Boom!!!
A lightning bolt crossed the sky, and a flash of light shot through the window, illuminating the entire interior of the villa.
"Ohta is dead!!!"
Takahashi Ryoichi suddenly shouted. With the light from the lightning, everyone turned their gaze to where Ohta Masaru had been sitting.
Ikeda Chikako let out a scream of terror, jumped up, and backed away to the side.
The villa plunged into chaos, with people moving everywhere.
Even though Conan was shouting for no one to move, in the midst of the panic, nobody paid attention to a child.
Heiji remained still in his spot, with Kazuha clinging to him tightly.
Darkness is always a woman's weakness, especially on a stormy night with a dead body nearby. In those moments, women become even more vulnerable.
Ran was holding Sonoko, and both were hugging each other tightly. In a situation like this, it was inevitable for anyone to feel fear.
"Don't move, don't contaminate the scene!"
Conan kept shouting at the top of his lungs, but in reality, no one listened to a child.
Ding~~!!!!
"C-Rank case detected: Decipher Takahashi Ryoichi's crime method. Time limit: tonight. Success: eliminate 10 points of evil value. Failure: increase 10 points of evil value. Warning: the evil value is in an extremely dangerous state. The host is urged to proceed with caution."
The system's voice suddenly sounded and then quickly fell silent.
Heiji's face darkened. "Fuck you, system! Couldn't you just ask me to name the killer? But no, this tricky system asks me to find the crime method, just to not leave me in peace."
After venting his fury, he had no choice but to accept the mission.
There was no other option. He already knew who the killer was in "The Case of the Villa's Bandaged Man Murder." If he had only been asked to identify the killer, it would have been too simple, and the difficulty would not match a C-Rank case.
Now, Takahashi Ryoichi's crime method had changed, evidently due to his arrival. It seemed he was going to have to put in some effort.
A case worthy of being classified as C-Rank was no longer one that could be solved at a glance.
The villa remained in chaos.
"Everyone stay where you are and don't move!"
A deep shout echoed in the darkness, like a hammer striking everyone's hearts, making them instinctively look for the source of the voice.
"Kakutani, go check the fuse box. See if it was sabotage or a short circuit."
"But..." Kakutani Hiroki hesitated.
"Go now!"
Kakutani Hiroki didn't know why he obeyed so quickly, but that tone of voice had an undeniable authority.
"Nobody move."
The darkness fell silent again. Since no one was moving, the atmosphere became even stranger.
Kazuha, in Heiji's arms, was trembling from head to toe, not to mention the other women. At that moment, they were the most vulnerable.
Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
In the huge living room, only the sound of heavy breathing and the ticking of the clock could be heard.
Footsteps were heard, and the women's hearts sank.
"The wires in the fuse box are burned, it looks like it was a short circuit," Kakutani Hiroki's voice sounded.
"Ayako, where are the candles?"
"In the drawer, I'll get them."
Ayako fumbled her way to the drawer, the sound of it opening was heard, and then a light flickered. Shortly after, the villa was finally illuminated.
With the candles lit, everything in the villa came into view.
Ohta Masaru lay face down on the floor, his eyes wide open. Blood gushed from under his body like a spring, filling the air with a metallic smell. The window behind him had its glass shattered into a thousand pieces, which swayed in the wind making a clinking noise. The back door was also open, and the draft made the candlelight flicker.
"Kazuha, where are the gloves?"
"In my bag, in the room. I'll go get them for you."
Although she was very scared, Kazuha never doubted Heiji's words. She prepared to run to the second floor with her long legs.
In this dark villa, and with a murder having just occurred, it was impossible for Kazuha not to be afraid of going up to the second floor alone. Besides, it was very dangerous. But for Heiji, she was willing to do it.
However!
Heiji suddenly stopped Kazuha and gently pinched her nose, "Silly girl, aren't you afraid of the dark?"
"I'm not afraid," Kazuha said, trying to keep her composure.
Heiji smiled tenderly and led her over to Ran, "You three, take care of each other."
Ran nodded, took Kazuha's hand with one of her own, and looked at her with envy.
Now, to the important part.
That kid, Conan, was already running all over the villa. Heiji paid him no mind and went to examine the body first.
Ohta Masaru had been killed with a fatal blow from behind. Judging by the wound, the weapon was a hand axe. But not the heavy type for chopping wood, but a kind of thin-bladed axe, where the edge and the back were not very different in thickness.
That type of axe was not very heavy.
Heiji could state with certainty that the axe must have been hidden in Takahashi Ryoichi's fake belly.
But, what a pain. This mission wasn't to find the killer, but to decipher the crime method. What was puzzling was why Ohta Masaru was killed and not Ikeda Chikako.
That was a suspicious point!
Near Ohta Masaru's body, there were no other traces, no raindrops or anything of the sort.
Heiji approached the broken window. That kid, Conan, was also by his side.
"Conan, don't bother Heiji-niichan while he's investigating," Ran told him from the side.
"I know."
Conan only replied with that and lowered his head again to examine the broken window, frowning, "The killer has to be in the villa, and it's one of us. But how did they break the window and open the back door?"
Ignoring Conan, Heiji went directly to the window, looked at the ground, and saw a line of footprints, made to look as if someone had run in from outside, broken the window to kill, and then escaped through the back door.
But that was nothing more than an illusion.
Heiji didn't linger at the broken window for long. After a moment, he headed for the back door.
Conan, who was looking for clues, frowned, "What is this guy, Hattori, doing? Instead of looking for clues, he's just glancing over things. Damn it, it looks like I'll have to handle this myself."
The back door was swaying, making noise. The door opened outwards.
Heiji approached and frowned instantly. On the floor was a piece of paper, and it was the hard cardboard type. It wasn't very big and lay quietly on the ground.
"A piece of cardboard???"
Suddenly, a flash of insight shone in Heiji's eyes, and he ran out.
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