Chapter 75 Chapter 75 A series of tragic events in the wills of wealthy families (V)…
Saionji Gyoon and Atobe Keigo arrived last. They stood aside while they were arguing and overheard a lot of information.
The police initially determined that the time of death of Hojo Hayashi was between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. The last person to see the deceased was the maid in the villa. She brought coffee to Hojo Hayashi at around 1:50 p.m., and it was Hojo Hayashi who opened the door himself. As for the exact time of death, the body must be sent back to the police station for a detailed autopsy to find out.
Between 2pm and 5pm, none of the people questioned had any definite alibis.
Hojo Kimiyo said she napped for about an hour, then watched TV in her room. She even asked the maid to bring her afternoon tea around 4:00. Hojo Yuzhi timidly said he spent the entire afternoon reading in his room. Hojo Hirohiro said he was working in his room and requested service once or twice, but he couldn't recall the exact times.
Because of the shock of this incident, Hojo Fujitaka was helped back to his room to rest. His affairs were handled by his housekeeper Tano. After 1:00 p.m., Hojo Fujitaka and Mori Kogoro talked in the room. The conversation ended at around 1:40 p.m., and he slept in the room ever since.
Kogoro Mori's confession can corroborate this. After the conversation, Mori was arranged by the housekeeper Tano to rest in the guest room.
After lunch, Butler Tano stayed in the restaurant to check on the cleanup. When it was almost half past one, Horikawa Takata was about to leave, he sent him to the iron gate before returning. The guard could testify to this. After that, he waited outside Hojo Fujitaka's room. After the conversation, he settled Mori Kogoro and stayed in the garden to take care of the flowers.
The Hojo villa has four floors. The first floor is the lobby and reception room, the second floor is the dining room where they dine and the temporary guest room. The guest room on the second floor is used by Maori Kogoro in the afternoon. The third floor is the room of Hojo Fujitaka and Hojo Hirohiro. The fourth floor is the scene of the crime, and the rooms of Hojo Hayao and Hojo Kimiyo mother and son are all on this floor.
In terms of distance, Hojo Kimiyo and Hojo Yuji, mother and son, were closest to the murdered Hojo Hayao and were the most suspicious. Yamato Gansuke asked them a few detailed questions, which irritated the bad-tempered Hojo Kimiyo. It was only with Uehara Yui's skillful smoothing over that the situation eased a little.
Seeing that Yamato Gansuke wanted to ask for more details, it was finally Butler Tianye who stepped forward and said, "Well, Mr. Officer, we have explained everything that needs to be said. May I ask if we can go to dinner first? Madam Kimishiro, the young masters, and the guests have not yet had dinner."
The body was discovered just before dinner. After seeing the scene, no one had any interest in eating. By the time Yamato Ganzhu asked them about it, no one had eaten yet. After so much time had passed, they were all a little hungry.
Yamato Gansuke thought for a moment and decided that there was no rush to ask for evidence. He waved his hand and let everyone go eat first.
"Wait a minute," he said, but just as everyone turned around, he stopped Butler Tano again and said, "We have something else to ask Mr. Hojo Fujitaka about this case. Is that convenient?"
Although it was clearly a request for advice, he spoke very firmly. Butler Tian Ye hesitated for a moment: "The master has returned to his room to rest due to this incident. Can I speak with you, Officer? I need to see how the master is feeling."
Yamato Gansuke said directly, "I'll go with you." He turned back to Uehara Yui and said, "You go to the villa to investigate other situations."
Uehara Yui nodded and said, "Yes."
*
In the end, everyone rushed to Hojo Fujitaka's bedroom.
Hojo Kimiyo really wanted to go to dinner, but at this time, if only she and her son were not there, wouldn't it seem that she didn't care about her sick elder brother?
Tian Ye, the housekeeper, had no choice but to ask the maid to ask the kitchen to prepare some easy-to-eat food and send it to the master's room.
