The two teachers started arguing. Beside them, Jiang Xia pointed at the deceased's neck and ended the unnecessary debate. "He was strangled. There's a very obvious ligature mark here. As for it being as stiff as a board, that should be caused by rigor mortis."
Teacher Nakamura was the elementary school's health teacher, so she knew at least a little about this kind of thing. After she came to her senses from her fright, she calculated the time. "...In other words, Teacher Sugiyama died at least nine hours ago?"
"But he was pressing the doorbell just now." The dark-skinned male teacher remembered that death-knell-like ring tone, and realized later that goosebumps had risen all over him. "If he'd been dead for ages, how did the corpse press the doorbell?"
The curly-haired man who had opened the door just now shuddered. "Of course it was because his stiff corpse was pressing down on the doorbell, and that's why it kept ringing—but since Sugiyama had already been dead for a long time, he definitely didn't walk over there himself. Someone carried him to the door and then pressed him against the doorbell!"
When Teacher Nakamura heard this conclusion, she instead let out a sigh of relief. "Everyone was eating in the dining room just now. No one had any chance to move the body. In other words, the culprit isn't among us."—That way, at least they didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by someone beside them.
Conan thought of something and asked Suzuki Sonoko, who had run over to see what was going on, "Did Dr. Araide wake up just now?"
"No, he's still asleep." After Suzuki Sonoko answered, she finally understood the implication in Conan's words and said speechlessly, "You're not suspecting him of being the culprit,