Chapter 125 Suspect
The police and ambulance arrived almost simultaneously, and the unconscious Mrs. Yamada was immediately carried into the ambulance by medical staff and taken to the hospital.
After inspection by the property management, it was confirmed that the gas pipeline was not damaged and the gas leak was caused by the valve being opened manually.
Inspector Yumio glanced into the kitchen and said, "So it was just an accident? Mrs. Yamada must have forgotten to turn off the gas valve after cooking dinner."
The property manager replied, "But the gas pipes in the apartment are all equipped with safety valves. If a gas leak is detected, the gas supply will be cut off immediately. We just checked, and the safety valves are intact and in the cut-off position."
Dong Yexi, who was standing by, added: "After I rushed in, I only turned off the main valve and opened the window. I didn't touch anything else."
Inspector Gong Chang frowned and asked in confusion, "How did the gas leak?"
"I don't think it was Mrs. Yamada's fault." Edogawa Conan stood where Yamada Keiko fainted and said, "If Mrs. Yamada smelled the odor while she was awake, she would definitely go to the kitchen to turn off the valve immediately."
"You mean, the gas leaked after she fainted?" Inspector Yumio said, touching his chin.
Edogawa Conan nodded: "There are surveillance cameras in the corridors of this apartment. We can check the video to see if anyone has come to see her tonight."
Inspector Gong Chang looked at the property manager, who immediately said, "Yes, we will cooperate with the police."
The group came to the monitoring room on the first floor and watched the video from the time of the crime. Then they saw Dong Yexi kicking a door open, and they all gasped.
Inspector Yumio looked at Higashino Xi in surprise. He didn't expect that this young man's legs were so strong.
Dong Yexi smiled shyly.
Everyone continued to watch the surveillance video.
"At 3:50 p.m., Mr. Yamada returned home. At 4:05 p.m., Mrs. Yamada returned home after buying groceries. At 4:08 p.m., Mr. Yamada left. At 4:17 p.m., Mr. Onodera returned home. At 4:20 p.m., Mr. Onodera left and was met by Mrs. Yamada, who opened the door. She invited him in. Ten minutes later, Mr. Onodera left. No one else passed by the twelfth floor after that. It wasn't until 8:05 p.m. that Mr. Higashino broke in." Inspector Yuminaga read out the timestamps recorded in his notes. "It seems the suspects are Mr. Yamada and Mr. Onodera."
He asked, "Have you called these two?"
The subordinate immediately replied, "We've already contacted them. Mr. Yamada learned that his wife had been taken to the hospital, and he said he would go see her first and return only after he was sure she was alright. Mr. Onodera said he would return directly, but since he's still working overtime, he might be a little delayed."
"Tsk." Inspector Gong Chang said dissatisfiedly, "How can you not know the priorities?"
Conan Edogawa asked worriedly: "What about Mrs. Yamada..."
Inspector Gongchang patted his little head and said, "Don't worry, she's with someone. I've already told her not to let anyone be alone with her. Nothing will happen."
Edogawa Conan nodded.
While waiting for someone, the police did not just sit there and wait. They searched the Yamada family carefully and found some evidence.
Inspector Yuminaga flipped through the divorce agreement in his hand and asked the property management, "Are the Yamada couple getting a divorce recently? Are there problems in their relationship?"
Several property staff members looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
"That's impossible," one of the property managers said. "Mr. Yamada and his wife are well-known for their love in our apartment building."
Dong Yexi asked: "How famous is he? How come I don't know?"
The property manager's expression froze, and he said, "Didn't Mr. Dongye join the owners' group? They often show off their affection in the group."
Dong Yexi flipped through his phone and found the owners' group, but he had blocked it.
The property management guy also saw his phone interface and reminded him, "We often organize some activities and post them in the owner group. Interested owners will come to participate. Mr. Dongye can also pay attention to it in the future."
Dong Yexi: "Okay. I'll pay attention."
Inspector Yuminaga took the property manager's phone and looked through the chat logs in the group chat. [1203 Mrs. Yamada] had indeed posted a lot of affectionate photos. There were pictures of them walking hand in hand outdoors, feeding each other in a high-end restaurant, and cuddling intimately at home...
Inspector Yumio said that it is really eye-opening to see that young people nowadays have so many ways to show their affection.
The owners in the group also seemed to be very supportive. Whenever they posted something, they would praise it non-stop, as if they were very envious of them.
Conan Edogawa squeezed in next to Inspector Yuminaga and watched. The more he watched, the more he felt something was wrong. He looked at the property manager and asked, "Are these owners really praising them? Why do I feel like their tone is strange?"
Inspector Yumio also said, "It seems so. Some of them look weird."
The property manager smiled awkwardly and said, "The owners of our apartment are all very well-mannered."
"Oh~~" Edogawa Conan suddenly realized.
Dong Yexi also leaned over to take a look and understood.
Showing off once or twice might be applauded, but daily displays are a bit annoying. Perhaps because they're young, the Yamada couple have a strong desire to share, and after being praised once or twice, they've made showing off their affection a daily routine. The owners in the group are all respectable people; posting a few words like "So loving," "What a match," or "So envious" or an emoji doesn't take much time, so they just post it. If they really can't stand it, they'll just pretend to be quiet.
