A crowd of high-ranking Metropolitan Police Department officials surrounded the accident scene, pointing and discussing various theories. Lower-ranking officers like Megure could only stand at the very periphery. Between his considerable girth and modest height, he had to stand on his tiptoes just to catch glimpses of the investigation—and even then could barely see anything meaningful.
"Inspector Megure! Inspector Megure!"
Gustave's sudden call startled the inspector, who clutched his chest to calm his racing heart.
"Brother Gustave, what's with the surprise approach?"
Apparently Gustave had regained his "brother" status in Megure's good graces.
"Inspector Megure, Conan found something unusual."
"Unusual? What kind of unusual?"
At the mention of anomalies, Megure's attention sharpened immediately. His instincts had been telling him this accident wasn't as straightforward as it appeared.
"Inspector Megure, come with me."
Gustave led Megure to Tomokazu Yamashita's R34, where Conan stood with his hands clasped behind his back like a model student.
Megure studied Conan with surprise. Was this the same hyperactive kid he knew? Where was the mischievous monkey who usually bounced around crime scenes?
"Inspector Megure, the clue Conan discovered is inside this vehicle. There's a half-empty water bottle in the cup holder with faint scratches on the cap."
"The number '1'?"
"Exactly—the character for 'one.' We suspect this mark might be connected to Hajime Saionji, so we'd like you to collect this bottle and analyze its contents."
Gustave explained the theory he and Conan had discussed.
"That's quite a stretch, don't you think? Connecting a scratched number on a bottle cap to Saionji seems like a reach."
Megure felt the evidence was too thin to conclude this wasn't a genuine accident.
"Inspector Megure, you can't dismiss it so easily. Don't seemingly accidental events often start from seemingly unrelated details? Using them as breakthrough points, we can follow the trail to uncover the truth."
"Besides, your Metropolitan Police Department has been criticized lately for relying too heavily on outside detectives and wasting taxpayer money. Don't you want to prove yourselves? Especially with this case—the victims' prominent identities make it high-profile. If you could..."
Megure interrupted before Gustave could finish.
"Alright, Brother Gustave, you don't need to say more. I'll have someone collect this bottle and test its contents!"
When it came to solving cases independently and restoring the Metropolitan Police Department's reputation, Megure's energy surged. If he could crack this seemingly ordinary traffic accident, he'd be a hero to the department!
Before ordering the evidence collection, however, Megure looked at Conan again:
"Brother Gustave, Conan didn't contaminate the scene, did he?"
"Absolutely not! How could Conan do such a thing? When he tried to touch the water bottle, I scolded him immediately. If you don't believe me, you can check for fingerprints on the bottle!"
Fortunately, Conan had good instincts—he'd wrapped the bottle in his glasses cloth before handling it, leaving no evidence of scene contamination.
"Perfect! Conan, you did excellent work this time!"
Megure nodded approvingly, and Conan finally felt like he'd learned something valuable.
Megure then retrieved his radio and called for someone to collect the suspicious water bottle.
"Oh, Inspector Megure, I forgot to mention—this car belongs to Tomokazu Yamashita, son of the Fujiwara family's housekeeper. To avoid tipping him off, I suggest taking another identical water bottle, making the same markings, and replacing the original."
Gustave spoke only after the evidence had been collected.
"What? The Fujiwara family housekeeper's son? Why didn't you tell me this earlier!"
Megure looked reproachfully at Gustave, but since the bottle was already gone, he could only follow the suggestion—finding another bottle, replicating the markings, and placing it back in position.
The Metropolitan Police Department officials spent considerable time examining the scene, engaging in lengthy discussions, and performing their obligatory show of due diligence before finally ordering the cleanup crew to clear the area.
After watching Takuya Fujiwara and Hajime Saionji's remains being transported away by the coroner's vehicles, the Mid Night club members bowed collectively before departing.
When Gustave dropped Conan back at the Mouri Detective Agency, it was nearly five in the morning.
"Get some sleep. If Ran discovers what you did tonight, you're in serious trouble!"
Before Conan headed upstairs, Gustave ruffled his hair one final time.
"I know! And could you please stop messing with my hair all the time?"
Conan couldn't understand why so many people—Gustave, Kogoro, even Sonoko—seemed obsessed with his head. Was it because he was too smart and they envied him?
"Well, you've got a big head, you're short, and you're trouble. If I don't mess with yours, whose should I target?"
Gustave made an exaggerated hair-ruffling gesture.
Conan shuddered at the sight and immediately scrambled upstairs on his short legs. Halfway up, he turned and called back:
"Make sure you tell me those test results! That was my clue!"
"Got it. Now get upstairs and sleep before Ran catches you, or we're both dead!"
Gustave made an OK sign, then climbed into his car.
If Conan needed sleep, so did Gustave. Despite approaching supernatural levels of ability, decades-old habits weren't easily changed.
Unlike Conan, however, Gustave had the luxury of sleeping in without anyone questioning him—while Ran would definitely notice if Conan overslept.
When Ran woke that morning and found Conan still in bed much later than usual, she worried he might be sick. But the boy explained:
"I was so excited about the drive with Brother Gustave yesterday that I couldn't fall asleep last night!"
This satisfied her concerns, and she let him continue resting.
Gustave didn't wake until noon. By then, Ran and Sonoko had taken Ai and Yang Chan to Sonoko's house to play, while Dr. Agasa had left on some mysterious errand. When Gustave finally stirred, he was alone in the house.
He got up leisurely and prepared a simple lunch of pickled pepper and egg fried rice.
While eating, his phone rang:
"Hello? Are the test results in, Inspector Megure?"
"Brother Gustave, you and Conan really saved us! That water bottle from Tomokazu Yamashita's car tested positive for massive amounts of stimulants!"
Megure's excited voice came through clearly.
"So if Saionji drank water containing high concentrations of stimulants and lost control at the critical moment, that could explain the crash as a stimulant overdose reaction?"
"Exactly, but we have a problem. Saionji's body was burned beyond recognition, so we can't test for stimulants in his system. Also, only Tomokazu Yamashita's fingerprints are on the bottle, so we can't prove Saionji actually drank from it."
Megure was calling to brainstorm solutions with Gustave.
"Inspector Megure, give me a moment to finish lunch, then I'll come to headquarters."
"Perfect! See you at the Metropolitan Police Department!"
After hanging up, Gustave considered the implications. The case was taking shape, but they still needed solid proof connecting the contaminated water to Saionji's death. This was where detective work transitioned from discovering clues to building an airtight legal case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~