Maori Kogoro's daily life in the science harem

The pungent smell of fire extinguisher mixed with the smell of burning made people almost suffocate, but they persisted without hesitation and suppressed the flames bit by bit.

Soon, the fire was finally completely extinguished.

The metal shell on the surface of the cabinet was burned black, the cabinet door was deformed, and the surrounding wooden boards and metals were melted by the high temperature.

There was a choking burnt smell lingering in the air, and a nauseating atmosphere permeated the scene.

"Open the cabinet!"

At Mori's order, Samezaki Shimaharu immediately stepped forward and smashed the cabinet door open with the fire extinguisher in his hand.

The cabinet door was roughly opened, and a corpse that was burned beyond recognition by flames appeared in front of everyone.

The corpse was in a strange fist-holding position, with its hands crossed in front of its chest, and the whole person seemed to be curled up in a weird posture.

The skin and clothes were burned black, and it was almost impossible to recognize their original appearance.

Only the blackened gold watch on his left wrist and the torn sweater could vaguely reveal his original outline.

"Damn it, it's all burnt."

Samezaki Shimaji squatted down and took a closer look at the charred body. A helpless expression appeared on his face and he shook his head heavily. "In this way, there is no way to know the correct time of death. We are not even sure who this body belongs to."

Mao Li also squatted down, looked at the body in front of him solemnly, and nodded slowly: "Yes, with this degree of burns, it may be difficult for the forensic doctor to make an accurate judgment. Maybe this body is Ye Caisan who disappeared from the ship."

"What? Ye Caisan?"

Hattori Heiji leaned forward and took a glimpse of the body. His brows knitted tightly together, and his tone was filled with suspicion. "But we haven't investigated it in detail yet, so it's hard to say for sure."

"Yeah, I find it suspicious too..."

Maori reached out and carefully used tweezers to move away some burnt fragments next to the corpse, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He carefully observed the curled-up posture of the corpse, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and finally shook his head, "Something is wrong, totally wrong."

"What's wrong?"

Samezaki Shimaji looked up at Maori, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Maori pointed at the corpse's arm and said, "First, look at the posture of this corpse. Normally, when a person is engulfed by flames, the muscle contraction will cause some strange distortions, but his fist-shaped posture is too deliberate, as if it was manipulated into this position. Secondly, look at the gold watch on his hand."

Maori pointed to the golden watch and said, "The surface of the strap has been burned and damaged, and the dial has also been affected by the high temperature. The pointer inside has melted, but there are no signs of struggle."

Samezaki Shimaharu's face suddenly darkened: "You mean - this person wasn't burned to death alive?"

"Yes."

Mao Li stood up and pointed to another identical locker next to the locker, his expression serious, "And, look at this locker."

Hattori and Samezaki Shimaharu followed Mori's finger.

I saw that another locker next to it was neatly locked, with a shiny copper lock hanging on the keyhole.

"Most people would not crawl into such a closed cabinet by themselves, let alone carry a lock with an external buckle."

Mao Li analyzed calmly, "This means... this person didn't come in by himself. Someone locked him in a cabinet and locked it. Then they set the cabinet on fire in an attempt to destroy all the evidence."

"So... that criminal is definitely extremely vicious."

A hint of suspicion flashed across Samezaki Shimaji's eyes.

Ebina, who was standing by, suddenly stepped forward timidly, pointing at the corpse with a pale face, "By the way, that... that person... could it be Mr. Kanie? Look at the watch on his hand. I remember when I asked him the time this morning, he was wearing this gold watch..."

"Indeed, judging from the clothes, the sweater and pants are exactly the same as what Mr. Kanie wore today." Samezaki Shimaharu came forward, took a closer look at the clothes on the corpse, and said with a frown.

Mao Li shook his head, frowning: "It is very likely not."

"The damage to the strap shows that the watch has been damaged for a long time. It is not brand new like what Mr. Kanie usually wears. And the directions of the left and right hands are reversed."

Mao Li nodded. "So, I infer that this cabinet is the tool used by the murderer to cover up the truth. And the gold watch and sweater are just a trick to confuse us."

