allendalepharm Page 263
Page 263
"I was just looking around when I noticed that the chandelier in the room seemed to have some kind of mechanism, so I couldn't resist climbing up to try it out, and I actually found something."
As Yuu Aragaki casually explained, he reached out and pointed to the chandelier in the center of the ceiling and the chair placed below it.
Conan looked up with some suspicion, only to find that the chandelier in this room had the exact same mechanism marks as the one in the room below.
This room happened to be located directly above the room downstairs where the coded message was discovered.
Conan looked at the now-open entrance to the secret room and felt a pang of helplessness.
So, both of these chandeliers can open this secret room...
hateful!
I racked my brains to solve the puzzle, but I was still a step behind this guy!
However, when he noticed the chair that Aragaki Yu used to stand on, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Given Aragaki Yu's height, he shouldn't need to put so many books on a chair to reach the chandelier on the ceiling.
"That's really too suspicious...bullshit!" Conan shook his head, banishing the unrealistic thought.
You have to understand, there's no one else here except for Yu Aragaki!
If it wasn't Yu Aragaki who opened the secret room mechanism, then it must have been opened by a "ghost"!
(Firefly: "Hehe...")
As Yu Aragaki watched Conan suddenly start shaking his head, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
I wonder what illness this child has developed this time.
But when he followed Conan's gaze and noticed the books stacked on the chair, his expression involuntarily turned strange.
Who knows what kind of scene he saw when he entered this room—
Having regained her true form, Yingcao climbed onto a chair covered with a thick stack of books, and stood on tiptoe, holding a broom, to touch the chandelier mechanism.
Looking at the expression on the broom god's face, he was almost in tears, but because Hotaru was holding him tightly, he didn't dare to resist at all.
I don't know which guy taught him this trick.
Wait, could it be...?
Yuu Aragaki suddenly remembered an incident in a certain castle where Conan had triggered a mechanism and fallen into a secret passage.
Ha ha……
It turns out the culprit was Conan!
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
"So, what did you discover?" Ai Haibara glanced at Yuu Aragaki, whose expression was strange, and asked in a low voice.
"It's nothing serious!" Yuu Aragaki waved his hand at Ai Haibara, looking rather uninterested.
"what?"
"Ugh……"
Just as everyone was sighing because of what Yu Aragaki said, his next words made everyone gasp.
"It's nothing more than a skeleton and lead plates for printing counterfeit money."
"..."
"skeleton!?"
"stereotype!?"
Conan stared blankly at Aragaki Yu, momentarily unable to process what he was seeing. "Ah, no, you call this nothing?"
Even Akemi Miyano couldn't help but roll her eyes at Yuu Aragaki.
A moment later, only the three members of the Junior Detective League remained below, out of fear.
The others went up the stairs and into a secret room located above the ceiling.
The group observed the entire secret room and soon spotted the white-haired skeleton lying on the table.
After Conan climbed onto the table and observed the body, he concluded that the deceased might be the old man who had carved the coin.
Judging from the letter he was pressing down on and the heart medication lying beside him, one can roughly guess that the old man may have died of a heart attack while writing a letter to Professor Agasa's aunt.
"But how did this person know there was a secret room here?" Professor Agasa looked at the secret room with some doubt. "The only people who should know about this place are the uncle and aunt who live here!"
"No, there should be one more person." Conan jumped off the table and looked at Professor Agasa, saying, "It's the person your uncle visited before he died!"
"Before my uncle died?" Professor Agasa was clearly taken aback. "Ah, you mean that painting..."
“That’s right, the portrait of your uncle and aunt hanging above the fireplace is by the same artist who painted it,” Conan said seriously. “I think he must have heard your uncle mention the secret room here while he was painting it!”
"But why does he live in this place?" Professor Agasa still couldn't understand it.
Looking at the gloomy surroundings, he couldn't help but shudder. Dr. Agasa didn't think anyone would want to live in such a place.
