Duck sitting is truly terrifying for a man!
Because of the physiological differences, please never attempt this!
Of course, it may not be a challenge for some crossdressers.
But don't forget, Mr. Kusaka not only had the duck sitting posture but also had his head resting on the bottom of the liquor cabinet.
This posture is like a combination of "duck sitting + bending backward," which can be described as extremely bizarre, especially for a middle-aged man!
Most people don't die in such an uncomfortable position, and this gentleman's position of death is indeed so uncomfortable.
So, there must be something suspicious about this posture!! But even if you feel suspicious, there's currently no way to discover anything.
According to the statement from Mrs. Kusaka, it was revealed that Mr. Kusaka had keys on him for the house's main door and the wine cellar, and the only window was controlled by a remote.
"Uncle Tome, did you find anything near the window?"
After hearing the report from Takagi, Senichi turned to Tome, who was checking for evidence while standing on a chair, and asked.
"No, everything seems fine," Tome pointed to the top of the liquor cabinet and said, "The dust on top of this liquor cabinet is still intact, so the possibility of an entry through the window is very low."
Tome then closed the open window and gestured, "Look, this window can only be opened from the inside. Even a professional thief wouldn't find it easy to open from the outside unless they resort to violent means.
But if you look at the bottom left corner of the window, that thing is an alarm device. If it were tampered with, the alarm would have already echoed throughout the entire mansion."
Furthermore, according to Officer Chiba's investigation, the Kusaka family used high-security electronic locks in their house, especially in the wine cellar, which Mr. Kusaka valued greatly. These keys are not easily duplicated by regular locksmiths and are typically configured at the time of purchase.
"So, you're saying it's impossible for the culprit to enter and exit through the window," combining the information gathered so far, Kogoro Mouri stroked his chin in thought. "In other words, the culprit was acquainted with Mr. Kusaka, and it's likely that they came to the wine cellar together with him. When Mr. Kusaka opened the door to the wine cellar, that's when the attack occurred, and Mr. Kusaka probably put up some resistance."
Mouri Kogoro then pointed to the broken wine bottles near the victim. "Look at those wine bottles. They were probably knocked over during the struggle between the victim and the culprit."
"If that's the case, there's something inconsistent," Officer Senichi frowned. "Look at the liquor cabinets around the victim. You'll notice that the wine bottles around the victim fell from the same side. The space between these cabinets is only enough for two people to stand. If Mr. Kusaka and the culprit were struggling in this cramped space, more wine bottles would likely have been broken."
"Well... that makes sense," Officer Takagi nodded in agreement.
"It's just a coincidence," Mouri Kogoro waved his hand. "It's also possible that the assailant ambushed Mr. Kusaka, and that's why Mr. Kusaka put up some resistance before his death, resulting in this outcome."
'Alright, the possibility of the assailant entering through the door and killing Mr. Kusaka can be effectively ruled out.'
Senichi concluded after listening to Mouri Kogoro's reasoning.
After all, in the world of Detective Conan, everything follows a certain pattern. One of those patterns is that deductions made by Mouri Kogoro when he's sober can usually be used as a method of reverse elimination to remove them from the hypotheses.
With that in mind, Senichi lifted his gaze and looked again at the open window to the side. It was a horizontally placed rectangle, large enough for an adult to enter and exit without any problem.
But the crucial point was that there was no sign of the dust on the bookshelf being disturbed. Though there was no concrete evidence, based on the principles of detective work, Senichi had an intuitive feeling that the culprit had played some trick here.
Thinking this, Senichi couldn't help but scan the area around the body again. When he saw the two white marks on the ground next to the liquor cabinet that looked like they had been worn down by a heavy object, his gaze sharpened.
Coincidentally, Conan, who was also surveying the scene, noticed this mark and couldn't help but show a look of realization.
"It seems like you've noticed it too?" Senichi smiled and leaned in to whisper, "So, the next step is to find that thing."
Conan nodded in response. "Follow me. We visited the villa garden earlier, and if I remember correctly, it should be that thing."
"Oh? Lead the way." Senichi raised an eyebrow and followed Conan as they walked outside the villa.