When Yuyin and the others entered, Akihara Eitoshi was sitting by the bed, holding equipment to check Hojo Fujitaka's physical condition.
As for her stomach complaining, Yuyin really wanted to go to the restaurant first, but the most important thing to solve the case is to collect clues. If she missed the scene where the police were questioning her, it would be more difficult for her to collect all the information later.
After hearing Yamato Gansuke's explanation of his purpose, Hojo Fujitaka forced a smile. "Just as Tano said, I haven't been able to move much since I got sick. I only take a walk in the garden when I'm in a good mood. After talking with Mr. Mori at noon today, I haven't left my room. As for Doctor Akihara..."
He tilted his head to look at the bedside. Akihara Eiji pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "After lunch, I went back to my room to sort out the medical records. A little before five o'clock, I came to Mr. Hojo's room. Oh, my room is right next door."
Yamato Gansuke said directly: "In other words, none of you have any witnesses to prove it."
Yuyin could see that this tough detective with an extremely scary appearance was not a gentle type at work. Without the female police officer named Uehara Yui, he would be so infuriating as to kill people when he opened his mouth.
Akihara Eiji thought for a moment and said, "That afternoon, I made a few phone calls to my colleagues at the hospital. I don't know if that counts as a witness. As for Mr. Hojo, I'd like to ask, what was the cause of Mr. Hayao's death?"
Yamato Gansuke looked at him steadily and finally said, "Ah, it's okay to tell you this. They all saw it anyway. Hojo Hayao died from a stab wound in the chest. Although the autopsy results haven't come out yet, the cause of death is probably either a punctured heart or a ruptured artery with massive bleeding."
Akihara Eiji pushed his glasses up and remained calm after hearing the cause of death. "If that's the cause of death, as a doctor, I don't think Mr. Hojo could have committed the crime. Not only is he old, but his weakened physical condition due to his illness also made it impossible for him to fight an adult like Mr. Hojo Hayao and successfully assassinate him. Oh, unless Hayao was drugged and unable to resist."
"Okay, I think so too. As for whether Hojo Hayao took any Chinese medicine, we still need to wait for the autopsy report. But I'm here not just for the murder of Hojo Hayao," Yamato Gansuke smoothly responded to Akihara Eiji's words. Then he changed the subject, took out a photo from his pocket, looked at Hojo Fujitaka, and asked sharply, "Mr. Hojo Fujitaka, I heard that Horikawa Takata was the private detective you hired. What did you hire him for?"
Yuyin clearly saw that when he heard this question, Hojo Fujitaka's face changed. His eyes swept across Hojo Hirohiro and Butler Tano, and after a struggle, they finally landed on Maori Kogoro. Only then did he relax his frown and sigh heavily, "This matter... It's a bit embarrassing to say. I hired Detective Horikawa for the same reason I hired Detective Maori: to find my lover from my youth."
"Lover?"
Unexpectedly, they would actually get a piece of gossip on this trip. Aside from the butler Mori and Tano, who already knew about it, everyone else looked a little surprised. Only Hojo Kimiyo, after being surprised, seemed to remember something and blurted out, "Brother, you still can't forget her? That vain woman..."
"Kimyo!"
Hojo Fujitaka spoke up to stop her, but Hojo Kimiyo angrily said, "That's exactly what happened. When that woman saw that you, big brother, had no power or money after leaving home, she immediately abandoned you. She took the large sum of money my father gave her and ran away. Am I wrong?"
Hojo Fujitaka sighed: "Whatever Yoshiko did back then, it was more than 30 years ago. I'm a dying man now. Can't I even see her one last time before I die?"
Yamato Gansuke probably hadn't expected that Hojo Fujitaka would hire a detective to investigate such a private matter. No wonder he found it difficult to bring up the matter in front of his son, sister, and other relatives. However, he was an experienced detective after all, and he quickly recovered from the embarrassment and looked at Maori to confirm, "Is what Mr. Hojo said true?"
