Jiang Xia looked somewhat troubled. "But..."
"There's no 'but' about it!" Shimojo Noboru retorted loudly in one burst. "Anyway, you rattled on and on just now, but not a single word you said proves that I'm the murderer!"
As he spoke, he suddenly turned toward the reporter secretly filming nearby and demanded fiercely, "You tell me, is this fair? What exactly was all that stuff he just said? Sure, the victim was drugged drunk, pinned beneath a boat, and drowned... but what does any of that have to do with me? What makes him say I did it?—Bring out the evidence!"
Vodka watched the suspect barreling toward him, then listened to those outrageously disrespectful words. Instinctively, he edged back. "..." If you like insulting Uzo, then insult him yourself. Why drag other people into it? That's terrifying...
On the shore opposite them.
Hattori Heiji and Conan exchanged a glance, then suddenly joined the conversation.
Facing the red-vested man's rebuttal, Hattori sighed as though he agreed. "Indeed, this environment is exceptionally suited to erasing evidence. Your plan was also meticulous—practically flawless."
The red-vested man froze, then let out a breath of relief. That scared the hell out of him! He had thought these high schoolers had gotten hold of some damning evidence. Apparently, he had been overthinking it.
Being praised so unexpectedly by the opposing side, he could not help feeling smug. "Wouldn't it have been better to admit that earlier? You've wasted so much time—I already told you, when that bastard Aramaki died, I was sitting right next to you. I didn't have time to kill him, but you just refused to believe me."
"You were sitting next to us then?" Hattori stroked his chin and hissed. "How come I don't really remember that?"
He looked at Conan. "Do you