Chapter 108: The Studio Murder Case |
Mouri Kogoro snatched Conan away just as the detectives walked through the door, bringing three suspects with them.
Mouri Kogoro couldn't help but put Conan down. Conan hid behind Ran, and after everyone's attention shifted to the suspects, he ran off to an unnoticed corner and started messing around again.
"Ishikawa, here is the victim's information." Inspector Megure handed a dossier to Bai Mu.
Bai Mu nodded and accepted it. The three suspects then lined up in a row, and a detective began the introductions.
"The victim's name is Nishizono Misaki, aged forty-two."
"According to the security footage we investigated, a total of three people have entered and exited Miss Nishizono's apartment over the past two days."
"This is the victim's husband, Nishizono Shinichi. As her husband, he came and went quite frequently."
"This is the victim's younger brother, Hayakawa Ryosuke. He visited the apartment around six o'clock this morning. Additionally, we found a witness statement and security footage of him buying art supplies the previous day at a convenience store three streets away."
"And this lady is the victim's assistant, Miss Tanaka Yuko. She came here at two o'clock yesterday afternoon and three o'clock this afternoon. Security cameras caught her buying a cup of coffee from the cafe downstairs on both occasions and bringing it up to the apartment."
"Now then, could the three of you please explain what you were doing around six o'clock this morning, the estimated time of death?" Inspector Megure asked.
"Wait, what are you all talking about?! Misaki... How could Misaki be dead!" Nishizono Shinichi exclaimed, emotionally rushing toward the corpse.
Hayakawa Ryosuke also wore a look of utter disbelief. Staring at the body collapsed on the floor, his face turned deathly pale.
Tanaka Yuko froze for a moment, but her reaction was clearly much milder than the other two.
"Calm down, Mr. Nishizono," Inspector Megure said, stopping the man. "I know you are grieving, but no matter what, your wife's death is an established fact. I hope you will cooperate with our investigation."
Nishizono Shinichi fell silent for a moment before quietly stepping back.
"Misaki... Her health has always been poor. I advised her so many times not to overwork herself with her paintings, but she never listened. She even said I didn't understand her dreams..." Nishizono Shinichi slammed a fist against the sofa.
Bai Mu silently observed the three of them. On the surface, the prime suspect was Hayakawa Ryosuke. Ever since he walked through the door, his guilty conscience had been far too obvious, much like a child who had caused a massive disaster and was caught by an adult.
Mouri Kogoro stroked his chin, standing suspiciously in front of Hayakawa Ryosuke. The younger man shrank back, avoiding his gaze. Suddenly, Mouri Kogoro shouted, "I know who it is! The culprit is you, Hayakawa Ryosuke!"
"Admit it, you are the one who murdered Miss Nishizono Misaki!" Mouri Kogoro pointed an imposing finger at him. "Let me guess, was it over a financial dispute?"
"Your sister was clearly wealthy, yet she ordered you around to run her errands. You've harbored resentment for a long time, haven't you? This morning, you tried to ask Miss Misaki for money but were rejected. In a fit of rage, you murdered her, staged the scene to look like a Sudden Death, and then fled in a panic!"
"Am I right?!"
"Ryosuke..." Nishizono Shinichi looked over. "Is this really the truth? When Misaki painted, she always locked the door. Not even I was allowed to disturb her. I remember, you're the only one who has a spare key to the Studio, right?"
"N-No! It wasn't me!" Hayakawa Ryosuke stammered in a panic. "It wasn't me, it really wasn't me!"
"My sister... she suffered a Sudden Death! When I arrived this morning, she was already collapsed in the Studio!"
"If you saw Miss Misaki collapsed in the Studio this morning, why didn't you call the police immediately?" Mouri Kogoro pressed.
"That..." Hayakawa Ryosuke stuttered, unable to speak.
All the evidence pointed to him as the prime suspect.
However, Bai Mu felt this conclusion was unreliable. If one asked why, it was naturally because this was the culprit pointed out by Mouri Kogoro.
