Chapter 11611161【European...African Chief Maoriland】

The owner of the antique shop, Ryutoku Genda—the man who was humbly promoting his shop in the Morokaku family this afternoon, was standing among the crowd of onlookers, staring at the burning house with an expression full of horror and regret.

 Two hours later.

The fire was finally put out, and firefighters and police began to search inside.

There were police officers guarding the door. Jiang Xia walked to the door of Zhujiao's house and looked up at the charred roof.

Before he could say anything, the other two detectives nearby had already approached skillfully, trying to sneak into the crime scene.

However, this time, although the guard at the door was also a police officer from the First Investigation Division, he was no longer the Third Division of Criminal Investigation Division who usually dealt with detectives. The difficulty of getting in has suddenly soared.

As soon as Conan slipped to the door and was about to sneak in quietly, he was carried back ruthlessly - the courtyard door was not really wide, and his low presence when necessary was unfortunately ineffective at this time.

 It’s not very good to brush your face, after all, I’m not familiar with him.

The three detectives were gathering together, plotting whether to sneak in or find a higher point—such as the wife's attic next door—to observe secretly.

 Behind them, an eight-foot strong man suddenly appeared.

　　The unfamiliar police officer with a square chin held a cigarette in his mouth, looked at them for a moment, and then joined the conversation: "When did the fire scene become the domain of detectives?"

Jiang Xia looked at him with a look that said "you lack common sense" and said confidently, "Detective can do anything."

Conan and Hattori Heiji, who were also about to refute: "..."

Although this is indeed the case, it always feels like something is not quite right...

"Haha, that makes sense." The stranger police officer looked scary, but actually had a good temper. He took the initiative to shake hands with them, "I am the police officer of the arsonist investigation department, Gong Commander."

 He looked at Jiang Xia with interest, the detective who was often mentioned by the third search department next door. After thinking for a moment, he provided some clues to the detectives:

"The fire this time must have been deliberately set, and it was one of the recent serial arson cases. I just heard from my subordinates that they found the specific red horse statue in the house. After identification, it was the same as the red horse statue. The ones that appeared in the previous three incidents are made of very similar materials and should be produced in the same batch."

Police have already checked and found that there are no similar red horse ornaments for sale on the market.

 This batch of "red horses" left at the fire scene have a special origin. It would be difficult for an imitator who had read a newspaper to commit a crime to such an extent - so this must have been the work of the serial arsonist himself.

"The fire started in the small room on the right side of the house, which is the cabinet door of the room where the red horse was found. The floor in the house had been poured with oil, which is why it burned so quickly. After preliminary speculation, the arsonist was He poured oil into the house through the window and set it on fire."

 Speaking of this, Chief Gong of the Police Department smiled mysteriously, looked around, and lowered his voice: "Actually, we already have clues."

“Huh?” Jiang Xia answered and immediately remembered something, “…”

Sure enough, the next second, Chief Gong of the Police Department whispered:

"We have extracted some messy fresh footprints in the yard on the side of the fire. Although they have not been further distinguished, it seems that the clearest footprints are three, probably two adult males, plus one..." He After a moment of hesitation, "Plus a woman with a small shoe size, or a child?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Chang Police Department realized something belatedly.

 He looked at the three students in front of him. Especially when he looked at Conan who looked embarrassed and had a very special shoe size: "...?"

 …

"Actually, we received a commission." Jiang Xia pointed to the memo in Hattori Heiji's hand: "A few days ago, Mrs. Morokaku said she saw a suspicious figure near her home. But today we came to ask for details, and she But she said she made a mistake. We originally planned to go back, but suddenly many suspicious people came to her house..."

 He briefly told the police officer in front of him what happened during the surveillance.

 …

Gongchang Police Department originally heard from colleagues in the third department next door that Jiang Xia was a "magic tool to prevent overtime." Now he happened to meet it, so he was curious to see what happened. Unexpectedly, I actually gained a lot of information.

Although the three young men left just before the fire, even this could greatly reduce the workload of the police.

“The insulted store manager, the gambler and fortune teller who wants money from Mrs. Morokaku, and the lover who wants to destroy the evidence... Indeed, no matter which one, it sounds suspicious."

Gongchang Police Department thought for a moment and quickly understood what to do next: "Since there are suspects and a clear time of the fire, let's go to them first and ask for their alibi at the time."

 …

 On the other side, Yoneka-cho 5-chome.

Mao Lilan and Yuan Shanheye have already prepared meals and are packing up the pile of things they bought in the afternoon.

　　When I took out a piece of clothing from the bag, there was a clack sound, and a small square box fell out and landed on the ground.

 The box is about six to seven centimeters long, made of kraft paper, and has a simple blessing label that reads "Business is prosperous".

Yuan Shan and Ye were startled. They picked up the iron ring on it and brought it to themselves to look at. They looked confused: "What is this? When did I buy it?"

Mao Lilan heard the movement and took a look from behind her.

Then he quickly remembered the origin of this boxed keychain: "Have you forgotten? This is a souvenir from the uncle who gave us his seat when we came back on the bus."

 As soon as he mentioned giving up his seat, Yuanshan and Ye remembered.

On the way back, the two of them carried a lot of things. Although they themselves did not feel that it was too heavy to lift, in the eyes of others, it probably looked like it was very difficult.

So not long after getting on the bus, a kind uncle stood up and offered his seat to them.

After giving up, he asked carefully: "Um, may I ask, where does your family live?"

"Huh?" Yuan Shan and Ye looked at him in surprise, "Uncle, are you trying to strike up a conversation?"

"No, no, of course not." The kind uncle hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "That's right, I opened a shop in Cupido Town, doing antique business. The shop also has some beautiful handicrafts for young people - if you have time , you can come and take a look.”

Seeing that the two young girls were interested, the uncle reached out and rummaged through his bag and took out a catalog, plus this keychain in a small box, and gave them to them as a souvenir.

At that time, Mao Lilan, Yuan Shan and Ye had too many things in their hands. In addition, the simple appearance of this small box did not suit their aesthetics, so the two of them did not open it on the spot.

At this time, as soon as he took the clothes off, the keychain fell out. Yuanshan and Ye picked it up and opened the lid curiously.

 (End of this chapter)