Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

Conan found several mistakes in the painting, but was too embarrassed to point them out. He just thought to himself: It seems that Grandpa Machida is right. As a painter, his observation skills are indeed a bit poor. No wonder he has not become famous at such an old age.

"Oh, the lawyer may be here soon, I'll leave first." A Bao said hello and left.

As Abao arrived in front of the house, he saw a jeep driving up from behind. The car stopped at the door, and a tall, thin, bald old man wearing glasses opened the car door and shouted.

"Good night, Mr. Abao! Am I late?"

When Abao looked back, he recognized the person coming as Mr. Yamagami Ryufu, the lawyer hired by his eldest brother, and he greeted him warmly.

"Mr. Yamagami, please come in. My elder brother is waiting for you at home. Follow me and come this way."

Abao led Mr. Yamagami through the snow to Machida's door. They called out several times, but no one answered. Almost immediately, Abao and Yamagami noticed a large hole in the window pane. They looked closer and saw the scene inside, their souls nearly leaving their bodies. Machida was sitting on the sofa facing the window, his head bowed, his eyes tightly closed. A sharp arrow had lodged deep in his chest, blood staining his entire chest. From his expression, it was clear he was dead.

..... ......... 0

"Big brother!"

"Mr. Repair!"

A Bao and Yamagami ran to the door, shouting, and tried to open it. But the door was locked from the inside and could not be opened. At this moment, Zezi, who was sulking in her room, heard the noise and ran out of her room.

"Uncle, what happened?" Zezi asked anxiously.

"Zezi, bad news!" Abao said, "Your father was shot to death with an arrow!"

"No way? How is that possible?" Zezi's eyes widened in fear.

Panicked, Abao didn't have time to pay attention to Zezi. He took a few steps back and rammed the door with all his might. Once, twice, three times - with a "bang", the door was smashed open. Abao went in. Zezi and Shanshang also wanted to go in, but Abao stopped them outside the door: "Don't rush in, I'll take care of things here."

"dad……"

"Zhezi, where's Ahao? Where did Ahao go?"

"I don't know... Dad..."

"Zhezi, calm down. Go find Ahao right now. I'll go to the bathhouse to find Officer Bai. Mr. Yamagami, you quickly go to the door and use that phone to call the police!"

"Yes!"

Zezi and Yamagami followed orders and left, while Abao also hurried over...

After learning about the situation, Shiraizumi Masu rushed to the scene. He found that the windows and doors were closed, and the door was locked from the inside. The murderer shot an arrow from the window, shattering the glass and then shooting it into Mr. Machida Shuzo's chest.

Bai Quanyi asked Abao: "Mr. Abao, why is this door locked?"

"Yes, every afternoon at one o'clock, my eldest brother would lock the door and watch the videotapes of my eldest sister-in-law's life until four o'clock. He would not allow anyone to disturb him and my eldest sister-in-law. I think he didn't want others to see his sadness. This was almost my eldest brother's daily routine."

Bai Quanyi casually turned on the video player on the low cabinet, and sure enough, the screen showed the image of Mrs. Shi Yi feeding the cranes. Suddenly realizing something, Bai Quanyi turned off the TV and stared at the hole in the frosted glass. "No wonder he installed frosted glass on the window..."

"But now he's finally gotten over his grief and decided to buy tempered glass to replace the frosted glass he used to have so he can enjoy the red-crowned cranes from his living room... Unexpectedly..."

"Uncle Abao..." Zezi rushed in while walking and calling out.

"Where is Ahao?" Abao asked seriously.

"I... can't find him anywhere." Noriko said breathlessly, "Also, the car we drove here is gone..."

"Miss Zezi." Vermouth walked over and said, "I just saw Ah Hao driving down the mountain around five o'clock."

96. Vermouth takes a new look at Shiraizumi

"Woo--Woo--"

A police car screeched its way in from outside the house, and everyone rushed out to greet it.

Two police cars stopped in the yard, and a group of police officers pushed the handcuffed Ahao out of the car, which shocked everyone. At this time, the leading police officer came forward with a crossbow in his hand and explained to everyone.

"I'm Officer Ezomatsu of the Hokkaido Police Department. This young man just turned himself in. He said he used this crossbow to kill his biological father."

"Surrender?" Bai Quan was confused.

"Eh? Why are you here again, Officer Bai?" Officer Ezomatsu looked at Shiraizumi Masu.

"Haha...it means we are destined to be together." Bai Quanyi said with a wry smile.

