the center position.

Shirakura's face was pale, but he still explained, "It's true that this method is amazing, but you can't be sure that it was me who did it, right? Moreover, if I killed Professor Hirota, why would I go back to the scene and increase my suspicion?
You know, I came here on my own initiative, unlike the other two people who came here after being notified by the police over the phone.

Logically speaking, they should be more suspicious, right? "

Haruhiko suddenly interrupted, "You want to come back here to get that thing back, right?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Haruhiko again, waiting for his answer.

Bai Cangyang: "What are you talking about? I don't understand what you are saying."

Haruhiko glanced at the vengeful spirit on his shoulder, which was already full and salivating, so he delivered a fatal blow: "It's the answering machine tape that is covered with your fingerprints.

Because you killed Professor Hirota completely on impulse, many details could not be done so perfectly.

In fact, the fact that you can imagine this locked room technique is already very powerful, but the only flaw in this locked room technique is that the tape covered with fingerprints can only be recovered after the body is discovered, otherwise the locked room will no longer exist.

If you still refuse to admit it, I guess the disk that disappeared from Professor Hirota's computer should be in your car now, right?"

After this long paragraph of reasoning, everyone fell silent.

The incandescent light above my head was making a crackling sound. It was a summer night, and the air was stuffy with so many people crammed into one room.
Bai Cangyang looked at the chess pieces and books scattered on the ground, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

In just a few minutes, he became everyone's focus.

This rapid development made Shirakura's mind go blank. Even though he had excellent model qualities, he didn't know what expression would be appropriate in this situation.

No matter what expression it is, it’s useless, right?

I can't fool you anymore.

Shirakura looked at the instigator of this incident. The seemingly gentle high school student seemed to have seen a murder scene, and exposed his confident locked room method in a very firm tone.

He couldn't understand why this high school student could see through the secret room that even the police couldn't solve.

A ball of anger rose in his heart. Why do you all want to go against me?

I just want my photo back. My career is about to take off with that photo, why are there so many hateful people at this time?

He staggered towards Haruhiko and noticed an expectant expression on his face.

At this moment, a man with coral hair appeared in front of Shirakura and stopped him: "Go check the fingerprints on the tape to see if they are Mr. Shirakura's."

Yokomizo Sango will not give the murderer a chance to hurt Haruhiko.

"That's not necessary." Bai Cangyang said in a low voice, kneeling on the ground. "Those floppy disks are in a storage box in my car, even the one with the photo is there..."

Shirakura knelt on the ground and began to repent, but his words did not show that he thought killing was wrong.

Haruhiko didn't waste time here. When he saw that the vengeful spirit on Shirakura's shoulder had fallen off, he happily ran to the rice cooker that had been placed in advance and began to perform the ritual of salvation.

When Yokogami saw his strange look, he came up with other guesses.

I heard Haruhiko's family runs a psychic agency. Is he supposed to be appeasing the spirits of the deceased? Apparently, he's not only a brilliant reasoner, but also a kindhearted person.

Yokomizo recalled that when he went to the Metropolitan Police Department for a meeting, Inspector Megure told him that he had recently met a very promising high school detective. He had not seen Inspector Megure praise someone so much in a long time. The last one seemed to be Kudo Shinichi, who was known as the "Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era", right?
I wonder who is more powerful between these two people?
Yokomizo had never met Kudo Shinichi, but he felt that he should not be as powerful as this Kousaka-kun.

Just now, while Yokomizo was investigating the scene, he had been paying some attention to Haruhiko, wanting to see how capable this outstanding young man, as mentioned by Megure, was.

But he found that after Haruhiko determined that the scene was a secret room, he kept sticking with the little girl who was traveling with him and did not investigate the scene much.

Yokomizo thought that Haruhiko had not found any clue either, and he felt a little disappointed at the time.

Unexpectedly, when things were at a stalemate, Haruhiko stepped forward and exposed Shirakura's scheme in an overwhelming manner.

