Oritis in the world of Detective Conan

Chapter 223 Golden Rose Theater (Part 1)

Maori Kogoro scratched his hair irritably: "Damn it, this looks like an accident."

Inspector Megure was also thinking about the possibility of an accident, but Officer Takagi brought the latest inspection report.

The report shows that Mrs. Bella did not fall to her death, but was poisoned before the fall. The murderer moved the body to the lift before the performance began, and then used the stuck lift to let everyone see Mrs. Bella's "fall to death."

Officer Takagi held the report in his hand. "There are no needle-prick wounds on the body, so we suspect it wasn't an injection. And we found this on the body."

In the transparent evidence bag was a bright red handkerchief embroidered with golden roses. One corner of the handkerchief was stained with blood, but there were no fingerprints on it.

"The forensic department is still investigating the specific poison that killed the deceased, but there are traces of poison on this handkerchief."

When the explorer saw the handkerchief, he stood up and said, "This is not Mrs. Mary's handkerchief. She doesn't like red. Mr. Jack carefully selected two styles of handkerchiefs for her, one red and the other white. Mrs. Mary chose the white one."

Inspector Megure asked, "Do all the members of the troupe have handkerchiefs like this?"

"Yes, Miss Violetta has carefully designed handkerchiefs with unique patterns for all the performers on stage. Of course, there are also many ordinary styles, which are used by the distinguished guests who come to watch the performances."

Everyone in the crew took out their handkerchiefs. The knight's was with a dragon pattern, the psychologist and the patient's were with roses, the acrobat's was with the circus emblem, the explorer's was with gold embroidery, but the dancer couldn't produce her own handkerchief.

The acrobat immediately used his words to pressure the dancer: "What's going on? Where is Miss Zelle's handkerchief? Could it be that your handkerchief is the one that was searched from Lady Mary?"

"No, I didn't!" the dancer hastily defended herself. "My handkerchief disappeared before the show started, and I searched for it for a long time but couldn't find it."

Jack then revealed an important piece of evidence: "I remember Miss Zelley once came to me to ask for my wife's discarded handkerchief. Miss Margaretha loved to imitate my wife's every move, so I gave it to her directly. If you look closely, it's the handkerchief in this evidence bag."

Inspector Megure's sharp eyes immediately turned to the dancer: "Is that really the case, Miss Margaretha? Please explain."

"No, I didn't poison the lady! I was jealous of her and envied her, but how could I dare to kill her!" The dancer lost control of her emotions and almost slipped and fell to the ground.

Fortunately, the knight and explorer beside her supported her together, allowing her to recover and continue speaking.

"I went to Madam's dressing room before the show, but Madam was already dead! I just wiped the perfume that had spilled on the dressing table with a handkerchief and threw the perfume bottle into the utility room."

"What?" Everyone was shocked.

Maori Kogoro was a little distrustful of the dancer: "Then why didn't you just call the police?"

"Because today is the performance I've been looking forward to for a long time, if this matter is exposed before the show starts, the performance will definitely be cancelled. I thought, as long as I appear on stage, everything else will not matter."

Inspector Megure pulled out his notebook and asked, "So, how many people had been to the deceased's dressing room before this?"

Crazy Eyes checked his watch and said, "The first person to enter the dressing room was Mr. Frederick, followed by this Doctor Emily, then Ronald, and finally Margaretha."

The composer seemed to be still having trouble accepting the death of his last relative. He spoke wearily, "It was my aunt who took the initiative to drag me to the dressing room. She told me some family matters, probably something like, 'I should get in touch with my friends more often.'"

The doctor continued, "I was doing a simple physical examination for each performer who was about to perform, as instructed in the invitation. Honestly, the lady didn't seem to be in the best of shape. Although she was using concealer, I could tell she hadn't rested well in several days."

The explorer spoke next: "I went to check on my wife. After all, we're partners on stage, and I knew she hadn't been feeling well recently, so I wanted to come over early to check on her. However, our conversation ended on a sour note. I'm sure someone in the hallway heard our argument."

Spider nodded repeatedly: "Valletta heard it. Mr. Ronald and Mrs. Mary were arguing, and there was a sound of something breaking coming from the room. Violetta was very scared, so she left without staying for long."

The dancer pointed at the explorer angrily, "You must have killed the lady. When I arrived at the dressing room, Lady Mary was already dead! She was sitting in a chair, facing the shattered mirror. On the dressing table was an overturned perfume bottle. It had to be you!"

The surveyor frowned. "You mean to say that I was going to poison Lady Mary after our argument and leave without doing anything? I even ran into Valletta at the end of the corridor on my way out."

The acrobat spoke up at this time: "I actually went to look for Madam, but I didn't go into the dressing room. I just stayed outside the door for a while."

"The first play had already begun, and I learned from Violetta about the dispute between Ronald and Lady Mary, so I wanted to go and comfort her. But when I knocked on the door, Lady Mary angrily asked me to leave, so I think Lady Mary was still alive at the time."

Maori Kogoro turned around and looked at the dancer: "So, Miss Margaretha is the most suspicious person, and she can't provide an alibi!"

The dancer was a little exasperated: "No, I didn't! I have witnesses! Captain, tell them, I didn't kill anyone!"

Crazy Eyes' face immediately turned ugly: "Yes, I can prove that Miss Margaretha did not kill anyone. When she walked into the dressing room, I was next to her and saw the body of Mrs. Mary."

The dancer knelt on the ground and confessed everything: "The troupe leader told me to clean up the scene and then drag the body to the elevator. He can use the elevator to create the illusion that Mrs. Mary fell to her death, so that the troupe can get a large insurance payout."

The dancer then turned to the investigator for help: "You know this, Ronald. Three years ago, your father was wrongfully imprisoned like this. I really am not the murderer..."

The explorer took a deep breath. "So, Lachesis's death wasn't unexpected. The troupe was short of funds back then, and the shareholders behind it were unwilling to allocate funds. The female lead, Lachesis, was looking for another way out, so she decided to leave after performing her final masterpiece. As a result..."

"Ronald, your father's pension and the insurance money the troupe gave you can't shut you up?" Crazy Eyes angrily knocked on the floor with his crutch.

Ronald smiled softly. "Captain, I'm actually scared too. After all, I know so many secrets. I can only maintain the illusion of being willing to do anything for money to survive on this bloody stage. After all, no one knows when you'll get rid of me, the annoying male lead."