My neighbor's name is Conan

Aoki Matsu said this, then looked at Okudaira Eiko and the other two and said, "Since the three of you are all suspects, I will now conduct a body search on the three of you according to the law. Is that ok?"

Although Okudaira Eiko was a little nervous, she was not the one who killed anyone, so she nodded and said, "No problem."

As the hostess, Okudaira Eiko said it was no problem, so Tabata Kikuyo and Segawa Kiro naturally had no choice but to agree, otherwise they would appear to be guilty.

The police quickly completed the body search of the three people and found nothing strange on them.

But what Aoki Matsu was looking for was not something strange. When he saw the coffee-stained handkerchief in Tabata Kikuyo's right pocket, he had an idea. However, he did not immediately make inferences, but continued, "Excuse me, what happened to Mr. Kanogo a year ago?"

Maori Kogoro glanced at Okudaira Eiko before speaking: "Let me tell you! It was on this day exactly one year ago that Mr. Kango drowned in the swimming pool..."

Then Kogoro Mori told the story of how Okudaira Tengo died and all the strange things that happened before and after.

After listening to this, Qing Musong looked at everyone and said, "I already know who the murderer is."

"Who is it?" Kogoro Mori and Eiko Okudaira asked hurriedly.

"Tabata Kikuyo, you are the murderer." Aoki Matsu looked at Tabata Kikuyo and said.

"What!?" Everyone was shocked.

Okudaira Eiko couldn't believe it and said, "How could it be Kikuyo? She has worked in the Okudaira family for so many years. If she wanted to harm the master, why would she do it today?"

Compared to the surprise of others, Tabata Kikuyo herself seemed exceptionally calm, still with that world-weary look on her face, without the slightest fluctuation.

Seeing this, Aoki Matsu said, "Well, let's actually practice this method of murder that looks like suicide. Aihara, push the cart right under where Mr. Okudaira hanged himself."

"Yes!" Aihara Yoji responded, and then pushed the cart aside to the place where Aoki Matsu said.

Qing Musong continued to instruct, "Then stack the books scattered around the cart to a height of about 1 meter, and then sit on them."

Aihara Yoji hesitated when he heard this and said, "Do you want to sit on it?"

"Yes!" Qing Musong affirmed, "Be careful not to knock the book over."

"Yes!" Aihara Yoji responded, and then did as he was told.

"Then, we close the door and move the remaining books from the position of the cart wheels to the door. Finally, the large-format book should be placed in front of the door." Aoki Matsu did this personally.

"I chose this one because the book closest to the door when the body was found was the big book. So we're all set." Aoki Matsu explained as he did it. "In fact, Mr. Okudaira was tied up with a rope around his neck in this state. The only thing left was who would open the door."

Upon hearing this, Maruta Ayumi immediately tried to pry the door handle open, "It's so heavy."

"But if you force the door open, it will push the books away, and use the books to push the cart. Mr. Okuda, who was standing on the books in the cart, will lose his balance and slide off the stack of books. Then, Mr. Okuda's body will be hung up by the rope around his neck, and he will be in the final state."

Aoki Matsu gestured to Maruta Ayumi to continue opening the door while looking at Aihara Yoji, who was unable to sit still because his cart was rocking forward due to the books and was swaying from side to side due to unstable gravity.

"I see." Maruta Ayumi suddenly realized, but found a new flaw: "But if you just sit on the pile of books, can't you just untie the rope around your neck with your hands?"

"You forgot the adhesive. It's because the adhesive sticks together the knots in the rope, making it difficult to untie the rope," said Aoki Matsu.

Maori Kogoro interrupted at this time: "But I did untie the rope when I put down Mr. Okudaira's body."

Aoki Matsu nodded, "Yes, if you take some time to figure out how to deal with it, you won't lose your balance. You can slowly untie the rope. Mr. Okudaira just can't do that because his hands are tied."

"Tied up?" Maori Kogoro frowned. "But, there doesn't seem to be any signs of the hands being tied on the body?"

Aoki Matsu explained: "Because the correct statement should be that both hands were tied."

