Chapter 146 Identifying people by their footprints

Chapter 146 Identifying people by their footprints

In Mao Lilan's eyes full of question marks

Lin Xinyi stepped forward, gently grasped the handle of the umbrella, and slowly moved the umbrella away from her head.

Carefully fixing the umbrella over the footprints that needed protection, he told her in a serious tone:

"Miss Maori, I'm going to get the survey box. You stand here and don't move."

"If there is a cross wind, remember to use your body to block the rain."

With that said, Lin Xin walked out of the woods without looking back, leaving only a hurried figure behind.

Mao Lilan: ""

The raindrops fell on my body, making my cheeks wet.

"Mr. Lin's girlfriend, isn't it imaginary?" Mao Lilan said to herself worriedly.

"It's very possible." Conan agreed heartily.

Lin Xinyi did not notice the sympathetic and caring eyes of the two people behind him.

He quickened his pace and rushed out of the woods, and soon returned to the mountain villa.

Ohta Satoshi, who was scared by the bandage monster in the woods before and ran away from Xiaolan, is now back here.

And in the villa living room

Caesar was baring his fangs and wagging his tail, circling around the four people Ikeda, Kakutani, Ayako, and Sonoko who were left here before.

As long as someone tries to leave the living room, it will put on a super fierce posture of "roaring like an evil dragon" and scare people back with "barking barking" noises.

Seeing Lin Xinyi come back, Caesar finally put down his posture and stopped baring his teeth at the target he wanted to guard.

"well-done."

Lin Xinyi happily touched the dog's head that approached him:

Caesar watched the four people, including Chikako Ikeda, and did not let them run around alone.

Plus Satoshi Ota who has returned here, Mao Lilan who is on guard, and Conan who is protected by Mao Lilan

Now at least, everyone's life safety is guaranteed.

"Where's Ryoichi Takahashi?"

Lin Xinyi initially focused on searching for the murderer.

And he didn't even bother

Then Takahashi Ryoichi appeared from another door and walked into the living room:

"Here, I'm here!"

"I had been repairing the roof upstairs when I suddenly heard Miss Mori calling for help."

"How's it going? Is she okay? What happened just now?"

Takahashi Ryoichi walked in nervously, pretending not to know anything.

Seeing him appearing so clearly in front of him, Lin Xin immediately felt relieved:

After killing the person, he didn’t run away, but he still stayed here and continued to pretend.

This is simply like wrapping your face in stockings - trapping yourself in a trap!

"Miss Mori was just attacked by a bandaged monster that jumped out of the woods."

"He's fine, he's just a little frightened."

Lin Xinyi explained the situation calmly, while Takahashi Ryoichi's expression changed drastically after hearing this.

He completely ignored Lin Xinyi's disdainful gaze, which was like watching a monkey show, and said in great shock:

"B-Bandage weirdo!"

"When I came to the villa in the afternoon, I seemed to see a guy wearing a cloak and bandages nearby."

"This" Kakutani Hiroki and Ohta Satoshi also reacted: "We seem to have seen him too!"

"No way, right?" Suzuki Ayako was a little nervous when she heard this: "There are no residents around here at all. Who is that bandage weirdo?"

Several people chatted, and the atmosphere gradually became scary and tense.

It's like, that bandage weirdo is some kind of ghost wandering in the mountains, a perverted murderer in a horror movie.

But at this moment, Lin Xinyi stood up with a calm expression.

He did not directly participate in the discussion about the bandage monster, but turned to Suzuki Sonoko and said:

"Ms. Suzuki, can you do me a favor?"

"Go to my room to get the site survey box on the desk and help deliver it to Mao Lilan."

"She is in the woods to the right of the door, not far away."

"Give her the survey box after you go there, she will know how to do it."

"no problem!"

Suzuki Sonoko subconsciously agreed to Lin Xinyi's request.

However, after reacting, she shrank her head nervously:

"Lin Xinyi, shall I go alone?"

"But there's a perverted murderer outside!"

"It's fine."

Seeing the fear on Suzuki Sonoko's face, Lin Xinyi smiled:

"I'll have Caesar accompany you there just in case."

"However, in fact, this 'in case' is basically impossible to happen."

"after all"

He paused slightly and said something earth-shattering:

"That Mr. 'Perverted Murderer' is not in the woods now."

"He is in the living room of this villa, right in front of us!"

"W-what?!"

Everyone turned pale for a while, their eyes filled with surprise.

"The bandage weirdo who attacked Xiaolan, is he right here?"

Suzuki Sonoko's tone was full of shock and curiosity about the identity of the murderer.

But Lin Xinyi was not in a hurry to answer, and just told her:

"Ms. Suzuki, it's not too late to find out the answer later. Please help me deliver the survey box first."

"It's raining harder and harder outside, so we can't wait too long."

"That's right, Xiaolan is still waiting in the rain."

Suzuki Sonoko reacted quickly, but her mood was a little subtle:

Lin Xinyi was actually more attentive than her childhood best friend. At this critical moment of revealing the murderer, he prioritized Xiaolan who was still waiting in the rain——

You know, if it were Kudo, he would have been immersed in the case at this time and would have completely forgotten about Xiaolan.

It seems that her detective Sonoko's reasoning is indeed correct.

Xiaolan really traded in the old one for a new washing machine.

