Chapter 77 Chapter 77 1/2 The Truth
"I?"
As the eldest son of the Hojo family, Hojo Hirohiro has always presented himself as a calm and composed business elite. However, when he was suddenly accused of being the murderer, he couldn't help but shake his head and wave his hands in panic.
"It's not me! Are you mistaken?!"
"Of course I'm not talking about you."
Yuyin narrowed her eyes and looked at the person next to Hojo Hirohiro.
"That's right, the real murderer is you, Mr. Tian Ye, the butler."
Everyone then realized that the person that Saionji Gyoon was referring to just now might be the butler Tano who was supporting Hojo Hirohiro.
"How could this happen?"
Even so, most people find it hard to believe.
Just like in most wealthy families, butlers and housekeepers are like air, with a slight presence yet omnipresent. People tend to ignore them, yet they are indispensable to every aspect of life.
"Let me start with the murder of Takata Horikawa. Skipping over the motive for the murder, it was this case that initially made me suspect you, Mr. Tano, of being the murderer."
Yuyin ignored everyone's surprised looks and continued to tell the story.
"Takata Horikawa left the main gate around 1:30 p.m. and was murdered on a nearby hill around 2:10 p.m. He had been gone for nearly 40 minutes. Why was he still nearby? And how did the murderer determine Horikawa's location?"
Regarding the question she raised, everyone except Yamato Gansuke and Conan who already knew the truth began to think. Based on the clues that Tamane had just given, Atobe Keigo quickly figured out the reason.
"As far as the circumstances at the time are concerned, except for Butler Tano, Mr. Hojo Fujitaka, and Detective Mori, who were confirmed to be inside the villa when Horikawa Takata left, everyone else could have secretly left through the back door and followed Horikawa Takata. It would seem that Butler Tano and the other two would have been unable to commit the crime. However, what if Horikawa Takata had a transmitter on him?"
"Communicator?"
"Yes, unless the killer had an appointment with Takata Horikawa and had him meet at a designated location to kill him, then if the killer didn't know Takata Horikawa before, he would have only one way to locate Horikawa, and that would be to install a tracking device on him, then quietly leave the villa through the back door, find Takata Horikawa's location, and kill him. And given Horikawa's solitary nature, the only person who could have attached a portable tracking device to him would be Butler Tianye, who had the most contact with him in the villa and was responsible for receiving him."
Faced with Yuyin's accusation of the crime, Butler Tano remained silent. Instead, it was Hojo Hirohiro who spoke up: "But this doesn't mean Butler Tano is the murderer. You also said it could be someone else who had an appointment with Horikawa Takata beforehand, rushed there when everyone was not paying attention, and killed him."
Yuyin nodded and said, "Yes, those were just two guesses. The real evidence is still to come."
She turned to Yamato Gansuke and said, "Officer Yamato, Horikawa Takata died from two gunshot wounds to the chest, right?"
Yamato Gansuke nodded: "Yes, one of the bullets hit the heart."
"This means that the murderer is someone who has a basic shooting skill, and is even quite good at it," Yuyin asked Hojo Hirohiro. "Mr. Hirohiro, do you or anyone you know have a shooting hobby?"
Hojo Hirohiro shook his head: "No." Then he hesitated, "But I haven't heard that Butler Tano can use a gun. Besides, Mr. Tano is so old. And then there's the case of Hayao..."
"This goes to show that appearances are not to be judged. Who would have thought that the amiable butler Tian Ye was once a member of a Yakuza organization?"
"Yakuza?" Maori shouted in surprise.
"It was little Conan who discovered this." Yuyin looked at Conan with a smile.
Conan laughed awkwardly and said cutely, "Haha, I accidentally saw a little black pattern on the back of Mr. Tianye's neck, so I went to ask Sister Yuyin."
"Could it be..." Maori and Atobe both suddenly realized.
"That's right," Yuyin nodded. "It's a tattoo that all gang members would have on their bodies back then. Therefore, Mr. Tano's marksmanship and fighting skills are superior to ordinary people. Even though he's old now, he can easily shoot Horikawa Takata in the vitals with a gun at close range and stab Hojo Hayao with a knife."