"This is not a good fate." Officer Ezomatsu touched his chin.

"Can I ask a few questions?" Bai Quanyi asked.

"Well... go ahead." Thinking of Shiraizumi Yoshi's help last time, Officer Ezomatsu generously allowed Shiraizumi Yoshi, a detective from Tokyo, to intervene.

Bai Quanyi looked at the young man, who was Ah Hao. He asked, "Ah Hao, did you really kill your father?"

Ah Hao was in a very low mood. He lowered his head, his facial muscles twitching in pain, his eyes filled with guilt and despair, and it was clear that he was in extreme pain. After a long time, he calmed down a little and began to speak.

"Actually, I didn't really want to kill my father. I just wanted to scare him so he wouldn't donate his property to the village. So I aimed my arrow at the stuffed white crane next to the sofa. Really, no matter how much of a jerk I am, I wouldn't want to kill my biological father, 'Five Ninety'..."

"Can you be more specific?" Bai Quanyi asked with a frown.

"The whole thing went like this. I brought a loaded crossbow to Dad's window and peeked through the crack. He was sitting on the sofa, absorbed in watching a video of Mom's life. I took two steps back, then aimed at the stuffed white crane and fired. With a clang, the glass shattered, and the arrow pierced through. I proudly said to the room, 'Dad, you're going to wet your pants this time, right? I'm telling you, next time I'm not going to shoot a stuffed white crane!' ... But when I got closer to the window and peered through the crack, I nearly fainted. How could my arrow, clearly aimed at the stuffed crane, have lodged itself so deeply in Dad's chest? ... Actually, I hadn't even intended to scare Dad. It was my sister Zezi who came up with the idea..."

"Ah Hao, what are you talking about?" Zezi shouted. "You killed Dad yourself, and you framed me. That's a bit... But then again, if anyone said that, it would only be Uncle Bao. He said that if you scare Dad, he'll be scared and give up the donation."

"Hey, Zezi!" A Bao, still holding his sketchbook, rushed in front of Zezi with blazing eyes. "I'm the elder. When have I ever said something like that?"

"Please believe me! I really didn't mean to kill my father!" Ah Hao wailed hysterically.

"I know, and I believe that," Officer Xia Shuang said. "We'll talk about the rest at the police station. I'll give you plenty of time to explain, and I'll listen patiently." Then, Ezo turned to Zezi and ordered, "You should come with me, too, because you're suspected of inciting murder."

"What?!" Zezi was shocked.

"Officer Bai, you don't have any objections, do you?" asked Officer Ezomatsu.

Shiraizumi Mashi said, "Officer Ezo, please wait a moment. In fact, Hiro didn't kill Mr. Machida at all!"

"What?" Ezo stared at Shiraizumi Masayuki in disbelief. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Even he admitted it himself, how could it be false?"

"Mr. Officer, I want to draw your attention to the fact that if Ah Hao is convicted of murder, then how do you explain the pile of broken glass on the ground?"

"Broken glass?" Ezo subconsciously walked towards the window, looking at the glass shards on the ground, feeling puzzled. "Officer Bai, could this be related to the case?"

"Don't you find it strange, Inspector, that the glass was shattered from the outside by the arrow, and yet the fragments are arranged in a straight line?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I've discovered a problem. Yeah, I think there might have been something blocking this place at the beginning, so the broken glass fell along that blocking object and formed a straight line. But what was that thing? Where did it go? It's annoying, outsiders just like to join in the fun and ruin the scene!"

"The officer's judgment is correct. There was originally a piece of reinforced glass there."

"Tempered glass?"

Ezo glanced around and saw the tempered glass that had been moved to the corner of the wall. He picked it up and placed it against the window, covering the hole in the frosted glass and matching the straight line of glass shards. Conan saw it and continued:

"That's the glass. In this state, when Ahao's arrow shattered the glass, the shards fell and formed this shape. See, doesn't it fit perfectly..."

"Wait!" Ezo's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said sharply, "So, that arrow must have hit this piece of reinforced glass!"

"Yes, that's right. The arrow Hiro shot hit the reinforced glass and fell to the ground. There were scratches on both the glass and the floor. Because the reinforced glass is transparent, Hiro, in his panic, didn't notice and mistakenly thought he had shot his father."

"So, where did the arrow that hit the victim's chest come from?"

"It came from the stove. You can see there are places where the soot has fallen out, because that's where the crossbows were set up."

Following Shiraizumi's instructions, the Ezo police inspector found that what he saw was basically the same as what Conan had said. However, another question puzzled him, so he asked again.