Samezaki Shimaji was silent for a moment, staring at Maori's expression: "So where should we start, great detective?"

Mao Li did not answer immediately, but turned to look at Kujirai who was shivering not far away.

Ever since he heard Ye Caisan's name, he has been extremely uneasy, as if some shadow was looming over him.

"Perhaps, we can start with Mr. Kujirai."

Mao Li pondered for a moment, staring at Kujira Jing sharply, "He is very likely one of Ye Caisan's companions back then."

Samezaki Shimaharu immediately nodded and walked towards Kujirai with a serious expression.

However, when they tried to interrogate Kujirai, they found that he insisted that he knew nothing.

Although his expression was full of fear and anxiety, his attitude was surprisingly firm, as if he had held on to some kind of belief.

"I really don't know anything! I'm just an ordinary businessman! You can't doubt me like this!"

Although Samezaki Shimaji's threats and Mori's temptations were of no avail, Kujirai still bit his lips tightly and shook his head in denial.

Although there was fear in his eyes, his mouth was tightly closed and he refused to tell the truth.

"Speaking of which..."

At this moment, Xiaolan suddenly thought, "Mr. Kameda seems to have not appeared since he returned to the room..."

Yuanshan Heye said fearfully, "Could this body be Mr. Kameda? Should we go and see him?"

Maori and Samezaki Shimaharu, who were unable to make any progress from Kujirai, looked at each other and nodded at the same time, "Let's go find Mr. Kameda."

……

The group came to Kameda's door and knocked.

"Mr. Kameda?"

"Mr. Kameda, are you in there?"

Samezaki Shimaji called out in a deep voice, and Maori shook his head at him, "There was such a big explosion outside just now, everyone should be awake, let's go in and take a look!"

Chapter 316: Conan and Hattori's Struggle

Everyone held their breath and carefully pushed open the door. The light illuminated the room - the room was tidy and quiet, and the items placed inside showed no signs of having been touched.

The bed was empty, and there was no one in the room. The room was cold and deserted, as if no one had ever lived there, which was particularly strange.

“No one… no one is here?”

Xiaolan looked at the empty bed in the room in confusion, and looked around. There was no sign of fighting or rummaging in the room, and even the curtains were neatly drawn.

"Mr. Kameda has disappeared long ago..."

Maori whispered, a hint of alarm in his expression.

Samezakijima's face also turned gloomy, and he cursed: "How awful! Everyone, go and see if anyone has seen Mr. Kameda!"

Everyone immediately dispersed and searched along the corridor for Kameda's whereabouts.

Xiaolan and Kazuha were responsible for asking the passengers, while Isogai Nagisa and Ebina went in their respective directions to inquire about the news.

Hattori Heiji and Conan searched the crew rest area repeatedly, but still found nothing.

Soon, everyone gathered together again.

"We asked several crew members, but no one had seen Mr. Kameda."

Xiaolan shook her head with deep confusion on her face.

"and many more--"

At this moment, Yuanshan Heye suddenly thought of something and said quickly, "A waiter on the ship said that he seemed to see Mr. Kameda walking towards the engine room!"

"The computer room?" Maori and Samezaki Shimaji looked at each other, their faces becoming more serious. "Quick, go to the computer room and check it out!"

The group immediately rushed towards the engine room at the stern. After passing through a winding corridor and several steep stairs, they finally arrived in front of the engine room. The door of the engine room was ajar, and an ominous feeling enveloped everyone's heart.

Mao Li gently pushed the door open, and a bloody smell hit him. His eyes suddenly changed, and he quickly took a step forward and stepped inside.

The machine room was dark and damp, the roar of various machines was still ringing low, but on the floor of the machine room, what caught the eye was a shocking pool of blood.

The bright red blood spilled on the cold metal floor, like a withering bloody rose.

"This...this is-"

Xiaolan couldn't help but cover her mouth and screamed.

"Everyone be careful." Samezaki Shimaji looked around vigilantly, then walked to the pool of blood and took a closer look.

