Conan: The Heart Thief

Lin Xiao waved his hands and explained, "You have a preconceived notion... I have never seen anyone commit suicide without shoes when jumping off a building." At this point, he smiled helplessly, "But it's not your fault. They are all made up by movies and TV dramas, but the influence is profound. Just because the shoes were placed neatly on the roof, you firmly believe that it was suicide. This kind of thing is too common in mystery dramas, just like people who hang themselves will bleed from the corners of their mouths. It's also a lie."

The three people were stunned when they heard this.

Beside him, Masumi Sera said, "Besides that, I just heard your conversation. You also said that the victim was drunk and asked you to give him some time to sober up. Do you think that in such a state where he couldn't even walk steadily, he could take off his clothes and put his shoes neatly on top? Of course, it is not ruled out that it might be an unrelated person who put them in place for various psychological reasons, but look at the victim below..."

Sera Masamune spread his hands and said, "It's easy to conclude that these shoes were placed there by the murderer to pretend that the victim committed suicide...right, Detective Hayashi?"

Lin Xiao nodded silently.

"Then, where is the murderer?" asked Mrs. Huachuan.

"They will be caught soon," said Sera Masumi. "Before we took the elevator, Detective Lin had the security guards guard the stairs and the elevator. No one will be able to take the opportunity to escape."

"Who are you?" The three people looked at the two young men and didn't know what to say.

Lin Xiao said: "I am a detective!"

Masumi Sera said, “I’m also a detective.”

Masumi Sera's detective identity is self-proclaimed, while Lin Xiao's detective identity is certified by the Metropolitan Police Department.

When Lin Xiao and Sera Masumi went downstairs and saw Inspector Megure and his men who had already rushed over, they were surprised by the news they received.

"Huh? No one's coming downstairs?"

"Yes," Inspector Megure nodded and said, "In fact, apart from the deceased, no one else lives in this building."

"Why?" Lin Xiao didn't understand. Why wasn't anyone living in such a big building?

"It is said that it was for decoration." Inspector Megure explained casually, "The deceased Mr. Uezumi Sadago was the son of the owner of the Haido Hotel. I heard that he was allowed to use one of the rooms as an exception to avoid the paparazzi."

Shiliang asked curiously, "Is he a celebrity?"

Inspector Megure laughed sarcastically and said, "He's considered a celebrity, right? He was once arrested as the mastermind of illegal fund-raising, but was released due to insufficient evidence. Now he's being harassed by a weekly magazine!"

Officer Takagi added, "In fact, he seems to have been found by the paparazzi, and he has been making a lot of trouble. And because this Kamizumi Sadatsugu is such an arrogant guy, the Haido Hotel can no longer bear it. There is news that the reason why the annex was renovated is to take the opportunity to drive him abroad."

The three witnesses nearby also said that they were the victims and rushed over after hearing the rumor. They did not ask for anything else, just an apology from him before he fled abroad!

Inspector Megure turned around and began to question the witnesses.

Just like Mrs. Huachuan said, they were all victims of illegal fund-raising by Sadaji Kamizumi, and they came here just to ask for an apology.

After arriving here, Mrs. Huachuan first went to Kamizumi Sadajiro's room, where he was drunk. He then cried and said he wanted to confess his guilt and apologize, and asked for some time to sober up. Then she left the room and joined the other two.

Because the three people planned to record the confession of Kamizumi Sadajū, they prepared to buy a tape recorder, but... just as they were reversing, Kamizumi Sadajū fell headfirst in front of their car!

At this point, Xiaolan and Sonoko can testify that they had been watching the car and the body at the crime scene to ensure that no one had approached, which eliminated the possibility that the three people might have tampered with the body.

In other words...if the car and the body had really been tampered with, the traces would definitely still be there!

Officer Takagi quickly sent someone to investigate.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao asked, "Is there really no one in the annex? Didn't the surveillance camera see anything?"

Officer Takagi was very upset. "The surveillance cameras have been sprayed with paint by Kamizumi Sadajū. It's completely black!"

The corner of Lin Xiao's mouth twitched. Just by hearing this, he could imagine what kind of fuss Shangzhu Zhenci had made.

However, it was also for this reason that the villa became a secret box, providing an opportunity for the criminals to take advantage of it.

Just then, Lin Xiao discovered that Xiaolan had a strange expression on her face while she was talking to Yuanzi.

"Xiaolan, what's wrong?"

"Uh..." Lan looked over with a frightened expression.

Lin Xiao saw the problem at a glance and couldn't help but sigh, "Yuanzi, don't scare Lan!"

Yuanzi pursed her lips and said, "I didn't scare Lan. I just heard some rumors about the villa from the security guard."

"Rumors about the annex? What rumors?" Inspector Megure also looked over curiously.

Yuanzi laughed and said, "It is said that the villa is haunted!"

"What?" Inspector Megure frowned, "There is such a rumor?"

Lin Xiao was sensitive enough to notice that the three people beside him also had strange expressions, so he asked coldly, "Do you know anything too?"

The three men turned pale and said in horror, "A ghost! Someone saw an empty old man's wheelchair wandering around the annex in the middle of the night!"

"Huh?" Lan was startled.

Inspector Megure was also very upset and said, "Look, if there was no one there, how did you know it was a ghost?"

Mrs. Huachuan said, "That was my father... My mother was involved in an illegal fund-raising scam and was hospitalized because of the severe physical trauma. My father, who was suffering from cancer and didn't have much time left, came to the annex and booked a room. He went to ask him every day, 'I don't ask you to pay me back, I just ask you to apologize to my wife.' But my mother died in the hospital, and my father hanged himself that night. Because my father was using a wheelchair rented from the hotel, there were such rumors..."

