Chapter 71 Cointreau Chapter·Variation

The next morning, Inspector Megure brought Sato Miwako and Takagi Wataru to the old house that had just been moved in. They were accompanied by Tsukiyama Asari and Edogawa Conan who was at every murder scene... and Okiya Subaru who was holding a small pot in his hand.

"What's wrong with this guy?" Inspector Megure couldn't help but reveal a half-moon eye. The guy wearing a turtleneck sweater and holding the fragrant beef curry in his hand didn't fit in with the others.

...But it smelled pretty good.

After spending the night at the desk, he hurriedly ate a few canteen breads in the morning and went out to investigate the case. The three police officers present couldn't help but turn their heads and take a look at the pot of overcooked potato curry.

"I'm Mr. Suemitsu's neighbor." Okiya Subaru seemed to want to push his glasses, but he couldn't do it because his hands were occupied by the pot of warm curry. "I think he must have been frightened by what happened yesterday, so I want to come and visit him."

Who was frightened yesterday...

Thinking of the vendor's crooked nose, blood on his face, and the red mark on his forehead from the muzzle of the gun, Edogawa Conan secretly complained in his heart.

"Ahem."

Officer Megure coughed twice, walked to the iron gate first and rang the doorbell, "Mr. Suemitsu? I'm from the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division..." Tsukiyama

Asari stood behind a few people, stretched out his hand to rub his swollen and painful temples, and his face was full of fatigue that could not be stopped. When he pressed his forehead, he used his wrist to slightly block the side of his face, blocking the worried sight of several people.

"Strange... You should be home at this time?"

After waiting for several minutes without any response, Inspector Megure frowned and was about to press the doorbell again when Conan Edogawa stepped forward and tentatively pushed the iron gate.

"Huh?! Isn't the front closed?!"

...It turns out that he always opens the door like this no matter who comes. I thought he did it on purpose to scare people yesterday. The little detective couldn't help but twitch his mouth a few times, "Uncle... Brother opened the door for me like this yesterday! Let's go in."

The boy thought about Suemitsu Sosuke's face, which looked about the same age as Akai Shuichi, and swallowed the title of uncle.

But Mr. Akai is already over 30 years old, so it's okay to call him uncle...

He walked into the yard first and saw the adults who came in from behind looking at the dilapidated yard with the same expression as he had yesterday. He felt a sense of relief.

It was not his fault that he was scared yesterday. They were also scared!

"Uh... Mr. Suemitsu..." Takagi Wataru stepped forward and knocked on the door. Seeing that no one answered for a long time, he leaned over and put his ear to the door to listen to the movement inside. Who would have thought that the door opened automatically with a "click" at the moment he leaned over. Takagi Wataru was frightened by the sound, and his hand went from supporting the door to pushing it. With the loud sound of the door hitting the wall, he took a step inside and held the door frame to stabilize his body. There

was no light on inside. The unlucky policeman standing at the door subconsciously raised his head and looked inside. In the dim light, he met a pair of dark red eyes.

"Ah!!!"

"Takagi, what are you shouting?!" While Inspector Megure was talking, Sato Miwako quickly stepped forward and pulled Takagi Wataru, who was frozen at the door, back, repeatedly apologizing, "Sorry."

"I'm really sorry!" After reacting, Takagi Wataru quickly apologized for his rudeness just now. Everyone's eyes fell vaguely into the room.

The room seemed to have all the curtains drawn, and it was very dark, but the curtains were not thick, and the outline of the house could be vaguely seen. The sound of a wheelchair sliding on the wooden floor came from the stairs, from far to near, and the owner of this "haunted house" pushed the wheelchair to the door and was taken in by the light coming in from outside.

It was still the familiar wide black coat and gloves, but the clothes inside were different. Judging from the collar of the coat that was not tightened, it seemed to be pajamas inside.

Because he was at home, he was not wearing shoes. Under his thin ankles that looked like they could be easily broken were a pair of feet with distinct bone lines, vaguely hidden by a blanket, one side of which was covered with scars.

He looked even weaker than yesterday, and the bruises under his eyes were even darker.

Everyone's smiles at Takagi Wataru's stupidity just now gradually faded. Takagi Wataru walked over a few steps and stood at the door. He looked nervous and repeated his previous apology.

