My neighbor's name is Conan

Not only Aoki Matsu disagreed with Kogoro Mori's inference, Conan also clearly disagreed.

Aoki Matsu thought for a moment and said to Mr. Murata, "Mr. Murata, if you have a vacant room, can you lend it to us? I want to set up the base for the search here, is that okay?"

"Oh, yes." Mr. Murata walked out after hearing that, and a police officer followed him.

Then Aoki Matsu looked at editor Tono and said, "Mr. Tono, I think you might be the last person Mr. Saikawa saw before he died. Could you please cooperate with our investigation for a while longer?"

"Okay." Editor Tono responded immediately after hearing this.

"Inspector." At this time, a police officer ran over and whispered to Qing Musong: "Inspector, we just checked and found that the people living in this apartment only got two keys. Teacher Qichuan's two keys are in the house. We have found them."

Qing Musong raised his eyebrows when he heard this, but he still asked Editor Tono to go to the base and wait for a while, and then he said: "So, the murderer has another backup key?"

Upon hearing this, Maruta Ayumi immediately said to Aoki Matsu, "Inspector, then the person we should target is someone who had the opportunity to back up the key in advance. For example, Editor Tono who often comes here for meetings and is responsible for contacting Mr. Saikawa."

Aoki Matsu nodded, "He did have the opportunity to do so, but the administrator, Mr. Murata, also has the key, so he is not the only suspect." After thinking for a while, he said, "Maruta, go investigate the two people, especially their relationship with Mr. Saikawa."

It is possible for conflicts to occur between residents and property management, and it is even more likely to occur if you encounter some stubborn and stubborn people.

There seems to be no conflict between writers and editors, but what if the writer wants to change editor?

This is a contradiction.

As far as Aoki Matsu knows, for a general novel editor, the more books his authors sell, the more bonus he will get.

Aoki Matsu was not sure whether it was a profit sharing or a one-time bonus, and how much the profit sharing was, but he was sure that there was a certain financial relationship involved.

Shigero Kobayashi had complained to him about this, but since his editor was good in every way except that he was always pushing for manuscripts, Shigero Kobayashi didn't want to change editors.

This is also the reason why some editors like to urge their authors to write manuscripts, and even go so far as to act as the writers' personal assistants. To a large extent, this is to urge them to get their own bonuses.

But the problem is that if a writer's work becomes popular and brings him a lot of profits, then this writer is likely to choose to lie low afterwards.

This created a conflict with the editor.

At this time, Qing Musong's cell phone rang. After answering the call, Qing Musong heard the other party's words, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Thank you for your hard work."

Seeing this, Aihara Yoji quickly asked, "Inspector, what's wrong?"

"It was Kawanaka who called after visiting nearby homes to see if there were any clues. He said that a few days ago, Teacher Saikawa had a heated argument with the administrator," said Aoki Matsu.

Maori Kogoro smiled proudly when he heard this. "It seems that it didn't take us long to identify the suspect. And if one of them is the murderer, they will become the first eyewitness, and it won't be just a coincidence."

Aihara Yoji responded, "That means they may have entered the scene as the first eyewitnesses in order to deal with the evidence left behind yesterday."

Qing Musong nodded, "It is indeed possible."

Kogoro Mori was right in saying this.

But as to whether the murderer is Mr. Murata or Editor Tono...after hearing what Kogoro Mori said, Aoki Matsu felt that Editor Tono was more of a suspect.

Don’t ask why, the answer is scientific - gross profit elimination method.

"In that case, let's search the scene again." Aoki Matsu said.

Aihara Yoji responded, “Yes!”

Before long, everyone had grown an artificial spider plant in the kitchen to use for sushi plating.

In addition, pickled red ginger used in sushi was found in the sink.

Qing Musong took a look, his eyes flickering slightly. The pickled red ginger in the sink looked fresh and juicy, and it didn't look like it had been left overnight at all.

Food pickled in this solution can easily become dry and fried once it is dehydrated, especially if the room is air-conditioned.

Thinking of this, Aoki Matsu hurriedly went to ask editor Toono.

