"Bathroom! Someone's been murdered in the bathroom!"
Although Conan's voice was not loud, his childish voice still caught quite a few people's attention in the quiet hall.
"What? Someone was murdered?"
"No way!"
Upon hearing the news, the customers who had been minding their own business could no longer sit still.
"Wait a minute, little boy. You can't just make something like that up."
Seeing the shop turn noisy in an instant, the waiter looked unhappy.
"It's true! In the last stall of the bathroom, there was so much blood!"
Seeing that Conan did not look like he was lying, the employee who decided to check for himself said to his coworkers, "I'll go see what's going on in the bathroom. Keep the customers calm for now."
Why Were You in the Women's Restroom?
After quickly confirming that a murder had indeed taken place in the restroom Conan mentioned, the employee immediately called the police.
Even though he had just brazenly walked into the women's restroom.
In the hall, the customers who had been leisurely enjoying their free time saw the male employee run to the counter in a panic and whisper with the manager for a while. They knew that a murder had really taken place here.
When those people tried to leave this troublesome place, the middle-aged manager's face changed drastically as he immediately shouted, "I'm sorry, everyone, but until the police arrive, none of you may leave!"
Faced with the manager's stern attitude and the employees blocking the exits, some people who had nothing to do with the matter immediately clamored that they were not murderers and attempted to force their way out.
Watching the neatly dressed, impeccably groomed middle-aged man remain so calm and composed, Kurumi, who was standing nearby and watching the show, felt that this manager must have quite a story.
No longer paying attention to the flustered customers, Kurumi's beautiful eyes rolled around. Her carefree expression instantly turned panicked, and she pretended to happen upon Mouri Ran and Sonoko.
"Mouri, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Hearing someone call her, Mouri Ran turned around and was surprised to find that Kurumi, whom she had met once at the art museum, was also here. Although she wanted to greet her warmly, a murder had just occurred, and the death of a person made Mouri Ran feel somewhat sad.
"Ran, who's that?"
Suzuki Sonoko, who did not know Kurumi, looked curiously at the beautiful girl walking toward them and quietly asked Mouri Ran.
"She's... someone I know."
Sonoko's question made Mouri Ran think for a moment.
The two of them had merely experienced a murder case together. They could barely be considered acquaintances.
"She's really pretty." Hearing that, Sonoko rubbed her chin knowingly and sighed sincerely.
To fit her image as a delicate young girl, Kurumi came to stand beside them and revealed a strained smile. "It's quite a coincidence that we met here, but this doesn't seem like the right time for small talk..."
"Yes, Tokisaki." Mouri Ran sounded somewhat helpless.
However, unlike the thoughtful Mouri Ran, Sonoko was naturally carefree and took the initiative to quietly speak to Kurumi. "Hello, I'm Suzuki Sonoko, Ran's best friend!"
"Ah! I'm Tokisaki Kurumi." Because the atmosphere was so serious, Kurumi deliberately lowered her voice.
"Oh, right, where's Conan?" Mouri Ran suddenly remembered that Conan had seemingly gone to the restroom and had not returned yet.
Elsewhere, after seeing the employee call the police, Conan's Great Detective instincts kicked in. He was currently carefully examining the women's restroom, trying to find anything suspicious nearby.
Since the stall door was blocked by the corpse collapsed behind it, Conan had initially wanted to open it. But after discovering that neither he nor the employee could push it open, he decisively opened the adjacent stall, climbed onto the toilet, and scaled the divider.
"Was it a robbery murder?"
Noticing the opened handbag and wallet scattered around the small space, along with a dagger covered in blood, this was the first thought that came to Conan's mind.
Just as Conan was deep in thought, the restroom door opened.
"Conan! How can you be wandering around in here?" Mouri Ran, who had been wondering where Conan had gone, heard Kurumi say that he was likely in the women's restroom and stormed in.
Noticing Conan running all over the crime scene, Mouri Ran, who had learned some things from Mouri Kogoro, sternly said, "Honestly, this is a crime scene. If you damage the scene, that'll be terrible!"
