Maori Kogoro began to understand everything

Of course, not all detectives are like that. After all, they are not presentable. For example, in the past, Mao Li himself was at most tracking and taking pictures. His daily work was looking for cats and dogs. Sometimes the money he earned was not even as much as the monthly rent of the coffee shop downstairs.

"Shh." Maori walked carefully in the corridor, looking around on both sides with the help of a flashlight, and found that talismans were pasted on almost every corner of the house, for all kinds of purposes, including exorcising evil spirits and ghosts.

"How come there are so many talismans?" Gao Mu no longer cared about the illegal intrusion. He looked around in horror, feeling a little creepy.

“It seems like they were all posted recently…”

Maori walked around in a circle. The old house had many rooms and furniture, wooden doors and windows, but he saw nothing but talismans.

"How afraid of ghosts are that couple?"

There were far more talismans in the living room than in other places, and the smiling portrait of old Mrs. Takano on the altar made Takagi feel a little uneasy.

"Detective Maori," Gao Mu didn't dare to look at the old lady's portrait, and said tightly, "You'd better go out first. You won't find out anything like this..."

"Click!" The wooden door suddenly made a sound, startling Gao Mu so much that he almost screamed out.

"What, what's wrong?"

"Boom!" The sound seemed to be just a starting signal, and the whole house began to shake violently.

Wooden doors, paper doors, tables, chairs, cabinets, the floor and ceiling... everything was shaking and bumping, with the amplitude of the vibration becoming stronger and stronger, as if it had turned into a huge dustpan.

"Earthquake?"

The old lady's portrait fell from the incense table, and her smiling face came into Takagi's sight, causing him to lose control and scream, "Detective Mori!"

"Go out first!" Maori held the door frame and saw that something was wrong, so he quickly pulled Takagi out of the house.

"What exactly is going on?"

Looking from the outside, although the shaking was not as scary as inside the house, the bricks and tiles were still vibrating violently, every tile was jumping, and the doors and windows were constantly rattling. The problem was that other houses around were safe and sound, and it was so quiet that people almost thought they were hallucinating.

Takagi panted and looked around, then looked back at the Takano family which was still "shaking".

"Ghost..."

Takagi turned to Mori with a trembling voice and said, "M-Detective Mori, this is haunted, right? Right?"

"Ghost?" Maori stared at the Takano family who were making strange noises but did not respond.

It couldn't be a ghost incident, but it was indeed inexplicable...

……

Maori Detective Agency.

"ghost……"

Mao Li muttered as he typed the key words "house shaking" and "ghost" into the computer search bar. The results were all some seemingly plausible news, some of which were directly proven to be pranks.

He witnessed what happened at the Takano family with his own eyes, so it was obviously not a prank.

But at least I know why the Takano couple would rush out at 8 o'clock in the evening and look very scared.

Mao Li turned to search for information on the resonance phenomenon.

The mysterious phenomenon caused by resonance has appeared many times in various mystery novels...

I just don't know if this time it counts...

……

The next morning, Maori checked the scene again.

I still can’t see anything special about the Takano family’s old house, it just happens to be located on the corner of the street.

Sure enough, knowing about the resonance phenomenon is one thing, but it is another to apply it in practice. Even if he has a high IQ, it is useless. Non-professionals just don't understand these things.

After walking around, Maori roughly drew the structure of the house in the notebook, and if necessary, he would ask an architectural expert for advice.

He didn't know many people in this field, and the only architectural expert he had met was Moriya Teiji, who was still in prison. Speaking of Moriya Teiji...

I think I can get in touch with the architect I met at Tokiwa Foundation last time...

Gao Mu followed Mao Li from beginning to end, watching Mao Li writing and drawing, and finally couldn't help asking: "Detective Mao Li, you don't really want to consult a physicist, do you?"

Mao Li nodded: "I have considered it."

"But, Detective Mori," said Takagi tiredly, who hadn't slept well all night because of his fear of ghosts, "it's haunted. It must be the ghost of old lady Takano..."