After hearing Aoki Matsu's question, editor Tono replied calmly, "Teacher Qichuan really doesn't like pickled ginger. She said she just doesn't like the sweet and sour taste. The pickled ginger in the sink should be the pickled ginger that came with the sushi that was delivered last night. She didn't eat it and threw it away."

"So, Mr. Qichuan ordered sushi last night, right?" asked Aoki Matsu.

"Yes." Editor Toono replied, "The teacher told me to order it, so I called and ordered sushi for her."

Hearing this, Aoki Matsu looked at editor Toono and said, "Mr. Toono, can you tell me more about what happened last night? Including such trivial matters as ordering sushi."

"Okay." Editor Yuanye responded, and after organizing his words in his mind, he said, "I arrived here yesterday at about 6:30.

Although the teacher has stopped writing now, he has created many wonderful mystery novels. We met for almost an hour to discuss the publication of his works.

Then the teacher wanted to eat sushi, so I called to make a reservation for her. It was a sushi restaurant that the teacher often ate at. She ordered the same thing as before, "special one-person portion". The sushi was delivered around 8 o'clock, and I went to open the door to sign for it.

After signing, I left here soon because I had another trip. I also agreed with the teacher that I would deliver the materials early tomorrow morning. At around 8:15, I met my friends at a store near the station, and then we chatted until midnight. ”

Until midnight!

【Deliberate! 】

After listening to what Editor Toono said, Aoki Matsu felt that this person's itinerary after leaving here seemed like an attempt to deliberately create an alibi for himself.

After all, in cases like this, people with clear alibis are more likely to be suspected.

Of course, it is just a suspicion. For the final conviction, Aoki Matsu will definitely look at the evidence and will not rely on science.

Besides that - do you have important work to do early the next morning, and chat with friends until midnight the night before?

Real workers wouldn’t do that.

Especially when it is difficult to find a job in Japan right now, securing a job must be the first priority!

"We will contact your friends to confirm whether what you said is true," said Aoki Matsu.

Editor Toono was not surprised at all. "I know you must be wondering if I'm the suspect, but how could I do such a thing? She is a treasure in the Japanese mystery world!" As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.

Seeing this, Qing Musong curled his lips and complained in his heart: [No murderer will confess before the truth is revealed. ]

Then Aoki Matsu asked the administrator Mr. Murata.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Murata's tone was very excited and angry. "I didn't have any dispute with Ms. Saikawa. That person must have seen it wrong."

Qing Musong looked at him deeply and continued to ask: "What about last night?"

"I was in the management office the whole time!" Mr. Murata replied, "But I was alone, so there were no witnesses."

"I understand." Qing Musong said, stood up and walked out, then began to arrange tasks.

The first thing to do is to confirm this with Editor Toono’s friend and find out who initiated the party.

The second thing is to ask more residents around to see if they know about the conflict between Qichuan Village and Mr. Murata.

Third, contact the sushi restaurant and ask about the situation, such as the time when the phone was answered, the time when it was delivered, and whether Qichuan Village himself was seen when it was delivered.

After Aoki Matsu arranged the matter, Maori Kogoro couldn't wait to say, "The administrator must be hiding something."

Aoki Matsu rolled his eyes and said, "Of course I know he's hiding something, but if he doesn't say it, there's nothing I can do."

"It seems that the key is eight o'clock!" said Yoji Aihara.

Aoki Matsu shook his head and said to Aihara Yoji carefully: "You are wrong, all clues are key. The most taboo in handling a case is to jump to conclusions, especially in terms of time.

If you make this decision, you will exclude Mr. Tono from the list of suspects, but in fact he is a suspect. Not only did he stay here an hour before Mr. Saikawa's death, but he was also able to copy the key.

Assuming he is the murderer, he will definitely lie, and in this case, all his testimony cannot be used. After discarding his testimony, this critical node at eight o'clock is not that important. "

Upon hearing this, Aihara Yoji quickly said, "Yes, Inspector, I understand."

