Chapter 27: Conan Can't Die Young
The study on the second floor of the Tsujimura residence.
Tsujimura Isao's body lay on the cold floor, his lips and nails completely purplish-black. He'd been dead for some time now.
The room was crowded with people. Fortunately, wealthy families had spacious studies—otherwise, they might not have all fit.
Hearing Natsukawa's statement, everyone froze in shock.
Anya saw it?
All eyes turned sharply toward the little girl perched on Natsukawa's shoulder.
This child witnessed the murder?
But why didn't she say anything earlier? The investigation was already halfway complete, and the "murderer" had even confessed. Yet now this little girl claimed to have seen who really did it?
"Wait a minute—wasn't this kid with us when we came in?" Hattori Heiji asked, hands shoved in his pockets. He wasn't sure who to direct his challenge toward. At least until Kudo showed up, even three or five Sleeping Kogoros combined wouldn't be enough to make him back down.
Anya had entered with them. The murder must have happened before they arrived. So how could she have possibly seen it?
Had he missed something in his deduction?
Could she have seen something through the window by the door?
He glanced toward the window and immediately dismissed the idea. The window was on the side of the house. They'd entered from the front, so the only window visible from their approach would have been the one directly opposite the main entrance.
"This isn't a locked room mystery," Natsukawa said, surveying the Tsujimura family members. His gaze settled on the middle-aged woman. "The so-called locked room was just a smokescreen created by the real murderer."
"Mrs. Tsujimura Kimie—I believe that's how I should address you?"
Hearing the newly arrived young man call her name, Tsujimura Kimie's expression shifted slightly, but she maintained her composure and nodded. "Yes, that's correct."
"When you went to see Mouri-san, you'd already planned and arranged all of this, hadn't you?"
Was she a pitiable woman? Perhaps not.
She was a tragic one, though.
Both her former and current husbands had been diplomats, but her ex-husband had framed her and had her imprisoned. She'd killed her current husband as revenge for his role in that betrayal.
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Tsujimura Kimie reached up to smooth a strand of hair at her temple—a seemingly unnecessary gesture, but one that appeared to give her a sense of security.
"The famous Kansai detective Hattori Heiji has already proven that my father-in-law is the real murderer. The key piece of evidence—the fishing line—has been found. All the evidence points to my husband being killed by my father-in-law before I returned home."
She spoke with an indifferent expression, her gaze fixed calmly on her father-in-law. Anyone unaware of their relationship would never guess the two were connected by marriage at all.
"Hey! You!" Hattori Heiji's irritation was evident.
How dare she question the case he'd solved! Even if Kudo Shinichi were standing here, he wouldn't find anything wrong with his reasoning—let alone this person he'd never even heard of before. She probably wasn't even a detective, was she?
It wasn't that he was discriminating against non-detectives, but he felt that without proper investigative training, people shouldn't interfere in cases. Otherwise, they'd just cause more problems than they solved.
Natsukawa glanced at Hattori but said nothing.
In the detective world, Hattori's reputation certainly justified his pride. If it were Shinichi Kudo being questioned like this, he'd probably react the same way. It was understandable.
"Mrs. Tsujimura Kimie, could you please show me your keychain?"
Natsukawa knew she was the murderer—that she'd committed the crime when she entered with Kogoro Mouri and the others. But knowing wasn't enough to prove it.
Fortunately, Anya had seen it. She'd witnessed Kimie take a poisoned needle from her keychain and stab the victim in the neck.
"You...!"
Tsujimura Kimie's face changed drastically. If she could have argued her way out before, she certainly couldn't now.
The evidence was right there on her keychain.
The poisoned needle that killed the victim had been taken from a hidden compartment in the keychain. Once it was tested, her guilt would be undeniable.
Seeing Tsujimura Kimie's expression, Hattori's face twisted. Fortunately, his dark complexion made it difficult for outsiders to discern any change in his color.
Anyone who saw Kimie's reaction could guess what it meant.
