Seeing that the family members' expressions changed slightly, as if they were frightened, the Otaki Police Department continued: "Speaking of malicious intentions - please think carefully about whether the bridegroom and the bride have made any enmity with anyone recently."
"in addition……"
He suddenly looked at the bride's brother who was sitting alone in the corner: "Mr. Ito, according to our investigation, it seems that you have borrowed a total of several million from multiple financial institutions?"
The bride's brother was startled: "This..."
Otaki Police Department: "Is this happening?"
"That's true." The bride's brother gritted his teeth, "But I didn't kill anyone! My sister is my last relative in this world. How could I kill her for just a few million!"
The Otaki Police Department glanced at him suspiciously and nodded: "Don't worry, we will investigate carefully and not wrongly accuse any good people."
…
The family members failed to provide many useful clues, so the police had no choice but to continue their investigation.
Fortunately, this family had a good sense of prevention, and a lot of surveillance cameras were installed in the manor. Soon the police pulled up the footage of the corresponding location and started checking it carefully.
Jiang Xia also walked over and took a look: "Is this the surveillance at the door?"
The Otaki Police Department responded: "It's the surveillance camera installed on the inside of the door. It faces outside the door and can take pictures of the flowerbed where the pistol was dropped. Theoretically, it should also be able to take pictures of the person who dropped the gun.
.”
Hattori Heiji noticed something was wrong: "Theoretically? What about in practice?"
"In fact, there is not a single human figure!" the bald police officer sighed heavily:
"Although it was night and the sky was dark, if someone was really approaching, I would definitely be able to distinguish such a big shadow. But...
"Well, it seems that the gun must have fallen from upstairs, and the gunman himself has not walked into the surveillance area."
Jiang Xia nodded, thought for a while and said: "With so many surveillance cameras, he was able to avoid them all. The murderer must be very familiar with the distribution of cameras."
Hattori Heiji had also thought of this a long time ago: "So the murderer must be an insider... But you don't have to say that, the people uncle Otaki detained are all insiders."
However, Jiang Xia has not finished speaking: "And they are insiders who are very familiar with this manor - the groom's family members don't come here often, and they are pampered. Every time they come to this manor, they only need to eat and rest.
They are actually no more familiar with the cameras here than outsiders."
"You mean..." Otaki Police Department touched his chin, "Maybe the murderer is not a relative of the groom, but an employee here?"
...The more I think about it, the more it makes sense!
He made a prompt decision, waved his hand, and ordered his subordinates: "Go and check the alibi of all staff members, and bring over all those who acted alone during that period."
"Yes!" The subordinates turned around and ran out the door.
"In addition..." Jiang Xia added, "Near the scene of the groom's death, there are some strange pieces of wood. The material looks familiar. Don't miss this during your investigation."
"Okay!" The police officers saluted and rushed out in an orderly manner, preparing to start a new round of investigation.
…
When the police are busy.
Jiang Xia pushed the door open and continued to wander around the scene.
Hattori Heiji followed behind. Thinking of Jiang Xia's words just now, he asked curiously: "Have you already guessed who the murderer is and are you just looking for evidence now?"
Jiang Xia said seriously: "Of course I looked for evidence first and then found the murderer."
Hattori Heiji was doubtful. At this moment, Jiang Xia paused and stopped in front of a street lamp.
"?" Hattori Heiji and Conan were startled, and instinctively followed his gaze.
The next moment, they suddenly discovered that there were four palm-sized rectangular indentations on the lawn in front of the street lamp. They were located on each side, like the four corners of a larger rectangle.
"Is this... a maintenance ladder?"
An idea flashed across the two detectives, as if lightning flashed across their minds. Soon, they looked at each other and ran towards the maintenance department in unison.
…
The lights in the maintenance office were on, and there was only a middle-aged man on duty at this time.
Suddenly he saw three more people at the door. He put down the thermos cup and asked doubtfully: "Are you... the guests today? What's wrong? Is something broken?"
Hattori Heiji glanced around and saw a folded ladder in the corner. While sighing at Jiang Xia's keenness, he asked the middle-aged uncle: "Did you go to repair a street lamp just now?"
"Yes." The middle-aged uncle nodded and smiled sheepishly, "Actually, someone reported for repairs last night, but isn't there a wedding today? Everyone is busy, and there are very few people in the villa area.
When the guests passed by, we moved back and it was just repaired not long ago."
"That street lamp is not far from the scene of the bride's crime." Jiang Xia asked, "Did you see anything wrong at that time?"
"Crime scene?" The middle-aged uncle suddenly realized and stood up, "A dead person?! Why is it so busy outside!"
Hattori Heiji: "..." Uncle Otaki's intelligence collection work was still too rough, and they didn't find anyone here.
But now he is not one to care about these small things. He asked: "That's right, so all the experiences you encountered at that time may become evidence in court in the future - think carefully, don't let go of any abnormalities!"
When he said this, the middle-aged uncle's face became solemn. He thought seriously for a long time and said cautiously:
"If I have to say something unusual, when I first arrived at the streetlight, I suddenly heard a series of footsteps escaping hastily in the distance - I originally thought someone was being chased by a monkey, but when I looked over there, I didn't see anything.
When I saw the monkey, I only saw a man running out of a villa in the distance and hurried to the other side of the river."
"Monkey?" Hattori Heiji was puzzled, "Some of you are nicknamed 'Monkey'?"
"Haha, of course not, I'm talking about real monkeys." The middle-aged uncle explained, "This land is close to the suburbs, and monkeys and wild boars used to be frequented. Although it has been converted into a manor now, some animals still appear every once in a while.
They just come in and cause trouble - a large part of the things we need to repair are damaged by them."
"So that's it." Jiang Xia was satisfied with getting a new clue, and then he asked, "Do you still remember which villa it was and the exact time the person ran out of the villa?"
"Of course I remember. That's Miss Ito - that's where the bride usually lives. As for the time, let me see..." The middle-aged uncle dragged the registration book on the table and turned to the latest page, "I went out.
It was around 9:40 in the evening, and by the time I got there with the tools, it should be around 9:45."
"9:45?" Conan was stunned for a moment because of the time.