Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 297 Do you admit to aiding and abetting a crime?
ten minutes later.

The second floor of the warehouse.

Everyone from the Takeda family was present.

"Xia Chuan boy, Anya just said you already know who the murderer is?"

Kogoro Mouri looked bewildered, not expecting Natsukawa to solve the case so quietly. He had only just figured out that it might have been an inside job.

After investigation, he confirmed that this was not the primary crime scene. The murderer deliberately knocked Shinichi Takeda unconscious, then brought him here and hanged him. He then used the strings of a marionette to entangle him, creating the illusion that the Spider Fairy had committed the murder.

"That's right!"

Xia Chuan smiled and looked at the people in the warehouse. Under their expectant and curious gazes, he slowly walked to the door.

The dilapidated door was closed.

"Crack!"

"The method of the case has to start with this wooden door; the secret of the locked-room mystery lies in this door."

"Stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me already!" Kogoro Mouri waved his hand impatiently. He had been waiting for a while, and Natsukawa was really slow.

"Okay, now please pretend that the door is still intact and lock it from the inside."

Hattori: "Kudo, I have a feeling that Natsukawa-san's reasoning is a bit unreliable."

Conan: "I feel the same way."

This pretense is too childish, isn't it? The hole in the handle really looks out of place, especially since it was made by Xia Chuan with a knee strike.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on, so I'll show you the killer's locked-room method right now!"

"Father, these are the tools you requested!"

Anya appeared at the door, panting, holding a fruit knife in her hand.

Xia Chuan took the fruit knife, approached the wooden door, and reached out to feel along the edge of the door, as if searching for something.

This immediately caught the attention of Conan and Hattori. The two went over to check and found that the door gap was crooked at the top and bottom, which was obviously due to unprofessional installation.

However, considering that the three Takeda brothers installed it themselves, it's normal that their skills were inconsistent since they weren't professional carpenters.

They had been focusing their attention on the lock, but upon seeing Xia Chuan's new approach, they immediately calmed down and waited for the results.

The next moment, the fruit knife pierced the gap between the door panel and the door frame.

The fruit knife slashed up and down, quickly penetrating deep inside.

"Natsukawa-nii, what are you doing?" Hattori asked anxiously. Wasn't this considered disturbing the scene?
However, remembering the violent knee strike the other person delivered when they opened the door, he swallowed back what he was about to say.

The fruit knife slashed at the door crack for a long time, then Xia Chuan squatted down again and found a new spot to repeat the same action.

"Very good, now it's time to witness a miracle."

Xia Chuan reached out and grabbed the wooden door, then pushed it outwards with his hands and feet.

ka ka ka-

The wooden door emitted a screeching sound before being easily pushed open.

Yes, the entire wooden door was pushed open!
"How can it be!"

The three detectives were dumbfounded, as were the others, except for one person whose expression suddenly changed and who couldn't help but clench his fist.

Conan and Heiji Hattori hurried to the door and stared intently at the crack in the door frame where Natsukawa had just made his move.

"It's glue residue!"

"The hinges on the wooden door weren't secured with screws; they were just glued on!"

Conan and Hattori Heiji both turned their gazes toward Takeda Ryuji and Takeda Yuzo.

This wooden door was installed by the three Takeda brothers. If anyone wanted to tamper with it, it would have to be one of them.

Now that the eldest brother is dead, the murderer must be either the second or third brother.

Among them, the third brother is the most suspicious!
why?
Because the other party had no alibi during the time they were looking for him, which was about 10-15 minutes, it was entirely possible that they killed Takeda Shinichi during that time and then fixed him with glue.

Then, he brazenly went to the living room to seek their help.

In this way, he can also control the time it takes for the glue to dry completely.

Moreover, this kind of glue is often used in making puppets, and it is quite normal for Takeda Yuzo to think of using this method since he inherited some of his older brother's skills.

As for the reason, it must be related to money.

The Takeda family's puppets sell for millions of yen. At least since Takeda Shinichi is dead, he is the only remaining heir to the Takeda family's puppetry techniques. His next step is to make a lot of money and marry a rich and beautiful woman.

