Conan Moslin

Inspector Megure's eyes moved back and forth between the two men, and then he began to question Kubota.

"Mr. Kubota, where were you when the murder happened around 4:30?"

Kubota said nervously, "Ah, at that time I... I was alone in the office doing what the curator asked me to do."

Ochiai nodded immediately after him: "Yes, I did ask him to do something."

Megure stepped forward and asked him, "So, that means no one saw you at all."

Kubota raised his hand to make a protest: "Wait a minute, I... I have no motive to kill the boss, I am innocent!"

"It's no use hiding it, Mr. Kubota. You secretly sold the artworks here, and the owner is asking you for huge compensation, isn't it?" Iijima was a little emotional. He didn't believe that the director would kill someone. "It must be you. You killed someone and put the blame on the director!"

"No...it's not me..." Kubota took several steps back: "This matter has nothing to do with the murder case? I wasn't the one who killed him."

Looking at the increasingly suspicious eyes of the people around him, he had no idea how to explain.

……

Kogoro Mouri had been silent since the beginning. He kept recalling the expression of Boss Manaka in the surveillance video.

The expression was one of shock, and seemed to contain a hint of joy.

Why is it joy?

The surveillance camera cannot hear the sound...

"Ms. Li An, what did you see in the monitoring room just now? Can you tell me?" Conan pulled Li An's sleeve and asked.

Li An yawned long and briefly described the contents of the surveillance camera to Conan. She focused on the position of the armored man and the series of actions taken by Boss Manaka. Then she said, "Boss Manaka's action of taking the note was very abrupt, as if someone had said a few words to him to guide him to take it."

How does Director Ochiai manage to "rehearse" at night and still be energetic and not sleepy at all during the day?

Did you say a few words? Did you guide him to get it?

Kuriyasu's voice was not loud, but Kogoro Mori still heard what she said.

A detective must have such sensitive hearing, Kogoro Mouri was complacent, and then his expression became serious.

In other words, Boss Manaka picked up the note under the guidance of the armored man, so what would make him feel happy when he saw it?

The name on the note just now is...

It’s Ochiai!

If Boss Manaka heard Ochiai tell him to look at the note next to him, it would be very reasonable for Manaka to feel happy when he opened the note and saw the murderer's real name.

However, although neither Director Ochiai nor Mr. Kubota had a clear alibi, the armor was taken from Mr. Kubota's locker.

Kogoro Mori frowned and thought.

Is it a frame-up?

Kogoro Mouri's eyes gradually brightened.

……

Naturally, Li An's description could not fully express a person's emotions, so Conan's attention was focused on the fact that Boss Manaka grabbed the pen.

Why did he take a pen?

Does he know whether this pen can be used?

"Has Mr. Manaka ever written anything with a pen?"

Li An replied: “No.”

That is, I don't know that this pen can't write.

Mr. Manaka hid the note and even deliberately grabbed the pen instead of throwing it away.

Why did he hold on to the pen instead of the paper?

Mao Lilan walked towards Li An. It was a little late. Seeing that Li An looked very tired, she asked with concern: "Sister Li An, if you are tired, why don't you go back first?"

"It's okay. They should have thought it through soon." Li An blinked his sleepy eyes and said, "By the way, does Mr. Manaka know that there are surveillance cameras that can see his every move?"

Mao Lilan said in confusion: "He...he is the new boss, he shouldn't be particularly clear about this kind of thing."

Yes, that’s it!

Conan felt a flash of inspiration.

Boss Manaka had no idea whether there was any surveillance here, so when he picked up the pen, he meant to tell the people who saw his body that the paper was written by him!

If the note was in his hand, the armored man would have taken it away directly from him to prevent his name from being revealed. If the note was hidden in the black cloth, it would be different. The murderer would have no way of taking the blood-soaked paper away.

However, because of the existence of surveillance, when other people discovered that the pen could not write at all, found the note through surveillance, and found the bloody armor in Mr. Kubota's cabinet, they would have a preconceived notion that the content written on the note was intended to frame other people, and the other people here refer to Director Ochiai.

But in fact, this is a reverse thinking trap.

The murderer blatantly wrote his name on a piece of paper, taking advantage of a loophole in their thinking to lead their reasoning in a completely opposite direction. He clearly did not say anything, but the suspicion of this matter fell almost entirely on Mr. Kubota.

Then, the murderer should be Director Ochiai.

But... there is still a lack of evidence...

What kind of evidence will Director Ochiai leave behind?

If he hadn't taken the pen and the paper, there would be no evidence left...

Wait, why is the other pen under the table?

Whose pen is that?

Could it be... He raised his head and looked at Ochiai.

Just as Conan was thinking of this, he heard Uncle Maori's proud voice.

"Inspector Megure, let me, Kogoro Mouri, sort out what happened!" Kogoro Mouri smiled proudly.

"Brother Mori?" Inspector Megure looked at him with a half-mooned look.

When Kogoro Mouri was a policeman, he often led his colleagues into trouble. Although his reputation seems to have improved recently, but... is he really okay?

Looking at Inspector Megure's expression of complete distrust, Kogoro Mouri felt unhappy for a moment.

What, do you look down on me, the famous detective Maori Kogoro? He thought, I'll prove it to you!

"This is what happened."

"At about four o'clock, we walked outside the Hell House, but there was a sign prohibiting entry. This was the murderer's first trick."

"It's not really a trick. He put up a no-entry sign, so generally no one would come in and disturb us. He had the opportunity to make more arrangements."

"The arrangement he made should be very simple. He turned off the surveillance before entering, put a pen on the table, put a label with his name on the wall, and then put on the armor and stood there waiting."

"Wait..." Inspector Megure interrupted Maori Kogoro, "Mr. Maori, you said the label on the wall has his name on it?"

"In other words... the murderer is..." Director Ochiai?

Inspector Megure turned his head to look at Director Ochiai's expression, and there was no change.

Instead, Kubota secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Conan listened to Uncle Maori and nodded involuntarily. So far, everything he said was right.

Because he didn't say anything.

But...did Uncle Maori find conclusive evidence?

"That's right, Officer Megure, please listen to me."

"At about 4:30, Boss Manaka came to the Hell House to wait for him, but no one showed up."

"The following section is what we saw in the surveillance video."