The blood had solidified slightly, but it still emitted a disgusting smell.

Maori squatted down and picked up a shiny object next to the bloodstain - it was an empty bullet shell. The brass shell lay quietly in his palm, as if silently telling what had just happened here.

"and this……"

Conan spotted a folded piece of paper on the floor.

He squatted down, picked up the note and unfolded it carefully.

The handwriting on the note was a little blurry, but one could vaguely make out that it said: "Meet in the computer room - Furukawa Da."

"Furukawa Dai..."

A solemn look flashed across Mao Lingli's eyes. "This man who has gathered all the people related to Jiu and Ye Cai is indeed an extraordinary mysterious man."

"Furukawa Dai must have a special meaning, so someone lured Mr. Kameda here and killed him in this name?" Hattori Heiji guessed, his face becoming very solemn.

"In any case, Kameda may have met with an accident."

Mao Li put the note away and looked around fiercely, "We must find Mr. Kameda now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Samezaki Shimaji's expression suddenly changed and he stood up abruptly: "Wait - a charred body! Go back and check if there are any bullet holes!"

Maori and his companions came to the stern again. The air was filled with a burning smell. The choking smoke had dissipated, but the suffocating feeling of burning still lingered.

The body that was burnt by the fire now lay quietly on a wet and charred deck, surrounded by ropes. Several crew members were surveying the area with solemn expressions on their faces.

Maori squatted down and stared carefully at the charred corpse in front of him. Sure enough, he found a bullet hole on the corpse.

"There are bullet holes... It's very likely that it was Mr. Kameda."

His words made the people around him come closer nervously. Xiaolan covered her mouth, while Yuanshan and Ye subconsciously took two steps back, looking at the charred corpse nervously.

"By the way...didn't you say before that this could be Mr. Kanie? Who is it?"

Xiaolan asked softly, her voice full of shock and confusion.

"No... maybe it's not that simple." Maori stood up slowly and stared at the wrist of the corpse. A thoughtful gleam flashed in his eyes. "The strap of the corpse does look like Mr. Kanie's, but that doesn't mean the corpse is him."

"That's right." Samezaki Shimajiya agreed, "We also have to consider other possibilities, such as the criminal deliberately disguising the watchband mark to look like Kanie's features in order to mislead us."

Hattori Heiji shook his head disapprovingly. "Humph, disguised as Kanie? That's too far-fetched! If it's really a disguise, then how do you explain the bullet holes on the body?"

He pointed to a small black spot on the chest of the corpse. "I just counted and there are at least three gunshot wounds on this body. Judging from the direction and position, they should have been caused by close-range shooting."

Conan sneaked up to the body, bent down, and carefully observed the location of the bullet holes.

There were three bullet holes on the body, located in the chest, abdomen and thigh, which were obviously caused by close-range shooting. But what was puzzling was that there was no blood spilling from these three bullet holes, and even the charred skin around them did not have much blood.

"Strange... these bullet holes..." Conan murmured in a low voice, his face gradually becoming solemn, "Are these bullet holes a little too neat? If it was shot at close range, the bullet holes shouldn't be like this."

"What do you mean?"

Hattori Heiji frowned when he noticed Conan's movements, "You mean, these bullet holes were not caused when he was alive?"

"That's right!"

Conan raised his head abruptly, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, "These bullet holes were probably filled after death!"

"Replaced after death?"

Hattori repeated in a low voice, with a hint of uncertainty in his tone, "But...why do you do this?"

"This is where the problem lies."

Conan stood up, pinching his chin and reasoning, "If the body was indeed killed and then the bullet holes were patched up, then this means--"

He took a deep breath, his eyes firm, "——The murderer wants to mislead us! He wants to pin the blame on this corpse for a certain identity!"

"So, Hattori, I think that the body is most likely not Kanie at all, but is disguised to look like Kanie!"

Hattori Heiji glared at Conan unconvincedly: "Then who do you think it is?"

"Kameda!" Conan said decisively, "I think this body is most likely Mr. Kameda!"

Chapter 317: The Strange Whale Well