Chapter 110 The Prodigal Son Returns (End)
After searching the scene, the three professional police officers came to the same conclusion as Higashino and his team. However, they also considered the possibility that Shiramizu Mae died of natural causes.
In order to protect the scene, the entire villa was blocked off, waiting for the forensic department to enter.
However, the resort island is quite far from the main island, and it would take a long time for the police to arrive. Odagiri Toshiro and his team decided to use this time to question everyone on the island and temporarily identify suspects.
Due to the large number of people, Maori Kogoro and Hakuba Tan were also pulled over to help. Edogawa Conan had to act alone. The first person he found was Chris Wynyard.
After all, it is hard not to associate a silent death from poisoning with the Black Organization.
Even if the female star drank a lot of alcohol the night before, she still looked glamorous the next day, without any signs of a hangover. When she learned from Edogawa Conan that the bride had died, she covered her mouth in disbelief, her eyes instantly filled with tears, and she spoke a lot of English.
The general meaning is "How could it be? How is it possible? This is too surprising! Is Mr. Higashino okay?" The exaggerated tone is very consistent with the mental state of foreigners.
Conan Edogawa: ...There's no need to act like that.
However, her behavior was to remind Conan Edogawa that it was not the organization that did it.
Edogawa Conan nodded and continued to look for clues elsewhere.
As soon as he left, Chris wiped away her tears. She sighed with regret and said, "It's such a pity that he died on the eve of his wedding."
The assistant who was helping her pack said, "It's a shame for her. But for us, it's a good thing that Dong Yelang doesn't get married. Maybe we can take advantage of his heartbreak and swoop in."
Vermouth turned to look at him and said, "I thought you disagreed with Rum's mission, Bourbon."
Disguised as an ordinary assistant by a skilled disguise, Amuro Toru said as he packed his suitcase, "I'm not in a position to tell my boss what to do."
Vermouth shrugged noncommittally.
"By the way, why do you bring so many clothes when you're only staying for one night?" asked Amuro Toru in confusion.
"Oh, female stars have to stay beautiful all the time. One box is already too little." Vermouth said, lifting her hair.
Toru Amuro:......
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Among the four suspects, one is dead, one is unconscious, and the identity of one is unknown. Higashino Xi can only turn his attention to Kimiya Tsuki first.
After his uncle witnessed the death of his lover and was deeply devastated, Kiyazaki stayed by his side to comfort him. Looking at him, he certainly didn't seem like someone who would hurt his uncle.
Dong Yexi frowned and thought: Do we really have to go look for the unidentified Mulan Tan?
At this time, the conversations of the people around him came into his ears.
"Who did these two newcomers offend? Why are they so miserable?"
"Huh? Wasn't it the bride who died? What happened to Kanto Noro?"
"Haven't you heard that the fire was also man-made? Arson and murder, isn't it targeting them?"
"T-That can't necessarily be done by one person, right? Setting the fire first and then killing people, wouldn't that be too tight of a timeframe?"
Hearing this, Dong Yexi suddenly realized.
He was misled by fixed thinking. The suspects the system had assigned were only for the fire incident, not for Shiramizu Mae's murder. In other words, even if Shiramizu Mae was dead, she could still be the arsonist; and her murderer wasn't necessarily connected to arson.
These are two separate cases.
After realizing this, Higashino Xi no longer focused on observing Kimiya Tsuki, but turned his attention to other people.
Time passed bit by bit, and by the time Fourth Uncle and Big Brother arrived at the island, Higashino Hiroshi had only eliminated half of the suspects. However, Edogawa Conan was much faster, and he quickly narrowed down the murderer by just listening to a few small conversations among the crowd.
Higashino Xi: ...After all, I can’t compare to the professionals.
Although the cause of the bride's death is still uncertain, judging by the body, it is likely a sudden death caused by poisoning or drugs. If the murderer wanted to escape, the latter would be the safest way.
Among the guests attending the wedding banquet, the majority were doctors, and even Kimura Tsuki was a psychologist.
This is understandable. Even if Dong Yelang did not inherit the family business, most of the friends he made from childhood were children whose parents worked in medical-related professions, and most of these people would choose to follow in their father's footsteps when they grew up.
So now there is no shortage of doctors or medicine on this island.
However, Conan Edogawa still identified several suspicious characters from so many people.
