Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 519: A large dog-eat-dog scene! (Seeking monthly tickets!)
"???"

"!!!"

"Accomplice?"

"Someone actually opened the door for Xiao Wu from outside? Who is he? And why did he do that?"

When everyone heard the word "accomplice", they looked at each other in panic, and the air in the restaurant seemed to freeze instantly, making it hard to breathe. Everyone's eyes were filled with anxiety and suspicion, and the buzz of people whispering in the corners added to the tense atmosphere.

Maori Kogoro looked up at the people with different expressions, his fingers subconsciously rubbing his chin, his brows tightly wrinkled into the shape of a "川" character, and he fell into deep thought. After a moment, he seemed to have finally figured out some clues, raised his head, and slowly said: "We must re-examine the timeline of the case and everyone's whereabouts before and after the incident. Think carefully about where you were and what you did from before to after the incident. Any tiny detail is very likely to become a key breakthrough in solving the case."

So, under the guidance of Kogoro Mori, everyone began to tell their experiences one by one.

"Let me think about it. When Long Nan was killed, Mr. Shoji, Mr. Ichiro, and Ms. Akie, the three of you were all alone, resting in your room."

After listening to everyone's alibis, Maori Kogoro nodded slightly, then cast his gaze towards Hatamoto Kitaro thoughtfully, "The only ones who were together were you and your wife, Mr. Kitaro."

Hatamoto Kitaro obviously noticed Maori Kogoro's gaze. His eyes began to flicker and beads of sweat gradually oozed out of his forehead. It seemed that he was trying to calm himself down. He quickly said, "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk outside."

Maori Kogoro said "hmm" softly, his expression became more solemn and serious, and he said in a low voice: "So, in this murder case, except for Xia Jiang who was with Bai Ye, no one has an alibi!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing a thousand waves.

Hatamoto Akie's eyebrows immediately turned upside down, her eyes widened with anger, and she shouted angrily: "Are you kidding me? How could I kill my own husband? What kind of detective are you? How dare you suspect me!"

Her chest heaved violently, her hands were clenched into fists, and her body was shaking slightly with anger.

Hatamoto Mariko folded her hands in front of her chest, glanced at Hatamoto Akiie, and raised her face slightly, outlining a mocking sneer: "Humph, the person who is most happy about Long Nan's death is probably you."

Hatamoto Akie was so angry that he was shaking all over, his face flushed red, and he pointed his trembling fingers at Hatamoto Mariko. His voice became sharp and piercing because of his extreme anger: "You..."

This crazy woman actually mocked her like this, she deserves to die!
However, Hatamoto Mariko was not moved at all. Instead, she had a smug look on her face and continued to provoke Hatamoto Aki with even colder and more piercing words, even mercilessly exposing a private scandal of hers: "Don't think we don't know that you already have a man outside, right?"

A trace of barely perceptible panic flashed across Hatamoto Akiie's face, but she quickly pretended to be calm and forced a sneer of disdain from the corner of her mouth, but that smile seemed a little far-fetched and stiff: "I know why you do this. You do this to divert everyone's attention, right? Aunt Mariko has the greatest motive to kill Uncle, because he is the one who cares about the inheritance the most!"

Damn it, how did this woman, Mariko Hatamoto, know about this?
Hatamoto Natsue looked at his family members attacking and arguing with each other, his face full of helplessness and pain, and he could only beg: "Please, stop arguing like this."

Her once amiable family had now become like this. Such a change filled her heart with pain and sorrow, as if she was in a nightmare from which she could not wake up.

However, even if she wanted to solve the current problem, she had no good solution, let alone the ability to do so. She could only watch her family ties fall apart in suspicion and anger.

At this moment, Mao Lilan accidentally caught a glimpse of the portrait in the picture book that Hatamoto Ichiro was looking at. She couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "Hey? Mr. Ichiro, who are you drawing? This person looks like Miss Xia Jiang."