Even the usually oblivious Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure looked uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable because—why didn't Anya reveal that she'd witnessed Tsujimura Kimie committing the crime earlier?
Embarrassed because they'd both agreed with and praised Hattori Heiji's conclusion.
Inspector Megure, recalling his earlier dismissive tone toward Natsukawa, felt genuinely sheepish.
"Natsukawa-kun, I apologize for earlier..."
"No problem, Inspector. You were just doing your job."
Natsukawa shrugged. He hadn't really wanted to solve the case anyway. It was just that Tsujimura Kimie had been careless enough to let Anya see everything. She'd brought this on herself.
The pink-haired little girl in his arms wore a crescent-moon smile—somewhat smug, as if everything had gone according to plan.
Actually, she hadn't witnessed Tsujimura Kimie poisoning her husband at all. She'd heard Kimie's thoughts and learned everything that way.
As for why she didn't tell Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure earlier?
She'd wanted to, but after seeing Conan get punched for interrupting Kogoro's investigation even when he had a cold, she'd hesitated.
She didn't want a big bump on her head.
Fortunately, her papa was here. With him around, the possibility of being punched by Mouri-san was completely avoided.
"But how did Mrs. Tsujimura manage it? As far as I know, you two came in with her, didn't you?" Inspector Megure looked at Kogoro Mouri and Hattori Heiji with an distinctly unfriendly expression.
One was Tokyo's most famous detective—the Sleeping Kogoro. The other was a well-known high school detective throughout Osaka and the entire Kansai region.
The murderer had carried out the killing right in front of them, and neither had noticed? That was completely unbecoming of their reputations!
Especially Kogoro, who'd graduated from the police academy. How could he have failed to pay attention? The woman had brazenly killed someone right under his nose!
Seeing Inspector Megure's pointed stare, Kogoro Mouri clearly understood the implication and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I get it now!" Hattori Heiji smacked his left fist into his right palm, his face showing sudden realization. "The reason you turned on the CD player and placed all those books in front of the victim was to cover up both the sound and Tsujimura Isao's expression and death throes, right?"
As a qualified detective, he disliked when others made deductions different from his own. But if he was wrong, he would reflect on it and admit it.
Everyone's attention turned to him, but he didn't continue explaining. Instead, he looked at Natsukawa.
Hattori's detective instincts had made him unconsciously deduce and solve the case. But Natsukawa was the one who should reveal the truth, and his professional discipline told him it wasn't his place to explain right now.
Natsukawa shrugged, indicating Hattori could continue if he wanted. Whoever wanted to explain could explain. His attention wasn't on the case anymore anyway.
Just then, Ran hurriedly appeared in the doorway, slightly out of breath. "Excuse me, has anyone seen Conan?"
She was sweating with worry, scanning everyone present, but didn't receive any useful answers.
Kogoro Mouri's lips twitched with displeasure. "That Conan—where'd he run off to this time? Can't he just stay put even when he has a cold? I'm going to give him a good scolding when he turns up."
As Conan's guardian after he'd shrunk, Kogoro had every right to discipline him. He had a daily quota of head bonks to distribute, earning him the unofficial title of "Bump Creator."
"Since you understand what happened, please go ahead and explain," Natsukawa said. "I'll help Ran-chan look for Conan. He can be quite the handful when he wanders off."
Natsukawa suddenly remembered—since he couldn't witness Conan growing back to normal size, seeing him shrink back down would be a decent consolation prize.
Besides, he couldn't let Ran search randomly.
What if she found the room where Shinichi was sleeping? Seeing him lying there would be a disaster. He absolutely couldn't let that happen.
And if the two of them met face-to-face, there'd be no way to convince Ran to leave. Once the effects of the temporary antidote wore off and she witnessed the entire process of Shinichi transforming back into Conan, she'd probably have a complete mental breakdown.
Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.
Rumor had it that Conan often bathed with Ran.
If Ran discovered the truth, Conan's early demise would be inevitable.
That wouldn't do at all. Conan couldn't die young! If he died, who would unravel the mystery of the Black Organization?
(End of Chapter 27)
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