"I know who the killer is!"
Seeing her childhood friend acting up again, Ran awkwardly stepped forward and tugged on Shinichi's arm, whispering, "Shinichi, stop causing trouble. The police are investigating."
"What do you mean causing trouble? I really do know who the killer is!"
"Then tell us your deduction."
"Hm?"
Shinichi turned his head and saw Ritsu looking down at him with amused eyes. The white-haired inspector bent slightly so their eyes met and said seriously,
"I'm very interested in your reasoning."
Hearing that such a sharp inspector was interested in his deduction, Shinichi immediately showed a smug little expression. Once everyone's attention focused on him, he pointed at the person everyone had overlooked until now, Kumiko, and declared loudly,
"The culprit in this case is Minagawa-san, the victim's mother!"
"What?!"
Kumiko's hands trembled slightly, nearly causing her to drop the coffee cup she was holding. After setting the washed cup down, she wiped her wet hands directly against her kimono and retorted,
"W-What are you talking about?! How could I possibly be the killer? Then tell me, how exactly did I kill him? Go on!"
"You poisoned the food."
"But everyone ate the same food! How could only Katsuhiko conveniently end up poisoned?!"
Ritsu finally understood the method Kumiko had used. Combined with the hints Shinichi had provided, she had likely used that exact trick to ensure only Katsuhiko was poisoned.
"Ran, you remember, right?"
"Hm? Remember what?"
Shinichi pointed toward Susumu, the child hiding behind his mother, and smiled.
"This little brat stole a sip of your coffee earlier. Do you remember what happened afterward?"
Ran looked upward thoughtfully as she tried to recall. "Umm... I remember Minagawa-san gave him some cake to eat?"
"Exactly."
Shinichi turned toward everyone present.
"I'm sure many of you saw Minagawa-san scolding Susumu earlier. The reason she got angry was because he ate chocolate given to him by Kaoru-san."
He walked over to Susumu, crouched down, and smiled gently. "Hey kid, do you remember what your mom scolded you for? You even cried afterward."
Susumu glanced nervously at his mother before clutching his swollen cheek and mumbling, "I-I have cavities... Big brother, my tooth hurts really bad..."
"How about after everything's over, big brother takes you to see a dentist?"
"But dentists are scary! Th-They use those metal pincers, and they're terrifying!"
Seeing how frightened the child looked, Ritsu decided, for reasons that were probably pure bad taste, to deliberately scare him even more.
"If you don't get your cavities treated, the bugs inside your teeth might absorb your nutrients and grow bigger. Then while you're sleeping, they'll crawl out and eat you."
"You're a police officer. Could you at least act like one? Is scaring children really that fun?"
Hayasaka shot Ritsu a glare before patting Susumu gently on the head to comfort him, soothing the nearly crying child.
"Don't listen to that weird uncle. As long as the dentist treats it properly, you'll be fine. Getting fillings doesn't hurt either."
"Weird uncle?" Ritsu muttered quietly, "Then if you're older than me, doesn't that make you an old hag?"
"Shut up."
Hayasaka's pretty face twisted menacingly after hearing that. If there weren't so many people around, she would've loved to stomp on his foot with her heel.
Seeing the conversation derail completely, Sonoko cautiously raised her hand and interrupted, "Um... aren't we getting off topic? What do cavities have to do with this case?"
"They're directly related." Ritsu raised his right hand and pointed toward the coffee cups that had already been washed in the kitchen.
"If she got angry because Susumu ate chocolate, then there's no way she'd voluntarily feed him cake. Most likely, she poisoned the coffee and put the antidote in the cake. The moment she saw Susumu drink the coffee, she immediately made him eat the cake."
His crimson eyes resembled a predator hunting in the darkness. The corners of his lips curved upward slightly as he said in an almost cheerful tone:
"Am I right, Minagawa-san?"
Shinichi glanced at Ritsu in surprise. He really hadn't expected this inspector to be that capable. Just from a few hints, he had immediately grasped the truth behind the case.
"You're lying! Where's your evidence?! There's no proof that I poisoned anything!"
Ritsu calmly removed his glasses and began wiping the lenses with a cleaning cloth. Lowering his eyes slightly, he chuckled softly.
"Evidence? I'd recommend Minagawa-san study a bit more before committing crimes. Poison like that leaves residue on cup surfaces even after being rinsed with water.
Even if nothing is found on the coffee cups themselves, traces can still be detected in the drainpipe. So, are you still planning to deny it?"
