"What? The victim really did commit suicide?" Inspector Megure immediately challenged the conclusion. "But just as you said earlier, Brother Mori, if the victim really did kill himself, how could he have stabbed himself in the back? Anyone can see that's absolutely impossible! I'm more inclined to believe that one of these three suspects is the killer."
Inspector Megure questioned the conclusion, his sharp gaze sweeping over Ono Yoko, Yamagishi Eiichi, and Ikezawa Yuko.
As for Shu Yunwen, he had already turned his attention toward the sofa.
Well, if nothing unexpected had happened, Conan should be hiding behind the sofa right now, using that voice-changing bow tie to imitate Mori Kogoro's voice, right? I'd love to see if he'd jump out of his skin if I suddenly went over there...
Conan was hiding behind the sofa, bow tie in hand, looking rather annoyed.
In fact, he had also suspected the three main suspects, Ono Yoko and the others, from the start. If Shu Yunwen hadn't given him that sudden insight, he'd still be wandering around in a maze. The thought that Shu Yunwen might have solved the mystery before him again left Conan especially disgruntled. This guy's practically stealing my job as a great detective!
"No, they aren't the culprits! If Miss Yoko and Mr. Yamagishi were the culprits, they would have prepared evidence beforehand to prove their innocence. But neither of them did. And if Ikezawa Yuko were the culprit, she wouldn't have admitted that she came here and encountered a man..." Mori Kogoro's voice sounded again. "As for my claim that the victim committed suicide, of course it would seem impossible from an ordinary person's perspective. But it could be done with a little preparation."
"A little... preparation?" Inspector Megure asked, a question mark practically hovering over his head.
"That's right. Inspector Megure, do you remember the floor at the scene of the victim's death? There was a strange dent in the wooden floor. We can now confirm that it was left by the handle of the knife that killed the victim, correct?" Mori Kogoro's voice continued.
Inspector Megure turned to the forensics officer, and Tome immediately looked over the forensic report. "That's right. The dent was indeed left by the knife in the victim's back."
"But what does that prove, Brother Mori?" Inspector Megure still didn't understand.
Conan continued speaking into the bow tie. "There was water and the contents of the refrigerator mixed in with the blood on the floor. The knife handle left a dent in the floor. There was a chair beside the body, and the room's air conditioner was set to a very high temperature... If we put all these clues together, it's not hard to imagine what really happened..."
"Huh?" Inspector Megure was still completely bewildered.
Not hard? Why did he think it was so hard? He still had no idea what was going on.
Wait—was Mori looking down on the police?
Inspector Megure asked again, "Brother Mori, please, could you explain it more clearly? I still don't understand!"
Mori Kogoro's voice came through. "Yunwen, since you were able to tell that the victim committed suicide, I assume you already know the truth, right? The victim first used a large block of ice to secure the knife to the floor. Then he stood on the chair and fell backward onto the knife, which naturally stabbed him in the back. After that, the ice slowly melted because of the high temperature in the room, creating the illusion that someone had attacked and killed him from behind."
"Am I right, Yunwen?"
To Conan's surprise, his final question was directed at Shu Yunwen.
Some of Shu Yunwen's memories had returned. He vaguely remembered that this was how it had happened. He smiled and scratched his head. "Um... I think that's right! Detective Mori really is amazing. I just guessed, while you figured it out entirely through deduction."
Conan, still hidden behind the sofa, rolled his eyes. Inspector Megure spoke up again. "Wait, Brother Mori. Your deductions are perfectly linked and seem airtight, but... this makes no logical sense! According to Miss Yoko and Mr. Yamagishi, they didn't even know this man. So why would he kill himself in Miss Yoko's room and make it look like a murder?"
Yamagishi Eiichi hastily spoke up. "He must have been a fan of Miss Yoko, but also resented her, so he staged this whole thing to frame her! Yes, that must be it, it must..."
