"His reasoning wasn't wrong."

Under the stage, a calm voice suddenly sounded.

Everyone looked back and found that Shimizu Jing, who was originally sitting below watching the play, suddenly took the mobile phone in Suzuki Sonoko's hand, stood up and walked towards the stage.

"What do you mean, boy?" Before Xue Ding could speak, Maori Kogoro couldn't help but ask.

"I mean, Miss Yuki really doesn't have enough time to strangle Mr. Todo in just a few minutes and then go back to the locker room to change her kimono.

Therefore, the dress that Mr. Todo scratched before he died could only be the kimono that Miss Yukido is wearing now. ”

"Huh?! Do you have bad eyes?! The kimono I have on me is in perfect condition......

"Miss Xueding, please don't get excited, I've found enough evidence to prove it."

Interrupting her words, Shimizu Shizune faced the crowd with the phone he had just taken from Sonoko Suzuki.

On my phone were several photos taken from the video, which showed the hall before and after the start of the banquet.

The first of these is before the banquet begins, and the photo shows Kiyoko Igarashi, Yukisada, and the deceased, Mr. Todo, all appearing in the picture, each talking to different guests.

The second photo is when the banquet is about to start, and in the corner of the photo, you can see the three people who are about to go on stage hurrying towards the back of the stage.

The third photo is after the official start of the banquet, and Kiyoko Igarashi, who has finished her welcome speech, is standing on the edge of the stage, and the host of the reasoning activity, Yuki, is in the center of the stage.

Seeing these three photos, Xue Dingyao's face suddenly changed, and his pupils shrank suddenly.

However, the detectives around him still didn't notice the discrepancy in the photos.

"Boy, what's wrong with these photos? Looks normal......"

Mori Kogoro took the phone from Shimizu Shizu's hand, and after taking a closer look, he asked suspiciously.

"Detective Maori, the problem is in Miss Yuki's kimono."

"Clothes?"

It wasn't Qing Mizuzu who answered him, but the unknown male figure.

He stepped forward and reminded with a smile, "Detective Maori might as well take a closer look at the first and third photos of Miss Yukijo and observe if there is any difference in the kimono on Miss Yukijo in these two photos......"

While the two were talking, Shimizu quietly left the stage and returned to the table where he had been sitting, as if he had only come up to provide the last key evidence.

"Brother-in-law! Am I helping? Am I helping?! ”

Seeing him come down, Suzuki Sonoko hurriedly came up and asked excitedly.

"Well, that helps."

Qing Shui smiled quietly and raised his hand to touch her head.

"These photos you found in the garden not only helped us crack the murderer's last method, but also helped us directly confirm the identity of the murderer, which is awesome."

"Oh hey, ahh hey......"

After smirking for a while, Suzuki Sonoko suddenly came back to her senses, turned her head sharply and glared at the male figure on the stage, and said angrily:

"It's disgusting! The limelight was all stolen by this detective who came out of nowhere!

Brother-in-law, you obviously deduced the identity of the murderer, why didn't you go up and reason? ”

"There's no need for that." Qing Shui Jing shook her head with a smile and said, "Many times, it's not a good thing to be too showy, hiding it from the outside, but it can avoid a lot of trouble......

"W-this......" Although she didn't understand a little, Sonoko Suzuki nodded in understanding.

"It's good to understand."

After speaking, Shimizu Jing looked at Ayako Suzuki, who was sitting on the side and looked at the two of them with a smile, and said, "Ayako, I'll go to the bathroom and I'll be back soon." ”

"Hmm." Without much thought, Ayako Suzuki nodded.

"When I was away, you ...... Be more safe. ”

Her eyes flickered, and Qing Shui Jing didn't say anything in the end, just dropped this sentence and left the lobby of the guest house.

“……”

"Xue Ding wants Miss's clothes?"

On the stage at this time, after being reminded by the male figure, Maori Kogoro finally discovered the difference between the two photos of Xueding.

These two photos show the scene before and after the banquet when Xue Ding walks on the stage, respectively.

Among them, although Yukisada wears the same style of kimono, the ornamentation on the kimono has changed.

For example, a flower that was originally embroidered on the back of the waist was strangely moved to the side of her waist after Xue was about to appear on the stage.

There is also a piece of ornament on the left chest, which has also been inexplicably moved to the position of the right chest.

Even though it's a kimono with the same design, the position of the pattern on the kimono has changed.

"What the hell is going on?"

Mori Kogoro looked at Xue Dingyao, who was already pale, and then turned his head to look at the male figure beside him.

"The reason is simple." The male figure explained with a smile, "After killing Mr. Todo, the ornament of the kimono on Miss Yuki's body was scratched by her resistance before she died.

Due to the imminent arrival on stage, Miss Yuki did not have enough time to go to the dressing room to change her kimono.

But fortunately, the kimono on her body has a very rare design, that is, it can be worn on both sides. ”

"What?"

Hearing this, everyone on the stage looked at Xue Dingyao again, but found that she did not refute again this time, but just lowered her head and bit her lip without saying a word.

However, due to the printing process, the front and back of the kimono have the same ornamentation, but the position of the ornament is different.

This is also the reason why you can see in the photo that the kimono decoration on her body will be completely different in the two stages before and after she appears on the stage. ”

After speaking, the male figure looked at Xue Dingyao and said the final blow.

"Miss Xuedingyao, at this point, if you still don't want to confess, I think I may need to ask you to take off your kimono and prove my reasoning to everyone present."

"No need......

didn't do any extra nonsense, Xue was about to loosen his shoulders, the whole person lowered his head, shook his head and smiled helplessly.

"I still have this bit of shame...... Mr. Detective's reasoning is not wrong, Mr. Todo was indeed killed by me, and those scenes on the screen before were also recorded in advance by me this morning under the pretext of rehearsal, including those lines I made on the stage, and I deliberately guided him to say it at that time in order to increase credibility.

And the kimono on my body, it is indeed possible to wear it both positively and negatively, and I didn't expect that person's resistance to be so fierce, I knew that I should have prepared an extra kimono at that time, so maybe I could have a chance to hide it......

As for the motive, that person didn't know where to get the intimate photos of me and my boyfriend before, and as a threat, he had been sexually harassing me in private, and said that if he called the police, he would spread those photos...... I couldn't bear it anymore, so I thought of this plan and decided to do it. ”

"Then he is also a man who deserves it."

"Huh?"

Hearing the words of the male figure, Xue must seem a little surprised.

She thought that the other party would stand on the moral high ground, ignore her distress and helplessness, and denigrate her in various ways, but she didn't think that this detective who suddenly appeared seemed to have some recognition of her behavior in his words?

"Mr. Todo deserves to be killed, so in my opinion, Miss Xueding, your murder is a reasonable revenge outside the law.

But in the same way, I hope that Miss Xueding will take the responsibility for your actions...... When the matter is over, take the initiative to confess to the police, in which case the police will reduce the sentence as appropriate. ”

The male figure sighed softly, and Xue was sure to listen to his words, but for some reason, the corners of his eyes suddenly moistened.

“…… Thank you. ”

She bowed deeply to the male figure, then looked at him again, and finally couldn't help asking:

"Mr. Detective, I wonder if you can tell me your name?"

"Name......"

The male figure was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to press the brim of his hat, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Shirakawa Kiyoshi."

(˙ー˙)

(End of chapter)