With Conan, who had visited the villa and knew the surroundings, leading the way, Senichi soon found the item he was looking for.
"It's this thing. The culprit probably used this to create the deception," Senichi said with a hint of regret as he smelled the faint aroma of alcohol on it. "It's a shame for these fine wines."
"Having a good nose really comes in handy," Conan couldn't help but smile upon hearing the confirmation. "Now it's time to identify the culprit."
"Officer Senichi, Officer Tome collected two sets of fingerprints at the wine cellar door, and after comparison, they match Mr. Jyokichi Tonomura and Ms. Takano!!"
Just as Senichi and Conan were discussing their plans to return to the house and identify the culprit, Officer Chiba rushed over and informed Senichi of the results of the fingerprint comparison conducted by Tome.
Upon learning this information, Senichi immediately confirmed that the culprit was Mr. Takeo Nonaka.
In a way, not mentioning the culprit's method within the reasoning was to avoid suspicion, and during the implementation of the trick, there was no need to touch the wine cellar's handle.
Thinking about it with the methods of Conan's world, it became clear that fingerprints obtained on pieces of evidence that usually lead to suspicion were mostly false leads to divert attention.
So, with a double lock, Mr. Takeo Nonaka, who had no suspicions, was directly identified by Senichi as the murderer!
"Detective Chiba, I need your help."
"Hmm? What is it?" Chiba, who was walking ahead, turned his head and asked.
Senichi smiled and said, "Next, I'd like to ask you for a favor..."
......
"Don't joke around! What's going on!!"
"You're saying there's a murderer among us!?"
"Detective Mouri, don't make baseless accusations. Suspicion requires evidence!"
As Senichi and Conan entered the room, they saw the three individuals who were considered suspects questioning Kogoro Mouri one after another.
"Ahem, I have evidence to support my reasoning. Considering the situation at the scene, there is a high possibility that the perpetrator of this case is someone from within the group."
Kogoro Mouri cleared his throat and spoke solemnly, "Especially Mr. Jyokichi Tonomura and Ms. Yukari Takano, both of you have been to the wine cellar. The forensic investigator found your fingerprints on the door!!"
The two individuals were momentarily stunned, and then Mr. Jyokichi Tonomura's expression turned uneasy. "Even so, it doesn't mean I'm the murderer! I admit I went to the wine cellar, but I just wanted Mr. Kusaka to lend me some money again. I was just standing by the entrance and didn't go inside!"
Mr. Tonomura turned to the others and said, "You all know Mr. Kusaka only went down to the wine cellar to have me guess the wine. He wouldn't have let me inside to have a chance to see what kind of wine he was selecting."
Kogoro Mouri nodded slightly in agreement upon hearing this, then turned to the other suspect. "What about you, Miss Takano?"
"I only went to ask Mr. Kusaka to extend the deadline for repaying the debt a little, so that's why I went to the wine cellar. But I didn't actually enter it!" Ms. Takano asserted firmly.
"What about you, Mr. Nonaka?" Kogoro Mouri pondered for a moment and then looked at the middle-aged man with a balding head. "Where were you during the break time?"
"Detective Mouri, did you forget? I went outside for some fresh air after Mr. Kusaka went to the wine cellar," Mr. Nonaka replied calmly. "I was taking a walk in the courtyard the whole time and didn't even go near the wine cellar."
Mr. Nonaka's response led Kogoro Mouri to nod involuntarily. "Based on the evidence we've gathered so far, there is indeed no sign of Mr. Nonaka entering or exiting the wine cellar.
There are no fingerprints of Mr. Nonaka in front of the wine cellar door."
"So, the culprit is Mr. Nonaka, right, Uncle Mouri!"
Seeing Kogoro Mouri's gaze shifting between Jyokichi Tonomura and Yukari Takano, seemingly about to randomly accuse one of them as the culprit, Conan immediately shouted to stop Kogoro Mouri from presenting his own reasoning, so as not to face embarrassment later.
"Hmph! You brat, why are you shouting nonsense!!" Kogoro Mouri, upon hearing Conan's shout, became furious and was about to charge forward to deliver a punch to Conan.
