Chapter 510 Is Shimabukuro Kime the murderer?
The time soon came to evening.
As the sun slowly set in the dusk, more and more tourists gathered at the entrance of the shrine.
As night falls, the annual Mermaid Festival on American Island is about to begin.
Tourists are eagerly waiting for the ceremony to begin so that they can see the face of the longevity mother-in-law.
Lin Xinyi was also waiting among the crowd.
But what he was waiting for was news.
"Mr. Lin!"
"I went to investigate as you asked:"
"Those old people on the island really know the truth about the longevity mother-in-law!"
“And it’s very detailed.”
Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha returned to Lin Shinichi with complicated expressions based on the information obtained from the investigation.
The old guys on the island were originally unwilling to disclose information to them.
Because "Longevity Grandma" is a core IP created by two generations of them, it is the collective asset of the residents of the American island. Everyone is counting on it to develop tourism to alleviate poverty and achieve common prosperity.
If this secret is known to outsiders, I am afraid that it will be impossible to develop special tourism in my hometown.
So when Hattori Heiji first came to inquire, they all refused.
but
When Hattori Heiji had no choice but to show the thickness of a wallet that a Brahmin should have.
And in the name of the Hattori family, he promised everyone greater benefits in return.
The old guys betrayed their hometown all at once.
Common prosperity belongs to everyone, but getting rich first belongs to oneself.
No one can resist the temptation of money coming just by opening your mouth.
And if you don’t betray it, others might betray it too.
If it is sold too late, it may not be worth the price.
So they not only leaked collective secrets to outsiders, but also spontaneously rolled inward and rushed to leak collective secrets.
In this way, Hattori Heiji easily broke through the defenses of the island residents and obtained the secrets that had been carefully guarded by two generations of residents of the American island.
"The longevity mother-in-law is indeed played by Ms. Shimabukuro Kimie."
"And Shimabukuro Kimie is obliged to do this for everyone. She doesn't even know that the elders on the island actually know that she plays the role of the longevity mother-in-law."
Hattori Heiji spoke in a complicated tone about the secret he had obtained.
The question that Lin Xinyi asked him to ask also came out at this time.
There is even an unexpected surprise:
"The longevity mother-in-law actually passed away 10 years ago when she was 120 years old."
"At that time, Shimabukuro Kimie was still studying abroad, so the person who played the role of the longevity mother-in-law and maintained the illusion that the longevity mother-in-law was still alive was actually Ms. Shimabukuro's mother!"
"In order to concentrate on playing this role well, her mother simply claimed that she had died in a shipwreck five years ago and took the opportunity to fake her own death and live as a long-lived mother-in-law."
"And then"
"It was the fire three years ago."
"Actually, the elders on the island all know that the person who died in the fire was not an unidentified foreign tourist, but Miss Shimabukuro Kimie's mother!"
"At that time, Ms. Shimabukuro's mother was burned to death in a fire due to an accident. The old people on the island thought that no one would continue to play the role of longevity woman."
"Unexpectedly, Ms. Shimabukuro Kimie did not announce this matter to the outside world, but quietly took over her mother's mantle and continued to play the role of a long-lived mother-in-law."
"In order to maintain the island's tourism economy, those islanders were happy to see the success and did not reveal the matter, and have carefully maintained this secret until now."
Hattori Heiji explained this complicated past clearly.
It turned out that the middle-aged woman who was accidentally burned to death in the fire three years ago was the "longevity mother-in-law" at that time, Shimabukuro Kimie's mother.
But because Shimabukuro Kimie's mother had faked her death five years ago, the Fukui Prefectural police could not find anyone missing on the island, so they could only describe the deceased as an "unidentified foreign tourist."
And now the question is.
"Was the fire three years ago really a simple accident?"
"Was Shimabukuro Kime's mother really burned to death because of an accident?"
Hattori Heiji frowned tightly and expressed his doubts:
"If it was just a simple accident."
"Then why did Miss Shimabukuro Kimie hide it from us?"
"We have all come to investigate on behalf of the police, but instead of revealing the truth to us, she is so secretive that she doesn't want us to know that the mysterious deceased three years ago was her mother."
"Why?"
