Chapter 55 first quarter

The day after Haodeji Shinichi was arrested, the Sunagawa Police Department personally lobbied for the details of the murder. The time is seven o'clock in the evening. The people involved in this murder case have gathered in the living room of Haode Temple's house. In the tense atmosphere, Shiki felt the tension of restlessness, the source of which was of course the survivors of the Hotokuji family.The head of the family, Toyozo, was killed, and his eldest son, Shinichi, was arrested. These facts made the Hotokuji family seem like a heavy shadow over their heads.Even though the air in the room was cool, Shiki still wiped the sweat off his neck repeatedly.

The Sunagawa Police Department, who should be the protagonist, sat in a chair in a corner of the room for some reason, puffing: looking out the window absent-mindedly, it didn't seem like he was trying to explain at all. Finally, Gotokuji Mikio spoke out as if unable to hold back the long silence. "Mr. Criminal Police, what's the matter? Except for the deceased father and the arrested elder brother, all relevant personnel are here. Please start explaining the case? Besides, it has been almost a whole day since my elder brother was arrested last night. Why did we have to wait so long? ?”

Mrs. Changdai admonishes her son immediately. "Okay, Mikio, be careful, don't be so self-willed with Mr. Detectives. Mr. Detectives are based on certain secrets. Right, Mr. Detectives?" "Madam, thank you for your understanding." The Sunagawa Police Department just sat there and saluted respectfully, then looked out the window again to confirm something, pressed the unfinished cigarette in the ashtray and got up. "It's almost there, and I can't bear to keep everyone waiting. First of all, I should thank everyone for taking the time to come. Mrs. Masashiro, Mr. Mikio, Ms. Maki, Mr. Kenzaki Kyoshiro, Dr. Yajima, and Mr. Katsuragi. Ah, And Sanhuazi and Elsa."

The two three-coloured cats are firmly hugged in Guimu's arms. "The above-mentioned six people plus two cats, the members are all here." "Cough, cough, cough!" The harshest cough in the world sounded from the corner of the living room. "Mr. Police Department, you will not forget us, will you?" "Hmph, it's not that I forgot." The Shachuan Police Department looked at them coldly. "Private detective Ukaidoff and the other two, right...but I don't remember asking you here." The "other two" he said turned their heads and looked at each other in an instant.

"Miss Zhu Mei, you, did you hear that? We are the 'other two'." "It's unforgivable, I, I can be compared with Ryuhei..." Ukai calmly appealed to the excited two. "Ah, both of you, please restrain yourself depending on the occasion. You have to be patient at this time, and don't be provoked." "I'm not provoking... um!" At this time, the Sunagawa police department seemed to see something strange, set its sights on Ukai's face, and pointed to his forehead. "Speaking of which, although it's not important at all, what's with the wound on your forehead? Someone threw a stone at you?"

"What are you talking about? Damn it! It's infuriating to talk like you're staying out of it!" Yukai's face changed drastically and he grabbed the police station. "???" The police department didn't know what to do. "Mr. Ugai, calm down, don't be provoked!" Tomura Ryuhei stopped the excitement of Ukai ended.Shiki couldn't understand why Ukai was furious, but the detective's actions were not easy to understand, so Shiki decided not to delve into it, and returned to the original topic. "In short, put their matter aside, the police department, explain the case quickly."

"Well, that's right." The police department looked up at the crowd as if regrouping. "Then everyone, it's time to go." "Leaving...?" Dr. Yajima spoke with a dissatisfied expression. "Don't you want to explain it here?" "I think I'm explaining here, you may not understand, so prepare in advance at the scene of the crime, please follow me." Then, the police department looked out the window to add. "Now it's just sunset, and the surrounding area of ​​the greenhouse is completely covered by night, which is the same as the night when the incident occurred."

Zhimu finally understood the reason why the police delayed explaining the case until this time.The police department wants to reconstruct the night of the incident. Relevant personnel, like ant troops, went to the scene of the crime one after another. Just as the Sunagawa Police Department expected, the surrounding area of ​​the scene was completely ruled by darkness.The difference from the night when Feng Zang was murdered is that the air is still obviously filled with the aftertaste of the day, and the reproduction of the environment on the night of the crime can be regarded as the completion of the arrangement.

The police station stopped a few meters in front of the greenhouse. "The next thing I want to explain to you is the so-called alibi trick in mystery works. But don't worry, although it is a trick, it is actually like a magic trick, the same magic trick as the coin disappears in the palm of the hand. In this case , before doing magic tricks, I need to show everyone the palms of my hands.” "What does it mean?" Changdai asked in surprise. "Next, I want you to take a look inside this greenhouse. I'm doing this to be cautious, and I want to ask everyone to confirm that the greenhouse has not been tampered with at all. It is a greenhouse that you have seen several times in the past few days. However, Please don’t enter, just observe from the entrance. Are you okay?”