"Ah, yes, that's right," Maori Kogoro nodded and rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Mr. Hojo did ask me to help find his lover who left him when he was young..."
Yuyin and Conan frowned, and almost at the same time noticed that there was something wrong with Maori's expression and words.
"In that case, when Takata Horikawa came to hand in the commission, did he give you any investigative materials? The police need to check these things." Yamato Gansuke turned his gaze to Hojo Fujitaka again.
Unexpectedly, Hojo Fujitaka said in embarrassment: "Well, yes, but..."
Yamato Gansuke frowned: "Is there any inconvenience?"
Hojo Fujitaka sighed: "Those materials can no longer be obtained."
He pointed to the bedside, and Butler Tian Ye immediately lifted a clay basin from the ground and explained, "Let me explain. The master has always had a habit of burning discarded or confidential materials, as well as unfinished manuscripts. Therefore, he always keeps a clay basin in his bedroom for this purpose."
"What?!"
Yamato Gansuke immediately stepped forward when he heard half of the conversation. He put his head close to the edge of the pottery basin and could see without touching it that the contents had been burned very cleanly, leaving not even a scrap of paper. He couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!"
Hearing what he blurted out, Butler Tian Ye shook his head in disapproval. "Officer, please maintain etiquette. As for the burning of the documents, it concerns my master's private affairs. He has the right to deal with the documents, and outsiders have no right to interfere."
Yamato Ganzhu snorted angrily, then said, "If you still remember anything, tell us quickly, otherwise we police will have to search ourselves. And as suspects, you all must cooperate with the police in the smoke reaction test."
Hojo Fujitaka and Butler Tano were all stunned: "Smoke reaction?"
Only the four people, Tamane, who had previously heard Uehara Yui talk about the cause of Horikawa Takata's death, knew the reason.
"Because Horikawa Takata is dead. He was shot after leaving you."
As Yamato Gansuke spoke, he glanced at everyone's expressions. He saw that except for the four people who had been ruled out as suspects, the others were shocked when they heard what he said, especially Hojo Fujitaka, whose expression was particularly ugly.
"How is it possible..."
"How is that impossible?" Yamato Gansuke slammed his cane on the ground and said, "Horikawa Takata was murdered nearby after leaving the Hojo family villa. This means you are all suspects."
"You are slandering me. We just met that Horikawa for the first time today. Why should we kill him?" The first one to express her dissatisfaction is always the spoiled girl Hojo Kimiyo.
"Kimiyo," before Hojo Kimiyo could continue arguing with Yamato Gansuke, Hojo Fujitaka seemed to have figured something out and stopped her in a trance, "Officer, this is also your duty. Please don't make things difficult for him."
"Mother, please stop arguing. Look, my uncle has already said this." Hojo Yuzhi timidly held his mother.
"Hmph." Hojo Kimiyo turned away angrily.
Yamato Gansuke glanced around the room again and said loudly, "Regarding these two cases, if you have any clues, please tell me immediately. This will also help you clear yourselves of suspicion."
After saying that, he was about to leave, but unexpectedly he was stopped by Hojo Fujitaka.
"Mr. Officer," Hojo Fujitaka said with a pale face, but he managed a smile. "I'd like to ask about the police's arrangements. When will the search of my home be concluded?"
Yamato Gansuke turned around and said, "Mr. Hojo, if you ask that, it will take at least an hour or two for them to finish the inspection and pack up. If you feel uncomfortable living in a house where someone has died, I can also ask the local police to be on duty here."
Hojo Fujitaka shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. I have security guards at home. Police resources are so tight, there's no need to waste them here."
"Tsk, those two at the door, I can knock them out with one punch." Yamato Gansuke knew that rich people would not accept the police's arrangements obediently, but he still planned to secretly arrange two policemen to guard the villa to prevent any accidents at night. "In that case, we can only continue to investigate tomorrow. During the few days of investigation, please do not leave here, otherwise I will assume that you are fleeing out of guilt."
