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Chapter 985 Non-Existent Man
Chi Feichei arrived at the Entrance Hall Outside and opened the Shoe Cabinet.
What he found strange was that the Crime Scene was cleaned too thoroughly.
Sachiko Nishimura's Chair still showed signs of being pulled back and getting up, but the other party's Chair did not. In Other Words, the other party restored the Chair after the Crime.
Moreover, the Floor and the surface of the Chair didn't leave any Trace of him being there...
Only someone who has undergone Professional Training, and also needs to wear Gloves and a Hat, and clean up the Crime Scene afterwards, can completely avoid leaving any personal Trace, making it comparable to the Organization's House Search Action.
Moreover, this person also has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and must arrange the Chair neatly.
But if a Boyfriend dressed like this came for a Date and didn't touch any Food, wouldn't Sachiko Nishimura Think it's strange?
The Crime Scene had no Trace of Struggle, indicating Sachiko Nishimura had no Guarding Against at all.
It's Possible that Sachiko Nishimura knows her Boyfriend is engaged in special Work, or that the other party falsely claimed to have a Disease and can't be exposed to Wind.
But there was no Trace of wiping...
Even If the other party wore Gloves, As Long As the Gloves touched the surface of those Things, it Will Possible erase Sachiko Nishimura's Fingerprint and leave a wiping Trace. Even without a single wiping Trace, he couldn't do it.
In this World, Probably only Xiao Mei's kind of soul body can achieve 'picking up Things and smashing someone to Death without leaving contact Trace'. That's Because of this, he Suspicion Sachiko Nishimura's Boyfriend is fundamentally Non-Existent.
This is also easy to Verify, just Look at the Shoe Cabinet.
Japan has a Lifestyle Habit of changing into Slippers when Guests come to the Door, unless they forcibly break in, otherwise they Will change Shoes.
The Shoe Cabinet in the Entrance Hall often hides many Clues.
Haibara Ai Followed Chi Feichei to the Entrance Hall, watching Chi Feichei Open the Shoe Cabinet. After Seeing the Situation inside the Shoe Cabinet, she couldn't help but be stunned A Bit, squatting down to Look at Chi Feichei putting on Gloves and inspecting the Slippers pair by pair.
The Slippers in the Shoe Cabinet are all the same Style, with a full range of sizes, including small sizes for Children, medium sizes for Female Guests, and slightly larger Slippers for Male Guests or Female Guests with larger feet. Each size has more than one pair.
This is very common in Japan. Due To Disposable Slippers being uncomfortable, providing them to Guests Will seem neglectful. And Throwing away Slippers after only one use is too luxurious. So, Homes Will prepare many Slippers. The Style is unisex, and Because Slippers being a little bigger or smaller doesn't matter, As Long As they prepare Slippers that general Child, Male, and Female can wear, then it's Okay.
And Because of the materials used, Slippers will become slightly concave where the Shoes and soles of the feet make contact after prolonged use. But in the Shoe Cabinet, only two pairs of Slippers show Trace of frequent use and cleaning. The rest are very new.
Chi Feichei put on Gloves and Took Out all the Slippers to Look at them once. "Male Slippers show no Trace of use, not even a single pair. The same goes for Children's Slippers. Among the Female Slippers, three pairs have been used frequently. Two of them have been used the most, and the other pair a little less. But judging by their Appearance, all three pairs have been used for more than two months."
"Whether or Not it's like you, cleaning out and Throwing Out all the Slippers every A Period of Time?" Haibara Ai Speculation Say, "But she only Clean Up the Slippers used by Guests, keeping the ones she usually wears and is Already used to."
She Suspects Chi Feichei has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
At Home, things are often cleaned spotless, even Cracks are thoroughly Cleaned Up. The Trash Bag in the Trash Can is Never filled to the brim. Whenever there's Time, he Packs Up and conveniently Throws it away Go Downstairs. Even Slippers are completely replaced every A Period of Time, including the Slippers Chi Feichei wears Oneself, which are also frequently replaced with new ones.