Suemitsu Sosuke was really embarrassed by this kind of serious and honest man. He wanted to keep a cold face to maintain his image, but seeing the other party's face full of apologies, he finally compromised.

He coughed lightly twice and said, "It's okay... What do you want to talk to me about?"

"It's like this, Mr. Suemitsu." Upon hearing this, Officer Megure took out his police ID from his pocket, turned to the first page and showed it to the other party, "We are investigating a serial murder case and would like to ask you some questions."

The man in the wheelchair paused, "Come in."

Then he went to the living room first and opened the curtains. The sunlight shone into this old building for the first time since the new owner arrived. The cloth that had not been cleaned for a long time raised a cloud of dust as it was pulled open. Suemitsu frowned and started coughing again.

The other person's coughing was really worrying. Sato Miwako hesitated for a long time and finally couldn't help but stepped forward to help him calm down, but was rejected by Suemitsu Sosuke without hesitation, just like yesterday.

"Uh... Mr. Suemitsu, may I ask when did you go to the back mountain yesterday?" Officer Megure's tone was unusually a little awkward. He wanted to wait a while before asking, but after Suemitsu Sosuke took a hard breath, he signaled him to ask something quickly, as if he would be annoying if he didn't speak.

"We'll leave at one o'clock and should arrive around two." The man's voice was very hoarse because he had just coughed. Sato Miwako wanted to pour him a cup of hot water to moisten his throat, but after looking around, she couldn't find a kettle or even a cup to drink water from, so she had to give up and said, "We'll leave at four."

"Did you hear any suspicious noises or see any suspicious people when you were in the back mountain?"

Feeling that Suemitsu Sosuke's throat was really uncomfortable, if he didn't drink some water, he would probably cough bitterly for a long time. But he couldn't just run to get some water himself. Tsukiyama Asari sighed in his heart and said, "Excuse me, do you have any water?"

"In the kitchen." The other party coughed twice again.

"Thank you." He walked into the kitchen, turned his back to the others, and skillfully took out a glass from its old position, then took a cup of hot water, took a few steps forward and handed the cup to the other party.

Suemitsu Sosuke was stunned, and it seemed that he did not think that the man asked that question to pour water for him. His hand froze on the armrest of the wheelchair for a few seconds, but finally took the glass filled with hot water of the right temperature and whispered a thank you.

The water flowed through his throat, and when he spoke again, the man's voice was obviously much better.

"At half past two, there was a sound of something heavy rolling over the ground, a crash. It was probably a box. Inside was something that could fill the entire box, and another small heavy object. When the box moved, it would hit the inner wall of the box... Give me the photo of the girl."

"...Ah? Okay..." Being asked for the photo so rudely by the other party, Inspector Megure was reluctant for a moment and took out the photo of the little girl from his mobile phone.

Hey, do you still remember that you are a policeman? How did you give it so easily?

Conan Edogawa had no idea that he usually got clues about the case in this way. Looking at the interaction between Inspector Megure and the man, he couldn't help but reveal a crescent eye.

"Not this one, the one with the corpse. And the case news." Suemitsu Sosuke's eyes fell on the photo and quickly turned away, and he handed the phone back impatiently.

Hearing this, Inspector Megure frowned and said sternly, "Mr. Suemitsu, the photos of the victim's body cannot..."

"Either give them all to me or get out." The other party's attitude was even tougher than his.

... His temper is too bad. Edogawa Conan frowned and looked at the man in front of him again.

The man's face was full of obvious impatience and hostility, and the air pressure around him was very low. The young detective cast his eyes on his hand and found that the hand that had been holding the armrest of the wheelchair was hidden behind the blanket, tightly grasping the fabric of the coat, as if desperately enduring something.

Inspector Megure was silent for a while, and finally gave the photos to the man in front of him who could be the only breakthrough in the case, and explained the process in a few words.

Suemitsu Sosuke casually shoved the cup to Tsukiyama Asari, and reached out to take the phone. The girl in the photo had been dug out of the soil and was lying next to the messy pit.

"...Are there any signs of sexual assault on her body?"

"No."

"I guess so... The murderer didn't have time to do it."

Suemitsu Sosuke coughed twice, spoke faster, and just stared at the photo without looking at other people.

