Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 835 Qin's Curse
"The case from more than 30 years ago?" Shitara Renxi repeated the question blankly, "Why are you asking this? It's really a pity that Grandpa Dan Jiro happened..."

Conan pursed his lips but was very persistent: "Uncle thinks it is necessary to understand this case clearly. After all, this is the first family member of yours to die on his birthday."

Although Joker's words did not acknowledge Asai Masaru's identity, they indirectly indicated that he was aware of the situation of the Shitara family. Considering that the birthday party was about to take place, which was an extremely ominous sign, he felt that he could not wait any longer.

Before everything started, they had to find the root cause, or at the very least, figure out what had happened to this family that had culminated in the Phantom Thieves paying attention to them.

"Well, maybe I should ask Grandpa Genzaburo." Shitara Renxi tapped her cheek, feeling embarrassed. "I wasn't even born thirty years ago, so I don't know anything about him. After I was born, Uncle Kyosuke rarely came back here, so I had no chance to learn more."

"You said earlier that he bought that guitar and gave it to Mr. Choichiro. So he should be quite rich?" Ran Mouri noticed Conan's anxious expression and came forward to help.

"That should be the case. Although I don't know him, as far as I know, my grandfather couldn't have the money to buy it." Shitara Renki shrugged, a little emotional, "Our family is mainly engaged in the music industry, but Grandpa Danjiro seems to have a talent for management. He owns a band and a theater. But this may also be the help provided by his wife. Uncle Kyosuke is not only a composer, but also manages many industries of the Yuga family. That grandmother seems to have been a very wealthy collector of art in the past?"

"Collector..." Conan's expression became much heavier when he thought of Yuga Kyosuke who was called away alone by Kitagawa Yusuke.

If the Phantom Thieves had discovered something at that time, everything would seem to make sense.

"A Stradivarius was very valuable thirty years ago. You are really sentimental to be willing to buy such an expensive instrument as a gift to your brother." Tang Ze raised his eyebrows and began to show off his bloodline again.

Conan, who was already thinking about Yuga Kyosuke, heard this, glanced at the playful expression on Tang Ze's face, and also felt that subtle feeling.

Hanega Kyosuke is known as a genius. He was born into a musical family and was influenced by it since childhood. He started to come into contact with and learn music earlier than others.

Although he was probably only two or three years old thirty years ago, it seems reasonable to say that Shitara Tanjiro would have prepared for a rainy day so early and bought his son a famous harp from three hundred years ago as a gift...

"Grandpa Choichiro also expressed his feelings about this." Shitara Renxi did not smell this subtle smell, and only regarded Tang Ze's words as a compliment. "At the beginning, he was also trying his best to protect this guitar. Otherwise, if he was like the others and did not resist the robbers' behavior, perhaps nothing would have happened..."

Conan stroked his chin, thinking: "The robbers targeted the birthday party of the head of the Shitara family so accurately on that day. They must have heard that the harp would be exhibited. They committed the crime for the high value and unique status of the harp, right?"

"Well, he even took action for this and killed someone. The dead and the undead have a huge impact on the nature of the case. If someone dies, the risk will be much higher." Tang Ze also nodded.

"We've already started working on this, but in the end, we still can't figure out which one is the real one..."

Shitara Renki looked around at the two people blankly. As they talked, she felt something was not right. Her eyes widened. “Is Detective Maori now suspecting that there was something wrong with the original case?”

"That's a possibility." Tang Ze took the initiative to speak, so that her eyes wouldn't always glance at Conan, who was smart despite his age. "When this case happened, apart from the victim, Mr. Shitara Danjiro, there were only Mr. Shitara Choichiro, his wife, and his son Shitara Kō in the Shitara house. The first people to discover the case were Mr. Shitara Genzaburo and his wife who arrived a little late. What happened during this period, and whether there is any hidden secret, no one can say for sure except the people who were present."

From the time the crime occurred to the time the case was reported, all the statements came from eyewitnesses, namely Shitara's own family members.

In addition, when the case was reported, Shitara Danjiro had not been confirmed dead. He was declared dead after being sent to the hospital and failed treatment. The possibility of murder was ruled out in the case.