"Are you coming tomorrow too..." Hojo Fujitaka sighed softly and looked around at everyone present. "I originally wanted to announce it at dinner, but since you all are here now, I might as well say it now."
Just as everyone was remembering the big news he had mentioned about announcing at dinner, they heard Hojo Fujitaka say, "Lawyer Sugimoto will be at your house at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. I will make my will in front of everyone."
Hojo Fujitaka's words completely changed the atmosphere in the room.
*
As soon as everyone left the room, Yamato Gansuke immediately went downstairs to meet up with his partner.
Hojo Kimiyo cursed at her son, and the two of them walked towards the restaurant together, apparently to have dinner.
Yuyin deliberately lagged behind for a few sentences, and after the people in front had walked away, she whispered to Hojo Hirohiro, "Mr. Hirohiro, forgive me for overstepping my bounds, but didn't your father make a will before?"
Hojo Hirohiro was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, my father did make a will before, but Uncle Fujimi was still alive, so the will he made is no longer applicable."
Atobe Keigo immediately explained her confusion: "Hojo Fujiken was Uncle Fujitaka's younger brother and the father of Hojo Hayao, who passed away today. He died suddenly of cardiovascular disease a year ago. After his death, the equity of the Hojo Group experienced a brief period of fluctuation, and it took about half a year after the change for it to stabilize."
Hojo Hirohiro didn't shy away from the topic. "My uncle passed away only about a year ago, and my father was so grief-stricken that he didn't think about revising his will. And then not long ago, he was diagnosed with cancer..." He sighed softly, "My father was right. It's time to rewrite his will. I was so busy with my father's illness that I completely forgot about it."
Rather than how much equity and property he can get in the will, Hojo Hirohiro is more concerned about his father's health.
Hojo Hirohiro left with a worried look on his face.
Yuyin suddenly stopped and stood in front of the Maori family who were walking behind them.
"What's wrong, Yuyin-san?" Xiaolan asked in confusion.
Yuyin turned her head and stared at Maori Kogoro sharply: "Mr. Maori, are you still going to hide this for Mr. Fujitaka?"
"What are you talking about?" Mao Li showed an exaggerated expression, "Why don't I understand?"
Yuyin said solemnly, "Obviously, Mr. Maori, you lied to protect your client's confidentiality."
Hearing this, Mao Li's expression was a bit strange, but eventually turned serious. He shook his head and said, "No, Ms. Saionji, you have to know one thing. I will not lie to the police for my client. Before I confirm that there is any connection to the case, as long as the client is unwilling to disclose, I am obligated to keep it confidential. This is my professional ethics as a private detective."
He straightened his collar and finally said, "Ms. Saionji, I can only tell you that Mr. Fujitaka and I did not lie."
After saying that, he went straight to the restaurant.
"Dad!" Xiaolan called him, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
Conan said with his hands behind his back: "It's very simple. Uncle Maori means that neither he nor Mr. Hojo lied, but they concealed something. In other words, Mr. Hojo asked him to investigate something else, and Mr. Hojo doesn't want outsiders to know this part for the time being."
Xiaolan opened her mouth in surprise: "Dad..."
Conan comforted him and said, "Don't worry, Sister Xiaolan, Uncle Maori definitely has nothing to do with these two cases, it's just..."
Yuyin interjected, "It's just that he and Mr. Hojo have been refusing to reveal anything, and I'm worried that the police officer will get impatient."
Conan nodded: "Yes, Officer Yamato must have noticed it, but he hasn't collected enough clues yet, so he won't act for the time being."
Atobe Keigo looked back at the bedroom with a serious expression.
*
Because of these things, Yuyin and Jibe had no appetite while sitting in the restaurant, so they just ate something quickly.
The police were still conducting investigations in the villa in an orderly manner.
Everyone also cooperated and did the gun smoke reaction test, including the four-person group who went out to play in the afternoon. The result was obvious, no one tested positive for the gun smoke reaction.