"Do you want a doctor to believe in ghosts?" Mao Li continued to check on his own and said calmly, "You are a police officer. If Officer Megure hears you, you might get scolded."

After hearing what Maori said, Takagi immediately quieted down and stood silently by the side.

Mao Li closed the notebook, looked at Takagi and said, "I have already asked around, and no one around here knows about the house shaking, which means that there was no such phenomenon when Mrs. Takano was still alive, otherwise she would definitely have consulted the neighbors."

"But is there any problem with this?" Takagi asked blankly.

"Of course there is a problem. The Takano couple who live here now not only put talismans in their home, but also go out with rosary beads every night. Why are they so scared?"

"Why should I? Most people are afraid of ghosts."

"If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door," Mao Li took Gao Mu back to the car listening at the intersection and said affirmatively, "They are very sure that the 'ghost' is coming for them, so why do they still live here and don't mention it to others?"

"Why?" Takagi also felt a little puzzled.

"Because they are afraid that others will know." Maori smiled.

"But the autopsy report stated that Mrs. Takano's cause of death was myocardial infarction, and there was nothing suspicious. They have no reason to be afraid, right? And if they are afraid, why don't they just move out?" Takagi asked puzzledly.

"Takagi, remember what you said?" Maori's face suddenly became serious, "Old lady Takano may have hidden all her property in the house and will not move out until she finds it... In addition, they may be afraid of something else..."

"Other things?" Takagi was a little flustered.

"Anyway, let's go to the City Hall first." Maori looked at the old house again, paused, turned around and sat in the passenger seat.

……

At the city hall, Mori and Takagi borrowed several maps of the area where the Takano family lived, including an old map from before the old lady's house was built.

No matter how the resonance phenomenon occurs, there must be a source of earthquake, but there is nothing unusual near the Takano family home, no special factories or research institutes.

As for other situations... there is a sewer hole under the old lady's house, which is the only possible factor that may cause the resonance phenomenon.

"How is it?" Gao Mu asked with concern, "Did you see anything?"

"I think there may be no need to find an architectural expert..."

Maori's eyes narrowed, and his mind worked at full speed, taking in the entire structure of the sewer route.

Keiko disappeared, old lady Takano died suddenly, there were ghosts between 8 and 9 every night, talismans were posted all over the house, and Takano couple behaved strangely...

Unlike previous cases, the criminal did not use any advanced killing methods. Instead, his crime was exposed by coincidences from physics, presenting a tragedy before him.

……

In the afternoon, Maori and Takagi continued to keep watch near Takano's house.

"Detective Maori, I have checked the area," Takagi said, opening his notebook. "On the day that old lady Takano died, Takano Masaaki bought a bag of cement outside."

"It's just like I thought." Mao Li looked at his watch. "Is everything ready?"

"It's ready." Gao Mu took out a bag from the back seat, unzipped it to reveal tools like a shovel, and said in confusion, "What do you need these things for? Do you need to go in again tonight?"

"There's no need to wait until night."

"Eh? But you tried it, and that Takano Masaaki would never let us in..."

"Hush," Mao Li cleared his throat and called the Takano family's landline. Facing a piece of marked printed material, he changed his voice and said, "Hello, I'm Takaki from Toudou Credit Bank. I hope to talk to you about Mrs. Takano's inheritance in our bank... Yes, we'll discuss the details after we meet. Please bring your ID and seal to our bank..."

Gao Mu stared blankly at Mao Li hanging up the phone: "Detective Mao Li, what was this thing you just talked about?"

"I don't understand either. Ask Yingli for it."

Mao Li looked at the complicated regulations and felt a little overwhelmed. He quickly put away the information and waited quietly: "All we can do now is wait."

"There are so many telephone scams nowadays, Detective Mori, I don't think it's possible to cheat them, right?" Takagi felt it was a bit absurd.

"If you were them, eager to move out of the house but struggling to find the property hidden in the house, and the bank staff called to mention the inheritance, what would you do?"

Mao Li smiled confidently and asked a question, pointing to the door of Takano's house where the noise came from: "Look, he's already out. He's more anxious than I thought."