First up was Kiyashiki. As a close friend of Higashino Nami, he held a very low opinion of Shirami Mae. In his eyes, Shirami Mae was the type who "acted intellectually despite being clueless, aloof despite being materialistic." He genuinely believed that Higashino Nami must have been under a spell, as they were planning to get married after knowing each other for less than a month. Even last night, he was still trying to persuade Higashino Nami to reconsider.
Someone who sincerely feels that Shirami Mae is not worthy of Higashino Nao might indeed try to stop the wedding.
The second suspect is the Tono family's doctor, Ayana Hayama. A doctor affiliated with the Tono Group, she assisted Higashi Higashi with rehabilitation after his leg injury and frequently visited the Tono residence, making her familiar to the Tono family's bodyguards and servants. Yesterday, the bride felt unwell after arriving on the island and, at the servants' suggestion, obtained some medicine from Hayama. It's possible she may have substituted the medicine.
As to whether she has any personal grudges with the bride, it is not known at the moment.
The third person is Saka Aimiya, a resort employee who fainted at the fire scene last night. Some say that when Shiramizu Mae disembarked yesterday, she looked unhappy and even pulled other staff members to confirm her identity, suggesting they might have known each other. That evening, someone also saw Saka Aimiya at Shiramizu Mae's villa.
This is the first person who has confirmed that he went to the villa last night, except for the employee arranged by Dong Yexi.
The final suspect is Nanami Nana, the employee Higashino Higashino sent to the villa. She was the last person to see Shiramizu Mae, and it's entirely possible she's lying.
Meanwhile, with the assistance of Detective Baima, the interrogation went very quickly. He also quickly identified the suspects based on their testimonies. Having understood the entire situation, Dong Yexu immediately had his bodyguards bring the suspects over.
Therefore, the parties involved, some relatives and friends, police and suspects gathered in the villa with the largest living room on the island.
Higashino's mouth twitched slightly. He realized he'd been misled by the system. Two detectives had told him that two of the suspects might also be the murderer. So, by that logic, wouldn't Mulantan be either Ayana Hayama or Nanami Nana?
However, even if he deduced that the murderer was among these four, he lacked evidence. Conan Edogawa left a sticker bug on his uncle's trouser leg and ran out to look for clues.
He carefully searched the fire scene and found that apart from the burned guest room, only the door of the new room was kicked open. He frowned slightly and ran to find Hatori Yuiichi to confirm the scene when he rescued the people.
After getting the answer he wanted, he ran to Shiramizu Mae's villa and found a camera in the corner of the living room. It was left there by the wedding photographer, ready to use it to film today's wedding reception.
He went over to check and found the camera wouldn't turn on. He checked and found it was simply out of battery. He found a charging cable, plugged it in, and began to scroll through the videos. A two-hour video was at the top.
Edogawa Conan quickly pulled the progress bar, and when he saw a certain picture, his pupils suddenly shrank, and then he showed a confident expression.
At the same time, Kogoro Maori was confronting four suspects.
When the four of them were gathered together, they had a rough idea of what was going on. However, when they heard Bai Ma Tan say that they were highly suspected, their expressions turned ugly.
Kimiya Tsukishiro narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a stern expression: "You actually doubted me? How could I possibly kill her?!"
"Why not? I'll be frank. You're the biggest suspect," said Maori Kogoro. "Because you're the one who clearly expressed your dissatisfaction with Miss Shirami. You have a deep prejudice against her. As a good friend of Mr. Higashino... Mr. Higashino Nami, you have a deep relationship with him. When you learned that he was going to marry someone you thought was not so good, your dissatisfaction with Miss Shirami reached its peak. You sincerely wished Mr. Higashino Nami happiness, so you wouldn't allow him to marry a bad woman."
Everyone: ...It seems to make sense, but it sounds weird.
Dong Yelang looked at Muwu Jinshu with a complicated expression and said hesitantly: "Ashu, you..."
Kiyazaki's eyelids twitched, and he said unhappily, "I really don't like Shiramizu Mae, but I wouldn't kill anyone." He glanced at Higashino Lang, "Don't I know what kind of person you are? Whether it's hobbies or love, it's all fleeting. Even if you're deeply in love with Shiramizu Mae now, you'll soon forget that feeling. If you just date like before and don't get married, you can still break up peacefully. But once you get married, you won't be able to divorce later. That woman is not the type to get divorced obediently."