Butler Tian Ye touched the back of his neck and said with a wry smile, "So I was accidentally seen." Finally, he broke his silence and turned to Yuyin and said, "Ms. Xiyuanji, are you suspicious because of this tattoo?"
Yuyin shook her head: "No, I suspected you before this."
Tian Ye’s steward was puzzled: “Why? I thought I hid it well.”
Yuyin and Conan said in unison, "Watch."
"A watch?" Butler Tian Ye raised his empty wrist, suddenly realizing, "So that's it."
Yuyin continued to explain, "Since you used a gun to kill Takata Horikawa, as a former gang member, you were certainly aware of the effects of gunpowder smoke. So, when you committed the crime, you not only wore a windbreaker and gloves to conceal your presence, but you also took off your watch, which you always carry with you, to prevent it from being contaminated by gunpowder particles. However, the gunshot was heard by a passerby fishing, and realizing someone was approaching, you hurriedly took the tracker you had installed, along with Horikawa Takata's personal documents and phone, and fled. To prevent anyone from noticing you had left the villa, you hid your windbreaker, gloves, and other belongings in a bag you had prepared, filled it with rocks, and sank it into the nearby river. Then, you hurried back to the villa. In your haste, you didn't notice the watch was still in your windbreaker pocket."
Yamato Gansuke held up an evidence bag. "This was salvaged from a nearby river after the police searched the area overnight. Gunpowder has been detected on that windbreaker, and the watch in your pocket is yours, right, Mr. Tano?"
Hojo Hirohiro took a look and immediately recognized the style of the watch. He turned to look at Butler Tianye and said, "Mr. Tianye, you..."
Tian Ye lowered his head and remained silent.
"That afternoon when we came back from our outing, Mr. Tian Ye, you checked your wrist to confirm the time, but your watch was missing. You could only look at the clock on the wall. At the time, I thought you had forgotten about it. But since that evening and now, you haven't worn your watch. This has led me to suspect that you've lost it for some reason. This greatly increases the possibility that you're the murderer."
Yuyin continued, "Then there's the case of Mr. Hojo Hayao's murder. Mr. Hayao was killed in a room on the fourth floor. Based on distance, Mrs. Kimishiro and Hojo Yuzhi, who were also on the fourth floor, are the most likely suspects. However, as the housekeeper, you wouldn't arouse suspicion if you were walking around the house. On the other hand, if Mr. Mori, Hojo Hirohiro, and Doctor Akihara, who were on the second or third floors, wanted to go upstairs, they would be completely unexplained if they were bumped into by the maids. Similarly, it would be difficult for the few people inside to sneak out of the villa without being seen. Only you, the housekeeper Tano, who claimed to be taking care of the flowers in the garden and had walking duties, would be able to avoid being noticed."
"Alright," Butler Tian Ye raised his hands in surrender. "I admit I killed him. Police, take me away quickly."
"Butler Tian Ye, why are you..."
Before Hojo Hirohiro could ask, Hojo Yuzhi rushed up and grabbed him by the collar, loudly demanding: "Why did you kill my mother!"
Butler Tian Ye pushed Hojo Yuzhi to the ground, straightened his collar, and said coldly, "I just need a scapegoat. Besides, your mother always orders me around, and I've long disliked her."
Hojo Yuzhi was furious: "You!"
Hojo Hirohiro was desperate for an answer: "What about Hayao and Detective Horikawa? Why did you kill them?"
Butler Tian Ye turned his head away and said, "Of course, it's because Detective Horikawa accidentally discovered that I had killed someone in the gang in the past while helping the master investigate. And Hojo Hayao also heard the conversation between Horikawa and me, and used this to blackmail me into helping him pass on the information."
Hojo Hirohiro was so frightened that he took two steps back: "This..."
Yuyin couldn't help but sigh when she saw him deliberately telling this lie.
"Mr. Tian Ye, why bother? I'm standing here and I already know everything. There's no point in you lying."
"Ms. Saionji!" Butler Tano turned his head sharply. "I'm telling you the truth. Now that you police have found the evidence, take me away!"
