Everyone fell silent. Almost none of the people present had an alibi!
Conan pinched his chin and lowered his head in thought.
Seeing Conan's expression, Narumi Asai's brows furrowed, and a look of strong suspicion flashed in her eyes.
"Conan, what are you thinking about? Your expression is so serious."
Conan was startled. He looked up at the smiling Narumi Asai and said, feeling a bit strange, "I'm solving the case."
"Solving the case? Conan is truly amazing," Narumi Asai praised.
"I'm also learning how to solve cases from Uncle," Conan said innocently.
"That is still very impressive. You know so much at such a young age."
"Haha."
Conan gave a shy smile.
Narumi Asai walked to the side and stood quietly among the crowd, saying nothing more.
"Dammit, I must find the killer."
Kogoro Mori's face turned serious. He moved all around the corpse, wearing gloves as he rummaged through everything and looked around.
Inspector Megure naturally did not stop him. Although he was more inclined to rely on Heiji, it was clear that he could not count on the genius high school detective this time.
[Why did Doctor Narumi suddenly pay so much attention to me? Is it because I was too conspicuous just now?]
Conan stole a glance at Narumi Asai, his brow furrowing slightly.
Narumi Asai, standing in the crowd, did not show anything unusual. Like the others, she watched Kogoro Mori with curiosity as he busied himself around the corpse.
Heiji saw it all clearly; every move Conan made was under Narumi Asai's gaze.
[There is something wrong with this kid.]
A sharp glint flashed in Narumi Asai's eyes.
Suddenly, Kogoro Mori let out a loud shout, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Conan didn't have time to think. He quickly ran to Kogoro Mori's side and jumped up, trying to grab the item. "Let me see! Let me see!"
"Kid, be quiet."
Thwack!
Kogoro Mori gave Conan a direct hit on the head. He looked at the object in his hand with a very serious face.
Conan held his head, looking quite annoyed at Kogoro Mori, but his eyes involuntarily looked at the piece of paper in Kogoro's hand.
At this moment, Conan had forgotten that there was a pair of eyes watching him from the side the whole time.
Seeing Conan's reaction, which was different from an ordinary child, Narumi Asai remained calm on the surface, but her heart was filled with shock and suspicion.
"Dad, this is the 'Moonlight' sonata," Ran suddenly said in surprise.
"Ran, you know it?"
Kogoro Mori looked at Ran with delight.
Ran took the musical score and lowered her head to look at it.
"Ran, I want to see too! I want to see too!"
Unable to resist Conan's act, Ran crouched slightly so Conan could look at it with her.
Conan's brow furrowed, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes.
Conan suddenly started pressing keys on the piano, unexpectedly producing a series of clear, flowing notes.
Everyone looked at Conan in shock.
"Conan, how do you know how to play the 'Moonlight' sonata?" Ran asked in surprise.
"Ran, did you notice that the music this time is different from the previous two times?"
Conan didn't have time to hide his skills now.
Ran was startled, then she started playing on the keys according to the score. Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
"Dad, it's so strange. This score is different from the real 'Moonlight' sonata."
Kogoro Mori quickly walked over, took the score, and stared at it intensely.
"Ran, what's the difference?"
Everyone was instantly speechless.
[Uncle is really... I thought he understood.]
"There are a few notes missing here. It's as if they were intentionally separated or deleted," Ran explained.
"So what? Maybe Keiji Aso just remembered it wrong."
Hearing Ran's explanation, Kogoro Mori immediately lost all interest. This had nothing to do with solving the case.
Conan was speechless. Uncle is really something.
He thought for a moment and suddenly snatched the paper from Kogoro Mori's hand.
"You darn kid!"
"It's very strange. These notes seem like they can be understood this way. If you place the English letters in order starting from the left side of the piano and then use these notes to combine the letters, the code should be: 'Do you understand? The resentment of sin ends here.'"
"The resentment of sin?"
Hearing Conan's words, Reiko Kuroiwa and the others suddenly widened their eyes, revealing a look of terror.
"Could the resentment be referring to that incident with Keiji Aso twelve years ago?"
"Could it be that Keiji Aso isn't dead yet?"
"Or is it that his ghost has returned?"
Instantly, everyone's faces changed drastically, and their hearts were filled with unease.
"It's not some ghost. Someone has come back for revenge," Conan said in a low, heavy voice.
"That's right. Conan is right. Tatsuji Kuroiwa, Hideo Kawashima, and Nishimoto definitely have a connection to Keiji Aso. Mr. Mori, I think we need to start from this angle."
"Yes, Inspector Megure."
Inspector Megure nodded and looked at the others. "As for all of you, to ensure the case can be solved smoothly, you will stay here tonight. We will have people watching you."
"How is that possible?"
"I don't agree."
Hearing Inspector Megure's words, all the related people immediately became unhappy. The room became very noisy.
"Please cooperate with our work."
Inspector Megure looked at them seriously and turned to walk outside.
"Inspector Megure, wait for me!"
Kogoro Mori quickly followed.
Heiji shook his head out of boredom and turned to walk out.
"Sir, you cannot leave." A policeman stopped Heiji.
"I have to stay here too?" Heiji's brow furrowed.
"This is Inspector Megure's order. I'm very sorry."
Another officer clearly recognized Heiji, but since it was Inspector Megure's order, he had no choice but to follow it.
Inspector Megure, who was almost out the door, suddenly stopped. He turned around and looked at Heiji. "Heiji, you don't need to stay."
"Why can he leave while we can't?"
Clearly, Reiko Kuroiwa and the others were very dissatisfied with Inspector Megure's decision.
"If you had heard of Heiji's record, you wouldn't be asking that question."
Inspector Megure glanced at the group and turned to walk out.
"Everyone, his name is Heiji Hattori. He is a detective, and since this is his first time here, it's impossible for him to be the killer." Ran walked over to Heiji's side and explained softly.
Heiji gave a faint smile. "Ran, are you coming back to the hotel with me?"
Ran glanced at Conan and shook her head. "Conan is here, so I won't be going back."
Heiji nodded and turned to leave.
Behind him, a pair of eyes stared at him with interest.
Narumi Asai withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Conan. Her eyes gradually sharpened. This guy... he seems to be hiding many secrets.
Musical note codes are not something just anyone can solve. If someone like Heiji or Kogoro Mori had solved it, she wouldn't be too surprised, but an elementary school boy having this kind of ability...
Whether it was genius, something unusual, or something else, he was worth her attention.
After traveling along the night road, Heiji returned to the hotel.
Just as he entered the door, a soft body with a sweet scent pounced on him.
Heiji carefully caught Sonoko. "Are you full?"
"You've been out for over an hour. Hey, where is Ran?"
At this moment, Sonoko noticed that Ran had not followed him back.
"She isn't coming back."
Heiji didn't say much else.
Over there, tonight definitely won't be peaceful!