Chapter 9 Section 4

When we returned to Mizushima Mansion, the housekeeper seemed surprised. "what happened again?" "Have the police left?" "Only the police department and two or three subordinates are still there." "Great. Actually, I have something to ask Mr. Police, and I'd like to see the scene again. Can I go in?" "Please wait." The butler walked into the mansion and came out a few minutes later, indicating that we can go in. "But only if you can't interrupt their work." "Okay, I understand." The furniture in Yuichiro Mizushima's room hadn't been moved, and they were still stuck to the walls.It's just that the bookshelf next to the entrance, the one we pushed down, moved a little away from the door.The bookshelf is about two meters wide, and it looks like a square from the front.The bookshelf is simple, without glass, and several simple partitions divide it into several layers.Books that fell to the floor when the bookshelves were knocked down were also stuffed back into their original places.Each layer is fully packed, with almost no gaps. The upper layer is mostly paperback books, and the further down, the more heavyweight hardcover books.At the bottom are all encyclopedia dictionaries, arranged according to the fifty-syllabary diagram, and there are more than thirty books at a rough count.

I started checking my bookshelves for mysteries and found none. The Ogawara Police Department and the young detective sat in front of the desk.There was something spread out on the desk, like a notebook. "Is there anything else you want?" The police department glanced at me and asked. "I want to interview you about this incident." "What you want to interview should be about the preservation committee." "This... is also my job," I thought to myself, it's better not to say that I approached Yuichiro in the name of a writer, and then said, "but it's not an official job."

"what?" "Well...my official job is a detective." "Detective? It's the work of investigating other people's whereabouts." The police department spoke out the thoughts of ordinary people. "I do that kind of work too." I wanted to say that I would still solve murders, but I was worried that he wouldn't understand. "You can watch the fun here, but please don't make trouble. It was all because of you just now, and my mind was messed up. It was you who said that Mizushima might die of homicide, and that the murderer might enter and leave this room... This kind of thing was impossible." After he finished speaking, he turned to his subordinates and asked, "Did you find anything?"

"No." The detective who was checking the drawer replied. "What are you doing?" "Don't you know this kind of thing at a glance? The reason for Mizushima's suicide is being investigated." How could this be known at a glance?I thought so in my heart, but didn't say it. "What's that notebook?" I asked, pointing to the open notebook on the table. "It's Mizushima's diary. Master Haruki found it and gave it to us. Judging from the content in it, he seems to be a little troubled recently." The police department looked at me and smiled, "It seems to be a pity, your guess."

"Can you show me?" "No, we have the responsibility to protect the privacy of the deceased. I only took a look at the place that Master Chunshu told us to look at." "Then can I just look at that place?" The police department thought for a while, then opened a certain page of the notebook as if afraid of trouble, handed it to me, and pointed: "Here." That was the diary I wrote the day before yesterday, and the content is as follows: Lack of sleep recently.I can't sleep every day because of that thing.I'm sure I won't be able to sleep tonight.To be honest, I didn't expect to be so troubled, so painful.

After reading the diary, I raised my head. "Oh, that's it. He's looking for that thing that's written on it." "Well, that's it." I don't know if it was because I saw my "layman", the police department showed a malicious mockery, and stroked his mustache. "What do you think this thing is?" "If we knew, we wouldn't bother here." "Then are you looking for something that we don't know?" I asked looking at the back of the criminal policeman who seemed to have no motivation but was still rummaging through the drawers.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.Looking for things none of us know - isn't that what the mayor asked me to investigate?I'm also looking for something called loot, who knows what that looks like. Is "that thing" a stolen item?If so, Mizushima Yuichiro is the thief.But why would he lose sleep over this trouble? I exhale. The idea of ​​"that thing is a loot" is attractive, but there are too few clues to continue reasoning.I'd better challenge the mystery of the chamber first. I began to recall the scene after the body was found.After Haruki found out that his father was dead, he first asked the housekeeper to notify his younger siblings, and then called the police with the phone in his room.

The brothers and sisters arrived here soon.Before, Natsuko and Akio were in their own room, while Fuyuhiko was drawing in the studio in another room. Meanwhile, I checked all the places in the room.No matter how you look at it, there is no place for people to hide.Moreover, even if there is, it is impossible for people to get away under our noses.No one left the room until the police arrived. "Hey, there must be a small hole somewhere." Xiaolu whispered, "If that's the case, the murderer can escape." "That's true. But it shouldn't be possible in this case."

"why?" "If there is, the police should be able to find out." "It's also possible that the little hole is well hidden." "Of course. There is such a possibility, it's just..." I hesitated a bit. Little Green is right.Perhaps I should have been more aggressive in finding places where the murderer might have gotten away.But, I don't want to do that anyway.It's not like that - a voice always tells me so. "Did the investigation find anything?" I asked the police department. "Well, there are many. For example, the head was injured due to the shooting. The bullet penetrated the head from right to left and died on the spot. It is estimated that the time of death was between noon and one o'clock in the afternoon."

"Anyone hear gunshots?" "No. With a silencer." "Where is everyone and what are you doing between noon and one o'clock in the afternoon?" "Both in their own rooms focusing on their hobbies." No one seems to have an alibi. Where are the blind spots?Did Yuichiro really die and commit suicide?No, it's not possible.No matter which world, no one would commit suicide in such an exaggerated way. "You can use your imagination, but please don't forget. This is a real event. There are indeed many such magical stories, but they only exist in novels." The Okawara Police Department said very angrily.He didn't seem to understand the difference between tricks and magic.

I left Yuichiro Mizushima's room and went down the stairs.Hear voices from the dining room.The door was open, and voices from inside could be easily heard.Although impolite, I put my ear close to the door and listened to what the people inside were saying. "I'll give you a villa that my father said he would give to you. Isn't that okay?" This was Haruki's voice. "Don't be kidding, it's not worth a lot of money, you should sell this house quickly. This is the best." "I object. If you are in a hurry to sell now, you will be bargained down by the seller, and you won't be able to get a good price. Let's discuss how to divide the money from the bank." "We'll talk about that later, let's divide things first," Haruki said. "Then I want art. My father told me before that he would give me paintings, antiques, and so on." "A verbal promise has no legal force." "Then why did you give Dongyan the villa? What's going on? He's obviously the youngest." "It has nothing to do with ranking." "You can share it any way you want, you should have thought about the part that should be given to me, right?" Qiuxiong's voice was. Alas, this fixed story type again.I shook my head, patted Xiaolu on the back, and walked away.