"That's enough, Mr. Yamagishi!" Ono Yoko interrupted him. "I-I know this man. We dated when I was in high school. His name is Fujie Akiyoshi, and he went to the same high school as me... But why did he choose to kill himself? Why...?"
As she spoke, Ono Yoko fell to her knees and sobbed.
"Yoko..." Yamagishi Eiichi opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything more.
Ran stood nearby and called out, "Miss Yoko," but didn't know how to comfort her. The scene fell silent for a moment.
Just then, an officer hurried in and reported, "Inspector Megure, we've confirmed the victim's identity. His name is Fujie Akiyoshi. He was twenty-two years old. After graduating from Konan High School, he worked at Kakuko Trading..."
(Ahem, let me explain. Since Shu Yunwen was in a hurry to get home, he gave Conan a hint, so the deduction started earlier. As a result, Fujie Akiyoshi's identity was only confirmed during the investigation.)
"Mm." Inspector Megure touched his hat to show he understood, then turned to Mori Kogoro. "But, Brother Mori, even so, the motive for him killing himself in Miss Yoko's room and making it look like a murder still seems a little far-fetched."
Conan continued speaking through the bow tie voice changer. "Conan just secretly told me that he saw Miss Yoko's agent, Yamagishi Eiichi, pretend to fall and take a strand of hair from the victim's hand. That strand of hair should have been Miss Yoko's, right?"
Inspector Megure stared at Yamagishi Eiichi. "Mr. Yamagishi, did that happen?"
"I, I..." Yamagishi Eiichi stammered, then finally lowered his head. "Yes, that's right... I thought Yoko had killed Mr. Fujie, so I..."
"Mm..." Inspector Megure shot Yamagishi Eiichi another glare.
Ono Yoko sobbed as she asked, "But why would Fujie go so far as to kill himself just to frame me?"
"It's probably because he still loved you deeply," Conan continued his deduction. "Did everyone notice how similar Ikezawa Yuko's background is to Miss Yoko's? If my deduction is correct, Mr. Fujie came here to find Miss Yoko, but mistook Ikezawa Yuko, who had broken into Miss Yoko's room, for Miss Yoko. He tried to speak to her from behind. But Ikezawa Yuko was startled, pushed him away, and ran off. That turned the love buried deep in Fujie's heart into resentment and despair."
"...After Ikezawa Yuko fled, Mr. Fujie carried out the preparations I mentioned earlier. He took one of your hairs from your comb, held it in his hand, and killed himself..."
After listening to Conan's deduction, Shu Yunwen glanced at Fujie Akiyoshi's ghost and pursed his lips. "If he couldn't have you, he chose to kill himself and frame you, hoping to ruin your whole life too. If you ask me, your ex-boyfriend wasn't a good person. He wasn't worth crying over!"
Shu Yunwen meant every word.
If you chose to take your own life, then go ahead and do it—but you didn't have to frame Ono Yoko, someone you once loved deeply...
Fujie Akiyoshi's choice wasn't just irresponsible toward himself. It also caused a great deal of trouble for someone else.
This guy really wasn't a good person!
As soon as Shu Yunwen finished speaking, Ono Yoko began sobbing even harder. Beside Shu Yunwen, Tsukamoto Kazumi gently nudged him and whispered reproachfully, "Yunwen, you shouldn't say that..."
Mori Kogoro's voice sounded again. "Yunwen, you may have a point. But I think Fujie Akiyoshi wanted to use this method to make sure Miss Yoko would never forget him. It's just that the way he chose was certainly wrong."
Shu Yunwen shrugged and said no more. Instead, he walked over to the sofa and curiously peered behind it. As luck would have it, he caught Conan putting away the bow tie voice changer.
Conan looked up and saw Shu Yunwen. He hurriedly put on an innocent little-kid face and waved his arms around. "Oh! Oh! Let's play hide-and-seek! Hide-and-seek!"
Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes.
Well, seeing really was believing.