Dong Yelang said with an embarrassed expression: "I'm not as bad as you say, am I?"
Maori Kogoro quickly followed up: "So in order to prevent Mr. Higashino Nami from getting into trouble, you killed Shirami Mae."
Kiyazaki: "...I told you I won't! Even if I'm worried about this happening, I won't try to persuade him anymore when he's determined to get married. Even the best of friends can't control matters of the heart. Only when he suffers the consequences himself will he realize I'm right." He crossed his arms and said, "Now I'm just waiting to see how long he can hold out. When he gets tired of it and can't get rid of me anymore, I can laugh at him in person."
Everyone: ...
Dong Yelang: "...You don't have to be so cruel, right?"
Kiyazaki said sarcastically, "Is this cruel? If this really happens, I will laugh at you for the rest of my life."
Dong Yelang: You are really my best friend! Ah!
Maori Kogoro felt that Kiyazaki's explanation was convincing, so he turned his gun towards Hayama Ayana. "Did Dr. Hayama prescribe medicine for the bride this afternoon?"
Yushan Ayana nodded. "She was a little seasick and wanted me to give her a seasickness pill. But I reminded her that since she had already disembarked, it wouldn't have much effect. She could eat some sour fruits to relieve the nausea. So she asked me for some sleeping pills, saying she was afraid she'd be too excited at night and wouldn't be able to sleep."
Maori Kogoro asked: "You didn't secretly replace the medicine?"
"Why would I do this?" Yushan Caicai asked back, "I have no grudge against her in the past or in the present, why would I do this?"
"Who knows if you really don't know her?" said Kogoro Mouri.
"Then you go and investigate." Yushan Caicai shrugged nonchalantly, "Once you're sure we have a grudge, come and interrogate me."
Maori Kogoro was choked by her and turned to look at Nanami Nana. "Does Miss Nanami have anything to say in her defense?"
Nanami Nana was stunned: "Huh?"
"Ms. Nanami was the last person to see Ms. Baishui. You had plenty of time to commit the crime."
Nanami Nana explained in a panic: "But, but I didn't know Miss Shiramizu before! There's no need for me to lie, and there's no reason to kill her!"
Maori Kogoro stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "Then the murderer can only be Miss Ai Miyabi?"
Everyone: ...Are you trying to exhaust the list?
Aigong Saka shook her head helplessly and said, "Detective, I was knocked unconscious last night and had no time to commit the crime."
At this time, Bai Ma Tan said, "No, you did." He looked at the lady whose lips were still a little pale and said, "Someone witnessed you going to the deceased's villa last night. You could have done something at that time."
Ai Gong Sha Hua asked back, "Then may I ask, what did I do? Miss Bai Shui was there when I went to the villa. What could I do under her nose?" She said, "Besides, it was only a little after eight o'clock when I went there, and I left within ten minutes. Not long after that, I was knocked unconscious and thrown into the fire. I almost burned to death. No matter how you look at it, it can't be me, right?"
Maori Kogoro nodded and said, "Indeed. She almost died herself, so she had no time to kill anyone."
Hakuba Detective gave him a helpless look. Did this "Sleeping Kogoro" rely solely on guesswork to solve cases? The criminal's testimony was only part of the story; the most important thing was the evidence!
Edogawa Conan also thought so. He had found the key evidence, hurried to the villa, and secretly shot Maori Kogoro in the corner.
Kogoro Mouri's whole body shook, and then he began to feel dizzy and spinning: "Here it comes again..." After saying that, he closed his eyes and sat on the sofa in a sleeping position.
Everyone was shocked: Is this the "Sleeping Kogoro"?
Dong Yexi glanced at the little man hiding behind the sofa, and calmly helped block part of his view.
Edogawa Conan adjusted his voice changer and said, "No, Ms. Aimiya, you have more time than anyone else to commit the crime."
Everyone: Huh? Didn't you just say she didn't have time to commit the crime?
Ai Miya Saka twitched her lips, amazed at how quickly Maori Kogoro had changed his story. She continued, "As I said, I was attacked after I left. I nearly died and have been in a coma ever since. I only woke up recently." She gestured towards the Tono family's bodyguards. "I think these bodyguards can vouch for me."