When Yuyin went to look for the scary Officer Yamato, he was standing with the female officer and exchanging clues about the case with Conan.
Conan repeated, "Officer Uehara, are you saying that the surveillance system outside the villa was damaged by the gnawing of wild animals?"
"Yes," Uehara Yui nodded. "It's been broken for three days now. A maintenance person only came yesterday afternoon to check the problem. They had to rewire the entire circuit, so they couldn't fix it right away. Also, because of this, there are a lot of new footprints inside and outside the villa walls. I've already asked the maintenance person to collect evidence, but for now, we can't find any clues from that aspect."
"I've also asked the security guard," Yamato Gansuke said with an unhappy look on his face. "Except for Horikawa Takata and you guests, no one entered or left through the main gate yesterday. However, this villa has more than one exit. There's also a back door for local servants to enter and exit. It's always open and unguarded."
"Back door?" Conan wondered.
"Ah, yes. A small number of the servants in this villa were brought here from Tokyo by Hojo Fujitaka and his team. They live in the servants' quarters on the first floor. The rest are locals hired from Miyota-cho. They frequently go in and out of the villa for daily groceries, food, and lodging, so we've created a separate back door for their convenience."
Conan said solemnly, "So, no matter who it is, they could have left the villa through that back door without being noticed?"
Uehara Yui nodded: "And whether it's the broken surveillance equipment or the existence of the backdoor, everyone in the villa knows about it."
The voices of the three of them talking were naturally not very loud, but Yuyin's hearing was extremely sensitive. Even though she tried to eavesdrop, she could still hear everything clearly.
Before she even got close, the Yamato officer keenly sensed her arrival. He suddenly raised his head to look at her, narrowing his eyes. "Miss, what can I do for you?"
Yuyin deliberately glanced upstairs to confirm that Atobe was not there. Only then did she feel relieved and said to Yamato Gansuke, "Two officers, I would like to ask you to investigate one thing, ummm... maybe two things."
*
It was already late at night when the police completely withdrew.
Because of this sudden case, Tamane and Atobe were ultimately unable to escape. Under the instructions of Mr. Hojo Fujitaka, Butler Tano arranged for them to stay in guest rooms on the second floor.
Yuyin came out of the shower and looked at the clock. The minute hand had already reached eleven o'clock.
She sat on the bed and sighed while drying her hair.
If the fact she guessed was true, then the person who had the conditions and motive to commit the crime might be that person.
Although it is better than the worst outcome that Jingwu does not want, everyone will still be hurt once the truth is revealed.
She had already told her guess to the two police officers. Now all she needed was evidence. If the police officers conducted a thorough search in the direction of her guess, they might be able to find evidence to convict her.
To be honest, the reason she was able to be one step faster than the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era this time was, to some extent, because she cheated.
Because of his special talent, he got the clue earlier than Kudo Shinichi.
Knock knock.
Hearing the knock on the door, Yuyin thought it was a servant of the Hojo family, so she stood up and opened the door, "Who is it?"
It turned out that the person standing outside the door was Keigo Atobe.
Atobe hesitated and said, "I saw from the window that the light in your room was still on, so..."
"Come in and talk."
Yuyin opened the door and made room. She couldn't let Atobe stand at the door and talk to her.
Atobe nodded thoughtfully and was about to enter when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs.
"Doctor! Doctor Akihara!"
Not long after, the panicked figure of Butler Tian Ye appeared in the sight of the two. He had lost his manners and was desperately banging on the door of Akihara Eiji's room.
"What's wrong?"
It was not known whether Akihara Hidetoshi was asleep or washing up, as he took a long time to open the door.
The field steward grabbed him and ran away, shouting as he ran: "The master has fainted!"
Akihara Eiji's expression changed, and he immediately shook off his hand: "Have you called an ambulance? Wait a moment, I'll get the first aid kit!"
Atobe Keigo and Tamane looked at each other, and both realized the seriousness of the matter and quickly ran to the third floor.
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