"Hey, why are you all staring at me like that?"

Takeda Yuzo's lips twitched, and his face was extremely ugly. His second brother was boiling water at the time, and it seemed that he was the only one who was suspicious.

Moreover, no one could testify for him during the time he washed his face and looked for his older brother.

But he really wasn't the murderer!

"So you were the murderer! No wonder you told us that you didn't find anything on the second floor of the warehouse."

Hattori Heiji crossed his arms, perhaps he had misjudged the situation before. The murderer's motive was the puppet, not revenge for Misa and her daughter from three years ago. It was just a smokescreen thrown by Takeda Yuzo.

"No, it wasn't me. I thought no one was inside because the second floor was locked. I never imagined that my brother was inside. And I went to find you right away. If I were the one who did it, why didn't I choose another time instead of a time when I didn't have an alibi?"

His explanation was somewhat weak, but his will to survive was extremely strong: "Mr. Xia Chuan, it really wasn't me. I didn't do this. This kind of glue is everywhere in the house, anyone can get it."

There was no motive to kill my older brother. After I went bankrupt and returned home three years ago, he was the one who helped me the whole time. How could I possibly harm him?

His words further convinced Hattori, and even Conan felt that the culprit was likely Takeda Yuzo.

The word "bankruptcy" immediately suggests a large debt, making the reason seem plausible.

Xia Chuan waved his hand to stop Hattori: "Indeed, Mr. Yuzo is not the murderer."

"Xia Chuan, you're providing evidence that Mr. Yuzo is the murderer, but then you say he's not. What exactly do you mean by that?"

Kogoro Mori stared at Natsukawa with deadpan eyes. Although he really wanted to give his lucky buddy some face, what was going on with this contradictory reasoning?
"Let me tell you the story."

The true intentions were revealed as Xia Chuan waved his hand, firmly controlling the rhythm, and turned to look at the second brother who had remained silent until now:

“Mr. Ryuji, the reason I’m here today is because I was asked by your two daughters to investigate the deaths of Takeda Misa and Takeda Kinuyo three years ago.”

Before I came, the Sae sisters told me that when Misa died three years ago, Shinichi Takeda, her biological father, remained remarkably calm, while you, her second uncle, were extremely agitated and even fainted from crying.

"Hmm?" Takeda Ryuji raised an eyebrow, not expecting the fire to spread to him: "Misa and I have always had a good relationship. I don't care what my brother is like, but I am truly saddened by Misa's death. Is that not allowed?"

"Really?" Natsukawa suddenly said, "I thought Takeda Misa was actually your daughter."

"What do you mean by that!"

Ryuji Takeda flew into a rage, his voice rising several decibels. He clenched his fists and took a step forward. If he hadn't suddenly remembered that the warehouse door had been opened by Natsukawa with a knee strike, he would have wanted to give Natsukawa a good whack right now.

"Misa, Sae, Emi, don't you think your three children's names are meaningful?"

"My mother chose this name for me. Is there a problem?" Takeda Yuzo looked bewildered. It's actually normal for the first and last characters of a name to be connected.

Xia Chuan turned to look at the three brothers' mother, Takeda Chie, "Madam, do you have any explanation for this?"

The old lady remained silent.

However, silence is the best answer.

"How can this be."

Yoko Takeda originally came to observe the situation; she was taking a bath, and Ryuji Takeda was boiling water. Neither of them was suspected of committing the crime. Unexpectedly, before the culprit was even identified, Natsukawa dropped a bombshell.

“Mr. Natsukawa, you have only been at the Takeda family for less than half a day and do not know much about our family’s affairs, so please do not speak carelessly.”

That's what she said, but Yoko Takeda's expression had already turned quite unpleasant. Tomoe Takeda's indifference to this spoke volumes.

However, she still refused to believe it.

The two had been married for ten years. Ryuji Takeda was definitely a good man. Even though his family was not well-off, he never let his wife suffer any grievances. How could he do such a thing?