"Excuse me, Detective, how can I kill someone while I'm unconscious?" asked Saka Aimiya.
Maori Kogoro said in a deep voice: "Brother Hakuba made it very clear just now, it was when you went to Shiramizu Mae's villa."
Ai Gong Sha Hua's eyes flickered as she explained, "I only stayed for less than ten minutes. And I only chatted with her in the living room. I didn't go anywhere else."
"There's been enough time. Everyone should understand that the time of Miss Shiramizu's death doesn't necessarily reflect the time the murderer struck. The long time interval is because something unexpected happened in between." "Mouri Kogoro" paused and said, "Let's solve a problem first. Who knocked Miss Aimiya unconscious and threw her into the bridal chamber last night? And who set the fire in the bridal chamber?"
Dong Yelang immediately asked, "Who is it?"
Maori Kogoro did not answer the question directly. He said, "I think everyone doesn't know one thing, that is, where was Miss Ai Miyabi found?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Who would know such a thing? Only Hatori, who had gone in to rescue them, would know!
"Isn't it in the guest room?" asked Ai Gong Sha Hua. She felt that the person who knocked her out must want her to die and would definitely put her in the most dangerous place.
At this time, Dong Yexi said, "No. The fire in the guest room was already very big at that time, and Wei Yu couldn't get in at all. Besides, everyone knew that there would be no one else in the new house except Second Uncle, so he wouldn't waste time checking other rooms."
Dong Yelang's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "So she is in my room?"
Dong Yexi nodded. He didn't say they were lying together. Regardless, whether they were lying on the bed or on the floor, it wouldn't affect the detective's ability to solve the case.
Saka Ainomiya's expression suddenly turned ugly.
"Mouri Kogoro" said, "The arsonist deliberately chose a room far from the master bedroom and didn't place Miss Aimiya in the first place where the fire started, which means she had no intention of killing anyone. Once the fire started, it would be easy for people to discover it. Then, whether they were putting out the fire or going in to rescue people, they would know that Miss Aimiya was in Mr. Higashino Nami's room."
When everyone heard this, their expressions became subtle.
"Given Mr. Higashino's fondness for his bride, no one would think he would cheat on his wife on the eve of the wedding. And everyone saw how much he drank last night. He's probably incapable of carrying an adult woman into the room when he's that drunk. After that, everyone would naturally assume that it was Ms. Aimiya who took the initiative to sneak into the groom's room. Your reputation would be ruined."
Ai Miya Saka clenched her fists tightly on her knees, her face ashen.
"And the mastermind behind this incident is Shiramizu Mae." said "Mouri Kogoro".
Everyone: "How is that possible?"
"Even if Miss Xianggong is very thin, Miss Baishui must have had a very difficult time moving. After she put the person down, her clothes were already in disarray, so she didn't notice that there was a button left in the bridal chamber."
"Why did she do this?" Dong Yelang was shocked and asked in confusion.
"Perhaps Miss Baishui is very confident in your feelings for her. When you wake up and find out someone sneaked into your room and tried to seduce you, you will definitely be disgusted by it and may even complain to the resort island. Then Miss Ai Gong will lose both her reputation and her job. Your wedding will go on as planned without any impact."
Kimiya Tsukishima couldn't help but gasp, "I thought she was just stupid, but I didn't expect she was so cruel."
"Miss Baishui's modus operandi was likely this: she first knocked Miss Xianggong unconscious, then temporarily hid in her room. She didn't secretly send her to her bridal chamber until the party was over. She set a ignition cigarette butt in the guest room and returned to her villa, waiting for the fire to start.
"While waiting, she seemed to believe her plan would succeed, so she drank in advance to celebrate. The evidence was that the villa restaurant had opened a bottle of red wine, which was already empty. She then drank water from the coffee table, but the more she drank, the more sleepy she became. Thinking she was drunk, she went back to her room to lie down and rest, only to drift off to sleep. That's why she didn't run out to catch the adulterer immediately after the fire started.
"Until Miss Nanami went to look for her, she struggled to wake up from the knocks on the door. After learning the fire was out, she wanted to go out to check on the situation, but because she was so sleepy, she decided to wait until she woke up. The reason she was so sleepy was not just the alcohol, but also because you put a large amount of powdered sleeping pills in her water. Sleeping pills should not be used with alcohol, let alone an excessive amount. After that, she fell into a deep sleep and passed away in her sleep.
