"His reasoning was not wrong."
Off the stage, a calm voice suddenly sounded.
Everyone looked back and found that Qing Shuijing, who was sitting below watching the show, suddenly took the mobile phone from Suzuki Sonoko's hand, stood up and walked towards the stage.
"Boy, what do you mean?" Before Yuki Dingyao could speak, Mouri Kogoro couldn't help but ask.
"What I mean is that Miss Yukisada really doesn't have enough time to complete the act of strangling Mr. Todo in just a few minutes and then return to the dressing room to change into her kimono.
Therefore, the piece of clothing that Mr. Todo scratched before his death could only be the kimono that Ms. Yukisada is wearing now. "
"Huh?! Do you have bad eyesight?! The kimono I'm wearing is in perfect condition..."
"Miss Xueding, please don't get excited. I have found enough evidence to prove this."
Interrupting her words, Qing Shuijing faced everyone with the mobile phone he just took from Suzuki Sonoko.
On the phone were several photos taken from the video. The photos captured were scenes of the hall before and after the banquet started.
The first one was before the banquet started. In the photo, Kiyoko Igarashi, Kaname Yuki, and the deceased Mr. Todo all appeared in the picture, each talking to different guests.
The second photo is when the banquet is about to begin. In the corner of the photo, you can see the three people who are about to go on stage hurriedly walking towards the back of the stage.
The third photo was after the banquet officially started. In the photo, Kiyoko Igarashi, who had finished her welcome speech, was standing on the edge of the stage, while the host of the reasoning event, Yuki Ding, was in the center of the stage.
Seeing these three photos, Xue Dingyao's face suddenly changed, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
However, the surrounding detectives still failed to notice the difference in the photos.
"Boy, what's wrong with these photos? They look normal..."
Mouri Kogoro took the mobile phone from Qing Shuijing's hand, looked at it carefully, and asked doubtfully.
"Detective Mori, the problem is with Miss Yukisada's kimono."
"clothing?"
The person who answered him was not Qing Shuijing, but the unknown male figure.
He stepped forward and reminded with a smile: "Detective Maori, why don't you take a closer look at Miss Yuki Ding in the first and third photos and observe whether there is any kimono on Miss Yuki Ding in these two photos?" What's the difference..."
While the two were talking, Qing Shuijing quietly left the stage and returned to the dining table where he was sitting before. It seemed that he came up just to provide this last key piece of evidence.
"Brother-in-law! Did I help? Did I help?!"
Seeing him coming down, Suzuki Sonoko quickly came up and asked excitedly.
"Yeah, that helped a lot."
Qing Shuijing smiled and raised his hand to touch her head.
"The photos you found, Sonoko, not only helped us decipher the murderer's final tactics, but also helped us directly establish the identity of the murderer. That's awesome."
"Hey, hey, hey..."
After giggling for a while, Suzuki Sonoko suddenly came back to her senses, turned around and glared at the male figure on the stage, and said angrily:
"It's so abominable! All the limelight was stolen by this detective who appeared out of nowhere!
Brother-in-law, you have clearly deduced the identity of the murderer. Why don't you go up and deduce it? "
"It's not necessary." Qing Shuijing smiled and shook his head, saying: "Many times, being too pushy is not a good thing. Hiding one's weakness from the outside can actually avoid a lot of trouble..."
"This, that's it..." Although she didn't understand, Suzuki Sonoko still nodded to express her understanding.
"As long as you know."
After saying that, Qing Shuijing looked at Suzuki Ayako, who was sitting aside and looking at the two of them with a smile, and said, "Ayako, I'm going to the bathroom and will be back soon."
"Yeah." Without thinking much, Suzuki Ayako nodded.
"While I'm away, you...have to pay more attention to your safety."
His eyes flickered, and Qing Shuijing didn't say anything in the end. He just left these words and left the lobby of the guest hotel.
"..."
"Xue Ding wants the lady's clothes?"
At this time on the stage, after being reminded by the male figure, Mouri Kogoro finally discovered the difference between the two photos.
These two photos were taken before the banquet started and after the banquet started when Xue Ding was about to walk on the stage.
Among them, Yuki must be wearing the same style of kimono, but the patterns on the kimono have changed.
For example, a flower that was originally embroidered on the lower back was strangely moved to the side of Xue Ding's waist after she was about to take the stage.
There is also a pattern on the left chest that has also moved to the right chest inexplicably.
It is obviously a kimono of the same design, but the positions of the patterns on the kimono have changed.
"What exactly is going on?"
Mouri Kogoro looked at Yuki Ding, who was already pale, and then turned to look at the male figure beside him.
"The reason is very simple." The male figure explained with a smile: "After killing Mr. Todo, the pattern on the kimono worn by Miss Yukisada was damaged by his resistance before her death.
Since she was about to go on stage, Miss Yuki Dingyao didn't have enough time to go to the dressing room to change into her kimono.
But equally fortunately, the kimono she is wearing has a very rare design, that is, it can actually be worn on both sides. "
"What?"
Hearing this, everyone on the stage looked at Xueding Yao again, only to find that she did not retort this time. She just lowered her head and bit her lip without saying a word.
“Having said that, due to printing and production reasons, although the patterns on the front and back of this kimono are the same, the position of the patterns is deviated.
This is also why, as you can see in the photos, the locations of the patterns on Yukisada's kimono are completely different in the two stages before and after she takes the stage. "
After saying that, the male figure looked at Xueding Yao and delivered the final blow.
"Miss Xueding, that's it for now. If you still don't want to plead guilty, I think I may need to ask you to take off your kimono and prove my reasoning to everyone present."
"No need..."
Without doing any more unnecessary messing around, Xueding relaxed his shoulders, lowered his head, shook his head and smiled helplessly.
"I still have this sense of shame... Mr. Detective's reasoning is correct. Mr. Totang was indeed killed by me. Those scenes on the screen were also recorded in advance by me under the pretext of rehearsal this morning. , including the mistakes I made on the stage, were all things I deliberately guided him to say at the time in order to increase credibility.
And the kimono I’m wearing can indeed be worn front or back. I didn’t expect that person’s resistance would be so fierce. If I had known better, I should have prepared an extra kimono, so that I might still have a chance. Hide it...
As for the motive, that person didn’t know where he got the intimate photos of me and my boyfriend from before, and used them as a threat to sexually harass me in private. He also said that if the police were called, he would spread those photos... ...I couldn't bear it any longer, so I came up with this plan to get it over with. "
"Then he is a person who deserves it."
"Eh?"
Hearing the male figure's words, Xueying seemed a little surprised.
She originally thought that the other party would stand on the moral high ground, ignore her difficulties and helplessness, and criticize her in various ways, but she didn't expect that the detective who suddenly appeared seemed to acknowledge her behavior in his words?
"Mr. Dongtang's murder was what he deserved, so in my opinion, Miss Xueding, your murder was reasonable revenge outside the law.
But at the same time, I also hope that Miss Xueding can bear the responsibility for your actions... When the matter is over, take the initiative to confess to the police. In this case, the police will reduce the sentence as appropriate. "
The male figure sighed softly. After hearing his words, Xueding Yao's eyes suddenly became moist for some reason.
"……thank you."
She bowed deeply towards the male figure, then looked at him again, and finally couldn't help but ask:
"Mr. Detective, I wonder if you can tell me my name?"
"What's your name..."
The male figure was silent for a while, then raised his hand to press the brim of his hat, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"Shirakawa Qing."
(˙ー˙)
(End of chapter)