Hearing his childhood friend's serious tone, Conan immediately turned around with a placating smile. "Ran."
"Come on, you're leaving with me!" Not wanting to hear Conan's explanation, Mouri Ran directly grabbed his hand and forcibly led him out of the restroom.
After being dragged back to the hall, Conan noticed Kurumi quietly talking with Sonoko.
What exactly does this woman want? Seeing that the dangerous Kurumi had actually taken the initiative to approach them, Conan immediately realized how serious the situation was.
Especially after Conan learned that Kurumi liked women, he became even more unwilling to let her get close to Ran.
As for Sonoko...
That wasn't important.
A few minutes later, the capable officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrived at the scene in a rush.
Among the group of officers, the leader was still one of the hardest-working men in Conan's world—Inspector Megure.
After following murder-case procedure and assigning the officers their tasks, Inspector Megure decided to first understand the situation.
After learning from the staff that a child had discovered the corpse and told him to call the police, Inspector Megure looked around and found the four sitting together.
After greeting Kurumi and the others, Inspector Megure looked at the 'first' person to discover the body.
"Conan, you were the first to discover the body in the women's restroom, correct?"
Conan, who had not realized the severity of the issue, nodded honestly.
"Wait, Conan, why did you go into the women's restroom?" Sonoko eagerly asked the crucial question.
"Um... well..." Noticing everyone's gaze on him, Conan instinctively wanted to say that Kurumi had found it. But seeing her secretly give him the middle finger, he felt threatened and could only swallow his grievance.
Conan, whose mind was still that of an adult, knew that if he did not have the appearance of a child, this incident would absolutely ruin him socially.
"I accidentally went into the wrong restroom. I was going to leave, but I noticed that a lot of blood was suddenly flowing out from the last stall, so I wanted to take a look."
In a flash of inspiration, Conan gave a clear explanation.
Seeing that Conan had not suffered a setback and had instead escaped disaster, Kurumi clicked her tongue inwardly.
"Is that so? Then, Conan, come with us for now." Inspector Megure decided to bring Conan, the first witness, to the crime scene.
Hearing that he could finally participate openly in this case, Conan immediately became excited and eagerly followed Megure toward the restroom.
Upon arriving at the restroom, Conan discovered that the police forensic personnel had already moved the corpse outside and covered it with a cloth.
Where the body had originally fallen, a white outline had also been drawn in the victim's position of death.
Petty-Minded
How unlucky! Seriously unlucky!
Kurumi had never expected that she would merely take Miyano Akemi out for coffee and a little heart-to-heart talk, only to run into something like this.
This is the Shinigami aura!
Kurumi smiled outwardly while seething inside. All she wanted was to give Conan, that walking disaster, a beating.
Based on the preliminary findings from the victim's body, the police had already determined that the murderer had definitely been someone who had visited the restroom within the past half hour.
Moreover, the restrooms in this café could only be reached through a corridor. At the end of that corridor were two curtains, beyond which were the men's and women's restrooms on opposite sides. Therefore, out of caution and due to the lack of any reliable eyewitnesses, the police gathered everyone who had gone to the restroom during that period, male or female, for questioning.
Faced with the imposing air of Megure and the other officers, the café's customers began identifying themselves based on their memories.
Aside from Kurumi, who voluntarily stepped forward, two men also admitted it somewhat nervously.
Judging from the displeased expressions on their faces, they seemed to regret not holding it in a little longer and becoming murder suspects themselves.
"So, only you three went to the restroom within the past half hour?" While questioning them, Inspector Megure suddenly noticed that the only young woman among the three looked very familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"I did go to the restroom, but I didn't kill anyone!" said a scruffy man whose eyes were so narrow they were nearly slits and whose beard looked completely unkempt.
Megure, already used to this sort of thing, shook his head. "We can only determine that after the case is concluded. Besides, this young lady and this gentleman have no objections, so please cooperate a little."
"This..." The man looked at the tall man beside him and the beautiful young woman. Seeing how calm they both appeared, he could only nod in agreement.