The Slippers she wore on the Day she was picked up by Chi Feichei were Already Thrown away by Chi Feichei long ago. Afterwards, every A Period of Time, she Will discover that the Slippers she wore Last Time, which felt quite comfortable, are gone, replaced by a Shoe Cabinet full of new ones.
Although the Style is the Same, there's Nothing Bad about wearing new ones. But every time she can't find the Slippers she wore Last Time, it still gives her a Weird Feeling.
Especially the Slippers she wore the First Time she went to Chi Feichei's Home, those Slippers with such Commemoration Meaning, Actually were Already Thrown away by Chi Feichei. This made her feel A Bit depressed...
Wait, Wait, Brother Hichiji Wouldn't be Guarding Against someone deducing the Guest Situation at his Home from the use Frequency of Slippers, Right?
But that's also Wrong.
Who Would secretly Go to Chi Feichei's Home to Look at Slippers?
Even If someone is secretly conducting Surveillance on Chi Feichei, they go there openly and legitimately every time. If they want to know about the Visitor Situation and Lifestyle Habit at Chi Feichei's Home, As Long As they stake out and conduct Surveillance for A Period of Time, or Ask people in the Shops in the Vicinity, it's much more convenient and simpler than Infiltration into that Security-strict Apartment Building and sneaking into Chi Feichei's Home to Inspection the Shoe Cabinet.
Anyway, Brother Hichiji either has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and dislikes Seeing Slippers that have been used for too long, or he has Paranoia and always Suspects someone Wants to Harm him...
Chi Feichei Don't Know how far Haibara Ai's thoughts had drifted. He Took Out a pair of frequently used Slippers and a pair of Large size Slippers with no Trace of use, flipped them to the side, and let Haibara Ai See the not-so-obvious Letter and Number combination on the side of the Slippers' soles. "Factory Product Number. Except for Children's Slippers, the first four Numbers of adult Style Slippers are all the Same."
In Japan, 'Guest Slippers Packages' Will be sold in Packaging. That is, the Same Style comes in Large, Medium, and Small sizes, so that when Customers Purchase Guest Slippers, there's No Need to waste Time repeatedly selecting.
And these 'Slippers Packages' are mostly already packed at the factory. Except for Children's Product Numbers being Different, adult Style Slippers Will all be packaged according to the order of delivery.
Due To the Different sizes, the Numbers on Slippers of Different sizes cannot be arranged completely in order. But the Product Numbers, which are six digits long, have the same English Language and first four Numbers, which can also indicate that they are from the same batch of Goods and very Possible from the same 'Slippers Package'.
"Brother Ike, Haibara, what are you doing here?" Conan also found his way to the Entrance Hall and saw Chi Feichei squatting in front of the Shoe Cabinet, with Haibara Ai Looking Aside. He poked his head into the Shoe Cabinet and Looked at it with a Glance, also being stunned A Bit. "These Slippers..."
"Slippers from the Same batch of Product Numbers, Even If they weren't bought on the Same Day, the interval between Purchase Times Wouldn't be too long," Haibara Ai Help Explain the Situation. "But Female Slippers have been used frequently for more than two months. Larger Male Slippers and Children's Slippers show absolutely no Trace of use. Brother Hichiji said So after Observation."
Conan frowned, saw the Gloves in Haibara Ai's Hand, decisively Reach Out and Say, "Haibara, give me the Gloves for A Bit."
The Famous Detective put on Gloves and flipped all the Slippers over again, Confirming that Chi Feichei's Judgment was correct.
"If Not the Murderer Took Away the Slippers they used after the Crime, then that means no Male has visited here in the past three months." Conan finished Inspection, Got Up, Looked Towards the Location of the Dining Room, and seriously announced the Outcome. "Although the Slippers still have the last two Product Numbers without a Pattern, making it impossible to Judgment Whether or Not any Slippers have been Thrown away, but combined with the fact that her Boyfriend left absolutely no Trace, not even a Trace of wiping Fingerprints, then it's Possible that the Boyfriend Miss Nishimura mentioned is fundamentally Non-Existent. Some Female living alone, for Safety, Indeed Will create a Pretense to the Outside that there is a Male living with them at Home, or that there is a Male frequently visiting their Home..."
