Chapter 26: Anya Saw
The entrance to the Tsujimura residence.
As Natsukawa expected, several police cars were already parked outside.
Natsukawa couldn't find a proper parking space, and the entrance was cordoned off with police tape, so he obviously couldn't drive in. He could only park his GTR behind the police cars. Anyway, if the police cars were parked here, it should be fine, right?
Japan had very strict traffic regulations. Under normal circumstances, you couldn't park randomly on the roadside—otherwise the traffic police would issue a ticket without hesitation.
But this was a special situation. With police vehicles nearby, the traffic cops shouldn't ticket him, right?
He glanced at the cocoa cups in the passenger seat.
Not a drop spilled.
It seemed his driving skills were comparable to Fujiwara Takumi's—not only fast, but incredibly steady.
"Sir, you can't park here."
As soon as he got out of the car, a police officer approached Natsukawa, glanced at the cocoa he was carrying, and frowned.
"I'm here to see Mouri-san at the Tsujimura residence." Natsukawa pointed to the police tape at the villa's gate. "What happened here?"
"A friend of Mouri-san?"
The officer relaxed slightly, no longer concerned about Natsukawa's parking, though his eyes kept drifting to the cocoa cups.
"Come with me."
The officer was quite accommodating, leading Natsukawa inside.
Kogoro Mouri still held considerable influence within the Metropolitan Police Department. Not only had he been a detective in the past, but even now he continued helping the department solve cases. His recent outstanding track record had earned him quite a following within the force.
"Are you delivering some mystery-solving tools?" the officer couldn't help but ask.
He'd been bothered by those two cups of cocoa for a while now. This was a crime scene, after all.
"Oh, you mean this!"
Natsukawa held up the cocoa to the officer, waving it around while searching for an excuse.
Then, a brilliant idea struck him!
"You all know that Mouri-san falls asleep whenever he solves a case, right? Everyone knows the nickname 'Sleeping Kogoro,' don't they?"
The officer nodded.
Natsukawa continued, "Mouri-san recently decided to try solving cases without falling asleep, so I bought him cocoa. Maybe you'll get to witness the awake and alert Detective Mouri in action."
"Really?! But wouldn't coffee or tea be more effective?"
"You don't understand—this is premium cocoa. One cup keeps you alert, two cups keep you sharp forever."
"I see!"
The officer's eyes lit up, as if he could already envision Kogoro Mouri's revolutionary new deduction style.
Mouri had solved quite a few cases lately, always while asleep. Was he finally going to try the conscious approach?
"Would you like to come in and watch?" Natsukawa offered.
The officer shook his head regretfully. "I still need to stand guard outside and keep unauthorized people out. After all, this is a diplomatic incident. Tsujimura-san has many foreign diplomat friends. If the case isn't solved quickly and word reaches other countries, it'll be a national embarrassment. I can't abandon my post."
Natsukawa nodded with feigned regret. "Right, good work. The Metropolitan Police Department needs dedicated officers like you!"
Good thing he didn't come in. Otherwise, if he saw Anya drinking cocoa, the whole excuse would fall apart.
But letting him in so easily—did that really count as guarding his post? The officer didn't even make a phone call. He should have at least gone in to ask permission first.
And speaking of saving face... Kudo and Uncle Mouri had become the Metropolitan Police Department's saviors one after another. Did they have any dignity left?
Despite his complaints, Natsukawa was still grateful for the Japanese police's easygoing nature. Without it, he probably wouldn't have gotten in.
And how could he miss this? He wanted to secretly observe how Conan became Shinichi Kudo.
Completely defying the law of conservation of mass—he needed to see it with his own critical eye.
"It's fine. After the case is closed, we can hear about it from the forensics officers who worked inside."
Natsukawa nodded with a smile.
The officer only escorted him to the door before leaving Natsukawa to proceed on his own.
Ding-dong~
He'd just entered when he heard the doorbell ring, but he ignored it and continued inside.
Bang bang bang!
The sound of someone rushing down wooden stairs, clearly in a hurry.
A moment later, Natsukawa saw Ran rushing downstairs.
Swiftly dodging her headlong dash, Natsukawa asked curiously, "Ran-chan, what's going on?"
"Natsukawa-san, it must be the doctor! I'm going to get the door!"
Ran swept past like a whirlwind, opened the door, and rushed out.
Natsukawa thoughtfully stroked his chin. It seemed Conan was about to undergo his temporary transformation.
But the Tsujimura residence was quite large. Where was he exactly?
Ran had moved too fast—he didn't even have time to ask. And judging by her appearance, even if he had asked, she probably wouldn't have had the presence of mind to answer.
Upstairs?
Natsukawa looked up at the staircase. She'd just come down from there.
He slowly ascended. The second floor had numerous rooms, all exquisitely furnished with expensive wood paneling.
A long corridor led to a bend at the far end. Compared to Frank's mansion, this was a true luxury villa.
He wondered how much money the diplomat must have embezzled to buy such a massive estate in Beika.
Just as he was about to turn the corner, Natsukawa spotted a figure with one hand against the wall and the other on his lower back.
Was that the Teitan High School uniform?
No, just a similar blue suit—not the actual uniform.
So he'd already grown back to normal size?
Natsukawa sighed with disappointment. He'd really wanted to witness the transformation firsthand.
But judging by the swaying figure, Shinichi was probably on his way to solve the case.
A mischievous thought struck Natsukawa, and he quietly approached, positioning himself behind the still-recovering Kudo Shinichi. A smile spread across his face.
A slender arm slowly rose, his hand poised like a blade.
"Who's there?"