"Once the forensic department arrives, they should be able to detect it in her drinking water. By the way, the villa area provides drinks such as tea, lemonade, and soda water to cover up the smell of drugs."
He said to Ai Gong Sha Hua, "According to your original plan, Miss Bai Shui should have died long ago, but she turned around and attacked you and started a fire, pushing back the time of her own death and giving you an alibi."
Ai Gong Sha Hua's expression had calmed down. She asked, "According to what you said, anyone who came to the villa could have given her sleeping pills? How can you be sure it was me?"
"Miss Aimiya, you're having trouble sleeping because of work pressure, right? There's a lot of pornography in your room."
Ayana Hayama immediately said, "What I brought was triazolam." So it wasn't me.
Ai Gong Sha Hua's eyes flickered slightly: "They are all common sleeping pills, which doesn't mean anything."
"Mouri Kogoro" said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. As long as the police search the entire island, they will know what drugs everyone is using. However, the most important evidence is the video you left in the villa. You would never have thought that Miss Baishui turned on the camera left in the villa by the wedding photographer in order to find your fault. When she got up to get something and turned on the camera, the scene of her putting something into the kettle behind her back was recorded directly. But then she wanted to frame you and forgot about it, so the camera was kept on and captured the scene of her leaving halfway, and then she didn't come back until the battery ran out."
This video also confirmed that Shiramizu Mae left the villa for a long time last night, indirectly proving that she might be the arsonist.
Everyone's eyes widened immediately: This is irrefutable evidence!
Dong Yexi was speechless after hearing this. You already have the most direct evidence, why are you still talking so much nonsense?!
Aigong Saka's pupils trembled, and in the face of absolute evidence, she admitted her crime.
It turns out that she and Shiramizu Mae were once good friends, but their values were different and they gradually drifted apart. However, they had a mutual friend who allowed them to stay in touch. But one day, that mutual friend suddenly committed suicide.
Aigong Saka was puzzled by this. How could such a cheerful girl suddenly commit suicide? So she began to investigate the cause of her friend's death. Finally, she finally found the truth.
Shiramizu Mae had been dating wealthy men in an effort to bridge social classes. Her boyfriend at the time wasn't exactly a good person either. While dating Shiramizu Mae, he also had his eye on that friend. After repeated attempts to seduce her failed, he resorted to using Shiramizu Mae as a middleman to lure her into bed. Later, the man, feeling humiliated by the rejection, called in his friends to share his story.
My friend couldn't bear the blow and committed suicide in despair.
After causing a death, the group of rich second-generations felt a little guilty. The leader left Japan directly and gave Shiramizu Mae a large sum of money to keep the secret.
Shiramizu Mae was afraid that the truth would be discovered, so she used the money to undergo plastic surgery and took her current pseudonym.
If it weren't for the unnatural expression on her face when she saw Saka Aimiya, as well as the similar figure and the identical birthmark on her neck, Saka Aimiya would not have recognized her.
"I asked her if she felt any guilt, but she said, 'She's just too stubborn.'" Ai Miyabi Saka smiled bitterly. "Hearing that, I knew I couldn't let her go. She's no longer a normal 'human.' If she gains more power, I'm afraid she'll do even more horrific things."
She whispered, "I'm ridding the world of harm."
Bai Ma Tan said seriously, "Only the law can convict a person. You don't have that right."
Ainomiya Saka remained silent. Perhaps when she decided to kill someone, she also became a demon.
Afterwards, the police finally arrived. After learning that "Sleeping Kogoro" had successfully solved the case, Inspector Megure couldn't help but twitched his lips: Brother, you've made us look like the late police in movies and TV shows!
However, the fact that Kogoro Mouri was able to steal the show despite having three superiors here shows that his skills are really good.
Inspector Megure thought.
The wedding could not go on, and Toshio Odagiri and others were preparing to go back with the police ship and work overtime.
Before leaving, Kurodabei asked Hakuba Tan, "Did you solve yesterday's riddle?"
Bai Ma Tan's face fell: "No."
Kurodabei laughed, patted his shoulder soothingly, and asked, "Do you want to come with us now?"
Bai Matan thought for a while and said, "I want to stay a little longer." Anyway, there is a cruise ship to take me there.
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