"But is there a Need to buy such expensive Beef and Red Wine to create a Pretense?" Haibara Ai raised a Question. "Moreover, she Looked really Expectant and very Happy last night."
Conan remained in Silence, frowning as he Thought.
Also Correct, If it's to create a Pretense, there's fundamentally No Need to spend So Much Money...
Chi Feichei recalled it A Bit, but couldn't recall what this Incident was about. He Guess it wasn't a Complex Case, but he Seemingly had Seen this kind of Behavior somewhere before...
"Commemoration."
"Commemoration?" Conan raised his Head to Look at Chi Feichei, vaguely Feeling he had found a Clue.
"Yesterday, the Boss of that Meat Shop Said that the 25th of every month Seemingly is the Day Miss Nishimura and her Boyfriend meet," Chi Feichei Said. "It's Possible that a Boyfriend she had Already broken up with once mentioned a special Day, or it could be some Commemoration Day for a Boyfriend who has Already passed away. I Previously Saw a Woman who also always Said she had a Boyfriend and Would hold a Birthday Banquet for her Boyfriend every year, but her Boyfriend had Actually died several years Before."
"In This Case, it can explain why that Person left no Trace, but Miss Nishimura was Indeed Happy and Expectant. It's a Boyfriend who once existed but is now Non-Existent. And she is Still deceiving Herself, creating a carefully prepared Date every month on the 25th. And the Photo on the Table is Probably also left behind by that Man Previously." Haibara Ai took over and Said, "If In This Case, I would rather Hope that Man is Dead, rather than that he Left her and left."
Conan gave Half-Moon Eyes. "Hey, hey... Leaving still leaves an Opportunity to reconcile. Death means there's really no Hope. No matter how you Look at it, leaving is Better, Okay?"
Haibara Ai nodded with an indifferent Face. "Also Correct. Then just consider it my lack of consideration. Then let me add another Sentence: If there's no Possibility of that Man returning, then Death is still Better."
Conan: "..."
"Takagi!" Kazunobu Chiba quickly stepped through the Door and walked towards the Dining Room. "I've Already Confirmed this Matter with her Friends. She and this Boyfriend Seemingly started Dating half a year Before. But her Boyfriend is Possible too busy. Seemingly, he can only come here to See Miss Nishimura on the 25th of each month. So, every month when the 25th arrives, Miss Nishimura Will appear especially Happy from early in the morning. But her Colleague Don't Know what this Boyfriend looks like or what his surname is."
"Say So, the Clues are fundamentally Just Zero." Wataru Takagi had a Headache.
Kazunobu Chiba continued, "I went to Ask a Miss who is a Good Friend of hers from her school days in the Vicinity, but I couldn't get any Clues. Even about the Matter of her Recently making friends with a Kid, that Miss isn't clear..."
"Then Whether or Not we should Go Ask again?" Conan Followed to the Entrance of the Dining Room, put on an innocent Expression, and Acting Cute in a Child's Voice, "Go Ask Miss Nishimura if she had a Boyfriend Previously!"
"A Previous Boyfriend?" Wataru Takagi was puzzled.
"Because..."
Conan Turned his Head and Discovered that Chi Feichei and Haibara Ai had Already gone Outside to wait. He could only take over the Work of explaining alone. "Brother Ike Discovered that the Male Slippers in this Home show no Trace of use..."
After Listening to Conan's Explanation, Wataru Takagi instructed the other Police Officer conducting a House Search Inside the Room to put all the Slippers into Evidence Bags. Then, together with Kazunobu Chiba, he led A Group of People to Sachiko Nishimura's Good Friend's Home to Ask about the Situation.