"No way?" Takagi stared at Takano Masaaki after he said goodbye to his wife and hurried out with a bag on his back. "He actually believed it!"

"Takagi, you need to do more research on the psychology of these criminals... Let's go," Maori said after getting out of the car and urging him to make sure that Takano Masaaki had no intention of turning back, "We have to hurry before he reacts."

"Oh." Takagi didn't want to think anymore, so he just took his bag and followed Maori.

Compared to her vigilant husband, Masaaki Takano, the wife was much weaker. When Takagi took out his police ID and entered the house, she wanted to stop him but seemed powerless.

"Wait a minute!" The woman followed Gao Mu in panic, "What are you going to do?"

"Madam," Gao Mu looked at Mao Li, and his courage followed him, and he acted in a businesslike manner, "We received a report that there are strange noises here every night... What are these talismans?"

“This?”

"This is it," Maori rushed into the living room. It was not much different from the previous night visit, except that it looked clearer during the day and there was no such terrifying atmosphere.

The kitchens and incense halls on both sides are connected to the living room in the middle. After comparing the surrounding house structures, the location of the sewer hole was quickly found in the center of the living room.

I looked at the time again and the hands showed exactly 3 o'clock.

"It's about to begin." Maori reminded, holding the door edge.

Chapter 178 Masked Hero

"Boom!" As soon as Maori finished speaking, the whole house began to be "haunted" again, as if it had suddenly turned into a car driving on a bumpy road. Amid the violent vibrations, the old lady's portrait fell from the incense table again.

"No way?" Gao Ye's wife panicked, "Why would it happen at this time?"

"Get out!" Gao Mu took a deep breath and shouted at the woman, "Hurry up!"

The vibration lasted less than a minute before it subsided. Apart from some messy debris on the ground, it was so quiet that it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Gao Mu looked at Mao Li in doubt: "Detective Mao Li, what is going on?"

"Didn't I tell you it has nothing to do with haunting? The sewers here are connected to the nearby parts factory. They discharge hot water every night from 8 to 9 o'clock. I just asked them to try it at 3 o'clock in the afternoon."

Maori smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and moved the table in the living room. He used tools to lift up the tatami, and then removed the wooden boards underneath, revealing a dug hole and solidified cement.

"What is this?" Takagi looked down.

"That's what they're afraid of." Maori looked coldly at Takano's wife.

"Could it be..."

Takagi opened his mouth, but was speechless when he saw the silent Maori.

Although Maori did not say it explicitly, it seems difficult to have any other possibility given that the Takano couple had filled the body with cement and pasted so many talismans out of fear.

After investigating for so long, this is the final result...

……

At Kaizukakita Police Station, Naoki and his wife suppressed their sadness and followed Takagi into the morgue.

After some processing, Keiko was finally found, her body covered with a cloth lying quietly in front of Naoki and his wife.

"According to their interrogation, Mrs. Takano had a bad heart. It seemed that because of the loan sharking that day, Takano Masaaki desperately wanted to force the old lady to borrow money... When the accident happened, Miss Keiko happened to witness it..."

Mao Li stepped aside, looked at the couple who were cuddling together and sobbing, and said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, it ended up being the worst news."

With a soft sigh, Mao Li followed Takagi out of the room, leaving the space to the couple.

"Thank you, Detective Maori," the lady boss suddenly called Maori over and said while wiping her tears, "We are already very satisfied that Keiko doesn't have to be buried in that place forever."

Maori paused, nodded and said nothing.

"Detective Mori," Takagi chased after Mori and asked, "Did you know from the beginning that Keiko was buried there?"

"I just feel like they are hiding me," Maori walked straight out of the police station. "Why wasn't there an earthquake when the old lady was alive? The only possibility is that they did something to cause an earthquake afterwards...

"In order to bury the bodies, they caused changes in the environment at the entrance of the sewer hole, which coincidentally created resonance conditions."

"Resonance... It sounds very complicated. Detective Maori, are you also interested in physics and architecture?"

"No, I'm just an ordinary detective."

"Then how do you know these... resonances and stuff?"