After saying that, he put his glasses back on and glanced toward the wall-mounted heater blowing warm air through the room. His gaze landed on the dark brown stain spreading across Kumiko's pale purple kimono.
"And there's one more crucial piece of evidence..."
"Minagawa-san, the chocolate hidden inside your kimono is starting to melt."
Kumiko clutched at the stained area on her kimono. Her pale face resembled that of a heavily made-up Kabukicho hostess. She opened her mouth as if to argue, but under Ritsu's cold gaze, no words came out.
Hayasaka couldn't understand how a mother could kill her own child. "...Why would you do something so cruel to your own son?"
"She isn't Katsuhiko's biological mother."
Kaoru, his childhood friend, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and spoke in a depressed tone.
"Katsuhiko's real parents died in a car accident seven years ago. That's why he was adopted by her, his aunt."
Realizing she could no longer escape the law, Kumiko fell to her knees and hugged the confused-looking Susumu tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had no other choice! My husband's business failed, so no matter what, I needed to get my hands on Katsuhiko's inheritance! I wanted to protect this family... and Susumu's happiness too!"
Not biologically related, so that made murder acceptable?
For some reason, the sound of a gunshot echoed faintly in Ritsu's ears. He curled his lips into a self-mocking smile.
Even blood relatives could do such things. Not to mention someone whose eyes had been blinded by greed.
Ritsu pulled a pair of handcuffs from behind his waist and signaled for Hayasaka to take Susumu into another room.
After all, forcing the child to watch his mother being handcuffed would be too cruel.
"Why not communicate properly? Katsuhiko was your nephew. If you had sat down and honestly told him about your difficulties, maybe he would've been willing to help you."
Opening the handcuffs, Ritsu gently secured them around Kumiko's wrists. Then he reached out and helped the kneeling woman to her feet.
"Atone for your sins in prison, Minagawa-san."
Watching Kumiko being led away by the police, Ran couldn't help sighing.
What a tragic case.
If they had simply communicated properly, perhaps this tragedy never would've happened.
Seeing the case resolved, Kogoro narrowed his eyes toward his daughter standing beside that brat and waved his hand impatiently.
"Hey, Ran! Time to go home and make dinner for me! Hurry up and get over here!"
"Okay, Dad!"
"AHH!"
Sonoko's sudden scream startled Ran so badly she nearly jumped on the spot. Ran smacked Sonoko lightly on the arm and complained, "Sonoko, why are you suddenly yelling like that?! You scared me!"
"I forgot to give my chocolate to Inspector Onizawa!!!" Sonoko cried out loudly while holding the beautifully wrapped chocolate in her hands.
The two girls looked outside through the glass doors, only to see the pale purple Volkswagen Beetle slowly driving away from the entrance.
Sonoko slumped in disappointment. "Ugh, the handsome guy got away right before my eyes. What a terrible Valentine's Day."
"You might run into him somewhere else someday. Anyway, I'm heading home now, Sonoko."
The moment Wakamatsu overheard Ran saying she was leaving, he immediately hurried over with a grin.
"Ran, I'll walk you home!"
"No thanks. My dad's probably waiting outside for me," Ran politely declined.
Shinichi narrowed his eyes and poked Wakamatsu's muscular back with his finger. "Hey, why don't you give me a ride home instead? I live in Beika—"
"No."
Shinichi didn't get upset after being rejected. With both hands tucked into his pockets, he quickly caught up to Ran and quietly asked while looking away,
"Ran, you still haven't given your chocolate to anyone either, right?"
"Yeah. I haven't decided who to give it to yet."
'Obviously give it to me!' The little version of Shinichi inside his head screamed desperately.
But what came out of his mouth instead was completely different, "Is it because your homemade chocolate tastes terrible, so you're too embarrassed to give it away?"
"What are you talking about, Shinichi?!"
Ran puffed up her cheeks angrily, pulled out the handmade chocolate from her bag, and stuffed it directly into Shinichi's arms.
"I worked really hard following the cookbook step by step to make that!"
"Then I guess I'll reluctantly help you taste it."
Internally, Shinichi was overjoyed. His scheme successful, he tore open the wrapper and took a bite. The milk chocolate melted smoothly in his mouth, sweet without being overwhelming.
It was obviously delicious, but he still awkwardly commented, "Mm... it's not bad, I guess. But it's still nowhere near as good as store-bought chocolate."
"Well of course! I'm a beginner, okay?! If you don't like it, then give it back!"
"Idiot! Once you give something to someone, you can't just ask for it back!"