The Grammatical Investigator in Conan

After the old gardener found out that the castle disappeared, he found the servant who was still in the manor and told him about it.

The servant told the old gardener that the man had left Shrewsbury for London, and soon went to Japan, where he seemed to have established a new family.

So, the matter was left unresolved...

Bai Ma Tan closed his eyes and pondered in his mind.

So far, there have been two testimonies that span time, proving that there was once a castle similar to the Twilight Annex, built on the banks of the Severn River in Shrewsbury.

It was built about 110 years ago, and the exact time is no longer traceable.

But if the Twilight Annex in Gunma Prefecture is the castle built on the banks of the Severn River in England 110 years ago, and then disappeared inexplicably, then there are too many secrets.

First of all, a building crossed the barriers of oceans and land and arrived in Japan.

This is absolutely impossible, whether it was 110 years ago or today with advanced science and technology.

However, after witnessing the sudden disappearance of the Twilight Annex that night, Hakuba Tan felt that this was possible.

Although it is unknown what unimaginable methods or means were used, at least this hypothesis can be confirmed.

Assuming that the Twilight Annex was the castle on the Severn River 110 years ago, the initiator of this incident should be the male owner of the manor at that time.

This male owner had a prominent status in the local area, and later established a family in Japan.

110 years ago, Japan had just opened up its country and the Meiji Restoration was in full swing. The whole country of Japan was learning from the West.

In that context, it was entirely possible for foreigners to settle in Japan, especially the British Empire, which was in its heyday at the time.

If the family was established during the Restoration period, coupled with the male owner's prominent status in the UK and the golden building materials of the Twilight Annex, he must not be an unknown person.

He may even have had an intersection with the then-reigning Emperor Meiji!

Therefore, Hakuba Tan has asked the Hakuba Research Institute in Japan to investigate historical materials in this regard.

However, before getting the results of the investigation, Hakuba Detective had already made some guesses in his mind.

If the Twilight Villa in Gunma Prefecture really belonged to the tycoon Karasuma Renya as the legend said, then the family established by this male owner is likely to be the Karasuma family.

However, when Hakuba Detective first investigated the origin of the Twilight Villa, he had already used all his resources to investigate the surname Karasuma.

However, he did not find any useful information.

The Karasuma family is very secretive. Except for the tycoon Karasuma Renya, there is no information about other family members.

Moreover, the industry owned by Karasuma Renya himself is also absolutely confidential. Even Hakuba Detective, who is the son of the Superintendent General and comes from the equally prominent Hakuba family, has no ability to touch it.

In today's Japan, there are several prominent families that are well-known to the world.

The Suzuki family, the current No. 1 consortium in Japan, is rich enough to rival a country and is currently the most well-known Japanese family in the world.

The Ooka family is mainly active in the political and business circles. Its financial strength is second only to the Suzuki Group. The family has produced a Japanese prime minister, so its political influence is higher than that of the Suzuki Group.

Although the Hakuba family is not as financially strong as the Suzuki and Ooka families, and has not reached the level of the Japanese prime minister in the political world, it has always maintained strong strength in the police world, has many supporters, and has a high voice in the field of scientific research.

In addition to these three major families, there are many very low-key families in Japan, such as the Haneda family, the Shiratori family, and the Hattori family.

However, it is the first time that Hakuba Tan has known of a family of the size of Karasuma that is so powerful and yet so low-key.

However, the clues that cannot be found in Japan do not mean that they cannot be found in the UK.

Since the current Karasuma family cannot be found, then check the three generations of ancestors!

…

The car that Hakuba Tan was riding in drove three miles along the Severn River and finally found the manor mentioned in the clues on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

Today, the manor has been abandoned, and the scenery of the past is no longer there.

Passing through the dark trees, a gloomy manor stood before us.

The periphery of the manor was surrounded by ancient red brick pillars and iron pointed railings as the mark of the territory.

The fence was covered with lush shrubs and rotten wood branches, which blocked the gaps tightly and made it impossible to see the situation inside.

The car slowly stopped at the gate of the manor, and Bai Ma Tan and Ah Fu got out of the car.

