There was indeed a fishing net drying near the edge of the waves, and the footprints were passing by it.

This legend was of no help to the case, but made He Ye even more frightened. She remembered what Changshou Po said, that once she threw away the dugong arrow, a monster would build a nest for her and she would become a speechless mermaid – just like these dead girls.

Xiaolan looked at her shivering body with concern.

“Anyway, let’s all come and see Miss Saori as soon as it gets light,” Kogoro suggested.

Hattori walked to Kazuha’s side.

Thinking that all the girls who were killed were closely related to the dugong arrows, he thought there must be some connection. So he said to her softly:

“He Ye, please don’t leave my side.”

When the police investigation came to an end, they discovered that the dugong’s arrow was missing at the detective’s reminder. They tried to find it near the coast while investigating the people who came to the wake. However, the only person with the arrow was Kazuha, so there was no progress at all. Hattori, who stayed in the room, was a little anxious. He whispered to Conan, who didn’t say much:

“Kudou, did you see anything?”

“I have no clue at all,” Conan shook his head. “All I can say now is that Ms. Sumi, Ms. Naoko, and the missing Saori all believe in the power of the legendary long-lived woman who ate mermaid flesh, so they are so obsessed with the dugong arrow. I don’t know anything else.”

“Yeah, it’s really strange to say that.” Hattori scratched his head, “It would be nice if we could know who bought which number plate last night.”

“This is easy.”

Jun Hui, who was listening to their conversation, smiled and said that she would write down the owner of each number in the list. She invited:

“In that case, do you want to go and look at the list now?”

“Of course!”

After the banquet was over, Kimie went with the others. Maori Kogoro was drunk at the banquet, and Kisaki Eri supported him with disdain, and Hattori came to help. Xiaolan, Kazuha, and Kuriyama Midori were talking to Kimie in the back. She and Saori, Sumi, Naoko, and Fukuyama had been in the same school since childhood. The five of them were very interested in movies, joined the university’s film study club, and even shot a movie – telling the story of Yaobikuni, which won the gold medal at the film exhibition.

“But in the end, everyone missed the island life and returned.” Kimie’s voice became low, “I didn’t expect that something like this would happen to Sumi and Naoko.”

After arriving at the shrine, Kimie looked for the list but couldn’t find it.

“Strange, what happened? I clearly remember putting it in this drawer…”

“The roster is gone?” Hattori asked.

“Yes, only this year’s is missing.”

Hattori asked if it was Kimie’s grandmother who took it, but Kimie denied it. Conan asked if anyone knew the location of the list, and Kimie said that almost everyone on the island knew it, and it was not a secret. To be cautious, Kimie said she would go to other rooms to look for it. Xiaolan and the other four planned to help and left the house together. Hattori and Conan looked through the lists of previous years and found that many celebrities and politicians had left traces, and they couldn’t help but complain about the charm of immortality. At this time, footsteps were heard in the corridor. They thought that Kimie had found it, but they were greeted by unexpected people-Winnett and the doctor she brought with her.

“What brings you here, Miss Winnet?”

“Because it was too late, we came to look for you. The villagers on the island told us that you went to the shrine, so we came here. Then, the enthusiastic miko invited us in.” Winnet explained, and because she was useless in finding things, she was arranged to stay in this room. She looked at Kogoro who was sleeping on the table curiously, thinking that he was so bold that he could get drunk at the funeral of someone he didn’t know.

“Where are Xiaolan and the others?” Conan asked.

Winnett came up to him, snatched the list from his hand and looked through it. This familiarity made him a little embarrassed, and then he heard Winnett say, “They are still helping to look for it, but Miss Junhui said she wanted to look in the warehouse.”

Winette flipped through the list so quickly that Conan suspected she wasn’t really looking at it at all, and was just flipping through it for fun like an elementary school student.

However, she soon found the name she was looking forward to. Starting from the column with Miyano Shiho’s name, the names behind were Uozuka Saburo and Kurosawa Jin. The three names were lined up, which easily reminded her of Vodka and Gin. Ai, Vodka, and the cool Gin, this order couldn’t be more classic. Winette thought of Gin’s stinky face. There wasn’t much Asian face. It was probably just a pseudonym. It was also possible that he was a mixed-race like Ai, but one of them had a higher blood concentration. As for Vodka, in her opinion, the honest name of Uozuka Saburo was quite suitable for him, although he was fierce in contrast to his name.

