Chapter 17 Chapter 6 The Phantom Woman

The area around No. 15 on the third floor was empty, shrouded in an atmosphere of terror after the incident.Although many guests came to the third floor to watch the excitement, no one dared to approach the precious metal counter after all.People just watched from a distance, pointing at the place where the director on the third floor was stabbed to death yesterday, and chattering about it at the same time.The blood on the floor, which of course had been wiped clean, gave a chill down the spine. In this case, what are the spectators looking forward to?If it's just to take a look at the cruel scene, you can go back after watching it, but many people don't seem to be satisfied with this.Some people have nothing to do, but they have been shopping on the third floor for two or three hours since early in the morning; some people go downstairs desperately, but after a while, they come back reluctantly.

In these people's hearts, there seemed to be some vague expectations: Since such a big case happened yesterday, it is impossible for nothing to happen today... For such unreasonable reasons, they were reluctant to leave the scene for a long time. leave. For the two salesmen at counter No. 15, it was extremely painful to be watched by such curious eyes.Like the female shop assistants on the seventh floor, these two wanted to rest very much, but they were afraid that if they rested, they would be suspected instead, so they bit the bullet and went to work. Both Akiko Isono and Junko Fushimi had sullen faces, and had hardly spoken a word since the morning.

Compared with this, Shibazaki Pearl River in the counter next door is a little more relaxed.There are customers visiting her counter from time to time, and her mood is much better during the process of receiving customers.Of course, almost all the customers who patronize women's clothing counters today are driven by curiosity. "The counter next to it is scary. Have you seen it?" There were even customers asking so blatantly. "You're okay, you're not a customer here. The people at the counter next to you don't know how frightened they are." Some customers left after leaving a few extra words of comfort.

Shibazaki Zhujiang just smiled ambiguously at this.Because the police have strongly warned against talking too much. In the afternoon, wait for the police officer to come again.They were passed into the downstairs office one by one again and asked the same questions repeatedly. After the interrogation, the manager Liusuke Susaya brought another strange man named Kosuke Kindaichi.Kosuke grabbed the three of them again and asked the same thing in turn. To be honest, the three women were all tired of talking. After Kosuke Kindaichi asked the necessary questions, he deliberately walked into the counter.

"So that's how it is. So, you..." He stopped Fushimi Junko and said, "While you were over there, the woman wearing a veil came, right? But, by chance, you left the counter at that time, yes?……" "Uh, I went to the bathroom..." Akiko Isono bit her lip with boredom on her face.Since last night, the same question has been asked so many times, it's really annoying! Her complexion is fair, her skin is so thin that even blood vessels can be seen. "If I had been here at the time, that kind of thing wouldn't have happened. I kept thinking about these things, and I couldn't sleep well last night..." Akiko Isono shook her head and murmured, "Fushimi Miss is still a novice and doesn't understand anything."

"In other words, it's the director's bad luck. By the way, do you know that woman wearing a veil?" Akiko Isono glanced at Liusuke Suoya secretly, and then said with a slightly flushed cheek, "No, I don't know him at all... The director only ordered that when that person came, he had to pretend he didn't see it, so , I don't know who it is at all. Because she always wears a dark veil covering her face..." "That's it... By the way, I suspect that a person who pretended to be that woman, that is, Hei Lanji, used a black veil to cover his face to steal. Have you noticed this situation?"

"This..." Akiko Isono's eyes widened immediately, but she immediately shook her head, "I've never noticed this kind of situation before." "Ah, yes, thank you." Kosuke Kindaichi's investigation was over, and soon he urged Sasaya Rokusuke to go down from the third floor.Watching the two leave, Fushimi Junko said suspiciously, "Sister Isino, that person doesn't seem to be a policeman." "Yes!..." Akiko replied listlessly. "Is it possible that he is a private detective?" "yes?" "It must be. The manager invited him. He looks stupid, maybe very powerful, because his eyes are different. Did he find something?"