"To make the girl, who was so alert at the time, follow him, it must be an acquaintance, either male or female. He should be over 30 years old. If he is a male, his height should not exceed 1.8 meters... no, under 1.75 meters... He is definitely not a strong type, and he should be thin."

"The shoe on the girl's left foot was put on by the murderer. He must have obsessive-compulsive disorder, or it was for the so-called sense of ceremony. I tend to think the former. He has a well-behaved job and is a good guy. He should have a good reputation among his colleagues. The girl was not his target, otherwise he would not have taken action today... There must be something that gave him a reason to do it."

"The suitcase used to transport the body is relatively large. After the girl was stuffed in, there was still space for the tools of the crime to dangle."

"Let's start with interpersonal relationships, focusing on this image feature. There is no alibi between 1:00 and 3:00 yesterday. Lock in the suspect and then check the background to see if he has experienced any accidents..."

He finally had time to breathe after finishing his words. He took the cup from Yueshan Asari and drank half of the warm water. Only then did he realize that everyone in the room was staring at him.

How long has it been since he got the photo? !

Everyone's expression was as if they had seen a ghost.

In less than five minutes, the suspect was quickly locked in a range that could be called precise. Who on earth is he? !

Suemitsu Sosuke raised one eyebrow, "Are there any other questions? If not, you can leave."

"Mr. Suemitsu..." Takagi Wataru felt sweat dripping from his head, and he stuttered, "Excuse me, how did you..."

"You are willing to waste precious time investigating the murderer on such meaningless explanations, but I am not willing to do so. If you don't have anything else important to ask, get out, now." Suemitsu Sosuke seemed to not want to talk to them anymore, and pushed his wheelchair to the second floor, where the stairs were converted into a barrier-free ramp. Seeing that

he really didn't want to talk anymore and that he had obtained enough clues, Inspector Megure had no choice but to thank him and leave with the others. Conan Edogawa had not recovered until they reached the door.

How on earth did he do it? !

With just a picture of a corpse and a few scribbled sentences about the case, he was able to analyze the murderer's general image! It's like...

how did he do that? I'll have to ask him after the case is over... No, that guy might be Cointreau, and with such a powerful ability, I can never go to him rashly like I did before.

... But I really want to know! !

The young detective frowned and ruffled his black hair. It wasn't until he sat in the car that he realized something was wrong.

Where's Mr. Okiya Subaru?

"Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Suemitsu Sosuke said to the tall man with glasses in front of him with an unhappy face. The latter raised the curry in his hand that he had been holding from just now, with an innocent expression, "I'm not with them..."

The man seemed to want to explain his purpose, but was interrupted by the other party directly, "Whether you are together or not, get out."

Okiya Subaru's gaze fell on the other party's trembling hands that were shaking more and more violently, his face unchanged, "Mr. Suemitsu doesn't seem to have any edible food in his house, I'll leave the curry and leave."

"I don't need it!" Unexpectedly, the other party was so difficult to deal with, Suemitsu Sosuke finally couldn't help raising his voice, and then coughed again.

The momentum of the person he had been planning to confront was gradually waning. After putting the curry on the table, he finally used his freed hands to gently push the frame of his glasses. On his way back to the living room from the restaurant, he squatted down and picked up the white medicine bottle that had been smashed to the ground at some point.

"As a neighbor, I just hope that Mr. Suemitsu can pay more attention to his own health. When you attacked the criminal yesterday, you didn't care whether the other party's gun would hit you or not. You probably didn't take the medicine prescribed by the doctor, and the medicine bottle is already covered with dust. And... Mr. Suemitsu hasn't had a good meal for a long time. If you continue like this, you will..."

"You will die?"

I don't know what nerve these words hit the other party. Suemitsu Sosuke allowed himself to tremble constantly. He lowered his head and gasped in the sudden and illusory sounds and pictures, like a rusty doll on a chain.

When this suffocating feeling that made his scalp numb disappeared again, he raised his head slightly, revealing a pair of red eyes filled with pain under his messy black hair, and the corners of his mouth curled up, pulling out his first smile of the day.

Suemitsu Sosuke met the man's open, dark green eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm not afraid of this. In fact..."

"I look forward to death more than anyone else."