Chapter 389

If the furniture company truck coming over and the explosion on the other side of the tunnel were just to attract the guard's attention, the time window would be very short, and the risk of being discovered would be high.

The murderer's method...

Conan glances at the entire mansion, the figure of Xia Xia Jiang flashing before his eyes.

This incident is clearly a continuation of what happened six months ago.

The police at the time might have been misled into only moving the coffin to check the floor, failing to discover the secret passage hidden by the carpet or the mechanism on the back of the coffin.

Come to think of it, this place is located at the border of Qunma County and Saitama County, and it seems to be under the jurisdiction of Qunma County. Could the police who came six months ago have been...

Conan’s eyelids drooped.

I hope it’s not that guy.

Leaving one guard to watch the body, the other guard took Conan for a walk around the mansion's perimeter wall.

There are no places to enter or exit, and there are anti-theft sensors on the wall; if anyone tried to climb over, the guard would know immediately.

These were already here half a year ago; only the guards were hired after the maid incident, so the possibility of someone moving things around silently is low.

As for the secret passage...

Xia Xia Jiang probably only had one week to renovate, and building a secret passage on a large scale would easily arouse the workers' suspicions, especially since there were already vampire legends here.

Besides, if there really were a secret passage, there would be no need to specifically arrange for a furniture company truck or blow up the tunnel.

The culprit only had that little bit of time to utilize.

When Conan returned to the villa, the members of the family who had learned the news were already arguing in the dining room.

"He’s not a policeman, why should we listen to him?"

"Even if he is a famous detective, he’s too young. Who knows if he’s the real one..."

"That's right," He He Meihua cried, "He said he would give us an explanation, but in the end, wasn't my dear still killed?!"

"We should just protect ourselves."

The group was determined and left the dining room, ignoring the repeated pleas of the maid, Tian Tian Yumei.

The butler tried to go over and stop them, but was held back by Conan from behind.

"Forget it, it's useless," Conan shook his head and said, "Just let them go."

Encouraging everyone to leave at a time like this, the murderer clearly still has a plan.

"You already know, don't you?" Akaso Kaze asked.

"I have, after all, solved so many cases on my own,"

Conan walked into the empty dining room and said, "The more complex the case, the more traces there usually are to follow, not to mention that the opponent isn't necessarily some high-IQ criminal."

Conan walked to the balcony window below the attic crime scene, pulled the curtains, and observed carefully.

"The tricks with the coffin and the photo have been solved; what remains is this, the blood-sucking bat."

"The bat must just be a toy plane controlled by remote; the problem is the sudden appearance and disappearance of Xia Xia Jiang. There were no obvious traces left in the attic, and we rushed over almost immediately at the time."

"Could there be some other mechanism?"

Conan imitated He He Meihua pulling the curtains at the time, his gaze landing on the window glass. After checking closely, he discovered that the top pane of glass was a convex lens, capable of inverting the scenery outside...

In other words, when Xia Xia Jiang appeared to be retreating upstairs, he was actually falling downwards. Because the window below was blocked by He He Meihua, everyone didn't notice.

If that’s the case...

Conan walked out to the balcony and rummaged through a pile of flower pots nearby.

Sure enough, he saw a pale, fanged face.

Hidden by the flowers and plants was a head, along with the shoulder part of a vampire cloak propped up with stuffing.

The owner of this villa, Xia Xia Jiang, was actually already dead, leaving only a head dressed as a vampire.

Conan’s eyes narrowed, and the scenes from before flashed through his mind like lightning.

The screams of the maid Tian Tian Yumei, the conversations of the family members, and the old butler’s account.

"So that's how it is." Conan’s eyes lit up.

It was already the early hours of the morning. The chef and maids in the villa had all gone to sleep, and the family members were all staying silently in their respective rooms. The corridor was completely quiet, with only the occasional sound of thunder from outside.

The maid Tian Tian Yumei took her phone and left her room, looking at an email sent by the Master.

"Regarding the important matter I couldn't tell you this morning, please come to the Namban Room immediately. Of course, don't let anyone find out; come alone. Xia Xia Jiang."

The content of the email made her very anxious, and she didn't know what to do.

"Could it be that the Master is safe and sound, and knows who the real culprit is? But he really looked like a vampire at that time."

