socalfunplaces Page 215
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"How did you know there was a body in this room? And what happened to the broken glass in that window? If there was broken glass, why did you conclude it was a locked room?"
Matsuda pointed to the windows of the outer and inner rooms, each with a broken pane of glass scattered on the floor.
"We were in the courtyard when we saw that the window of the outer room had been smashed, and that's when we realized what had happened in that room."
Mori explained,
“My daughter, Ran, was outside the whole time and didn’t see anyone leave from here. The window in the inner room was broken when the servant, Mr. Sakuraba, and the young master of the Morizono family had an argument.”
"A dispute? Is it happening in front of you?"
After receiving a definite answer, Matsuda whispered a message to a passing forensic officer.
Then he squatted down and looked at the bloodstains left on the ground after the corpse was dragged.
"There are two possible scenarios: one is homicide, and the murderer set up this locked room."
Matsuda slowly said, "There is another possibility, which is a very small chance of suicide, but someone set up this secret room for some kind of benefit to disrupt our investigation."
"No matter what, there must have been someone else who entered the room before Mori and his men broke in. Finding him will make things clear."
After Matsuda finished speaking, he looked up at Megure and said,
"Is Takagi not ready yet?"
"They're here, Officer Matsuda,"
Takagi hurriedly came in from outside.
"The investigation has been completed. An hour before the incident, the servants were eating in the cafeteria and discussing tomorrow's wedding arrangements. Only these five people have no alibi."
"Oh?"
Matsuda stood up and looked at the five people beside him.
"The Morizono family consists of Mr. Mikio Morizono, the head of the Morizono family; Ms. Yurie Morizono, the eldest daughter; Mr. Kikuto Morizono, the young master; Ms. Kaede Katagiri, his fiancée; and finally, the servant, Yuji Sakuraba. There are five people in total?"
"Heh, so what kind of dispute did you have with Mr. Shigematsu Akio, the butler of this victim? The lives of the rich, tsk tsk..."
"Who are you?"
Despite being mocked by Matsuda, the head of the Morizono family was able to remain calm.
However, the young lady, Yurie, couldn't hold back and immediately came out to criticize Matsuda.
"What do you mean by this? Is this how you police officers handle cases?"
"Inspector, there are two things to do now."
Matsuda ignored Yurie and spoke directly to Megure.
"The first thing is to disperse all the reporters currently at the front gate of the Mori family's house, and prevent them from wandering around the yard. The second thing is to organize people to search for the murder weapon in the yard."
"Was the murder weapon in the yard?"
After a moment of surprise, Inspector Megure immediately nodded.
"Okay, leave this to me."
"No, let Takagi handle this. It's just a matter of chance, not a certainty that the murder weapon is in the yard."
Matsuda pulled Megure aside and whispered,
“Inspector, I need you to apply for a search warrant. Judging from how quickly Mori and his team found the body, the murderer didn't have time to destroy the murder weapon. If it wasn't in the yard, it's likely hidden somewhere in this villa. Although Mr. Morizono is understanding and won't stop us, we still need to follow the proper procedures.”
"Yes, that's right. I'll contact Inspector Matsumoto right away."
After taking a couple of steps, Inspector Megure realized something was wrong.
Turning around, I saw Matsuda directing his subordinates and the forensic team, assigning them tasks.
Does this guy think he's the person in charge here again?
"Hey, Kudo, this Officer Matsuda is quite the big shot inside the First Division."
Hattori, standing in the corner, also noticed Matsuda shouting and yelling in the crowd.
He teased Conan beside him, "No wonder I treat you like a child."
"Heh, in his eyes, you're just a brat."
Conan rolled his eyes.
"You still want him to think highly of you?"
“That’s exactly what I mean. Let’s have a competition to see who finds the murderer first,” Hattori provocatively said.
Chapter 261 Kids, go play somewhere else
"I think you're just trying to get revenge for the last incident, the blow it dealt you."
Conan chuckled, shook his head, and decided to ignore Hattori.
Just then, Denmi, who seemed to have spotted something on the inner balcony, quickly called out.
"Officer Matsuda, can you come here for a moment?"
"Look here,"
Not only Matsuda, but Hattori and Conan also joined in.
Denmi pointed to the lock on the door.
"There is a little bit of blood on this lock."
"Are these marks from contact while wearing gloves?"
Matsuda glanced at it.
"So, besides the murder weapon, there must have been a pair of gloves stained with blood. And judging from the amount of blood the victim bled, the murderer must have also been sprayed with blood."
"Kid, did you notice which of these five people changed their clothes?"
Matsuda asked Hattori and Conan, who were standing nearby.
"No,"
Hattori and Conan exchanged a glance, and both shook their heads firmly.
If not, then this was a premeditated murder?
Did the murderer change clothes and prepare gloves and weapons before coming here and killing the victim?
Matsuda then asked Tomi, "Any other discoveries?"
"some."
Denmi took out a bag containing a piece of broken glass.
"As you said, we carefully examined the door and the broken glass. This is one of the pieces, with a small hole cut into it. Judging from the shape of the fragment, the hole is on the edge of the glass, in a very hidden place."
"No matter how well hidden it is, it's not as good as a broken one. It's a pity he was disappointed."
Matsuda laughed when he saw the small hole.
"One of those two men designed this secret room. What did they say?"
Kikuto Morizono was listening to music alone in his room.
Meanwhile, Yuji Sakuraba was searching for the master's cat in the yard, and neither of them had an alibi.
"cat?"
Matsuda frowned and asked Hattori, who was standing next to him,
"Was it the cat found next to the deceased's body?"
“That’s right,” Hattori said definitively. “Kazuha was quite startled.”
At this moment, Mikio Morizono walked in and said,
“Officer, how much longer do you want Shigematsu to lie here? If possible, I would like to take his body back and arrange his funeral. After all, he was already a good friend of my wife and me before he became a butler. I think she would be very happy if he were buried next to my wife.”
At this point, Mikio Morizono's expression darkened.
"This won't do, Mr. Morizono."
Matsuda said apologetically, "At the very least, our forensic doctor will need to perform an autopsy before you can retrieve the body."
"Really? That's a shame."
Morizono Mikio sighed and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Morizono."
Matsuda stopped him, then went over and asked,
"Could you tell me about the habits of your cat?"
"Huh? Of course."
Although Morizono Mikio agreed, he still asked with doubt,
"Is this related to Shigematsu's death?"
"I just wanted to be cautious and gather more evidence."
Matsuda gave a brief explanation.
"After all, a life is at stake, so it's good to know more about the situation."
"So that's how it is. No wonder you're a famous detective."
Morizono Mikio made a polite remark,
"Tch, at a time like this, why are you irresponsibly asking about a cat?" Hattori complained to Conan.
"He must have his own ideas,"
Conan has been annoyed by Matsuda treating him like a child for a long time.
Faced with Hattori's complaints, he could only offer a perfunctory reply.
"Now we need to try from next door and see if we can jump off the balcony."
"Hey? You don't mean you want me to try it, do you?"