He was very confident throughout the reasoning process, and his judgment and control of the murderer's mentality made Yokomizo couldn't help but admire him, what an amazing boy.

If he joined the Metropolitan Police Department, he would probably rise to prominence quickly, right? Yokomizo didn't know that Haruhiko had been recruited by Matsumoto Seinaga. If he knew, he would probably have a higher opinion of Haruhiko.

Officer Yokomizo turned his attention back to the investigation of the case. Although Shirakura had already pleaded guilty, it would be better for him to explain what happened here. The on-site investigation and evidence collection would have to continue for a while.

Other people present can also leave the crime scene.

The doctor was about to go out and park the car at the back door, observing if there were any suspicious people: "Conan, Ai, I'm going to go out and start the car first."

Conan nodded, but Haibara Ai seemed not to hear it.

Her eyes were always fixed on Kousaka Haruhiko, and complex emotions were revealed in her eyes.

Turn the chess pieces upside down? I didn't expect this guy to be so imaginative.

Also, the confidence and the sense of control he displayed during the reasoning process were indeed different from usual.

I really didn't expect that he would figure it out.

Haibara Ai increasingly felt that this man who had inexplicably broken into her life seemed to have no fewer secrets than she did.

She even had the urge to take the initiative to get to know this man.

But her reason told her that if she really did that, there might be consequences that she could not bear.

Haibara Ai shook her head and suppressed the impulse.

At this time, she saw that Kosaka Haruhiko had finished the "exorcism ritual" in the corner and walked towards her. He had a satisfied smile on his face, and when his eyes fell on her, he would occasionally reveal a hint of doting, which reminded Huihara Ai of her sister, who often looked at her with this kind of eyes when she was with her.

If Kousaka Haruhiko had been present in the case where his sister was murdered, would he have been able to prevent the tragedy?

This thought suddenly popped up in Haibara Ai's mind.

Theoretically, it is very difficult. Saving my sister from those terrible people is not something that one person can do.

But for some reason, Haibara Ai always felt that if Haruhiko was there at the time, he would definitely come up with a solution. Just like when he turned the chess piece upside down just now.

Haibara Ai's ice-blue eyes gradually became dim, but what was the use of thinking about this now?
Time cannot be reversed. Her sister is gone. She has lost the last relative in the world. What is the meaning of her escaping from the organization?

"What's wrong with you?" While she was stunned, Haruhiko had already walked in front of her.

Haibara Ai looked at his doting eyes that looked very similar to his sister's, and suddenly felt very annoyed.

She pushed Haruhiko away and walked outside.

Haruhiko looked at Conan beside him in confusion: "Did you make her angry again?"

Conan was still immersed in the secret room trick and was stunned for a moment: "What? Who is angry?"

...

After saying goodbye to Officer Yokomizo, Haruhiko left the crime scene, accompanied by the two suspects who had been cleared of suspicion.

Kazuhiro Hosoya, section chief of a securities company, and Michio Morioka, a chess friend of Professor Hirota.

They said the back door was closer to the parking lot, so I followed Haruhiko and walked towards the back door.

Pushing open the back door, there was a small flower bed with white daisies in the backyard. A path cut the flower bed into two parts. Walking along the path, I saw a yellow Beetle parked on the side of the street. Through the windshield, I saw Haibara Ai rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"It's so tragic! They were almost taken away as criminals." Hosoya Kazuhiro, dressed in a suit, took off his glasses and wiped the stains off them, complaining, "In the end, I couldn't get a letter of recommendation from Professor Hirota for my daughter. I really don't know how I'm going to explain this when I get home."

Michio Morioka patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't complain. If you really can't find a way, you can ask a professor at another university for a letter of recommendation. I've lost a chess friend. I don't know who to play chess with in the future."

The two of them walked towards the road while complaining. The flower garden path was still quite a distance away.

As we chatted, the topic somehow turned to Haruhiko.

My fellow chess player Morioka Michio said, "If you ask me, we have to thank Brother Kosaka for today. If he hadn't found the murderer, that Coral Head Officer would have probably taken us all to the police station for questioning, considering his stupid behavior."