However, Conan was well-prepared and quickly took cover behind Senichi.
"Well well, Detective Mouri, don't be angry."
Although Senichi also wanted to see Conan get punched, deliberately setting someone up to take a beating was too lowbrow for him. He preferred the kind of subtle tricks that left others guessing.
So, in the face of Kogoro Mouri's attempt to use a fist to suppress Conan, he extended his hands and smiled, saying, "Kids like to show off when they know the answer, no need to get so worked up."
"What!?" Kogoro Mouri was momentarily confused by Senichi's words. "Are you saying that Nonaka..."
"Mr. Nonaka being the culprit is something we already know, and we have a complete understanding of the case!"
Although Kogoro Mouri's words didn't convey the same meaning as the one he interrupted, this was the intended purpose of Senichi repeatedly cutting him off.
In this way, from an external perspective, others would think that both Kogoro Mouri and Senichi had already figured out the whole case.
Only Kogoro Mouri was still looking bewildered.
What's going on? How can Mr. Nonaka be the culprit? Did I accidentally make Officer Senichi think that I've also figured out the whole case?
While Kogoro Mouri was in a state of confusion, Mr. Nonaka, who was nearby, chuckled and raised his hand to stop him. "Officer, could you please wait a moment? At the time the incident occurred, I was actually taking a walk in the courtyard! I never even went near the wine cellar. How could I be the culprit?"
"Then, let's proceed to reveal your scheme in front of everyone!"
Senichi smiled and turned to address the group, beginning his deduction. "Mr. Nonaka said he went to the courtyard to get some fresh air after Mr. Kusaka left, and that's true. However, he actually came to the outside of the wine cellar and knocked on the window above the wine cellar."
At the same time, the window above the wine cellar suddenly popped open, instantly capturing everyone's attention. When they looked up at the window, they saw Detective Chiba smiling and waving to them from there.
"I asked Detective Chiba to stand in for the culprit," Senichi explained and then turned to Officer Takagi. "Detective Takagi, you'll be responsible for the victim."
"Alright, so what do I do next?" Takagi nodded and asked.
"Then, please go and open the window."
While Officer Takagi went to open the window, Senichi continued his deduction. "With the window open, the alarm on the window was disabled. Mr. Nonaka, in the conversation, lured Mr. Kusaka to the courtyard for a discussion, using the excuse that Mr. Tonomura had used some tricks during the wine tasting, or some excuse to prevent Mr. Tonomura from guessing the type of wine next."
As he spoke, Senichi waited for Officer Takagi to step outside into the courtyard. He then looked at Mr. Nonaka, whose expression had changed dramatically, and said, "Next, we'll discuss the crucial trail after Mr. Kusaka's murder. First, he used the key to lock the back door of the residence, erasing Mr. Kusaka's presence in the courtyard. Then, he put the key back on Mr. Kusaka's body and sent the body into the wine cellar."
"Wait a minute! How do you expect me to throw such a heavy person into the middle of the wine cabinet through such a small window?" Mr. Nonaka's forehead was beaded with sweat as he desperately objected. "That's impossible! I don't have that kind of strength!"
"Of course, you could do it," Senichi replied dismissively, not giving in to Mr. Nonaka's struggle. "All you need is a small laundry pole to assist, and it can be done, right?
First, outside the window, two laundry poles were arranged to form a makeshift ladder. Then, the body was placed on top of the laundry poles. Next, the laundry poles were threaded through the belts on either side of the deceased, securing the shape of the poles to prevent deformation due to the weight of the body.
Afterward, all that was needed was to extend this makeshift slide through the window into the wine cellar and lift it up. Mr. Kusaka's body would then slide down this makeshift slide and directly into the aisle between the two wine cabinets in the middle of the wine cellar."
As Senichi's deduction concluded, with the assistance of Officer Chiba, Officer Takagi was suspended in mid-air inside the wine cellar. Following that, with a look of despair from Mr. Nonaka, Officer Chiba lifted the two laundry poles that formed the ladder, and Officer Takagi slid down into the wine cellar, following the momentum.
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