The back door of the villa was the push-to-open type; in short, it opened from the inside out.
As expected, on the dirt path outside, there was also a series of footprints that extended towards the forest to the left of the villa. But that was not Heiji's focus.
He picked up the piece of cardboard from the ground and fitted it into the door's lock. The size was perfect. Then, he slowly closed the door. With a click, the door seemed to be locked.
Heiji stood outside, a sharp glint in his eyes. He didn't need to check to know that the door would open with just a gentle pull. With the cardboard blocking it, the latch didn't fully engage.
But what method did Takahashi Ryoichi use to make the door open by itself?
That was the key to the entire crime method.
He pulled gently, and indeed, the door opened without needing to turn the handle, and the piece of cardboard fell to the ground again.
"Well, that's it, I'm not playing along anymore. That bandaged man must have escaped by now, I'm going to my room to sleep," Ikeda Chikako said in the living room, already impatient.
"Chikako, we still don't know what that bandaged man's target is. It would be better if we stayed in the living room," Kakutani Hiroki advised her.
"Please. Ohta is already dead, and I don't want to die. If the bandaged man comes, isn't it safer to hide in your own room?" Ikeda Chikako said, and headed straight for the second floor.
"Chikako, Chikako!"
Kakutani Hiroki followed her up the stairs.
"Well, I'm very tired too. Can I go to my room?" Takahashi Ryoichi said in his usual good-natured tone.
Heiji had already returned to the living room. He was going to continue investigating, but leaving Kazuha and the other girls alone with Takahashi Ryoichi was not a good idea.
As a mechanic, he was extremely sensitive to killing intent. This Takahashi Ryoichi had already fallen into the path of murder; when he went crazy, he was capable of any inhuman act.
Perhaps, that was the reason he had killed Ohta Masaru.
Conan was still looking for evidence. He didn't know who the killer was, so he couldn't find the key.
"Heiji, did you find any clues?" Kazuha asked in a low voice.
Looking at Takahashi Ryoichi going up the stairs, Heiji shook his head.
"Tonight, Kazuha, Ran, Sonoko, and Ayako, all of you sleep in the same room."
Heiji didn't know if Takahashi Ryoichi would kill Ikeda Chikako, but he didn't care. In his eyes, human life wasn't worth much; he only cared about the people close to him. The others could die in droves, it made no difference to him.
"Heiji, what about you?" Ran asked suddenly.
Conan, who was looking for clues, froze and then looked at Ran strangely, "Why is Ran suddenly asking that?"
"Me? Of course I'll stay in the living room, to watch over the crime scene and prevent the bandaged man from reappearing."
The mission ended that night, Heiji couldn't relax.
The key to the method is in the window and the back door.
What mechanism did Takahashi Ryoichi use to make the window break on its own and the door open by itself?
And the most important thing is that he didn't leave the slightest trace at the scene.
"Heiji, I want to stay here with you."
Heiji came out of his thoughts and looked at Kazuha.
"When I'm with Heiji, that's when I feel safest."
Kazuha snuggled into Heiji's lap with her long legs, her face full of love.
"Heiji, Sonoko and I will stay too," Ran said in a low voice.
Sonoko, in her arms, nodded. At that moment, they felt that being near Heiji was the safest. It was a feeling of trust.
There was no choice but to bring some blankets for the three girls to sleep on the sofa. Luckily, the sofa was large, and they could sleep leaning on each other.
Ayako wasn't too scared and went to her own room.
It was still raining outside, with the sound of thunder and the occasional flash of lightning.
Luckily, Ohta Masaru's body was in the dining room. Although the dining room and the living room were connected, they were in different directions. The living room faced the main entrance, where there were no trees, but the dining room was on the side, next to a small forest.
That's why the others thought the bandaged man had entered from the small grove by breaking the window, killed Ohta Masaru under the cover of darkness, and then escaped through the back door, disappearing into the forest.
Heiji was sitting on the sofa, with Kazuha resting peacefully on his lap. Beside them were Ran and Sonoko.
This guy, Hattori.
Conan was very annoyed. Why did he have to sit alone?
Time passed!!!
After about an hour, everyone was half asleep.
Heiji wasn't sleeping. He kept thinking about Takahashi Ryoichi's method.
Making the window break and the door open by themselves is like using a remote control. Remote control...
He felt he had the key within his grasp, but he couldn't quite catch that fleeting idea.
At that moment, Sonoko suddenly woke up, "Heiji, you're not sleeping?"
"No. You go back to sleep."
"I'm thirsty, I'm going to the kitchen for a glass of water."
It was well known that a fever and a cold make you very thirsty, and your throat feels like it's on fire. Besides, your body feels weak and without strength. So, in the end, Heiji had to help her get water and, while at it, go to the bathroom.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise of something falling outside the kitchen window.
Sonoko, who was drinking water, lunged at Heiji, hugging him tightly and screaming in terror.
A cold light flashed in Heiji's eyes, because he saw it too: the bandaged man flashing past the window like lightning.
"Sonoko, what happened?"
Ran and Kazuha ran over, just in time to see Heiji hugging Sonoko.
"The bandaged man appeared again!" Sonoko said, terrified.
Kakutani Hiroki, Takahashi Ryoichi, and Suzuki Ayako came running down instantly.
"And Chikako-neechan?" Conan realized someone was missing.
A flash of insight shone in Heiji's eyes, "Ran, I'm leaving Sonoko with you."
After putting Sonoko in Ran's arms, he ran towards the back door and out to the area behind the kitchen.
And sure enough!!!
Ikeda Chikako's body lay silently on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, and a bruised mark on her neck was terribly visible.
"Heiji, what happened?" Kazuha asked through the window.
"Ikeda Chikako is dead."
Conan's face changed drastically, and he ran out after him.
Two people murdered in such a short time. A dark cloud of terror hung over everyone's hearts.
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