"What does this mean?" asked Kogoro Mouri.

"You forgot about the vase, because the vase that Mr. Okuda cared about the most was held behind his back with both hands. Please look at the vase fragments on the floor. There is evidence that Mr. Okuda was forced to hold the vase all the time and his hands were slightly sweating. You should be able to see some traces." Aoki Matsu said, pointing to the vase fragments on the ground.

Aihara Yoji immediately went to check, then nodded, "Indeed."

"But no matter how much he cares about that vase, he should still let it go when it comes to his life and death, right?" Kogoro Mouri was still puzzled.

"So, what will happen to the vase if you let go?" asked Aoki Matsu.

Maori Kogoro answered without thinking: "Of course it fell to the floor and broke into pieces."

Qing Musong continued to ask: "What will happen if the vase is broken?"

"Of course it makes a loud noise..." Maori Kogoro answered subconsciously, but he paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that he was not stupid after all. "I see, if there is a loud noise, someone will come and open the door, and then he will be hung up."

Aoki Matsu nodded: "Yes, that's why Mr. Okudaira yelled not to open the door when someone tried to open it."

"But how did the murderer set up this trap and leave the study?" Kogoro Mouri had a new question.

"It's very simple. Let me show you." Qing Musong said, "First, open the door. Then, with the door open, stand the book on the ground, lean it against the door, and then quietly slip out through the remaining gap. Finally, gently close the door."

After Aoki Matsu closed the door from the outside, the large open book leaning against the door slipped to the ground.

Seeing this, Maruta Ayumi suddenly realized, "So there is this trick."

Aihara Yoji also said: "This is indeed like suicide."

When Aoki Matsuko opened the door and came in, Maori Kogoro asked, "But how does this mean that Ms. Tabata Kikuyo is the murderer?"

Aoki Matsu did not answer Maori Kogoro's question, but asked: "Do you know why only this large book is placed in front of the door?"

"Why?" Kogoro Mouri was puzzled.

"Because if the murderer didn't use the large book to make the gap in the door bigger, there would be no way for him to get out of the door. This also proves that the murderer is fatter than ordinary people." Aoki Matsu explained.

No one expected this reason. "Ah!"

But it does make sense.

The fattest person present was Kikuyo Tabata.

Okudaira Eiko still didn't believe that Tabata Kikuyo was the murderer. "But, Kikuyo went to the supermarket to buy creamer to prepare coffee for the master at that time."

"She bought the coffee after the murder. She must have anticipated that Mr. Okudaira would want to drink coffee, so she prepared it in advance. Moreover, Ms. Tabata Kikuyo also added sleeping pills to the coffee, so that Mr. Okudaira would fall asleep after drinking it, and then she piled up the books and asked Mr. Okudaira to sit on them.

Then tie a rope around Mr. Ou Ping's neck, apply adhesive on the knot, and gently wake up the master. Let him hold the vase behind his back with his backhand, and threaten him that if he doesn't hold the vase well, it will fall and break, and the books will scatter. Then leave the room in the same way as before.

After hearing the sound of the vase breaking, he rushed over and forced the door open to kill Mr. Okudaira. At the same time, in order to cover up his crime, he pretended to stop his wife from falling and scattered the books on the floor. "Aoki Matsu explained.

Maori Kogoro couldn't help but say: "It is indeed a well-thought-out and cruel way of killing."

Aihara Yoji also echoed, "Yeah, if he puts the vase down because he's too tired and it breaks, he can't shout for someone to save him."

"I think Ms. Kikuyo Tabata has used such a cruel method before. When Mr. Kaguya, the young master of the Okudaira family, was killed and drowned in the swimming pool of this house a year ago, the method used was also very cruel."

"Is there a special method of murder in that case as well?" Okudaira Eiko was surprised.

Aoki Matsu nodded. "Yes, but that case is much simpler. Just tie up your hands and feet, put tape on your mouth and throw it into a swimming pool where the water is getting deeper."

"You mean throw it in?" Maori Kogoro was surprised. "What kind of method is that?"

It’s so simple and crude, this is not a technique at all!