The relevant personnel looked at the police department with questioning eyes, but of course they did not refuse. "Sorry, there is no lighting such as flashlights at all. But please see, there are street lights next to the greenhouse. Even if the light is dim, it still shines into the room through the plastic sheeting, so the greenhouse is not completely dark. It must be clearly visible with the naked eye. The situation inside. Then, please line up and observe the room from the entrance in order.” The police department guided the relevant personnel to the entrance of the greenhouse.First Mrs. Changdai, then the children, diners, doctor, housekeeper-cook-gardener, detective and two others in order, all of them took turns to observe the room.

Everyone only spent a few seconds observing, and left the entrance without any obvious reaction.Shiki was the last person to observe the room, and also left after a few seconds. The police department looked around the crowd with satisfaction. "How's the situation in the greenhouse?" Miki responded dissatisfied. "It's nothing. It's just a greenhouse. Inside is a piece of ground that hasn't been planted. The deepest part is the exit. The adult lucky cat has been kept there. Yes, as Mr. Criminal Police said, I have seen it countless times so far. greenhouse." The relevant personnel almost all nodded in a puzzled manner, as if questioning why such a thing they already knew was done.Shiki also holds this idea. "Oh, is that so?" Ninomiya Akumi objected like a rebel. "The greenhouse just now was weird, but I can't quite describe it." Then, Ukai also echoed her statement. "Well, I also feel that something is wrong. I feel dizzy for no reason. It is a space that is not normal in some way... Does it feel smooth?" "No, I don't feel it at all, it's just an ordinary greenhouse from my point of view." "That's it." Ukai said, abandoning the unfulfilling apprentice. "I shouldn't have asked." However, Shiki thought of one thing when he heard the detective's words "I feel dazzled for no reason".During the interrogation the morning after the incident, Maki used similar words when she replied to the situation at the scene that night. I remember she said "a feeling of dizziness".Is this a coincidence? "So Maki-san, what do you think?" She responded cautiously to the police department. "For me... I just think... the greenhouse I saw just now is very similar to the scene I saw on the night of the crime." "Ms. Maki, of course." Dr. Yajima said. "Because this greenhouse has been in the same condition as the night of the crime, not to mention very similar, it is exactly the same. Mr. Criminal Police, isn't that right?" The Sunagawa Police Department did not reply to Dr. Yajima, but only said "very good" and nodded in response. "It seems that the experiment was successful. Although there are two exceptions, they are very special and not ordinary people." "Hey, who are you calling 'special'?" "That is to say, the only one who is 'special' is Ukai-san!" The Sunagawa Police Department silenced the "two exceptions" protest. "Speaking of which, Mr. Interpol..." Mrs. Changdai urged. "You mentioned just now that this is an 'experiment', what exactly does that mean? I remember you said just now that you want us to see some kind of 'magic'..." "Yes, of course I haven't forgotten. Speaking of which, everyone, please move to the exit of the greenhouse, but don't go through the greenhouse, please go around from the outside." The request made by the criminal policeman is really strange-the relevant personnel showed such expressions, and followed the command of the police department to go around from the outside of the greenhouse to the other side. More than a dozen people lined up to arrive at the exit of the greenhouse. "Ah!" Mikio was the first to witness the exit scene. "No, no! It's gone!" Kenzaki Kyoshiro followed up his exclamation and spoke. "What did you say is missing... Wow! Really, it's gone." "It's gone." "Disappeared." "why?" "Where did you go?" "It was clearly still there just now?" Then, the people made surprised sounds one after another, and Shiki, who was a step behind to witness the exit, finally knew the reason for their commotion. There is no adult lucky cat at the exit. The beckoning cat that has been here since the incident, and was indeed there when I peeped from the entrance just now, has disappeared without a trace. "Police, what's going on here?" "Didn't I say it was magic? It's nothing, it's even more surprising later... Then everyone, please move back to the entrance again, but don't go through the greenhouse." It seems that there is some kind of mechanism inside the greenhouse.The police department prevented everyone from entering the greenhouse, probably because they wanted to continue to hide the mechanism, but Shiki couldn't imagine what kind of mechanism it was. The relevant personnel meditated on their own, returned to the entrance again, and peeped through the entrance one by one in the same way, and then they successively let out screams that were almost screams. Zhimu, who was at the end of the queue, felt a strange sense of excitement as if he was queuing up to see a haunted house at a summer temple fair.Did they see a smiling head? Finally it was Shiki's turn.Under the urging of the police department, he peeked into the room from the entrance.Everything is the same as before.A dark interior, a plastic sheet tunnel, an open exit on the other side, and the adult Lucky Cat actually sits outside! incredible.Heads that can laugh are more acceptable. "..." Too miraculous phenomenon made Shiki speechless.Not only Shiki, but many related personnel could not understand the phenomenon they were witnessing now, and they obviously had indigestion reactions.In such a situation, the man who never changed his face than anyone else—— Ugai Duo spoke to the Sunagawa Police Department. "Mr. Police Department, it's about time for us to see the true face of the agency, right? But I don't think I need to look to understand it." "Oh, you get it?" "Yes, of course. I know anyway, the colonnade of the Spada Palace..." Shiki heard this term for the first time. What exactly is the "Portico of Spada"?