Fujiwara Yu, who had some suspicions about Ashiya Eiko, continued to examine the victim's body. A sharp dagger was found stuck in the heart. Judging from the penetration of the blade, the entire heart should have been pierced by the dagger.

You have to know that people whose hearts are pierced by sharp weapons may not be able to survive even if they receive timely surgical treatment. Therefore, when no other wounds are found in other parts of the body, it can be determined that the cause of death was a fatal knife that penetrated the heart.

Takagi Wataru, who was checking the footprints on the ground, thought they were very strange. He took out a leather measuring tape and repeatedly measured the size of the footprints. He quickly squatted next to Takagi Sosuke and whispered in his ear:

"Officer Takashi, I find the murderer's footprints strange. Based on the size 42 shoes, it's more likely the murderer is male, and men who wear that size shoe are generally around 1.75 meters tall. Based on this inference, the stride length doesn't fit the previous two inferences, but the murderer's stride length makes it more likely she's female."

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Yuu couldn't help but look at the footprints on the carpet that were so deliberate. If the murderer was really a robber, how could he only move around in this area? But from the trajectory of his movements, it was not difficult to see that the murderer deliberately created these footprints in order to make the police think that the murderer was a robber who broke into the house.

He leaned over and pointed at one of the footprints, explaining to Takagi Wataru:

"Takagi, you've overlooked one point... What if the owner of these footprints is indeed a woman? She might even be less than 1.75 meters tall."

"A woman less than 1.75 meters tall wears a size 42 shoe?" Takagi Shigeru pondered for a moment. He quickly caught the clue in Takashi Sosuke's words and suddenly realized, "Inspector, it's small feet wearing big shoes!"

Only if the murderer had small feet and wore large shoes would his steps be shortened and the edges of his footprints incomplete.

After all, it's awkward to walk in shoes that don't fit, not to mention that the murderer deliberately chose shoes that were much larger than hers... It can be said that she was really greedy.

Takagi Wataru's words also successfully attracted the attention of Ashiya Eiko. After hearing these words, her face gradually became ugly, and one could even feel that she was very anxious, so anxious that she couldn't help biting her fingernails.

Kudo Shinichi, who was standing nearby, also observed the change in Ashiya Eiko's expression and was now even more certain that the murderer was Ashiya Eiko. However, he still did not have the key evidence and could not deduce how the murderer could have traveled back and forth between the eighth and fifteenth floors in just one minute.

Even if she took the elevator, a round trip would take about four minutes, not to mention that she had an alibi at the time. She and the victim, Mika Taniguchi, entered a different elevator, and the one she used was the president's elevator, which could only go directly to the 15th floor.

Kudo Shinichi frowned in confusion. How did the murderer shorten the elevator ride by three minutes?

"Shinichi, are you suspecting Miss Ashiya?" Ran Mouri noticed that her childhood sweetheart's eyes would fall on Ashiya Eiko from time to time. According to her understanding of Shinichi, the fact that he could frequently pay attention to one person at the crime scene must be because there was a high possibility that the other person was the murderer.

Kudo Shinichi nodded slightly, holding his chin in a thoughtful gesture, and said softly:

"Well, you heard what the police officer said just now, didn't you? Small feet wearing big shoes... This shows that the murderer deliberately created the illusion of robbery and murder. And, Ran, have you forgotten what Miss Ashiya said to the security guard, Mr. Eda, when she hurriedly ran out of the elevator?"

"I remember that Miss Ashiya seemed to have hurried downstairs to ask Mr. Eda to go upstairs to check because Miss Taniguchi didn't answer the phone?" Mao Lilan tried hard to recall the scene at that time. Now thinking about it, it was really strange. Why was she so nervous when Miss Taniguchi just didn't answer the phone? It was as if she already knew that something had happened to Miss Taniguchi.

"Yes, all her actions were so deliberate. Like when she was leading us to find the body, and when she found Miss Taniguchi's body, she was able to quickly notice the footprints on the carpet and determine that the murderer was a robber. Don't you think this is a strange reaction for ordinary people who have never been to a crime scene?"

Ran Mouri nodded vigorously in agreement with Kudo Shinichi's inference. She thought about the first time she saw the body at the ski resort. She was so scared that she could only scream and tremble. She even lost the ability to think for a short time, let alone notice the changes in the surrounding environment.

"Since you find it strange, Kudo, could you go to the fifteenth floor for me? There are some things I want to confirm."

Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran turned around at the same time to look at Sosuke Takagi who was standing behind them without them knowing when. They even complained in their hearts: Does this guy walk without making any sound?

Kudo Shinichi tilted his head in confusion, raised his brows and asked curiously:

"Officer Ying Si, why don't you go yourself? Didn't you tell me not to approach the crime scene without permission?"

This kid is really not cute at all. He looks like an "annoying" detective when he keeps asking questions.

Fujiwara Yuu glared at Kudo Shinichi with half-moon eyes and silently deducted two points from his impression of him. He couldn't possibly tell anyone that he had a fear of elevators, so he had to lie without blushing or beating his heart:

"Because I already know the murderer's method, I want you to go to the fifteenth floor and help me confirm whether there are any signs of tape on the buttons of the middle elevator."

"Huh?" Kudo Shinichi didn't expect that Sosuke Takagi had deduced the murderer's method less than half an hour after arriving at the crime scene, but after hearing what Officer Takagi said, he quickly realized the significance of checking the buttons.

So that's how the murderer used that method. No wonder the victim fell outside the elevator.

"No problem, do you need help taking a picture?"

Kudo Shinichi curled his lips confidently. He was not discouraged by his slow reasoning. Instead, he felt that having such a strong opponent would arouse his desire for challenge.

Besides, Sosuke Takagi is an elite in the police force, and I'm just a freshman in high school. Being able to boldly deduce the circumstances of a case at the scene is something many people cannot do. I'm already good enough, so there's no need to feel frustrated.

Fujiwara Yuu naturally knew that his simple reminder would make Kudo Shinichi react to the murderer's method. He still admired this young detective who loved reasoning and looked forward to his growth. If he became a policeman instead of a detective in the future, he would probably become a celebrity in the police force.

"Of course I do. Thank you for your help, Kudo."

"Hey, you're welcome, just buy me and Ran a drink later!"

When Fujiwara Yu saw Kudo Shinichi running into the middle elevator full of energy, his serious expression relaxed a little, and there was a hint of helplessness in his tone, but it could also be seen that he doted on Kudo, just like an older brother treats his younger brother.

Single children always fantasize about having a partner, and Fujiwara is no exception.

"...This brat is really not polite at all."