She thought that among a group of evil gangs, he was actually a little cute.

After briefly flipping through the front and back pages and confirming that her guess was correct, she immediately put the booklet back to its original place with a look of disinterest.

Conan looked at her eagerly.

“I always feel that something is strange. Two consecutive murders, and they are closely related to the legend of mermaids.” He murmured, as if to Winnet. Winnet supported her hands behind her back, looked up and said: “Well, the strongest high school detective in history also has unsolved mysteries?” Her words made his shoulders tremble, and then he put his index finger on his lips and made a hushing sound, because he heard footsteps, a group of people, probably Xiaolan and the others.

“Please, what if Xiaolan and the others hear us?”

He was nervous and said that this time was indeed different from the past. The murderer was like a mermaid who came and went in the sea, leaving no obvious clues. He instinctively thought that something had blinded him and Hattori, so they could only see the hazy shadow of suicide. Winette had a new understanding of the horror of his intuition, but intuition was just intuition, and the overwhelming information gap made her invincible.

“what!”

Suddenly, a girl’s scream was heard in the corridor.

The voices were easy to identify, they were Ran, Ha, and Miss Kuriyama. She and Conan rushed out the door, followed by Hattori, and saw Ran and the others with terrified faces. Only Eri Kisaki seemed relatively calm. Hattori shouted and asked what was going on. The calm Eri Kisaki answered him that behind a tree about 30 to 40 meters away from the house, there was a woman wearing glasses who was looking at them very strangely. In addition, she also mentioned that the woman had short hair that didn’t reach her shoulders. They immediately matched this strange woman with Saori, who was missing.

“Could it be that……”

“Is it Saori?”

They said something to each other.

Then, Hattori discovered that the glass in the nearby isolation room and the atrium was damaged, and the broken part was close to the handle, which was obviously a means of burglary.

“Sister Winnet, you said Sister Junhui went to the warehouse?” Conan asked.

“She did say that, but before that, she said she had to go back to the bedroom to find the key to the warehouse.”

“Where is the warehouse?”

Winnet shook her head; she was not familiar with this place.

“I know, the new warehouse is behind the shrine.” Xiaolan answered quickly. Hattori subconsciously looked in that direction and was shocked.

The color of the sky seems like a sunset filled with fiery clouds.

“Why is the sky so bright?” Hattori shouted anxiously.

They started running quickly, followed by Kazuha and Xiaolan, and Miss Winnet was ignored. Kuriyama Midori muttered that there might be a fire, and Kisaki Eri was also a little uneasy. She went back to the house and glanced at Kogoro who was sleeping soundly, and then Miss Kuriyama tried to call the fire department. The result was the same as the Fukui Prefecture police, they couldn’t come immediately. She muttered about their poor arrangement, turned around, but there was no trace of Winnet.

She thought Winnett was chasing after the fire scene, but she was wandering around this familiar mansion and came to the bedroom of the long-lived woman. Junhui, who had taken off her makeup, was standing behind the door. She stood quietly, waiting for Winnett. The two nodded silently, and then Winnett put on her gloves, grasped the cane that was already stained with Saori’s fingerprints, and hit her on the back of the head. Of course, Winnett was very measured. Perhaps because she had killed too many times, her gentle method was like that of an eternally peaceful gardener, leaving rosy bloodstains and avoiding damage to vital parts. After knocking Junhui down with a bang, Winnett began to tie her up and stuffed her into a cupboard not far from the bed. It was smooth and fast. In the blink of an eye, the dust settled. Winnett pulled away, smiling, and took a deep breath of the smoky air. That was the air of hell.

She walked slowly to the fire scene. Facing the flames that shot straight up into the sky, they were helpless. The wooden house and the flammable materials used in the ceremony were all conducive to the flames. Humans were like powerless chickens in front of the fire demon. Those warriors who faced it were trapped on the other side of the sea. The sea was just around the corner, but it was a drop in the bucket. The blanket that Winnet stepped on also went to the devil’s home with the corpse. She watched them take iron buckets to scoop water, watched them call on villagers, and even pretended to help put out the fire; the raging fire, the smoke and dust; the noise, the steaming autumn night.