Shinichi Kudo sensed something behind him and was about to turn around when he felt a sharp pain in his neck. His foot slipped, and then everything went dark.
Looking at the fallen Shinichi Kudo, Natsukawa glanced around guiltily to make sure no one was watching. He then randomly opened a door and carried the unconscious Shinichi onto the bed inside.
That was the nice thing about mansions—any room on the second floor was either a study or a bedroom.
Shinichi Kudo, drenched in sweat, now slept peacefully. Compared to forcing himself through painful deductions, a good night's rest was definitely better for his health!
Though after all this, he wondered if Conan would think his transformation was just a dream.
Oh well.
Natsukawa shook his head and closed the door.
Footsteps echoed from downstairs again. Ran must have found the doctor, but Shinichi clearly didn't need one now.
Voices drifted from up ahead, and Natsukawa immediately recognized one as Hattori Heiji.
It wasn't because of the Osaka accent—honestly, he couldn't really distinguish Japanese regional dialects that well.
The main reason was that Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure's voices were easily recognizable. This was the only unfamiliar young voice he hadn't heard before, and it was currently explaining some deduction. Therefore, he could deduce it was Hattori Heiji.
As he approached, Hattori Heiji's voice trailed off, replaced by a hoarse, elderly voice.
"That's right... I was the one who killed my son, Tsujimura Isao."
A confession?
Already?
Natsukawa peeked inside and glanced at the old man who'd spoken. Was this the diplomat's father?
Japan was notorious for inherited professions, especially in the public sector.
If the son was a diplomat, the father must have been at least a current Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee before retirement—perhaps even holding a high position.
But looking at the man's hunched posture now, it was rather pathetic.
Natsukawa knew the real murderer wasn't him, but rather Tsujimura's second wife.
But what did that have to do with him? He wasn't some champion of absolute justice. Whether the real culprit was caught was irrelevant to him.
However, his daughter didn't see it that way. She was already planning to increase her beloved father's workload.
Inside the room, the mischievous little girl spotted her father peeking through the doorway.
Actually, she'd already received her papa's telepathic signal earlier, and now that she finally saw him arrive, she shouted excitedly,
"Papa!"
Anya leaped onto Natsukawa's leg and noticed he'd brought cocoa. Her face lit up with joy as she grabbed one cup, popped it open, and started drinking.
Because it had been sitting for quite some time, the cocoa was slightly cool, but Anya didn't mind and drank it happily anyway.
After taking a satisfying sip, Anya skillfully climbed onto her father's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.
While speaking, her eyes kept glancing toward the Tsujimura family members.
Listening to Anya's whispers, Natsukawa was genuinely surprised. This little one had actually discovered something remarkable.
Although she wasn't his biological daughter, her observational skills seemed to have improved considerably under his instruction.
"Natsukawa!"
Kogoro Mouri wasn't surprised to see Natsukawa—after all, he was the one who'd left the note with Azusa, asking her to tell Natsukawa to come pick up Anya.
"Good evening, Mouri-san."
Natsukawa nodded to Inspector Megure as well. "Sorry for interrupting your investigation, Inspector."
Inspector Megure nodded, feeling somewhat displeased. What was going on with the officers outside? Why were they letting just anyone in? Even if they allowed visitors, shouldn't they have notified him first?
Then Natsukawa looked at the Tsujimura family and Hattori Heiji.
"Tsujimura-san, you're not really the murderer, are you? Why are you confessing to a crime you didn't commit?"
Originally, Natsukawa hadn't wanted to get involved, but Anya said she'd witnessed the entire murder committed by the lady of the house, Tsujimura Kimie, when she'd wandered in earlier.
To prevent Anya from growing up with a warped sense of justice and to ensure she developed proper morals, it seemed he, as her father, had to step up and stand in for the absent Kudo Shinichi—finding the real murderer.
"What do you mean?"
Hattori Heiji was extremely dissatisfied. He'd just confirmed that the murderer was the victim's father, Tsujimura Toshimitsu, and now this guy—whom he didn't even know—was standing up to contradict him.
Most importantly, the other party had clearly just arrived at the scene. What right did he have to refute him?
Although he'd always suspected that Mouri Kogoro was all hype with Kudo Shinichi pulling the strings behind the scenes, at least Mouri had witnessed the whole investigation process. If it were Mouri Kogoro contradicting him now, he might seriously reconsider whether he'd made an error.
"Oh, so you're admitting you wrongly accused Tsujimura-san."
Natsukawa smiled calmly, looking incredibly smug—at least, that's how Hattori Heiji perceived it.
"Natsukawa, do you realize what you're saying?"
Mouri Kogoro looked at Natsukawa seriously.
Although he was often unreliable, he shared Hattori's sentiment. Besides, Natsukawa wasn't a detective or a police officer—did he even know how to solve cases?
However, Natsukawa was the person who'd helped him earn twenty million yen, and their families had been socializing frequently lately, so he couldn't say anything too harsh. He could only signal with his eyes for Natsukawa to stay quiet.
The Tsujimura family remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Only Tsujimura Toshimitsu slightly raised his eyelids, but said nothing.
"Mouri!"
Inspector Megure couldn't hold back any longer and gestured for Kogoro Mouri to ask Natsukawa to leave.
He'd met Natsukawa a few times but wasn't well acquainted with him. Natsukawa hadn't displayed any detective abilities in front of him, so his earlier words were obviously baseless speculation.
Natsukawa coughed twice, knowing this wasn't the time to keep everyone in suspense.
Once he was certain he had everyone's attention, he finally spoke.
"Just now, Anya witnessed everything."
[End of Chapter 26]