Everyone felt a little scared after hearing this. Xiaolan, who was already very afraid of ghosts, stuck to Lin Xiao tightly.

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes. He was not wrong. Mrs. Huachuan had a deep hatred towards Shangzhu Zhenci, but there was also a hint of pleasure that she could not conceal. Well, was it really as he guessed?

At this moment, Officer Chiba reported to Lin Xiao that he found a strange wheelchair on the second floor of the hotel. The wheelchair was still spinning when he found it!

Officer Takagi turned to Mrs. Huachuan and asked, "Uh...which floor did your father live on?"

"Second floor..."

Xiaolan became even more frightened. Lin Xiao shook his head with a smile on his face, hugged Xiaolan, and left with Inspector Megure and the others.

Yuan Zi, who was standing next to him, was very upset: "Are you going to ignore me so directly?"

When Lin Xiao and Inspector Megure and his team hurriedly arrived at the second floor of the annex, Officer Chiba had been waiting for a long time.

As soon as they came in, they found that the walls on the second floor were in a mess and really needed to be renovated.

When they got closer, Officer Chiba asked them to take a look at the strange wheelchair, saying that it was strange not only because it was moving around, but also because there were fishing lines wrapped around the wheels, several cut rubber bands, and there were traces of collisions on the pedals.

The most puzzling thing is that this wheelchair seems to be made by Sadaji Kamijuma himself for fun, because his legs and feet are not injured.

Inspector Megure looked for a long time but didn't find anything too strange, so he looked at Lin Xiao for help.

"Brother Lin, what do you think?"

"This shouldn't be the crime scene," Lin Xiao scratched his head and frowned slightly. He looked around and shook his head slightly, "Besides this place, is there anything else strange in this villa?"

Inspector Megure said, "Let me ask first."

The feedback was that the villa itself was quite strange, and there was nothing relatively strange to find.

Lin Xiao was helpless and said, "Then why don't we go around one by one? It won't waste much time anyway."

The next few floors were empty and I didn't notice anything strange until I reached the sixth floor.

This is where Sadaji Kamizumi lived.

It was such a mess inside. The windows were broken and there were all kinds of paint cans lying around. The paint on the walls was still quite fresh. It was obvious that this gentleman had not been idle at all when he lived there.

Shira Masumi, who was following Lin Xiao, reminded him, "It is said that this window was broken by Kamizumi Sadatsugu himself."

Lin Xiao answered the question irrelevantly: "Be careful, this is the sixth floor! There are no windows next to it!"

Masamune Sera waved his hands, not caring at all.

Lin Xiao just glanced around, but suddenly he noticed that there was a lot of paint on the wall below the window, and it was all dried. The paint bucket next to it looked like it had been hit by something...

"...So that's how it is, the principle of leverage!" Lin Xiao finally understood the criminal's modus operandi.

"Detective Lin, you know the truth so quickly?" Sera Masumi was amazed.

"Yeah. Just a simple little trick."

"That's it!"

Lin Xiao's detective talent made Sera Masumi admire him. The reason why Sera Masumi transferred to Teitan High School was to become Lin Xiao's classmate and to worship Lin Xiao as his teacher.

Chapter 167 I want to meet Sera Masumi's mother

After the incident was resolved, Sonoko treated the other three to a luxurious buffet.

For Masumi Sera, making friends in class before officially entering school was a good start.

but……

The relationship between Yuanzi, Xiaolan and Lin Xiao is so good that she feels weird.

I saw Yuanzi, Xiaolan and Lin Xiao had different foods on their plates. They shared the food they had chosen with each other, doing things that only lovers would do.

"Are they dating? No, three people can't be dating at the same time!"

Masumi Sera was puzzled and didn't figure out the answer to the question until he returned to the hotel he rented.

"I am back."

"Zhenchun, you came back so late. It seems you had a lot of fun!" The girl who was sitting on the sofa and watching TV coughed lightly a few times, raised her eyebrows and looked at her daughter.

"Mom, I happened to meet the high school detective Lin Xiao today." Sera Masumi couldn't help but tell her mother Akai Mari what happened today.

Akai Mari said: "You solved the case quickly without any delay. Your reasoning ability is well-deserved for the title of high school detective. It's really unlike you, Masumi, to idolize an idol and transfer to his class."

Shira Masumi said: "I'm not a fan, I want to worship Lin Xiao as my master and become a great detective."

Akai Mary asked curiously: "I thought you were fascinated by him and wanted to pursue him."

Shira Masumi's face turned red: "What are you talking about? How is it possible!"

"And..." Sera Masumi looked at her breasts. They were not as big as her mother's who had grown into a girl. Lin Xiao probably wouldn't like her flat breasts.

Akai Mari saw through her daughter's worries: "Majun, you don't need to worry too much. You are my daughter. You inherited my genes and you will grow up."

"Yes. Mom is a giant. Even if I can't be as big as her in the future, I won't be too small."

"That's it. Masumi, you have to be more confident. If it's a boy you like, you should take the initiative."

"Mom, stop teasing me. I didn't mean that... Besides..."

Masumi Sera thought that since Lin Xiao already had Xiaolan and Sonoko by his side, she had no chance.

"Cough cough cough..."

Suddenly, Akai Mary coughed painfully and felt something was wrong.

Sera Masumi quickly stepped forward and asked, "Mom, are you still feeling unwell?"

"Yeah...it's better than dying..." Akai Mary replied weakly.

……