By the time the First Investigation Division officers arrived at the exhibition hall, the scene had been cleared and cordoned off. Several officers circled the body, gesturing as they discussed how to remove the victim, who had been pinned to the wall.
Tangze looked up at the corpse in silence.
"Are you all right, Tangze?" Realizing that Tangze was from out of town and had probably never encountered a murder scene before, Ran Mouri gently patted his back, worried that the gruesome sight might leave him traumatized.
"Hm?" Tangze came back to himself. "Oh, I'm fine. I just think the killer was pretty impressive."
"Huh?" Ran Mouri froze.
"That's an ornamental display sword, right?" Tangze pointed at the two-handed sword embedded in the wall. "It wasn't that sharp, and it was a heavy iron sword. The killer lifted such a fat man with one hand while holding the sword, then nailed him to the wall. That's incredible strength..."
The corner of Conan's mouth twitched. Considering his current identity, he refrained from commenting.
Is that really the important part?
Tangze glanced at Conan. What else would it be?
He covertly looked toward the museum employees being questioned by the officers. The curator, with his long eyebrows and beard, was answering calmly.
He couldn't just turn around and point at the man, saying the killer was him. That would be like writing the answer on the first page of a mystery novel and ruining the whole thing.
Besides, he genuinely thought the killer was impressive. He had felt the same way when reading the manga years ago, and seeing the real thing made him admire the man even more. An old gentleman with such a massive beard would already be remarkably fit if he could swing an iron sword, yet he had worn armor, lifted a living man with one hand, and pinned him to a wall...
The criminals in Conan's world were truly gifted.
"Were these the people who discovered the body?" The chubby detective approached with a notebook in hand. When he got a clear look at them, he paused. "Isn't this Kogoro Mori's daughter...?"
She also seemed to be Kudo's classmate... A high school girl who was practically becoming familiar with murder scenes...
Ran Mouri gave a wry smile. "Inspector Megure, we meet again."
She did not want this either. Who wanted to come see an exhibition and run into a murder case?
She smoothly explained how they had found the body. After sizing up the famous inspector, Tangze turned back to watch the officers set up two ladders and remove the photographed corpse.
Seeing Tangze looking elsewhere, Conan leaned over and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
A child who neither addressed people properly nor used honorifics when speaking. He wasn't even trying to pretend. With Conan's acting skills, could his disguise really last a round against two undercover agents?
Tangze grumbled to himself for a moment, then decided to give the detective a push. Just as he was about to speak, he lowered his head to gauge the distance and simply crouched down. "Look at the wall where the body was hanging. There are several exhibit labels there, but no paintings. And in the victim's right hand, isn't he clutching something?"
"You're right. That's strange. It's almost like they left a spot for the body..." Sonoko Suzuki, who had been closely following Tangze, nodded as well.
Conan narrowed his eyes and fell into thought. Behind him, Inspector Megure had already noticed the surveillance camera directly facing the corpse and was sending someone to retrieve the footage.
Tangze considered it and decided he had given enough clues for now. Next, once the surveillance footage arrived, he could feed Conan a few more hints.
Keep it up, little detective.
Come to think of it, this case was one of the rare ones solved by Sleeping Kogoro rather than Mori Kogoro. But with four high school students present today, the odds of a tranquilizer dart making an appearance had gone up.
In the order of who got darted, when Mori Kogoro was absent, Sonoko Suzuki should be second in line.
Tangze looked at Sonoko beside him, who was following along step for step.
This might be workable...
Half an hour later.
"Sir, we found this in Kubota's locker!"
An officer entered the exhibition hall and unwrapped the object tightly bound in cloth. It was the helmet that had been stained red by the victim's splattered blood in the surveillance footage.
Inspector Megure frowned as he stared at the visibly nervous museum employee. "The note in the victim's hand has your name on it, and the murder weapon was found in your possession. What else do you have to explain?"
As the officers subtly closed in around him, Kubota flailed helplessly. "I didn't kill anyone! I'm innocent!"
"The victim had discovered that you were secretly selling off exhibits. There are emails on his phone demanding that you pay a huge amount in compensation for it. You have more than enough motive." Inspector Megure signaled his subordinates to move in and arrest him. "If you have anything to say, say it at the station."
"I..." Kubota, unable to defend himself, broke out in a cold sweat and looked around helplessly.
He really was not the killer. Conan furrowed his brow. He could not wait any longer. If he did not point out the flaw now, Kubota would become a scapegoat.
He turned his wrist over and opened the face of his watch.
Tangze, standing by with his arms folded as he watched the whole scene: ...
What was with the criminal investigation process in this world? Why did everyone act as if being taken to the station meant being convicted? If you didn't kill anyone, why panic? Couldn't you just argue your case at the police station if there was a problem?
Naturally, Conan could not receive Tangze's silent complaints. He considered who should carry out the deduction.
Bored of waiting, Ran had gone to look at paintings on the other side of the exhibition hall. Of the familiar people in suitable positions, only Sonoko and Tangze remained.
Tangze, who had observed the entire scene keenly and provided many clues, was actually the better choice... Unfortunately, he had only known this new classmate for a few days. He was not familiar with Tangze's personality or manner of speaking, and imitating him could easily expose a flaw.
With that in mind, Conan aimed his crosshairs at Sonoko Suzuki, who was resting her chin in her hand and waiting for the killer to be arrested.
He pressed the button, and the tranquilizer dart shot out.
But Tangze shook his head, seeming to want to step forward and stop the officers from making the arrest.
Conan's eyes widened. Damn it, they were standing too close together!
Sure enough, as Tangze stepped forward, the dart that should have struck Sonoko Suzuki in the back of her neck hit Tangze in the arm instead.
Tangze paused, then staggered back two steps as his balance faltered. He fell onto the ladder the officers had brought to move the body, lowered his head, and went still.
He darted the wrong person!
Gritting his teeth, Conan could only go along with it. He hid behind the ladder, took out his bow-tie voice changer, and adjusted the dial to Tangze's voice.
"Tangze?" Seeing the person beside her suddenly collapse into a seated position, Sonoko Suzuki turned toward him. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine, Suzuki. I just wanted to sit down and think carefully about the suspicious points." Tangze's voice came through clearly, stopping Sonoko Suzuki from stepping forward to check on him. "It's still too early to decide on the culprit, Inspector Megure."
"Oh?" The puzzled Inspector Megure turned to look at Tangze, who had inexplicably sat down. Several high school detectives' faces flashed through his mind, and his eyes gradually brightened. "Do you have an opinion, young man?"
Several high school detectives' faces flashed through his mind, filling him with excitement.
Could Tokyo be getting another outstanding high school detective? He had thought this kid had great potential while examining the scene earlier!
Having long grown accustomed to all sorts of external brains directing murder investigations, Inspector Megure skillfully gave up thinking.
_(:з"∠)_ There'll be another chapter later. Time to sleep for a bit.
Before you continue