The atmosphere instantly became delicate.
Standing outside the room, Ran glanced around from side to side. Somehow, after hearing that Ritsu was a police officer, everyone seemed to have grown noticeably more serious.
However, Ritsu had no time to pay attention to them. After Shinichi brought over the first-aid kit, he immediately began disinfecting and stitching the wound.
Fortunately, the kit was fairly well-stocked. It even contained standard suturing thread.
About ten minutes later, Ritsu finally removed the bloodstained medical gloves and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
Kogoro ran stepped forward and asked, "How is it? Is the wound still serious?"
"It has been properly treated. The next step is to take him to a hospital for further treatment once the ship docks. The old gentleman probably won't wake up anytime soon, though. He lost quite a bit of blood, but not enough to require a transfusion."
After taking care of Gozo's wound, Ritsu put on a pair of dust-free gloves and looked toward the people outside. Deliberately raising his voice, he said,
"Your luck is really terrible. Not only is there a police officer here, but there are also two detectives present."
The people outside exchanged confused looks. For a moment, no one knew who Ritsu was speaking to.
But the culprit knew.
The words were directed at them.
"You were the one who attacked Grandpa, weren't you?"
While Gozo 's life had still been in danger, Ichiro had done his best to restrain his emotions. But now that it had been confirmed that his grandfather would survive, he glared at the bewildered Takeshi and shouted,
"You killed Grandpa, didn't you?!"
"Ichiro, what are you talking about?"
Natsue naturally refused to believe her husband would do such a thing. Frowning, she stepped between the two men.
"Just leave the culprit to Onizawa-san. Don't make things more chaotic."
"I heard everything! I heard every word Grandpa said after he called him into the room!"
Ichiro looked at Natsue with a conflicted expression. He bit his lower lip, uncertain whether he should reveal the truth.
Ever since taking Ritsu's words to heart, Ichiro had finally realized why he loved Natsue. It was because she always wore the smile he cherished so much.
That smile existed because she was happy.
If Natsue learned the truth...
If she learned that the man she loved had approached her and used her solely for revenge...
Then she would probably never smile again. She would never be happy again.
The moment those words were spoken, Takeshi 's face turned deathly pale. He lowered his head and remained silent.
His strange reaction made Natsue realize something was wrong.
"Ichiro, Takeshi... are you two hiding something from me?"
Sensing the awkward tension, Mariko, dressed in a purple kimono, began urging him on. "Ichiro, just say it already. Your sister's asking you a question!"
Yet Ichiro still remained silent.
Instead, he cast a pleading look toward Ritsu, hoping he would help resolve the situation. Seeing that her son refused to speak, Mariko finally said,
"Then I'll explain. I accidentally overheard it while standing outside earlier. You and Father were arguing in the room. It must have been quite a shock for you, right? Your true identity is that you're the son of Zaijo Isamu, and Father had already found out!"
"Zaijo Isamu?!"
The entire Hatamoto family revealed shocked expressions.
None of them had expected Takeshi 's true identity to be the son of Zaijo Isamu.
In that case... His reason for approaching Natsue was probably far from simple.
Completely lost, Kogoro asked, "Who exactly is this Zaijo Isamu she mentioned?"
Hokuro explained,
"Well... ten years ago, Father took over his company. He was the president of Zaijo Industries and eventually committed suicide because of it. I've heard that his wife passed away from illness a year later. Their only son was sent to an orphanage. I never imagined that child would turn out to be Takeshi."
"Takeshi, is that true?"
Natsue looked at him with knitted brows. Seeing the terror on his face and his inability to answer, she already knew the truth.
So... Had he approached her solely for revenge?
Did he...
Perhaps never love her at all?
"That's right. I'm Zaijo Isamu's son, Zaiji Takehiko."
Noticing the way everyone was looking at him, as though he were already a murderer, Takeshi hurriedly protested,
"You don't actually think I did it, do you? N-No, that's not it! I didn't kill anyone!"
Kogoro narrowed his eyes at Takeshi. To him, the case was already becoming clear.
'The culprit had to be this man!'
Kogoro was about to voice his conclusion when a single statement instantly shot it down.
"He's not the culprit."
"Huh?!"
Having already solved the case, Ritsu calmly explained,
"The attacker stabbed Gozo-san from behind. That means Gozo-san still trusted that person. Takeshi had just finished arguing with him. Before earning back his trust, there was no way Gozo-san would have exposed his back to him."
'He's not the culprit?'
Ichiro inexplicably felt relieved. But a moment later, he became nervous again.
'According to Onizawa-san's reasoning... Wouldn't that mean Natsue was also a suspect?'
And she had been the first witness.
Television dramas always said that the first witness was often treated as the prime suspect. As if sensing Ichiro's concern, Ritsu smiled.
"Don't worry. Natsue-san isn't the culprit either."
"?!"
Ichiro hadn't expected his thoughts to be seen through so easily. Lowering his head awkwardly, he couldn't help wondering how Ritsu seemed capable of reading minds.
The woman with the fashionable short haircut was Akie. At that moment, she wore a displeased expression and spoke with a sharp tone,
"According to your logic, Officer, doesn't that make Aunt Mariko the culprit?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Mariko shouted angrily.
The way she desperately defended herself looked exactly like a culprit trying to clear their own name.
If Ritsu didn't already know who the culprit was, he might actually have suspected her.
"It's a very simple deduction. After overhearing the argument between Takeshi and Grandpa, Aunt Mariko, you decided to take advantage of the situation. You killed Grandpa and framed Takeshi for it. Officer, my deduction is correct, isn't it?"
"Correct my ass! If we're talking about motives, don't you also have a reason to kill Father? You're the one who told me about the will! And you're the one who said, 'There are still twenty-four hours before we reach Tokyo Port. We have to do something during that time.' Those were your exact words!"
"Hah?! I told you that out of goodwill, and now you're trying to dump the blame on me? You old hag, you're really lashing out and biting at everyone now that you're cornered!"
As the two women continued shouting over each other, Kogoro finally couldn't take it anymore. He cleared his throat loudly.
"Ahem! Both of you, calm down. Onizawa-keibu never said either of you was the culprit, did he?"
Kogoro had always held police officers in high regard. Especially someone like Onizawa, a young detective already capable of handling cases independently.
So despite being older, Kogoro was still willing to respectfully address him as "Inspector Onizawa."
Shinichi also looked curiously toward his teacher. By now, he already had a rough idea of the culprit.
The answer had narrowed down to a fifty-fifty choice between two people. The problem was that he still couldn't determine which of them had actually committed the crime.
He hadn't found the decisive piece of evidence yet.
Everyone's gaze focused on Ritsu.
Having experienced countless high-pressure situations before, he remained perfectly calm.
One hand in his pocket, his eyes swept past the culprit, who was pretending to stay composed, before settling on the man standing in front of them, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"The culprit is you!"