Under this premise, the police only treated it as a property theft case, and the main victim, the famous Stradivarius violin, was not stolen in the end, and the value of the case suddenly dropped infinitely low.

It was not taken seriously, and the criminal investigation methods at that time were limited. Koto was indeed brought to the Shitara house by the victim himself, and there was no prior evidence to prove that the brothers had a bad relationship. In the end, the case was determined based on the testimonies of several eyewitnesses.

It's a bit sloppy, but it's doable.

So many years have passed, and the victim's son has grown up to 30 years old without knowing it. The perpetrators may have already forgotten these past events through self-hypnosis day and night.

If it weren't for the fact that Kyosuke Haga accidentally came into contact with the reopened Stradivarius, the mastermind Shitara Choichirō might have died in a few years, and everything would naturally have been lost in the long river of time.

However, the Stradivarius, the evidence that witnessed everything, is the most important theme of the whole story. All greed and desire are born around it. This is the obsession that the Shitara family cannot let go of. It is only a matter of time before Hanega Kyosuke comes into contact with it, and it is also inevitable.

Renxi Shitele suddenly pinched the hem of her skirt and her face gradually turned pale.

This passage could be considered an accusation, but since both parties involved were her relatives, she couldn't help but tremble.

"Speaking of which, how long has Ms. Jinqu been the housekeeper in your house? When the crime happened thirty years ago, weren't there other servants in the house?" Conan saw her tangled look and changed the subject, "This place is so big, it would be hard to manage without servants and a housekeeper."

"Ms. Jinqu came here more than ten years ago." Shitara Renxi shook her head. "I was already ten years old when she came to our house. She came to take over our old housekeeper. Thirty years ago, well, I don't know either..."

Seeing that Kogoro Mouri, who had gone to find the toilet, finally came back, Conan stopped asking questions, knowing that it would be difficult to get more information from Renki Shitara.

As she said, she was not yet born when the case occurred, and her father, Shitara Kōto, was not even an adult yet, so it was too difficult for her to provide enough key information.

"Detective Maori!" Seeing Maori Kogoro, Shitara Renxi seemed to have found her backbone and immediately raised her voice, "You will protect me and the rest of our family, right?!"

"Huh?" Maori Kogoro frowned in confusion, and caught a glimpse of Karasawa and Conan sneaking out the door from the corner of his eye, "Are you brats talking nonsense again? Don't worry, since I have received your commission, I will definitely do my job well..."

"He makes it sound like he'll retreat if someone really dies." Conan, who ran out of the room, couldn't help but complain.

What's more, if someone really dies, the detective can't stop it, right? If he can tell you who killed someone, he is a very competent detective.

"It's okay. She has read so many detective novels, she can understand it." Tang Ze nodded without any psychological burden.

Even if the detective in a detective novel discovers clues in advance, he can basically only wipe the dishes for the murderer.

After all, if there really were no deaths, what would be the point of a detective novel? According to Tang Ze, this might be because those who are good at fighting have no glorious achievements.

"I guess Miss Shitara Renki only knows this much." Conan took out his notebook, simply wrote down a few key words on it, and hastily drew a simple picture of a violin. He also felt it was quite tricky. "But she should be the person in this house who is least likely to be involved in the case, and the only one who can be trusted." When she was born, Shitara Danjiro had been dead for a long time. She only came into contact with the violin recently because she wanted to celebrate her grandfather's birthday. She definitely has nothing to do with this "curse".

In addition to her, even Yuga Kyosuke, who was only two or three years old thirty years ago, became the most interested suspect because the victim was his father.

Considering Kitagawa Yusuke's contact, he is even the most likely key player...

"Let's ask the housekeeper, Ms. Tsukuro." Conan made a decision after exhaling. "She came here relatively late, so she might be more objective than the eyewitnesses. But considering her age, it's hard to say whether she has anything to do with Shitara Danjiro."

He found an opportunity to ask. Jin Qu Hongsheng is 54 years old this year. Thirty years ago, she was almost in her early 20s. She might know Shitara Tanjiro, or Shitara Tanjiro's wife. This possibility should also be taken into consideration.

