Haga Kyosuke nodded at that. "Same here—during the day, since this violin was going to be played at tonight's birthday banquet, I specially tuned it."
He looked at Shitara Renki. "After Renki came to the room, I handed the violin over to her."
Shitara Renki hurriedly nodded. "After that, I practiced with this violin for a while, so my fingerprints must be on it too. As soon as I finished practicing, Mr. Jiang Xia and the others arrived—Jiang Xia can testify that I touched this violin! So there's nothing strange about my fingerprints being on it."
The housekeeper adjusted her glasses and added, "Then the Villa caught fire. I was worried something might happen to the violin that had been left in the Main House, so I put it back in its case and took it to the storage room. It's perfectly normal for my fingerprints to be on it too."
Watching the four people anxiously defend themselves, Takamori Masumi quietly let out a breath of relief. Good thing that fake sister emphasized how this violin might be involved in the Murder Case, so I kept avoiding it and never touched it at all. Otherwise, I'd be a suspect today too...
All those notes she had memorized were somewhat useful after all! Though it would have been better if they had been a little more concise...
Unlike the relieved Takamori Masumi, Inspector Megure beside her developed another headache. "So, all four of you could have switched the violin, but none of you has proof?"
Conan stood nearby, and hearing that, he felt a wave of regret.
It would've been great if we outsiders had touched that violin too. At least then we'd know whether it was switched before we arrived or afterward.
Unfortunately, the violin was extremely valuable. They had