"Oh, forget it, Kudo is in a worse situation than me anyway."

Thinking that the great detective who always abandoned Xiaolan finally tasted the consequences, Miss Suzuki, who was frustrated in love, not only did not feel depressed, but even felt better inexplicably.

She quickly adjusted her mood, and then, accompanied by Caesar, she was busy delivering the survey box to Mao Lilan.

"alright."

Lin Xinyi turned around and looked at everyone present:

"Mr. Bandage Freak, you can come forward now."

"Is this bandage weirdo really among us?" Everyone looked at each other with surprised expressions.

Among them, Ohta Satoshi was the quickest to react:

"I was attacked just now with Miss Maori. It can't be me."

Ikeda, Kakutani, and Suzuki Ayako also reacted instantly:

"A few of us have been in the living room just now, so it can't be us."

After such a simple elimination, the only one who escaped from everyone's sight and might be the bandage weirdo was

"Takahashi? Is it you?!"

Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they unconsciously retreated farther away from Takahashi Ryoichi.

"S-What are you talking about!"

Takahashi Ryoichi's fat face showed panic:

"How could I be a bandage freak?"

"The bandage weirdo I saw this afternoon was a thin man. Look at me again."

He pointed at his round belly and said:

"How can I be some kind of bandage weirdo if I'm so fat?"

"That's right." Satoshi Ohta and Hiroki Kakutani, who had witnessed the bandage monster, both responded calmly:

"That bandage weirdo isn't fat at all, he can't be Takahashi!"

"That's not necessarily the case."

Lin Xinyi looked at Takahashi Ryoichi coldly:

"Mr. Takahashi, are you really fat?"

Hearing this question, Takahashi Ryoichi's expression changed drastically again.

It was panic before, but now it is fear that cannot be concealed: "What, what did you say, can it be false?"

"Ha, I don't know how you manage to have a fat face but not a fat body."

Sighing at this physiological miracle, Lin Xinyi explained in an orderly manner:

"But, from the first moment I saw you, I realized there was something wrong with your body!"

"When we came to the villa, we relied on Caesar to follow the footsteps and smells to find our way there."

"And the footprint we selected as the smell source, according to Caesar's identification, happens to be the footprint left by you, Mr. Takahashi."

"do you know?"

Lin Xinyi paused for a moment and said in depth:

"There is a big difference in the shape of the footprints left by fat people and thin people on the soft soil."

"The footprints of obese people appear plump overall. The pressure surface on the forefoot and heel is large and uniform, and the pressure on the heel is slightly heavier. The indentation surface of the arch of the foot is wider, and the three-dimensional footprints are sunken deeply, accompanied by scratches and pick marks. There are few pedaling, Digging marks.”

"The footprints of thin people are generally long and narrow, with uneven pressure on the soles of the feet, obvious light and heavy pressures, incomplete periphery, and many pedaling and digging marks."

"It's very easy to tell the difference, especially if there's a big difference in weight."

"So, when I saw that footprint, I decided that the owner of this footprint should be a well-proportioned man, if not a thin man."

“I didn’t expect that”

Looking at Ryoichi Takahashi's fat face covered in cold sweat, Lin Xinyi smiled meaningfully:

"After I actually met the owner of the footprints, what I saw turned out to be a fat man with a big belly."

"Mr. Takahashi, can you explain"

"Why do you want to pretend to be fat?"

"I" Takahashi Ryo looked ashen and could no longer speak:

He might still be able to quibble, but it would make no sense.

Because his belly was like a big bun in the school cafeteria. It looked big and round, but when he took off his clothes, he had to reveal the pitiful amount of meat inside.

This is a lie that can be exposed immediately and cannot be hidden at all.

"I am indeed not fat."

"I disguised my big belly by stuffing cotton wool into my clothes."

Takahashi Ryoichi bravely admitted the fact that he was pretending to be a fat man, which immediately aroused a burst of suspicious eyes:

You're all right, why are you pretending to be a fat man?

Envy someone else's deepness and stability?

This already made him look extremely suspicious, but Takahashi Ryoichi clenched his fists and refused to let go:

"But, so, so what?"

"How can it prove that I'm a bandage freak because dressing up as a fat guy is my personal hobby?"

"Hahaha"

Lin Xinyi was amused by the other party's timid reaction of having solid evidence but still harboring illusions:

"Footprints, you still left footprints at the scene."

"A simple comparison of the footprints will prove you were there."

"In addition, the time for committing the crime is tight. You have to return to the villa, change clothes, and appear in front of everyone before I hear the call for help and rush to the scene before returning to the villa to investigate."

“So much to do in such a short time”

"So, do you still have time to process the evidence?"

"The clothes, shoes, cloak worn when disguised as a bandage monster, the bandage on the face, and the ax in the hand"

"I'm afraid these things are hidden in this villa?!"

This case couldn't be simpler.

The shoe prints left at the scene, the testimonies of the victim and witnesses, the clothes, shoes, bandages, murder weapons, bandages and skin scraps easily found on the clothes, a complete chain of evidence has been formed.

"With so much evidence, you still want to deny it?"

Looking at the bloodless Ryoichi Takahashi, Lin Xinyi coldly snorted:

"Idiot, you are just a vegetable that has been poured with organic fertilizer -"

"I'm so pissed off already!"