"What's the secret behind this that we can't know about?"
His series of question marks made the atmosphere extremely delicate.
Yuan Shan and Ye couldn't help but express their guesses:
"Is it possible that the fire three years ago was not an accident but was caused by Miss Shimabukuro herself?"
Between words, Shimabukuro Kimie seemed to have become a matricide.
The elders on the island actually know that her mother faked her death five years ago, and they all know that her mother was killed in a fire only three years ago.
But Shimabukuro Kimie himself didn't know this.
So from her perspective, if she is a matricide murderer, then she has every reason to conceal the identity of the "mysterious deceased" three years ago.
This would explain her previous unusual behavior.
The conclusion that Shimabukuro Kimie is a matricide seems very strong.
"No." But Hattori Heiji shook his head: "Kazuha, don't just focus on the case three years ago."
"Do you still remember the line of blood written by the murderer that we found in Miss Saori's room earlier?"
"This" everyone was stunned.
Everyone has thought of that unclear and powerful "Second Grade 2" message:
“The fire of sin shall be paid with blood.”
These words were left at Kadowaki Saori's house.
In the context of this sentence, the murdered Kadowaki Saori is undoubtedly the guy who needs to "repay the blood debt".
So, what kind of blood debt did she owe, and what kind of "sin" did she commit?
"I see."
Everyone figured out the mystery:
"Miss Shimabukuro Kimie's abnormal behavior can indeed have another explanation:"
"Maybe she's not some matricide."
"But an Avenger!"
Kadowaki Saori may be related to the fire three years ago and the murder of Shimabukuro Kimie's mother.
So Shimabukuro Kimie took revenge on her.
And it was precisely because she committed such a murder that she didn't want Lin Xinyi to investigate the case three years ago in depth.
Lest Lin Xinyi follow the clues and get involved in the murder case of Kadowaki Saori.
This can also explain Shimabukuro Kimie's previous abnormal behavior.
No matter which of the two explanations you choose.
"Miss Shimabukuro is a 'murderer'."
Yuan Shan and Ye's tone was a little heavy.
She was a little unwilling to accept the possibility that the gentle elder sister who was so popular could be a murderer.
"It's okay, we are just guessing now."
Hattori Heiji was half comforting and half statement:
"Whether Shimabukuro Kimie is the murderer or not remains to be proven by subsequent investigations."
"We must now pay attention to her every move and try to find really strong clues."
"Mr. Lin." He turned to look at Lin Xinyi: "While you and Miss Chris were waiting here, did anything happen in the shrine?"
"Especially Kuroe Naoko and Ebihara Hisumi. There's nothing strange about them, right?"
Belmod has already analyzed it before. Heijiang and Ebihara behaved very abnormally after learning that their close friends had been killed.
This seemed like nothing before.
After everyone speculated that Kadowaki Saori's murder might be related to the fire three years ago, the overly nervous behavior of Kuroe and Ebihara was worth pondering.
Is that simply fear brought about by superstitious legends, or is there another reason?
Everyone has some speculation in their mind.
So Hattori Heiji was particularly concerned about the whereabouts of the two of them.
Lin Xinyi’s answer is:
"Everything is normal here."
"Shimabukuro Kimie was probably still busy putting on makeup to play the longevity mother-in-law and didn't show up at all."
"As for Kuroe Naoko and Ebihara Hisumi, who just went in with her to meet the 'Longevity Mother-in-law', they stayed in the shrine for a while and came out."
"I asked them, and they only said that 'Grandma Longevity' comforted them a few words and then let them leave."
As he spoke, Lin Xinyi pointed at the crowded crowd beside him:
Kuroe Naoko and Ebihara Hisumi were among the crowd at this time, bowing their heads in prayer to the shrine with great piety, quietly waiting for the mermaid festival to begin.
It looks no different from other superstitious tourists.
There was never any movement in the shrine.
"Shimabukuro Kime will also attend the mermaid festival tonight."
"During the period when the festival is held, as the 'longevity mother-in-law', I'm afraid she can't do anything else."
"so."
"Let's wait here for a moment! Wait until the festival is over."
"Perhaps that miko lady will 'tell' us the answer."