(End of Chapter)
Chi Feichei arrived at the Entrance Hall Outside and opened the Shoe Cabinet.
What he found strange was that the Crime Scene was cleaned too thoroughly.
Sachiko Nishimura's Chair still showed signs of being pulled back and getting up, but the other party's Chair did not. In Other Words, the other party restored the Chair after the Crime.
Moreover, the Floor and the surface of the Chair didn't leave any Trace of him being there...
Only someone who has undergone Professional Training, and also needs to wear Gloves and a Hat, and clean up the Crime Scene afterwards, can completely avoid leaving any personal Trace, making it comparable to the Organization's House Search Action.
Moreover, this person also has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and must arrange the Chair neatly.
But if a Boyfriend dressed like this came for a Date and didn't touch any Food, wouldn't Sachiko Nishimura Think it's strange?
The Crime Scene had no Trace of Struggle, indicating Sachiko Nishimura had no Guarding Against at all.
It's Possible that Sachiko Nishimura knows her Boyfriend is engaged in special Work, or that the other party falsely claimed to have a Disease and can't be exposed to Wind.
But there was no Trace of wiping...
Even If the other party wore Gloves, As Long As the Gloves touched the surface of those Things, it Will Possible erase Sachiko Nishimura's Fingerprint and leave a wiping Trace. Even without a single wiping Trace, he couldn't do it.
In this World, Probably only Xiao Mei's kind of soul body can achieve 'picking up Things and smashing someone to Death without leaving contact Trace'. That's Because of this, he Suspicion Sachiko Nishimura's Boyfriend is fundamentally Non-Existent.
This is also easy to Verify, just Look at the Shoe Cabinet.
Japan has a Lifestyle Habit of changing into Slippers when Guests come to the Door, unless they forcibly break in, otherwise they Will change Shoes.
The Shoe Cabinet in the Entrance Hall often hides many Clues.
Haibara Ai Followed Chi Feichei to the Entrance Hall, watching Chi Feichei Open the Shoe Cabinet. After Seeing the Situation inside the Shoe Cabinet, she couldn't help but be stunned A Bit, squatting down to Look at Chi Feichei putting on Gloves and inspecting the Slippers pair by pair.
The Slippers in the Shoe Cabinet are all the same Style, with a full range of sizes, including small sizes for Children, medium sizes for Female Guests, and slightly larger Slippers for Male Guests or Female Guests with larger feet. Each size has more than one pair.
This is very common in Japan. Due To Disposable Slippers being uncomfortable, providing them to Guests Will seem neglectful. And Throwing away Slippers after only one use is too luxurious. So, Homes Will prepare many Slippers. The Style is unisex, and Because Slippers being a little bigger or smaller doesn't matter, As Long As they prepare Slippers that general Child, Male, and Female can wear, then it's Okay.
And Because of the materials used, Slippers will become slightly concave where the Shoes and soles of the feet make contact after prolonged use. But in the Shoe Cabinet, only two pairs of Slippers show Trace of frequent use and cleaning. The rest are very new.
Chi Feichei put on Gloves and Took Out all the Slippers to Look at them once. "Male Slippers show no Trace of use, not even a single pair. The same goes for Children's Slippers. Among the Female Slippers, three pairs have been used frequently. Two of them have been used the most, and the other pair a little less. But judging by their Appearance, all three pairs have been used for more than two months."
"Whether or Not it's like you, cleaning out and Throwing Out all the Slippers every A Period of Time?" Haibara Ai Speculation Say, "But she only Clean Up the Slippers used by Guests, keeping the ones she usually wears and is Already used to."
She Suspects Chi Feichei has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
At Home, things are often cleaned spotless, even Cracks are thoroughly Cleaned Up. The Trash Bag in the Trash Can is Never filled to the brim. Whenever there's Time, he Packs Up and conveniently Throws it away Go Downstairs. Even Slippers are completely replaced every A Period of Time, including the Slippers Chi Feichei wears Oneself, which are also frequently replaced with new ones.
