After detaining the two people in two different rooms, Fang Zheng did not interrogate them immediately. Instead, he first found the old lady and asked her about the two people's situation and accommodation records, and then brought Xiaolan to the front of the room.

"Okay, Mira, go wait for me outside that room."

"clear."

Mira nodded, and ran to the door of another room where prisoners were held with a smile. Xiaolan watched her leave and suddenly realized something.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, you are planning to use that trick, right?"

"Which one?"

"That's the one that makes the two prisoners suspicious of each other, each suspecting that the other confessed first..."

"You mean the prisoner's dilemma?"

Fang Zheng thought about it for a moment and nodded.

“Yes, the prisoner’s dilemma is useful in certain situations, but not in this case.”

"Yeah?"

Xiaolan was somewhat surprised to hear Fang Zheng's answer.

"Yes, we all know that the two men's abnormal reactions mean that they must have some connection with the victim, but they definitely didn't kill anyone. Because of this, they don't need to care whether the other party will confess any secrets. On the contrary, if you go in and use this trick to deceive them, anyone who is not stupid will understand that you are fooling people."

“Is that so…”

"Come with me, and I'll show you how the police interrogate prisoners."

Fang Zheng gestured to Xiaolan, then opened the door and walked into the room.

The one locked in this room was the short and fat man. He was handcuffed to a chair and was obviously very uncomfortable. When he saw Fang Zheng and Xiao Lan come in, the short and fat man also showed an unhappy expression on his face.

"I say, why are you holding me here? Be careful or I'll sue you!"

"It is only natural that a criminal in flagrante delicto should be handcuffed. Okay, please wait a moment."

Fang Zheng moved the table over and placed it in front of him, then took two chairs, placed one in front of Xiaolan and sat on the other, then he took out the camera and blank videotape he got from the deceased, and placed them on the table and opened them. Seeing this scene, the short and fat man couldn't help but get a little nervous.

"You, what are you doing?"

"trial."

Fang Zheng pointed at the table, motioned for Xiaolan to sit down, then looked at the short and fat man with a smile.

"You haven't experienced an interrogation yet, right? Let me tell you, this is a formal process. This lady will be responsible for taking notes here - that is, recording what is said between you and me, and the camera will record the entire interrogation process. In this way, when we go to court, there will be enough evidence to prove the prosecution's proposal... Do you understand?"

"Don't scare me! What court? I won't fall for it!"

Although the short fat man was also yelling, his expression when he looked at the camera became much more nervous, while Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and had no intention of arguing with him. He just fiddled with the camera and then pressed the start button.

"Okay, then... let's get started. First, your name, gender, occupation, and age."

The short and fat man was obviously unwilling to answer, but the certificate in Fang Zheng's hand made him a little nervous, so after hesitating for a long time, he finally answered Fang Zheng's question while mumbling, and Xiaolan also carefully wrote down the other party's answer.

"Well, my next question is, why did you break into someone else's room and commit theft?"

"Didn't I tell you that we are just looking for evidence of that woman's murder?"

“That’s really interesting.”

Although the short and fat man's answer was stiff, Fang Zheng's expression was still smiling.

"You are not police officers, and you don't have the relevant qualifications, yet you went into someone else's room and rummaged through boxes... To be honest, I don't think your excuse will be accepted in court. Of course, if you ask me, you didn't go there to look for evidence, but to destroy it."

"You, what nonsense are you talking about!!"

Hearing this, the short and fat man suddenly started yelling.

"Why would we do such a thing? Do you suspect that we killed that man?"

"It's not impossible, is it?"

Fang Zheng was still smiling, seemingly not affected by the other party at all.

"You've also looked at the photos. Judging from the last photo with bloodstains, the deceased should have died during the day before it snowed..."

"Yes, I had just arrived at the hotel at that time!"

"So do you have an alibi?"

"……Why?"

"According to the testimony of the innkeeper..."

Fang Zheng flipped through the notebook beside him.

"She said that after you arrived at the inn, you rested for a while and then went to the mountains to hunt. And it was after that that Mr. Nigaki left to take pictures of the snow woman. So it is very likely that you and your friends killed Mr. Nigaki together..."

“Nonsense!!!”

At this time, the short and fat man finally couldn't sit still anymore and started shouting.

