Conan’s Corpse Picker

"This..." The white-haired manager hesitated for a long time, and finally whispered, "To be honest, I heard your conversation last night. I remember Mr. Sakonji said that the 'living dolls' are their 4 A magic trick created together?”

Jiang Xia nodded: "Is what he said wrong?"

The hotel manager's voice dropped even lower: "Actually, I heard the late former group leader, Miss Konmiya Reiko, mention it a long time ago."

"It was late at night, and Miss Konomiya was playing with a puppet in the lounge. Seeing me passing by, she smiled and chatted with me, and asked me if she cut all the puppet's strings and the puppet suddenly started to move on its own. It will be very interesting.

"Of course it's very interesting. I am also idle. I sat down and chatted with her like today. While she was talking to me, she took out the notebook on her body and scribbled something down - she always She carries a magic notebook with her, which is full of her whimsical ideas.

"I originally thought that the magic recorded in that book would be the candidate magic of their magic troupe. But Miss Konomiya said that she would not perform those magics herself, and that they were gifts for someone."

"Someone?" Jiang Xia grasped the key point like a serious detective and interjected, "Who is it?"

"Um..." the hotel manager shook his head, "I don't know either, but he must be a novice in magic. Because Miss Konomiya said that she hoped that the note would come in handy when that person steps on the stage, and she also said that she could do it for him. There is only so much that that person can do.

“Not long after that, she fell and died at the Lake Center Theater.

"It was midnight when the body was discovered. That day I found that the lights were still on in the theater late at night, which was a bit strange, so I went in to check, and unexpectedly I found her on the stage.

"She fell on her back on a table, with wooden boards falling from the ceiling scattered around her. She seemed to have slipped and fallen while practicing air walking. But..."

The hotel manager's face became a little strange: "But I saw that piece of wood at that time. The nails at the four corners were very loose, as if someone had deliberately adjusted it."

"But before I had time to look further, my eyes were completely attracted by the corpse on the stage - when Miss Konomiya fell, she broke the vase on the table, and the water and red roses in the bottle scattered all over the floor. The blood-like rose... was exactly the same as the scene of flowers scattered on the stage tonight.

"Others heard my scream and rushed over one after another. When I came to my senses, I found that the collapsed board had returned to its original state. Moreover, the magic notebook that Miss Konomiya carried with her had also disappeared. ”

Officer Sato listened and couldn't help but say: "If what you said is true, then this is simply a naked murder! - Why didn't you tell these doubts to the police who were responsible for investigating the case at the time?"

The hotel manager smiled bitterly: "Do you think I didn't say it at the time? I did, but because there was no evidence, the police and other members of the magic troupe thought I was trying to shirk responsibility. After all, Miss Konomiya looked like she was a child of the Lake Center Theater. It was in disrepair for a long time that he died unfortunately.

"To be honest, that theater is very old. After they said that, I'm not sure if the workers have carefully checked the top during regular maintenance... As time went by, even I began to doubt myself and the A quick glance was just an illusion caused by my panic."

After listening to the story, Jiang Xia comforted the dazed old man: "You must have remembered correctly - if what you just said is true, then judging from all the things happening now, the situation is very similar to that of Miss Jin Gong being raped by those four The person who 'created' the 'living doll' plotted against him, and someone found out about it and is now seeking revenge on the murderer."

"Four apprentices plotted against the teacher..." Officer Takagi imagined the situation at that time, his scalp was numb, and he couldn't help but glance in the direction of the guest room.

Looking at it like this, he suddenly realized something was wrong: "Look, what are those people doing at the front desk?"

…

"What are we doing?"

"Joker" patted a large pile of luggage placed at the front desk and showed an unpleasant smirk to everyone, "Of course we have to check the luggage back - the railway has been restored and we are missing two more people. I don’t need so many outfits.”

As he spoke, he attached a good-luck slip to each piece of luggage.

Seeing the truck arriving at the station and the staff about to put the luggage on the truck, Officer Takagi became anxious and tried to stop him: "The murderer is probably still among you. Send the luggage away at this time. What if there is important evidence hidden inside." "

"Oh, one night has passed, and you are still clinging to this stupid inference." "Joker" showed a pitiful smile, "There are so many magicians in the hotel, you have time to ruin our reputation, why not go find those magicians?" Asking colleagues about the situation will save you another wasted trip today.”

Without evidence, the police can't do much. Knowing this, the "Joker" muttered "tax thief", walked past the two policemen's ugly expressions, and leisurely returned to the room.

"What should we do now?" Officer Takagi turned around twice anxiously, and suddenly an idea flashed, "By the way! 'Joker' just said that the road is open - why not contact the nearby police station and ask them to issue a certificate? Will you cooperate with us in searching the luggage that will be sent away?"

Jiang Xia came back to her senses and nodded: "It's a good idea, let's give it a try."

Officer Takagi received his confirmation and happily picked up his cell phone to make a call.

The signal here is not good, and he couldn't make it clear after a long phone call. In the end, he had to borrow a landline from the front desk, and then he successfully explained the situation to the nearby police station.

At this moment, a shrill and hoarse scream suddenly sounded in the distance, tearing the quiet morning and reaching everyone's ears like thunder.

"?!"

Everyone jumped up like a startled bird, Jiang Xia also stood up and ran with them in the general direction of the sound.

Mao Lilan is very sensitive to various tones. She thought for a while and said: "It seems to be the voice of Miss Yumi, the 'Mermaid Princess'."

"Yumi..." Officer Sato has always been very concerned about this group of suspected magicians. When she mentioned this name, she immediately remembered the room number, "In 215!"

Jiang Xia nodded and went straight to room 215. When they got there, he began to knock on the door skillfully: "Ms. Yumi? Are you okay?"

Hashimoto Maya put his ear to the door and heard the movement inside. He got goosebumps and said silently: "It seems like there are some strange sounds..." What is the creaking sound? Could it be that there is a puppet grinding its teeth inside?