"Master, I'm going to find the way in. Please wait here for a while." Ah Fu said respectfully.

When Ah Fu walked towards the right wall of the manor, Bai Ma Tan first took a general look at the surrounding situation.

Then he came to the main gate of the manor.

The big iron gate in front of the manor was locked. Judging from the rusty state of the lock, it had not been opened for at least decades.

The iron railings of the big iron gate were covered with plants, blocking most of the views that wanted to peek inside.

There was only a gap of about 20cm in the middle of the road where plants could not grow, leaving a part of the area where the inside could be observed.

Bai Ma Tan leaned his head over and saw a two-story building standing in the bleak moonlight.

Like most manor buildings in the last century, the building's exterior was made of red bricks.

Due to decades of no repairs, most of the wall on the front of the building has fallen off, revealing bricks, which looks a bit exposed.

However, apart from this, the building is still in good condition, and the glass is intact, without any signs of human damage.

Retracting his sight, Bai Ma Tan looked at the red brick pillar next to the big iron gate.

At a height of more than one person on the pillar, there is an area with a different color from other places. It should be used to hang a doorplate, which will publicize the information of the manor and the owner of the manor.

But now the sign is gone, and the whole pillar is bare.

Just then, Ah Fu came back and brought a way to enter the manor.

10 meters to the right of the main gate of the manor, a gap was formed in the collapsed wall.

Entering from the gap, it happened to be a small path inside the manor, which could lead to the two-story building.

The two came to the main gate of the building, and wanted to find another gap to enter, but found that the main gate was not locked.

A rough wooden stick was placed across the door handles on both sides, and that was it.

In fact, it is also wise to do so, because once the door is locked, outsiders may guess what valuables are hidden in the building.

For a manor like this where no one is around, it is impossible to stop them as long as they find a way to invade.

Facing this kind of door bolt that prevents gentlemen from letting villains go, Bai Ma Tan and Ah Fu looked at each other, and Ah Fu stepped forward and took down the wooden stick.

Bai Ma Tan put his hand on the door handle, and with a little force, the door was slowly pushed open.

A faint musty smell in the air instantly invaded the nose, mixed with a fishy smell from the soil.

Bai Ma Tan frowned slightly, took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and put it in front of his nose, and took the flashlight from Ah Fu with his other hand.

Click.

When the flashlight was turned on, two circular light circles instantly illuminated a corner of this dark building.

At this time, they were in the main hall facing the door.

This main hall was very simple, and everything that could be moved had been moved away, leaving only a dusty carpet and a broken lampshade in the corner.

There is a route on the left and right sides of the main hall.

"Afu, go to the left."

In order to save time, the White Horse Detective sent Afu to the other side, and he started investigating from the right.

The White Horse Detective walked into the side hall, which was obviously a reception room.

The sofa and round table in the reception room were still kept in the distance, and almost everything that could be moved away was also moved away.

The White Horse Detective looked around with a flashlight, and suddenly, a flag on the wall attracted his attention.

This flag is a shield, divided by a cross dividing line in the middle of the shield, and the four areas are two patterns.

From the upper left to the lower right of the shield, there is also a diagonal strip like a black ribbon, decorated with shell patterns.

The White Horse Detective stared at the pattern on the flag and frowned slightly.

This is...

The White Horse Detective has studied and lived in the UK for many years, solved countless cases, and established a good network of contacts.

In addition to the background of the White Horse family, he was once invited to visit Althorp Manor.

Althorp Manor is located in Northamptonshire, north of London. It is one of the oldest noble families in the UK and the place where the Spencer family has lived for generations.

Since 1508, the Spencer family has come to Althorp's land for the first time as a large-scale shepherding family.

The White Horse Detective still remembers that he saw such a pattern when he was a guest in Althorp Manor.

This flag is not an ordinary pattern, but the family crest and logo of the Spencer family.

The Spencer family logo actually appeared here...

Could it be that the man of the manor at that time was related to the Spencer family?

But since he is a member of the Spencer family, why doesn't he live in Althorp Manor? Instead, he lives in such a faraway northern England.

