Outlaw in Conan's World, Tokisaki Kurumi - Chapter 37

Denyama rubbed his double chin and smiled sheepishly.

"Then that only leaves you, Mr. Kō."

Based on the current line of reasoning, the only ones capable of carrying out the murder method were Kurumi and the college student Kō Yūichi.

As the college student struggled to climb out over the stall door, Kurumi looked at the corpse and the dagger sealed in an evidence bag in the forensics officer's hands, but she felt that something was off.

"Oh? Did our professional assassin lady spot something?"

Noticing Kurumi's thoughtful expression, Conan, who had been observing her all along, asked from the side.

Although he considered himself at odds with Kurumi, Conan had put aside his prejudice against her in this case after learning that she was not the culprit.

After all, there was a murder in front of them. If they could not solve the case quickly and bring the murderer to justice, Conan worried that the culprit might continue roaming free.

So he moved closer to Kurumi and asked quietly.

"I do have some ideas, but I need more clues to prove them."

Kurumi ignored Conan's teasing. She did not want to waste any more time, either.

As a professional assassin, Kurumi began her analysis by placing herself in the murderer's shoes.

"I don't think the murderer killed simply out of greed. He deliberately wanted the victim dead."

"Oh? Why?"

"It's simple. If the murderer only wanted money, why would he go to all that extra trouble?"

"Extra trouble? What do you mean?" Conan was puzzled by Kurumi's question. "Didn't the murderer strangle the victim unconscious beforehand... Wait! Is that what you mean?"

A flash of insight struck Conan, and he immediately understood what Kurumi meant.

"That's right." Seeing that Conan was teachable, Kurumi nodded and continued. "If the murderer only wanted money, he could have hidden by the restroom entrance and waited for the victim to come in. Then he could have used a knife to threaten him into the last stall. Even if the victim resisted, he could have simply stabbed him to death. Since that was the case, why did the murderer need to strangle him unconscious with a rope?"

"Besides, I think the victim was not actually killed by the dagger through his heart, but by mechanical asphyxiation—in other words, he was strangled to death. Of course, that is only a possibility."

"Suppose the murderer strangled the victim to death, or unconscious, then deliberately stabbed him in the heart with the dagger to create the illusion of a robbery gone wrong."

As Kurumi spoke, Conan had another question.

"Then how did the murderer make the victim's corpse appear inside a locked stall? Did he throw it in from above?" Noticing the gap above the stall door, Conan estimated its height and found that it was just enough for a slender person to climb over.

But if that was the case, another problem arose.

When they found the corpse, the dagger had not been stuck in the victim's body. It had fallen to one side. If things had happened as Kurumi described, the dagger should not have been outside.

Unless...

Noticing the realization on Conan's face, Kurumi smiled.

"That's right, just as you thought." Patting Conan on the head, Kurumi said, "But to confirm it, I need to look at that dagger now. So I'll leave that task to you!"

Conan slapped Kurumi's hand away in annoyance and reluctantly agreed.

"Uncle, can that big sister take a look at the murder weapon? She has an idea she wants to confirm!"

Throwing the burden onto Kurumi once again, Conan asked the forensics officer.

"No, little brother. This is very important evidence!" The forensics officer righteously refused Conan's request without hesitation.

Seeing Conan fail exactly as expected, Kurumi decided to target the highest-ranking official here.

That was the ever-diligent Inspector Megure.

Over here, Megure had just learned from an officer that there was a rope on the college student Kō Yūichi's desk. He had already marked Kō as the prime suspect and was preparing to take him back to the station for questioning.

"No, that rope is for tying up my books and notebooks! I didn't kill anyone!"

Ignoring Kō Yūichi's explanation about the rope, Megure was just about to have him taken away when he heard Kurumi call out to him.

"Inspector Megure, I have a personal theory."

Megure turned toward Kurumi in confusion. "Miss Tokisaki, what is it?"

"It's like this. I think that if you let me examine that dagger, I can confirm the murderer's method. Besides, I don't believe Mr. Kō is the culprit."

