Symbiosis 21
"I can't remember."
As expected, when facing the police who were questioning her, even when they were brought back to her house, Chika Kobayashi still refused to let them go. She hugged her shoulders and looked weak and helpless. If she were not facing a well-informed police officer or detective, she would easily choose to let them go because of the pity in her heart. "I only remember that I hid in the closet... I didn't dare to go out until it was quiet. My mother asked me to help untie the rope..."
"Did you witness the man who broke into your house?" Ida Kou flipped through the notebook in his hand, which contained the brief case report he had recorded before. From the simple floor plan, it seemed that the closet where Kobayashi Chika was hiding was on one side of the bed, and her father was lying on the other side of the bed. "No matter how small the clue is, even if it's just a guess, please tell me."
"I don't know," Xiaolin Zhihua shook her head, "We have a Western-style wardrobe at home, I don't dare to open it to see..."
"Hey, hey, big sister," Edogawa Conan also came over. He had seen the floor plan beforehand. The Kobayashi family was a typical two-story building. Honda Tsuneichi was a habitual thief but not good at robbery. Date Kou and he both guessed that it was probably the stolen wood basket and the thefts over the years that had never failed that gave him courage, which allowed him to break into the Kobayashi family without doing a good job of investigation beforehand. "Were you in the closet before the murderer broke in? Why?"
According to the records in the file, the incident took place in the early morning, and the sequence was that Chika Kobayashi hid in the closet. The hostess Hiyori Kobayashi, who got up in the middle of the night, discovered Honda Tsuneichi who had broken in. The latter's cry for help attracted the male host Kobayashi Tora, who threatened the two with a wooden warehouse, tied them up and threw them into the room where Chika Kobayashi was hiding in the closet. Kobayashi Tora tried to break the rope and escape when Honda Tsuneichi went to search other rooms, but was discovered by Honda Tsuneichi who had returned, which angered Honda Tsuneichi, causing him to go to the kitchen, get a knife, and stab Kobayashi Tora several times, eventually dying from blood loss.
Kobayashi Hikaru, who was present at the time, said she fainted from excessive fright. When she awoke, she found the murderer had left and her husband was dying. Because she could not confirm the murderer's whereabouts, she waited until daybreak and her daughter came out of the closet to help untie them before she dared to call the police.
"...I don't remember," Kobayashi Chika lowered her eyes and said hesitantly, "Maybe it was hide-and-seek or something...I was always a troublesome child when I was young...Maybe that's why the criminal didn't find me..."
"No matter what, it's a good thing that Miss Kobayashi escaped." Ida Hang glanced at the woman calmly, "Come to think of it, the murder weapon came from your kitchen, right?"
"...Yes," Kobayashi Chika nodded, and Edogawa Conan caught a glimpse of her hands folded under the table, "I often see my mother using it to cook..."
"That's strange," Ida Hang mentioned casually, "There's a wooden warehouse, but why do you have to go to the kitchen to get knives..."
And judging from the fact that Honda Tsuneichi did not find Kobayashi Chika, his understanding of the Kobayashi family is very limited. So why did he go out of his way to go to the kitchen to get the murder weapon?
"...Maybe they're afraid that the noise from the firecrackers will attract the neighbors," Kobayashi Chika's tone remained calm, but everyone present could see that she was pretending to be relaxed, "Or maybe the firecrackers are out of bullets or something--"
"--The fingerprint was matched," Idahang interrupted her, revealing information that made the woman's eyes widen, "The fingerprint left at the scene."
"...Found... found?" Kobayashi Chika's breathing stagnated. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Date Kou. Everyone present could clearly feel her hesitation. "The murderer who killed my father has been found...?"
"Yes," Yi Dahang saw through her fear, "I came here to inform you in advance..." As if remembering something, the police officer added, "But someone raised an objection, saying that there are still doubts about the criminal's crime..."
"What a joke!" Xiaolin Zhihua could no longer maintain her weak and helpless attitude. Her sharp tone pierced people's eardrums and trembled. "Among the people present at the time, he was the only one who had the ability and motive to kill my father--"
"Bang--"
"I'm sorry," Chie Kurokawa, who had been silent and just observing, raised her hand and apologized to the cup that was still broken into pieces on the ground. She looked at Chika Kobayashi, who covered her mouth tightly with her hands and tried not to make any sound, with a look of pity and understanding. The latter's pale face even scared Conan Edogawa so much that he almost called an ambulance. She reconsidered her apology again, "I'm sorry, Ms. Kobayashi."
Kobayashi Chika looked at the cup on the ground blankly, "No..." She shook her head at Kurokawa Chie, her shoulders still trembling, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, "It's okay..."
"It's fine."
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