dmims Page 159
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"Sister Xiaolan, what does dacapo mean?"
Conan looked up and asked.
"Dacapo means to go back to the beginning and play it again," Xiaolan explained.
Should we play it again?
Conan and Mori were both stunned when they heard this.
"Play it again? Play it again... Oh no!"
Conan screamed and ran out in a hurry.
Although Matsuda already knew the outcome, he didn't want to appear too unusual at the moment, so he followed along.
"Mrs. Nanae, can you get in touch with Asako?" Mori urged.
"Mr. Mori, do you mean that Mako really is the murderer who killed my husband?"
Shichie Kuju was completely terrified.
"She probably wants to kill not only your husband, but also Miss Fumino!" Mori said anxiously.
"How, how could this happen..."
Natsumi was completely stunned and at a loss for what to do.
She no longer knew what to do.
"The most important thing now is to find Ma Zi as soon as possible and call his two apprentices to help as well."
After finishing his sentence, Mori turned and left the room.
"Xiaolan, you stay with me. I hope that once everyone is separated, we can find them as soon as possible!"
……
The group split into four groups and, in the middle of the day, went around the streets asking questions of everyone they met.
Unfortunately, they still hadn't found anything by the afternoon.
At Tsukumo Motoyasu's mansion, the people who had separated gradually returned.
"So, they really didn't find any of them?"
Mori's heart sank. Five or six hours had passed since Miyoshi Asako left with Fumino.
Such a long time, I'm afraid...
A sense of foreboding welled up in Mori's heart.
Ran looked anxiously at Matsuda: "Can't we ask the police to help with the search?"
“Ran-neechan, Officer Matsuda contacted Inspector Megure from the very beginning,” Conan interjected. “The police have been searching for both of them.”
"But why did Ma Zi want to harm my husband?"
Even now, Shichie Tsukumo still can't figure it out.
Why would a disciple who has been with you for so many years do such a thing?
Chapter 196 If the police were useful...
“I think this is probably related to the man wearing a black hat in the basement photo,” Matsuda said slowly.
"So it really is because of Kinoshita Yoshiro..." Sanada Ichizo hesitated for a moment, "Actually, one night, I went to the basement and accidentally saw Asako crying alone while holding a photo of Kinoshita."
"Although I don't know the reason, I never thought she would kill someone for it."
"As a magician, I was so shaken by the sight of my teacher's corpse that I didn't notice that Mako had cut the string of the ring and reconnected the telephone line."
"Hehe, it seems you all know."
Miyoshi Asako calmly pushed open the door and walked in.
On her back lay the little girl, Fumino.
"Fumino!" Shichie Tsukumo rushed forward.
"Don't worry, the child is just tired and has fallen asleep."
After handing Fumino over to Lady Nanae, Mako gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"I had already made up my mind to avenge my brother, but when faced with an innocent little girl, I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
Brother? Everyone was startled.
"Kinoshita Yoshiro is your brother?" Sanada Ichizo asked in surprise.
"That's right, the genius magician you're talking about, Kinoshita Yoshiro, is also my only remaining relative after my parents died when I was young!"
Ma Zi nodded, his eyes filled with intense hatred.
"I was only seven years old that year, and I saw with my own eyes that man tamper with the handcuffs my brother used for his performance!"
"Then, not long after, my brother drowned during practice because he couldn't open his handcuffs!"
Asako glanced at Matsuda as she finished speaking.
“I had secretly gone to the police, but they didn’t believe me. In the end, the police treated it as an accident.”
Her words reminded Matsuda of Miyoshi Asako's strange and sarcastic manner when she first met him.
So that's why she was hostile to the police.
"So, in order to avenge your brother, you deliberately became the disciple of your enemy?" Mori couldn't help but ask.
“That’s right. After my brother died, I was adopted by someone else and my name was changed, so that man didn’t notice.”
Miyoshi Mako said slowly.
