Chapter 250: Traces on the Right Palm

As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Kogoro Mouri stepped forward to counter, "All of this is just too coincidental. How could it be that the photograph and the book happened to fall on the floor? It's too deliberate!"

"If that's the case, then it seems Mr. Shibata received a rather strange phone call the day before yesterday..." Takezo Yoshikawa rubbed his chin as if he suddenly recalled something.

"What was strange about the call?" Sango Yokomizo quickly asked, "What was the conversation about?"

"Somebody called at that time and mentioned something about the Raijin No or something. I couldn't hear it very clearly," Takezo Yoshikawa scratched his head and turned to Kyoko Shibata for confirmation, "That's right, isn't it, Mrs. Shibata?"

Upon hearing Takezo Yoshikawa's question, Kyoko Shibata exclaimed, "Ah!" and quickly nodded, "After my husband received that call, he got up and went to the bookshelf to look for something.

Then he took a book, flipped through it, and said into the phone with a smile, 'Found it, found it.'"

"What happened after that? Where did Mr. Shibata put the book?"

"I remember he left it on top of the stack of books beside the bookcase."

When Kyoko Shibata took Sango Yokomizo to check the bookcase, they found that the stack of books had all fallen down.

At this moment, Senichi's voice came from the adjacent hallway, "Detective Yokomizo, come quickly. We've found traces of blood in the corridor."

When Sango Yokomizo was inquiring, Senichi was also busy as well. Utilizing his sense of smell, he investigated the rooms other than where the victim was found. He then detected another source of a bloody scent in the corridor.

Subsequently, Senichi confirmed it using the blood Purple-light on his wristwatch, ensuring the presence of blood, and immediately summoned the forensic team to conduct further tests.

Upon hearing Senichi's call, Sango Yokomizo quickly approached him to check the bloodstains on the floor.

"It appears that the previous room wasn't the scene of the crime. The initial crime scene should be here in the corridor. You see, the bloodstains exhibit medium-velocity impact patterns, which could result from being struck by a fist, a blunt object, or a sharp object."

Pointing at the bloodstains on the ground, Senichi analyzed, "The bloodstains on the floor are spatter patterns, which clearly indicate injuries caused by a blunt object.

However, there were no cast-off blood stains around the farther area of the corridor. This indicates that the perpetrator hurriedly attacked and only struck once, without confirming whether the victim had died or not.

After the assailant left, the victim briefly regained consciousness. Crawling desperately on the floor, he attempted to reach the room to make a phone call for help, but he succumbed midway.

Look at the amount of blood on his left hand; it's likely from when he touched the wound after regaining consciousness."

When it comes to assessing the splatter patterns of blood, even though Senichi's conclusions based on a year of trace analysis are logical, they are still just basic and straightforward information.

To further refine and reconstruct the various conditions at the time of the incident, such as determining the height and angle of blood spatter to gauge the perpetrator's height and the length of the weapon used, requires profound expertise.

Following the luminol reaction of blood, as expected, the bloodstains eventually led to the exact location of the victim's final death.

"Officer Senichi', it's impressive to deduce so much from just a trace of blood."

Even though it's simple knowledge, having knowledge from the future that is more than 20 years ahead is considered advanced expertise in the present day. Uttering those words instantly stunned Sango Yokomizo, making him involuntarily exclaim in admiration.

However, Senichi currently had no time to respond to Sango Yokomizo's praise.

At this moment, his gaze was fixated on the victim's left hand, which was smeared with blood!

More precisely, it was the bandages wrapped around the victim's fingers on his left hand!

Although his left hand was clearly covered in blood, the bandages on his ring finger and pinky finger remained unstained.

So, there's only one truth,

The perpetrator didn't want people to see certain traces beneath the bandages on his left hand. That's why they intentionally wrapped the victim's fingers!

With this thought in mind, Senichi crouched down next to the body, and with a swift motion, he opened Mr. Shibata's hands.

In the palm of his right hand, there was a semicircular pattern stained with blood.

Seeing this, a spark of insight flashed through Senichi's mind, and he realized Kyoko Shibata's method for committing the crime.

Of course, since Senichi had already discussed the case with Conan and decided to let Kogoro Mouri take the credit this time, Senichi explained his deduction to Conan.

"Alright, you don't have to explain it so clearly. I've already figured it out," Conan said with a slightly annoyed tone after hearing Senichi's deduction about the bloodstains on the victim's hand.

Seeing Conan's slightly irritated expression, Senichi chuckled, scratched his head, and added fuel to the fire, "Looks like I'm one step ahead in this deduction again. Well, you can't really be the 'Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei Era' with your kid's status, can you?"

"Hmph, spare me! It's only because I couldn't touch the body due to being a kid that you found the crucial clue!" Conan retorted, clearly frustrated.

"But even if that's the case now, what about before? Sometimes, even though I have a keen sense of smell, there are certain deficiencies in your professional knowledge that you can't argue against."

"Damn it!"

Senichi's remark hit close to home, and for a moment, Conan was left speechless.

"But you're a few years older than me and have read a few more books!" Conan clenched his teeth and said, "Just you wait, once I've learned enough, I'll challenge you again!"

There's no need to say anything more. It's all about studying hard from now on! No one can stop me from learning properly!!

Seeing Senichi's teasing smile, Conan thought to himself with determination.

Meanwhile, while Senichi and Conan were discussing the case, the investigators nearby had discovered a bloodstained wooden kendo sword that appeared to be the murder weapon!

"Where was it found?"

As more clues surfaced, Sango Yokomizo's spirits were lifted, and he quickly asked.

"It was found near the entrance of the corridor."

Sango Yokomizo was informed by the investigators. Then, he turned to Kyoko Shibata and asked in a serious tone, "Mrs. Shibata, do you have a wooden kendo sword at home?"

"Yes..." Kyoko Shibata nodded and pointed to the shoe cabinet near the entrance, "Wooden kendo swords are usually placed up there. My husband used them to deal with those persistent salespeople..."

"Right... But now that kendo sword is missing," Sango Yokomizo looked at the shoe cabinet and then asked again, "What about phones? How many are there in total?"

"There are two in total, one here at the entrance, and the other one is in the bedroom..."

"I see... Got it."

After hearing Kyoko Shibata's explanation, Sango Yokomizo showed a knowing expression. He turned to Shizuka Ikenami and spoke solemnly, "Ms. Ikenami , you are the culprit, aren't you?"

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