"Professor Agasa, have you forgotten about the lead plate that Aragaki-nii mentioned?" Conan picked something up from the table and tossed it to Professor Agasa.
Upon closer inspection, Dr. Agasa was astonished, his jaw dropping. "Sure enough, these are the lead plates used to make $20 bills! These are the ones used to make counterfeit money!"
Chapter 354 "First Encounter" Vermouth
“Yes!” Conan nodded, hands in his pockets, and analyzed, “I think someone must have commissioned this painter to make this. But later, I don’t know why, he changed his mind and disappeared with the lead plate. He probably went into hiding here to escape that person’s pursuit.”
Conan took two slow steps and continued his analysis: "He sent a letter to your aunt to thank her for letting him stay in this place. The reason he used a code is because he didn't want anyone other than your aunt to know that he lives here."
"So, the person my aunt was talking about who often peeked into her mailbox..."
"That's right!"
Conan confirmed Professor Agasa's idea, a knowing smile appearing on his face. "That person is the one who was knocked unconscious by Aragaki Yu, and what he's looking for is probably this lead plate used to print counterfeit money!"
……
Just then, the faint sound of police sirens could be heard outside.
It seems that Inspector Megure and his team have already arrived near the villa.
Without further delay, everyone descended from the ceiling to prepare for the arrival of the police.
However, seeing Inspector Megure arrive looking travel-worn through the second-floor window, Yuu Aragaki couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly, "As expected, the police only arrive after everything has settled down!"
Ai Haibara, who was following behind him, did not refute his words, which was quite rare. Instead, she nodded seriously.
Whether she's following Conan or Yuu Aragaki, Ai Haibara has rarely seen the Japanese police be reliable.
No wonder that a brewery that clearly diluted so much water could still thrive and become a major player in Japan...
As she walked down the stairs, Miyano Akemi took advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the police outside and quietly approached Aragaki Yu.
Taking this opportunity, she leaned down and whispered in Aragaki Yu's ear, "Is it alright to just hand it over like this?"
Upon hearing this, Aragaki Yu smiled, glanced at Miyano Akemi, and gently shook his head.
He naturally knew what Miyano Akemi was talking about.
Although that lead plate was indeed made so realistically that it could be mistaken for the real thing.
However, in terms of value, it doesn't really mean much to Aragaki Yu.
If we really wanted to print US dollars, in Japan, neither acid-free paper nor color-changing ink would be easy to obtain.
After all, this isn't some kind of "Project Gutenberg" theater—"I'll handle the color-changing ink, you handle the acid-free paper."
It's not as easy as just talking about it!
However, trading it on the black market is an extremely troublesome matter.
With that time and energy, it would be better to just hand it over to the police in exchange for a reward.
After all, there are so many cases in Japan. If they really need money, they can just find a way to take some from the police's coffers.
(Inspector Megure: "???")
……
It wasn't until the sun was almost setting that Aragaki Yuu stretched and walked out of the police station.
His expression showed some helplessness. He thought that since it didn't involve any murder case, it would just be a simple statement taking.
Unexpectedly, due to the design of the lead plates used to print counterfeit US dollars, and the fact that the suspect has been unconscious and has not yet woken up, the situation has become very complicated.
Therefore, this time the record-keeping process was exceptionally complicated.
Originally, Yuu Aragaki, like Conan and Ai Haibara, had no intention of giving a statement.
However, when Inspector Megure saw through his thoughts and casually mentioned discussing the bonus, Yuya Aragaki immediately volunteered to go back to the police station with Professor Agasa.
Meanwhile, Professor Agasa and Akemi Miyano took the children home first.
Although the final reward was indeed very satisfactory to him, the whole ordeal was truly exhausting.
After politely declining Inspector Megure's offer to send him a car, Yuuichi Aragaki found himself alone on the streets of Beika Town.
As the sun sets, watching your shikigami frolicking and playing in the streets is quite a unique sight.
After pulling Hotaru back from bullying and teasing Kaguya, Aragaki Yuuya suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the crossroads not far away.