The White Horse Detective put away his thoughts and continued to investigate further.

Walking out of the other side exit of the side hall, you will reach the area where the servants are active in the back.

The kitchen, utility room, bathroom, and stairs leading to the second floor are all here.

The White Horse Detective just took a rough look at these insignificant areas and came to the second floor from the spiral staircase.

The entire second floor is the owner's leisure and rest area, including the living room, study, piano room, etc.

However, similar to the situation on the first floor, all the valuable things in these rooms have been moved out, leaving only some old furniture.

Although these furniture were very exquisite aristocratic items in the past, after so many years, the old paint surface is covered with dust, and now it is just a pile of old things that are so dirty that people don't want to touch them.

However, in the study, Bai Ma Tan found a mezzanine in the second drawer of the desk.

The mezzanine is separated by a wooden board. If it weren't for Bai Ma Tan's keen observation as a detective, it would not be easy to find.

He took out the wooden board, and there were two pieces of paper underneath.

When the paper was taken out and the flashlight was shone on it, it was found to be a letter and a photo.

The photo is a yellowed black and white photo, and the edge of the photo has become slightly warped due to moisture.

However, the middle of the photo is still well protected because it has been waxed.

This is a photo of a young man and a woman.

The young man is dressed very luxuriously, which is the exquisite dress that only aristocrats had at that time.

The mother's outfit was relatively ordinary, a white fluffy lace dress that didn't match her thin body and didn't look like it was tailor-made for her.

On the back of the photo, a line of neat handwriting reads: Son Spencer Lenye and mother Sera, taken on July 4, 1870.

Lenye...

This name reminds Hakuba Tan of the tycoon Karasuma Lenye.

Could this person be Karasuma Lenye in his youth?

Hakuba Tan recalled the tragedy 40 years ago that old lady Chiken told in the Twilight Annex.

In her version of the story, Karasuma Lenye was a centenarian 40 years ago.

If that was the case, Karasuma Lenye was indeed a young man in 1870.

But later, Hakuba Tan used the police database and still could not find any information about the tragedy 40 years ago.

And the existence of this photo now seems to prove that Karasuma Lenye is indeed an old man of extraordinary age.

Hakuba Tan turned the photo back to the front and looked at the face in the photo again.

The woman in the photo was more delicate, with a kind of oriental beauty that Westerners do not have.

The son next to him was also very handsome, with some mixed-race features, a handsome face like a knife and an axe, and a tall and thin figure.

Although the photos at that time were not very clear, he always felt that there was a heroic spirit between the eyebrows of this "Lian Ye", and he looked like someone.

Who was it?

Bai Ma Tan couldn't remember it for the time being, so he put the photo in his pocket and picked up the letter to read it.

Due to the age and moisture, most of the handwriting on the letter has become very blurred and unreadable.

However, there are still a few edges on the letter paper, which allows Bai Ma Tan to see clearly.

The first letter begins with the address: Dear Mr. Xia Gai.

(Blurred) Settle in Japan (Blurred)...

(A large area is blurred)

(Blurred) Move the temple to Japan (Blurred)...

...

Bai Ma Tan looked hard for a long time, and only saw these contents clearly.

Temple...

Is it talking about the Twilight Villa?

And this letter, it seems to be written to the servants who stayed in the manor to take care of it.

However, judging from the respectful address of "Dear Mr. Xia Gai", this person and "Spencer Lianye" are more than just a master-servant relationship.

Just as Bai Ma Tan was deducing the contents of the letter and the photo, a muffled sound suddenly came from downstairs.

Bai Ma Tan raised his head alertly, walked to the side of the stairs, and called out tentatively.

"Afu?"

No one answered under the empty stairs.

Realizing that something might have happened, Bai Ma Tan stepped up a few steps and went downstairs. Passing by an empty room, he saw Afu lying on the floor.

"Afu!"

Bai Ma Tan ran over quickly, put the flashlight aside, and picked him up.

But when he turned Afu's body over, Bai Ma Tan felt that his hands were stained with some kind of wet and sticky liquid.