He could tell that Mouri Kogoro was set up as a comedic relief character in this scenario. Furthermore, in detective shows, the first person accused of being the killer was almost always innocent.
A case wrapping up without any twists would be far too boring to watch. Besides, he had yet to witness the Sleeping Kogoro routine mentioned in the newspapers.
In those news reports, Mouri Kogoro was always described as sitting in a chair with his head silently hanging down. Because he looked like he had fallen into a deep slumber, he earned the moniker Sleeping Kogoro.
Every Murder Case was solved by Sleeping Kogoro. This should be a guaranteed sequence of events; before Sleeping Kogoro made his appearance, the case absolutely would not end so easily.
However, Inspector Megure's gaze had already sharpened. "Mr. Hayakawa Ryosuke, I must ask you to come with us to the police station."
"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me..."
Right at that moment, a voice broke the silence.
"Oh look, there seems to be something stuck to the back of this picture frame."
It was Conan again, standing behind the drawing board.
"You brat! Don't ruin the Crime Scene!" Mouri Kogoro bellowed.
Conan nimbly dodged away. A few gloved detectives approached the back of the frame and reported, "Inspector Megure, there is a stain here. It looks like coffee residue!"
"Coffee?"
"Yes, it smells like coffee."
"Speaking of which, did any of you see a coffee cup in this room?" Inspector Megure turned to look at Mouri Kogoro.
"I don't think so. Right, Ran?" Mouri Kogoro asked.
"Yeah." Ran nodded. "I don't remember seeing one."
"Go check the trash cans and the corners," Inspector Megure ordered.
The detectives sprang into action, but after a thorough search, they found absolutely nothing.
There were no signs that the trash in the house had been taken out. According to Nishizono Shinichi's statement, he hadn't thrown away any garbage over the past two days.
"Miss Tanaka Yuko, could you explain what is going on here?" Inspector Megure asked. "You clearly bought coffee from the cafe and brought it to the apartment. Why is there a stain here but no coffee cup?"
"Inspector, it's far too strange to suspect me based on such reasoning," Tanaka Yuko replied. "Besides, couldn't that be an old coffee stain? Miss Misaki had been drinking coffee for many years. It's perfectly normal for her to accidentally spill some and leave a mark every now and then."
"But yesterday afternoon, when you came to see Misaki, I remember she definitely took your coffee," Nishizono Shinichi chimed in. "Tanaka, last week my wife gave you a harsh scolding, didn't she? She said if you couldn't even handle such trivial matters next time, she would fire you immediately."
"Please, Mr. Nishizono. Even so, I wouldn't have a reason to kill anyone," Tanaka Yuko said, her expression unchanging.
At that moment, Hayakawa Ryosuke suddenly changed his story. "It was me. I'm the one who took the coffee cup my sister drank from."
He lowered his head, adopting the posture of someone confessing to a crime.
"I had no other choice... I've been out of work, so I wanted to ask my sister for some pocket money. But she berated me instead, and we ended up in a scuffle..."
"But I really didn't murder her on purpose! She... she suffered a Sudden Death because of her emotional agitation. Because the scene was completely messed up and coffee was spilled everywhere, I cleaned up the traces..."
"Inspector, I really didn't intentionally kill anyone. My sister... my sister died by accident..."
"I knew it! You're the culprit!" Mouri Kogoro stepped forward once again. "Inspector Megure, the situation is crystal clear now. He has already confessed; this man is the murderer!"
Inspector Megure said, "Mr. Hayakawa Ryosuke, manslaughter is still a form of murder. Please come with us."
This time, the detectives pulled out their handcuffs and cuffed Hayakawa Ryosuke.
However, Bai Mu did not focus his attention too much on Hayakawa Ryosuke. His eyes had been constantly tracking Conan. Without anyone noticing, Conan had slipped out of the Studio and run into the bedroom. With so many police officers at the scene, not a single one stopped him from running around.
It was as if he possessed some unique buff that caused the police to completely ignore his every move.