Psychologist Tang Ze

"Hey, hey, you're one of the suspects, why do you look so listless?" Conan secretly nudged Tang Ze, who was leaning against the wall, with his elbow.

Tang Ze sighed deeply, "Because it's so boring, this case."

"You already know who the killer is?" Conan frowned, scanning the faces of the suspects. "Then why don't you point them out?"

"I don't have any evidence," Tang Ze shrugged, unenthusiastically gesturing towards Jusaburo Tono. "Actually, once the police investigate the victim's relationships, he'll probably be discovered soon enough."

Conan was a bit surprised. In the previous museum case, Tang Ze had shown meticulous observation skills at the scene, leading Conan to categorize him as a traditional detective, similar to himself, who relied on physical evidence and deduction. Hearing Tang Ze say "no evidence" while still pointing out the killer was unexpected.

"How did you figure it out without evidence? Intuition? Experience?" he pressed.

"This is most likely a crime of passion," Tang Ze said, dropping a bombshell.

"What's your basis for that judgment?" Eri Kisaki, who had been watching Tang Ze closely, finished her questioning by the police and happened to walk over to Tang Ze's side, having overheard the latter half of their conversation.

Tang Ze politely nodded at her and answered her question first, "You might have heard of criminal psychology? It's a branch of psychology that focuses on the behavior and psychological traits of criminals, analyzing the patterns and factors that may exist in criminal behavior to assist the judiciary and criminal investigation."

"So you concluded this from a criminal psychology perspective?" Eri Kisaki looked at Tang Ze curiously. This was an angle she, as a lawyer, rarely encountered. After all, the trial and judgment of criminal cases primarily relied on established chains of evidence, with little use of such auxiliary disciplines for indirect argumentation.

This was the new direction Tang Ze had set for himself after learning the Tang Ze couple's profession. This way, even if he accidentally let something slip next time and revealed information he shouldn't have, he could use psychology to gloss over it.

Don't ask, just ask about psychology.

After all, in Conan's world, the dead could leave behind flashy death messages, the killers could employ strange methods that defied classical physics, and detectives could have sudden epiphanies to crack cases. So, it was perfectly reasonable for psychologists in Conan's world to break down the truth as if they could read minds, right?

Moreover, strictly speaking, this statement wasn't wrong. Isn't the Phantom Thief of Hearts a profession that solves psychological problems physically? As long as they can solve psychological problems, they are psychologists, right?

"To 'stab' with a sharp object, like the killer in this case," Tang Ze mimed a stabbing motion, holding something and thrusting downwards. "In criminal psychology, this is a sexualized act of harm. Using this action to injure a woman can even be used as a profile basis for a killer's lack of sexual capability in some serial murder cases. The killer is very likely to have had a romantic relationship with the victim. Furthermore—"

Tang Ze pointed to the door, which had been completely pulled out and was tragically leaning against the wall. This time, Conan didn't need to climb up to observe; the bloodstains at the top were clearly visible.

"If the killer had no direct personal relationship with the victim, there would be no need to stage the scene as a robbery-murder. It's not difficult to identify the killer."

Tang Ze then turned his gaze towards Jusaburo Tono, who had started to sweat.

There were a total of four people who had entered the restroom. Excluding the long-haired man who had been terrified by Tang Ze's scare and shouted loudly, there were only three people who could be considered suspects.

Tang Ze, a high school student, and Yuichi Ki, a graduate student with a scruffy beard who seemed to be struggling with his thesis, didn't seem like they would have had a romantic entanglement with the victim.

"You need to be responsible for what you say, kid," Jusaburo Tono said gruffly. "I'm a regular at this shop. I just came to chat with the manager. I don't know this woman, and with my build, I definitely couldn't have squeezed through. How could I be the culprit!"

Compared to the slender Yuichi Ki and Tang Ze's standard paper-thin physique, Jusaburo Tono was burly and robust, the only one of the three who couldn't have possibly squeezed through from above.

But Conan, upon seeing the small bloodstain pointed out by Tang Ze, his mind raced. He completely ignored Jusaburo Tono's blustering and shouted, "The one who crawled through the door wasn't the killer! It was the body!"

After shouting, he glanced at Eri Kisaki and Ran Mouri, then added as a correction, "Ah, isn't that right, Brother Tang Ze?"

Given Conan's suspicious behavior, it wasn't surprising that Ran Mouri had quickly begun to suspect his identity. Tang Ze glanced at him and casually nodded, "That's right. So, Mr. Jusaburo Tono, you also have the possibility of being the culprit. Considering the killer had enough strength to throw an adult woman over the door, you might even be more likely than Mr. Yuichi Ki to be the culprit."

Eri Kisaki took the evidence bag containing the murder weapon from a police officer, held it up, and flipped it over. "The condition of the weapon is also strange. If the killer was holding it while committing the murder, the handle wouldn't have bloodstains like this."

"There's a strange blank section at the bottom of the blade. It seems it was covered before," Conan also looked at it.

"So the killer stabbed the victim to death first, then stuffed the person through the door into the cubicle..."

"...tied to the knife with something like a rope beforehand, and then pulled from the outside, causing the victim's blood to spray inside the cubicle."

The two of them went back and forth, piecing together the method. Tang Ze stopped interfering with their deduction and positioned himself by the restroom door, having anticipated this.

When Conan, in his innocent tone, pointed at the bandage on Tang Ze's hand and asked why he had taken off his wedding ring but was still bandaging his middle finger, Jusaburo Tono finally lost his composure. His expression turned ferocious, and he pushed past Eri Kisaki, attempting to flee outside.

This is what I've been waiting for!

Tang Ze's spirits lifted. He got into position and threw a punch, swinging it towards Jusaburo Tono's face.

Behind Tang Ze, seeing Jusaburo Tono's ferocious expression, Ran Mouri let out a short scream and kicked Jusaburo Tono in the abdomen.

And behind Jusaburo Tono, Eri Kisaki also delivered an elbow strike to his back, attempting to knock him down and restrain him.

Conan, standing to the side, watched in horror as Jusaburo Tono was attacked from both front and back. With an extremely painful scream, he seemed to bend in several places before collapsing helplessly, looking anything but peaceful.

Hiss... He couldn't help but reach up and press his face and abdomen, feeling a violent phantom pain.

Taking a hit like that, it must be similar to being caught in the middle of a beam struggle...

Thanks to all the big shots for their rewards and monthly tickets! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I'll find an opportunity to add one to two more chapters tomorrow or the day after! It depends on how busy I am with work, but I will add them!