The famous criminal in the world of Conan

Chapter 332: Prologue to Mermaid Island

"Or, he (she) used something that could drag people afloat on the water!"

Hattori Heiji and Conan also instantly understood what Hakuba Matsu meant.

The body was hung on a waterfall. It is impossible to climb up this kind of waterfall manually, so the body must have been thrown into the water upstream and then allowed to float downstream.

However, this will lead to a problem, which is the problem that Bai Masong mentioned earlier, that the shallows may cause the bodies to be stranded.

There are naturally only two ways to solve this problem. One is to throw the body out with great force and jump over the shallow area. The other is to use something like a lifebuoy to drag the body over.

These two methods are completely different for the murderer.

Which one is simple?

Hattori Heiji and Conan naturally knew that it would be simpler to just throw it out, but that would require the murderer to have enough strength.

Therefore, the reason and reason why Bai Masong asked them to look for something downstream was obvious. He wanted to determine whether the murderer had used such external force by checking whether there were any things like swimming rings or life buoys, and thus determine whether the murderer was a stronger person.

The two of them instantly understood Baimasong's intention, so they looked at each other and then walked downstream together.

Hakuba Song brought Kogoro Mori and a group of people to the upstream location.

After everyone arrived upstream of the Mermaid Waterfall, they could see a wooden stake on the shore with a rope tied to it. The rope was very long and extended to the waterfall.

"White Horse, this looks like the rope that is holding the corpse."

Kogoro Maori pointed at the rope and said to Hakuba Matsu.

"Ah."

Bai Masong nodded, then put on white gloves and began to pull the rope.

Kogoro Maori, who was standing nearby, and Rokuro Fukuyama, who had been at the Dugong Arrow award ceremony and had followed up, also volunteered to help Hakumasong pull the rope.

Although Bai Masong could do it alone, he did not refuse someone's help.

With the joint efforts of the three, the rope was gradually pulled back.

A corpse slowly appeared before their eyes.

A purple dress, waist-length hair, and that familiar face.

All of this made Fukuyama Rokuro couldn't help but exclaim,

"Sume!"

"This is... Miss Ebihara?!"

Kogoro Mori was also surprised.

He said that he did hear the cheers of Sumi Ebihara during the Dugong Festival, but when the Dugong Arrows were awarded later, Miss Ebihara did not come.

Unexpectedly, she was already on the waterfall.

As they exclaimed, Shimabukuro Kimie and Kuroe Naoko also walked up from below.

The two were also shocked when they saw the true appearance of the corpse. Shimabukuro Kimie looked very sad, as if she was not the one who did it, while Kuroe Naoko had a blank expression on her face and no one knew what she was thinking.

"Ms. Shimabukuro, please ask someone to notify Ms. Ebihara Sumi's family and ask them to come and claim her."

Bai Masong said to Shimabukuro Kimie with a serious tone.

Shimabukuro Kimie nodded, and then asked a staff member nearby to notify Ebihara Sumi's family.

After doing all this, Shimabukuro Kimie looked at the body of Ebihara Sumi with a sad face and asked with a very sad look,

"Shoumei, did she commit suicide? Or was she murdered by someone?"

“Probably not.”

Fukuyama Rokuro held a wooden stake and pointed it to everyone.

"This is a fixed rope that we use to prevent danger and pull up on the shore."

After Fukuyama Rokuro said this, Maori Kogoro also understood immediately.

"I see. If that's the case, it's very likely that Miss Ebihara accidentally fell into the water in the dark."

"Then, in a moment of desperation, she immediately grabbed the rope that was fixed to the shore."

"However, the river was so turbulent that the stake fell off and swept her up, causing her to be strangled to death by the safety rope in the water."

After Kogoro Mori finished speaking, Rokuro Fukuyama nodded. In his opinion, this should be the case.

Seeing that the two people's thoughts were surprisingly synchronized, Bai Mashong was speechless.

Unexpectedly, I could find a talented person like Kogoro Mori just by visiting a random island.

"wrong."

Baimasong's cold voice rang in everyone's ears.

Kogoro Mori and others immediately looked towards Hakuba Matsu. There was a hint of surprise and confusion in Shimabukuro Kimie's eyes, but she concealed it in an instant and no one noticed it.

Bai Masong was seen squatting beside the body of Sumi Ebihara. His white-gloved hand slightly lifted the rope that was around Sumi Ebihara's neck, revealing her fair neck.

"Ms. Ebihara, she must have been killed by him."

Bai Masong made a conclusion calmly.

"what?!"

Fukuyama Rokuro was the first to raise doubts.

"Officer Hakuba, how did you know for sure? Although Shoumei is a little arrogant, she is kind to others. How could someone kill her?"

Bai Masong listened to Fukuyama Rokuro's doubts and shook his head.

"I don't know if she had any enemies, but I am quite sure that she was murdered."

As he spoke, he pointed at Sumi Ebihara's neck, where there were two rope marks.

"Everyone can see the marks here, two strangulation marks."

"Just think about it, how could a person who died in an accident have two marks on his neck?"

"So someone must have strangled Ms. Ebihara Sumi first, and then disguised it as an accident."

"I see."

Kogoro Mori suddenly realized.

He had indeed drawn a hasty conclusion before, and he could see traces of this.

Kogoro Mori suddenly realized, but Kimie Shimabukuro was a little confused.

She didn't understand why Bai Masong directly pointed out that this case was a homicide?

She had also heard from Hakuba Matsu before that this Maori Kogoro was a great detective. Now even this famous detective said that this might be an accidental case. So when the police arrive, the case might be closed as an accident.

She didn't understand why Bai Masong wanted to turn a case that had a high probability of being closed as an accident into a homicide.

However, at this point, she had no choice but to believe this young man on a white horse.

Bai Masong was keenly aware of Shimabukuro Kimie's doubts about him, but he immediately signaled Shimabukuro Kimie with his eyes not to show it.