Qing Musong patted his shoulder and said, "There is a difference between our criminal investigations and reading mystery novels. I hope you can get used to it as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Aihara Yoji responded, but then he asked cautiously: "But, Inspector, I think the sushi restaurant must have delivered the sushi at eight o'clock. Mr. Tono can't lie about such a thing."

Qing Musong nodded. "It is impossible for him to lie about something like this. We can find out the truth as long as we investigate. But have you ever thought about one thing?"

Aoki Matsu looked at Aihara Yoji and said, "According to Mr. Tono, he was the one who called the sushi restaurant, and he was also the one who signed for the sushi at the door. Now that Mr. Saikawa has been murdered, who can prove that it was Mr. Saikawa who wanted to eat sushi last night, and not Mr. Tono?"

After all, he is a newcomer and his junior at the University of Tokyo, so Aoki Matsu is more patient with Aihara Yoji.

Aihara Yoji was naturally not stupid, and he understood it immediately. "I see, that's why the inspector specially ordered someone to ask the sushi restaurant if they saw Mr. Saikawa when they delivered the sushi here."

Qing Musong nodded. "Besides that, is there anything else you thought of?"

Hearing what Aoki Matsu said, Aihara Yoji lowered his head and thought about it - he had to overturn all the testimony of Editor Tono...

Suddenly, Aihara Yoji had a flash of inspiration and thought of something. He quickly looked up at Aoki Matsu and said, "Inspector, I got it. It's sushi! In this case, if Mr. Tono is the murderer, then no one can prove that Mr. Saikawa must have eaten the sushi delivered at eight o'clock.

Even if after the autopsy, Mr. Saikawa found sushi in his stomach, it doesn't prove that it was the sushi delivered at 8 o'clock. Or maybe Mr. Tono brought it when he came here, and he put it in his briefcase, and no one would find it.

If Mr. Qichuan ate sushi after their meeting, then there would only be half an hour difference until eight o'clock, and this time difference is difficult to detect based on the digestion of food."

Because everyone's digestion ability is different, some are fast and some are slow. People as old as Qichuan Village must have slow digestion ability, so a half-hour time difference cannot be detected at all.

"That's right." Aoki Matsu looked at Aihara Yoji approvingly. "So when we investigate a case, we must not have preconceived ideas. You were also involved in the case where the groom was the murderer. No one expected that none of the three suspects who were initially suspected were the murderer."

"Yes, Inspector. I'll remember that." Aihara Yoji responded quickly with a serious look on his face.

After a while, Maruta Ayumi came back and said, "Inspector, I just asked the employee of the sushi restaurant. I didn't expect that when he heard it, he immediately slapped his head and wailed, "How could I make such a stupid mistake? It's a mistake that I can't make up for in my lifetime!"

According to him, he didn't put squid and octopus in the sushi. His premium sushi usually doesn't have squid and octopus, but when Teacher Qi Chuan asked, he would add them for her because Teacher Qi Chuan liked to eat squid and octopus the most. But last night, he forgot to add them. "

Qing Musong was shocked when he heard this and narrowed his eyes. "Call the forensic department and ask them to check what's in Mr. Qichuan's stomach."

If there are squid and octopus in the stomach, then it will be clear who the murderer is.

"Yes!" Maruta Ayumi responded, and then continued, "The boss who came to deliver the sushi said that he did deliver the sushi here at 8 o'clock, but he did not see Mr. Saikawa, and he did not even hear his voice. It was Mr. Tono who signed for it."

"In that case, Mr. Tono is even more suspicious," said Aoki Matsu.

At this time, the police officer downstairs reported that a middle-aged man with glasses and a receding hairline wanted to come up. He said he was the editor-in-chief of Maze Publishing House.

Upon hearing this, Aoki Matsu immediately ordered the police officers below to let the other party come up.

After the other party came up, he handed over his business card and introduced himself. His name was Yasunobu Shimazaki, the editor-in-chief of Labyrinth Publishing House.

Then Shimazaki Yasunori looked at Aoki Matsu and said, "I heard that Tono is considered a suspect by you, right?"

"Does this have anything to do with you?" Qing Musong looked at him expressionlessly.