At 7:20 pm, the full moon was in the sky, the mist was hazy, and the courtyard was as quiet as the bottom of the abyss. There was no sign of life there, only the sound of something slippery crawling on the ground, until...
Someone started talking, and the crawling things stopped.
"Strange, there are three kinds of footprints here?"
Kidd stood under the green shadows of the trees, flapping his ears impatiently as the mosquitoes fluttered their wings, thanking nature for the gift while preparing to enjoy the buffet.
The bright white moonlight shone lightly onto the muddy ground through the sparse shadows of the leaves, where there were a series of footprints and a few ants out looking for food.
They checked four areas of bushes in the courtyard, but only found footprints in the bushes on the left and right sides.
"Judging from the size, these three footprints came from different people."
Kidd said:
"Conan found a set of separate footprints, the same as what we saw at the crime scene in the early morning. They should have been left by the criminal last night."
"And the footprints I found, one was from Rena Mizunashi's high heels, and the other was from Seiichi Naoki's sneakers, and they were of different sizes."
"It seems that we can rule out Naoki Seiichi as the suspect."
"Don't jump to conclusions."
Holding a cigarette in his mouth, Sakaki Makoto said calmly:
"This set of footprints only proves that Naoki Seiichi was not the one who invaded Okino Yoko's room last night. He cannot be ruled out as a suspect."
"you mean..."
Kidd opened his eyes wide:
"Does the criminal have an accomplice?"
"Well, maybe, maybe not."
"Can we talk without muteness?"
"Can."
Nodding, Sakaki Makoto said solemnly:
"I have three speculations now. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Come in order."
"Okay, the first hypothesis is that the criminal is an idle thief, a lone wolf. Hakone is a famous tourist attraction, and there are many thieves of this type. Yesterday, he accidentally discovered the program crew recording a program and saw Okino Yoko. He had evil intentions, so he followed you all the way back to the hotel and broke in at four in the morning when everyone was asleep. As a result, he was accidentally discovered and escaped using the method I used before. He will not come back."
Kidd and Conan looked at each other, and had to say...
Sakaki Makoto's first speculation is quite credible. The criminal's motive is very clear, and the sequence of the crimes is also reasonable. It is as ordinary as it can be.
"What about the second one?"
After thinking it over carefully, Kidd decided to listen to all three speculations before expressing his opinion.
"The second speculation is that this was a planned and premeditated theft. There was more than one criminal. They targeted an item of Okino Yoko or Mizunashi Rena. One of them infiltrated the program group as an insider, stayed in a separate room, and kept watching the door of Okino Yoko's room in the middle of the night. After seeing Mizunashi Rena go to the toilet, he sent a message to his companion, who failed to break into the room and caused a commotion. The insider rushed to the scene as soon as possible and eliminated the suspicion. The companion followed my escape method to come to his room, cleared the traces of the crime, and fled the scene during the chaos, possibly committing a second theft."
After a pause, Sakaki Makoto simply stated the last speculation:
"The third speculation is that the criminal is an undercover agent from the Black Organization who infiltrated the program group. He was alone and ambushed in the yard. After seeing Rena Mizunashi leave the room, he broke into the house and robbed it. His target was something Rena Mizunashi was carrying with her. He woke up Okino Yoko in the process of stealing. When he escaped, he noticed the mud on the soles of his shoes. He used my way back to the room, put his shoes in a plastic bag, wiped off the traces left when he fell into the house, and returned to the crime scene. He was one of the last few people to arrive at the scene. He might have committed the second theft."
After explaining the three speculations, Sakaki looked at Kidd and the other man and asked:
"Which speculation do you think is most likely?"
"Hmm..."
Kidd and Conan pondered for a while, somewhat unsure:
"If you insist, all of them are possible, but how do you explain the three types of footprints? Why did Naoki Seiichi come to the yard? Is he also trying to identify the criminal?"
Sakaki Makoto shrugged noncommittally, unable to answer the question.
The fragments of clues have not been fully collected, and the three speculations he made are not necessarily the final answers.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute..."
Kidd suddenly made a pause gesture, finally taking advantage of his IQ of 400:
"Is it possible that... Naoki Seiichi came to the yard on purpose in order to eliminate his own suspicion?"
"Eliminate yourself as a suspect?"
"Yes, the program team lost two expensive cameras before, and the culprit has not been caught yet. Naoki Kiyomi is likely the culprit who stole the cameras, but this theft was committed by someone else. Naoki Kiyomi, who originally planned to avoid the limelight, saw so many detectives on the scene and sensed danger. He chose to use this method to prove that he was not the culprit who sneaked into Okino Yoko's room last night. In this way, can't he clear himself?"
Kidd tapped the ground with his toes and said word by word:
"The most direct evidence left by the criminal is the footprints in the room. As long as Naoki Kiyoshi can prove that the footprints were not left by him, we will be safe."
"this..."
Sakaki Makoto and Conan frowned at the same time, wondering whether what Kid said was feasible.
If you want to prove whether there are loopholes in something, the easiest way is to find faults and make yourself deny this thing from the beginning. Thinking about it from another perspective often leads to unexpected surprises.
After careful consideration...
Neither Sakaki Makoto nor Conan found any loopholes, which means...
Kidd's guess is feasible.
Two thieves with different purposes, one of them deliberately left traces for the police to compare in order to prove his innocence?
Not to mention, quite smart.
pity....
He picked the wrong opponent.
"Ah, people say that the person who knows a thief best is often the thief himself. Brother Kidd, I was right about you!"
Sakaki Makoto said with great satisfaction:
"If I didn't know you well, I would have suspected that you were the one who stole the camera!"
Kidd: “….”
"I have another question!"
At this moment, Conan suddenly raised his hand and said curiously:
"If, I mean if, if Kidd's reasoning just now is correct, why would Mizunashi Rena's footprints appear?"
“It’s very simple.”
Sakaki Makoto replied:
"Because Mizunashi Rena has noticed the criminal's purpose and will never sit still and wait for death. She is most likely looking for the criminal."
"In that case..."
Conan turned off the flashlight on his watch and asked in confusion:
"Why doesn't she come to ask uncle for help?"
"Uncle is a famous detective after all!"
“No, no, no…”
Shaking his head, Sakaki Makoto smiled and said:
"A good agent will not rely on others when he senses danger. Moreover, this matter involves the Black Organization. Once Mizunashi Rena entrusts Maori Kogoro, it means dragging him into the water, which is harmful to others. Do you understand?"
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