The owners actually endured it for half a year.
If this gets out, they will definitely be selected as the "Most Harmonious Owners Group of the Year".
Dong Yexi used to think that the neighborhood relations here were bad, but now it seems that is not entirely true.
Edogawa Conan seemed very interested in these photos and kept flipping through them. Inspector Yuminaga simply gave him his phone and then asked the property management: "Besides showing off their affection, is there anything else special about them?"
Several property managers frowned and thought: "It seems not."
The property manager suddenly had an idea and said, "In the past month, Mrs. Yamada's friends have been coming to see her frequently. Sometimes there are just one or two, sometimes a whole group."
After hearing this, Inspector Yumio put his hand to his chin and fell into deep thought. Could this matter be related to their divorce agreement?
Just then, the elevator stopped at the 12th floor, and Onodera Ritsu from next door finally returned. However, he was followed by several other people.
The property manager introduced: "This is Mr. Onodera who lives in 1202, and Mr. Kono who lives in 1201."
Inspector Yumio looked behind the two men.
Onodera explained: "They are my colleagues. They heard that something happened at my home and came to see if there was anything they could do to help."
Takano Masamune explained, "I'm the editor-in-chief of the Emerald Editorial Department under Marukawa Shoten. Onodera and the others are editors in our department. We're all working overtime tonight, so I thought I'd come along to see what's going on."
Inspector Yuminaga stopped paying attention to them and asked, "Mr. Onodera, what is your relationship with the Yamada family next door?"
Onodera Ritsu had long noticed that the gates of his own house and the neighboring house had been kicked in, and he suspected that the incident the police were describing involved the Yamada family. He calmly said, "We're just ordinary neighbors. I occasionally run into each other on my way to and from work, and usually we just chat a few times in the homeowners' group."
Inspector Yuminaga then asked, "What time does Mr. Onodera usually get off work?"
Onodera Ritsu said: "The company's rule is 5 o'clock, but in reality the time is not fixed. Especially when the deadline is approaching, it is not uncommon to work all night at the office."
"We can attest to that," said Masamune Takano. "Our level of overtime is adjusted periodically based on the deadline. This issue's deadline is still two days away, and everyone is working incredibly hard."
Inspector Yuminaga glanced at him, and then Onodera Ritsu asked, "We saw from the surveillance footage that you came back this afternoon?"
Onodera Ritsu nodded: "Yes, I forgot a manuscript at home, so I came back to get it."
"We can testify! Around 4:15!" Yuantai and the other two appeared from nowhere and raised their hands very actively.
Inspector Yumio smiled and said, "Thank you." He then continued, "Afterwards, you ran into Mrs. Yamada on your way out and were invited to her house, where you stayed for ten minutes. What was the reason?"
Upon hearing this, Kono Masamune turned to look at Onodera Ritsu.
Onodera Ritsu hadn't expected the police to ask about this. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he said with a somewhat unnatural expression, "I bought photos from Mrs. Yamada."
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Onodera Ritsu wiped his face and said, "The cartoonist I'm in charge of is not good at depicting emotions, and the pictures lack atmosphere. I saw the photos of the Yamada couple in the owner group and thought they were well taken and could be used as comic storyboards, so I contacted Mrs. Yamada and wanted to buy the photos. I happened to meet her when I went out today, and we completed the transaction." Photos also have copyright, and he can save a lot of trouble by spending money to buy them.
Kono Masamune asked, "Are transaction records kept?"
Onodera Ritsu nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from his briefcase: "We also signed an agreement."
"Okay, I'll reimburse you later." Takano Masamune took it, took a look at it, and then handed it to Inspector Yuminaga.
Onodera Ritsu whispered, "You don't need it now, do you? It's for the teacher I brought with me."
Takano Masamune glanced at him and said, "The teacher you are teaching is also under contract with the company. How can we ask you to pay for it? Besides, if the company reimburses, other teachers can also use it as a reference."
Onodera Ritsu: “Oh.”
Inspector Yuminaga handed the agreement back to him, having essentially accepted his words. He then asked, "During those ten minutes, did you notice anything unusual about the Yamada household?"
Onodera recalled for a moment and shook his head: "My attention was focused on the photo, and I didn't notice anything wrong."
It seems Mr. Yamada is the biggest suspect, Inspector Yuminaga thought.
He glanced at his watch and realized that almost two hours had passed since he contacted Director Yamada. Even if he had gone to the hospital, he should have returned. He immediately called a colleague who was accompanying Mrs. Yamada at the hospital and learned that Director Yamada had been gone for forty minutes.
Strange, then he should have arrived.
Just as Inspector Yumio was thinking this, the elevator began to descend, stopped for a moment on the first floor, and then went up to the 12th floor. The elevator door opened, and inside was Director Yamada, who had arrived late.
Director Yamada was startled by the large crowd in the hallway. He walked up to Inspector Yuminaga and said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Officer. I'm really worried about my wife, and I can only feel at ease if I see she's safe."
Inspector Gongchang said, "It's okay."
While the two were talking, Edogawa Conan calmly walked to Director Yamada and observed him, then smiled confidently.
Sure enough, the culprit is Mr. Yamada!
The next step is to find a way to get him to confess.
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