Nothing has changed.

The firefighting was not underway until the firefighters arrived. By then, the sky was already light, illuminating the gray walls and ashes. Everyone thought of the warehouse fire three years ago. The exact same incident happened again, even the charred bodies found in the warehouse were exactly the same.

Hattori and Conan learned of this when firefighters passed by carrying a stretcher and one of them went to the Shimabukuro family’s house to inform them.

“Burned corpse!?”

“Yes, although the deceased’s body was burnt black, he was wearing a pair of glasses and blue clothes. This has been confirmed.” He said, “We have confirmed it with nearby villagers. I think that should be Miss Kadowaki Saori who is missing.”

“So…was what we saw last night a ghost?”

Xiaolan and Heye said in horror.

“How could there be a ghost?”

Hattori looked at them speechlessly. However, the matter was indeed strange. If Saori ran to the warehouse after she appeared, it would be like throwing herself into the fire and dying. He thought for a moment, then looked around and asked, “Have you seen Miss Junhui?”

“No.”

Xiaolan and Ye shook their heads, as did Kisaki Eri, who had abandoned Kogoro. Winnet also said she hadn’t seen her. So, out of concern for Junhui, they decided to split up and look for her. Xiaolan, considering the existence of the longevity lady, decided to go over and help look after Junhui.

After they left, Conan made a low sound.

“Ms. Hattori, Ms. Winnet, Ms. Kimie said Saori saw a dentist not long ago, right?”

“Yeah…” Hattori began to sweat, “Could it be… Could it be…”

A terrible idea spread in his mind.

“I don’t think so. In fact, Dr. Tono was working at the hospital they went to at the time, and he happened to see them when they came to see the dentist. At that time, Miss Kadowaki was worried about losing her medical insurance, and it was Miss Kimie who lent her her medical insurance. In the case of Miss Kimie herself knowing the truth, the trick you came up with is simply not valid, okay?”

“Is that so?” Hattori breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s the best, but I have a bad feeling.” Conan said, “We’d better confirm with the clinic.”

“That’s right.”

This kind of thing needs to be done by someone with status and reputation. When Kogoro is hungover, it’s the turn of the queen of the legal profession to take over. She plans to call the hospital after it opens and ask them to check the tooth shape. At the same time, Xiaolan, who went to see the longevity lady, also came back, but she was alone.

She covered her chest and said anxiously: “The old woman is gone… There is only an empty bed in the room.”

“You mean the longevity lady is missing?”

Xiaolan nodded.

This unexpected incident slowed down their progress and made the mess worse. The search team added the name of Changshou Po, but strangely, no one saw her or Jun Hui, as if both of them had disappeared from the face of the earth.

They could only start with the phone.

A few hours later, the call back confirmed what Winnett said. The conspiracy they imagined did not exist, and it was Saori herself who died in the warehouse. Suddenly, Miss Kimie became suspicious again. After all, it was too contrary to common sense to fly into the fire when it was already on fire. Conan and Hattori couldn’t help but think about this. However, they did not doubt Kimie, but thought that this was another conspiracy of the manipulator behind the scenes.

After learning that the dead person was Saori, the nervous Fukuyama finally breathed a sigh of relief, even though it was very impolite to the deceased.

Kogoro toured the fire scene, trying to find some clues to infer the cause of the fire, but the fire burned too long and too fiercely, leaving no trace. Hattori asked him about it, and the only answer he got was “weird”.

“If we don’t find a suspicious suspect, we have no idea what the murderer’s motive is. In addition, the whereabouts of Miss Junhui and Changshoupo are unknown, which is also worrying.”

“Yeah, I don’t understand it at all. If the person Kazuha and the others saw wasn’t Saori, then it must be Miss Kimie disguised as Saori. But, if that’s the case, she shouldn’t have told us about the dentist.”

“You mean, the murderer might be Miss Jun Hui?”

“No, Miss Kimie has a solid alibi for both Miss Sumi and Miss Naoko’s deaths. Besides, we can’t even assume a murderer really exists.”

The waves are roaring.

Winnet was stunned for a brief moment, realizing the tiny crack in this coordinated crime.

The phone call that Kimie made to Hattori.