"I was hunting at the time and didn't kill anyone. Besides, what about the chocolate? Oh, what about the chocolate next to the body? When you were making chocolate, I went to the forest and never came back! Since the chocolate was placed next to the dead, it must have been placed there by the murderer. How could we do that?"

"Oh, this..."

"Yeah, how do you explain it?"

Hearing this, Xiaolan also looked up at Fang Zheng curiously. In fact, this question was also what puzzled her, but Fang Zheng's answer was even more surprising.

"I don't need an explanation."

“…Huh?”

"Whether the chocolate appeared next to the body and was related to the murderer, there is no direct evidence to prove this."

Fang Zheng smiled and spread his hands.

"Mr. Niyuan did not die of poisoning, but of a blow to the brain. Unless you think that the chocolate was hard enough to kill someone, that's another story."

“…”

Is this ok?

Xiaolan and the short and fat man stared at Fang Zheng in amazement, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"But, but that piece of chocolate was indeed made by you! Since it was placed next to the body, it means that someone must have found the body! Since that person found the body, why didn't he tell you? Doesn't that mean that he is the murderer?!"

The short fat man was now speaking incoherently, while Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders.

"Indeed, you have a point."

"So……"

"But there is no evidence to prove your inference, sir. You have to know that in court, we look at evidence, not just reasoning. Otherwise, there is no need for our Metropolitan Police Department to exist, and everyone should change their careers and become detectives. It is true that it is strange that the chocolate appeared next to the deceased, but there is currently no evidence to show that the chocolate is directly related to the death of the deceased... So it is not too late to find the answer to this question later. Now, let's get back to the topic."

Fang Zheng interlaced his fingers and leaned back in his chair.

"Okay, let's get back to the point. Please answer my question. Since you didn't intend to steal, why did you go to Mr. Eryuan's room to look through his and his girlfriend's boxes? What exactly were you looking for?"

“…”

The short fat man was sweating profusely, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I, we were just passing by and taking a look. We weren't looking for anything..."

"Since you refuse to tell me, I can only make a reasonable guess. That is, Mr. Eryuan has some evidence that is unfavorable to you, so you want to take it back, but Mr. Eryuan refuses to give it to you. Maybe you two did not reach an agreement, or for some other reason, so you killed him and came here to look for what you were worried about."

"This is all bullshit, we didn't kill anyone!"

The short fat man shouted again, and Fang Zheng laughed.

"So I'm asking you, why did you go through the suitcases of Mr. Eryuan and his girlfriend? If you don't give me a reasonable answer, then you'll have to go to court and explain to the judge. At least, judging from your actions, my inference is somewhat credible. Unless you can find a perfect reason for your inexplicable behavior, I think you two are closely related to Mr. Eryuan's death."

Having said this, Fang Zheng stood up.

"We still have to go take a statement from another person. You can use this time to think carefully. Okay, Xiaolan, let's go."

"Ah, um..."

Xiaolan was obviously dazed, but she still nodded obediently, then put away the notes and followed Fang Zheng out of the room.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, is this okay?"

When they arrived at the corridor, Xiaolan asked in confusion, and Fang Zheng nodded.

"Of course, interrogation is also an art. You have been with Maori Kogoro and Kudo Shinichi for too long. In fact, the practices of detectives like them are not formal. They are just detectives and have no law enforcement power. Unless the police request their assistance, they have no right to interrogate the criminals. But in fact, many times, direct confrontation with the criminals can obtain as many clues as detectives can obtain by searching - haven't you discovered it yet? When the short and fat man answered my question just now, he only said that he did not kill anyone. Another meaning of this sentence is that he admitted that he was looking for something."

"I see……"

Hearing this, Xiaolan suddenly realized that indeed, when she usually followed Kudo Shinichi to solve cases, she often encountered the situation where the criminals kept silent, and at that time Shinichi was always able to use evidence to make the other party speak. Now it seems that it is because if there is no evidence, Kudo Shinichi has no power to make the criminals speak...

Strictly speaking, even if there is evidence, it is useless because the detective does not have the power to enforce the law. If the evidence he finds is not recognized by the police, it will be useless in court.

"Okay, now we have half of the clue, let's move on to the other half."

"half?"

"Yes, now we know that they are looking for something in Mr. Niyuan's room, but we don't know what it is. This is the other half..."

Having said this, Fang Zheng walked forward.

"And we're going to get the answer from another person."