Hosoya Kazuhiro suddenly stopped and bowed to Haruhiko. "Thank you very much. If I were somehow involved in a murder case, it would probably become a hot topic in the company."

Seeing this, Haruhiko quickly waved his hand and said, "I just did it casually. You don't need to take it too seriously."

"How can I not take it to heart?" Morioka Michio pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Haruhiko. "It just so happens that this gift that I originally intended to give to Professor Hirota can't be given away. If you don't mind, I'll give it to you as a thank you."

Michio Morioka holds a white chess piece in his hand.

However, the carving on it is not a regular chess piece, but a lifelike butterfly with flapping wings.

Seeing Haruhiko's puzzled expression, Morioka Michio introduced, "This is called a lucky chess piece. Wearing it will bring good luck. I asked a friend to bring it back from abroad."

Haruhiko declined politely, "Really, no need. You're too polite."

"Just accept it. If I don't give this kind of gift away, it might bring me bad luck," Morioka said.

Seeing that the other party said so, Haruhiko had no choice but to accept the chess piece. It was not a valuable thing anyway.

As for accepting a gift originally intended for the deceased, would it be considered unlucky?

Haruhiko wanted to say that the soul of the deceased is still lying in my rice cooker.

After walking to the side of the road together, Haruhiko said goodbye to the two of them and got into Dr. Agasa's golden beetle and left.

Hosoya and Hiroshi watched the car's taillights disappear from view and exclaimed, "What an amazing young man."

"That's right." Morioka Michio agreed. "By the way, did you drive here? If not, let's take a taxi back together."

Hosoya and Hiro frowned and hesitated for a moment: "I drove here, but my home is 2-chomo in Beika-cho."

Michio Morioka: "That's great. I live nearby too. Could you give me a ride? After all, we're friends in need."

Hosoya and Hiro nodded.

"Haha, that's great. We can save a lot of money on car fare." Michio Morioka put his arm around the other person's shoulders and walked towards the parking lot.

Come to the nearby parking lot.

Michio Morioka looked at the white Mazda RX-7 in front of him, his eyes almost popping out: "No way? You can actually drive such a nice car?"

Hosoya and Hiroshi quickly explained, "This is the car of one of my clients. Today, when I went to the client's house to discuss something, the car broke down, so he lent it to me for a day."

"So that's how it is. I was shocked." Michio Morioka opened the car door and got in as if he was familiar with the place.

Hosoya and Hiroya opened the door and got in the car, then started it skillfully. The engine of the Mazda sports car made a pleasant roar.

Michio Morioka looked at him curiously from inside the car: "What does your client do? He's so rich."

Hosoya Kazuhiro thought for a moment: "President of a construction company."

"I guess he must have embezzled a lot of shareholders' money, otherwise how could he get the money to buy such a nice car," said Michio Morioka.

"Maybe." Hosoya and Hong seemed absent-minded.

Morioka Michio added, "If it's the company president, it's not a big deal. But if an employee embezzles money and then refuses to work for his boss, that's really damning."

Hosoya Hehong frowned and took off his glasses to wipe them: "If he was such a person, he would have been fired long ago."

"Not necessarily. Maybe he'll be killed." Michio Morioka's tone suddenly became playful.

"What do you mean?" The glasses in Hosoya Hehong's hand suddenly fell, and he bent down to pick up the glasses on the ground.

"Don't move." Morioka Michio pressed the black muzzle of his gun against the man's temple. "Stop playing those cheap tricks."

"You...what do you mean? Robbery? I don't have much money on me." Hosoya and Hong remained bent over.

Morioka Michio's voice suddenly changed to that of a girl of seventeen or eighteen, and if you listened carefully, it also had a hint of the charm of someone in their twenties or thirties. She said:

"Have you forgotten that I was the one who taught you the art of disguise, Bourbon?"

　New book, please collect, please read, please read. or2
　　If you like it, please collect it. Thank you very much.

　　Please give me all your money, bang bang bang!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)