Originally, Mao Lilan just asked casually out of curiosity, but it was as if the most sensitive nerve in Hatamoto Ichiro's heart was touched. His face suddenly turned pale. He hurriedly closed the sketchbook and hid it tightly behind him. There was a trace of panic and nervousness in his eyes that was difficult to conceal, as if there was some unspeakable secret hidden in the sketchbook.

Conan had been quietly observing everyone's every move. After keenly catching Ichiro Hatamoto's unusual behavior, his eyes suddenly became sharp, "Mr. Ichiro, you seem to be very nervous. Does this portrait have any special meaning?"

Originally, he didn't doubt Ichiro Hatamoto. After all, the other party looked so cowardly and timid, and it seemed that he didn't have the courage to kill anyone.

But the other party's strange reaction now made him feel suspicious.

He seriously suspected that even if the picture in the notebook in Ichiro Hatamoto's hand did not show the murderer who killed Hatamoto Gozo and others, it must contain some unknown secrets.

Ichiro Hatamoto's body stiffened slightly, as if he was cast under a spell. Beads of sweat as big as soybeans oozed from his forehead and slowly slid down his cheeks. His eyes wandered around, not daring to look Conan in the eye. He forced out a smile that was uglier than crying, and stammered, "No... No, I just... I just doodled."

However, his explanation full of loopholes was obviously unconvincing, and Conan was increasingly suspicious. "Is it really just a doodle? If so, why are you so panicked?"

Conan crossed his arms, his expression serious and focused, staring at Hatamoto Ichiro, his eyes seemed to want to see through his heart, "Mr. Ichiro, are you hiding something from us?"

Ichiro Hatamoto's face was as pale as frost. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes revealing a hint of despair and struggle. His lips trembled slightly, as if there were thousands of words swirling in his throat but he couldn't say them.

Just when he was about to say something, Hatamoto Akiyoe beside him suddenly sneered, and the laughter was particularly harsh in the silent room, "Even my aunt's son has a motive to kill my grandfather, right?"

As he spoke, Hatamoto Akie's eyes were filled with a hint of sarcasm and gloating, "My winning work in a painting competition was torn up by my grandfather. Who wouldn't hate him?"

Anyway, if she were in Hatamoto Ichiro's position, she would definitely not let go of someone who tried to destroy her dream. Hatamoto Mariko frowned, but did not refute Hatamoto Aki's question. Instead, she echoed it with a little dissatisfaction and complaint on her face, "It's all Grandpa's fault. He doesn't appreciate the child's talent at all."

My own child is so outstanding, but this old guy not only doesn't appreciate him, but also makes things difficult for him and blames him in every way!
If the other party had not died at the hands of Takeshi Hatamoto, she might not have been able to hold back the hatred and dissatisfaction in her heart and would have attacked him!

Because, an old guy with such shortsightedness should have died long ago!
Hatamoto Akiie sneered, then moved in front of Hatamoto Ichiro and sneered, "You are bullied by Longnan every time, so I know it must be you, the weird guy."

Hearing these accusations, Hatamoto Ichiro was horrified, his eyes widened, and he shouted at the top of his lungs to defend himself, "I... I didn't kill him, it wasn't me!"

Hatamoto Akiyo snorted lightly, without making any comment, then turned to Hatamoto Beilang, and said with a meaningful smile on his face: "And once grandpa dies, Uncle Beilang can completely get rid of his control, right, Uncle Beilang?"

Hatamoto Kitaro was so frightened by this that he broke out in a cold sweat. His face turned as pale as a sheet of white paper, and his eyes were full of panic and nervousness. He hurriedly retorted loudly: "Don't talk nonsense here!"

The voice was trembling slightly due to excessive excitement, and had a bit of a cowardly tone.

As he was talking, he saw his son Hatamoto Ichiro stand up. Hatamoto Kitaro seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and quickly changed the subject and asked, "Ichiro, where are you going?"

Hatamoto Ichiro pretended to be calm, but there was a hint of panic and evasion in his eyes that was difficult to conceal. He responded, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Hatamoto Kitaro asked with concern, his eyes full of worry, "Is it okay for you to go alone?"

