"The knot in the light cord?"

This was something Guangyou hadn't expected at all.

It's just a knot, what's so strange about it?

However, Conan must have his reasons for saying that, and Mitsuyu wouldn't do something like refuting someone without even reading the whole thing.

Conan was referring to the light cord in the living room.

So Guangyou raised his head, his gaze slowly moving upwards, finally landing on the light cord.

The lights were dazzling, and from below, all that could be seen was a small dark shadow on the light cord. Guangyou couldn't quite make out what the knot looked like.

Unable to discern the knot's pattern, Kōyū naturally couldn't understand why Conan said the knot was somewhat strange.

Standing up would probably be fine, but Uncle Mori and Hiroto Akashi were chatting at the moment, so it would be rather abrupt for him to stand up suddenly.

After thinking it over, Guangyou decided to put the matter of the knot aside for the time being, as there would be plenty of time to deal with it later.

"Hmm." Conan squinted, looking at the knot on the light cord under the lamplight. "This matter is definitely not as simple as it seems."

"There's definitely something I haven't discovered yet hidden behind this."

At this moment, Conan seemed like the protagonist of a Japanese manga, his whole body enveloped in an aura of "confidence".

It gives people the feeling that what he says is absolutely correct.

Um...

No, Conan's initial impression in Kouyu's mind was indeed that he was the protagonist of the manga.

...

There are still many doubts surrounding the case:

Even though Ran was busy cleaning the kitchen, I made her collect the dishes instead of Sonoko. Later, when I had some free time, I still made Ran do it...

The light cord in the bedroom was shorter than those in the other rooms...

The blood flowing from the corpse's mouth and the so-called treatment for tooth decay...

That pot of excessively spicy curry...

The knot on the light cord in the living room...

There are perhaps some details that Guangyou and the others haven't noticed...

The case at this point can be described in one word:

There are many suspicious points.

This is the current status of the case.

The good news is that although there are many suspicious points and they still have no clue, there is only one suspect at present.

Unlike the previous case where there was a choice between three suspects, this case is different.

This case is either a suicide or Hiroto Akashi is the murderer.

The possibility of an outsider committing the crime cannot be ruled out, but given the location of the house and the social circles of the Akashi father and son, this is likely to be a significant factor.

This possibility is extremely small.

It's as unlikely as being caught cheating on a test by a teacher, only to find that the teacher not only isn't angry or contacting your parents, but also doesn't cancel your grade.

Police searched the house thoroughly for clues.

Meanwhile, Guangyou and his group, who were involved in the case, sat in the living room, drinking tea, chatting, and eating snacks, living a comfortable life.

Of course, Ming Shi Kuanren was not included in Guangyou's group.

After all, her father had only been dead for a few hours. If she acted like nothing had happened, that would really be... tsk tsk tsk.

Once the door was closed, it was as if what was happening outside the living room had nothing to do with them anymore.

In reality, even if they wanted to help, they couldn't:

With no clues and no ideas, they were just one step away from becoming "three-no" individuals (no identity, no job, no contact information).

They'd only cause trouble if they went out; they'd be better off sitting in the living room, drinking tea, having snacks, chatting, and then waiting for the final investigation results.

But they don't actively seek out people; yet, some people actively seek them out.

Just as everyone was comfortably drinking hot tea and chatting with snacks, the rookie police officer from Gunma Prefecture—Yamamura Misao—came to find them.

"I'm Yamamura, the one in charge of this case..." Yamamura Misao pushed open the door, first stating his identity, and then continued.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt you all?"

"What's wrong, Officer Yamamura? Has there been a breakthrough in the case?" Uncle Mori put down his teacup, turned to look at Yamamura Misao who had opened the door, and asked.

"Not yet." Yamamura Misao scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

"So, you are..." Uncle Mori continued, "do you have something to ask us?"

“Yes.” Yamamura Misao nodded, remembering the purpose of his visit, and said, “I do have something I would like to ask Mr. Hiroto. I wonder if it is convenient for me now.”

In order not to be confused with the deceased Akashi Takeo, Yamamura Misao, like Uncle Mori, referred to Akishiro Hiroto in this way.

Hearing this, Kōyū looked up at Yamamura Misao and raised an eyebrow. "Is there a new discovery?"

While waiting for Yamamura to ask questions, he reached into the plate in the middle of the table and took out two dorayaki.

He tore one open and handed it to Ai, while he ate the other himself.

After receiving the dorayaki, Ai picked up the teapot on the table and filled Kōyū's cup with tea.

"Excuse me, Officer Yamamura, what can I do for you?" Akashi Hiroto turned to look at Yamamura Misao and asked.

Without further ado, Yamamura Misao cut to the chase and asked:

“We found strangulation marks on your father’s wrists. Do you know what caused those marks?”

"Hmm? Marks from being strangled?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Mori immediately realized something was wrong. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, looked up at Yamamura Misao, and asked seriously,

Is this true?

“Yes,” Yamamura Misao nodded. “It looks like his hands are tied with rope by someone.”

As he spoke, his thoughts drifted to his own pocket.

Thinking that this case didn't seem like a suicide, and imagining that I might soon witness a live deduction show by "Sleeping Kogoro"...

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