Xiaolan and Heye looked at each other, their thoughts were different from others.

If this were true, it would be terrifying!

Misa died at the age of nineteen. If we convert that to time, it's estimated that Ryuji Takeda got his sister-in-law pregnant about twenty-three years ago!
The two women blushed, glanced at the tense situation, and pulled Anya, who had already started eating sunflower seeds, away from the scene.

"Sister Xiaolan, I want to hear more!"

Anya is struggling, she doesn't want to miss out on such a big juicy story!
"Children shouldn't listen to so much useless stuff."

Ran would never agree to that. Conan is with Hattori and she can't reach him, but Anya is right next to her. She definitely can't let the innocent elementary school student hear such explosive 18+ content.

No, this kind of content would be incredibly explosive even in the adult world.

No one paid attention to their actions; everyone was absorbed in Xia Chuan's reasoning.

"Only you and Mr. Yuzo could have done this, but Mr. Yuzo could not be the murderer, because he had no reason to lay a hand on Mr. Shinichi and Mr. Negishi."

As Misa's father, you must know some inside information, and I think you probably know the real cause of Misa's death back then.

You said you were in the boiler room during the time Mr. Shinichi died, so that can of glue couldn't have been thrown away by someone else. If someone else threw it away, where were you at the time?

Ryuji Takeda lowered his head and remained silent, as if he were not the one accused of being the murderer.

"There's another important clue. We only found a burnt glue can in the boiler room. I'm sure you didn't dare to throw away the screws that were removed. If we take these for testing, we can determine whether they match the hinge pin of the wooden door by looking at the screw threads."

With the last piece of evidence already guessed, Ryuji Takeda stopped hiding.

Several screws appeared in his hand.

blah blah blah!
As the screw fell to the ground, Ryuji Takeda slowly raised his head and began to recount the facts of the crime with a blank expression.

"I originally thought this method would be foolproof, since it had succeeded once three days ago, but I didn't expect it still couldn't be kept secret."

Conan and his friends were fine; this was just a glimpse into their lives. But in the eyes of Ryuji Takeda's wife, it was blatant betrayal!
"Long Er."

Seeing his wife's eyes instantly redden, Ryuji Takeda could only manage a wry smile.

The sobbing lasted for a minute before Ryuji Takeda finally couldn't help but explain:

"Actually, it was Kinuyo's request, and I didn't know you at that time. Because she and her older brother were unable to have children, they had no choice but to ask me for help. Kinuyo had always taken good care of me at home, and I simply couldn't refuse her at that time."

However, I swear, I only did it once, but it was only that one time that Kinuyo became pregnant with my child, Misa.

This matter has always been buried deep in my heart; I've never told anyone. I intended to keep this secret until I died, but unexpectedly, Misa died before me, a parent outliving their child.

"But how did Mother find out? Didn't Second Brother say that only you and Sister-in-law knew about this?"

Yuzo Takeda was completely bewildered. How did his mother find out? This was against human ethics, and the two of them should have kept quiet. There shouldn't have been a third person who knew.

My mother knew but never said anything; she only tampered with the name.

"How could I not see it!"

Chie Takeda's face was full of wrinkles, making it difficult to discern her expression. Her voice was very indifferent. "When Shinichi was young, he had a physical examination and was diagnosed with infertility. I begged the doctor to conceal the fact that I was infertile."

At that time, he was just about to inherit his family's puppet-making skills. I didn't want him to be affected by other things, so I kept it a secret until his wedding.

When Kinu became pregnant using a surrogate, I initially thought it was a misdiagnosis by the doctor. I didn't say anything about it until Misa was born. The joy Ryuji showed made me realize the reason for Kinu's pregnancy.

"So why did Mr. Ryuji kill Mr. Shinichi? What are the hidden reasons behind Misa's suicide?"

Robert Taylor had absolutely no interest in the affairs of the Takeda family. Even if things exploded, it shouldn't have resulted in Misa's death. At most, her father would become her uncle and her second uncle would become her biological father.