Hearing someone defend him, Kō Yūichi looked at Kurumi excitedly, hoping that she could persuade this muddleheaded police officer.

Megure was immediately startled by this. "Is that so? Miss Tokisaki, are you certain?"

"Of course." Kurumi smiled sweetly, her expression brimming with confidence.

The restroom was not very large, so naturally everyone inside heard what Kurumi said.

Among them, the largest man showed no change in expression, but a flicker of panic passed through his eyes.

He unconsciously touched the middle finger of his left hand. A strip of white bandage was wrapped around it.

"Very well, if you are so certain, Miss Tokisaki." Megure agreed to Kurumi's request and had the forensics officer hand her the evidence bag.

Looking at the bloodstained dagger in the bag, Kurumi's smile grew even brighter.

Even Conan moved closer to Kurumi, wanting to hear her analysis.

"Inspector Megure, if this dagger was the weapon used to kill the victim, then a punctured heart could indeed spray a large amount of blood. That is why there is so much blood on the handle."

"But that is precisely why I find this dagger strange."

"Strange? What is strange about it?" Megure and Conan looked at the dagger as they listened to Kurumi's analysis.

"Wait, there are no marks on it!" Megure suddenly realized.

"That's right. There are no signs that the blood on this knife was covered or wiped away. In other words, when the murderer pulled the dagger from the victim's corpse, he was not holding the handle." As she spoke, Kurumi pointed to the junction between the blade and the hilt. "Here, I found irregular marks. The blood around this section forms a very even edge, as though this part had previously been wrapped in rope or cloth."

The area Kurumi pointed out was tiny, so small that it would have been overlooked without close inspection.

Only someone like Kurumi, with two additional pairs of Precision Rank A eyes, could have noticed it.

"In other words, the murderer wrapped this part in something beforehand, then used it to stab the victim."

"As for why he did that... I think that after killing the victim, he did not immediately pull out the dagger. Instead, he first created the illusion of a sealed-room stall, then threw the corpse in through the gap above the door."

As Kurumi spoke, she watched the expressions of the other two men.

When she saw the panic and evasiveness in the tall Denyama's eyes, Kurumi no longer felt like analyzing anything further.

"Rather than have an unrelated person like me explain it all, why not invite the murderer to come forward and tell us himself?"

With that, Kurumi looked at Denyama, who was trying to back toward the exit.

I Haven't Even Said Anything, and You Already Exposed Yourself? (Second Update)

At Kurumi's provocative, teasing gaze, Megure, Conan, and the others all turned to look at Denyama.

"Miss Tokisaki, are you saying Denyama is the murderer?" Megure watched Denyama warily as he continued backing away. The man's obvious guilty appearance darkened Megure's expression.

His facial muscles twitched slightly from tension and panic. Denyama glared fiercely at Kurumi while searching for a way out.

Kurumi truly could not stand such clumsy tactics.

Especially from the perspective of a professional like her, he was full of openings.

Kurumi said nothing and simply stared at him quietly.

Under the gaze of those scarlet eyes, Denyama felt as if every secret in his heart had been exposed before that petite, beautiful girl.

"Looks like there's no need to investigate further..." Conan looked at Denyama speechlessly. He had thought solving this case would take some effort, so he felt a little helpless.

"You hateful woman!" His fear and panic over facing legal punishment transformed into boundless fury in an instant.

Knowing he could no longer deny it, he used his burly body to shove aside the officers trying to restrain him and charged at Kurumi with a roar.

Completely blinded by rage, Denyama lost all reason and judgment.

At that moment, he only wanted to take hostage the woman who had exposed him, then escape from here.

Denyama's strong, towering body gave him tremendous explosive power.

His furious charge was so imposing that no one around him dared to stop him lightly.

"Watch out!"

With an angry roar, Denyama pushed Megure out of his way. Now only a meter from Kurumi, he looked as if he could seize the frail girl with a single outstretched hand.

But... could things really go that smoothly?