Hatamoto Ichiro raised the corner of his mouth slightly, with a hint of disdain and contempt, and said sarcastically: "It's okay, I'm not a coward like my father."

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After saying that, Hatamoto Ichiro walked straight towards the toilet without waiting for Hatamoto Kitaro to reply.

Looking at the figure of Hatamoto Ichiro walking away, Conan's mind was full of doubts. He couldn't help but cast his eyes on the butler Suzuki beside him and asked, "Uncle butler, what happened between Mr. Beilang and the old man?"

This family is so weird!
As the head of the family, Hatamoto Gozo has a bad temper and gets angry at the slightest provocation. Other people are either sarcastic, selfish, or have bad intentions.

As the head of the family, Hatamoto Gozo has a personality like a flammable and explosive powder keg. If he is slightly provoked, he will become furious and fly into a rage. Not to mention the other family members, each of them has their own "characteristics".

Either their words are sarcastic and sharp, like a poisonous sting, always ready to hurt others; or they are selfish, always considering only their own interests, regardless of family affection and morality; or they simply have ulterior motives and bad intentions.

Now, even Ichiro Hatamoto, who seems cowardly and harmless on weekdays, inadvertently reveals his unexpected side, which is shocking.

Well, in the entire Hatamoto family, perhaps Hatamoto Natsue is the only normal person.

Butler Suzuki bent down slightly and lowered his voice so that only he and Conan could hear him. He whispered, "Bei Lang wanted to leave the Hatamoto family a long time ago because he felt that he was not cut out to be the boss of a big company, but the master opposed him leaving. In fact, even if the master didn't object, his wife Mariko wouldn't allow him to do so. Do you understand?"

Conan nodded thoughtfully, his eyes still lingering in the direction where Ichiro left, "Mrs. Beilang's wife, Mrs. Mariko, why doesn't she want Mr. Beilang to leave?"

Butler Suzuki sighed, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "Mrs. Mariko has always dreamed of becoming the mistress of the Hatamoto family and enjoying power and wealth. If Mr. Beilang leaves the Hatamoto family, her dream will be shattered. How could she allow such a thing to happen!"

If Hatamoto Kitaro wanted to give up all this, the first person to stand up and disagree would be Hatamoto Mariko!

Conan frowned slightly, and couldn't help but feel a trace of sympathy and understanding for Hatamoto Beilang's situation. "Then Mr. Beilang has no other way? Being trapped in such a situation, he must have a lot of resentment in his heart."

As soon as these words came out, the helpless look on Suzuki's face became even stronger. "Mr. Beilang certainly tried to resist. He once had a big fight with the master and proposed to separate from the family. But the master not only sternly refused, but also scolded him mercilessly, scolding him to death!"

"Since then, Mr. Beilang seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. He became more and more taciturn, like a statue with its soul taken away. And because of this incident, Mrs. Mariko's 'control' over Mr. Beilang became even stricter."

Conan's mind seemed to be struck by a flash of inspiration, and everything suddenly became clear to him.

Being trapped in such a situation, Hatamoto Kitaro had every motivation to be dissatisfied with Hatamoto Gozo, and even to have murderous intentions.

Of course, although Conan already had doubts about Hatamoto Kitaro, he also knew that having a motive did not mean that the person was the murderer. It also required solid evidence and rigorous reasoning to confirm it.

"What about the others? Are there similar conflicts?"

Butler Suzuki frowned and fell into deep thought for a moment, then slowly spoke, "Miss Qiu Jiang and her husband Long Nan have always had a bad relationship. Long Nan is a playboy and has a lot of fun outside, and Miss Qiu Jiang is not a gentle and quiet person who would not accept anything. The two of them often fight for money and family status."

"And there is Madam Mariko. She is eager for her son to inherit the huge family business and become the helmsman of the family. However, the master particularly appreciates Miss Xia Jiang and places high hopes on her. This huge difference in treatment naturally makes Madam Mariko feel resentful and hateful..."

(End of this chapter)