"Mr. Bai, even if your reasoning is correct, how can it be fired from this stove?"

"Please look at this." Shiraizumi Yi gestured to Officer Ezomatsu for a small piece of wood to see.

"What can this piece of wood tell us?" Ezo stepped forward and looked at the wood chip and said.

"Well, let me explain the mechanism. First, the murderer set up the crossbow in the room, clamped the small wooden block with the string tied to it to the trigger, and then secured it with a rubber band. Then, the string tied to the wooden block was passed through the chimney pipe to the outside. With this string, the murderer could fire the arrow through the skylight. To fire, he simply pulled the string in his hand, and the arrow would unexpectedly hit Mr. Xiuzao's chest. I'm sure there are still traces of the string's friction in the chimney. And the arrow should be covered in soot. Once it is examined, it can be confirmed with certainty."

"So according to Officer Bai, this was a planned murder?"

"Yes, and it's very carefully planned."

"So, the person who later removed the reinforced glass and took the crossbow was also this murderer?"

"Of course it's him! Mr. Jie, who turned himself in, obviously wouldn't have disturbed the scene. So he can't be the murderer! And in this room, which is like a locked room, only one person could have set up a mechanism to kill Mr. Shuzo, move the reinforced glass, and take the crossbow."

"Who is it? Officer Bai!" Ezo asked anxiously.

"He is Mr. Machida Yasushi who came here ten days ago!"

"But he, Noriko, and Yamagami entered the murder scene at the same time. If reinforced glass was placed on the window, they would have noticed it."

"No, the first thing anyone who rushed into the crime scene would have focused on was the deceased. They weren't police officers, so how could they have noticed such details in that situation? Furthermore, Mr. Yamagami and Ms. Noriko had just entered the room when Mr. Machida Yasushi pushed them out and ordered them to call the police and find someone. They didn't actually have a chance to observe any of this. Mr. Machida Yasushi could have used this empty courtyard to quickly dispose of the glass, retrieve the crossbow, and then go to the hot springs to call me..."

"Haha..." Machida Yasushi, who was standing at the door, walked in with a laugh. "Detective from Tokyo, your reasoning is truly brilliant, but you've made a fatal mistake... Let me ask you, the deceased and I are brothers, so how could I have a motive for murder?"

"I think the motive for the murder was simply money. You were turned down by Mr. Shuzo after you asked him to borrow money. I remember when I first entered this room, I saw Mr. Shuzo scolding Hiro and Noriko. He said, 'Really, all you care about is money, money, money.' That wasn't just referring to Hiro and his sister, but also to you, Mr. Bao, right? So, you summoned Hiro and his sister from Tokyo, set a trap, used the inheritance issue to kill Mr. Shuzo, and then pinned the murder on him and his sister. They would lose all their inheritance rights, while you, as the deceased's brother, would have a good chance of inheriting a share of the estate. Isn't that right, Mr. Machida Bao?"

"Officer Bai, are you mistaken?" Machida Yasushi smiled calmly, showing the sketch of a white crane spreading its wings in flight. "When my eldest brother was murdered, I was still drawing red-crowned cranes at the feeding ground. This is the sample I drew there!"

"Mr. Machida Yasushi, you're wrong again," Shiraizumi retorted sharply, "The reason I started to doubt you was because of these paintings of yours."

"Huh?" Machida Yasushi widened his eyes.

"Look at your drawing of a flying crane. Why is the crane's tail black? Actually, a white crane's tail isn't black; the black part is just the tail feathers. Also, red-crowned cranes always sleep with their heads facing downwind, but the ones you drew all face the wind. This common-sense error simply proves you never went to the feeding grounds to sketch. These sketches are based on preserved specimens, your own imagination, and you might have even finished them a few days ago. To create an alibi for us to believe you were sketching, you pretended to show us a blank sketchbook. Your goal was to deceive us, wasn't that right?"

"Indeed, my drawing has some mistakes, but that alone doesn't prove that I didn't draw it at the feeding ground!"

"Don't forget, when you went to the hot spring today, you accidentally dropped your sketchbook on the ground. Conan picked it up and returned it to you. So, there must be Conan's fingerprints on that blank sketchbook. Will there be his fingerprints on the one you have? You might as well take it for identification."

"That's normal," Machida Yasushi said stubbornly. "I saw the sketchbook was dirty, so I wiped it off and wiped off Conan's fingerprints as well."