"The day my brother was killed was my seventh birthday, and every year since then I have spent it alone."
"That's why I wanted to make my move before his daughter's seventh birthday,"
Miyoshi Asako glanced at Fumino, who was fast asleep in Mrs. Nanae's arms.
“After I gave the man the poison, I told him the truth, but he wasn’t afraid at all. Only when I said I was going to kill his daughter did he panic and say that he had to do it to protect his position.”
"To murder one's disciple for the sake of so-called status? Isn't that ridiculous?"
Miyoshi Asako's face revealed a mocking smile.
"But that man was really stupid. I asked him to teach me some new magic tricks and got him to wear those rings, and he didn't even have any suspicion and just did it."
"Actually... I think the teacher deliberately asked you to kill him."
Sanada Ichizo suddenly dropped a bombshell that surprised everyone.
“I wasn’t the only one who saw you in the basement that night; the teacher did too. He asked me not to tell anyone about it.”
"So you deliberately picked a fight with me after you saw me, just to protect her?" Matsuda asked.
When he came over with Conan earlier, Sanada Ichizo's reaction was clearly a bit off.
As a renowned magician, he couldn't possibly be completely oblivious and keep harassing and provoking Matsuda.
“Well, because of what happened that night, I actually had some suspicions about Mako, but I wasn’t sure,” Sanada Ichizo said with a wry smile. “But I think that since the teacher didn’t want me to talk about it, maybe he wanted to protect Mako, so I kept quiet.”
"Actually, I really admire you, Officer Matsuda."
"Whether it was the wrongful conviction in Shikoku before, or the bombing of the Beika City Tower a few days ago, your actions deserve respect."
“So the moment I saw you, I had a bad feeling,” Sanada Ichizo said helplessly. “I wanted to provoke you and make you angry and leave, but I didn’t expect that Officer Matsuda would defeat me with such a magical trick.”
"No matter what, Ma Zi, you won in the end."
At this point, Sanada Ichizo looked at his companion of many years with a complicated expression.
"The clues left by the teacher should not be strong evidence. I think even if the police arrest you, as long as you don't confess, you should be able to get away with it in court."
"Don't look down on me!" Miho Mako snorted. "As a magician, if my tricks are all seen through, then I'm naturally too embarrassed to continue standing on the stage."
"I will tell the police everything."
"Mrs. Nanae, please convey my apologies to Fumino after she wakes up."
After saying that, she walked straight up to Matsuda.
"Officer Matsuda, let's go."
Although Asako asked Matsuda to take her to the Metropolitan Police Department, Matsuda had just followed orders from above.
Taking advantage of his vacation, he's faded from the media spotlight. Naturally, it's not appropriate for him to appear at the Metropolitan Police Department now.
……
"Matsuda, I didn't expect you to solve another case."
The red Mazda's windows were lowered, and Sato looked at Matsuda with a look of satisfaction.
What she and Yumi were most worried about was that Matsuda would be devastated by the media coverage.
Fortunately, seeing that Matsuda was busy handling cases even on his vacation, Sato finally felt relieved.
"But, Matsuda, you've given us another problem,"
In the passenger seat, Inspector Megure was also sitting there.
He looked at Matsuda, his chubby face full of helplessness.
"The reason I put you on leave was to keep the media's attention from you, but..."
"Inspector, we can't just leave the case unattended, can we?"
Matsuda leaned against the driver's side door window and smiled at Megure.
"Besides, this case doesn't necessarily have to be solved by me. Isn't there also Miwako?"
“I don’t want other people’s leftovers,” Sato rolled his eyes at Matsuda.
"Then let's write it as Inspector Megure accidentally discovering something wrong with the case," Matsuda suggested. "After reinvestigating, he uncovered the truth, right?"
"Heh, so this is how you police officers handle cases?"
Miyoshi Asako had already settled into the back seat, and listening to the conversation between the three people in the front, she let out a cold laugh.