Chapter 1007: A Very Soft Body with Elasticity

"Lord Akaso, what do you think?" Inspector Megure asked, looking at the pipe man and the others who were first taken outside for separate questioning.

"These people were right next to the victim when the case happened, right?"

Akaso Kaze walked out of the banquet hall.

The most suspicious ones were the 4 people who were next to Mrs. Hoshina at the time.

The butler, the pipe man, the old man, and a female guest.

Except for the butler, the other 3 also arrived at the Hoshina house early and were much more familiar with Mrs. Hoshina than the other guests.

"Let's listen to their testimony first."

Regardless of the reasons, regardless of how unpleasant Mrs. Hoshina's personality was, the murder case was a very serious matter.

No matter what, it was impossible for a watchmaker who had passed away 4 years ago to be the murderer.

"That is indeed the case," in the temporary interrogation room, the square-faced man, Karube Teigo, puffed on his pipe and said indifferently.

"The reason I asked everyone to stay is, of course, because I don't want the ghost of my childhood friend, the watchmaker, to be treated as the culprit."

"Hmm," Megure pondered and looked at Karube's hands and cuffs. "Your hands and cuffs are stained with blood."

"This? It was stained when I rushed to the fallen lady," Karube spread his hands to explain. "Besides, there is no blood on any other part of my body, right?"

"That is correct. However, at the time of the crime, did you notice anything?" Megure continued to ask.

"Come to think of it," Karube stroked his beard and thought, "I seemed to hear the sound of fabric rubbing. The culprit might be a woman in a dress, but I don't know if she was holding a long, sharp murder weapon or something."

"Can we check this pipe of yours?"

"Of course."

Conan had been watching Megure interrogate them one by one, recording the information of the most suspicious bearded men in his notebook.

Karube Teigo, 45 years old, a bearded man, is the architect who designed the Hoshina mansion and also a childhood friend of the deceased watchmaker.

Suwa Chiai, 39 years old, a female guest who was particularly flattering to Mrs. Hoshina, is the female interior designer responsible for the Hoshina family's interior decoration, and also the watchmaker's younger sister.

Furugaki Rinsaku, 64 years old, a bald old man with a white beard, is the watchmaker who made the big clock like a clock tower. Since the watchmaker passed away 4 years ago, he has come every year to check the big clock and was an old friend of the watchmaker.

What is quite interesting is that all 3 people have a relationship with the watchmaker who passed away 4 years ago.

"After the culprit stabbed the lady to death, she escaped from my left side very quickly," the female designer Suwa Chiai showed her left arm and said, "So look, there are bloodstains on my left arm from when she brushed past me, right?"

"By the way," Officer Takagi checked the bloodstains and turned his attention to the female designer's hair. "What is that hairpin inserted in your hair?"

"It's a hairpin my brother bought me!"

The female designer angrily pulled out the hairpin and handed it to Takagi. "If you suspect me, feel free to check it! But remember to return it to me later!!"

The bald old man who accepted the investigation later handed over his cane quite readily: "Feel free to check it however you want. It's just my cane, and it doesn't have any mechanisms."

"It looks like it should be."

Megure took the cane, looked at it left and right, and asked the old man: "There is a little blood on your right shoulder."

"That woman seemed to have been stabbed on my right side," the old man sat opposite Megure with his arms crossed, unhappy. "If the cane is fine, can you return it to me? This was given to me by the watchmaker mentioned earlier 10 years ago, and it's been a few years."

"Uh, we still need to conduct a blood test. Regarding the culprit, do you have any impressions?"

"Although it has nothing to do with me, I think the culprit should be a very fat guy. Before that woman screamed, I was bumped into by a very soft body with elasticity."

Conan frowned, listening to the testimony.

In this situation, even the culprit wouldn't tell a complete lie.

The 3 people's testimonies all had subjective judgments, but they were not without reference value. Reasoning and judging information clues was also one of the detective's jobs.

The fourth person to enter the room was the fat butler Aome Gakudo, who was quite suspicious because of his somewhat obese figure.

"Mr. Aome, your fingerprints were detected on the knife next to the cake."

"Of course. After the lady blew out the candles, cutting the cake is my job as a butler!" the butler said angrily.

"Butler uncle," Conan interrupted from the side, "Why didn't the lights turn on immediately after the candles were blown out?"

"Because I didn't wait for the lady's signal," the fat butler was stunned. "It used to be that after blowing out the candles, the bell would ring at 6 o'clock sharp. After the bell finished ringing, the lady would snap her fingers to let me turn on the lights, but this time the big clock didn't ring immediately."

"By the way," Conan stared at the butler suspiciously, "You were clearly next to the lady, but you weren't splashed with blood at all!"

"This, the culprit seems to be a big guy, probably blocked it all." ===== CHAPTER 1009 =====