"Very well. In that case, please come with us to the crime scene."
While Inspector Megure questioned them, Kurumi noticed that Conan, standing beside Megure, was actually giving her a gleeful expression.
His smug, eyebrow-waggling look, as though he could not wait to see her suffer, instantly infuriated Kurumi.
You little brat, just wait!
As they followed Inspector Megure down the corridor, Kurumi summoned the King of Crimson and unhesitatingly stuck out a leg to trip Conan.
"Ow!"
Caught completely off guard, Conan sprawled flat against the tiled floor. Judging from the sound, he had hit it hard.
Seeing Conan climb up from the floor with a pained expression, Kurumi deliberately asked with 'concern,' "Ara, Conan, you really are careless~ Did that hurt?"
"Be careful. The floor is quite slippery," Inspector Megure also reminded him.
Hearing Kurumi's revenge-laden tone and the joy she could not hide, Conan was furious!
The pain was real, and so was the anger.
But what could he do?
Swallowing his grievance, Conan shot Kurumi an irritated glance and decided that, as a grown man, there was no need to argue with a girl over something like this.
Arriving at the restroom, Inspector Megure had Kurumi and the other two people, who had now become suspects, explain why they had come to the café.
Kurumi went first.
"Miss Tokisaki, I'm truly sorry that you've encountered something like this again." Inspector Megure had remembered where he had seen Kurumi before. "However, in accordance with my duties, I still need you to cooperate with the investigation."
Inspector Megure's polite tone made Kurumi feel quite comfortable.
She nodded and said, "I came today to discuss some matters with a friend, but she left early because she had something to do. Since I thought the coffee here was quite good, I wanted to have another cup."
"I see." Inspector Megure then looked at the scruffy man.
"And you?"
"My name is Kō Yūichi. I came here to finish a paper, but it looks like I won't make the deadline now." The man's tone and expression were both extremely dejected, as though he felt that his day had gone terribly.
After Kō Yūichi introduced himself, it was the last man's turn: a tall, dark-skinned man.
"My name is Denyama Jūzō. Since I know the owner of this café, I often come by to chat with him whenever I have nothing to do."
After the three introduced themselves, Inspector Megure began explaining the murderer's method, which he had learned from Conan.
"Based on our investigation, the culprit clearly committed the crime inside the stall, locked the door from within, and then climbed over the partition through the gap between the restroom stalls. So, I would like you to try and see whether you can do it." Megure looked at the three seriously.
Hearing Megure's explanation of the murderer's method, Kurumi looked at the restroom partitions.
At nearly two meters tall, climbing over them from outside would be difficult for anyone without training. But climbing from the inside was different.
The murderer could have stepped on the toilet inside the stall and climbed directly over the divider.
Provided they were not too bulky.
Thinking of this, Kurumi glanced at the man who called himself Denyama.
With his height of nearly one hundred ninety centimeters and his muscular build, it was impossible for him to climb over the top of the stall.
"Inspector Megure, I don't think I need to try that, do I?" Kurumi looked down at the dress she was wearing. Its hem only reached her knees. If she climbed over as he described, Kurumi admitted she could easily make it, but she definitely could not guarantee that her skirt would not get caught and flip up, giving these people an accidental show.
Noticing Kurumi's look, Inspector Megure gave an understanding "Oh~."
"That's true. Miss Tokisaki, you don't need to try."
Hearing Inspector Megure treat the girl so considerately, the other two men were displeased.
"Why not?"
"..." Looking at the narrow-eyed man, Inspector Megure said irritably, "Can't you see that Miss Tokisaki is wearing a dress? It would be one thing if no one else were here, but with a bunch of grown men around, how could a young lady not feel embarrassed?"
Megure added, "Besides, Miss Tokisaki has already admitted that she can do it."
"Then, does that mean I don't have to either?" The tall Denyama pointed at himself.
"Ah..." Megure looked at Denyama's build, then at the gap above the stall. After considering it, he nodded. "Looking at you, there's no way you can climb over."
Great Detective Kurumi
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