"You think that since you've destroyed all the information in Horikawa Takata's bag, no one will know the truth, right?" Yuyin shook her head. "As for arresting you, there's no rush. Let's talk about it after I finish discussing the third case."
Yamato Gansuke and Uehara Yui stood still, obviously supporting Saionji Gyoon's decision with their actions.
"The third case, specifically, is divided into two cases, and the murderers in these two cases are different."
"Two cases?"
Yuyin continued to explain their confusion: "The first case is the case of the injury to Mr. Hojo Fujitaka, and the second case is the fake suicide case of Hojo Kimiyo."
Maori was puzzled: "Didn't Mr. Hojo fall accidentally?"
"No," Yuyin shook her head and looked at Butler Tano. "At that time, Mr. Hojo Fujitaka was waiting for Butler Tano in the room, because when he heard the police say that Takata Horikawa was dead in the evening, he knew who the murderer was. He wanted to persuade Butler Tano to surrender after the police left, and Mr. Tano would come to his room around 10:30 every night to urge him to go to bed. This was the best opportunity to talk. Unexpectedly, Butler Tano was late for more than ten minutes that night for some reason, so Mr. Hojo Fujitaka, who was waiting, was drafting a will at the table to be notarized by a lawyer tomorrow. As a result, at this time, Hojo Jundai was uneasy because she heard that her brother was going to make a will in the evening, so she ran to find her eldest brother, probably hoping that he would take more care of her and her son for the sake of their brother and sister. As a result, she saw the contents of the will and had an argument with Mr. Hojo Fujitaka. She pushed him down, and Mr. Hojo Fujitaka hit the back of his head on the edge of the table and fell into a coma. Hojo Jundai was frightened and ran away with the draft will in a panic."
Yuyin took out a piece of paper and showed it to the audience, "Regarding the will, this is what Conan discovered. Although Hojo Kimiyo took away the handwritten will of Mr. Fujitaka, when Mr. Fujitaka wrote the will, he put a piece of paper underneath. This is the white paper underneath. This is the content of the will written on the previous piece of paper that Conan revealed after he blackened it with a pencil."
"Mr. Guanghao," she suddenly called out, handing the paper to Hojo Guanghao, "I think as the heir of the Hojo family, you have the right to read the contents of this paper."
Hojo Hirohiro took it as he was told and read out the contents softly. The first part was not surprising to everyone. It was the arrangements made by Hojo Fujitaka for his son, sister, nephew and other relatives, the amount of inheritance property, etc.
"...In addition, there is my recently found son, Akihara Eiji..."
Hojo Hirohiro's hand trembled, and the paper covered with pencil marks fell to the ground. He turned his head abruptly and looked at Doctor Akihara, who had nothing to do with anything that happened today, and muttered, "Doctor Akihara, is he... my brother?"
Akihara Eiji was puzzled when he heard this. "Um, is there something wrong?" He turned to Yuyin, "Is this really not a prank by that kid? How could it be possible that Mr. Hojo and I are together?"
Yuyin shrugged. "Mr. Akihara, it's a shame. I asked Officer Yamato and the others to verify this matter. You are indeed Mr. Hojo Fujitaka's biological son." She pointed at Mori and said, "If you don't believe this, you can ask Detective Mori to confirm it. He was commissioned by Mr. Fujitaka to investigate this matter."
Mao Li was so anxious when he heard her shirking responsibility: "Oh, Mr. Hojo said I can't tell anyone else before he announces it!"
Isn't this a disguised admission that this is the fact?
Akihara Hidetoshi and Hojo Hirohiro looked at each other, and were speechless for a moment when they thought that they were actually brothers.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: I didn’t expect that I couldn’t finish the puzzle chapter with 3,000 words… Because today is the Little New Year and I have to go to my grandma’s house, I can’t continue writing.
The next chapter will reveal the other half of the truth
*Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-01-26 09:26:57 and 2022-01-26 16:31:50~
Thanks to the little angels who provided the nutrient solution: Mousse Nian (12 bottles); Jiaping Chushi., Shurong. (10 bottles); Lin Shiyan (5 bottles); 54358856, Strawberry Cake (1 bottle);
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com