The Slippers she wore on the Day she was picked up by Chi Feichei were Already Thrown away by Chi Feichei long ago. Afterwards, every A Period of Time, she Will discover that the Slippers she wore Last Time, which felt quite comfortable, are gone, replaced by a Shoe Cabinet full of new ones.
Although the Style is the Same, there's Nothing Bad about wearing new ones. But every time she can't find the Slippers she wore Last Time, it still gives her a Weird Feeling.
Especially the Slippers she wore the First Time she went to Chi Feichei's Home, those Slippers with such Commemoration Meaning, Actually were Already Thrown away by Chi Feichei. This made her feel A Bit depressed...
Wait, Wait, Brother Hichiji Wouldn't be Guarding Against someone deducing the Guest Situation at his Home from the use Frequency of Slippers, Right?
But that's also Wrong.
Who Would secretly Go to Chi Feichei's Home to Look at Slippers?
Even If someone is secretly conducting Surveillance on Chi Feichei, they go there openly and legitimately every time. If they want to know about the Visitor Situation and Lifestyle Habit at Chi Feichei's Home, As Long As they stake out and conduct Surveillance for A Period of Time, or Ask people in the Shops in the Vicinity, it's much more convenient and simpler than Infiltration into that Security-strict Apartment Building and sneaking into Chi Feichei's Home to Inspection the Shoe Cabinet.
Anyway, Brother Hichiji either has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and dislikes Seeing Slippers that have been used for too long, or he has Paranoia and always Suspects someone Wants to Harm him...
Chi Feichei Don't Know how far Haibara Ai's thoughts had drifted. He Took Out a pair of frequently used Slippers and a pair of Large size Slippers with no Trace of use, flipped them to the side, and let Haibara Ai See the not-so-obvious Letter and Number combination on the side of the Slippers' soles. "Factory Product Number. Except for Children's Slippers, the first four Numbers of adult Style Slippers are all the Same."
In Japan, 'Guest Slippers Packages' Will be sold in Packaging. That is, the Same Style comes in Large, Medium, and Small sizes, so that when Customers Purchase Guest Slippers, there's No Need to waste Time repeatedly selecting.
And these 'Slippers Packages' are mostly already packed at the factory. Except for Children's Product Numbers being Different, adult Style Slippers Will all be packaged according to the order of delivery.
Due To the Different sizes, the Numbers on Slippers of Different sizes cannot be arranged completely in order. But the Product Numbers, which are six digits long, have the same English Language and first four Numbers, which can also indicate that they are from the same batch of Goods and very Possible from the same 'Slippers Package'.
"Brother Ike, Haibara, what are you doing here?" Conan also found his way to the Entrance Hall and saw Chi Feichei squatting in front of the Shoe Cabinet, with Haibara Ai Looking Aside. He poked his head into the Shoe Cabinet and Looked at it with a Glance, also being stunned A Bit. "These Slippers..."
"Slippers from the Same batch of Product Numbers, Even If they weren't bought on the Same Day, the interval between Purchase Times Wouldn't be too long," Haibara Ai Help Explain the Situation. "But Female Slippers have been used frequently for more than two months. Larger Male Slippers and Children's Slippers show absolutely no Trace of use. Brother Hichiji said So after Observation."
Conan frowned, saw the Gloves in Haibara Ai's Hand, decisively Reach Out and Say, "Haibara, give me the Gloves for A Bit."
The Famous Detective put on Gloves and flipped all the Slippers over again, Confirming that Chi Feichei's Judgment was correct.
"If Not the Murderer Took Away the Slippers they used after the Crime, then that means no Male has visited here in the past three months." Conan finished Inspection, Got Up, Looked Towards the Location of the Dining Room, and seriously announced the Outcome. "Although the Slippers still have the last two Product Numbers without a Pattern, making it impossible to Judgment Whether or Not any Slippers have been Thrown away, but combined with the fact that her Boyfriend left absolutely no Trace, not even a Trace of wiping Fingerprints, then it's Possible that the Boyfriend Miss Nishimura mentioned is fundamentally Non-Existent. Some Female living alone, for Safety, Indeed Will create a Pretense to the Outside that there is a Male living with them at Home, or that there is a Male frequently visiting their Home..."