"I think that at that time, in the swimming pool full of water, Mr. Kango should have been able to keep his nose above the water if he stood on tiptoe. I think the murderer probably said to Mr. Kango, 'If you can hold on for an hour, I will drain the water in the swimming pool.'" said Aoki Matsu.

Maruta Ayumi suddenly realized, "I see. If that's the case, Mr. Kanogo will try his best to stand on his tiptoes. During this time, the murderer can create an alibi. And if we just ignore him, he will be exhausted and will eventually drown."

Aoki Matsu nodded. "Yes, because Mr. Tango usually exercises, even if he wants to relax his whole body and float on the water, he won't be able to float because his muscles are too heavy. Am I right, Ms. Tabata Kikuyo?"

"So, she was also the murderer a year ago?!" Kogoro Mouri said to Kikuyo Tabata.

"It should be. Judging from the pain and torture the victim suffered before his death, they are very similar." Aoki Matsu said to Kikuyo Tabata.

Tabata Kikuyo, however, remained the same, even her eyes did not change, as if the person Aoki Matsu was talking about was not her.

[This is because he is dead in the heart, so he doesn't care about these things at all.] Qing Musong guessed.

"So, it seems that you don't have direct evidence to prove that the murderer is Kikuyo. If that's the method, Segawa and I can do it." Okudaira Eiko suddenly found the flaw. Aoki Matsu didn't produce any evidence, it was all reasoning.

Segawa Kiro also said: "That's true. If that big book is evidence, anyone can do it."

"Besides, as for the death message written in blood left by my husband, do the words Yomi and KO have anything to do with Kikuyo?" Okudaira Eiko continued.

Aoki Matsu pointed at the handkerchief and said, "I think that is not the Katakana KO but an equal sign. The death message means: Huangquan is equal to the underworld, which means Maid. But in fact, in addition to this death message, there is other key evidence, which is the handkerchief in the right pocket of Ms. Kikuyo Tabata's apron.

The coffee liquid on the handkerchief should be mixed with sleeping pills. Mr. Okudaira fainted after drinking coffee, so he knocked over the coffee cup. Ms. Tabata Kikuyo wiped off the spilled coffee liquid to make people think that Mr. Okudaira committed suicide. If the handkerchief is taken for testing, the coffee stains contain sleeping pills, which can prove that Ms. Tabata Kikuyo is the murderer.

If Kikuyo Tabata was not the murderer, she would not have sneaked around to wipe the coffee after the crime.

Okudaira Eiko naturally understood this truth and immediately believed Aoki Matsu's reasoning. Then she couldn't help but look at Tabata Kikuyo and asked: "But why, Kikuyo? Why do you do this?"

"I think it has something to do with the accident that caused the death of the previous butler two years ago, and also has something to do with the fact that Mr. Kango has not driven since then. No one has driven Mr. Kango's car in the past two years, right?" Aoki Matsu said.

"Yes," Okudaira Eiko replied.

Tabata Kikuyo finally spoke at this time, and her voice was cold as soon as she spoke: "How could he drive? Because Master Kanogo drove his car and killed someone. At that time, Master Kanogo was driving a foreign car that the former butler usually drove when picking up the master and his wife.

He took the foreign car for a spin and ended up hitting the car and running away. He came back crying to ask the master for help and refused the previous housekeeper's request that he turn himself in. Then, on this day two years ago, he and his car fell off a cliff.

Upon hearing this, Maruta Ayumi immediately asked, "Isn't that an accident?"

"In order to silence the former butler and cover up the scratches on the car, they got him drunk and made him fall off the cliff with the car. Before sinking into the swimming pool, Master Kango said that he and my father conspired together." Tabata Kikuyo said with a sneer.

Segawa Kiraro also became excited when he heard this. "So, my brother was murdered?"

"So, you killed two people today, the anniversary of the previous butler's death. But how do you know that the murder was not an accident?" Aoki Matsu asked.

Tabata Kikuyo lowered her head and said sadly, "Because the butler who fell off the cliff was not wearing gloves that day. Those gloves were absolutely indispensable when he was driving, and they were also a gift from me to him."