The maid Tian Tian Yumei walked through the corridor toward the Namban Room in confusion, suddenly seeing Akaso Kaze standing at the corner ahead.

"Mr. Kaze?"

"Shh."

Akaso Kaze signaled for the maid to be quiet, then took the phone to look at the email content before handing it to Conan.

"This email wasn't sent by your Master. I'll go with you," Akaso Kaze said softly.

A smile appeared on Conan’s face.

By now, the entire case had formed a closed loop in his mind, and all the information flow cleared away the final mist from the truth that had been somewhat unclear.

In addition to locking onto the specific culprit, the detailed process of the case had also been completely unraveled.

"Um..."

The maid Tian Tian Yumei walked to the Namban Room, pushed the door open, and tentatively called out in a low voice.

"Master, it's Tian Yumei. I saw your email and came over. Master?"

As the maid walked into the room, a dark shadow emerged from behind the door. After slowly closing the door, it turned on a flashlight and shone it fiercely at the maid, simultaneously rushing over with a dagger and a sinister grin.

It's over!

"Bang!"

A hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and chopped at the shadow's neck.

The shadow’s eyes widened as it collapsed to the ground, passing out instantly.

"It's okay now."

Akaso Kaze opened the door, picked up the shadow, and walked out of the Namban Room.

Stimulated by the villa's lights, the unconscious He He Meihua opened his eyes in pain.

It took a while for him to recover, only to find that everyone in the villa had gathered around him.

Why?

"It was He He Meihua?!" Zhang Da’s face turned livid, and he looked at Akaso Kaze in confusion, "Mr. Kaze, what on earth is going on here?"

Akaso Kaze smiled slightly and said, "Let Conan explain."

Hearing that he had a chance to shine, Conan immediately showed an excited expression.

This Yin-Yang Master is really great this time.

He took out the email Tian Tian Yumei had received to show everyone, his gaze sweeping over He He Meihua as he said:

"This series of murders was originally prepared by the Master for Miss Tian Yumei. Mr. Xia Xia Jiang originally intended to call Miss Tian Yumei to the Namban Room in the morning, but Miss Tian Yumei left her phone in the bathroom to charge and didn't see the email until the afternoon."

"That email happened to be seen by He He Meihua, who had been staying here since the day before, so he secretly went to the Namban Room in Miss Tian Yumei's place. At that time, he must have seen the key to this case: Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's head."

"Wait," Zhang Da said anxiously, "What do you mean by Big Brother's head? What key?"

"Mr. Xia Xia Jiang must have already died under the guillotine at that time,"

Conan said quietly, "Next to the body, there should have been his phone, the key to the cold storage, the detonation device for the tunnel, and the plan for this series of murders."

"A plan?" The family members’ throats went dry, "What plan?"

"First, Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's sudden disappearance from the coffin was actually just using Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's head and a fake body. There is a secret passage under the coffin leading to the first-floor storage room. When everyone heard Miss Tian Yumei's scream and went over, Mr. He He Meihua was not present; he had probably gone into the secret passage at that time."

Conan deduced step by step.

"When everyone first tried to open the coffin, they couldn't, because at that time, He He Meihua was in the secret passage removing Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's head and the fake body, while simultaneously activating a mechanism that prevented the coffin from being opened from the outside."

"But," Zhang Da asked, "The police checked it half a year ago and didn't find any secret passage."

"That's because it was covered by the carpet nearby, creating a visual error through the room's furnishings. When the police checked, the coffin was moved to the side, and the entrance to the secret passage was hidden by the carpet. Of course, they wouldn't find it without a careful inspection," Conan explained.

"Then what about that paranormal photo?"

The family members asked one after another, "Big Brother really appeared in the photo."

"Because there is a mechanism in the mirror on the wall. When there is a light source in the next room, the image from there will be reflected over," Conan said, looking at He He Meihua, who was sweating on his forehead.

"After taking the things out of the coffin, He He Meihua hung Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's head in the wardrobe next door. As long as you turn on the light source with the remote in your pocket when taking the photo, Mr. Xia Xia Jiang's figure will naturally appear."

"And to avoid the mirror being blocked, He He Meihua specifically stood in the middle position."