"But is there a Need to buy such expensive Beef and Red Wine to create a Pretense?" Haibara Ai raised a Question. "Moreover, she Looked really Expectant and very Happy last night."
Conan remained in Silence, frowning as he Thought.
Also Correct, If it's to create a Pretense, there's fundamentally No Need to spend So Much Money...
Chi Feichei recalled it A Bit, but couldn't recall what this Incident was about. He Guess it wasn't a Complex Case, but he Seemingly had Seen this kind of Behavior somewhere before...
"Commemoration."
"Commemoration?" Conan raised his Head to Look at Chi Feichei, vaguely Feeling he had found a Clue.
"Yesterday, the Boss of that Meat Shop Said that the 25th of every month Seemingly is the Day Miss Nishimura and her Boyfriend meet," Chi Feichei Said. "It's Possible that a Boyfriend she had Already broken up with once mentioned a special Day, or it could be some Commemoration Day for a Boyfriend who has Already passed away. I Previously Saw a Woman who also always Said she had a Boyfriend and Would hold a Birthday Banquet for her Boyfriend every year, but her Boyfriend had Actually died several years Before."
"In This Case, it can explain why that Person left no Trace, but Miss Nishimura was Indeed Happy and Expectant. It's a Boyfriend who once existed but is now Non-Existent. And she is Still deceiving Herself, creating a carefully prepared Date every month on the 25th. And the Photo on the Table is Probably also left behind by that Man Previously." Haibara Ai took over and Said, "If In This Case, I would rather Hope that Man is Dead, rather than that he Left her and left."
Conan gave Half-Moon Eyes. "Hey, hey... Leaving still leaves an Opportunity to reconcile. Death means there's really no Hope. No matter how you Look at it, leaving is Better, Okay?"
Haibara Ai nodded with an indifferent Face. "Also Correct. Then just consider it my lack of consideration. Then let me add another Sentence: If there's no Possibility of that Man returning, then Death is still Better."
Conan: "..."
"Takagi!" Kazunobu Chiba quickly stepped through the Door and walked towards the Dining Room. "I've Already Confirmed this Matter with her Friends. She and this Boyfriend Seemingly started Dating half a year Before. But her Boyfriend is Possible too busy. Seemingly, he can only come here to See Miss Nishimura on the 25th of each month. So, every month when the 25th arrives, Miss Nishimura Will appear especially Happy from early in the morning. But her Colleague Don't Know what this Boyfriend looks like or what his surname is."
"Say So, the Clues are fundamentally Just Zero." Wataru Takagi had a Headache.
Kazunobu Chiba continued, "I went to Ask a Miss who is a Good Friend of hers from her school days in the Vicinity, but I couldn't get any Clues. Even about the Matter of her Recently making friends with a Kid, that Miss isn't clear..."
"Then Whether or Not we should Go Ask again?" Conan Followed to the Entrance of the Dining Room, put on an innocent Expression, and Acting Cute in a Child's Voice, "Go Ask Miss Nishimura if she had a Boyfriend Previously!"
"A Previous Boyfriend?" Wataru Takagi was puzzled.
"Because..."
Conan Turned his Head and Discovered that Chi Feichei and Haibara Ai had Already gone Outside to wait. He could only take over the Work of explaining alone. "Brother Ike Discovered that the Male Slippers in this Home show no Trace of use..."
After Listening to Conan's Explanation, Wataru Takagi instructed the other Police Officer conducting a House Search Inside the Room to put all the Slippers into Evidence Bags. Then, together with Kazunobu Chiba, he led A Group of People to Sachiko Nishimura's Good Friend's Home to Ask about the Situation.
(End of Chapter)