Upon hearing Misa's name, Ryuji Takeda's expression gradually turned ferocious.

"I only found out about this when I overheard Negishi and my older brother talking about it while they were drinking a few days ago. Before that, I always thought Misa committed suicide."

Ryuji Takeda learned this from their conversation.

Three years ago, Shinichi Takeda happened to be drinking with the doctor who had given him his medical check-up years ago. The doctor, who was drunk, accidentally let slip that Shinichi Takeda was infertile.

Knowing that he was infertile, yet his wife gave birth to a daughter, anyone with a brain would know there was something wrong.

Immediately afterwards, Shinichi Takeda began to abuse his wife, wanting to find out who the adulterer was. However, his wife remained silent about it, and he was unable to find out who the adulterer was.

Therefore, Shinichi Takeda, as the head of the family, began to abuse his daughter as well, in order to avenge his wife's betrayal.

It was alright when Robert Taylor was around, since there were outsiders present, and Shinichi Takeda didn't dare to go too far.

After this only outsider left, Shinichi Takeda could no longer suppress his anger. Torture and domestic violence were not enough. One day, at Negishi's instigation, he raped his nominal daughter.

Unable to bear the humiliation inflicted upon her by her father, she chose to end her life.

This is the whole reason why Misa Takeda committed suicide.

A few days later, Kinuyo Takeda, unable to face reality after learning the truth, chose to follow her daughter in death.

"This is what I overheard that day. Those two beasts were drinking and didn't even notice me eavesdropping. They were actually drinking and mocking Misa for being a bastard, which is something I can't tolerate."

So, the next day, taking advantage of the fact that only Negishi was home, I killed him, and then planned today's murder.

The story was so shocking that even the experienced Kogoro Mouri was speechless; it was too melodramatic and chaotic.

Ryuji Takeda called his elder brother a beast, but little did he know that he himself was no better, having slept with his sister-in-law and then killed two people.

"Actually, there's another thing I'm curious about."

Xia Chuan turned to look at the old lady: "Why did you help Mr. Long Er give false testimony? Emotionally, they are both your sons. Logically, if you hadn't concealed it back then, none of this would have happened."

"This has absolutely nothing to do with my mother; it's all my fault!"

Ryuji Takeda was extremely agitated. He rushed towards Natsukawa, grabbed her collar, and roared, "My mother is seventy-one years old! Don't slander her!"

Xia Chuan smiled, revealing her white teeth, "I wasn't asking you."

Ryuji Takeda saw no goodwill in the smile and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The next moment, he felt his arm being twisted, and his whole body lost the effect of gravity.

This state lasted less than a second before he felt his body falling, followed by a sharp pain in his back as he landed on his back on the wooden floor.

“Speak properly, why resort to violence? Our reasoning is based on evidence. Even if you want to refute, shouldn’t you provide evidence?”

The three detectives nodded in unison; that was indeed true.

"But there's no need to use so much force." Kogoro Mouri is a master of back throws. Judging from the force just now, if he had used any more force, he probably would have broken two ribs.

"I understand. Uncle Mori is much more professional. I, a half-baked detective, still couldn't have considered everything."

Xia Chuan scratched his head and apologized to the corpse of Takeda Ryuji lying on the ground, then his expression turned serious: "Ms. Takeda Chie, do you admit to aiding and abetting the crime?"

Chie Takeda sighed: "It was me, no doubt."

"What is that?" Kogoro Mouri asked, looking puzzled.

This case should be something one person could handle.

"It's boiling water, right?" Hattori suddenly realized: "When Mr. Ryuji was doing it, Ms. Takeda Chie was boiling the water for him."

"But why? They're both your sons." Conan asked.

Helping the second son kill the eldest son is absolutely outrageous.

"Perhaps it's to atone for my sins. — I may have been wrong, but it's equally unforgivable that I drove my wife and daughter to their deaths."

Chie Takeda shook her head with a bitter smile. It was all because of her. If she hadn't hidden Shinichi Takeda's infertility from him, perhaps none of this would have happened.

(End of this chapter)