"Fushimi sister." "how?……" "Let's not talk about it, okay? Just thinking about it gives me headaches." "It's true, your complexion is really bad." "Well, I didn't sleep well last night." "I didn't fall asleep either. You're fine. I didn't see the scene, but I saw the moment when the crime happened with my own eyes! Whenever I think of that situation..." "Miss Fushimi!..." Akiko Isono interrupted her sharply, and then said pleadingly, "Stop talking, I beg you." "Hmm!..." Fushimi Junko nodded obediently and fell silent.

People were still coming in and out on the third floor, and people were still watching from afar, pointing at counter No. 15 and chirping.Akiko Isono couldn't bear the pain, and her face became more and more ugly.Fushimi Junko also pouted. "It's really disgusting, what's so interesting...I wish there was someone who would drive away all those watching the excitement." Fushimi Junko was smacking her lips in disgust when someone came thumping towards counter No. 15.Hearing the sound of footsteps, Shunzi turned her head to look, she was stunned and breathless. "Sister Isono, look... that person..."

Akiko Isono also looked up, and her face suddenly became as pale as paper. Walking was a veiled woman, a black coat with a black veil, and a pair of leather gloves.She stopped in front of the display window of counter No. 15. "Give that to me..." She pointed to the inside of the glass and muttered in a low voice. At this moment, Fushimi Junko screamed like crazy. "Come here...it's her, the person who killed the director yesterday...I recognize her! The right sleeve of her coat is a bit uneven. This is the person, that's her!...It's her who killed the director!... "

After Fushimi Junko's voice stopped, the third floor fell into silence as if frozen in an instant.Like the silence of the North Pole, like the silence in the bitter cold.The people present were all as frozen as the people in the living painting. A woman in a veil stands icily in front of a display window.Although Fushimi Junko leaned back with her upper body, as if raising her legs to escape, her body stood there dumbfounded as if she had been pinned.Akiko Isono's face was completely bloodless, only her eyes were wide open, and there was a crazy light shining in her eyes. Like a snake, Shibazaki Zhujiang slithered from the next counter to the No. 15 counter quickly, and then looked at the veiled woman from a distance with trepidation. "Ah, this coat... this coat..." She also made a crazy voice. At this moment, Akiko Isono suddenly turned around, passed through the women's clothing department from the No. 15 counter, and ran towards the staff-only stairs. No one knew why she ran there. Fushimi Junko and Shibazaki Zhujiang watched her back in amazement, while the veiled woman was still standing coldly in front of the display window. Akiko Isono ran to the back stairs, and she took two or three steps back as if she had been bounced off suddenly. "Where are you going?" The smiling guy standing in the middle of the stairs was none other than Kosuke Kindaichi.Behind him, Liusuke Slotani's eyes widened, with an expression of disbelief. The moment she saw the figures of the two, Akiko Isono's expression was completely distorted, and her facial features were seriously out of shape.After two or three painful gasps, she suddenly reached into her pocket. "Ah, wait a minute!..." Kosuke Kindaichi jumped up the stairs in one breath.If he was later, Akiko Isono's hand would undoubtedly be in his mouth.In her hand, she was already holding five or six small capsules. "I think it's probably potassium cyanide. This is important evidence, please put it away first." Wait for the police officer to come up from the other side of the stairs. "So the veiled woman yesterday was..." "That's right, it's Akiko Isono!..." Kosuke Kaneda concluded, and then called Shibazaki Zhue back, "Miss Shibazaki." "Ah..." Shibazaki Zhujiang's face was pale and trembling.Even so, she came to the side. "You saw that woman wearing a veil, and the coat she is wearing now looks familiar?" "Yes, it's custom-made by a customer here. A while ago...you see, it's the kind worn on the mannequin behind here..." A woman wearing a veil came over, greeted Kosuke Kindaichi and said, "Is this okay?" "Thank you for your hard work. It was very successful. Please take off your veil." The veiled woman took off her veil and turned out to be the owner of the coffee shop on the seventh floor.In an instant, Akiko Isono, who was grabbed by the arm of the police officer, passed out and fell to the floor like a dead fish. The third floor of the shopping mall without any heat is as cold as ice.