Facing the menacing Denyama charging at her, Kurumi did not even consider summoning King Crimson.

To outsiders, Kurumi's calm composure made her seem as though she had been frightened stiff, completely unable to react.

She kicked Conan away so he would not get caught up in it. Finally able to vent some steam, Kurumi's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The instant Denyama's huge hand was about to touch her neck, Kurumi elegantly sidestepped left, her light black skirt tracing a graceful arc through the air.

"Your momentum was enough, but your accuracy was lacking..."

As the two passed each other, Kurumi still leisurely evaluated the man attacking her.

"Boxers! Boxers!"

Using a burst of explosive strength, Kurumi drove her raised right knee hard into Denyama's abdomen.

A dull thud rang out. Caught completely off guard by the heavy blow to his stomach, the once-imposing Denyama only let out an "Urk!" before losing his balance and crashing heavily to the floor under his own momentum.

Looking down at Denyama as he clutched his stomach, unable to make a sound from the agony, Kurumi regarded him like a laughable clown.

Around them, the police officers and other onlookers stared in shock. A girl so much smaller than the man had knocked down a burly giant in one blow, yet not a trace of panic or tension showed on her calm face.

"That was amazing!"

Hearing the surrounding exclamations, Megure snapped back to his senses and shouted sternly, "What are you all standing around for? Restrain the criminal!"

"Ah... Yes, Inspector!"

Hearing their superior's command, the officers took out handcuffs and efficiently cuffed Denyama, who was completely incapable of resisting.

After having the officers tie Denyama up tightly and take him away in a police car, Megure spoke to Kurumi with lingering fear. "Miss Tokisaki, that was far too dangerous! You should have moved away immediately!"

Megure thought of how the force that had overwhelmed even him would certainly have injured Kurumi if it had landed on her, and his voice was filled with concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Inspector Megure." Kurumi thought highly of this ever-diligent inspector.

So her attitude toward him was noticeably much gentler.

"But he was still too weak. All brawn and no skill." Kurumi patted her knee, not because it hurt, but because she worried something dirty might have gotten on her tights.

In Kurumi's view, Denyama merely had slightly better physical conditioning.

If he were in the Organization, he probably could not even beat Vodka.

"On the other hand, Conan, if I hadn't kicked you away just now, you would probably be the one lying on the floor." Kurumi looked toward Conan, whose expression was grave.

"By the way, Miss Tokisaki, you're so strong. Do you practice karate too?" In Megure's impression, Mouri Kogoro's daughter, Mouri Ran, also seemed to be this formidable.

"Karate?" Kurumi shook her head. "No. I studied other martial arts."

Hearing that, Inspector Megure wore an enlightened expression.

"No wonder Miss Tokisaki is so confident. It seems you come from a distinguished school!" From Kurumi's earlier analysis and her agile, formidable moves, Megure felt that the younger generation was truly impressive.

The case came to an end because the culprit had exposed himself.

After leaving the restroom and returning to the booth in the hall where Mouri Ran and Sonoko sat, Kurumi's mood was clearly much better. Conan, however, had remained silent along the way, and his feelings were particularly complicated.

She's incredible. Is this the strength of an Organization member? Conan gave Kurumi's slender figure a grave look and immediately felt that the Organization was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Tokisaki! Conan!"

When Mouri Ran saw Kurumi and Conan finally emerge from the restroom, the worry in her heart finally eased.

"Tokisaki, how did the police find out that man was the murderer in the restroom?" The easygoing Sonoko had already begun calling Kurumi by her surname.

"Well~" Kurumi grinned, looking delighted. "Naturally, I gave Inspector Megure and the others the clue!"

The two girls looked at Kurumi in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course it's true. What do you think, Conan?" Kurumi patted Conan on the head several times, reminding him to stop being immersed in his own world.

Noticing the threat in Kurumi's words, Conan snapped back to his senses and hurriedly nodded. "That's right. Big Sister Tokisaki was really amazing. She found the clue right away!"

As he said this, Conan wore a standard fake smile.