After turning into a kid, Kudo really was a goofball.
He reached out and patted Conan on the head, smiling. "Kid, this isn't a place to play hide-and-seek!"
"I-I know," Conan stammered.
Shu Yunwen nodded, then turned to Ono Yoko. "Miss Yoko, please remember this! If anything strange happens over the next couple of days, be sure to contact our agency. We'll help you take care of it."
Ono Yoko was still crying. Yamagishi Eiichi, however, bowed and thanked Shu Yunwen.
By then, Mori Kogoro had also come to. Inspector Megure grabbed Mori Kogoro's hand. "Brother Mori, you did an excellent job today. You've really impressed me! If you hadn't helped us with this case, it might have taken us a long time to uncover the truth..."
Mori Kogoro looked completely baffled. "D-Did I?"
Shu Yunwen spotted another source of amusement and immediately stepped forward, smiling as he flattered him. "Famous Detective Mori, your reasoning skills are truly incredible! I'm classmates with the high school detective Kudo Shinichi, but in my opinion, he's nowhere near as good as you!"
Conan rolled his eyes furiously.
"Hahaha! Of course!" Mori Kogoro laughed smugly twice, then noticed Ono Yoko crying and immediately put on an enraged expression. "Damn it! Why is Miss Yoko crying? Who made her cry? Was it you? You?"
Shu Yunwen smiled and straightened his clothes, then turned to Inspector Megure. "Inspector Megure, now that we've uncovered the truth, can we leave? My family's waiting for me to come home for dinner..."
"Is that so..." Inspector Megure thought it over and nodded. "You can leave. But we may need you to come to the Metropolitan Police Department later to give a statement. Sorry for the trouble."
"Think nothing of it, Inspector Megure. Cooperating with the police is our duty as citizens, isn't it?"
Shu Yunwen replied with a smile, then waved at Genta. "Genta, let's go! Time to head home! Aunt Mie's making eel rice for dinner tonight!"
"Huh? Eel rice? Eel rice! Eel rice! We're having eel rice tonight?!" Genta immediately followed Shu Yunwen, drooling.
Shu Yunwen smiled and said goodbye to Ran, Mori Kogoro, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and the others one by one. Then he patted Conan on the head. "Edogawa Kid, I'm off! I look forward to seeing you again."
"Ah... Goodbye, Brother Yunwen," Conan hurriedly replied.
Shu Yunwen said goodbye once more and was almost out the door when Inspector Megure, who had accompanied them, suddenly asked, "Yunwen, I'm puzzled. After you came into the room, you only took a quick look around. How did you determine that the victim had committed suicide?"
Shu Yunwen paused, then smiled. "Inspector Megure, didn't I say I guessed?"
Inspector Megure shook his head. "Yunwen, that answer would only fool a three-year-old."
"Want the truth?" Shu Yunwen leaned close to Inspector Megure. "Officer, you should know who I am. I'm an exorcist, so of course I was able to learn how the victim died in such a short time... because the victim told me himself."
With that, Shu Yunwen turned and left with Genta, Kazumi, and the others.
Inspector Megure sighed and touched his hat. "That answer would only fool a three-year-old too."
The victim told you? Who would believe that?
That evening, at a quarter past nine, the Kojima family's home.
"Mom, weren't we having eel rice tonight?" Genta looked at the food in front of him—
Um, this was curry, wasn't it?
Kojima Mie held a rice paddle. "Who said we were having eel rice tonight? We're having curry. Make sure you eat plenty!"
Kojima Genta glanced at Shu Yunwen, who was happily eating beside him. The moment he looked over, Shu Yunwen shot him a glare, and Genta immediately sat up straight and said, "Hai!"
Brother Yunwen... How could he lie?!
That was so mean!
P.S. I'm still stunned by Ono Yoko's ex-boyfriend...
He killed himself and framed Yoko. Sigh... He really didn't seem like a good person.
Before you continue