Having worked as a scene detective for a long time, he has developed the habit of a professional detective not to make judgments easily.

"Go ahead and ask, but be prepared for lies to be mixed into the following information."

"Of course, that's what detectives do."

----

"Your leader looks very busy."

Sitting in front of the makeup mirror, Yuga Kyosuke pulled his well-styled bangs uncomfortably and sighed to Asai Narimi who was standing behind him.

After he gave the information, the white-haired young man left without saying a word. After a while, he came back with photos and quickly fixed his hair. Without waiting for him to ask more questions about the so-called plan, he disappeared again.

Having worked behind the scenes for many years and rarely stood in front of the stage, Yuga Kyosuke was not very adaptable to this pace. He seemed to be like a makeup artist in the backstage of a TV station who was responsible for several people and rushed from one show to the next.

"He is indeed very busy." Asai Narumi was not amused by his words, but thinking about Tang Ze's schedule that was about to send sparks out, he couldn't help but smile.

Not to mention the busyness that multiple identities brought to Tang Ze. This time, if he hadn't specially introduced Hanega Kyosuke to the villa of the base to meet Asai Narimi, it would probably have been Kitagawa Yusuke himself who received the invitation.

In that case, Tang Ze really needs to be able to create a clone to deal with it.

Asai Narimi was laughing at Tang Ze, but Yuga Kyosuke obviously misunderstood his laughter and touched his overly smooth chin with an uncomfortable look: "Is it funny? To be honest, I'm not used to it either."

Hanega Kyosuke works behind the scenes. His mother's family businesses are mainly physical industries and collectibles. He rarely participates in business social activities, so his daily dressing habits are to dress in any way that is comfortable, and he seems a bit unkempt.

But his father was a musician in the past, proficient in piano and violin, and he always wore a tuxedo or a suit, basically formal attire suitable for attending concerts.

Kyosuke Hanega was not quite used to wearing such an outfit to imitate his father.

"Isn't this great?" Asai Chengji patted his well-fitting collar twice, "And you see, his clothes fit you very well."

In order to make the two guilty brothers feel as shocked as possible when they see the refreshing Haga Kyosuke and maximize the effect of Haga Kyosuke's ability, Karasawa wanted to make his state as close as possible to that of Shitara Danjiro when he died from the very beginning.

Fortunately, although he had passed away for more than 30 years, the Shitara family was not so petty as to clean up the room of their deceased relative. Danjiro's old clothes were neatly packed into a box and stored in his original room.

After trying it on, they unexpectedly found that the clothes fit Yuga Kyosuke surprisingly well. With his well-groomed hairstyle, except for the lack of the beard that the older generation of the Shitara family liked to grow, it was as if Shitara Danjiro had come back to life and was standing here again.

Without the beard, Yuga Kyosuke now looks more like his father in his twenties, in the prime of his life. Standing in this clean old house, it is as if time has gone back to the time when nothing had happened.

Yuga Kyosuke adjusted his bow tie and took a deep breath.

"Because I'm almost the same age as my father when he died." He sighed softly.

To be more precise, they are almost the same age.

The eldest brother of the Shitara family, Choichiro, is 72 years old this year, Genzaburo is 60 years old this year, and his father was about 32 or years old when he died. And Haga Kyosuke is years old this year.

Now, he was standing here, standing where his father had stood in the past, with a very similar look and a very similar expression.

It was like a revelation from God.

Smiling at himself in the mirror, Yuga Kyosuke said softly, "I'm beginning to like your plan."

Asai Narimi smiled and bowed.

"Then there's only one step left to the plan. Play the violin, right?"

"Yes, play the violin. And that violin. It was a gift your father prepared for you. He went to Germany to study at the Conservatory of Music for this purpose. You graduated with the first prize, and you will not let it down."

"You're right. It's time to remove the 'curse' that's wrapped around it."

The ill-gotten gains gained through murder and robbery are destined to become a "curse" if they fall into the hands of those to whom they do not belong.

(End of this chapter)