He Ye explained facing the courtyard wall: “Behind this, when you go out, it is directly connected to the sea.” As she spoke, she became depressed and said that this was what Jun Hui told her last night, and Jun Hui’s whereabouts are now unknown.

Fortunately, this was just a minor incident that did not attract attention. She saw Hattori’s serious face and Conan’s confusion. At this moment, Xiaolan suddenly ran out of the house and called Kogoro.

“What’s the matter, Xiaolan?”

“Someone just called Miss Jun Hui’s house. What he said was very strange.”

“What a strange method?”

“He said he was very grateful to the shrine for giving up the dugong arrow, that the $1 million he offered was very valuable, and that his son’s surgery went very well.”

This explosive news made Hattori and Kogoro excited.

“He also said that a man who worked at the shrine specifically sold him the arrow the morning before yesterday.”

He Ye also remembered, and she said: “So, the people who called should be the old couple who returned the number plate on the morning of the celebration.” Because of this, she drew the dugong arrow. Xiaolan also described the man’s appearance and age.

The three detectives thought of the same person at the same time – Benzo Kadowaki.

Winette heard the hidden meaning in the words and felt a headache. It seemed that the perfect design would also change because of an insignificant accident. At this moment, she just hoped that Junhui, who was staying in the cupboard, would not be harmed by the cold and hunger. However, before that, she should be able to wake up on her own.

If she found her, it would be too deliberate and would easily arouse suspicion. After weighing the pros and cons for 0.3 seconds, Winnet interrupted and said:

“Since the celebration has not started yet, this must be the arrow that Miss Kadowaki Saori lost.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Hattori nodded.

“Due to the death of Miss Sumi, the third arrow should not have been sent out. It is very likely stored in the warehouse. Moreover, the lottery list disappeared last night.” Conan added.

“That’s another point worth pondering. Moreover, on the night of the wake for Miss Sumi, Miss Naoko’s arrow also disappeared. Now, even Choju Po and Miss Kimie have disappeared.”

Winnet: “…”

After hearing what they said, why does it feel like Benzo is going to take the blame?

Father pays for daughter?

Can’t you just look for Junhui carefully?

……

550 Acrobat Winnet

“It seems that I need to go to the house of the ship owner who was keeping vigil that day. Kudo… No, no! Uncle! The Kadowaki family is left to you!” Hattori almost made a slip of the tongue.

Miss Winnett thinks it’s a miracle that they have been able to keep it a secret until now, all thanks to the others’ slowness and indifference. After the last incident of Kudo’s appearance, Xiaolan is no longer so sensitive to Conan’s existence.

Hattori ran away guiltily, and Conan looked at him with regretful eyes. Afterwards, Kazuha chased after him, and Xiaolan looked at her teasingly, giving her an encouraging look, but the girl in love shyly came up with a self-deceiving explanation – it was Hattori who asked her to follow him closely.

Such exaggerated words are often forgotten by the parties involved, as was the case with the Osaka detective boy, otherwise he would not have run out without looking back. Winette wanted to go with them, but she felt that she would become a bad light bulb, so she gave up the idea and followed the Maori family honestly.

She already knew that there was no one at the Kadowaki family.

It was no surprise to see them trapped outside, but breaking through the door and trespassing involved a crime, so it was impossible to do so. But at this moment, a troublesome guy came over. Fukuyama Rokuro, who had run almost all over the island but couldn’t find Kimie, passed by here in a daze. He almost didn’t hide his thoughts about Kimie. When he saw Kogoro standing in front of the Kadowaki family, he asked them what they wanted.

“Do you know where Mr. Kadowaki is?” Kogoro asked.

Fukuyama shook his head and said that he had not seen him since he left the funeral hall last night. Kogoro rubbed his chin and made a troubled expression. He hoped to go to the missing Saori’s room to take a look.

“If you just want to get to Saori’s room, look under the potted plant. The key is down there.”

Kogoro really found the key as he said and was about to open the door immediately, ignoring Xiaolan’s concerns about trespassing.

Winette had been worried about this, and had come to Saori’s room long before the plan began, and moved all her belongings to the warehouse, which was now like the charred wall – completely reduced to ashes. As for the key, it was Junhui who told her. Until that incident, they had always been close and had no secrets from each other.