"It doesn't matter if you deny this." Bai Quanyi dropped another bombshell, "There's another piece of evidence that's irrefutable proof 0.2."

"irrefutable evidence?"

"Yes, there's a feather stuck in your hip pocket. You can't deny it!"

"Feather?" Machida Yasushi was surprised. "Is it a red-crowned crane feather?"

"No, it's not a red-crowned crane feather, but a pigeon feather from the pigeon nest in the chimney! I think you accidentally put it and the pigeon feather from the chimney nest in your trouser pocket when you collected the ray. Besides, there should be some coal dust in your trouser pocket!"

The Ezo police officer was deeply impressed by Shiraizumi's reasoning and the evidence he provided, and he looked at Machida Yasu with great dignity. Machida Yasu was at his wit's end, completely unable to resist, so he had no choice but to lower his head, admit his murder, and then sighed to the sky.

"Officer Bai, I admit I'm screwed. I didn't expect my drawing to reveal a flaw. It seems I really don't have any talent for painting... I understand. Big Brother is right. My observation skills are too poor...

The case was successfully solved, and Vermouth witnessed it all. She was impressed by Shirazumi Masu's reasoning skills, saying that Kudo Shinichi was completely helpless. It was amazing! Vermouth wanted Shirazumi's help even more, and decided to seriously consider Shirazumi's request for her to be his girlfriend.

However, before that, she wanted to test Shiraizumi Masu thoroughly, at least to find out what the relationship was between her best friend Yukiko and Shiraizumi Masu!

97. Vermouth disguises herself as Yukiko and delivers the goods to your door

After returning to Tokyo, Vermouth recalled the last time she met Shiraizumi Masu at her best friend Yukiko's house, and felt more and more that the relationship between Shiraizumi Masu and Yukiko was not simple. She decided to disguise herself as Yukiko to test Shiraizumi Masu.

This time, Vermouth learned her lesson and deliberately used a perfume with a special scent to ensure that Bai Quanyi could not recognize a woman by her scent.

On a weekday afternoon, Vermouth, disguised as Yukiko, sneaked into Shiraizumi's home and installed pinhole cameras and eavesdropping devices in Shiraizumi's home.

"Boy, it's not that easy to get me to be your girlfriend. I'll take some time to observe whether you are qualified to be my boyfriend."

After Vermouth finished installing the eavesdropping device and the pinhole camera and was about to leave, she ran into Bai Quanyi.

Today, Bai Quanyi returned home early. After finishing his daily report at the police station, he found an excuse to go out for investigation and went home early.

Shiraizumi Mashi was surprised to see Yukiko doing something shameful in his home.

According to Yukiko's style, she shouldn't do such a thing.

"Yukiko, why did you come to my house on your own initiative?" asked Shiraizumi Masu.

"Huh? Shiraizumi Masu, why are you off work so early today?" Bell 28 Mode looked a little embarrassed, thinking that it was a good thing she had disguised herself as Yukiko beforehand, otherwise Shiraizumi Masu would definitely be on the alert. However, from the side, it confirmed that Yukiko and Shiraizumi Masu had a complicated relationship.

If Shiraizumi Masu and Yukiko have an improper relationship, Vermouth will have to reconsider Shiraizumi's character.

"Oh. It's nothing important, so I came back early. Yukiko, you haven't answered my question yet."

"I, I just want to meet...Bai-kun, is that reason enough?"

Vermouth made up a random excuse. The pinhole cameras and eavesdropping devices had been installed. Now all she had to do was to trick Bai Quanyi into thinking something was wrong and then find a chance to leave.

"Really?" Baiquanyi was skeptical. Generally speaking, Yukiko wouldn't come to his house suddenly. She would definitely inform him in advance. He looked closely and saw that the Yukiko in front of him was not the real Yukiko, but Vermouth.

The Yukiko in front of me is wearing a pink long skirt, under which are a pair of beautiful legs wrapped in skin-colored transparent stockings and a pair of black flat shoes, giving her a wife-like feeling. Not only does she look like Yukiko, but she also imitates her temperament.

However, even so, it still could not escape Bai Quanyi's eyes.

Vermouth has a very recognizable appearance, with a queen-like figure, a cold and beautiful mixed-race face, and a long silver hair. She has a very special and stunning appearance. Even if she disguised herself as Yukiko, she could not escape Shiraizumi's eyes.

Since he determined that Yukiko was actually Vermouth in disguise, Shiraizumi Mashi decided to have some fun with Vermouth.

"What? Are you unhappy?" said Vermouth.