There was a word engraved on the side of the stairs. It was scratched out with a sharp object. The handwriting was hideous. Hattori Heiji even subtly saw a little despair in it:
[That person pretended to be me and wanted to seize the treasures in the castle...]
The last words are not finished, but they are enough to express the meaning of the carver.
Hattori Heiji squatted down and carefully observed these few lines of words.
There is a lot of dust on the words, indicating that these words have existed for a long time. And it took so much effort to leave writings in such a place, indicating that the person who carved the words cannot leave, and may be imprisoned here.
If you pretend to be the person who wrote the words, you can get the treasure... This shows that the person who left these words has a high status and is probably a certain owner in the castle.
But when Hattori Heiji was looking for Conan just now, he didn't forget to collect clues in the castle - the family was sparse, and if there really was a big event that a certain owner was kidnapped, there would definitely be some rumors.
But Hattori Heiji had never heard of a similar situation.
His eyes stopped on the word "fake" on the wall, and suddenly a chill ran down his spine.
...Perhaps the original owner has been replaced in some way, so the other servants don't know anything about it.
The means of replacement are nothing more than plastic surgery and disguise.
To deceive people in the short term, you can use disguise.
But basically all the people in this family are dead, and the only few people who live in the castle are currently living in the castle. Judging from the idea of engraving, the "fake" that has lasted for such a long time is more likely to be plastic surgery.
…So who was replaced?
It is more likely that Mamiya Mitsuru's stepson, his parents have passed away, and no one is familiar with him.
But thinking about it this way, neither Mamiya Mitsuru nor the old lady is too familiar with anyone.
Also, is it possible that the wife has passed away? For example, someone suddenly discovered that the wife had been changed, and set a fire in anger, causing the faker to also unfortunately die in that fire?
Wait, mention of fire…
Just as he was thinking about it, Bai Shi's slightly shocked voice suddenly came from behind him: "Look at this."
Hattori Heiji was startled and ran over quickly.
Shiraishi is not the type who likes to be surprised. Combined with his previous experience in finding traps, what can shock him must be some very useful clues.
Sure enough, Hattori Heiji followed Shiraishi's direction and saw a small ball of gray thread.
He squatted down, and under the complicated gaze of Shiraishi next to him, he picked it up and twisted it in a professional manner, and concluded: "It should be hair."
These hairs have begun to rot, are also stained with a lot of dust, and are horribly dry, like the hair of a dead person.
But the fracture is relatively new, as if it had just been broken.
Combined with the color of his hair, which looked very old, Hattori Heiji immediately identified a person in his guess—the old lady.
Although he had also included the old lady in the suspect list before, he felt that the possibility was not too high.
Imprisoning a person, even an elderly person with handicapped legs and feet, requires a certain amount of strength, which is difficult for people of the same age to operate. Moreover, disguise is risky, and many clinics may not accept elderly patients.
——In other words, the impostor should not be an old man, but younger.
Therefore, who would want to undergo plastic surgery to look like an old lady, huddle in a wheelchair every day, and pretend to be Alzheimer's?
Even if you are seeking money, compared with youthful appearance and freedom, is a treasure with uncertain content really that important?
However, the hair in front of his eyes shows that the truth may indeed be so absurd.
This made Hattori Heiji a little confused - could it be that this counterfeiter already knew the contents of the treasure and believed that it was a treasure that could cost him his youth, appearance and freedom?
"...The brain circuits of these prisoners are really difficult to figure out." Hattori Heiji threw away the clump of hair, pointed at the carvings on the back that he had just looked at, and told Shiraishi what he had guessed.
"So that's how it is." Shiraishi nodded after hearing this and began to "reason", "Since she is dressed as an old lady with handicapped legs and feet who likes to stay in the room, she should have a lot of free time to move around. Judging from the surroundings
…”
He waved the flashlight around, illuminating the scattered paths, and continued:
"There must be more than one entrance to this secret passage. It is possible that the 'old lady' has been using these secret passages to enter and exit the castle.
"Today, she found out that Mr. Mamiya let outsiders in, followed us vigilantly, and then found a child entering the secret passage... So, Conan may have been captured by her." Shiraishi tried his best to put the situation into perspective.
Side quote.
And it’s not a lie, it’s actually the truth.
"Yes, but she has been able to successfully disguise herself for so long. Maybe she has other helpers in the castle. There are too few of us." There are not many people who can fight. Hattori Heiji added in his mind and continued:
"I have contacted my father's colleagues before. Let's wait until they arrive before starting a large-scale search."
As he spoke, he glanced at his phone: "Now we have to find the exit first. The underground signal is too poor to contact them."
Shiraishi had no objection.
On the way to the exit, the two chatted briefly. Shiraishi took the opportunity to quietly reveal the story and put together Hattori Heiji's embryonic idea.
Hattori Heiji's curiosity in this regard was satisfied, and he finally began to think about the meaning of the chessboard again.
Shiraishi also needs Hattori Heiji to give information to the "old lady".
He said thoughtfully: "I think the information hidden in the chessboard may be related to the great master."
Shiraishi actually only remembers the result, not the specific reason why it was related.
But a young detective like Hattori Heiji, who is very competitive and cares about face, would not be like the flatterers like Megure Police Department who would immediately come over and ask "why, why, why" after hearing the conclusion. He would think for himself first.
In terms of settings, the reasoning abilities of Conan and Hattori Heiji are not much different.
In the original world line, Conan didn't get any hints and could figure out the answer after spending a while. It makes no sense that Hattori Heiji couldn't figure it out after hearing the hints.
Of course, if he really can't think of it and chooses to put aside his face and ask Shiraishi because he is worried about the safety of his companions, Shiraishi plans to say, "Judging from the descriptions of the helper and Mr. Mamiya Mitsuru, that old gentleman is a *%*
"#@&人" - here I apply some unclear professional terms to conduct a messy personality analysis, and finally say that the secret code set by the old man is probably related to himself.
Fortunately, Hattori Heiji didn't let him waste his time.
Sure enough, the Western high school detective began to think for himself, and after a few minutes, he punched his palm with a fist and suddenly realized: "So this is it!"